UFC Backlash

ginoginelli

Following another lacklustre and disappointing event, the Ultimate Fighting Championship and its president, Dana White, have once again come under heavy scrutiny among fans online, as a recent trend of negative sentiment and controversy continues to surround the promotion. With a largely disastrous bout between Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson and Houston “The Assassin” Alexander from last night’s TUF 10 Finale receiving the brunt of the criticism, an announcement regarding the eleventh season of the reality show also has fans frustrated.

Citing overwhelming demand from UFC fans, White announced that former UFC Light Heavyweight Champions Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell and “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” Tito Ortiz would serve as opposing coaches for next year’s airing of TUF 11.
The announcement was met with a noticeable smattering of boos and near-complete indifference from the live Las Vegas crowd, but has since been a hot topic among fans online, who have almost exclusively panned the bout as a waste of time.
White, who seemed visibly unsure of himself as he made the announcement, had to be reminded of the weight class that the TUF 11 contestants would be competing at and appeared to be taken aback by the negative response from the crowd.
The announcement appeared to make little sense, with Liddell having lost four of his last five fights and Ortiz winless in his four most recent trips to the Octagon.
What was perhaps more troubling was White’s assertions that it was fan demand that led to the Liddell-Ortiz pairing – which will presumably lead to a third fight between the two in mid-2010 – when backlash in the past 18 hours suggests otherwise.

It is not the first time that White has recently made claims that have been exaggerated or completely untrue, but his recent tendency to stretch the truth on frequent occasion has upset even his biggest supporters.
Fans, who feel that they are being lied to and treated as fools, have expressed anger or frustration with many of White’s comments, not the least of which being his frequent attacks on WAMMA Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko, who competes for the rival Strikeforce promotion.
While White has done great things for the sport in the past, his brash personality is beginning to catch up with him and dozens of recent comments have mocked White when he has been forced to hastily scramble to replace main events due to injury.
Karma does seem to have a way of rearing its head and some feel that White is merely facing the consequences for spending significant amounts of time insulting the competition while his own promotion struggles.

Mixed martial arts fans tend to become overdramatic when expressing their displeasure with events in the sport, which has led to dozens if not hundreds of recent forum posts suggesting that the UFC is fixing fights or that MMA is imminently dying.
While the idea of fight fixing is incredibly unlikely, the very insinuation that the sport is being tampered with, as some have claimed after the bizarre Slice vs Alexander bout last night, is extremely bad for the sport’s credibility.
It did not help matters that a Spike TV-backed promo for Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling, featuring the well-known Terry “Hulk Hogan” Bollea, was showcased between fights.
This only added fuel to the fire of arguments from critics who feel that the sport is becoming too closely related to professional wrestling.

However, the primary source of discontent appears to centre around the perceived oversaturation of recent events, as both the UFC and Strikeforce have significantly increased the frequency of their cards.
With both promotions planning to run 20 or more shows in 2010, each would be wise to look closely at the past five months of MMA history to see the adverse effect that ill-timed injuries and “quantity over quality” cards can have.
While each UFC event since the historic UFC 100 card in July has featured at least two exciting and compelling matchups, including last night’s TUF 10 Finale, there is a growing argument that the UFC peaked at the UFC 100 event and has been on a downward slide since.
As with the issue of perceived fight tampering, whether or not the promotion is, in fact, on a downward slide is less relevant than the fact that such a stance is being taken in the first place.
UFC 100 was designed to further springboard the promotion into the mainstream of sports, and it did just that in many ways, but a poor economy, numerous injuries to top stars and a lack of compelling and meaningful fights – especially main events – has prevented the success from continuing.

Not to be neglected is the ongoing and very real issue of scoring and officiating problems, which has plagued a number of recent fights, including a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout between Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 104.
However, in the wake of the tremendous backlash and outcry of support for Rua, who was arguably robbed of a rightful title victory (MMARising.com scored the bout 49-46 for Rua), some fans turned their attention and frustrations in the wrong direction.
While UFC President Dana White does an excellent job of attracting negative attention with unprofessional conduct and constant (and often immature) attacks on promotional competitors, he has nothing to do with the appointment of referees or judges.
For that, the ire of the sport’s fans must be directed to athletic commissions, which, especially in the case of the embattled California State Athletic Commission, have been called into question in the past.

