MMA Ratings had some correspondence with Adam Swift of MMA Payout regarding the UFC and co-promotion topic. Below are some excerpts:
Kamander:
…whether or not the [Randy vs. Fedor] fight ever happens, I think the UFC should resist as long as possible from a business perspective, because:
– Zuffa could very likely keep Randy tangled up in court for a while, and time is on their side.
– M1 will have to do more then simply promote this fight, they will have to achieve a significant amount of brand recognition prior to this fight.
– Co-promoting with M1 before M1 has significant brand recognition, basically provides M1 with that recognition, and saves them a lot of money.Now if Randy is legally allowed to fight in M1 before he’s too old and M1 has become a financial threat to the UFC, then the UFC will have something to consider. But all this will take some time and Zuffa will have ample time to maneuver. Once that all happens, here are further considerations:
– If Fedor beats Randy, how does that hurt the UFC? They are basically in the same position they are in now with Nogueira as their HW champ.
– If Randy beats Fedor, Randy will have been a UFC champ, and probably won’t continue to fight.That said, all the UFC has to loose by not co-promoting Randy vs. Fedor is the proceeds from that event. Which brings me back to my original point: “the only thing that will motivate the UFC to co-promote is if they loose their status as the top promotion.”
Swift:
We both agree that legitimizing a competitor is the greatest risk the UFC faces in the Couture-Fedor equation. The difference of opinion seems to be that I believe the most likely way to legitimize a competitor is by NOT co-promoting, whereas you believe that co-promotion is the legitimizer. I believe that Randy v. Fedor is a special situation because it will happen with or without the UFC. The UFC’s involvement would guarantee the minimization of M-1.
