NHB started as a pure spectacle in terms of the way it way promoted, but in the actual putting together of cards, some due diligence was done to make sure competitors were semi-reputable and the meritocratic nature of the tournament meant the cream rose to the top. Still, the marketing sold characters so we could root for different participants in individual contests. Following the tournament era, there were years spent trying to make NHB into MMA with progressively standardized rules so it could be recognized as a sport. The marketing followed suit, presenting promotions as legitimate and fighters as athletes. I'd argue that for the past 10 years, we've progressed into a third era where self-promotion is as important as skill and the promotions are mostly focused on selling the spectacle of MMA. In this case, the fighters personas or interpersonal disagreements (however manufactured) are critical to building cards. In practice, this means that meritocracy is a bit more relative, though fortunately the best are often still fighting the best.
So what will be MMA's next phase? I was convinced that the era of it going back to being pushed as a mundane sport was more or less dead until the ESPN deal the UFC announced, which made me think WME at least could be pivoting back toward that direction despite their other moves that would suggest the contrary. Bellator made great strides under this model in the Bjorn Rebney era, but under Scott Coker they've shifted to a mixed model of spectacle and sport likely to compete with the UFC. Do you think the sport will stay in a mixed mode forever or tilt in one direction or another or will it become something new altogether?
So what will be MMA's next phase? I was convinced that the era of it going back to being pushed as a mundane sport was more or less dead until the ESPN deal the UFC announced, which made me think WME at least could be pivoting back toward that direction despite their other moves that would suggest the contrary. Bellator made great strides under this model in the Bjorn Rebney era, but under Scott Coker they've shifted to a mixed model of spectacle and sport likely to compete with the UFC. Do you think the sport will stay in a mixed mode forever or tilt in one direction or another or will it become something new altogether?