Despite Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer’s comments that downplay the ongoing problem with uneducated judges and inefficient referees, the evidence is plain as day on the screen as fans tune into their favourite MMA events.
Last night’s bout between rising light heavyweight star Jon “Bones” Jones and Matt “The Hammer” Hamill, wherein Jones was disqualified for illegal elbow strikes that did not appear to be the reason for Hamill’s inability to continue, further highlighted the need for rule changes.
For the first time, instant replay was used to determine the outcome of the bout, and much-maligned referee Steve Mazzagatti did make the only call that he could under the circumstances, but he was merely following a ruling the doesn’t make sense.

In the end, part of the reason why progress is often stifled is because discussions among fans online often dissolve into arguments between “casual fans” who may be new to the sport and long-time supporters of MMA.
Rather than working together to continue to grow the sport, the two (often vastly differing) fanbases tend to clash, which results in endless discussions of hypothetical fight scenarios and unnecessary insults towards the fighters who are stepping into the ring or cage for our entertainment.
When fans are becoming so frustrated with the direction of the UFC that they are turning to other promotions instead, or, even worse, turning to other sports (such as boxing) altogether, there are clearly problems in MMA that do need to be addressed.

Until promotions begin to truly listen to their fans rather than showcasing fights or events solely for their own personal interests, and until athletic commissions begin to accept the serious nature of the problems with the scoring/officiating system that is currently in place, we are merely making it easier for MMA’s detractors to try to tear down the sport.
As most fans would attest, mixed martial arts is the greatest sport in the world and it is about time that supporters of MMA have their voices heard before the ongoing controversy ruins what the last five years have accomplished.


http://www.mmarising.com/news/2009/12/06/criticism-continues-to-mount-for-the-ufc/

MrStuffins

The show was for free, UFC fans need to stop complaining! We get the most exciting fights in the most exciting sport in the world time after time!

Bloody keyboard warriors!

ginoginelli

MrStuffins wrote: »

The show was for free, UFC fans need to stop complaining! We get the most exciting fights in the most exciting sport in the world time after time!

Bloody keyboard warriors!

WOW. Thats about the measured response ive come to expect from these boards.. :rolleyes:

Shazbot

ginoginelli wrote: »

WOW. Thats about the measured response ive come to expect from these boards.. :rolleyes:

Wow, you copy and pasted an article from another site, offered no opinion on it and then have the audacity to complain about the quality of response coming from a poster.

While I feel the author raised valid points about the judges and refs I don't feel there is a loss of faith in the UFC. These aren't regulated by the UFC but rather the State Athletic Commission. No point blaming White for this one, in fact we should be siding with White on this and expressing our opinions to the Commission.

As MMA breaks into the mainstream we're starting to see more and more events per annum than what we were used to. As the author said, these tend to lack the quality of some of the earlier events. Then again, we can't have the big names in every second or third event, they just wouldn't be up for it.

So no, I'm not losing faith in Dana/UFC. I still watch it and still enjoy each event. UFC seems to be the flagship for mainstream MMA, and until the likes of DREAM, Strikeforce and WEC can match the UFC's drawing power on the public I'll be supporting UFC to make this sport mainstream.

mirwillbeback

I posted here over two years ago, the night of Bispings decision " win " over Matt Hamill that the UFC had possibly edged towards the pro boxing trend. Money talks in every walk of life, and the decision that night to award the win to the UK fighter was obviously ( imo ) one decided pre fight.
I love the UFC, have done since 1996 and was there long before a lot of the newer fans who were brought through the TUF successes. I never thought we'd see the day of watching live fights with sell out crowds. But, I definitely feel they have lost some momentum over the past few months, hedging their bets on Lesnar and worst of all Kimbo.
Time to get back to what made the sport -evenly matched fights with a path to / from and stacked cards, not 5 prelims, 4 mid card fights and then a irrational or catch weight main event.

peter p

The ufc are having a tough time of it latley, with all the injuries and bad judging/reffing, but thats no reason to give up on them altogether just yet!
the commision will sort itself out, injuries will heal, bring on next year i say.
All will be back to normal by feb/march. im expecting an exicting 2010 from mma/ufc and i dont think il be let down either imo:)

patience guys patience;)

ginoginelli

Shazbot wrote: »

Wow, you copy and pasted an article from another site, offered no opinion on it and then have the audacity to complain about the quality of response coming from a poster while offering absolutely no opinion on the situation yourself.

