Thread Tools

Display Modes

**Liddellianenko** · 01-07-2013, 03:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HellRazor

Let me give you a possible window into Dana's mind. Every tennis slam final that one or both of the Williams sisters played in has gotten better US TV ratings than the corresponding men's final.

Different sports, but the common idea is that Americans will watch women in individual competitive sports, IF they are stars, and IF it's for a championship. I don't think, near term anyway, the UFC has a division here. But they do have a star, and they do have a championship. And if this sells about as well as the average UFC event, he'll keep at it.

It doesn't matter if you like it or I like, as long as ENOUGH people buy the PPV, for whatever reason. And if they are people who were NOT buying the UFC before, that's an added bonus.

It's all about the money.

Quote:

Originally Posted by _CaptainRon

It's a short term cash grab, however, it is far from sustainable. It would not shock me at all to see the division dissolved by next year. An upper echelon of female fighters encompasses about half a dozen women. They have two stars, one in an inactive/retired Gina Carano, and the other Rhonda Rousey, and one badass in Cyborg.

The sports of tennis and mma are entirely different that I don't think a reasonable comparison can be made. Tennis has been around forever, and was one of the earliest sports to be commonly accepted for women to competitively play. There have been a number of female tennis stars such as Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Steffi Graff, and Monica Seles that helped pave the way for the Williams sisters. WMMA just does not have the benefit of having a strong talent pool.

MMA is a combat sport, tennis is not. There is a reason that the HW division tends to dictate the success of combat sports, spectators want to see the biggest and the baddest, and the girls just aint gonna provide it. Lastly, tennis provides a broader sex appeal. Most men don't find bruises, bleeding, corn-rows, swelling, and tap-outs as turn on's... but watch five minutes of a Maria Sharapova match and you're money.

I think CaptionRon said it better than I could, basically Tennis is a whole other ball game to combat sports. As I said earlier, sports involving grace and form are much more easily accepted and interesting in the mass public as women's sports. Blood and brute force, not so much. It just doesn't have any appeal. Frankly, for combat it looks weak as hell. The performance difference is far greater than sports like tennis / badminton / gymnastics etc. because of the greater importance of brute force, power and pure athleticism.

Women's boxing would be a better comparison, and just see how that's doing even after being around for decades.

Also I don't see Dana doing it as a cash out. Ronda is no bigger a star than the biggest women boxer, the casual fan would pay 10 times more for the worst "GSP beating up cans from the bush leagues" fight than they would for the biggest female mma fight in all of history. People just don't care, apart from a small niche fan base. It doesn't matter if Cyborg is pumped up with enough steroids to be a male horse, she would still get her ass whupped handily by mighty mouse and people had trouble getting interested for that flyweight title fight.

I see it more as Dana getting some, hence his sudden flip flop on Women's MMA. Right after him and Rousey being seen together alone at many red carpet events. You don't see Dana attending movie premieres alone with Jones now do you? Certainly haven't seen him sporting nude Anderson Silva T Shirts.

http://middleeasy.com/index.php?opti...:organizations

The profitability of this fight or the division don't matter to Dana, this is just dole for him. He's rich enough to afford a few indulgences.

**Mirage445** · 01-07-2013, 04:06 AM

I wish I was rich enough to indulge in Ronda....lmao.

Dtwizzy2k5 · 01-07-2013, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liddellianenko

I think CaptionRon said it better than I could, basically Tennis is a whole other ball game to combat sports. As I said earlier, sports involving grace and form are much more easily accepted and interesting in the mass public as women's sports. Blood and brute force, not so much. It just doesn't have any appeal. Frankly, for combat it looks weak as hell. The performance difference is far greater than sports like tennis / badminton / gymnastics etc. because of the greater importance of brute force, power and pure athleticism.

Women's boxing would be a better comparison, and just see how that's doing even after being around for decades.

Also I don't see Dana doing it as a cash out. Ronda is no bigger a star than the biggest women boxer, the casual fan would pay 10 times more for the worst "GSP beating up cans from the bush leagues" fight than they would for the biggest female mma fight in all of history. People just don't care, apart from a small niche fan base. It doesn't matter if Cyborg is pumped up with enough steroids to be a male horse, she would still get her ass whupped handily by mighty mouse and people had trouble getting interested for that flyweight title fight.

