Dave Meltzer's latest column on the Liddell retirement fiasco gets at an essential future issue for the UFC:
Whether it be Liddell, Matt Hughes, Randy Couture or Forrest Griffin, every UFC-created star will reach the day they can no longer compete with the elites. At that point, it would be in their best interest not to fight when it comes to long-term quality of life, because of the damage the punishment can cause to an aging fighter.
However, such fighters will still be bigger and more marketable stars than all but a few in-their-prime stars, particularly if matched with interesting new opponents, and will be able to earn top dollar. If White won’t use them, there will be a plethora of promoters who will.
White can offer Liddell a job for life, but there are only so many jobs of that type around and more and more stars are entering their declining years.
In the case of Randy Couture, they hired him to do color commentary, but he still eventually came back. The basic problem for the UFC is this: as big name superstars get older, they will lose their ability to compete with younger and more talented fighters. However, their competitive decline is usually not matched by a decline in marketability.
Chuck Liddell is a good example, he carried UFC 97's buyrate and the show did a shockingly huge number. Fans still pay to see their heroes well after they start losing, and allowing guys like Chuck to go elsewhere would be handing the competition the keys to the castle, so to speak.
One option is to set up employment contracts that just pay guys not to fight. The contracts could include promises not to fight elsewhere for a period of five years in exchange for a salary.
Another option is setting up a "masters"-style division for retired stars to fight in. There are a lot of problems with this option, but it makes sense if you concede that guys like Chuck are just simply not going to willingly retire until they find themselves brain damaged. Fighting is in their blood, they love competition, and at least this could stop them from fighting guys 15 years younger. At least in this kind of division they could fight their peers on a limited level, and they'd still probably make a lot of money because fans pay to see their favorite fighters regardless of wins and losses.
Chuck is unique because he is so rich, but a number of fighters keep on going for years because they need the money. There are a number of companies that work with other sports stars to invest their money wisely so they have something to fall back on once they retire. The UFC should really look into using one of these in order to prevent a situation in which old, broken-down fighters keep fighting in order to pay the bills well after they should have retired. They'd have to cough up money in the short term, but it is really just a long term investment in PR that they should consider.
Frankly, I lean toward the idea of a masters division of older fighters that can agree to fight each other at any weight as long as they can both make it. Once they are outside the confines of divisions and out of consideration for title shots, those fights are really just novelties for fans to enjoy, and such a concept could potentially provide for a number of inter-division dream fights that never took place while these fighters were in their primes.
In an ideal world, fighters would retire with enough money to support themselves for the rest of their lives, and they'd know the right time to retire. Unfortunately we don't live in that world, and we have to work with the one we've got.
