10 Improvements UFC Has To Make

Contrary to popular belief, no person or company has ever become a world renowned success overnight.

Sure, a sudden jolt of popularity can bring that company or individual to the forefront of pop culture, but that spark of excitement is normally fuelled by years of hard work and mistakes that had to be learned from in order to grow.

UFC has followed that very same trajectory and - to casual viewers - looks to have engulfed a large chunk of the sporting landscape out of nowhere. Yet, it was through years of failing and refining that Dana White brewed up the winning MMA formula that we know today.

That's not to say that the UFC is perfect, though.

There are still enough moments of controversy and head-scratching to leave some fans wondering why they even bothered investing in one of their PPVs to begin with. Couple that with the questionable treatment of some of their employees and you soon find that UFC has sizeable room for improvement.

That's not to say that the company is teetering on the edge of collapse, but these few tweaks would surely help polish an already ground-breaking promotion.

Let's start with an issue that isn't just associated with the UFC. Title vacating also rears its frustrating head in sports like boxing and has done for decades.

The act of relinquishing a belt (or having an interim version created) can sometimes be unavoidable - a fighter can't help being injured - but sometimes it can be the result of one greedy brainwave.

Wanting to dominate multiple divisions.

UFC has become the home of the pound-for-pound top MMA contenders on the planet. So, to deprive them of the opportunity to test themselves against each other in different weight classes kind of defeats the whole point of the promotion in the first place.

That being said, when a title gets dropped or an interim belt is introduced - to keep the division warm until the ambitious 'undisputed' champ returns - it cheapens the weight class entirely.

Instead of depriving the scrapping contenders a shot at the genuine belt, UFC needs to bring a contractual title defence clause into play. This would ensure that champions have to stay in the division they are reigning over for a minimum of say, three defences (if they aren't usurped before then) which would then earn them the chance to go and challenge for a second belt.

Yes, this would mean that UFC would lose out on a few more twin-title photo opportunities, but the restoration of pride and legitimacy to each division would more than make up for that.