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The sad thing is this doesn't even seem like a far fetched theory.
I tried pointing out to sumo that "doing well in business with a few fights" is not the same as being widely popular among the masses. I really feel like he's so submerged in the fight culture that he just doesn't see it.
Imo boxing superfights use to be like the Super Bowls. Everyone anticipated the outcome and watched the fights and talked about it. A large portion of the population, not just boxing/fight elitists. Much like how random people tune in for the Super Bowl without paying close attention throughout the year. Same for World Cup or the Olympics. I don't equate business peeking for a few fights the same as restoring past glory. When I say boxing is dead, I literally mean it's fallen into a niche sport (tennis, soccer, hockey) instead of being in the same caliber as football and basketball and soccer oversea.
If we all can agree that boxing isn't wildly popular like it use to be we can put this subject to bed. It's just a vicious circle of neither side giving in.
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but the argument isn't how popular it is. i've never claimed or alluded that it's as popular as football or basketball. my confusion has always been comments like, "boxing is dead" and "it's a dying sport" and "mma is taking over."
I've stated numerous times over the years that I acknowledge that it isn't how what it was 20 years ago.(and even that can be argued) but since boxing is over 200 years old, 20 years doesn't tell a whole story and you can't conclude that it's dead.
but there are numerous ppv's that consistently sell 500k to a million ppv buys over the last few years. and that's not including the 2 to 5 fighters you guys only know. lower to mid tier guys are still making a million per fight. guys that i'm sure you guys never heard of. and fights that are on premium cable are still getting a million views.
that, to me is not a sport that is dying. I don't think it's that i'm so submerged in the fight culture. even if there is some truth to that, it's also partly that you guys are out of the loop. you and your circle of people around you don't pay attention to the fight culture and you believe the rest of the world is the same.
Is MMA struggling? I was just in Vegas and judging by what people are paying for those tickets I would never have guessed.
oh yea dude. mma has lost some luster. the numbers don't lie. ppvs are now doing 200k-300k buys consistently when at it's height a few years ago it was triple that consistently.
and with guys like randy couture, chuck liddell, gsp, bj penn and Anderson silva's career hanging by a thread, these guys were the ufc's biggest draws. they are out and not being replaced. today's champs don't have the drawing power like the ones before them. that on top of the over saturation of underwhelming ufc cards we get these days, ppv prices are going up, low fighter pay, the latest ped controversies,........all continue to hurt mma's popularity
if jon jones and ronda rousey quit today, the ufc will be in a world of hurt. and this is just the ufc we are talking about.
lower down the totem pole, bellator is only filling like 3000 seats. they can't book their shows at any place bigger because the audience just isn't there
then you get a whole bunch of small orgs doing under 500 attendances.
