The UFC is not equipped with an adequate enough roster to handle the amount of events they are going to put on in 2012. They are quickly outpacing the amount of talent they have under contract with the schedule they have.
The new deal that the UFC made with FOX means that not only will the promotion see fights on network TV, but on cable channels such as FX and Fuel as well. That isn’t including all the pay-per-views that the UFC will put on or the Ultimate Fighter Finale cards.
The UFC is reaching a point where their brand is MMA and without any changes made to it, it is going to get stale fast. Part of that is the fact that only so many fighters can be popular in the organization at one time.
Fans can see only so many dominant fighters and exciting, but limited brawlers in one year. Injuries, layoffs and medical suspensions limit how many times a year they can fight. After those times have been exhausted, the UFC is going to put on some lackluster events.
It has happened a few times in the match where the card was less then exciting. A great example is UFC 122. Luckily, the card was free on Spike TV, but the main event was Yushin Okami versus Nate Marquardt. The match was an important one for the middleweight division just not an exciting one.
While there was supposed to be a decent fight between Alessio Sakara and Jorge Rivera, it got cancelled because Sakara got sick right before the match up.
The rest of the card underwhelmed and while part of it was a lack of names, the skill level of most of the participants just didn’t seem to rival that of basic cable cards in the past. The UFC had finally faced a new problem.
Having TV time while not having the talent to deliver the expectations became real.
Dana White can make all the claims he wants about fans not judging fights before they take place, but there is merit to this. Sometimes the fans are right and they should have a say and an impact in which fights get made. They pay to see certain fighters and few else.
When those fighters recover for a certain time, the UFC needs to keep putting on cards, but can’t do so without the help. They need marketable and exciting fighters that fans recognize if they want to sell the product effectively.
When cards like UFC 122 occur, that marketing strategy takes a hit.
The UFC may be making incredible strides and increasing their presence in today’s global sports culture, but they need to make sure they have fighters for the events they are going to be putting on.
Without the quality talent to make the events as entertaining as they have been in the past, the UFC will not only slow down their ascent to the top, but will also end up damaging themselves in the long run.
The UFC may want to move as fast as they can in solidifying their place at the top, but even they have to keep in mind that without the depth of talent, it won’t matter anyway.
Matthew Hemphill writes for the MMA and professional wrestling portion of Bleacher Report. He also hosts a blog elbaexiled.blogspot.com that focuses on books, music, comic books, video games, film and generally anything that could be related to the realms of nerdom.
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