If you’re an MMA fan, then you want what’s best for the long-term growth of the sport.
At the same time, you don’t want overly calculated business moves comprising its integrity. With that being said, there is a new trend starting to emerge within the walls of the UFC octagon: the trend of the superfight.
Anatomy of a Superfight
One may ask: What exactly constitutes a superfight? The original “Super Fight” was a fictional 1970 boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Rocky Marciano.
At the time, Ali and Marciano were the only undefeated heavyweight champions in history of the sport, and fans often debated who would win had they met in their primes.
Ali and Marciano were filmed acting out every possible scenario in a fight and the result was then determined using probability formulas entered into a computer. If you are interested in watching the fictional fight click here (after finishing the article of course).
A superfight can be hard to define, but when you see it on the horizon you are certain of its vaunted status.
Think two great champions with remarkable records, still in their prime, skirmishing with each other to secure their respective legacies as the dominant fighter of their era.
What really transforms a big fight into a superfight is crossover appeal. It’s the kind of fight where even people not caught up in the sport make sure to watch, because it’s the cool thing to do.
It’s the can't-miss event that everyone, including non-sports fans, will be talking about long afterward. It’s more than a fight, it transforms into a cultural event, altering the sport beyond current comprehension.
UFC enters the superfight market
The UFC clearly has a superfight building on the horizon, the fight between Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn at UFC 94. By the time the UFC is done marketing it, it will have reached the fever pitch status that all superfights take on.
Recent news has lead one to believe that Dana White and Joe Silva (how often do match makers get top billing with the president) are not through with their superfight affair.
At a recent press conference, where Dana White was promoting “GSP vs. Penn fight” he was asked, “If St. Pierre is victorious in battle, will he fight Anderson Silva?” The answer was an unequivocal “Yes.”
Clearly having fighters, who are both ranked at the top of the pound-for-pound ranking, fight each other is compelling for the fans and fighters alike. It is also great for generating press and increasing those very important pay-per-view buy numbers.
It is what will grow the sport and what could very well keep the UFC afloat during these troubled economic times.
Even more recently, rumors are circulating that Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell will be fighting, at UFC 99, in Cologne, Germany.
Couture recently lost his heavyweight belt to Brock Lesnar (one could argue that was a superfight of sorts) while Liddell has lost three out of four in the light heavyweight division.
The rumors speculate that Liddell, who is not getting any younger, will join Couture at Heavyweight, with both men seeming tired of cutting weight.
With the growing size of Heavyweights, like Shane Carwin and Brock Lesnar, Couture vs. Liddell could be the perfect fight to usher in the Cruiserweight division (ironically, considered a no man’s land in boxing).
It is becoming increasingly clear what separates a superfight from a great divisional title fight. Fighters who possess a combination of great record and stardom are still a requirement.
But it seems apparent that the fighters in question must be from different weight classes, with one moving up or down in weight or both of them meeting in the middle.
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