Leave the Past in The Past

In the beginning of UFC’s history, one night tournaments were the whole show. Guys taking on two, three, sometimes four fights a night were common. It was during this time that Senator John McCain declared MMA a “human cockfighting” sport. After a while the UFC banned the one night tournament and it looked to be a thing of the past, but lately it looks like the tournaments are making a comeback in other promotions. The first UFC’s were unique in their way but in order to survive and grow as a sport you have to evolve.

For the first five pay per views the UFC were under tournament matches. During this time the UFC was dropped by major cable companies; also this was in part due to UFC’s no rules promoting. Once the UFC was picked up by Zuffa, owned by the Fertitta’s and Dana White, they worked hard to get the stigmata of “human cockfighting” lifted off of the sport. With MMA still having trouble getting sanctioned in New York and several other countries; going back to a format that was controversial only shows that the sport still has a way to grow before being accepted in mainstream.

Fighter safety is another reason why the one night tournaments match making is a bad idea. If one person breezes through the tournament and his opponent go through several 3 round matches, where is the challenge in the final fight? The injuries also pile up after fighting multiple times, sometimes in a single fight an injury can keep a fighter out for several months. An injury can wreak havoc on the card or God forbid cause a serious injury or death to a fighter.

Right now the Strikeforce and SHINE fight promotions are pre-planning for one night tournaments. Texas was the first state to say no to a tournament for the Middleweight title, left vacant by Jake Shields, instead Strikeforce settled on Tim Kennedy vs. Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza for the title. Rumors are no rampant that they will still hold a tournament to find a number 1 contender to face the winner of the title match.

The past is the past, and MMA has come a long way from its beginning. To go and bring back this type of format would give critics the firepower to hold the sport back another 10 years. Every sports must evolve for the athletes, fans, and critics.