Mixed Martial Arts... beating a dead horse

sakurob

Taken from a couple of different sites but its pretty interesting the way this sport has come storming into the picture these last couple of years.
Mainstream America is warming up to Mixed Martial Arts and Boxing will soon be an older generations sport. What'd u guys think.

Boxing and the Mixed Martial Arts can co-exist, but boxing has lost its younger generation.Boxing has really become your father’s sport. They have their audience. Mixed Martial Arts will grab their audience’s kids.’’

Last October, an Ultimate Fighting Championship fight drew 4.2 million viewers -- easily outdrawing Major League Baseball's playoffs on Fox the same night in the male demographic and posting larger numbers than the NBA on ESPN.
A Dec. 30 fight on pay-per-view drew 1.2 million buys, the largest pay-per-view pull for any sport in 2006.
Today, mixed martial arts is everywhere, from video games to television. The UFC draws millions of viewers, and celebrities vie for ringside seats. The International Fight League has started a team format that's outdrawn hockey in its time slot, and the Japanese-based PRIDE Fighting Championships has broadcasts in 40 countries.
All of which spells trouble for boxing.
Shaw, who promoted the boxing match between Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis in 2002, said EliteXC will have an open-door policy with respect to bringing in outside fighters while each of the company's own fighters has a clause in his contract to compete under other organizations.

"As the years go on, I see MMA overtaking boxing," said Gary Shaw, a longtime boxing promoter and president of EliteXC. "The demographic from [ages] 18-36 is huge and boxing does not appeal to those demos. [Boxing] is having trouble putting fans in the seats, but MMA can really turn fans out. It's a phenomenon."
But MMA's newfound popularity could create new problems. Mixed martial arts currently operates in a system where the company that promotes and hosts the cards also has the fighters participating under contract. And although big-money super-fights occur rarely because of disagreements between promoters, boxing still has the freedom to put the two best fighters from the same weight class together for the sort of bout that satiates fans and benefits the promoters and the boxers.

"If these new promoters come in and do not have success, that's a bad thing," said Josh Gross, editor of Sherdog.com, the country's largest Web site devoted to mixed martial arts. "Eventually they're all going to have to come together. Otherwise, there's going to be too much money left on the table.

"The best fighters have to fight each other. In the end that's what it's about. If the best fighters don't fight each other, you really will have meaningless fights and boring, repetitive matchups. It'll take away from the credibility of the sport."

Television ratings reached new heights, challenging, and sometimes surpassing, cable offerings by NASCAR, Major League Baseball, NBA and NHL while a rabid following continued to sell out arenas.
In October, the first UFC event in Florida, featuring Ortiz and Ken Shamrock, sold out the 5,600-seat Seminole Hard Rock and Casino in Hollywood in 30 minutes.
UFC 61 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas in July was a sellout with 12,400 seats ranging from $100 to $400. A week later, a rematch between junior middleweights Shane Mosley and Fernando Vargas drew 9,722 to the MGM Grand.
And celebrity watchers will notice the likes of Paris Hilton, Shaquille O’Neal, Kevin James, Nicolas Cage and Adam Sandler at events.

verbal

elchrist · Posted: 09 Feb 2007 11:59 AM Post subject:

I'm nobody's father and I have to say that I'm looking forward to Oscar DLH vs. Floy Mayweather more than any MMA fight in the future.

In fact, I can't even tell you who'll be fighting MMA soon.

crazynegro · Posted: 09 Feb 2007 02:41 PM Post subject:

Oscar Baby! That's what the public pays to see. I've always loved boxing, even if it's been tainted by the Don KIng's or Bob Arum's, Boxing will always be ahead of any other fighting event.

