Issue 054
September 2009
At the moment the UFC is the biggest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion in the world. There are a few other shows that have collections of big-name fighters, but the UFC are consistent in their production of regular, large events.
There are many people who have heard of the UFC, but are unfamiliar with the abbreviation ‘MMA’. The UFC could position itself as the virtual brand name for the sport of MMA, rather than simply being known as ‘the biggest MMA promotion’.
From a fan’s perspective, the most important part of a promotion’s growth is not the bottom-line profit, but rather the amount of shows they can watch in a year.
As it expands, the pleasant problem the UFC faces is that a business model based around a singular traveling show can only be taken so far. Logistically, there is a limit to how many shows per month an organization can comfortably produce using one front-of-house team. For efficient global expansion, the UFC would need to franchise itself to big MMA countries so they could have their own foreign-language shows, with their own staff and master of ceremonies, following the existing UFC format and rules to the letter.
Let me stress, I do not want to take Bruce Buffer away from events! I have deep feelings for Mr Buffer, and I would always like to see him as UFC master of ceremonies. I would also like to see the UFC expand its shows to a frequency that may prohibit one MC hosting them all.
It would be a huge step for the UFC to appoint additional frontline staff, but expansion into other countries would also require more than one Dana White. Each area would need its own president, someone who is trusted to run the day-to-day affairs of the UFC in that country, with Dana and the Fertittas having overall control from Las Vegas.
There would be a need for a Brazilian and Japanese version of Dana. And a French one. Imagine that for a moment, if you will.
Because Dana has been so instrumental in the shaping of the modern UFC, he will be unlikely to hand the reigns over to just anyone, so the applicant should be very carefully chosen. Perhaps some sort of ‘UFC Apprentice’ show will appear on Spike. “So ask yourself: Do you wanna be a fuckin’ apprentice?” “You’re fuckin’ fired!”
After a few years of being carefully established, these foreign franchise-UFC shows could open up a number of possibilities to further establish MMA in the world. Imagine three full-sized shows a year each from Brazil, Japan and France.
Today, with so many promotions having regular shows, even the most passionate fan cannot watch everything. There will be far more shows after global expansion, but do not be concerned. You’re not losing grip on your favorite sport. It’s just another sign that MMA is growing mainstream. Thanks to the wonders of highlights, we can still catch all of the best bits. Once we accept this, it makes the prospect of many more additional UFC shows each year easier to cope with.
With global expansion, championship bouts for single worldwide belts would be much too infrequent. Standard medical suspensions and injuries can mean huge gaps between title fights as it is. Add in hungry challengers from other countries, and additional belts may become a necessity. The UFC currently announces the winner of a belt as ‘champion of the world’. In the future we may have legitimate ‘country’ and ‘world’ UFC championship belts.
We could even see DREAM-style tournaments with UFC fighters, held in countries free from the restrictions of entities such as the Nevada State Athletic Commission. The tournament structure of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) has been in place for years, but imagine a live show tournament with fighters who are already big names. How about a TUF season set in Brazil, coached by Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida, with subtitles for those not fluent in Portuguese?
With the increased frequency of shows, the UFC could add the additional lower weight classes of the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), and perhaps a super heavyweight class.
The benefits of worldwide UFC franchises would be huge for the brand, as long as all participating countries use the exact same ‘unified’ UFC rules. Shortly before UFC 97 in Montreal, Canada, there was concern whether the event would go ahead unless fundamental rule changes were made. Eventually it was settled to disallow only foot stomps. If a fighter of the future is training for his next contracted UFC fight in a far away land, he should not have to alter his style due to localized rule changes.
But best of all, it could also open a myriad of exciting new holiday destinations. “Yes darling, I would love to visit Budapest! Yes, it will be very romantic. Hey, if we go in May, we could catch UFC 286 while we’re there! Darling? Why are you looking at me like that?”
