Some WWE for My UFC…
There is no doubt Dana White
is taking a few pages out of the Vince McMahon playbook when it comes to
marketing the UFC. The post UFC 96 showdown between Qutinon
“Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans was one of the most entertaining,
pre-fight spots fans have witnessed in quite some time. It had shades of
Ortiz/Shamrock and appeared like a quality main event for UFC 98 was on the
horizon. But then came the disappointing news (or exciting news for the
hardcore Brazilian fans, I’m
looking at you Mr. Barbosa) that because of injuries to Rampage, Lyoto
Machida would be facing Rashad Evans for the light-heavyweight title
instead. For many fans, Machida’s title
shot has been long overdue and really highlights the value of entertainment in the
sport. More and more, MMA pundits complain the UFC is becoming more like the
WWE and argue that its “bad
for the sport”.
It’s these same people who
have this pipe dream of the UFC being this classy, suit and tie event similar
to boxing, and trust me I don’t think the president of any boxing organization sounds like this. There
are many elements within the WWE that I believe could prove successful for the
continuing growth of MMA. For starters, I mentioned the post-fight trash talk
at UFC 96, which brought many fans a sense of unprecedented intrigue. Would it
hurt the UFC to do a spot like this at every card? Pit the two competitors in
an upcoming main event at the center of the ring (or in the crowd) for some
pre-fight trash talk? Even a fighter with no charisma when given the chance to
speak on the mic, is far more entertaining, that the typical Mike Goldberg
event plug in between fights. Also, while the UFC Countdown shows are a nice
touch prior to an upcoming card, why produce storyline profiles on all the main
card fighters? One of the major factors to the successful Ultimate Fighter franchise
is the audience identification to the fighters as characters. A big reason for
the success of the WWE is their ability to create characters and develop
personalities with the fans. The UFC doesn’t need creation of characters, as
many of these fighters have interesting stories and are characters in their own
right People criticized Brock
Lesnar for his post fight comments after defeating Heath Herring, saying he
sounded an idiot (with the whole lasso bit). If anything, the UFC needs to
promote more of these antics, as having fighters with personalities is not only
entertaining in creating characters, but it also generates new fans.
However don’t kid yourself,
not all the facets of wrestling are positive for the UFC. When it comes to
granting title shots, following the WWE model of a popularity contest is unfair
to those deserving fighters. Like
I mentioned above, Machida is only getting his title shot due to a variety of fortunate
circumstances. Had Frank Mir been healthy to fight at UFC 98 against Brock
Lesnar (and not forced to move the fight) or Quinton Jackson been injury free
to fight Rashad Evans then Machida would have found himself on the sidelines.
Pretty ludicrous for a fighter who boasts an undefeated (14-0) record with wins
over Rich Franklin, Thiago Silva and BJ Penn. I understand at the end of the day the UFC needs a
significant draw to generate the most money possible, but at the same time, a
fighter’s reward is the ability to win fights. It should be the UFC’s job to market its own fighters, which
is pretty much what they were forced to do when a Portuguese speaking Anderson
Silva became middleweight champion. Aside from losing, one of the biggest
setbacks for a fighter is being labeled as the “boring fighter” Machida, while
undefeated, doesn’t exactly exude the type of personality that will sell
tickets and it also doesn’t help that his elusive fighting style can translate
to “boring”.
Machida isn’t alone though
and joins a list of other fighters, hindered by the “lack of entertainment”
bug. It was announced earlier that last week that Yushin
Okami will be fighting Dan Miller, despite reports just a few weeks earlier
that Dana White had
guaranteed the Japanese fighter a title shot against Anderson Silva should
he successfully defend his title at UFC 97. Okami, who has been regulated most
of his UFC career on the undercard (due to his boring style), is an impressive
7-1 in the octagon (his only blemish against Rich Franklin at UFC 72) and yet looks
further away from the middleweight crown more than ever. Keith Jardine’s lack of personality gave way
to Forrest Griffin earning a coaching spot on the Ultimate Fighter season 8 and
subsequently a light-heavyweight title shot against Quinton Jackson. Jardine had just defeated former UFC
light-heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell and Griffin just months before. While people will argue Griffin had
just upset PRIDE standout Maurico “Shogun” Rua, nobody talks about his
lackluster UFC 72 just months against UFC exile Hector Ramirez. Other top fighters
like Matt Lindland, Fabrico Werdum and Tim Sylvia all dabbed as “boring” found
themselves as marked men, and eventually out of UFC. While Brock Lesnar after only 4 professional MMA fights is
now a UFC champion.
Overall, I believe the UFC
can have a healthy balance of entertainment, while providing competitive
matchups, keeping fans interested. I’m not saying bring back the ramp, but
I am encouraging the emphasis on fighter as characters, giving fans the more
entertainment for an already exciting sport.
By the way any feedback on
this article is greatly appreciated. I know due to some keyboard warriors
ruining the fun for everyone else, there are problems posting comments on this
site. Direct any comments or feedback to james@thefightnetwork.com Thanks !
All Content © 2011 by Fight Media Inc. | Site Developed by Nautical Progressions