I see it more as Dana getting some, hence his sudden flip flop on Women's MMA. Right after him and Rousey being seen together alone at many red carpet events. You don't see Dana attending movie premieres alone with Jones now do you? Certainly haven't seen him sporting nude Anderson Silva T Shirts.

http://middleeasy.com/index.php?opti...:organizations

The profitability of this fight or the division don't matter to Dana, this is just dole for him. He's rich enough to afford a few indulgences.

I agree, Dana is thinking with his penis instead of what's good for business. I honestly think he's just doing this to appease Rousey and bang her on the regular. It sounds messed up, but it's not unreasonable to imagine a man in power like Dana to think this way.

**Term** · 01-07-2013, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dtwizzy2k5

I agree, Dana is thinking with his penis instead of what's good for business. I honestly think he's just doing this to appease Rousey and bang her on the regular. It sounds messed up, but it's not unreasonable to imagine a man in power like Dana to think this way.

You actually think Dana white would make a decision like this because he wants to bang Rousey. Rhonda is good looking woman, IMO, but I would guess Dana could get much better without having to create a whole new division in the UFC.

**M.C** · 01-07-2013, 12:32 PM

The only problem I have with them taking the main event spot is I don't get Machida vs. Hendo 5 rounds. I am having potentially 5 rounds of greatness reduced to 3 because a no-name is going to get arm barred by an average at best fighter in the first round.

As for them main eventing outside of that, it's a championship fight and champions fight in the main event, that's just how that works and I'm not upset about it beyond what I mentioned.

As for it not selling well, we will see what the final numbers.

**TheLyotoLegion** · 01-07-2013, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M.C

The only problem I have with them taking the main event spot is I don't get Machida vs. Hendo 5 rounds. I am having potentially 5 rounds of greatness reduced to 3 because a no-name is going to get arm barred by an average at best fighter in the first round.

As for them main eventing outside of that, it's a championship fight and champions fight in the main event, that's just how that works and I'm not upset about it beyond what I mentioned.

As for it not selling well, we will see what the final numbers.

I understand your logic behind Machida/Hendo getting 25 minutes but I think people's expectations for this fight are pretty high, I'm under the impression many see this as a possible Shogun/Henderson type fight when there's no chance it turns out like that at all.

If this goes the distance I have a feeling it won't be competitive, and more likely one sided in Machida's favor. He's just too crafty to get caught by the H-Bomb, he got dropped by an overhand right from Shogun but he fought out of character, he was too aggressive and that's not the way his style works, if he remains patient and is comfortable with picking Dan apart then I think he'll take it comfortably.

**St.Paul Guy** · 01-07-2013, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Term

You actually think Dana white would make a decision like this because he wants to bang Rousey. Rhonda is good looking woman, IMO, but I would guess Dana could get much better without having to create a whole new division in the UFC.

Yea I'd think Dana could do better than Ronda as well. I think he is banking on all of us stupid 18-30 year old males thinking with our penises rather than thinking with his own. "Come see the pretty lady fight" is basically the idea here. Basically every female to gain sports stardom in the past 20 years has been good-looking and marketed as such(see: Anna Kournikova, Danica Patrick, Jenny Finch, the Williams sisters etc.). Dana is trying to do the same. If it works he makes money, if it doesn't he can just do away with WMMA.

EVERLOST · 01-07-2013, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mirage445

I wish I was rich enough to indulge in Ronda....lmao.

Why? lol She is not even that attractive. Plus she should get that thing removed from under her eye. Now Carano? That was a sexy women.

HellRazor · 01-07-2013, 11:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liddellianenko

I think CaptionRon said it better than I could, basically Tennis is a whole other ball game to combat sports. As I said earlier, sports involving grace and form are much more easily accepted and interesting in the mass public as women's sports. Blood and brute force, not so much. It just doesn't have any appeal.

Dana is betting it DOES have appeal. We'll find out if you're right, or he is.

CaptionRon IS right. It's a short term cash grab. It's NOT sustainable. But is that a reason NOT to grab a couple million dollars while Rousey's bankable?