How the UFC Can Make Fox Sports 1 Must-See TV

With the announcement that the Fox network was going to be revamping their programming lineup, it seems as if the UFC is getting a second chance to make a first impression, at least with viewers who are going to try to reconcile the differences between the new channel, Fox Sports 1, and past channels.

None of this is to say that the UFC made a bad impression the first time around, because since it signed with Fox, business has been good on both ends.

But this is another golden opportunity, and the UFC has a chance to get in on the ground floor, so to speak.

So, how is it going to make the most of this opportunity? After all, it’s not like it has any real need to reinvent the wheel—or octagon, as the case may be. Well, there are some things it could do that speak to the notion of getting back on track, and by that, I mean giving the fans bouts that mean something.

You guessed it, I’m talking about fights with divisional ramifications. No fluff or filler—only substance, albeit with a little spice, as follows.

There are many compelling fights to be made out there, but for each fight, the fans should know how much a fighter moves up or down in the rankings after a victory or a loss. It’s the one thing that has been missing in boxing for a very long time: a true and open display of rankings that rewards performance above all else.

Every fighter out there has a story, almost all of which revolve around getting that title shot and many fans live vicariously through a fighter that is on the rise, reaching for the gold.

It’s those stories that many fans can relate to, and if a fighter suffers a crushing defeat, his (or her) fans are going to be dying to know just how far down the rankings they have fallen—a true sharing of the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, as they used to say.

In short, rankings help a fan to become invested in the sport because they allow those potential fans, so close to going “all in,” to understand what is at stake because we all identify with rankings since we are all ranked in our personal lives in one way or another.

Another possible way to make the UFC on Fox Sports 1 “must-see TV” is to allow the views to cast their votes as to who won the fight, in addition to being able to vote for Fighter of the Year, Fight of the Year, KO of the Year, Submission of the Year and so on—all with their remote control or the Fox Sports 1 app.

Granted, as far as voting for who won a fight, the fans would be in the position of “unofficial judges,” but their voice would be heard, which is something they don’t really do in the world of boxing (and the UFC is still very much in a competition with boxing).

All of this is aimed toward making the viewer feel as close to the action as possible—to get them involved in the drama that rules the life of a fighter.

In addition, the UFC could incorporate another unofficial judge, must like Harold Lederman of HBO’s Boxing After Dark. He could quickly explain his judging, round-by-round, giving the fans something to compare their opinions to, but they would need someone with real understanding of the sport and a voice of certainty.

While most fans may never be lucky enough to attend a real UFC event, the company can work hard to give them the next best thing, which is the ability to latch on to something that helps making the sport and the situation of the fighters understandable and rewarding.

Everyone understands the gravitas of a fight, but these things would help them to understand the environment of the fight, which is where many viewers are converted or lost.

But none of these options are worth anything if the fights themselves don’t have any meaning or significance to the division. That means title fights promised are going to have to be delivered, and if not, it should be explained why, before a televised event, as soon as the decision is made.

Many people have said that the judges need to account for their decisions to the public, and in truth, the decision-makers like Dana White and Joe Silva should be just as accountable to the public that is paying them for their product.

Thus far, a great deal of assumption has been made that White and Joe Silva have the true desires of the fans on hand before they make decisions like putting the unranked (at light heavyweight) Sonnen in with Jon Jones.

But proceeding from a false assumption is simply, well, false.

The voice of the fans and the careers of the fighters are what matters above all—not the media, nor writers like me and not men like White. If making Sonnen vs. Jones is really what the fans want, then the fans should be allowed to make their voice known with ease, and the fans should be made aware of how such a decision impacts the rankings.

It’s the exact kind of transparency that the sport needs if it really is about the business of giving the fans what they want, and the fans have proven more than happy to have the chance to speak for themselves.

As a longtime fan myself, I know what I want—I want to be entertained, but above all else, I want the fights to mean something because the UFC belt is supposed to mean something.

That in turn means I want to see fighters justly rewarded for their efforts, because when they are, they fight with much more conviction because the risk is worth the reward—to be a UFC champion.

What I don’t want to see is another fighter like Sonnen gifted a title shot he had no real business even being considered for, while other fighters who had earned their place in line were bypassed for the sake of “entertainment.”

If all we wanted it to be was entertainment for the sake of entertainment, we’d be watching something else.

Finally, it would help a great deal if White didn't make his disdain for fan opinion of any kind openly known, especially when it comes to negative fan opinion of certain fights that didn't deliver the action desired. 

The audience is just getting bigger and bigger, and with that comes the chance of offending more and more fans, and that is one thing that is in direct conflict to the growth of the sport.