So I watched a UFC fight for the very first time.... Absolutely horrendous

[PRINCEKOOL]

Joe summed it up pretty succinctly there.

MMA is the art of fighting, Boxing is the art of punching.

So was you one of these characters that used to walk around wearing a Tap Out T-shirt? Boxing is Boxing, it is a form of strict combat. What you have just stated here is like comparing Rugby to the NFL, totally irrelevant 'Boxing is not trying to be Mixed Martial Arts, so the point you are making is completely useless'.

Just deal with it mate, the UFC/Mixed Martial Arts has had its peak 'And its peak was below of what boxing has achieved in its deep romantic history'

Boxing historically has been about honor & romance, something that Mixed Martial Arts has never been able to capture.

If Mixed Martial Arts is so great, where is Mixed Martial Arts cinematic equivalent of Rocky Balboa? Why hasn't the UFC produced the same kind of number of athletes who have transcended sport itself etc

The conclusion to all of this is that? Mixed Martial Arts/UFC has had its peak 10 years ago. And during this peak it was unable to swallow boxing, even under its near perfect promotion and business structure 'Mixed Martial Arts/UFC has also never been the worlds biggest sport, or had anywhere near the cultural/political impact of boxing.

[MartialMind]

So was you one of these characters that used to walk around wearing a Tap Out T-shirt? Boxing is Boxing, it is a form of strict combat. What you have just stated here is like comparing Rugby to the NFL, totally irrelevant 'Boxing is not trying to be Mixed Martial Arts, so the point you are making is completely useless'.

Just deal with it mate, the UFC/Mixed Martial Arts has had its peak 'And its peak was below of what boxing has achieved in its deep romantic history'

Boxing historically has been about honor & romance, something that Mixed Martial Arts has never been able to capture.

If Mixed Martial Arts is so great, where is Mixed Martial Arts cinematic equivalent of Rocky Balboa? Why hasn't the UFC produced the same kind of number of athletes who have transcended sport itself etc

The conclusion to all of this is that? Mixed Martial Arts/UFC has had its peak 10 years ago. And during this peak it was unable to swallow boxing, even under its near perfect promotion and business structure 'Mixed Martial Arts/UFC has also never been the worlds biggest sport, or had anywhere near the cultural/political impact of boxing.

If we date modern MMA to 1993 it's been around for a little more than 25 years now.

If we date modern boxing to the Queenbury rules which were finalized in 1867 we're in the equivalent year to 1892.

I'm sure there were quite a lot of people back then also saying "boxing had peaked" or where are the legendary figures? Those of course came much later.

Modern MMA is still in its infancy, the fact that it does have PPV's like the one coming up just next week with Conor McGregor that sell above the million mark is actually incredibly remarkable.

A fight between two fighters who would have been considered journey men in boxing, caused the fight of maybe the biggest name in boxing to be delayed by about an hour says much as well.

[PRINCEKOOL]

If we date modern MMA to 1993 it's been around for a little more than 25 years now.

If we date modern boxing to the Queenbury rules which were finalized in 1867 we're in the equivalent year to 1892.

I'm sure there were quite a lot of people back then also saying "boxing had peaked" or where are the legendary figures? Those of course came much later.

Modern MMA is still in its infancy, the fact that it does have PPV's like the one coming up just next week with Conor McGregor that sell above the million mark is actually incredibly remarkable.

A fight between two fighters who would have been considered journey men in boxing, caused the fight of maybe the biggest name in boxing to be delayed by about an hour says much as well.

The Mixed Martial Arts/UFC has had its peak 'It has been able to reach its peak quicker, because basically? Boxing paved the way, for all other combat sports 'Therefore UFC is not in its infancy'.

All the major points on this thread have been made, people who are 100% honest with themselves? 'Will understand that what I have stated is correct. The people who are not honest with themselves, and have some sort of personal whiny a*s tap-out agenda 'Will continue to chat utter nonsense'.

The UFC/Mixed Martial arts has had its peak, accept it and move on.

[MartialMind]

The Mixed Martial Arts/UFC has had its peak 'It has been able to reach its peak quicker, because basically? Boxing paved the way, for all other combat sports 'Therefore UFC is not in its infancy'.

