The Ultimate Fighting Championship is a fantastic organisation. Some people may believe that because they're the biggest game in town they've let their guard down, but no matter what the situation they seem to continually put on phenomenal cards on a near-weekly basis. Sure there are things that could be changed, but isn't that the case with every major sport?
They do what they do very well, and the same can be said of World Wrestling Entertainment. The two companies have extremely different ideologies and view points, but that doesn't mean one is better or more successful than the other. However, one way in which WWE has something of an edge is with their stadium shows.
More often than not UFC decide to host the majority of their events inside an arena, meanwhile one or twice a year WWE take over a stadium in the United States. It tends to be for WrestleMania and given the growing success of the brand, it doesn't seem likely that they'll be downgrading any time soon. So given the popularity of UFC - why don't they give it a go more often?
So with that in mind, let's take a look at five reasons why UFC could never pull off a WrestleMania-style event.
#5 Taking the risk
When a big company like the UFC go out of their way to try and pull off something revolutionary, it needs to be special. Everything needs to fall into place perfectly and there has to be a certain guarantee that things will go off without any issues whatsoever. Unfortunately that's pretty much impossible, which makes pulling the trigger on this a huge risk.
Dana has certainly taken big steps towards expanding the company in the past, but this is a whole different ballgame. Their biggest attendance ever came at UFC 193 which was 56,000 and WWE regularly get 75,000 on a yearly basis.
Hell, even the Royal Rumble this year managed to draw in 52,000 fans and that is only the second or third biggest show on the company calendar.
From risk to reward - for some fighters, that is.
#4 Favouritism
If UFC pull off an event of this magnitude then everyone is going to want to be on the card. It doesn't matter how high up the rankings they are because at the end of the day, the big names will draw the most money for the company. As such, alot of fighters will prepare themselves for the card in the hope that they will be accepted above all others.
Unfortunately, that's not how things work. The likes of McGregor and Garbrandt will be rumoured to feature meanwhile the likes of Mighty Mouse, who isn't quite as popular, will also want to get a look in. Dwindling all of these potential superstars down to just five main event fights will be extremely difficult, and they many not be able to handle the pressure.
Now it's time to look a bit closer into the big fighters in question.
#3 Reliability
Injuries and failed drug tests happen - we all know that to be true. Whether you're one of the greatest fighters in the world or not, everyone eventually falls victim to it. Hell, we saw with UFC 200 that you can never fully trust what's going to happen on a card until they actually walk out to the octagon. Yes we're looking at you, Jon Jones.
So how can UFC even think about putting this kind of thing on pay-per-view with that in mind? Who knows how many of the bigger bouts could be cancelled just weeks or even days before the Mania-level event. Whether it's the fighter's fault or not, having 70,000 or so fans voicing their displeasure isn't the kind of message that UFC want to be sending to their supporters around the globe.
We move on to a vital factor when considering how successful this show could be.
#2 Experience
WrestleMania has been going strong since the first edition of the event way back in 1985. Can you already see where we're going with this? The experience levels required to manage and manufacture something like Mania are out of this world.
Dana has been in over his head on more than one occasion but this thing would spread throughout the whole company.
The best thing they could possibly hope to do is bring in a former WWE consultant of some kind in order to help them out, but that in itself seems unlikely. The smaller details are what make things like WrestleMania succeed, and if you don't have the stomach or the pedigree to carry it forward then you're just setting yourself up for failure.
Obviously everyone has to start somewhere, but it could prove to be a disaster.
We conclude with a common problem within MMA and boxing.
#1 Uncertainty
When attending either a big boxing or mixed martial arts event, you expect to see something special. Alot of people will purchase tickets expecting to see numerous sets of warriors battle it out on the biggest stage imaginable. Unfortunately, more often than not they could be treated to a 15-20 second knockout or three to twelve rounds of boring competition.
The uncertainty surrounding the occasion in comparison to Mania, which you know will go on for 4-5 hours, is too big of an obstacle to overcome. Fans in attendance could find themselves going home anywhere between 10pm and 2am, because of just how unpredictable thing are.
Some will say that adds to the drama, but everybody has a different style of fighting that they enjoy. If they aren't presented with that, it could be a big problem
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