Vamos Margarito, chingatelo!

sakurob · Posted: 27 Feb 2007 08:51 AM Post subject:

TAMPA - Boxing has been known for its incredible mismatches, but this fight once appeared so lopsided, Vegas would never have posted betting odds.
Mixed Martial Arts vs. Boxing.
MMA was viewed as human cockfighting. Boxing was a sweet science. MMA did not have any notable fighters. Boxing had guys recognized by one name - Tyson, Lennox, Oscar and Roy. MMA was only on obscure networks. Boxing was cultivated on ABC's "Wide World of Sports" and USA's "Tuesday Night Fights" before shifting to ESPN, HBO and Showtime.
Today, the fight is still unfair, but there has been a serious momentum shift.
MMA currently has boxing on the ropes, and its once-dominating opponent is one good punch away from being knocked out. Outside of Oscar De La Hoya, who fights sparingly, boxing no longer has any major names. Boxing's fan base has deteriorated so much, promoters have admitted to giving away tickets to fill up arenas.
Meanwhile, Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Tim Sylvia and Matt Hughes are more recognizable than boxing heavyweight champions Oleg Maskaev (WBC), Nicolay Valuev (WBA), Wladimir Klitschko (IBF) and Shannon Briggs (WBO).
Now major networks, like HBO and Showtime, that once turned their nose up to MMA because it was viewed as too brutal, are clamoring for the rights to air this sport.
"Boxing hasn't built any stars. They've done nothing to secure the future of the sport. All the promoters, and those associated with boxing, have cared about is putting money in their pockets," Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White said. "When my partners and I took over the UFC, our goal was to do everything opposite of what boxing had done, and that is why we have been successful."
"Success" might be an understatement.
The UFC, which is the NFL or NBA equivalent of MMA, has surpassed boxing, and most mainstream sports, when it comes to attracting a young male audience. UFC's popularity skyrocketed after the reality show "The Ultimate Fighter" premiered four seasons ago.
"This generation grew up with video games, Xbox's and computers. They played martial arts video games, like 'Mortal Kombat,' and for many, watching MMA is an extension of a video game," boxing promoter Gary Shaw said.
Liddell's fight against Ortiz last December was attended by 14,607 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and generated a gate revenue of $5.4 million, the largest MMA gate in Nevada. Two days later, UFC was ranked third on the Yahoo! "Overall" Web site index behind Britney Spears and Saddam Hussein.
According to the UFC, its "Fight Night" broadcast last Dec. 13 had 531,000 watching on Spike TV compared to 180,000 for ESPN's NBA telecast of the Miami Heat against the Phoenix Suns.
The live finale of "The Ultimate Fighter 4" drew 545,000 men ages 18-34 compared to 330,000 in the same demographic for HBO's coverage of Klitschko's victory over Calvin Brock to retain his IBF title on the same night.
As a result, Showtime began airing fights from EliteXC, another MMA company, while HBO and the UFC are currently in negotiations, according to an HBO Sports spokesperson.
White said he does not reveal the pay-per-view numbers of his shows because he believes fighter's paychecks should be private, but said several of his fighters are multi-millionaires, and many earn six-figure paychecks.
"I've seen UFC, and I don't like it, but the problem in boxing is you have fighters more concerned about being unbeaten than taking on the best fighters. In the UFC, they only care about making the best fights," Maxboxing.com writer Steve Kim said. "When the UFC does an event, the card seems meaningful from top to bottom. In boxing, the pay-per-view cards have been so diluted, it's hard to watch.
"People have been saying for decades boxing is a dying sport, but there was never an alternative for fight fans. When you say it today it has a lot more merit because there has never been a threat to boxing's empire like the UFC."
Talent Is Important
There are good reasons why Kim's statements are true.
Outside of De La Hoya's fight against Floyd Mayweather on May 5, and to a lesser degree Winky Wright's bout against Bernard Hopkins on July 21, there are no other future boxing matches generating interest from casual sports fans.
In addition, elite boxers are only competing twice a year, some for one of the hundreds of championship titles out there. The UFC only has one champion in its five weight divisions, and while boxers are penalized and thrown into obscurity after a loss, talent, not records, are more important in MMA.
