Has MMA's Popularity Peaked?

[Thin Lizzy]

I was talking to a long time BJJ buddy of mine who said that he thinks that the MMA "craze" is over, and that he hardly ever watches it anymore. After giving it some thought, I've come to the conclusion that he might be right. At this point, hardly any fighters are making a living at MMA and no one is making huge money. How many people in the future will go into a sport in which you can effed up for nothing?

Does anyone here think that MMA is still growing?

[Bluto]

i dont keep track on ppv numbers etc but it's probably growing. more shows than before, more shows globally, more big name sponsors, bigger gate, fighters get paid more etc

a guy like eddie sanchez who isnt a big name in the sport got $46,000 for his win in ufc 79 and another $50,000 for the knockout of the night... that's a cold $96,000 for one fight... let's say he fights 3-4 times a year he can make some decent money. not compared to the big sports of course but you know, more than being a carpenter or whater he be otherwise...

personally i think ufc might need to calm down with all the shows, not sure thats a working long time strategy... there's too many shows, too often, and it will affect the matchmaking and the cards they'll be able to put on. let's say they just had 6 shows a year, then the cards would be stacked. from a fan perspective i would prefer that.

[ATHEIST]

Im not sure what they are doing right or wrong now but i think its getting a little stale imo. the belt changes hands to often for anyone to get attatched to the fighter. of course you had Chuck who was a fan favorite, but i think Dana purposely set him up with sub-par fighter on purpose to entice the audience and get the main attraction. now i believe that has back fired a bit, Chuck hasnt looked good as of late. they need a Tiger, Jordan, Mike Tyson. if not MMA will carry on but it wont be a huge as Dana said it would, not even close. I saw Dana say on tv once that UFC will be bigger than the NFL ever could be, or something along those lines.

[MB_722]

I've totally lost interest in Watching MMA. Since pride was bought out it went down the drain.

they[UFC] killed it IMO. it's too bad. I used to love it.

Pride was the best and always will be.

[Fury]

It's because it's the same fighters fighting the same fights all the time. I have no interest in these rematches. They're boring. All these dream fights everyone thought would happen when the UFC bought Pride have failed to materialize. The LW's are still entertaining, but the heavier classes need an infusion of new talent. I know I've been watching more Max and K-1 lately.

If M-1 can show that it's here to stay, I think MMA will get some more popularity. The UFC needs competition so they'll be forced to stop putting these shit cards on.

[Geo]

It's because it's the same fighters fighting the same fights all the time. I have no interest in these rematches. They're boring. All these dream fights everyone thought would happen when the UFC bought Pride have failed to materialize. The LW's are still entertaining, but the heavier classes need an infusion of new talent. I know I've been watching more Max and K-1 lately.

If M-1 can show that it's here to stay, I think MMA will get some more popularity. The UFC needs competition so they'll be forced to stop putting these shit cards on.

I agree.......

if sylvia beats nog tomorrow night I think the UFC (on the whole) comes out the loser

[Faust]

I think MMA is popular in USA, brasil and Japan. Maybe a bit in UK too.
But i don't think the market in other countries is huge.

UFC needs some young, charismatic newcomers to represent the sport.
Best would be americans from a marketing viewpoint.