UFC's Time?: UFC on ESPN + A defense of the UFC and MMA in general

First, a mistake I keep seeing on, not only this thread, but everywhere ... UFC is not a sport. It's an organization within the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA).

Dana White is the president of UFC. In effect, he's probably the equivalent of Roger Goodell, David Stern, Bud Selig, etc., etc. are to their respective sports. Not quite sure how that's a bad thing for MMA as a whole. Each organization has their own head. Zuffa, which owns UFC and also purchased Pride, will be appointing a new president for Pride, most likely of Japanese descent, since that's the audience the company is mostly geared toward.
Dana White's face is out front because he is president of the top MMA company in the world.

 

RAMPAGE BABY!!!!!! WOO_HOO!!!

First round KO by Quinton Jackson!!!

 

I take it by the 12 exclamation points that this is good?

 

Just got back home... thought there was going to be a race riot in my local Buffalo Wild Wings. Luckily, cooler heads prevailed. I had no idea there were so many young people enthralled with UFC.

 

I thought about plunking down the $$$ to watch this, and I thought about watching it at a local sports bar, but in the end I did neither.

First-round KO? How fast? Was the bout worth the money you spent to watch it? Was it a bigger ROI than was the De La Hoya-Mayweather fight? (something else I didn't see live)

 

AP story: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/sports/AP-Ultimate-Fighting.html?ref=sports

 

So whom does Jackson face next?

 

What up, Pallister?

I think it's gonna be Dan Henderson. At least that's what they were saying after the fight.

 

I'm listening to Fox Sports Radio right now while I work, and the radio host just said this: "I look at the (call list) screen, and all I see is 'UFC.'"

People were not thrilled after DLH-Mayweather, even if they were rooting for Mayweather. Nobody is dissatisfied now, even Liddell fans can't be too unhappy because it was a decisive ending (although a few are rumbling about a too-early stoppage). Decisive endings (often), no running away (Mayweather-Baldomir) and high energy: All factors in UFC's ascent.

 

UFC is now a sport — mark this date down ...

 

No.

It's comparable to one of Mike Tyson's one-round KOs that helped kill the public's interest in boxing in the first place. How much did the headliner cost per minute?

Chuck Liddell, the guy they spent all this time building up? Overrated --- and anybody new to all this, he's a complete bust. One pop to the head and he's done, taking his credibility with him.

 

Mike Tyson's one-round KO's didn't kill the public's interest in boxing. That's proven by the fact people were still willing to shell out big bucks for Tyson fights even when he was well past his prime and fighting bums like McNeely.

What killed the public's interest in boxing is when EVERY fight was put on pay-per-view. Quite a few people stopped paying for some of the lesser-known fights and, pretty soon, there was no attachment, no familiarity to the fighters. Back in the old days, you'd have fights on ABC, the USA Network and HBO and you'd see the rise of these up-and-coming fighters and either grow to love or hate them, and eventually you'd pay to see them win or lose. But, when nearly every fight was put on pay-per-view, there became no familiarity.
Hell, I just saw a commercial for Shannon Briggs vs. some foreign fighter I've never even heard of .... on pay-per-view. That's insane. Boxing has no one but itself to blame.