Has anyone ever thought that some MMA matches are fixed for publicity?

[bshort31092]

I don't mean scripted move-for-move like professional wrestling, but that the ends are fixed for publicity. Like the whole Lesnar-Mir issue. Maybe Dana White orchestrated this whole scenario. Think about it: Lesnar fights Mir once and gets close to winning, but loses in the end. Then fights a few more fights and even wins the heavyweight championship, which I think this whole situation was fixed as well, I mean the whole Couture retirement thing. Finally it ends with Lesnar whooping Mir.

Another fight which I think was fixed for publicity was the Kimbo-Petruzelli fight last year, where Slice was to fight Ken Shamrock and after Shamrock got a cut over the eye in warm-ups, which I think is complete B.S., he fought the random Seth Petruzelli, and lost faster than it takes to watch an Olympic 200 meter sprint(14 seconds).

What I'm trying to say is, there is a possibility that the execs of these MMA companies realize that people want to see a certain thing, so why not give it to them.

As I end this post, I realize that I am going to be torn apart by the diehard MMA fans, so please do it civilly.

 

[jmt225]

I don't mean scripted move-for-move like professional wrestling, but that the ends are fixed for publicity. Like the whole Lesnar-Mir issue. Maybe Dana White orchestrated this whole scenario. Think about it: Lesnar fights Mir once and gets close to winning, but loses in the end. Then fights a few more fights and even wins the heavyweight championship, which I think this whole situation was fixed as well, I mean the whole Couture retirement thing. Finally it ends with Lesnar whooping Mir.

What makes you think Mir would take a beating like that for just money, when he can make MORE if he wins? Not just in the short term, but in the long term as well? Nobody in MMA would get the ass kickings they get for just some money. It's different in boxing. The reason boxing can be fixed so easily is because you can take a hard shot from a glove, and it won't hurt, but look good enough for people to buy it was a real knock out. You can't do that in MMA without it looking painfully obvious, and so far... I haven't seen anyone lose in a way that was obviously fixed. Not once.

Another fight which I think was fixed for publicity was the Kimbo-Petruzelli fight last year, where Slice was to fight Ken Shamrock and after Shamrock got a cut over the eye in warm-ups, which I think is complete B.S., he fought the random Seth Petruzelli, and lost faster than it takes to watch an Olympic 200 meter sprint(14 seconds).

If that fight were to have been fixed, then they would've fixed it for Kimbo Slice to win it. You know, EliteXC's Hulk Hogan, that Kimbo Slice. Why would they have their biggest draw lose in such embarrassing fashion? That makes zero sense. And the fact that Kimbo did lose is what put them out of business hurts your case even more.

Dude, seriously... if you're going to come up with examples, at least make some that makes sense.

 

[andymcg]

Actually, first off as a few of you people know i am a die hard MMA fan, so no flipping off. But i actually always had one dodgey thought in my mind, and i noh this will sound extremly stupid but its always flaoted around in my head.

We go back to December 29 2007, Chuck Liddell was loseing his step in the MMA world after defeats to Rampage Jackson (which is plauseable) and a very bad defeat IMO to Keith Jardine, was about to fight possibly the toughest test in his carrer, Wanderlia Silva. Sure Wanderlia had also come off 2 losses, but definetly lookd sharper.

Now it could be, and proberly is just a case of my mind wandering but i always wondered how Chuck went from 1 very bad defeat and 1 plauseable defeat (followed by losses to Rasha Evans and Shougun) but somehow found his old self and pretty much destroyed Wanderlia. Fixed ? Proberly not. My mind wandering ? Proberly yes. but hey just though i would through it out there.

 

[Uncle Sam]

I sincerely doubt that it happens in the UFC, or any North American promotions for that matter. I know for a matter of fact that it's taken place in Japan though, largely because of the heavy Yakuza influence over there. I believe it was Rampage Jackson who said he was offered a large amount of money to throw a fight - and, naturally, he tried to win anyway.

But no, I don't think that MMA fights nowadays in the US are ever fixed. I can think of many results that would have been more profitable had they been the other way around.

 

[Muffin Top Merkley]

Just like Bshort I have had the thought in my head that some fights just seem to convienent to not be set up.

The Ken Shamrock/Kimbo. While I don't think this was a set up, I do think that Shamrock had second thoughts about fighting Kimbo and stages his "cut" in order to back out without looking too much like he backed out. Kimbo losing, wasn't staged. Like JMT said Kimbo is Elite XCs Hogan. Thats why Elite XC never gave him any real challenge. He was ment to win every fight. While the outcome of all of Kimbo's fights weren't staged, they were always set up with Kimbo having a great advantage over his opponents.

Lesner v. Couture: This is one fight that I've always wondered if it had a pre-determined outcome. Couture, even at his age was can still be dominate, he was really the only Heavyweight name in UFC at the time. But he's retired a number of times, and UFC needed a young big name that they could show off for the future. Enter Brock Lesner. Clearly already a big name even before he stepping into the octagon.

I always thought that after Lesner beat Couture, his nickname should have been "The New Natural." That would get him INSTANT heat and his villian-esque character would be born.

Lesner is a villian, and Dana White LOVES it! As much as Dana can pretend that he doesn't approve of Lesner's antics, its bringing in tons of money and will continue to do so. People now want to see Lesner get beat, and they will continue to pay big money until it happens. And when it happens, they will pop big time.

MMA is not wrestling. It is not choreographed. But it is beginning to have wrestling elements.

So to straight up answer your question "Has anyone ever thought that some MMA matches are fixed for publicity?"

Yes, I have thought that. But who really knows? It might just be the conspiracy side of me sneaking out.






PS. Brock was robbed in his first fight against Mir.

 

[SavageTaker]

First of all, in MMA I can see three definitions to a fight being “fixed”. The first one being that a fighter purposely loses the fight, the second one being paying off the judges to vote in favor of one of the fighters, and the third one being a fighter being told to fight a certain way that they normally wouldn’t fight like.

Anyways, do I think MMA fights in the UFC have been fixed? I highly doubt it to be honest. It would just seem too hard to keep something like that a secret unless a fighter’s life was threatened by some mafia we don’t know about in the UFC or something like that. Ultimately, if a fight had been fixed there would have been a good chance that a fighter might have told someone else (like a family member) about it and the person went and told someone it would have eventually been reported by some major websites. Or maybe even a fighter who left on bad terms and is likely to never return to the UFC would have opened their mouth about some fight being fixed. I mean it’s possible for something like that to happen so I doubt fights have been fixed in the UFC. I guess you could say there is a chance that it has happened already (fights in the UFC being fixed) but I just doubt it.

Now, do I think MMA fights have been fixed in other companies? Yes. I really don’t have any solid evidence unless I found someone in the fight or the owner of the company actually saying a fight that so and so had was fixed. However, some fights have appeared to be fixed because of the way they went but I guess you never really know. I would have to say yes because of the way the fights went and no because there really isn’t any solid evidence.

Another thing that I do want to add, wasn’t the Kimbo vs. Seth fight kind of fixed? I do believe in an interview Seth did the next day after the fight he said he was told to fight a certain way so that the chances of Kimbo (one of the company’s biggest stars) winning were higher. So, I guess if you consider that a way of fixing a fight it would mean that some MMA fights have been “fixed” in one way or another.

 

[OIL]

I don't think the MMA fights would accept any amount of money for them to go into a fight, knowing they're going to lose. What's it going to do? Just damage their reputation. Sure, to make it more interesting the UFC COULD fix fights, but then it's just a glorified WWE. I doubt they do fix the fights.