While I feel the author raised valid points about the judges and refs I don't feel there is a loss of faith in the UFC. These aren't regulated by the UFC but rather the State Athletic Commission. No point blaming White for this one, in fact we should be siding with White on this and expressing our opinions to the Commission.

As MMA breaks into the mainstream we're starting to see more and more events per annum than what we were used to. As the author said, these tend to lack the quality of some of the earlier events. Then again, we can't have the big names in every second or third event, they just wouldn't be up for it.

So no, I'm not losing faith in Dana/UFC. I still watch it and still enjoy each event. UFC seems to be the flagship for mainstream MMA, and until the likes of DREAM, Strikeforce and WEC can match the UFC's drawing power on the public I'll be supporting UFC to make this sport mainstream.

The article pretty much expressed my sentiments so there was no need for me to comment on it.

In regards to the ufc, I havnt lost faith in them either, i just think they need a good kick up the arse.

rovert

I fully admit there is problems in UFC at the moment both inside and outside of their control. But I lol'd at the some parts of the story. Like being shocked at how long the writer waited to talk about Fedor and a minute plug for TNA Wrestling being BAD FOR THE SPORT™ .

tomagetti

Has anybody actually took note of the fights coming up on sat night. I think this fight card could possibly be the best of the year and will hopefullyshut anybody up who are making negative comments towards the UFC

Karmafaerie

I love how the whole article is completly over the top, dramatic, and jumping to conclusions, but still the manage to say "Mixed martial arts fans tend to become overdramatic when expressing their displeasure with events in the sport,"

The proof's in the pudding I suppose!

While yes thaere have been some terrible decisions lately.
(Rua and Alexander both robbed).
That's nothing new.

As MWBB just said, nobody has been robbed more than Hammil in the last half decade.

Untill the commisions start training dedicated MMA judges, this will always happen.

MrStuffins

ginoginelli wrote: »

WOW. Thats about the measured response ive come to expect from these boards.. :rolleyes:

So instead of just fobbing of my comment, why don't you give me YOUR opinion, rather than regurgitating someone elses opinion and piggy-backing on their apparent expert view?

The fact of the matter is, UFC has delivered more than any other organisation in any sport! ANY sport, not just boxing!

SO far this year alone we've had:

Diaz v Guida
Parisyan v Hyun-Kim
Bonnar v Jones
Lauzon v Stephens
Marquart v Gouviea
Sanchez v Stephenson
Hamill v Munoz
Gonzaga v Carwin
Griffin v Dos Anjos
Condit v Kampmann
Stout v Wiman
Lidell v Rua
Kongo v Hardonk
Evans v Machida
Sherk v Edgar
David v Hardy
Swick v Saunders
Franklin v Wandi
SANCHEZ v GUIDA
Stephenson v Diaz
Lytle v Burns
Sexiyama v Belcher
GSp v Alves
Lesnar v Mir
Hendo v Bisping
Silva v Griffin
Penn v Florian
Randy v Nog
Leben v Rosholt
Quarry v Creduer
Maynard v Huerta
Daley v Kampmann
Franklin v Belfort
Hardonk v Barry
Machida v Shogun
Stephenson v Fisher
Ortiz v Griffin
Sadollah v Baroni.......................................................

Where else eh?

Fight fixing allegations are ridiculous and even if they were true, the judges are from NSAC.

The promo for TNA was because they were on Spike TV, who are their broadcast partner. It was an advert! Just like the show all night was riddled with advert breaks.

As for "Saturation"? Thats bull! For me, the more fights the better. It doesnt have to be the P4P no.1 and No.2 to be an interesting fight. There are many fighters out there who are consistantly exciting but dont get close to title shots. Look at Clay Guida?

As for scoring, again, out of UFCs hands. The judges are not employees of Zuffa llc.

Mazagatti, for me, made the right TECHNICAL call according to the rules. His job is to impliment the rules, he did so.

That is all for the time being.

chordtype

Now that's a quality post.^^^^

I agree with everything that you have said for the most part. I'd slightly disagree with saturation thing. I don't think they are saturated yet but it could become a real problem if they continue to add more shows.

rovert

I wish they would saturate Ireland

MrStuffins

chordtype wrote: »

Now that's a quality post.^^^^

I agree with everything that you have said for the most part. I'd slightly disagree with saturation thing. I don't think they are saturated yet but it could become a real problem if they continue to add more shows.

