Get ready UFC fight fans because the circus is coming to town—and Don King is the ring leader.
For those of you who don't know who the infamous boxing promoter Don King is, I am sorry. I am sorry that you have had to spend your entire life living under a rock.
The rest of us who are more than familiar with who he is may or may not have known the following:
Don King was convicted of non-negligent manslaughter for the 1966 killing of his employee, Sam Garrett, after he was found guilty of stomping him to death. Sam Garrett apparently owed Don King $600. King served just under four years in prison.
That’s right, you read that correctly. Stomping him to death!
Now imagine how ruthless Don King is going to be in his upcoming attempt to “stomp out” the UFC.
Recently, Don King was quoted as saying:
“The UFC is a great contribution. It’s a return to glory for people who like sophisticated barbarism. I’m the people’s promoter. Whatever the people want, I’m going to promote. Whatever the public wants, that’s what I want to give them.”
“When I bring my guys in we’ll be getting prepared to take on Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta in their league vs. our league. The same thing I want to do with the sport of boxing I want to do with MMA.” (source: mmanews.com)
Take a deep breath.
On one hand, I can understand why panic may be setting in with most of you right now.
(Breathe…don’t forget to breathe….)
On the other hand, this could be a very good thing for MMA.
Allow me to explain:
A monopoly (refer to my article entitled: UFC and the Game of Monopoly) is not good for any industry. I attest that MMA (and UFC's dominance of it) is no different. Don King will no doubt bring fourth the strongest competition that the UFC has had to face (no offence to Strikeforce, but nobody outside of the hardcore, already-existing MMA fans care).
I see two major benefits happening:
The first is that fight fans will have more variety and option. Some may love it. Others will hate it (and they will stay loyal to the UFC). I predict that anything new will need to be “different” in order to be perceived by many as being “better”. Change is good.
The second benefit is that competition forces evolution. The UFC will start putting on better shows, paying their athletes more, appreciating the fans more, etc. If not, they will suffer the consequences.
Either way, the fans (and the fighters) will win, so it’s all good.
On a daily basis, someone (usually myself) is complaining about something that they don’t like about the current fight format and system. This is the perfect opportunity (perhaps) to improve things.
Don King brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table and I am confident that he will be successful.
One thing is for certain. The best fighters in the world are about to get PAID—and like it or not, it could potentially be at the demise of the UFC.
Oh and Don, if you are reading this (very doubtful), just know that I am currently in the process of developing a business plan for you to look at. You want to promote what the fans want—well, I’m going to give it to you.
Stay tuned.
James Ryan
http://www.mrjamesryan.com
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