Hyden's Take
HYDEN BLOG: Why Dana White is Wrong About UFC on Fox 1
Nov 26, 2011 - 10:25:51 AM HYDEN BLOG: Why Dana White is Wrong About UFC on Fox 1

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By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributor

Dana White recently said that he wouldn't change a thing about the way the UFC on Fox 1 played out. He even said that, if he had a time machine, he wouldn't have switched Henderson vs. Rua into the UFC on Fox 1 main event. He said that people weren't ready for that. He said that Junior dos Santos knocking out Cain Velasquez in 64 seconds, bracketed by 20-some minutes of talking on either side of the fight, was ideal for new viewers.

He then went on to say that we're all living in this MMA bubble and we have no idea what's going on behind the scenes. He said he doesn't care about what the hardcore MMA fans think. That's about the dumbest thing I've ever heard him say, and definitely up there with other heads of sports leagues.

The hardcore fans of any sport are the bread and butter. Do you think Roger Goodell and other NFL suits give a crap about fantasy football? The answer is absolutely not. However, fantasy football is at the root of why the NFL is as popular as it is. For that reason, the NFL embraces fantasy football and does everything they can to ingratiate themselves to those who play.

Casual fans, the same kind the UFC is courting now, will come and go. You get what you can out of them, and do your best to make them want to spend as much money as possible. However, you also have to make absolute certain that you do not distance yourself from the hardcore fans. That includes not talking out of your ass and insulting them. Without hardcore fans no sport will exist for long. The NHL is still around only because of hardcore hockey fans. It certainly isn't because of a bunch of casual fans who probably can't even name more than two current NHL players.

Over time you can turn casual fans into hardcore fans, and I suspect that's what Dana is trying to do. He's going about it backwards, though. You don't court casual fans at the expense of hardcore fans.

The very notion that you have to "ease" casual fans into MMA at a snails pace is ridiculous. This is 2011, not 1970. Dana's insulting the very same casual fans he's trying to woo so much. Are we supposed to believe that casual fans or non-fans aren't capable of enjoying a good fight? To suggest that FOX viewers aren't "ready" to see a fight like Henderson vs. Rua because they don't know enough about the sport is so infinitely insulting that you would be surprised that the head of the UFC would say it.

That's like saying a casual football fan can't comprehend or enjoy a Ravens vs. Steelers game just because it ends 17-13. We would be having a different discussion if the Henderson vs. Rua fight was a bad fight, or one that was all about submission offense/defense. Then I could understand a little more saying that casual fans might not be able to fully appreciate what's going on. I still think that it would be upon the announcers to help the viewers understand and appreciate what's happening, though.

The thing Dana said that was the biggest misstep was the comment about not caring what hardcore fans think. Even if he thinks that, you don't say it. You can have 100 million casual fans, but they will all leave eventually. Likely reasons being that something new and fresh has their attention or a program they normally watch is on at the same time. Casual fans don't buy pay-per-views, at least not at the rate that hardcore fans do. You can try to convert them into hardcore fans, but then you're stuck with the same dilemma of not caring what they think, and you have to go out and get more casual fans.

The UFC thrives on PPV, which is mainly the domain of the hardcore fan. It is possible to cater to the hardcore fans while at the same time make casual fans feel welcome. That's because MMA isn't some brand new, revolutionary sport that no one knows anything about. It's not hard to follow MMA, you may not get all the nuances involved, but you can still enjoy the sport.

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The other major thing that Dana White has said recently that is totally off-base was when he said that The Ultimate Fighter show would double its ratings when it moves to FX. He said they'll get 3 million people watching, largely because of the live fights and the format changes. They may initially draw a number close to that, but it won't last. Having one live fight a week isn't going to change anything. Some of the fights on TUF have been among the most boring fights you'll ever see in the UFC. Also, people won't know who the fighters are. TUF is like the farm system for the UFC, and if you're good enough you're already fighting in the UFC. How many people watch the NBDL? There's not a ton of people scrambling to go watch the practice squad for a NFL team.

The Ultimate Fighter has grown stale, but that doesn't mean it's a bad show. It's important to have a feeder system. It being televised is a good thing, and the show draws decent ratings as is. I understand the desire to tinker with things in an effort to boost ratings, but unless they're going to load the shows with fighters people want to see, it's probably not going to happen.

When Dana says things like TUF will double its ratings, he loses credibility. This is actually essentially the same thing that Hulk Hogan said when he came to TNA Wrestling, that they would double their ratings. That hasn't happened. Ask yourself this, when Hulk Hogan says something, do you believe him? Dana White doesn't want to be like Hulk Hogan when it comes to credibility. It's nice to shoot for the stars, but when you promise something that doesn't happen, you end up being the boy who cried wolf.


Comments and suggestions can be e-mailed to me at hydenfrank@gmail.com