I can understand people wanting big name fighters in big name fights with alot of hype i really do, but it's just an exciting sport and it's been shown that big names dont necessarily make exciting fights, whereas the UFN cards which normally have small name fighters are regularly exciting cards!

ginoginelli

MrStuffins wrote: »

So instead of just fobbing of my comment, why don't you give me YOUR opinion, rather than regurgitating someone elses opinion and piggy-backing on their apparent expert view?

The fact of the matter is, UFC has delivered more than any other organisation in any sport! ANY sport, not just boxing!

SO far this year alone we've had:

Diaz v Guida
Parisyan v Hyun-Kim
Bonnar v Jones
Lauzon v Stephens
Marquart v Gouviea
Sanchez v Stephenson
Hamill v Munoz
Gonzaga v Carwin
Griffin v Dos Anjos
Condit v Kampmann
Stout v Wiman
Lidell v Rua
Kongo v Hardonk
Evans v Machida
Sherk v Edgar
David v Hardy
Swick v Saunders
Franklin v Wandi
SANCHEZ v GUIDA
Stephenson v Diaz
Lytle v Burns
Sexiyama v Belcher
GSp v Alves
Lesnar v Mir
Hendo v Bisping
Silva v Griffin
Penn v Florian
Randy v Nog
Leben v Rosholt
Quarry v Creduer
Maynard v Huerta
Daley v Kampmann
Franklin v Belfort
Hardonk v Barry
Machida v Shogun
Stephenson v Fisher
Ortiz v Griffin
Sadollah v Baroni.......................................................

Where else eh?

Fight fixing allegations are ridiculous and even if they were true, the judges are from NSAC.

The promo for TNA was because they were on Spike TV, who are their broadcast partner. It was an advert! Just like the show all night was riddled with advert breaks.

As for "Saturation"? Thats bull! For me, the more fights the better. It doesnt have to be the P4P no.1 and No.2 to be an interesting fight. There are many fighters out there who are consistantly exciting but dont get close to title shots. Look at Clay Guida?

As for scoring, again, out of UFCs hands. The judges are not employees of Zuffa llc.

Mazagatti, for me, made the right TECHNICAL call according to the rules. His job is to impliment the rules, he did so.

That is all for the time being.

I have already given my opinion on the matter, in this thread and others. I posted this article because the author brings up alot of valid points, many of which you either completely ignored, or failed to comprehend.. Judging by your misdirected rebuttal im going with the latter.

MrStuffins

ginoginelli wrote: »

I have already given my opinion on the matter, in this thread and others. I posted this article because the author brings up alot of valid points, many of which you either completely ignored, or failed to comprehend.. Judging by your misdirected rebuttal im going with the latter.

So what points have i "Failed to comprehend?"

Judging by your attitude toward me and others in this thread i'm guessing you are one of these said "Keyboard Warriors"

EDIT: By the way, do you really think i'm going to chase your name around other threads to find out your views on the topic? You started the thread, why can't you back yourself up? Give us YOUR views?

rovert

ginoginelli wrote: »

I have already given my opinion on the matter, in this thread and others. I posted this article because the author brings up alot of valid points, many of which you either completely ignored, or failed to comprehend.. Judging by your misdirected rebuttal im going with the latter.

Points to back your criticism of MrStuffins would nice instead of repeated snipping. Then maybe we could have something resembling a discussion here...

ginoginelli

lol. It seems like ive touched a nerve. Take a deep breath there stuffins before your next edit

I agree with everything the author said in the first half of the article in regards to - tuf 11, tito/chuck, danas hoodwinking of the fans, and that the **** is starting to fly back in zuffas face. The article made the exact points i had in mind, so there is no need for me to "reguritate them"

Sorry Stuffins, I just think you are a little naive in your outlook and your observations could do with a little objectivity. Thats all!

ginoginelli

rovert wrote: »

Points to back your criticism of MrStuffins would nice instead of repeated snipping. Then maybe we could have something resembling a discussion here...

You are right. I will curtail the snipping from here on out!

