For the folks that slavishly glaze the UFC (and chide fight fans that have real, nuanced critiques of it), I figure it probably comes from ignorance. The comparison Mr. Saturday made with the NFL was him kind of telling on himself (which Nate rightfully pointed out) that he doesn't really know how this sport works, nor does he know the rich history of global MMA. Did he just think these Brazilian, Eastern European, and ME fighters just kinda showed up in the UFC one day? But, well, he's got a phone camera and a car, so I guess he knows what he's taking about.
Perfect mark for the New Zuffa Myth and he can't even see it lol
"I’m not sure a savvy trader would go $30 million long on a guy who is polling at 30% with the key customer demo."
i've been saying this is more like the Melania movie. sure, Bezos took a bath on ~$70M, but the concessions he's getting in the long run are worth exponentially more. they're already reaping the benefits. same seems to apply here. $30M will be a drop in the bucket compared to what they can get through further deregulation and rapacious dealings. that's the true investment here.
Bezos has a much bigger customer base though. If Trump continues to be a massive disaster that is hated by young people the UFC could really pay a price in a few years. But by then Ari and Mark will be busy with the Las Vegas Raiders so....
Still wild to me that the Zuffa-era UFC worked so hard to "clean up the sport" and convince everyone that its fighters were firefighters and school teachers with advanced degrees and deserved to be on Wheaties boxes. Now, it's the official sport of this administration and reactionary right politics.
It's a damaging association, but I somehow think the owners don't care because they actually have contempt for the fight sport crowd. I'm sure the WME C-suite think they'll exit before the current regime topples and the bulk of the country can't shake the image of a Trump aligned UFC, though.
For the folks that slavishly glaze the UFC (and chide fight fans that have real, nuanced critiques of it), I figure it probably comes from ignorance. The comparison Mr. Saturday made with the NFL was him kind of telling on himself (which Nate rightfully pointed out) that he doesn't really know how this sport works, nor does he know the rich history of global MMA. Did he just think these Brazilian, Eastern European, and ME fighters just kinda showed up in the UFC one day? But, well, he's got a phone camera and a car, so I guess he knows what he's taking about.
Perfect mark for the New Zuffa Myth and he can't even see it lol
"I’m not sure a savvy trader would go $30 million long on a guy who is polling at 30% with the key customer demo."
i've been saying this is more like the Melania movie. sure, Bezos took a bath on ~$70M, but the concessions he's getting in the long run are worth exponentially more. they're already reaping the benefits. same seems to apply here. $30M will be a drop in the bucket compared to what they can get through further deregulation and rapacious dealings. that's the true investment here.
Bezos has a much bigger customer base though. If Trump continues to be a massive disaster that is hated by young people the UFC could really pay a price in a few years. But by then Ari and Mark will be busy with the Las Vegas Raiders so....
Still wild to me that the Zuffa-era UFC worked so hard to "clean up the sport" and convince everyone that its fighters were firefighters and school teachers with advanced degrees and deserved to be on Wheaties boxes. Now, it's the official sport of this administration and reactionary right politics.
It's a damaging association, but I somehow think the owners don't care because they actually have contempt for the fight sport crowd. I'm sure the WME C-suite think they'll exit before the current regime topples and the bulk of the country can't shake the image of a Trump aligned UFC, though.
customer base notwithstanding, that's the game they're playing.
might as well squeeze it now before it gets worse for Trump, which it inarguably will by the end of the summer.