UFC's growing appeal shadows boxing

"These day’s you ask someone off the street if they know who Vitali Klitschko is and they wouldn’t have a clue. But you ask them about Rampage Jackson and everybody knows."? I don't know what street you are doing your surveys in but you are kidding yourself. MMA and the UFC is growing in popularity but it still isn't mainstream yet.

UFC will never have one fighter that is as big in popularity as Tyson, Holyfield, Ali etc. Because its all about the brand, as other people have already pointed out, UFC is extremely well run, when people think UFC they think UFC where as when people think about boxing (what is the main belt people even fight for these days?) they will think of a person and not the "brand" Boxing will always that one fight that will generate huge publicity but it will be few and far between, basically unless boxing has someone with the vision to bring boxing under one umbrella it will never regain its past popularity

The UFC is run by Dana White who has a boxing background and is well versed in the politics of the fight game. Dana White has said that he has taken alot of the mistakes from boxing into account when running the UFC. One of the best things the UFC has done (from their POV) is that basically all their contract have 'championship clauses' meaning that you can't leave the promotion as champion. If you do they can basically take you to the cleaners. There is NO chance of any of the fighters breaking away and starting their own promotion. Getting one up costs so much money and the UFC does not co promote with anyone so you'd have a tough time taking on UFC fighters. The UFC has actually been swallowing up all the big competition and no one is going to come even close to beiong able to compete. There are Billlionaires out there trying and they haven't gotten anywhere. Also while the UFC isn't by any means perfect they do treat their fighters well most of the time. Fighters get locker room bonuses for if they put on a great show, even if they lose. Also all UFC contracted fighters (about 250) get health insurance, unheard of in the fight game.

Boxing isnt going anywhere. There is no denying that boxing has a rich history and alot of hardcore fans. Some of them look down at MMA but they wont be able to do anything about it eventually taking over as the biggest full contact sport on the planet. Boxing has history but is struggling to get the 18 - 34 year male hooked. MMA has this market hooked. It used to be that if your father was into full contact sports he would raise his son on boxing coz thats what his father did and so on. Now these 18 - 34 years old will be raising their sons on MMA. Another thing that MMA has got going for it is that because it is the combination of so many martial arts from around the globe its an easy step to become a fan. Say you're from Korea and a big fan of Tae-kwon-do, its an easier step to become a fan of MMA than boxing. Boxing and MMA have their place in the market and neither will be going anywhere soon..

Hi all some great thought provoking discussion... I like all combat sports but to say boxing is extinct is hogwash. Refer to the ratings in Mexico for the JMM v Pac fight.... I agree week in week out MMA is a much more easier & interesting proposition. But just remember the biggest fight in boxing at the moment i.e. Pac v May (will it happen?) will far exceed anything MMA/UFC can offer. Agree with MMA convert too- pro wrestling has suffered immensely because of the spike in MMA.

While I do enjoy boxing, MMA is awesome and very addictive once you start watching and understanding it. In MMA, you need to be the complete fighter that can box, kick, wrestle etc The title holders have had to hone all of those skills..as not having all the skills leaves the fighter exposed. As for the "lying on each other" comment, agree with mattwar..something needs to be happening or the ref's stand up the fighters. I think eventually, boxers will need to compete in the MMA...as believe boxing is in trouble.....and also believe that pro wrestling will also suffer as MMA/UFC takes over

You have some good points in this article, but some of things you say are merely assertions without any explanation as to why. The other section of the article that raised an eyebrow was when you said no one would know the name Klitschko but would know Rampage Jackson. Firstly, I think you’re overstating Rampage’s reputation and that itself was enhanced by his role in The A-Team. Secondly, I think Anthony Mundine is a name that would easily trump both Klitschko and Jackson if asked. Overall, I think your article raises some great points and has the foundations of being a great read, but try to expand on your assertions and just check the spelling and grammar a bit though. Looking forward to reading more of your work in the future. Edit: Sorry for the double post, internet hit a snag or something. :\

You have some good points in this article, but some of things you say are merely assertions without any explanation as to why. The other section of the article that raised an eyebrow was when you said no one would know the name Klitschko but would know Rampage Jackson. Firstly, I think you're overstating Rampage's reputation and that itself was enhanced by his role in The A-Team. Secondly, I think Anthony Mundine is a name that would easily trump both Klitschko and Jackson if asked. Overall, I think your article raises some great points and has the foundations of being a great read, but try to expand on your assertions and just check the spelling and grammar a bit though. Looking forward to reading more of your work in the future.

what ive noticed the most about ufc as opposed to Boxing... is there is no huge hype.. there is no huge media circus... its just two go guys going toe to toe.. one might lose to a ground impound or an arm bar or be clean knocked out .. and thats it.. on to the next fight... For me boxing has just become a dissapointment.. an almost mob run money laundering old school network of business men, vying to sell people a scam.. Anyway enough of my ranting... UFC.. all the way!!