All the major points on this thread have been made, people who are 100% honest with themselves? 'Will understand that what I have stated is correct. The people who are not honest with themselves, and have some sort of personal whiny a*s tap-out agenda 'Will continue to chat utter nonsense'.

The UFC/Mixed Martial arts has had its peak, accept it and move on.

You have absolutely no hard date or numbers to back up your claim of MMA peaking already and I doubt you will ever provide such.

There is absolutely loads of data to support boxing's decline in popularity from its highs in the 90s however and I'd like to see you try to deny that.

[BoomBapTrap]

UFC is way greater than boxing right now. Probably forever too.

No strategic build up to market a fighter such as “undefeated”.

Just good arse fights man.

[PRINCEKOOL]

UFC is way greater than boxing right now. Probably forever too.

No strategic build up to market a fighter such as “undefeated”.

Just good arse fights man.

Where are the mixed martial arts forums? Why are you on a boxing forum?

Do you own a tap-out T-shirt?

[PRINCEKOOL]

You have absolutely no hard date or numbers to back up your claim of MMA peaking already and I doubt you will ever provide such.

There is absolutely loads of data to support boxing's decline in popularity from its highs in the 90s however and I'd like to see you try to deny that.

All the main points have been made on this thread, for me personally it is just about moving on now.

Note: I participated in Karate as a child, and preferred K1 Championship over the UFC. I have no issue withe UFC, and I am mildly intrigued by 1 fight that is coming up soon etc

[BoomBapTrap]

Where are the mixed martial arts forums? Why are you on a boxing forum?

Do you own a tap-out T-shirt?

I dabble in both dude.
Got 2 pages open.

UFC is continuing to grow and it’s building its fighters better.

More action, less bad judging.
None of those Mayweather esque point fighters.

Come to think of it, Mayweather’s point focused style is what led to decline of boxing in the popular eye.

So you can thank Floyd for that brodie.

[TMLT87]

You have absolutely no hard date or numbers to back up your claim of MMA peaking already and I doubt you will ever provide such.

There is absolutely loads of data to support boxing's decline in popularity from its highs in the 90s however and I'd like to see you try to deny that.

Average PPV numbers for the UFC were at their best in 2016 (Conor, Ronda, UFC 200) and 2009 (Brock, GSP, UFC 100). Tv ratings peaked around 2011 right at the start of their Fox tenure. 2017, 2018 (save for the Conor fight) and 2019 have been relatively dead years, although 2020 is looking more promising.

Ive been watching since the early 00s and imho the ceiling has probably been established by now,in every sense. I dont think it will ever get bigger than it was around a decade ago. I dont think fighters will get much better than Jones, GSP, Anderson etc. And I dont think any promotion will surpass Pride for pure entertainment value.

^ Theres nothing wrong with that either because tbf, that ceiling is already fairly high and its already been bigger than boxing some years, 2016 for example.

As for boxing, I think you had a relatively dead period around the early/mid 00s and then things picked up after Floyd and Pac fought ODH and became huge stars. Now post-2015 we are probably at a similar level to that early/mid 00s point again. So its more peaks and valleys than a straightforward decline. If all the big potential fights in the current scene happened in the next 2 years it would be as big as any year of the 90s imo.

MMA is the art of fighting, Boxing is the art of punching.

Relative to boxing this is true. But tbf, modern MMA is so far removed from 90s NHB. Pretty much as far removed as Queensbury rules are from 1800s bareknuckle. Its not true no holds barred anymore.

[Johnwoo8686]

It’s a bar fight in a cage between low end athletes geared towards white trash fans. No thanks.

That's how I used t feel about MMA but I have since changed my mind. Boxing is the first combat sport I fell in love with but if we are honest it is far from representing the chaos that a real fight presents. Real fights don't go 12 rounds and they don't involve a strict rule set where only punching is allowed. MMA actually resembles how unpredictable and chaotic an actual fight can be. The sport as a whole is probably more exciting than boxing is because it is nearly impossible for any fighter to go undefeated their entire careers which happens fairly often in boxing.