Steve
Mostly Harmless
One of the things that is interesting and often, outside of MMA circles, goes unnoticed, is how MMA promotions vary worldwide. Or maybe more accurately, how the personality of MMA varies from country to country.
I believe that the UFC represents all of MMA in that it is THE premiere league. There are other big promotions, but I believe that the UFC is akin to the NFL. If you want to play American Football and compete against the upper echelon of talent, you have to play in the NFL. In the same way, the elite of MMA compete in the UFC.
We've seen this to be true with the folding of Pride FC. Pride folded and many of the best fighters in Pride came over to the UFC and got their butts kicked. Those that didn't are still prominent in the UFC. Prior to Pride folding, there were many who vehemently argued that the elite fighters were clearly in Pride. We found that, once drug testing and such entered the picture, this wasn't quite so.
Even if, however, we accept that many elite fighters were in pride, the best of those with the exception of Fedor, are now in the UFC or have been dropped from the UFC after failing to make a successful transition to the cage.
All of this leading to my point that, while the personalities of different countries may be different, the UFC is, ultimately, setting the tone for the entire sport. And, for better or worse, arguments that the UFC doesn't represent MMA are, in my opinion, flat out wrong.
I believe that the UFC represents all of MMA in that it is THE premiere league. There are other big promotions, but I believe that the UFC is akin to the NFL. If you want to play American Football and compete against the upper echelon of talent, you have to play in the NFL. In the same way, the elite of MMA compete in the UFC.
We've seen this to be true with the folding of Pride FC. Pride folded and many of the best fighters in Pride came over to the UFC and got their butts kicked. Those that didn't are still prominent in the UFC. Prior to Pride folding, there were many who vehemently argued that the elite fighters were clearly in Pride. We found that, once drug testing and such entered the picture, this wasn't quite so.
Even if, however, we accept that many elite fighters were in pride, the best of those with the exception of Fedor, are now in the UFC or have been dropped from the UFC after failing to make a successful transition to the cage.
All of this leading to my point that, while the personalities of different countries may be different, the UFC is, ultimately, setting the tone for the entire sport. And, for better or worse, arguments that the UFC doesn't represent MMA are, in my opinion, flat out wrong.