Monetarily, the UFC is among the fastest-growing sports in the world.
With the best fighters in mixed martial arts currently manning the promotion’s eight divisions, along with the TV shows, month-to-month PPV events and broadcast deals with FOX and FX, the UFC has the world at its fingertips.
But while the company seeks profits at every corner, does its unmatchable desire to do so deflate the entertainment value as a whole?
It depends. And that’s exactly what’s up for debate.
There’s no disputing that the UFC has more than made up for lost time in mainstream America over the past couple of years. They’ve transformed a crippled company into one of the most popular franchises worldwide, due in part to president Dana White‘s promotional sensibility.
However, the UFC has arguably grown itself thin. With dozens of new fighters, new events, higher expectations, injury-riddled champions and increased viewing prices for even the oldest of fans, the company has become somewhat one-dimensional.
For the UFC, the main issue is to create a reputable brand revolving around recognition and creativity, and using that popularity to earn profits.
That’s all well and good—it’s a business at heart. But even though the company has been the forefront for MMA within American sports over the past decade, the action inside the cage and the efforts to preserve the sport’s greatest asset (the fights themselves) may be deemed unsatisfactory in the eyes of its detrimental fanbase.
Sure, some fights have been monumental over the past few years in securing the prestige of worthwhile entertainment for each and every viewer, but as previously mentioned, the more events, fighters, promotions and media facets that the company produces, the thinner it becomes.
However, there’s a flip side to this notion, being that in order to promote the sport and keep it growing in comparison to major entities already in place, you have to write a new page in the book at every turn.
But when you dismantle the entertainment machine that’s responsible for the popularity of the sport itself, aren’t you sabotaging the essence of competition?
This may seem generic, whining about the entertainment value of seeing two fighters try to knock each other out, but it’s important to understand where your money is going.
Fans don’t pay to see lackluster fights. Fans don’t spend their hard-earned cash to see a pay-per-view event end after 25 minutes of championship jabbing. Fans aren’t spending their valuable time following the UFC to see their favorite fighters compete only twice a calender year, mostly due in part to the company’s efforts to expand divisions, create new ones and offer content directed toward “potentially new” fans.
Don’t get me wrong—the more MMA fights in mainstream sports, the better. But at some point, mixing the fights fans want to see with the ones that the UFC is putting forth to fill event slots, PPV under cards, PPV main cards and broadcast freebees, takes away from the overall entertainment value. A good portion of these bouts prove unworthy, whether they cost $44.99 or not.
The point to this whole thing is that somehow, the UFC—the company that has branded itself as being the fastest-growing sport in the world—may in fact be growing, but within the completely wrong capacity.
And even though the company has done everything imaginable to create the best fights in the world, sometimes it is better off to slow things down, diagnose what you have and what works best and let the entertainment speak for itself.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com