Why Boxing Is Bigger Than UFC

[Sugar Adam Ali]

Boxing is world wide where MMA is really just an American thing, think of boxing like soccer and MMA like baseball

Lmao.., you are totally wrong

Asian, South America, Russia, Europe, Canada all have thriving mma scene

[Eff Pandas]

MMA at it's heart is wrestling though 90% of the fights end up in the ground I could see that being popular in the states because Americans want instant gratification and like a fight that ends in few minutes but I don't see that taking off world wide IMO

MMA tried having cards in Europe and elsewhere but people weren't really impressed by a tap out like they are here in this country

I think MMA is still a growing sport. There are plenty of areas that have been exposed to it very little. It'll take time to grow. Boxing was stuck in a small geographical area in its early days too. I just tend to believe fighting is fighting & people stop playing regular & more mainstream sports to watch fighting & MMA is the most realistic version of a fight that is currently allowed.

[Scipio2009]

People are going to say what they want but boxing (even after nearly 30 years of things going awry) connects fighters to towns/regions/people better than the UFC could ever imagine, and that's not changing anytime soon.

The UFC stumbled upon something with McGregor and ran with it; having that diehard Irish contingent backing their guy turned McGregor into that star.

If the UFC had boxing's instincts, they'd see that same kind thing for the Diaz brothers in Stockton/Northern California and run with it.

The UFC ethos, regardless of what folks will argue, is as akin to pro wrestling as anything ever considered sport, with the UFC brand being above everything; the day that a rabid crowd, after seeing two guys scrap for five rounds (fighters not mattering) spontaneously jumps into a UFC chant will be the UFC's happiest day.

[kardsufur]

boxing is much bigger than MMGay. Some dumbass that posted numbers from like 2004-2010 forgot to mention that was the heyday when UFC peaked in popularity and was briefly beating boxing cus they had a bunch of circus freakshows like the WWF champion brock lesnar etc. After that from like 2010 or 2012 til now, Boxing has annihilated UFC and humiliated it in statistics every year. UFC now has peaked and flatlined and boxing remains on top.

The reason why in the end is simple: MMGay is just boring compared to boxing. Most fights end up on the ground with 2 guys riding each other bareback and tapping out when their pinky or little toe gets pulled

[Eff Pandas]

The UFC ethos, regardless of what folks will argue, is as akin to pro wrestling as anything ever considered sport, with the UFC brand being above everything; the day that a rabid crowd, after seeing two guys scrap for five rounds (fighters not mattering) spontaneously jumps into a UFC chant will be the UFC's happiest day.

I think all sports leagues should be about the sport or the overall league more than any one particular fighter or athlete. Thats what all sports leagues ultimately should aspire to. I think boxing should & will eventually go that way to cuz its the most successful model in all sports & much more consistent then boxing's model which follows the top guys & then can plummet while they search for the next top guy.

[Reloaded]

Boxing has 100 years of history, cultural icons like Muhammad Ali, and a strong backbone of national amateur systems across the globe.

But it's also a sport that relies heavily on its past, and a sport that is not growing. MMA under the stewardship of the UFC is growing at a phenomenal rate. Edging out a sport that is essentially 15 years old in its current form isn't something to boast about, it's a little embarrassing.

MMA is better organised, better ran, and better promoted. Its cultural significance is growing all the time and all they are lacking is major crossover stars. But they will come, in time. Because the system is in place that will produce them.

Boxing is not going anywhere. It will always be there. But it's a sport that's limping along. Relying on one huge event every half-decade or so to get the wider public's attention. It might still be bigger than MMA and the UFC in some respects, but there's no mistaking which sport is healthier.

Pretty much spot on and you touched all bases , not so sure boxing will go nowhere thats a pretty big leap , at least not until todays younger generation are fathers and grand fathers maybe then .

But it is a tough one to predict because boxing has something special thats very deep seated , there is a kinda of aura that surrounds a great boxing champ , I dont know what it is but its special and unique to great boxers , when the great fighter crosses over they are immortalized with a pseudo superhero status and to balance that a equal in haters , if you can sway a group one way or the other you clean up , while at the other end of boxing is its starving and guys beaten up for peanuts taking more punches to the head than the elite .

Boxing is a sport full of the haves and the haves not , not much middle ground , I guess thats why it is a sport that fails badly in mainstream , yet it always has the glory and the highest paid athletes in the world , boxing also comes with enough horror stories like Gerrald McClellan to keep the haters stoking the boiler of lets ban boxing , but it always grinds back and I think is because of that aura that only boxing has when to great champions meet , there is something magic with WC superfight that I dont think anything will ever replace and thats why for the last 50 years boxing always appears to be struggling or wallowing . it looks to be dying and people keep saying it ,,,, but it never has and I dont think it ever will .

[-Antonio-]

Boxing is world wide where MMA is really just an American thing, think of boxing like soccer and MMA like baseball

Go to Brazil and say MMA is an American thing. UFC just had a sold out card in The Netherlands. They've had big cards in Japan, Australia, UK. It's not just an American thing.

Not to mention PRIDE. You should do some research man. Your comment is completely off base.

[Left2theliver]

I don't think this is something that can be simplified with a broad statement like that. It definitely varies, and Boxing overall I think is still bigger than MMA. I'm a guy who got into Boxing through MMA, and over the years I've come to realize that the two, in sport, culture, and crowd, are very very different. I won't lie, as a person of color who grew up in the city, I wish MMA had a bigger appeal to the urban crowd. But I think part of that comes from MMA being a sport that has roots in grappling, and specifically wrestling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. While it continues to become more diverse, and is more diverse now than it has been in the past, wrestling still seems to be a sport that has a predominantly white, middle class, crowd. And when you look into the history of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, specifically from the Gracie perspective, it's quite evident that they've always focused on appealing more to the rich, even going back to their roots in Brazil. If you look at the history of MMA and BJJ in Brazil, you'll find a big rivalry between Gracie Jiu Jitsu (BJJ with a gi) and Luta Livre (which is pretty much no gi BJJ). The bottom line was that, Gi Jiu Jitsu = geared towards the wealthy, hence the gear, and Luta Livre/No Gi Jiu Jitsu = geared towards the public and the poor, hence the lack of the gi and gear.

I hate to compare to two, but I think it definitely varies from crowd to crowd. Plus, I think that Boxing has had a long and rich history, it's had the time to build itself into the general public. MMA, on the other hand, is something that's really just exploded onto the public scenes for a little over a decade. There are a lot of us who've been following the sport for a very long time, but if we're being honest, no one heard about it prior to 2005. We're a niche crowd now, we were almost nonexistent prior to that.

I also think it comes down to the way that both sports are handled. MMA is very organization based, whereas I think Boxing seems to be focused on the individual. Guys like Mayweather and Pacquiao are known for being Boxers, not WBC, WBA, WBO, of IBF fighters. Chuck Liddell, Conor McGregor, and Ronda Rousey are all built to be synonymous with the UFC. I think that the individual focused sport, while it has it's cons, allows for more attention to be focused on the fighters, which is something I prefer.

[Pigeons]

In America, boxing is a dingleberry compared to the UFC.

[-Antonio-]

MMA had the luxury of being organized from the jump. WEC and Pride were very good promotions before they were bought by UFC. StrikeForce was solid as well. That is one major aspect of it.

The second problem with boxing is even when they finally get the organization part right (PBC) they still don't make the fights we want to see. If PBC was like UFC Garcia, Thurman, Porter would have fought eachother a while ago. Stevenson would be fighting Beterbiev at the very least.