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UFC 270: Ngannou vs. Gané (01/22/2022) - Anaheim, CA (Honda Center)


Elsalvajeloco

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Easy work for Francis. What a re-invention story from the fighter whose confidence collapsed following the first Stipe fight, culminating in the 2018 Lewis fight. Success story that doesn't get enough credit.

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29 minutes ago, Raziel said:

Who taught Francis ju-jitsu?

Funny thing is Eric Nicksick, his head coach, had no real background in anything prior to joining Xtreme Couture. He started out as a guy who just signed up for classes at Xtreme Couture back in 2007, eventually became like a low level coach, and then basically worked his way up when the gym was basically not all that relevant anymore (thanks to the rise of John Wood's Syndicate MMA and also the UFC building their massive, state of the art gym in Vegas) to general manager. Then, the head coach of Xtreme Couture Robert Follis passes away in 2017. So Nicksick became not only the general manager but the head coach. When Ngannou left the services of Fernand Lopez, the person he chose to go with is Eric Nicksick who led him to the UFC heavyweight title and helped him avenge that loss to Stipe. That's a crazy ass story.

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http://mmadecisions.com/decision/12846/Deiveson-Figueiredo-vs-Brandon-Moreno

Interesting seeing the judges scorecards with how two scored R4 the same way while one judge differed and the same in R5. With the closeness and how great it was, I see an immediate rematch. I'm all for the fourth entry as we're now 1-1-1.

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Francis Ngannou retains the UFC Heavyweight Championship in his last fight on his UFC contract. Noticed no Uncle Dana was there to put the title on Ngannou's waist.

Edited by The Natural
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Given that probably upwards of 75% of the crowd last night was there for Moreno, he should be paid way more. You finally get a legit Mexican draw after several years of searching. You can't pay him peanuts.

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Also, we are this much closer to Alexander Volkov or Derrick Lewis being UFC champion.

Part of the reason that the UFC HW title has been basically defended every so often is the UFC playing people against each other. Whether it was playing Ngannou and DC against Stipe, Ngannou against Jones, Gane and Derrick Lewis (as much as I love Derrick, he probably shouldn't have said he would fight for basically anything) against Ngannou and Jones, and anyone versus Ngannou. The HW division whether it's in boxing or MMA is suppose to be the money division. They've had so much talent (at least compared to kinda the dark period during and post Lesnar) and yet few blockbuster super fights. Even with various accidents and incidents outside the Octagon, Jon Jones should have been fighting the HW title going back 4 or 5 years ago. That was a huge opportunity squandered.

23 hours ago, Jiji said:

The people at the bottom rung of the ladder should be making a livable amount of money too. I know they don't feel shame but that shit is so shameful.

Unfortunately, with prize fighting (at least in boxing historically), the top fighters subsidized the lower or basically insignificant fighters. It's easier to highlight some of the champions who might be lesser known. However, the guy who boxes in the 4 or 6 rounder against someone in the Top Rank or PBC stable ain't getting 15,000 usually. Some of the imports from Spain and Eastern Europe that Eddie Hearn brings in to get thrashed by his fighters aren't making real money. However, the thing is flexibility. Those people aren't under contract with those promoters. They can fight next week for another promoter if they get medically cleared. Boxing outfits only employ maybe 60-75 fighters max with maybe 15-20 good to high level elite fighters. After each Olympic cycle, they sign a fresh new batch of prospects and free agents and drop the failed prospects, also rans, and others who aren't living up to their deal in the eyes of the promoter. UFC has upwards of what? 600 to 700 fighters at a given time. First off, they don't run enough cards to make that manageable. Second, you can cut that number (let's go with 650) in half and still be over the amount of fighters needed to be the premier promotion in the sport. Some divisions (even throwing out Women's Featherweight) don't have 10 noteworthy fighters like alone 20 to 25. So it's hard for me to completely be on the side that everyone be paid at a universal level. That's a utopia I don't even see with a fighter union.

What boxing does have over MMA (UFC in particular) in terms of pay structure is the sport has notoriously overpaid mid tier to upper level fighters for well over a century. Even when Naimark and myself went back and forth and he kept citing examples of some of the guys who fought Jack Johnson and like what Gerrie Coetzee got paid one time, it's completely dismissal of the fact that at no point was there a UFC type monopoly in boxing. The only things close were the commissions/governing bodies, the TV networks, and the mafia. That's about it. Basically there was no singular entity in control of every aspect of the sport, which naturally drove the price up to get fighters in the ring. Moreover, there was never an equilibrium. Even when boxing was pretty much banned in MSG, the mecca of all entertainment, the pay structure in boxing still persisted. Even when HBO was driven out of the sport because they kept paying 2-3 million per broadcast for crappy fights, it still persisted (see the Canelo contract w/ DAZN). Even when boxing whittled down to Golden Boy, Top Rank, Eddie Hearn, and Al Haymon, it still persisted. Even when there was no perceived cash cow a few years ago, it still persisted. There was never a market correction in a 100+ years.

MMA has had the inverse issue where there was never correct market to begin with. People who likely should have been paid or dare I say overpaid always got paid peanuts (save for the Yakuza/MMA management ran PRIDE and Affliction for a cup of coffee). In thirty years, there was never a time where people across the board (or even mid to upper tier) got paid decently.

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11 hours ago, Infinit said:

Here's what everyone was paid last night. For how successful this company is, what they pay their fighters is disgusting. 

 

U.

Fight.

Cheap.

So underpaid.

Edited by The Natural
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Francis Ngannou is a helluva man. Much respect.

Edit: wait, not even the top guys have health insurance through the UFC? lol

Says he left at least $7 million on the table. Says you can either have money or freedom. Says the belt's a belt. If they strip him, he's a free agent.

Edited by Jiji
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Dana White refusing to put the belt on Francis Ngannou and not appearing at the press conference was ridiculous. He did not handle this whole thing well. Ultimately, I think UFC is going to have be forced to change their pay model when it comes to this. Whether that's through legal rulings or fighter unionization or some type of collective bargaining, that's how it will likely have to happen. IMO they've failed to get in front of this and have let this problem grow bigger in the last 10 years.

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