"I don't think anyone in our sport gets protected," said Michael Bisping, a former boxer who now competes in the UFC. "Chuck Liddell has been on a terrific run, but he always fights quality competition. They don't give him tune-up fights like they do in boxing.
"We know the better we fight, the more money we will make. We are more focused on being the best fighters out there than having nice records."
Those in boxing admit their empire is crumbling, but do not attribute it to UFC.
"We can take our credit ourselves for where boxing is right now. It has to do with our failure to hold an audience we once had," promoter Lou DiBella said. "There are way too many weight classes. We're also having to deal with phony network executives who once said it was too violent of a sport, but now are running over each other to compete for the MMA.
"It's all about the [money], and right now they are delivering the [money] … If you marketed executions, it would sell."
Marc Ratner, longtime executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, left his position to become vice president of government regulations for the UFC.
Shaw put on an EliteXC show last month, and has plans to do more. Shaw intends to promote boxing matches, but promises to get more involved in MMA.
"I don't think worried is the right answer for boxing. MMA has been smart in the business of selling the sport and finding ways to improve the sport. Boxing has a lot it can learn from the UFC, and hopefully both sports will be successful," said Ken Hershman, Showtime's sports and events programming general manager. "There are a lot of things boxing has taken for granted. Most of the guys are not out there promoting the sport, and we want them to be out there talking to fans, which is something mixed martial arts has done an excellent job of."
Best Fighters In World
As MMA continues to grow, so will the dangers.
UFC has the biggest MMA name, but other competitors include World Extreme Cagefighting and EliteXC, while PRIDE is extremely popular in Asia.
"We have all the best fighters in the world and everyone else is grasping for lower-level B talent they are trying to sell off as the real deal," White said. "The hardcore fans know what other people are offering is a crock. They are trying to sell a couple of cousins and brothers fighting each other, but we have the best fighters in the world."
While White runs more of a dictatorship than a republic, Kim believes that works to UFC's advantage.
"What Dana White has done is become the judge and jury. Dana would never allow Winky Wright to say he won't do a rematch with Jermain Taylor unless he [Wright] received a 50-50 split, but then let him fight Ike Quartey for $3 million," Kim said. "The biggest problem in boxing is HBO allows this to happen, and they put all the control in the hands of the fighters and there is no competition.
"In 2007 there are a lot of good fights out there, but those are just for the fight fans. Unfortunately, only 15 people throughout the country probably care about it."
Boxing's job is to regroup before the sport is further diminished.
The UFC has been sparingly covered by mainstream media, but White said reporters are slowly becoming more interested in MMA. If newspapers and television stations begin covering MMA like other major sports, White said it will be the last notch in UFC's belt.
There was a time when boxing wore a winning belt. It was a fixture in most households. Fighters were recognizable. Titles meant something and people cared.
Now MMA has boxing in a submission hold - and it may not escape.
"We haven't even scratched the surface yet. We haven't even begun," White said. "We just opened an office in London, and we are going to have four or five fights there this year. We are currently seen in over 160 different countries.
"The only thing that has kept boxing alive is the Hispanic market, and we haven't even tapped into that. We have a two-year plan to take over the Hispanic market, and when that happens, we're going to turn the corner big-time."

elchrist · Posted: 27 Feb 2007 08:56 AM Post subject:

Let it go... Beating a dead horse

verbal · Posted: 09 Mar 2007 12:39 PM Post subject:

Hey, Sakurob what were the numbers from the last two fights.

I couldn't find any numbers on the February fight.

Plus, who releases these numbers? Database?

realneo · Posted: 28 Mar 2007 11:54 AM Post subject:

former NFL receiver fighting in MMA June 2,2007

http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?fighterID=21783

verbal · Posted: 03 Oct 2008 09:59 AM Post subject:

I had an a fun discussion last week about how Affliction has teamed up with Golden Boy Promotions.

Is Oscar really going to have boxing and mma in the same card? If so, wouldn't that mean more money for mma fighters outside UFC and Mr. White's monopoly?

Who is the UFC main draw or must see right now?