6 Reasons Why UFC Being the Only Big Company in MMA Is Wrong

I'm sure that most of the people who clicked on this article assumed that I'm going to rant about Dana White and how the UFC is terrible, but I'm not.

I love MMA.  I don't hate the UFC.  I just hate the fact that they don't really have any competition and that if you want to see high level MMA, you have one place to go.

You have to see the same hype shows, the same packaging, and the same commentary.  That's fine, but a little variety never hurt anyone.  Here are a few things I wish I could get a vacation or variation from.

Joe Rogan Hyping Fights

I personally enjoy Joe Rogan's commentary. However if I have to hear "First of all" or how something is "an intriguing matchup" one more time I might just lose it.

I get that the fights are interesting. I just don't want to hear the commentary guy to be the one to tell me every single time.

Can we please get Liev Schreiber anyone?

Certain Fighters Getting Main Event Slots

I like Dan Hardy.  I like the way he fights and I certainly like the way he matched up with Chris Lytle. The only question I have is that I want to know why this was the main event?

Ben Henderson versus Jim Miller would have made much more sense, but instead we got Lytle, who is coming off a loss and Hardy, who is coming off three.

An argument can be made for Lytle, but not as much for Hardy. What has he done that deserves so much clout?

Wins over Gono, Markham, Swick and Davis?

Going the distance with GSP?

Actually, it's because he is a character and British and the UFC likes marketing both. However, when there is competition, they take a backseat to the best fighting on the main cards and top slots instead of whatever the UFC decides to give us.

Control of Who Can Sponsor Fighters

I understand to some degree why the UFC limits who can sponsor fighters in the Octagon.

Say there was a rival beer company that sponsored one of the main event fighters in an event whose main sponsor was Bud Light. That might make it a little awkward. I even understand why White banned Affliction when they became promotional rivals. Why promote your rivals on your show? I get that.

And then there are the things I don't get. Like banning Dan Henderson's t-shirt company from sponsoring UFC fighters. Why, because Dan decided to go somewhere else?

That not only hurt Dan Henderson and his brand, which wasn't even connected to Strikeforce, but it also hurt fighters who could have made money off of the possible sponsorship.

Speaking of fighter's rights...

The UFC Being a Monopoly Part 1

So technically this has two parts to it, but that is because I see it as that big of a problem.

The first part is that I genuinely do want the fighters to have an alternative to the UFC. They get in that cage to entertain us and they really do deserve to have different options on who can give them the best deal.

Did I hate it when Dan Henderson left to go to Strikeforce? Sure, but I was happy for him. He gets punched in the head for a living and they obviously offered him a sweeter deal.

Was he a big fish in a small pond? Yeah.

Did we miss great matches that he could have been in had he stayed in the UFC? Absolutely.

However, free market is great for fighters. With what they give, us they deserve to have it.

This doesn't mean that free market isn't great for fans too...

The UFC Being a Monopoly Part 2

Free Market means better fights for us and sometimes on free TV.

Remember when Anderson Silva fought against James Irvin on Spike a few years ago? It was on the same night as the first Affliction pay-per-view. When the UFC was on the edge of bankruptcy they had Forrest-Bonnar I.  

The truth is whenever the UFC has been threatened, they have risen to the challenge and become better. Now it seems like they are putting on less interesting events when it comes to free TV.

Don't believe me? Lets think back to UFC 122 or the fact that Dan Hardy just fought in the main event of Sunday's card after losing his last three.

That isn't to say that Kongo-Barry and other great fights don't happen, but it used to happen just a little bit more.

I don't blame the UFC. It isn't their fault their competitors couldn't make it. However, I don't want to see them grow complacent either. Especially since...

One Day Dana Will Be Gone

Nobody burns the candle at both ends like Dana White and honestly no one was really meant to. He doesn't spend that much time with his family, he never sleeps more than a few hours a night, and he is able to get deals together anywhere in the world, 24/7.

This may make him the best promoter on the planet, but it also means that one of these days he is going to burn out and it's a lot closer than most might think.

In an interview with Joe Rogan, he mentioned that he might retire in a decade or more. There was nothing in his statement that made me think he was joking. Make no mistake, he isn't like a Bob Arum or Don King, who have been in boxing forever. Dana White the promoter has an expiration date and it's rapidly approaching.

The question is who takes over for him when he's gone?  

A fighter? Possibly. Many of the fighters who step into the Octagon have college degrees and retire with better mental faculties than their boxing counterparts.

A hand-picked protege? Doubtful as Dana likes guys who do things for themselves, but still possible.

Someone who was on the outside like Scott Coker is also unlikely but another choice.

Whomever it ends up being will be handed the reins to a multi-billion dollar company that has the market cornered. Unless they love their sport more than the money they could easily make by doing a number of things, MMA might go the way of boxing.

What's Next?

In truth, the UFC could do just fine without competition. However, history has taught us that competition breeds success.

Whether it's Cuba's problems because of communism or until recently, the fall of the WWE, a lack of opponents is dangerous to any group or sport.

The UFC is still growing. However, at the rate they're going, there will come a time where there are no more state legislations to fight and no rival companies to beat and just like any great fighter, the UFC will lose interest and become stagnant and bored.

Hopefully that day never comes. After all, I want the sport's letters to stay MMA and not turn into UFC.