Is UFC Still the Pinnacle of MMA?
For the longest time, the UFC has been considered the very top of the sport, attracting the biggest talent and offering the most lucrative contracts too. Over the years fans have seen some of the biggest stars in combat sports emerge from the UFC, and for many betting on the events within the UFC offers the best odds too.
But as popularity for combat sports and mixed martial arts as a whole, alternatives have slowly started to grow and offer competition to the UFC, as some of the biggest talent have started to voice concerns over the pay structure within the UFC and other treatment too, questions have arisen as to whether or not the UFC can still be considered the pinnacle of MMA, or whether growing alternatives are starting to take its place.
ONE Championship – for many, the first time they had heard about ONE Championship was during the trade for one of the best to ever do it as Mighty Mouse moved over to one in a trade for Ben Askren. Whilst Funky Ben’s stint in the UFC didn’t go as many fans had hoped, Mighty Mouse was able to thrive in ONE and have some fantastic events including a fantastic trilogy against Adrian Moraes.
ONE has now started to expand offering kickboxing fights, grappling fights, and many more alongside their standard MMA ruleset, with a huge audience growing all around the world it can certainly be consider a top contender, and for some funs it may even be considered a better promotion in some regards.
Bellator – Bellator throughout its history has been closely tied to the UFC, for some being a steppingstone to work their way into the bigger promotion, but there are some big differences between the two. By far the biggest difference is the circuit system that Bellator often uses for its fights which is a throwback to the older style events promotions like the UFC would run.
Bellator has continued to grow but still sits in the shadow of the UFC as all big fighters still hope to reach the biggest promotion eventually, but there are certainly some fantastic cards that still show through Bellator and well worth watching if it has been a while.
Crossover Events – although not technically a different promotion, and not technically within the MMA space, it is something that has been growing massively over the past few years as some of the biggest MMA stars dip their toes into the world of boxing. Most recently we saw Francis Ngannou take on lineal heavyweight champ Tyson Fury in a surprising fight which saw Fury looking less than his best and Ngannou showing just how fast he can approach a new challenge.
With the UFC showing their disinterest in crossover events and some fans even suggesting that Dana White may even try to prevent his fighters from taking part in these events too, and the huge pay day they’re offering, it’s no surprise to see more fighters looking for these opportunities outside of the UFC.
Whilst the UFC still remain firmly at the top as perhaps the best MMA promotion at least in the west, growing controversies in fighter pay and some black marks around some of the biggest talent with doping issues, it has been finding itself developing a difficult reputation. With some of the biggest talent also leaving the sport in recent years too, some just moving on and some having issues with the promotion, things have become a bit stale, and changes will be needed sooner rather than later to prevent competition from taking over.
