Last night is the perfect example of why UFC is kicking boxing's ass!

[vidgil]

And it has absolutely nothing to do with which sport is better, what people think is more exciting, which has more skill, etc!

The difference is in how they are run! The boxing elite are constantly feeding us loyal boxing fans SHIT and expecting us to pay for it and ask for seconds!

The UFC put on a magnificent card, which included 3 TITLE FIGHTS where two champions fought the absolute #1 contender, and the main event in which one champion moved up in weight and took the belt off another champion! The rest of the fights were evenly matched bouts that had some kind of significance (determining the #1 contender, etc). They made the fights people wanted to see!

Then we have the big boxing promotions that continue to make fights nobody cares about! Manny fighting Jesse Vargas, a no-risk fight that NOBODY asked for. And last night you have Danny Garcia fighting another overmatched, 0% risk fighter!

Danny Garcia is supposed to be one of boxing's brightest young stars... and he hasn't had a real fight in over 3 years!! Every fight he's had since Matthysse has been a tune-up! It's unbelievable!

Boxing needs to get it's act together. I love boxing but these guys continue to ruin the sport by not making the fights that fans want to see! As a huge boxing fan I find it very sad!

[powerpuncher]

I agree, but I also think that within 10 years, UFC will be running into the same problem with it not being financially plausible to put all of the big fights on one card.

[Master]

I agree, but I also think that within 10 years, UFC will be running into the same problem with it not being financially plausible to put all of the big fights on one card.

Don King did it

[p4pking]

I actually watched the UFC card last night, it was decent but also a perfect example of how little depth there is if those were actually the best fights to be made. Goes without saying it's easier for them to make the "big" fights because everyone is under the same outfit and nobody get's huge money.

What they do very well is salesmanship, no denying that, and McGregor was impressive but it was hard to tell how good Alvarez was having not seen him before. Co main between Woodley and Thompson was entertaining but didn't seem that high level, and the rest of the fights, especially the two female ones, I would have rather not even watched.

[Spicoli]

I watch mma as a default when there is no boxing on but it's a babe in the woods when compared to boxing on a timeline. It has and will run into the same bullshat that has shrouded boxing. There are plenty of garbage bouts on it's end also. I wouldn't put too much emphasis on title fights in boxing as we've known for decades that many trinkets are basically marketing tools steered towards the pushed stars. Much of the time the hard matched and competitive fights are on the undercards, as twisted as that is. Ufc benefits greatly by having the brand cards and reality shows basically funneled into a single big event where boxing and it's promotions are scattered and often at odds and refuse to do work. That is where the boxing fans get screwed.

[powerpuncher]

I agree, but I also think that within 10 years, UFC will be running into the same problem with it not being financially plausible to put all of the big fights on one card.

Don King did it

A long time ago and he stole everybody's money. Also, boxing has been paying fighters even more recently.

[Ron Swanson]

I agree, but I also think that within 10 years, UFC will be running into the same problem with it not being financially plausible to put all of the big fights on one card.

Don King did it

A long time ago and he stole everybody's money. Also, boxing has been paying fighters even more recently.

I'm quite confident Arum still takes home more of Manny's money than Manny does.

[wanderingfighter]

Both sports have a different audience. I respect the art of grappling, and I have read up on the history of grappling going back to the sport events performed by the Athenians. But just because I respect it does not mean I enjoy it.

I prefer striking for several reasons and till this day it's the art that I practice. I don't watch the UFC since I have no interest in grappling. You may argue that the UFC has striking in it. But I find the striking in the UFC to be sloppy and uncoordinated, and the striking aspect of it is designed to work around grappling as its main focus.

It's quite hard to become good at one skill when you're all over the place trying to learn multiple things at the same time. Gaining mastery of the striking arts (Muay Thai, Boxing, Kick Boxing, Bare-Knuckle Boxing, Pradal Serey, Lethwei, Sanda, JKD, and so on) takes time, focus and constant practice with the rules of that specific art.

If there's no boxing on, I'm watching some other type of striking like Muay Thai, K1, Kick Boxing etc. There's no way that the UFC will ever take my attention away from the striking arts. But I'm a serious student and do not consider myself to be a casual fan. I do agree that the UFC is taking the attention away from boxing events when it comes to casual (hold my beer) type of fans though. It's good entertainment after all...

If you read up on the history of striking and grappling, you will find that grappling has always been entertainment for the masses including the novelty. Meanwhile striking has always had a different audience. The striking arts have always been enjoyed by different types of people, mainly the lower classes who get their hands dirty. Athenians used to think of the Spartans as being barbaric due to their love and practice of striking matches. There's always going to be people that like one or the other. Perhaps boxing is losing market share from a business perspective. But that's expected.

[Kirkland Laing]

UFC will continue to grow when they can mix and match fighters exactly when they want and pay them very little. If they ever get antitrusted by the Feds and/or Muhammad Ali'd and they have to start paying their fighters more and their fighters gain some contractual independence then they'll start to slide, their competitors will improve and it'll become more like boxing.

But they're currently doing very well. There's a show nearly every weekend with relatively competitive fights. As a side note I want that fucking leprechaun to have to fight that Russian with the blonde fright wig.