5 Reasons why Vince McMahon loves signing MMA Fighters and UFC Champions

Karan
Smells like greenbacks
Smells like greenbacks

If WWE fans missed SmackDown on Fox, they would have missed the likes of Cain Velasquez tackling Brock Lesnar and giving him a beating. This happened right after Lesnar beat Kofi Kingston for the WWE Championship and according to recent reports, Velasquez will be challenging Lesnar for the title at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia.

Velasquez's WWE debut generated a lot of mainstream buzz. While that closed the show, boxing champ Tyson Fury was also involved in an altercation with Braun Strowman, after jumping the barricade in an attempt to get physical with 'The Monster Among Men.' Rumors suggest that this could also lead to an appearance in Saudi Arabia. If there is one thing that Vince McMahon does exceptionally well, it's keeping WWE in the news at all times.

This all leads to some questions. Why over the last several years have there been numerous athletes from other combat sports crossing over to WWE? The tradition goes back decades and the answers are countless. But, "E pluribus unum" means "Out of many, one" or to be more specific, five. Here are 5 Reasons why Vince McMahon loves signing MMA Fighters and UFC Champions.


#5 Crossover Appeal

It does help
It does help

There are several WWE Superstars who have had a UFC or MMA background, such as Matt Riddle, Shayna Baszler, Ronda Rousey and others. WWE have always attracted athletes from various backgrounds, such as NFL, track and field, amateur wrestling, and MMA.

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Vince McMahon has been doing this for years, ever since the very first WrestleMania, by getting celebrities, movie stars, singers and boxing legends like Muhammad Ali involved in WWE. This set the template going forward and launched WWE into the mainstream. The fact is that while WWE is popular, sometimes the company needs a little extra fuel in order to attract the attention of major media outlets worldwide.

#4 Making WWE a legitimate sport

Legit fighters
Legit fighters

When WWE secured the Fox deal and moved to Fridays, it was rumored to be worth a billion dollars over 5 years. When the deal was announced, WWE's press release clearly stated,

"The weekly, two-hour live event will air 52 weeks a year and captivate fans with a unique combination of edge-of-your-seat action, unpredictable drama and world-class athleticism."

The ratings for the SmackDown on Fox debut nearly garnered 4 Million viewers.

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In the age of WWE Network and declining ratings, those numbers are unprecedented. Of course, the premiere had several stars participating including The Rock, as well as former UFC Champion Brock Lesnar, who defeated Kofi Kingston in the main event to become the new WWE Champion. Throw in Tyson Fury and you can understand how WWE was trying to come off as a legitimate sport.

It's possible those numbers go down in the coming weeks, as most season premieres for any TV show start off high and tend to flatten out over time. Still, many in the mainstream were talking about the arrival of Cain Velasquez and the beatdown he gave Brock Lesnar. The show got people talking and Fox executives were probably happy with the results. They can only hope the trend continues.

#3 Attracting the combat sports audience

Trying to get those UFC fans to flip over
Trying to get those UFC fans to flip over

A new audience will only help ratings for SmackDown and RAW going forward. The NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler was a legit MMA fighter, as was Matt Riddle before he was let go from the UFC. NXT is constantly hailed as the most pro wrestling of the WWE brands given that it devotes itself to the idea of a sports-like atmosphere with bell-to-bell action.

Moreover, this also gives rise to new sponsors. While this also has to do with WWE shifting to a PG rating and making their action more family friendly, sports sponsorship can attract new revenue to the publicly traded company.

According to a recent study,

"Sports properties generated $32 billion for their sponsor brands in 2018 on social media. This is a 45-percent increase from $21 billion in 2017."

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By having legitimate UFC fighters in their ranks, WWE can attract the same sponsors that are also involved with the UFC. For instance, SmackDown on Fox's debut attracted Progressive Insurance as a presenting sponsor. WWE's move to more sports-oriented programming, likely gives the company more credibility with advertisers.

The jury is still out on whether this will work over the long term, but in the meantime, a lot more people are suddenly interested in WWE's product.

#2 Promoting A Big Fight Feel with real fighters

Big time fight
Big time fight

While WWE fans have had mixed feelings about Brock Lesnar's WWE Universal and WWE Championship runs, there's no doubt that he's a legitimate mainstream draw. His match against Goldberg at WrestleMania 33 certainly had the feel of a big fight that could be in the same vein of Ali vs Frazier or Khabib vs McGregor.

WWE has done this many times in the past. Go back to WrestleMania 3 when Hulk Hogan was taking on the undefeated Andre the Giant. John Cena and The Rock's "Once in a Lifetime" match at WrestleMania 28 was another that had the feel of a big time legitimate prize fight.

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Ronda Rousey's work in WWE certainly had people talking about one of the greatest female UFC fighters of all time. Ronda Rousey even went on to headline WrestleMania 35, marking the first time a female ever headlined the event, making history for all the right reasons.

Rousey's UFC work definitely played a factor in getting that WrestleMania main event spot. While taking nothing away from Becky Lynch, Ronda Rousey's legit fight status certainly helped the match feel more real in its presentation. This makes more sense as to why Vince McMahon believes real fighters can push the brand going forward.

#1 Recreating UFC Fights in WWE

One more time
One more time

When Cain Velasquez debuted on SmackDown and tackled Brock Lesnar, fans remembered that he was one of only three men who defeated Lesnar in the UFC. In fact, Lesnar lost the UFC Heavyweight Championship to Velasquez back at UFC 121. WWE bringing him back already has a built in storyline and it makes a sense to book a rematch between the two.

This is not uncharted territory for WWE. Back in the Attitude Era, WWE had UFC Fighters Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn in the company at the same time. While a matchup between the two didn't come to fruition, WWE did play upon their history in the UFC in a time when the UFC was not as popular or legitimate as it is today.

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Since the 1990s, the UFC has transformed into one of the biggest fight promotions in the world. While Lesnar's loss to Velasquez was not one of the highest-selling PPVs at the time, it marked the beginning of the end for 'The Beast Incarnate' in the UFC. He never really recovered from that loss.

With Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez rumored to be booked for Crown Jewel 2019, it should attract some UFC fans into the fold. A more cynical view would be that WWE is just doing this to take Velasquez and make him exclusive to their company, but that's just business. It will be interesting to see how things pan out in the weeks to come.


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