Back in the golden era of the UFC, there were no official rankings, and the promotion’s biggest stars would fight relative unknowns all the time.
They needed to, in order to make an honest living.
That’s also how new stars were born, because you didn’t typically become famous until beating someone famous.
This isn’t the case anymore, as UFC fighters look to protect their standings, and only want to fight fighters with bigger names who are ranked above them.
According to top UFC lightweight standout James Vick, a talk with UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby revealed some interesting insight as to where all the UFC stars have gone, and why up and comers are no longer booking big named opponents on their rise through the rankings.
The highly touted UFC lightweight returns to action next week in Austin, and despite his spectacular resume, he’s been unable to book a fight against a named opponent.
He fights in his hometown next, and was hoping for a name suitable of a headlining slot, but the UFC executive had to break the news to him, that no popular UFC fighters wanted to fight him.
According to Vick, Shelby told him that the UFC is paying guys enough to where they can sit on the shelf and pick their opponents wisely.
In the old days, the UFC could threaten fighters by saying if they don’t take fights as offered, they wouldn’t be offered any fights, and that strategy used to work, but not anymore.
Times, they have changed.
Vick explained on The MMA Hour:
“Basically this is what Sean Shelby said,
“These guys are willing to just sit now. Back when guys used to make [$2000 to show and $2000 to win] they’d have to take the fight. [The UFC ] would say, ‘Oh o.k., well if you don’t fight Vick you’re going to be on the shelf for four months’, And then they’d be forced to take the fight.”
“Now, if we do that guys say, ‘oh o.k. that’s cool, I’ll sit out’, because now they have money.”
Thoughts?
