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Are the fighters who are now leaving the UFC to go elsewhere in the green will find their way? And how did we get to the point where the UFC and Bellator organize two events in one weekend? In addition, what are our favorite (and less preferred) celebrations after the fight?
All this and more in Twitter Mailbag this week. To ask your own question, tweet to @BenFowlkesMMA.
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I would not be surprised to see that some of these dead fighters eventually return to the UFC. I just do not know if this is more likely to happen because of the free agency, the bankruptcy of another promotion, or, as we have seen in the past, the UFC buying a competitor and absorbs his contracts. (This last point is probably less likely during an antitrust lawsuit, however …)
Take Gegard Mousasi, for example. He left the UFC after five straight wins, then three more wins at Bellator while becoming the middleweight champion. If he can continue in this way, do not you think that the UFC could consider it an acquisition that is worth being paid for?
Or there is Sage Northcutt. The UFC tried to make him one, and then decided he was not worth the cost once he started to become the fighter for whom he had been announced. He is still so young that he could participate in a walk in the ONE Championship MMA or elsewhere, and then end up in the UFC just in time for his heyday.
I am really curious how these defections will affect the attitude of fighters and supporters towards other promotions.
If you see your colleagues finding happiness and fortune in a competing business, do not you think about your current situation? Now, imagine that they also wear what they want and that they do not have a leader who will tell everyone how much they suck the minute he becomes slightly unhappy. Yeah, that could change some minds.
Wow, you really know how to paint a guy in a corner.
Obviously I can not choose room no. 3, because it is impossible that the series between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz is less depressing with an increased output.
And I've seen enough videos of street fighting to know that the inhumanity of a man on a sidewalk is particularly awful when it occurs on the sidewalk without a referee intervening and cancels it.
But before choosing the Ultimate Grandmas Championship, I have a question. Is it just grannies fighting each other, or does Gabi Garcia show up at one point and play together? It does not matter, I do not really want to know.
Brother, if it has not happened yet, I have bad news for you.
What really makes me think about the whole thing of the two events in two days – which, you're right, have tried to do it, the UFC and Bellator try it on the same weekend – that you would have could give us one really. good event.
Look at what the UFC has planned, for example. You take the main event of Friday's TUF final and throw it on a map with the top three fights of Saturday's UFC Fight Night 142 and you have a very good fight card for cable TV.
But if you separate them by adding TUF finalists fights and other types of filler, you get a noise that diverts attention from the real attractions.
And that really distracts them. Junior Dos Santos against Tai Tuivasa? It will be very fun. Same thing with Mark Hunt vs. Justin Willis. And Rafael dos Anjos against Kamaru Usman the night before has the potential to be a real fight for the welterweight. It's just that trying to get the attention they deserve is difficult because there is so much to fix.
The situation is even worse in Bellator, where there is a good fight card Friday, followed by an Italian event Saturday with Alessio Sakara and none other than most fans have never heard of before.
The problem is not just supersaturation; it is the voluntary dilution of the product. They dilute their orange drink to increase their profits, and they do it on purpose. As long as the MMA promoters see it as a smart business, it will not change.
Are not all signature parties a little raspy? I would not say I like Ortiz's gravedigger routine, but I would be disappointed if he do not have do it after knocking out Liddell. And if Liddell had knocked out Ortiz, man, he'd better run around the cage doing stuff with his arms crossed, like Conan the barbarian raised on Monster Energy Drink.
Although there is some that I can enjoy without hating them at all. Ronaldo Souza doing the crawl that goes with his nickname is one. Derrick Lewis hammers the canvas slipping into a yoga posture is another. In addition, every Brazilian fighter who has ever celebrated with a slinky dance. I mean, come on. What kind of monster could hate about this?
Admittedly, Alistair Overeem proved once again that he could always be dangerous if given the opportunity. Once again, he beat a player who was making his UFC debut, and the victory ended a two-game losing streak against a more seasoned competition.
I am all for giving Overeem his due daps. The guy in his late thirties, he has participated in more than 60 professional fights in MMA alone, and he can always give up his head if you give him the chance. But then there are a lot of things going on among the heavyweights. You need to have at least some significant wins before anything really happens.
Depends. How far would you say you care about all non-UFC Fight Pass content? You know, like grappling tournaments, kickboxing and other MMA promoters' concerts? Because if the answer to this question is "not at all", then yes, I would say that you can probably go there and clear your Fight Pass subscription once the ESPN contract has been concluded.
Of course, if you're the kind of total fighting madman who simply can not live without access to Alaska Fighting Championship events, then it may be worthwhile for you to continue paying these monthly fees. Once again, how many of these small promoters will change their minds about Fight Pass once it no longer has the exclusive appeal of the UFC to attract viewers?
It's hard to keep presenting yourself as "Netflix for Fighting Fans" when your content is scrolling elsewhere. Maybe even harder to charge $ 10 a month for this.
Ben Fowlkes is MMAjunkie and MMA columnist for USA TODAY. Follow him on Twitter at @BenFowlkesMMA. Twitter Mailbag appears every Thursday on MMAjunkie.
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