It's long and I might not get many responses but take some times to read it atleast.
Other than the Mega-fights that feature Mayweather, Hatton, Pacquiao, DLH etc. Most PPVs are considered successes in Boxing with numbers of around 300,000 buys right.
UFC is steadily doing 450-500k buys regularly, and theres a reason for this. Look at their bloody cards. Their live gates are catching up as well. UFC 99's card looked like this.
Main Card:
Marcus Davis vs. Dan Hardy
Spencer Fisher vs. Caol Uno
Mike Swick vs. Ben Saunders
Mirko Filipović vs. Mostapha Al-turk
Cain Velasquez vs. Cheick Kongo
Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva
It had 6 preliminary bouts on the card as well. Thats 12 fights, 6 televised. I don't follow MMA other than Fedor fights but I recognise 2 fighters big name fighters on there and Hardy who I recognise but I don't think is a big name.
If boxing stacked their cards like this and HBO actually televised the majority of an undercard I have no doubt Boxing would easily beat UFC numbers without a HUGE name on a card.
I follow MMA along with boxing. I agree, I think the reason why they are doing well is they put on great cards. The match makers have done a good job of putting good fighters against each other. I'll give you an example: ODLH vs Pac Man. That undercard was so weak. It was great to see ortiz on there but they should have had more top fighters on that card. UFC 100 has one of the best cards ever its stacked. Fans want to get there moneys worth. I'm a boxing fan first but UFC is doing a great job with PPV numbers.
the focked up shit is, that the undercards in boxing have sucked for so long, that casual boxing fans no longer even watch the undercards, so there is no incentive for promoters to put on competitive undercards.
we got a vicious cycle going here.
No but you prove me right with your MMgay avatar.
How is that? You are mad judging by your comments. You aught to take a look at your own sig being a die hard boxing fanboy.
Your frequent use of "Gay" shows that you have nothing intelligent to say on the subject and are just "mad" for no reason. What did MMA ever do to you?
It's not like we're buying you guys out.
You stick to boxing and I'll stick to MMA.
What the hell is wrong with you boxing die hards?
Butthurt all the time for someone that isn't even directly affecting you.
Man you're pathetic
UFC cards are stacked. BOXING usually only have the main event
UFC goes city to city so more fans can see it. picture boxing traveling like that instead of staying in vegas.
UFC make better matches. BOXING make floyd/jmm
another thing UFC dont come on free the next week.
Depth on the cards, having prospects like Korobov, Gamboa, Boytsov, Lara,Rigondeaux etc the face of the guys who will be at the top in a few years time so fans can get to know them, follow their career, and get invested in the fighters
and marketing, the UFC owns all and that's a big reason why they have so many casual fans and why alot of them turn into real fans
for every event they have a countdown show like 24/7. They show you the fighters, their career, a glimpse of their lives.
Knowing the fighters makes it more interesting, their career progression gets the fan invested in them and that's how to get your hooks in them and keep them fans
how many would know who Clotty, Kessler, Williams, Chagaev, Darchinyan are? Those are big names and most people wouldn't have a ****ing clue, even someone like Cotto^^ Dude gets it.
Seriously, boxing - with all its corruption and problems - is really VERY CAPABLE of rivaling MMA's meteoric rise in popularity if they can just GET THEIR PRODUCT IN FRONT OF THE CASUAL VIEWER'S EYES. That's boxing's biggest problem, in my opinion.
Depth on the cards, having prospects like Korobov, Gamboa, Boytsov, Lara,Rigondeaux etc the face of the guys who will be at the top in a few years time so fans can get to know them, follow their career, and get invested in the fighters
and marketing, the UFC owns all and that's a big reason why they have so many casual fans and why alot of them turn into real fans
for every event they have a countdown show like 24/7. They show you the fighters, their career, a glimpse of their lives.
Knowing the fighters makes it more interesting, their career progression gets the fan invested in them and that's how to get your hooks in them and keep them fans
how many would know who Clotty, Kessler, Williams, Chagaev, Darchinyan are? Those are big names and most people wouldn't have a ****ing clue, even someone like Cotto
If boxing wants to to catch MMA in North America, they need to make average Joe Sportsfan aware of WHO THEIR FIGHTERS ARE and WHERE THEY CAN SEE THEM FIGHT FOR FREE. Period.
The UFC shows a ton of free, full-length replays of recent fights on ****e TV via their program UFC Unleashed. Imagine if boxing showed full length boxing fights on a cable network constantly, showcasing some of boxing's top fighters. Fans would finally KNOW the fighters out there and would have a frame of reference by actually SEEING them fight before. Boxing does a horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE job of making their sport accessible to the average television viewer. The UFC, on the other hand, is all over the TV.
Boxing just needs to pull its head out of its ass and get in front of the consumer for once and quit hiding in the shadows!!
by the way i think both sports can steal ideas from the other. UFC fights move along quickly, they have the whole WWE pyrotechnics and big screens everywhere with the music blasting, girls shaking their asses, and i think it's good fun....but there's very brief and unformative introduction reels of the fighters. a case of all style and no substance. i
Boxing doesnt rely on it's production flair, in fact, most of the time theres a lot of downtime, and less than exciting moments before fights. you can practically hear a conversation in the crowd. BUT, they have compelling documentaries. heartfelt drama, and personal stories of fighters that help build the importance of a fight. and seriously, who does not like the slow panning in on Larry Merchant as he provides us with another great metaphor for the nights event. it's classic.
i have a problem with some fight cards in boxing (like when they don't air them live) but for the most part Boxing has a nice balance of free events and PPV. it would be cool to see some UFC events without having to shell out $45 doll hairs everytime.
