It’s been a down year for the UFC. Actually, two of the past three haven’t been great, and disappointment looks like it’s going to be more the rule than the exception based on recent trends.
A simple flipping of the calendar isn’t going to change anything, either.
MMA has no offseason, no free-agent frenzy, no chance to call it a bad year and retool accordingly. This, for all intents and purposes, is it.
One big issue facing the UFC these days? A lack of stars.
Even the ones who are technically active aren’t active, hampered by injuries, or coaching The Ultimate Fighter, or injuries and coaching The Ultimate Fighter.
To quote one of the few stars they have left (who hasn’t fought since 2013): “It’s hard times for everybody.”
Two of the biggest stars the promotion has ever produced, Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva, are both still technically in the mix. Silva will fight Nick Diaz in January, while St-Pierre has been courted like the head of the cheerleading squad before prom in recent weeks, all in the hope that they can buoy the sinking, lifeless corpse of the UFC’s pay-per-view model.
The trend in buyrates has been almost unthinkably bad in 2014, with numbers that would have seemed impossible even as recently as 2011. The evidence suggests that, with no stars to sell pay-per-views, there will be no fans to buy them.
Which brings up the question: Who does the UFC need more? St-Pierre or Silva?
The answer, if recent history is any indication, may be St-Pierre.
While Silva is undeniably more spectacular and more prone to producing instant memories with his violent dynamism, St-Pierre carried a nation on his back—a nation that was until recently the “Mecca of MMA,” according to a certain bald promoter with a passion for snowy driveways in Nevada.
Since St-Pierre stepped away from the sport, Canada has become something of a wasteland for the UFC. Rory MacDonald hasn’t filled the gap he left, and even the most ardent MMA fans can’t name three guys who competed on TUF: Nations for the country.
The promotion is in murky waters with an expiring TV deal in the country and no obvious path to renewal, declining gates at live events and many asking if their appeal has run dry there, and there isn’t a clear savior anywhere in sight.
Enter St-Pierre.
A proven commodity, he’s been named Canadian Athlete of the Year three times and is a bona fide sports star in the nation. He’s not totally mainstream, but he’s sold enough Gatorade and Under Armor that people can place a name and a photo if need be.
In a world where the UFC rosters 400 people and only about 40 of them are discernable from the guy bagging your groceries (perhaps save for the cauliflower ear), there’s a lot to be said for that.
Sure, Silva is a big star. Arguably the biggest star. However, Brazil is safe as a market and there are plenty of other megastars for that country to rely on.
Just this past weekend, Jose Aldo put on the best fight of his career, and next week Shogun Rua will likely spill a little blood for the enjoyment of his countrymen.
The UFC loves having Silva around, loves that he’ll provide sheer fistic bewilderment a few times a year, but they don’t need him.
They need St-Pierre.
The decline of their brand in Canada, once so ubiquitous that 55,000 people jammed a stadium to watch two ants fighting on a matchbox just to say they were there, proves as much.
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