The thing is though Slyfox the UFC does do things that go beyond what happens in the ring.
HHH was right on one part when he said Floyd Mayweather makes the most money because he has the biggest mouth, that is true but that always happens in the UFC prior to the match, before every UFC PPV they always have a package of interviews of fighters and what they are saying before the event actually starts. In '08 when Rampage beat Silva that match was sold on Wanderlei saying he be Rampage twice and he looks forward to destroying him again, Rampage is popular because of his personality.
Same in July '09 when Lesnar fought Mir, Mir said he wanted Lesnar to be the first person to die in the octagon which put a lot of fuel on the fire, both matches led to massive PPV buys because of the history and feud both matches had, most of that was built outside the Octagon not in it. There is a lot more to the UFC than what happens in the Octagon and that's what builds it.
Not only that history has shown that people will ALWAYS buy matches they want to see or matches with fighters they want to see. The best example of this is Mike Tyson. Tyson was one of the biggest box office draws in Boxing history and people always paid to watch him fight even though the populous knew that Tyson was gonna annihilate his opponent in 5 minutes or less.
Lastly we have Brock Lesnar, even though he pounds away and can destroy most of his opponents it was his mouth that made him so popular even though it wasn't in a good way. I cannot count how many people I knew that watched Lesnar fights just because they couldn't wait for someone to kick his head in, his Mir fight, his Carwin fight were both perfect examples of this. People paid to see Brock Lesnar lose because they didn't think he was worthy of being UFC champion because he did it in 4 MMA fights and his mouth. Lesnar being a mouthy prick to the likes of Couture and Mir is what made those fights so successful.
UFC will NEVER need more entertainment than they already have, they already build the fights better than any promotion on the planet, they give their fighters mic time so people can get to know them on a personal level and they put on fights people want to see.
GSP fights are boring but people still pay to watch them (I guarantee when he fights Anderson Silva people will pay), same with guys like Dos Santos and Lesnar destroying opponents in 5 minutes, the fans know what they are getting most of the time but because its legit, and its fighters and feuds people want to see they watch (like I said when people payed to watch Tyson win in 3 rounds or less).
Look at the guys you mentioned. Brock Lesnar is a former pro wrestler. Rampage Jackson is old and dangerously close to not longer being relevant. Mir is no longer relevant. I agree those guys have personality, but it's the fighter's personality, not the company's.
And what happens when those guys are no longer around? MMA is evolving, and there seems to be much fewer guys with personality than there has been in a while. Do you think if you put Frank Mir on a card with no one else advertised it's going to sell? If Rampage loses to Jones convincingly, is anyone going to think Rampage can ever be a title contender again?
But if you put John Cena's name on the marquee, you're selling tickets. Wrestlemania did 1 million PPV buys on the back of one wrestler's name and what he accomplished years ago. MCW is on television because it has the name Hulk Hogan attached to it.
Pro wrestling develops characters, UFC depends on them. Outside of GSP and Lesnar, the UFC doesn't really have any names they can put on a card and be guaranteed good buys. Lesnar has only fought twice since July 2009, and hasn't looked good either time. How much more is he going to give you?
Triple H is right, UFC has to evolve. There's nothing wrong with being a legitimate sport, that's the evolution they took to gain such mainstream acceptance. But right now they're riding a wave of popularity, but that popularity will eventually recede. How much it recedes will depend completely on they evolve, and how they can get fans emotionally invested in their fighters. That's what it is all about, getting fans to care about their fighters.
The Ultimate Fighter is a good way to do that, but it only showcases guys people don't know about, and many times won't see again. Why bother caring about someone who may not be around very long?
The WWE is evolving, and has been for a while. The UFC has evolved as well, but now that they have found their place in the sports world, they need to evolve to maximize their audience.
It is true that at times you get short and abrupt endings to some UFC fights, but that's realism for you. In real life, fights can end in any way at any time. That's the beauty of it. And if you feel that you haven't gotten your money's worth, you can always look forward to pre-match interviews, weigh-ins, promos, and other shows like The Ultimate Fighter, to get more out the UFC. The feud between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Rashad Evans is a good example of entertainment from the UFC.
Are you telling me you pay $50-60 to watch pre-taped interviews and other segments which are aired for free?
I think another thing that most people are forgetting is that unlike boxing UFC isn't just about one fight, I wouldn't order a PPV for GSP, but theres usually atleast 2 other promising fights on a PPV card worth paying for.
Main-events draw. Main-events are what sells cards.
Those other fights may be exciting and things you look forward to, but most people will only pay for the main-event. You can put Leonard Garcia against Chan-Sung Jung again, but people aren't going to pay to watch that fight, unless you put a good main-event on there as well.
Football has bad games, basketball has bad games, and imo baseball is nothing but boring lol, just because you pay for MMA doesn't guarantee you a 5 round war.
You know what the difference is? Football is going to be played for 60 minutes, basketball for 48 and baseball for 9 innings. No doubt about it. Maybe the game is good, maybe it's not, but you know long of entertainment you're getting for your money.
Not true in MMA.
Now whats WWEs excuse for putting on a bad show when they plan the whole thing out?
At least you get nearly 3 hours worth of action, guaranteed, when you purchase a WWE PPV.
