UFC to be sold for $4B!

[Joe Bob]

16 years ago it was bought for $2M.

UFC sold to WME-IMG-led buyers for $4 billion (Report) - AOL

Who said Boxing (or a hybrid version of it) was dead?

[pavulon]

A lot of people are blood-thirsty and pay $$ to get their fix.

[berettafan]

who says douchebaggery doesn't pay

[afterburn 549]

It was great till they started "fixing" the fights.
(or perhaps they were always fixed and it took me awhile to notice)
I used to buy PPV once or twice a year.
Not no more.

[JD159]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

It was great till they started "fixing" the fights.
(or perhaps they were always fixed and it took me awhile to notice)
I used to buy PPV once or twice a year.
Not no more.

Yup. Too much drama now. Many fighters are real *******s. It's the new WWE.

It had a few golden years with the originals and the first two seasons of ultimate fighter but quickly went down.

UFC 200 was awful but you have to respect Silva for getting out there and fighting on such short notice. Nothing about that was fixed.

Brock is pretty hilarious though, they need more personalities like his.

[afterburn 549]

When i say fix-
There are many ways to fix a fight , not just at the fighters level.
What opened my eyes was the 1st 5 rounder George St prairie / Jonny Hendricks.
GP looked like a beaten pzza.
Everyone was shocked they handed himthe win.
Hendricks was dancing around with a smile on his face in the fight, and between the rounds.
GP had no answer as how to beat him.
Yet he won.
That was it for me .
That opened my eyes.

[JD159]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

When i say fix-
There are many ways to fix a fight , not just at the fighters level.
What opened my eyes was the 1st 5 rounder George St prairie / Jonny Hendricks.
GP looked like a beaten pzza.
Everyone was shocked they handed himthe win.
Hendricks was dancing around with a smile on his face in the fight, and between the rounds.
GP had no answer as how to beat him.
Yet he won.
That was it for me .
That opened my eyes.

Well actually if you check the scorecard he dominated with strikes landed and the technical aspect of the fight. It wasn't that one sided.

The other problem is too many people only watching the fights looking for knockouts. Kind of like NASCAR and the crashes.

You can't just give someone the win because he made the other guy look uglier. Its a sport. Not everyone boxing match has been won by the person who escapes looking less damaged.

[afterburn 549]

GSP hardly knew who he was at the end of the 5th.
On top of that Hendricks had him so beaten on the floor I think in the second round he got up and off him !
I am not the only one that was surprised.

[JD159]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

GSP hardly knew who he was at the end of the 5th.
On top of that Hendricks had him so beaten on the floor I think in the second round he got up and off him !
I am not the only one that was surprised.

Sorry afterburner, gotta read more into the technicals.

http://m.bleacherreport.com/articles/1853770-georges-st-pierre-vs-johny-hendricks-breaking-down-the-fightmetric-numbers

[Embraer]

Nothing like cheering while two people give each other CTE. Zero interest in it, let alone the fact it's just trashy.

[Charles Freeborn]

Wow.
While I have the utmost respect for anyone willing to step into one of those rings or cages, I find it a sad reflection of our society that this has become so popular. I can only imagine it's a matter of time, and not much of it, before the traumatic brain injury stories from this sport start stacking up like cordwood.

[afterburn 549]

Someone always wants to regulate someone else fun and hobbies because of their self-righteousness.
There has been combat since the beginning of time, Lies, deceit, murder, treachery , wars, rape, arrogance,etc.
Now you wish to change one piece of the pie?
These guys love what they do.
Let them do it.

[JavaBrewer]

"Sad reflection"... How is UFC all that different from other combat sports? UFC is losing my appeal mainly because I don't like the current cast of characters holding title belts. I'm also starting to sense that many fights may have the fix in.

[Joe Bob]

Had to look up CTE...... https://www.bu.edu/cte/about/what-is-cte/

Anyways, my point was the profit the owners made from a $2m investment......

[Charles Freeborn]

Originally Posted by JavaBrewer

"Sad reflection"... How is UFC all that different from other combat sports? UFC is losing my appeal mainly because I don't like the current cast of characters holding title belts. I'm also starting to sense that many fights may have the fix in.

It's not. My point being that in this country there's a growing interest in violence across the board. Just look at the news for what that mindset perpetuates.

[afterburn 549]

Outlaw Football too!
Geeeesh!

[Embraer]

I don't think Charles or I said to outlaw anything. I, personally, don't want to support that kind of "sport.". Simple as that. That's why I don't watch it. Kudos to the people for making that much profit over people bashing each other.

[JD159]

Originally Posted by Embraer

I don't think Charles or I said to outlaw anything. I, personally, don't want to support that kind of "sport.". Simple as that. That's why I don't watch it. Kudos to the people for making that much profit over people bashing each other.

How about kick boxing? Martial arts tournaments? What about fencing? They stab each other. Rugby can get pretty violent. They are all sports, and so is what takes place in the UFC. It is hardly evident of some sort of societal issue.

I've played a lot of contact sports. I'm not tough enough for MMA, but I totally understand the appeal to a fighter. I find the combat aspects of hockey, football and rugby an incredible feeling. Amplify that a few notches and your at MMA. More than a few maybe...

[Charles Freeborn]

I don't believe in outlawing anything. What I am saying is that some sports incur significant risk for traumatic brain injury. Football is finally coming out of the shadows as one. The owners and promoters try to hide this fact rather than taking some of their many millions of dollars in revenue and setting up medical funds for treatment. My question is does MMA and it's related sports do anything about long term injury? They use the players like so many sides of beef, discarded after their usefulness is expended. Many of these players come from very humble backgrounds and don't have the education to know what they're exposing themselves to until it's too late. Study -- Junior Seau's brain shows chronic brain damage found in other NFL football players
As for the social implications - ours is one of the few nations where violence is so celebrated and it can be reflected in how we behave out in the world. Our rates of violence in public, on the roads, etc is well above those of other civilized nations. Customs and laws like "stand your ground" and "road rage" come to mind. These are primarily American afflictions.

[billybek]

Originally Posted by JavaBrewer

... How is UFC all that different from other combat sports?

Just a side comment on this. My problem with MMA is the lack of control over the fighters when their opponent is incapacitated and the fight is not immediately stopped.
There is the very recent death of a European fighter, Joao Carvalho that serves as an example.
This takes it MMA out of the realm of sport and into a more ancient form of entertainment that could be considered more of a spectacle.

Now for anyone that profits $2 billion in a couple of years, that is just good business!