(Opinion) Stop being a UFC fan and start being an MMA fan.

So many threads on this subreddit complain about UFC's business practices or how watered-down UFC events are. Yet the other organizations get so little traction in replies and traffic. ONE shows get little response. PFL events get forgotten. RIZIN is treated like it doesn't even exist. The only time they get any attention is when something bad is happening with one of them. There are so many different promotions out there and different flavors of MMA both regional and internationally that exist with fighters from all over the world trying to make their livings. And no one seems to care here unless they’re in the UFC. Any time there’s a breakout star or highlights posted of a fighter the comments are always “I wonder how they’d do in UFC?” as if UFC is the only thing that matters or exists in the world of MMA. Yes, UFC is the top dog, but they don’t have a monopoly on all markets in the world and they don’t have exclusively the best fighters in the world. This weekend's coming show is a demonstration that they do not have the best fighters in the world due to their own greed. On Saturday Francis Ngannou defends the lineal heavyweight championship against Renan Ferreira in a hybrid PFL/Bellator event. Ngannou has been praised for his actions attempting to take his career into his own hands rather than letting UFC dictate it to him; yet that hasn't translated at all into PPV buys for his boxing fights. If they weren't held by Saudi Arabia's government they'd be seen as colossal failures. It's only that the government doesn't care at all about their finances that they're seen as successes. Not only is Ngannou defending the lineal heavyweight championship, but the show also features the #2 greatest female fighter of all time Cris Cyborg facing off against PFL's most dominant female fighter Larissa Pacheco in what should be a fire fight. The Bellator Middleweight championship is on the line between Johnny Eblen and Fabian Edwards. What I'm getting at, is so many "MMA fans" are actually just UFC fans masquerading as being fans of the sport. So many people on here don't bother to even pirate these events and would instead rather watch and complain about watered down Apex UFC card #100. Despite how big this show is and how potentially important it is to the landscape of MMA it could be, posts on the card get what? Fifty replies? A hundred at best? Meanwhile, random UFC fight announcements get the same number to twice as many replies and random stupid comments on a weekly basis from Dana get five times the replies. Saturday, there's a chance for people to make a difference for once by buying the PPV. Is it cheap? No, it's not. In my opinion the price is outrageous if you don't already have ESPN+ or DAZN's service. For me, I don't have ESPN+ so it was 67 dollars. If you already have ESPN+ because of UFC it's around 49.99. Yet I still paid because I want this to succeed and admittedly, I have some extra money right now to do so. If you want change in UFC and you want the sport of MMA to flourish, then buy the PPV. It's a chance to make your voice heard by looking at an alternative and giving them your time and money. If you actually buy UFC cards, skip buying one or two to make the difference. There's so much more to MMA than just UFC. submitted by /u/Hawk52 [link] [comments]