Lyoto Machida to Bellator

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FrankieNYC

FrankieNYC

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Aug 13, 2017
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lsa said:
I am quoting the wrong post but.. Too lazy Frankie ;-)
Competition is great. But honestly overpaying older UFC fighters are not the way to compete in my opinion.

Hows the marketing and visibility for the Bellator fighters?
I dont follow MMA much on news sites and other medias, I will be the first to admit that.
But I kinda feel when UFC fighters such as Rory and Benson left for Bellator they kind of fell of the map.
I rarely see any buzz or talks about them.

Signing the old UFC fighters and hiring Goldie (I love Goldie btw) leaves me with the feeling Bellator is trying to be a UFC clone.
Doing our own thing (Cokers SF and Bjorns tournament style) did not pan out hey lets clone the UFC!!!1

Cynic and one track minded look at it? Maybe but I am not really impressed with it.

Bellator is not really a competitor to the UFC at this point.
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  • If you look at things strictly from a business perspective, they are not a close competitor. The numbers are not in the same league as far as profit/rev.
  • If you look at it from the public perception, the brand UFC is far more known than Bellator
  • If you look through the eyes of a diehard MMA fan, they are close competitors because the fan is looking at it from an enjoyment POV.

Hardcore fans look at things through hardcore eyes.
But the truth is, the best thing Dana & Lorenzo did was brand the name "UFC". Casuals call Bellator "UFC" when they see it a lot of times, because to them that is the name & not MMA.

There is also different perceptions depending on who you find yourself talking to/with.
This board has a lot of Bellator fans. If you only discuss MMA on here, that might skew your view.
I like that this place discusses Bellator more than the most (if not all) places. Because of what you mention (less coverage). Most times I find out fight cards here, because guys like TheEmperorRises @TheEmperorRises are on top of those things & post ASAP.

As far as them being a "UFC clone", its weirdly reminiscent of how WCW became popular. They took a bunch of old(er) WWF names & spoke to the disenfranchised WWF fan. I don't see them as a clone though.
Dana is a dick a lot of times. I completely get disliking him & even possibly getting a giggle out of him being driven crazy by a failure here/there.
Those two things combined help Bellator from a disgruntled fans POV.

If you dislike UFC/Dana, then Bellator is closer competition.
If you are a UFC loyalist, then Bellator is "who?"
If you are in the middle, you look at it as a good thing there is another place & hope Bellator gets fiscally sound ASAP, so we can have two strong places to see MMA in the states.
 
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Jehannum

Jehannum

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Jan 26, 2016
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lsa said:
I am quoting the wrong post but.. Too lazy Frankie ;-)
Competition is great. But honestly overpaying older UFC fighters are not the way to compete in my opinion.

Hows the marketing and visibility for the Bellator fighters?
I dont follow MMA much on news sites and other medias, I will be the first to admit that.
But I kinda feel when UFC fighters such as Rory and Benson left for Bellator they kind of fell of the map.
I rarely see any buzz or talks about them.

Signing the old UFC fighters and hiring Goldie (I love Goldie btw) leaves me with the feeling Bellator is trying to be a UFC clone.
Doing our own thing (Cokers SF and Bjorns tournament style) did not pan out hey lets clone the UFC!!!1

Cynic and one track minded look at it? Maybe but I am not really impressed with it.

Bellator is not really a competitor to the UFC at this point.
Click to expand...
It seems like fans have already forgotten Rory and Lima's crazy title fight, I never see it mentioned even though Macdonald matchups are discussed regularly. Wasn't Lima supposed to be a legit top 10 welterweight ? :D Bellator cannot promote their fighters that is clear
 
TheEmperorRises

TheEmperorRises

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Dec 4, 2015
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Jehannum said:
It seems like fans have already forgotten Rory and Lima's crazy title fight, I never see it mentioned even though Macdonald matchups are discussed regularly. Wasn't Lima supposed to be a legit top 10 welterweight ? :D Bellator cannot promote their fighters that is clear
Click to expand...
Ask Rory if he thinks Lima is legit. Woodley didn't put him on a stretcher...

 
Jehannum

Jehannum

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Jan 26, 2016
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TheEmperorRises said:
Ask Rory if he thinks Lima is legit. Woodley didn't put him on a stretcher...

Click to expand...
I meant that if fans feel Lima really is legit then why isn't his matchup with Macdonald mentioned more often? Rory is already the bigger star to Bellator IMO and Douglas has become the forgotten man to all except die hards. I don't like it because I really do feel he IS legit, and same for Koreshov and Askren

I realise I didn't make my own position clear when I replied :)
 
Jehannum

Jehannum

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Jan 26, 2016
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and god I so wish he was in the UFC, and a lot more than I wish Rory was still there
 
TheEmperorRises

TheEmperorRises

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Dec 4, 2015
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FrankieNYC said:
As far as them being a "UFC clone", its weirdly reminiscent of how WCW became popular. They took a bunch of old(er) WWF names & spoke to the disenfranchised WWF fan. I don't see them as a clone though.
Click to expand...
WCW is a great example. That got them attention (signing guys like Hogan, Hall, Nash, Macho Man, etc) but that wasn't the only reason they were beating WWF at the time. Their show was different. They had a growing stable of young talent. Jericho, Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Big Show (then just called 'the Giant'). They had Nitro Girls, a cruiserweight division, and Stacy Kieblers legs walking around in mini-skirts.