I have been watching the re-runs of ufc1 etc on pay and i am suprised at how much i am enjoying it. I also think boxing is outdated, at least in this country due to the likes of Mundine and SBW. UFC is a great sport and i am also genuinly suprised at how articulate the likes of GPS, Forest Griffin, Rampage, etc are.

Without a doubt UFC/MMA has exploded in appeal leaving boxing in its wake. In the past year the number of people I know or have bumped into who follow UFC is huge. The spectacular kicks and knockouts are amazable! Recently I visited Melb and found an inner city bar which was utterly full of people watching UFC 141. While I do remember the Mundine v Green fight of about 2006 pulled GINORMOUS crowds. Thats it, its not going to happen again in this country. Green didnt help himself by fighting some invalid 2 yrs ago in some farcical bout. And Mundine is just an angry man whose best days are behind him. MMA is the future...boxing is the past. In boxing you can watch Sonny Bill Williams walloping some unknown fat bloke?!?!

I guess that's the new version, not 'Clubber Lang' from Rocky III

"Hear hear" Bring back Pride.

Chris, I understand that fighters have tried to break away, but the industry has no real mainstream stars as boxing has over the years, due to infancy (and probably it's "brutality"..but that's another story). Brock is probably the only one. If and when MMA generates massive amounts of dollars, then bigger players will come, and then we will see how the UFC Corp deals with it. Anyway love 'em all, MMA, Boxing, K1 etc. And I like the UFC but did prefer Pride, as I'm not a huge fan of the "cage", as this promotes wrestling (as well as it's current rules and scoring system). Pride rules and the "ring" favoured strikers. So I will say it here, "death to the octagon"....please...

As a boxing fan turned MMA fan, I can attest that the quality of fights and matchups in the UFC is one of it's great strengths. The best fight the best. No excuses, no politicking, no squabbles over money. Most of the guys I watch UFC with were never boxing fans. It has very little mainstream media coverage unless Green or Mundine are fighting, and even then it's sketchy. UFC is starting to break into free-to-air in the US on Fox, and here on OneHD, which can only raise it's profile. What is Boxing doing? As to lying all over each other, the ground game is a lot more complex than most first time users probably appreciate. Most of the Refs in UFC are very concious of fights grinding to a halt on the ground and will stand up a fight if nothing is happening. I quite like the ground/grapling aspect of UFC, because I have some idea of the strategies involved. Listen to Joe Rogan, he knows his stuff.

Mals, you say boxing is the sweet science, but MMA incorporates boxing (plus other styles). In that case, MMA = advanced sweet science because it incorporates more styles? Saying that boxing is sweet science is flawed because other styles incorporate boxing plus more. Another example is Muay Thai. There is a large number of MMA fighters that have competed in boxing. 2 guys lying on each other? The ground game is known as a chess game. Anyone that watched the UFC on the weekend would know that it was far from just two guys lying on each other. Do yourself a favour and find the Barboza KO of Etim. There is a reason why many people are turning into MMA and it's not because 'two guys lying on each other' haha Uncle Phil, fighters have tried to break away. However the big thing going for the UFC is that the brand is big, and not just the fighters. Most fighters that have broken away have ended up coming back because no one else could compete with the money UFC is paying. Example is the UFC in Sydney 110. It has sold out before any big fights were announced. It sold out on brand alone. I like it that UFC has a control over the MMA market though. At least fans get to see the fights that need to happen, more often than not. and on the article, i actually hate the boxing vs mma discussion. I strongly believe that there is room for both sports (as well as Muay Thai/kickboxing). MMA is definitely doing stuff which boxing could learn from but it's far from killing the sport of boxing. Boxing will survive as will MMA. If anyone thinks im attacking boxing, then they are wrong. I love boxing. Love MMA more though give me boxing, kickboxing, kyokushin, BJJ, MMA over any of hte other sports we see commonly see on aussie television. Doubt Dos Santos vs Overeem will be the biggest payday in UFC history.

Good name, but who the hell is Rampage Jackson?