Hit the Mat 9.29.08: One Organization Nation

Posted by Matt McEwen on 09.29.2008

It's becoming increasingly likely that the UFC is going to be the only major MMA organization in existence sooner or later, but is this a good or a bad thing?

Hi. I'm Matt McEwen.

You might remember me from such 411 weekly articles as "History of the UFC" and.…well, just that one really. But, after about 18 months of covering old UFC shows, I've joined you all here in 2008 and get to talk about current events.

If you enjoyed the History series, thank you very much for reading, and sorry I've stopped them, but hopefully you'll be interested in some of my more current thoughts.

So, without further ado (and this probably be the only time I babble about myself like this), onto the very first Hit The Mat!

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As 2008 dawned, it looked like the MMA world was about to explode and grow exponentially. While the UFC was doing huge business and was the industry leader, it looked like they were leaving some openings in this newly larger landscape. Elite XC may have been hit or miss in their first year of shows, but they made a huge splash by securing a prime time slot on network TV with CBS. Also, Affliction branched out from it's t-shirt business to form it's own MMA promotion (reread that last sentence and tell me how funny that still sound) and by April had lined up what looked like an all-star card that had hardcore fans drooling.

Flash forward all of 9 months, and everything old is new again, as we may be on the verge of just one promotion ruling the roost with no competition at the top levels. But is this a bad thing? And if it is bad, who's it bad for? The fighters? The fans? The sport itself?

The most common comparison people like to throw out in regards to the UFC having a monopoly at the top the MMA universe is that of WWE and the pro wrestling world. A lot of us armchair pundits love to throw this analogy out there, probably due to most fans/writers of MMA are former/current fans/writers of pro wrestling. Add in the fact that they look similar in presentation, and everyone thinks it is a great comparison. In reality, it is a completely awful one, but for one instance. It applies to simple supply and demand economics.

When at least two strong options are available for employees, the competition for their services drives up what the employers are willing to pay them. Just look at fighters such as Andrei Arlovski, Josh Barnett and Fedor - the UFC wouldn't meet their salary demands, but Affliction was willing to pony up and bring them in. After losing out on three big name fighters, you think the UFC would be upping the dollar figures offered to their top fighters at renegotiation time? There is a downside to this for some fighters though, and the Randy Couture situation is a big part of it.

Lost in the hype of his upcoming match up with Brock Lesnar is the fact that the UFC's signing of Lesnar was one of the reasons Couture left in the first place. Not wanting to allow EXC or Affliction to get their hands on someone with the commercial appeal of Lesnar, the UFC broke their pay scale in signing the former NCAA and WWE standout. Irritated the newbie was out earning him, Couture had another reason to be upset with the state of things in the UFC. Now that Couture has returned to the UFC fold, it could very well be a sign that the UFC is in full control of the free agent landscape and are setting the rules for fighters' careers.

Of course, now that EXC is in depending on a huge showing Saturday night just to get through to 2009, Affliction got their first taste of big financial losses and other start ups haven't even started up yet, the UFC can maintain the status quo knowing that even if they're offering less than they can, they're still the most viable option out there to make money. Now, I'm not saying that UFC fighters are grossly underpaid because, to be honest, I think it's pretty clear that the public isn't privy to all of their compensation plans, but it is clear that a lot of fighters can't live entirely off of what they make in the cage either. As the competition falters though, it becomes less likely that the mid and lower level competitors in the Octagon will be getting higher offers. Just ask Tito Ortiz if it's a sellers market out there right now.

While it might make things tougher on the fighters wallets, is the monopolistic reign of a company such a bad thing for it's lifeblood - the fans? A lot of people cling to the wrestling analogy that competition breeds better products that, in turn, breed success. While this was true in the late '90's pro wrestling world, it is an analogy that cannot really be used in reference to the current MMA landscape. In pro wrestling, it is the creative side that drives the product, with the physical aspect of the equation playing off of that creative side. When it comes to MMA, what "creative" exists is dictated by the fights themselves. Yes there is some trash talk, and some forced challenges and stare downs, but all these tend to be used in order to hype a fight that is going to happen anyways. Obviously there's a few examples going the other way, but for the most part it is the fights that dictate the hype, and not the other way around.

