9. Both Are Cyclical Businesses Who Rely On Creating New Stars
What has emerged in the UFC in the last few years is a drop in fortunes. It isn't anything horrificly bad, but Ultimate Fighter tv ratings are nowhere near what they used to be. Pay per view is also down. The big characters of the peak MMA era such as Liddell, Ortiz, Lesnar and Couture are gone. Anderson Silva and Geoge St Pierre look pretty much done too. The impressive buy numbers and tv ratings have cooled off for the most part although still hot for specific stars like Silva. Dana White has found this problem because he copied Vince's way of doing business and this is exactly what Vince found after his stars such as Austin and Rock left. One of the biggest problems of the last decade for WWE has proved to be reversing the decline in PPV buys, which has ultimately led them to launching their own network. White's way of addressing his business decline is different, he's desperately trying to create new stars. The problem is, the likes of Chris Weidman are never going to replace an Anderson Silva. Jon Jones continues to emerge as the new face of UFC, as does Ronda Rousey. However, they are simply Cena and Batista to WWF's Rock and Austin. The fact is sports entertainment is cyclical and coming off a hot era it's almost impossible to have another big period. Fan perceptions are locked on to the past stars, the new generation are unfairly compared which diminishes their ability to emerge in their own right. As for Rousey, a few years ago White declared women would NEVER fight in his octagon. He's having to change all of his values as he looks for his next face of the company.