Entertainment Trumping Sport
Since WME-IMG took over things have been made very clear that entertainment and profitability now trump anything else. In the UFC, it’s not about being the best, it’s about selling the most PPVs.
Now we have a roster full of fighters who just want that “money fight”. So instead of a guy like Tyron Woodley winning the welterweight championship and wanting to prove he is the best by taking on the top challengers, he calls out the fighters who could make him the most money. That’s more entertainment than sport. The UFC has become the WWE only without the pre-arranged finishes (Pride had that part too).
Anderson Silva summed up his thoughts on the matter rather succinctly:
“It’s a company that is worried about entertainment. It’s not a company with a history in martial arts, the philosophy of the fight,”