And what you say about having to shell out 45.00 everytime to see one of these things, is what's going to lead to UFC's downfall. If they can't get on regular cable or something like HBO, then UFC/MMA will go the same way KickBoxing went: Out the Window.
I for one, am not into the UFC/MMA scene. It has to much of a "WWE" feel to it. Boxing, for the last 150 years or so, has always been America's martial art. It's always been seen as the "Manly thing to do" if two guys ever got into a scuffle. Anything else, you'd be labled as "YELLOW". Or, "You fight like a girl." Not disrespecting the few women on here, but you guys get my drift. I also think, the lack of a really good American HW, is hurting the sport. Who can really say what guys like, Arreola, Chambers, and Johnson are going to turn out to be. All the talent and excitement are in the lower weight classes right now, and that's fine by me. 130-160, have a wealth of talent and exciting fighters to watch.
In the end though, I think Dana White's big mouth is going to be both his and the UFC's ultimate downfall. Alot of people see him as another Vince McMann. Both guys are major "TOOLS" of biblical proportions.
"Al la: DON KING!"
The UFC can't afford to have too many black or international champions. Three years ago, the UFC championship picture was lilly white: Sherk, Hughes, Franklin, Liddell, and Sylvia. Now it's Penn (Hawaiian separatist), GSP (French-Canadian), Silva (Afro-Brazilian), Machida (Japanese-Brazilian), and Lesnar (the only white American champion). The UFC is gaining more international exposure, so that may offset any potential losses from the American fanbase but it's in their interest to showcase local talent. This is a bit racial but it's the truth in America.
Boxing is still widely popular in Mexico, the Philippines, the UK, and Germany. But its popularity is suffering in America, although it's been a slow process.
I might inclined to agree with the TS.
To be Honest, their are very few boxing bouts that the fans can get excited and relate too. Most of them includes Pacquiao as a catalyst for excitement. Other than that Boxing has becoming boring nowadays.
by the way i think both sports can steal ideas from the other. UFC fights move along quickly, they have the whole WWE pyrotechnics and big screens everywhere with the music blasting, girls shaking their asses, and i think it's good fun....but there's very brief and unformative introduction reels of the fighters. a case of all style and no substance. i
Boxing doesnt rely on it's production flair, in fact, most of the time theres a lot of downtime, and less than exciting moments before fights. you can practically hear a conversation in the crowd. BUT, they have compelling documentaries. heartfelt drama, and personal stories of fighters that help build the importance of a fight. and seriously, who does not like the slow panning in on Larry Merchant as he provides us with another great metaphor for the nights event. it's classic.
i have a problem with some fight cards in boxing (like when they don't air them live) but for the most part Boxing has a nice balance of free events and PPV. it would be cool to see some UFC events without having to shell out $45 doll hairs everytime.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned race. UFC is gaining popularity because they showcase many top white fighters whom their large, predominantly white fanbase can relate to. Think of white, emotional, 18-40 year old males with a penchant for drunkeness and an affinity for violence. The kind who used to follow WWE but now watches UFC replays on Spi.keTV. Not all of them fit that description but a huge portion of them do. There are also prominent black, Asian, and Hispanic fighters in the sport who attract followings from their own races. MMA is becoming an international sport.
Aside from the Europeans, most top boxers today are either black or latino. Boxing would be more popular today if it reached out to that group in America that makes up 75% of the country's population.
^^
this
once more minorities are involved in mma 10 years from now, the ppv's won't sell as well. the ufc needs guys like chuck liddell and brock lesnar to be popular. anderson silva's ppv's don't sell as good as the rest of their ppv's.
this is an easy question. maybe it's because theres a UFC PPV event almost every three weeks. maybe it's because theres not only a card of seven or more fights, but also for the fact that if you want to see "live" UFC fights, they're ONLY available on PPV.
The Spi-Ke (wont let me type ****e here) channel shows live UFC events from time to time
I'm surprised no one has mentioned race. UFC is gaining popularity because they showcase many top white fighters whom their large, predominantly white fanbase can relate to. Think of white, emotional, 18-40 year old males with a penchant for drunkeness and an affinity for violence. The kind who used to follow WWE but now watches UFC replays on Spi.keTV. Not all of them fit that description but a huge portion of them do. There are also prominent black, Asian, and Hispanic fighters in the sport who attract followings from their own races. MMA is becoming an international sport.
Aside from the Europeans, most top boxers today are either black or latino. Boxing would be more popular today if it reached out to that group in America that makes up 75% of the country's population.
this is an easy question. maybe it's because theres a UFC PPV event almost every three weeks. maybe it's because theres not only a card of seven or more fights, but also for the fact that if you want to see "live" UFC fights, they're ONLY available on PPV.
Its simple. MMA/UFC caters to its fans, and boxing doesnt. There's no ducking amongst the top guys in MMA/UFC unlike in boxing. At the end of the day, mma fans are getting more bang for thier buck.
This coming from a diehard boxing fan, although i'll tune in once in a while to watch a good mma bout.
its because mma fans hate on boxing and boxing fans watch both for the most part. so u'll have boxing fans tuning in for a nice night of some mma and mma fans acting like boxing aint shit.
Its only the extremists. Boxing extremists will discredit anything MMA. MMA extremists will discredit anything Boxing. Both are equally stupid.
If your just a fan of a good fight. Then you will enjoy either one regardless.