They failed because they thought the nWo was all they had that made them successful, and let those young guys go. Re-signing Michael Chandler would be great, but not nearly as important as re-signing Venom Page, or Aaron Pico when it's time.
 
Wild

Wild

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Admin
Dec 31, 2014
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lsa said:
I am quoting the wrong post but.. Too lazy Frankie ;-)
Competition is great. But honestly overpaying older UFC fighters are not the way to compete in my opinion.

Hows the marketing and visibility for the Bellator fighters?
I dont follow MMA much on news sites and other medias, I will be the first to admit that.
But I kinda feel when UFC fighters such as Rory and Benson left for Bellator they kind of fell of the map.
I rarely see any buzz or talks about them.

Signing the old UFC fighters and hiring Goldie (I love Goldie btw) leaves me with the feeling Bellator is trying to be a UFC clone.
Doing our own thing (Cokers SF and Bjorns tournament style) did not pan out hey lets clone the UFC!!!1

Cynic and one track minded look at it? Maybe but I am not really impressed with it.

Bellator is not really a competitor to the UFC at this point.
Click to expand...
To be fair, when do you hear about UFC fighters outside of the week they’re fighting, or if they’re having a beef on social media, which gets some outlets to discuss it? Just some examples. When’s the last time anyone has seen the UFC mention Cody Garbrandt or Valentina Schevchenko or Jose Aldo or Amanda Nunes or Marlon Moraes...or really, name a fighter outside of the most popular ones. It may seem like guys lose exposure when they go to Bellator but they’re not exactly being mentioned a lot when in the UFC either. Only real difference is the MMA media gives Bellator no coverage.
 
FrankieNYC

FrankieNYC

"My balls was hot!"
Aug 13, 2017
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Wild said:
To be fair, when do you hear about UFC fighters outside of the week they’re fighting, or if they’re having a beef on social media, which gets some outlets to discuss it? Just some examples. When’s the last time anyone has seen the UFC mention Cody Garbrandt or Valentina Schevchenko or Jose Aldo or Amanda Nunes or Marlon Moraes...or really, name a fighter outside of the most popular ones. It may seem like guys lose exposure when they go to Bellator but they’re not exactly being mentioned a lot when in the UFC either. Only real difference is the MMA media gives Bellator no coverage.
Click to expand...
Yep
that is an MMA thing not UFC and/or Bellator
Its tough to keep fighters in the public eye when they rarely fight (2x a year for most)
That is on the fighter.
UFC/Bellator cannot control fighters social media, etc
The smarter fighters try to keep a presence on social media. I don't mean trash talk, I mean engaging with fans.
 
Jehannum

Jehannum

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jimmy boogaloo said:
ok point taken. but you know whose ass is sitting on a stretcher though? :)
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Takes two to tango, and Rory gets to show that despite being the more visibly damaged of the 2 he's the one that took home the gold. Really, it's just two warriors showing the world that even though they went tooth & nail over 5 rounds in a fight where the stakes are highest they can still stand side by side for a photograph afterwards. it's a great show of respect ffs :D
 
MMAHAWK

MMAHAWK

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Feb 5, 2015
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FrankieNYC said:
Seems like UFC let the window go by regarding the matching rights & when Coker (or as Lyoto says "Cougar" lol) made an offer, they tried getting him back.
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Also would lead me to believe that Bellator didn’t really overpay if UFC was willing that match.
 
FrankieNYC

FrankieNYC

"My balls was hot!"
Aug 13, 2017
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MMAHAWK said:
Also would lead me to believe that Bellator didn’t really overpay if UFC was willing that match.
Click to expand...
Definitely
Like I said earlier, nobody can say its a bad signing until we know the financials.
Also I think Lyoto is worth more to Bellator in 2018/19 than UFC
 
jimmy boogaloo

jimmy boogaloo

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Nov 15, 2017
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Jehannum said:
Really, it's just two warriors showing the world that even though they went tooth & nail over 5 rounds in a fight where the stakes are highest they can still stand side by side for a photograph afterwards. it's a great show of respect ffs :D
Click to expand...
haha ok agreed. but every so often, i dare say, you'll have a 'we are both injured' pic which is keenly captured by one side, remembered less fondly by the other.
 
Jehannum

Jehannum

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Jan 26, 2016
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jimmy boogaloo said:
haha ok agreed. but every so often, i dare say, you'll have a 'we are both injured' pic which is keenly captured by one side, remembered less fondly by the other.
Click to expand...
Gustafsson has milked this photo for sure so I can see where you're coming from too haha

 
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