MrStuffins

ginoginelli wrote: »

lol. It seems like ive touched a nerve. Take a deep breath there stuffins before your next edit

I agree with everything the author said in the first half of the article in regards to - tuf 11, tito/chuck, danas hoodwinking of the fans, and that the **** is starting to fly back in zuffas face. The article made the exact points i had in mind, so there is no need for me to "reguritate them"

Sorry Stuffins, I just think you are a little naive in your outlook and your observations could do with a little objectivity. Thats all!

Re:TUF 11, you are agreeing with the author, but have you actually seen the announcement? The main reason Dana gave was NOT fan wishes, it was because he thought Chuck deserved another fight after all he had done. if you watch the video he just throws in ".. and i think alot of fans wanna see Chuck v Tito 3 anyway so what the hell?"

However, this discussion is pointless for me as i am disputing the points of someone who is notr actually present in the discussion.

It's funny how you started out my sniping at my "Measured" response to the OP, but you have not expressed any original views yourself.

Maldini2706

The criticism of recent cards always seems to gloss over the fact that 4 of the 5 champions are currently out with long term injuries! Of course the cards are going to seem less interesting when there's no belt on the line.

You can't understate the impact Rampage dropping out of 107 had either, the knock on effect was that none of the last few cards had the headline fight they were originally intended to. You also have injuries to Nog and Hendo leaving which deprived us of great fights.

All in all the UFC has had an incredible run of bad luck over the last six months, there's no way that can be replicated over the next 6.

rovert

ginoginelli wrote: »

lol. It seems like ive touched a nerve. Take a deep breath there stuffins before your next edit

Bit rich from a person who got riled up by a badly thought out piece of anti UFC rheotic.

ginoginelli

I thought the article echoed the sentiments of the core mma community quite well actually. Everything is blown out of porportion a bit these days, such is the nature of internet, and the times we live in..

I just feel the ufc have taken the fans a little bit for granted lately, and are not meeting the high standards of customer satisfaction that they are capable of meeting. A huge part of their current slump, and negative press is due to the freakish amount of injuries that have occured, and to a lesser degree, the downturn in the economy, but another major component is zuffa's attitude towards the business off mma and their involvement in it. There is a huge room for improvement in the delivery and presenentation of mma as a sport and all round entertainment package. The ufc, who are at the helm of the sport, are largely to be held accountable for its growth and development, and some of the ****-ups that occur along the way.

Believe it or not, the critics and supporters on the interent can actually contrbute when it comes to some of the decison-making in the ufc..
The houston/kimbo fight being an example, as this was set-up after interest garnered on the internet. We have a voice, and one of the reaons for the ufc continuning success is that they usually listen to it..Thats why it is so annoying when dana offers up an audacious chuck and tito 3 match-up just to earn a quick buck, when there is no relevance in it, or demand for it. The fact that Dana has blasted other sports and organisations for this type of greedy, anti-fan approach in the past, makes it an even harder pill to swallow.

The ufc have been doing an excellent job in promoting mma in some areas, and im not taking for granted their amazing contribution to mma as a whole in the slightest.. I do think however, that they have let their eye off the ball in a few areas, and could do with a good kick up the arse for it!

Phewwww! I guess I was pretty riled up :D:D

Maldini2706

You're full of criticism and empty of ideas, who would you have had on TUF instead? Anyone on there ends up out of commission for 9 months anyway.

Which fights could have been made for the last few events that weren't?

rovert

ginoginelli wrote: »

I thought the article echoed the sentiments of the core mma community quite well actually. Everything is blown out of porportion a bit these days, such is the nature of internet, and the times we live in.

Here is the thing the article and people supporting it have taken the VERY odd stance by implying the core MMA community was prior to all this happy with Dana and Zuffa. This simply was never the case they've always thought UFC sux.

ginoginelli wrote: »

Believe it or not, the critics and supporters on the interent can actually contrbute when it comes to some of the decison-making in the ufc.

Just look at Affliction they listened to the internet...oh wait yeah.

ginoginelli wrote: »

Thats why it is so annoying when dana offers up an audacious chuck and tito 3 match-up just to earn a quick buck, when there is no relevance in it, or demand for it. The fact that Dana has blasted other sports and organisations for this type of greedy, anti-fan approach in the past, makes it an even harder pill to swallow.