So that aside, how does having one main organization running things work to the benefit of the fans? With just one game in town, the players who want to play in the big leagues have to play in that one game. With essentially their pick of the litter of MMA free agents, every division in the UFC gets deeper and more skilled, which translates to better match ups for fans to enjoy. As long as there is an Affliction style promotion willing to pay astronomical salaries, there's no chance that someone like Fedor is going to be stepping into the Octagon. If Affliction were out of the picture however (and assuming a lot of the Japanese options are off the table as well), then Fedor could very well have to take the UFC offer if he wants to fight at a high level.

For examples of this, just look at the fighters who came over through the PRIDE purchase. Dan Henderson gave us two dream unification matches, Nogueira has been the only interesting factor at the high end of the heavyweight division for the past year and several other fighters have helped to provide depth to the other divisions. On a larger scale, you could end up with nearly every UFC PPV feature two-three high main event or near main event quality fights, along with several high level lower card bouts, and if a fan has a problem with that, then they're probably not that big of a fan. It is not as if, once they were the only game in town, that the UFC is going to start putting Jorge Gurgel in main events (as much as my wife would enjoy that). I am obviously not an insider when it comes to their business strategy, but I think the UFC sees any sport that people are paying for as their direct competition rather than companies that are airing on free TV (EXC) or that only hardcore fans are schilling out money for on PPV (Affliction).

The other side of the same coin is the effect that the UFC being the lone horse in the race would have on the sport of MMA itself. For most of the world, the UFC is MMA and MMA is the UFC. It really is that simple. For that group of fans, as long as the UFC is healthy, so is MMA. The hardcores among us who will watch any MMA will do just that - watch what's available. If you - or anyone you know - refuses to watch UFC events because you do not like Dana White and the UFC, then you, my friend, are probably not a big fan of MMA and are slightly dumb. I know that's not an academic argument, but if you feel offended by that comment, then it is probably because you know I am talking about you.

Back to my point, at this stage in the sport's growth, what's good for the UFC is good for MMA. If the UFC is able to put on compelling match ups by picking the bones of the other organizations, then fans will still be happy. And that's what really matters and what will make the sport grow - happy fans are paying fans, paying fans are the goal. Whatever it takes to put on the best fights out there is what is best for the sport. And, let's also be blunt and honest - the top end of the talent pool in MMA is NOT deep enough to support two high end organizations right now, given the amount of top fighters the UFC currently has under contract. Other than the heavyweight division, Affliction and EXC have problems going more than 2 or 3 deep at the top of their divisions. If my theory that compelling, high level match ups is what will make the sport grow, having three - or even two - companies out there right now could very well be inhibiting the growth of the sport.

This lack of talent is what is leading to match ups such as the highly skilled Jake Shields defending his belt against a tough but mid level fighter like Paul Daley, or Thomas Denny getting a fight on national TV. Now, just for arguments sake, envision a UFC that were to pick up the services of Arlovski, Barnett, Shields, Nick Diaz, Kimbo Slice, Matt Lindland, Fedor, Ben Rothwell, KJ Noons, and a host of others. Not too shabby, eh? Even if some of those guys would be unlikely to ever sign with the UFC, you get the just of the situation. Really, the only true causality of a monopoly would be women's MMA, which the UFC has seemed pretty uninterested in thus far.

Of course, for the time being, all this is hypothetical. EXC is going to be on broadcast TV Saturday night, and will feature a co-promoted bout with Affliction, who themselves have partnered with Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions. It looks like they could very well end up as a single promotional entity if they survive into the future, but to actually call them competition for the UFC is a stretch. Yes, they have some top level fighters, and yes, Affliction was able to sign a few fighters that the UFC would have liked to have had, but are they really competing for the fan's money at this point? Is there anyone out there who bought the Affliction PPV that wouldn't buy a UFC PPV? And is there many people out there who are paying for Showtime in order to watch EXC events that aren't shilling out dollars for UFC PPV's as well? That being said, if they are able to survive and thrive, it will be a good thing for the fighters out there who will be able to make more money, and also give a few more younger fighters needed exposure, but at the same time will dilute the talent field and cut down on the number of good fights we get to watch.




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That's it for the first week of Hit The Mat. I assume if you've made it this far down, you actually read the article, so take a minute and let me know what you think. I'm hoping for an interactive article, so if there's any questions/thoughts you have, go ahead and throw them at me....you never know, it might even be next weeks topic. Also, as I get my feet under me with the article, I'm going to be adding some features, be it a Q&A if enough people have Q's that they want my A's to, or more likely a random thoughts section at the end. Either way, hope you're back next week.