People love big headlines, and as the year wraps up with the always lovable K-1 Dynamite, it is also time to look forward to the year that will be. This will, as all previous years preceeding, be a year where new promoters try to take their place among the big names in the business. And like the last 2, it is also very likely to be one where most analysts state that this will be the last year such competitors arise within the US.

UFC

The year is ending very strong for the UFC, with 4 cards rushing into people’s homes over the last 2 months. The completion is, of course, a card that will shape the upcoming year as much historically as any in terms of the promotion of the company, but we are already aware of what the beginning of 2009 brings. That opening salvo comes in forms both less engaging that previously (the pictured UFC 93 poster being well descriptive of that) as well as bringing about one of the biggest rematches in the company’s history (UFC 94’s Penn/St. Pierre bout). The still heavy reliance on PPV for the biggest promotion in the world will be interesting to watch over this span, as neither January or April’s big PPV offerings look to be earthshakers in terms of bouts or buys unless some sort of huge drawing card is added to either. Everything appears stout coming into the new year.

Another item to watch will be to see whether or not the UFC is able to make any sort of successful push in the Japanese market. They’re clearly interested in signing the talent but currently lack promotional partners, sponsors, and network support. 

ELITE XC:

This much is known: EXC is going to be back in some form. The company has apparently been purchased and while details haven’t been announced as of yet, we can probably assume that they will be put forth shortly. This essentially squashes the much debated Gina Carano to WEC talk. It also ensures that there will be at least one significant competitor to the Zuffa powerhouse. Their long term success can be debated for awhile, but is generally insignificant until the return of the company.

AFFLICTION: 

The talk of their demise may be overrated or may be on the mark. The talk from the company is that there will be significant investment and a number of shows, though details about copromotion and the like is totally unavailable. The show in January is a major barometer of their future, of course, but shifts in strategy could lengthen their existence.

BELLATOR:

Announced (unlike Strikeforce), we know they’ll be involved with ESPN. While we have reviewed the history of the brains behind the operation and called into question pretty much everything about them, they still represent another promoter taking a stab at Zuffa’s pie.

STRIKEFORCE:

Everyone has been so willing to applaud Scott Coker for running a local show that looks like a major that they’ve ignored that Strikeforce is on the cusp of a network deal and becoming a primary competitor to the UFC. They may even be the buyers of EXC. Unlike the UFC, which became profitable on a hail mary, Strikeforce has slowly built their name and roster, and having shown willingness to co-promote on a wide scale previously, their model of international non-exclusivity could end up becoming the standard for the industry.

In closing, its hard to see 2009 being markedly different than 2008 was in terms of how things go about. What will be most interesting will be to see how the UFC plans on setting up matchmaking for its aging stars (Couture, Noguiera, Liddell) in the first half of 2008, as it will speak volumes about how they are planning for the future without them.