It has become clear that the UFC have made major changes in 2013. We’ve seen fighters more active this year and far more memorable moments than in 2012. The launch of Fox Sports 1 has contributed into some memorable moments as well and the network has only been on television for just over a month.
The Demise of Gatekeepers in the UFC
There have also been changes regarding the direction of making decisions on fighter’s future. If their career has become stagnant and don’t have much appeal anymore, they could be released regardless of their lineage. We saw that with the release of Jon Fitch earlier in the year and now it has happened to Yushin Okami. It did seem surprising, considering that he was still ranked in the top ten of the middleweight division. What this release goes to show you that the UFC will always be a business.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing because nobody can deny that Okami’s fights were mostly dull. It was rare to see anyone get excited from hearing news about his next fight, unless his opponent was an exciting fighter like Jacare Souza. The fact that so many fans were outraged by the move was laughable because they were probably the same people that were criticizing his boring performance against Alan Belcher. While wins and losses will still always matter, it goes to show you that putting on exciting performances have just as much value as winning if you want to stay in the UFC.
We’ve seen the likes of Dan Hardy and Pat Barry hang on to their job for simply having an appeal. They both have strong fan followings, while never being involved in a boring fight. You could say the same for Joe Lauzon and Melvin Guillard. These are fighters that haven’t had great success over the past few years, but have managed to survive based off of finishing their opponents or being involved in an exciting fight. It goes to show you that making the crowd invested in you will always have major value rather than continuing to put on the same dull decision victory.
When you truly remember fighters like Fitch and Okami, you remember their fights were mostly forgettable. Then both fighters began to pick up some losses and the organization starts to have second thoughts about continuing to invest their time in putting them on the main card. If you aren’t going to evolve as a mixed martial artist, you’ll eventually pay the price. Fitch’s standup was always below average, while Okami became predictable and his chin became a major liability.
Is the UFC going in the right direction in handling fighters? I’m on board with this direction, but you have to look at everything before you make the final decision in releasing a fighter. What does it say about the rankings now that Okami was cut? Many smart fans and analysts don’t take the rankings seriously, which is completely understandable. It seems like the rankings are just for the newer audience to see where the fighters are in their career. Still it has to make you wonder that eventually even the newer audience will start to realize that the rankings are nothing more than just a farce.
The UFC will always be a business before everything, especially now that they are on a new network. They want to see fights end in defining finishes that will impress the new audience. Okami has nothing to offer when it comes to that and he became expendable after his knockout loss to Jacare Souza. This is just another message to the veterans that have struggled over the past year or so. Those veterans could very well be fighters like Josh Koscheck and Martin Kampmann, since both have fighters are on two fight losing streaks in lackadaisical efforts. They may have a strong lineage in the UFC with memorable fights from a few years ago, but that doesn’t mean their always going to be safe. Every fighter is always going to be judged by their last fight or two. Why do you think Frank Mir and Alistair Overeem are on the verge of being cut, regardless of how popular they are?
The sport continues to evolve and the UFC will continue to favor exciting fighters. We’ll still see fighters like Pat Barry and Joe Lauzon be featured on the main card, regardless if they are coming off a loss or not. Unless you are winning on a consistent basis like Francis Carmont, your style of fighting will be critiqued if it doesn’t produce finishes or if fans aren’t talking about you in a positive manner.
The gatekeeper label is starting to become extinct in the UFC. Hopefully this will lead to veterans evolving rather than resting on their strengths. We know the young fighters will always try to evolve, since they want to garner the success of fighting for the title. Now it’s up to the veterans to keep up with the pace, otherwise they’ll see themselves looking for analyst roles in 2014.
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