The Bottom Line: Right Time for a UFC Grand Prix

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.*** Since Tyron Woodley knocked out Robbie Lawler at UFC 201 on Saturday in Atlanta, conversation in the MMA world has centered on the preponderance of title changes and upsets in the Ultimate Fighting Championship over the past year. In division after division, promising champions have fallen. Chaos has been the order of the day, and many have lamented the trend because it’s hard for star attractions to rise up in a sport increasingly defined by parity. It’s true that superstars are the lifeblood of an individual sport like MMA and that it’s hard for any fighter to stand out to the general public when championships flip back and forth so quickly. However, there are pros and cons to any trend, and a smart promoter recognizes how best to capitalize on a changing landscape. The current trend of frequent title changes and deep divisions of evenly matched contenders lends itself to an exciting concept the UFC has not yet attempted: the first ever UFC grand prix tournament. Tournaments have proven to be successful for many combat sports promotions. K-1 was built around its grand prix tournaments, which were its marquee showcases and drew over 50,000 fans at the Tokyo Dome for 10 straight years. Pride Fighting Championships and Dream likewise drew some of their biggest audiences for tournaments. The UFC has abandoned the tournament format, but it was tournaments that put the organization on the map and created a pay-per-view sensation. The potential for tournaments to do well in the UFC today is far from speculative. Tournaments are particularly effective at creating new stars, as winning a deep tournament is often perceived to be much more impressive than winning three straight fights. Bellator MMA created most of its stars through tournaments and has struggled to create new stars at the same rate since abandoning them. It was a Strikeforce tournament that took Daniel Cormier from prospect to star. The Super Six Classic in boxing did the same thing for Andre Ward. A Pride grand prix win established Mauricio Rua as a star and was a defining career highlight for others like Mirko Filipovic and Takanori Gomi. With all that said, the UFC under Zuffa management …

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