UFC trying to get into more newspapers

We've had a few threads about why more papers don't cover the UFC, thought I'd share an e-mail I got today...

 

Do the editors get jumped and beaten up at dinner?

 

This is UFC, not boxing. ;D

 

Newspapers should get with it. People love this shit. If fans are filling up stadiums to watch it, shouldn't sports editors take notice? This stuff isn't professional wrestling, it is legitimate sport even though it's an extremely violent one. The resistance to change is precisely what is dooming many of our newspapers.

 

i don't give two shits about this sport but i'd go to the event just to see what it's all about if i was still in the business and going to APSE. sounds like the UFC is going about it the right way. someone there understands that it'll take time to change mindsets so they're not being in-your-face about it.

 

Dana White, the owner/President of UFC, has done his best to protray UFC as the combat sport for the 21st Century. In every interview he's done, White has blanched at comparisons to professional wrestling, opting to draw parallels to boxing.

Truth be told, UFC is a little of both. It boasts the soap operatic storylines of professional wrestling and the legitimate man-on-man violence of boxing.

 

I got an e-mail from some fan when we didn't cover the last UFC event here. From what I understood from people who went, the better fights were outside after the matches.

 

Truth be told, UFC is no more soap operatic than boxing.
There aren't "story lines."
There are people that don't like each other -- Ortiz v. Shamrock -- and there is your usual trash talking (re: boxing) before the fights. But, unless it's a situation like Ortiz & Shamrock, for the most part the fighters are man enough to shake hands afterwards.

Secondly, Dana is fighting two battles.
One is the perception of UFC Past vs. the reality of UFC Present. People still remember the "no weight classes, everything goes" of the first several tournaments. The UFC of today, under new management since Sept. of 2001, has weight classes, a match maker, no headbutts and gouging, etc. It's changed its focus from "no holds barred" to "mixed martial arts."
It started off big thanks to the same type of people that would plunk down 2 hours to watch car chases and Cops: Best of the Trailer Park Beatdowns. Sen. John McCain, always trying to defend boxing's piece of the pie, got it kicked off major PPV providers and relegated it to 1k arenas in Lake Charles, LA and Bay St. Louis, Miss. It's been a long, slow road back.
Two is the UFC vs. MMA in general.
JB, I'm not sure what UFC event your reader was referring to, considering the UFC hasn't been off the coasts since 2000 (see UFC Past). All of the fights have been in Nevada, Atlantic City, Connecticut (Mohegan Sun) and, most recently, the Staples Center in LA.
UFC is not a universal term for MMA events. The local "ultimate fighting" card at the armory/Elks Lodge has as much in common with UFC as the local short track does with NASCAR.

Should newspapers cover UFC? I don't know. I'm not sure the demand is there for little podunk papers around the country to devote space when we're already split between so many other sports. But I don't think it would be a bad idea for AP to staff them. Christ, we get game stories from NCAA softball, briefs on the bowling tournaments and the cycling events outside of the Tour de France.
I would argue there is just as much, if not more, interest in the UFC.

 

Most of my friends have switched from boxing to UFC and I'll bet they'd read the paper if there was UFC-related content. Personally, I don't like it or follow it. I'm still a boxing guy.

 

Anybody remember roller derby? Man, call me weird, but I thought that was cool!
How bout we put these UFC dudes on skates, aw crap, that'd be hockey. Never mind.

 

The rules changes, weight classes, etc. were all instituted years before White and Zuffa took over. White claims he came in and cleaned things up and this notion is starting to take root as fact because reporters just regurgitate White's claims in interviews without bothering to do any homework, but the changes were instituted years ago.

 

Are the fans of this activity typically given to reading the newspaper?