Your framing Chuck and Tito this way is frankly bizarre. How can Zuffa be called anti fan and greedy with the amount of free tickets and fights it gives away?

cowzerp

rovert wrote: »

Your framing Chuck and Tito this way is frankly bizarre. How can Zuffa be called anti fan and greedy with the amount of free tickets and fights it gives away?

So there not greedy?

They give away free tickets to make stadia seem filled out as thats all part of there succesfull image that they aim for.

ginoginelli

It is funny how you call me up on snipping and then launch a poorly veiled attempt of your own. Anyway.. :rolleyes:

rovert wrote: »

Here is the thing the article and people supporting it have taken the VERY odd stance by implying the core MMA community was prior to all this happy with Dana and Zuffa. This simply was never the case they've always thought UFC sux.

Totally untrue. The majority of fans are highly appreciative of the ufc.

rovert wrote: »

Just look at Affliction they listened to the internet...oh wait yeah.

You have completely missed my point here.

rovert wrote: »

framing Chuck and Tito this way is frankly bizarre. How can Zuffa be called anti fan and greedy with the amount of free tickets and fights it gives away?

Once again, you have taken what i said out of context. I refered to tito/chuck 3 as a greedy move. In regards to the free tickets and fights, thats just good business 101 man. It would be naive to think otherwise.

rovert

ginoginelli wrote: »

It is funny how you call me up on snipping and then launch a poorly veiled attempt of your own. Anyway.. :rolleyes:

I don’t think you can distinguish between point/counterpoint and snipping.

ginoginelli wrote: »

Totally untrue. The majority of fans are highly appreciative of the ufc.

I’m frankly floored that this was your response to this point which you even quoted directly:

Here is the thing the article and people supporting it have taken the VERY odd stance by implying the core MMA community was prior to all this happy with Dana and Zuffa. This simply was never the case they've always thought UFC sux.

Wasn’t talking about the majority of UFC fans I was talking about the core MMA community (I bolded that part for you btw.) The core MMA community does not make up the majority of fans.
Frankly I’ve never seen a majority pro UFC sentiment on the bigger MMA message boards so the authors implication is flawed.

ginoginelli wrote: »

You have completely missed my point here..

Your point was:

ginoginelli wrote: »

Believe it or not, the critics and supporters on the interent can actually contrbute when it comes to some of the decison-making in the ufc.

I gave the example the internet darling promotion Affliction. It pretty much typifies MMA message board's conception of what an MMA should be. I’ve found most people in "the core MMA community" don’t understand promotion, importance of the casual fan and business in general. See the replacement of Hendo for Belfort this year for example UFC gave into internet bitching and sacrificed god knows how many buys as result.

ginoginelli wrote: »

Once again, you have taken what i said out of context. I refered to tito/chuck 3 as a greedy move.

In regards to the free tickets and fights, thats just good business 101 man. It would be naive to think otherwise.

But not isn’t a "greedy, anti-fan approach" is it though hence my point. I didn’t say it was good business either. You’ve yet to make a solid case that Chuck/Tito TUF is a greedy move. If was to in your words "just to earn a quick buck, when there is no relevance in it, or demand for it", how does that make a lick of sense? Greed is typically where exploit the demand from something (raising the price of that in-demand commodity for example.) Here is a little business lesson promotion is about creating demand for something which initially the customer had little or no demand for.

ginoginelli

Yawn. This is a waste of time.

You have now departed from any real, objective discussion, and instead choose to nitpick with silly semantics and snotty ramblings.

Im not going to bother getting dragged into one of your pathetic and pointless flamewars.. Laters. :cool:

rovert

ginoginelli wrote: »

Yawn. This is a waste of time.

You have now departed from any real, objective discussion, and instead choose to nitpick with silly semantics and snotty ramblings.

Im not going to bother getting dragged into one of your pathetic and pointless flamewars.. Laters. :cool:

So you’ve no answer to points and questions I’ve posted then? This isn’t a flame war I merely countered your irrational statements. You can’t claim have brought real, objective discussion to this topic as you are the one who created a topic without including any thoughts of your own and not to mention your interaction MrStuffins in this thread. The story you posted was as far away from objective as any article could be the author made little attempt to come off as non-biased and was based off the reaction of a non representative sample of fans. Again how can it be a backlash when most internet fans werent supportive of UFC in the first place?