No Country For Old Fighters
Posted by Alan Conceicao on March 25th, 2009
Just a day or so ago, Frank Shamrock revealed to the world something that, well, most of us were pretty aware of: Ken Shamrock is broke. The immediate reaction from the few people who cared to reply over at BE.com (where, incidentally, our ratings are now used as part of their USA Today contribution) was one of general laughter. Its a bit of a far cry from the reaction to Gary Goodridge and Mark Coleman’s fights that took place earlier in 2009. Perhaps even more comically, strong rumor holds that Coleman will fight Stephan Bonnar at UFC 100.
This, when matched along with the UFC’s decision to run Couture/Noguiera and Chuck Liddell’s umpteenth run at the top begins begs a number of questions. The most obvious is whether or not too much time is being spent promoting the aging ex-champs while newer blood has recieved comparatively little promotional push. The second major question is whether we are ignoring the potential of long term health effects for “better late than never” dream matches. The second seems rather obvious to answer: Of course. The sport is inherently dangerous, and fans of MMA, as in boxing, show only mild passing interest in the moral fiber of the combatants, much less their long term health. Fighting on past one’s prime is fodder for derision, as virtually ever Mark Kerr article in the last 3 years attests. That fighters generally have to do that as a result of miniscule purses during the early days is an entirely different issue, but one almost never breached during the guffaws of the cheap seats.
The first is a bit more difficult to answer. One cannot dare claim that the UFC has done a poor job building stars: Lesnar has shown fully capable of selling PPVs. GSP and Penn had a superfight just a couple months ago. Rashad Evans and Forrest Griffin rode TUF success to fame as top level MMA combatants and champions, along with secondary stars like Diego Sanchez and Michael Bisping. They’ve also built an astoundingly stout level of talent that, while not superstars, are at least capable of steadying the ship and providing decent numbers in PPV buys (Anderson Silva, Rich Franklin) or on a lower tier, ratings (pretty much any TUF headliner).
But in that positive, there’s still a need for the Liddells and the Coutures that the UFC cannot seem to give up. The Couture/Noguiera fight is obviously made for the winner to move onto a world title bout, even if neither man may actually be at the top level of the heavyweights any longer. Warnings to Liddell are empty: No way does a Chuck Liddell who wins by any method against Shogun get his contract terminated or voided. Matt Hughes shows no interest in retiring once he gets past the speed bump of Matt Serra: Instead, he calls out Anderson Silva, hoping that his name value can spark a “megafight” of sorts that will enrich him at least one more time. Unlike boxing, who’s biggest PPV of 2008 was, in essence, a singular bout, MMA’s largest MMA required numerous drawing cards to meet along side each other. A similar event will take place this year, but in both cases, the decision to draw away such talent from other cards leaves events like UFC 98 and 99 without strong draws or even, argurably, top level MMA bouts.
The answer is hazy at best, but it is at the very least unhealthy that the UFC finds itself so desperate to continue using its old superstars that they are recycled onward, virtually indefinitely. It is an invitation for tragedy that MMA would certainly like to avoid, but seems powerless, as boxing has been since inception, to avoid.
March 27th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Excellent article, and I too am intrigued by the new stars vs. old stars question. We’re really at a point in MMA where we have never been before due to the young history of teh sport where a LOT of the marquee fighters of the past are no longer able to be at that top level of competition. Realistically Sakuraba, Hughes, Liddell, Wanderlei, Couture, Coleman, Ken Shamrock, CroCop are all guys who used to be top contenders and just aren’t anymore. But they can still draw, and that’s the catch.
I’d say the most similar experience from the past is when the UFC lost Shamrock, Gracie, and Severn in the early years. Granted there were significant other factors at play there, but at the end of the day, with those major names gone, the UFC very nearly died. We’re not at that level anymore, as the sport is better established, but I can easily see Zuffa looking at the past and being hesitant to close the doors on their old guard.
But if they look at the past, they should probably look outside their own past as well. There’s plenty of reasons not to compare MMA to pro wrestling, but in terms of promoting stars and the struggle between old and new, wrestling has some lessons to impart. The graveyard of wrestling promotions is littered with companies that never found that balance and held onto their aging stars clear to the grave. I don’t think Zuffa is headed down that road, but I do hope they are using caution in finding that balance.