Has Zuffa tapped out?

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FadeToBlack

Rear Naked Poke
Mar 15, 2015
1,461
2,619
When I say "tapped out", I mean has Zuffa taken this sport as far as they're ever going to take it?

I think the UFC blew the FOX deal. And I think the FOX deal is emblematic of why the UFC has plateaued for the last 6 years.

If you remember back when the FOX deal was announced, they featured a heavyweight title fight on a mainstream channel like FOX, and it seemed the sky was truly the limit for MMA. But ever since that fight, the UFC has given FOX rather unspectacular fight cards and very few big fights that would arouse casual fan curiosity. And I think that's where they blew it. They cared more about their current PPV revenue and keeping their big fights on PPV (a short term way of thinking) vs. the long-term benefit of featuring free, BIG fights on FOX as a way to attract new fans for the future. Had Jon Jones, Ronda Rousey and the like been regular staples of FOX fights, that would have done so much to arouse interest in MMA among regular sports fans. Instead they gave us fight cards that only hardcore fans like us would appreciate. So basically, they are selling the exact same product (the PPV) to the exact same audience (us) instead of selling a free night of fights on a major network to everybody. That's a very narrow-minded approach, IMO.

I'm not saying the FOX deal is responsible for the UFC's current position, but the way they handled that deal is representative of a much bigger problem in Zuffa: the lack of long-term vision for growing the sport into what it's capable of being. It seems Zuffa is content to simply be a big fish in a small pond instead of growing the pond into a lake, and subsequently being an even bigger fish than they already are now. They seemed to have given up on "world fucking domination" with every move they make.
 
M

Morpheushasleftthebuilding

Guest
don't forget about 500 employee's for 500 fighters!
 

lookoutawhale

Mammal of the Sea
Jan 20, 2015
4,404
7,300
Zuffa had the Canadian market. People were excited about the UFC coming. Then they put watered down card after watered down and basically killed the market.