Thoughts on the UFC

I know that not many of my readers are MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fight fans. It shows in the number of hits on my posts that deal with the fights.
No worries. Just move long.

None-the-less it is a UFC Fight Night and as I watch the post fight show, a few thoughts come to mind.

I think the UFC has changed in a major way since its big sale not long ago. The money has really become more of a factor in making fights than pairing top contenders. The UFC is becoming a circus like the fake wrestling circuit and some of the top fighters are leaving for other fight organizations.
There are several champions that haven't defended their belts against top contenders and are seeking big money super fights, instead. Top challengers are left in limbo or the UFC comes up with meaningless Interim Championships in an effort to satisfy the fans with main events that don't really satisfy anyone.

As a part of the fighter hype, the UFC and Fox have decided to put fighters on the broadcast desk and have greatly diminished the quality of their shows. The former fighters, Brian Stann and Kenny Florian have transitioned into quality broadcasters. Brian Stann is often octagon side and adds a great deal to the call of the fights. Kenny Florian is usually on the desk and brings a fighters perspetive to the pre-fight and post-fight shows.
Of the active fighters, Tyron Woodley is shaping up to be a great broadcaster/analyst. Of all the active fighters, he alone seems able to recognize that he is at the desk as an analyst and journalist and is able to set aside the champion fighter that is about self-talk and self-promotion. Dominic Cruz is a close second and I really do prefer to have him octagon side rather than at the desk. His fight knowledge is excellent and he adds so much to the actual calling of the fight.

Other active fighters that share time at the desk have no business as journalists. Daniel Cormier and Michael Bisping are both great fighters, but they use too much of their broadcast time to talk about themselves more than to do the job of broadcasting and are more of the circus that the UFC has become.

The professional journalists, Karyn Bryant and Megan Olivi do an excellent job of interviewing athletes and keeping things on track. I'm always amazed at how you never really know which fighter Megan Olivi favors as she is always professional and positive as she conducts both pre-fight and post-fight interviews or hosts fighter Q&As.
Karyn Bryant not only anchors the Fox and UFC desks, but has an MMA podcast with her husband Wade Eck and fighter Alan Jouban. Although she has taken criticism from some uniformed listeners on twitter, she is one of the most well informed MMA journalists around.

I think that both Megan and Karyn have to deal with the fact that their journalistic abilities are often overlooked because they both happen to be super attractive women working in a male dominated sport.
Women's MMA is becoming more popular, but true to our sexist culture--even in fighting, the pretty women seen to get more promotion than the best fighters. I guess it's still about money -- selling PPV subscriptions and putting butts in the seats.

Next Saturday night's PPV fight card is a great card, maybe the best card of the year. I don't know how much (if any) of it I'll get to see as we have our family reunion next weekend. There are three belts on the line and two of the above mentioned fighter/broadcasters will be defending their titles. Maybe I'll at least get to see the last two fights ... maybe not.

I do enjoy watching the fights and learning about the fighting techniques used by the various fighters. I like watching competing styles and seeing fighters adapt to their situations.

Those are a few of my thoughts.
That's my rant.

John <><