Dana White on one night tournaments

"My philosophy on that was, this many people want to see a crazy freak show, that many people want to see a real sport. We believe that's why the thing has grown as fast as it has and become as big as it has, because people want to see a real sport. So, no.

Plus, we couldn't do that anymore; you could never do a one-night tournament. And to be honest with you, the one-night tournament thing never worked; it didn't make sense.

Imagine going three rounds, two tough guys, and then you gotta get back in the tournament and fight again another thirty minutes. It's not fair. It doesn't really determine who the best guy is."

http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/01/25/dana-white-squashes-one-night-tournament-concept/

I completely agree,the only tournaments that work are like the ones that Bellator have been putting out and hopefully the one strikeforce are giving us,will work out great also.

No fighter should fight more than once a night,that is just purely circus side show shit,this is a pro sport,where you need to put in a full training camp,to study and get yourself in the best condition to come in totaly prepared for each opponent in every fight,not having two fighters that have just had a half arsed 30 min gameplan whipped up for them for their next rd fight,with maybe a half banged up fighter that has just dug out a hard UD,having to face a guy that's fresh off a 40 second KO in the next rd,or two guys that are nearly completely fucked from their 1st fights putting on a shocking performance because each of them only has 30% left in them.

one night tournaments is real MMA...this aint boxing so fuck off Dana.

of course, only an idiot would think its unfair to match up a guy who won in 40 seconds with a guy who won close decision...because "it doesnt really see who is best" well duh...its about who is the best of the whole tournament, not individual fights!!
everyone knows that Overeem beat Saki easily because he had a broken arm, that simply means Saki shouldnt have gotten his arm broken in the first round.

obviously dana has never seen judo or any of the reputable sports making people fight several times in a short time.


War one night tournaments, war Ricardo Morais (submitted 5 guys in a night), War Royce Gracie, Igor Vovchanchyn, Renato Babalu and the rest of them!!

If Dana is serious about making a proper neat and tidy regulated sport, he should follow the example set by Shooto.

Shooto is a combat sport that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission.
Shooto fighters are categorized into four Classes.

* Class-D : Amateur (2x2min, Headgear, Special point system)
* Class-C : Amateur (2x3min, Headgear, Special point system)
* Class-C+: Amateur (2x3min)
* Class-B : Pro (2x5min)
* Class-A : Pro (3x5min)

Fighters start out as Class-D or Class-C fighters and enter amateur competitions that Shooto hosts together with the help of local gyms all over Japan. Class-D Shooto does not allow knee strikes to the face or striking on the ground. Class-C Shooto does not allow striking on the ground, but knee strikes to the head are allowed. There are regional championship and once a year the All-Japan amateur championships. Then a fighter can get a Class-B pro license, these fights are 2x5 minute long and use the same rules as Class-A fights. For new pros Shooto each year hold a rookie tournament in each weightclass.

When a fighter has gathered enough wins and experience in Class-B he will get awarded with a Class-A license, as a sign that he's part of the elite professional fighters.

There are dozens of Shooto licensed gyms all over the world, and Shooto have world champions, pacific rim champions, and a rookie tournament in each weight class each year.
they also have amatuer champs etc etc

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooto

I would like to see one night tourneys make a comeback, it certainly separates the men from the boys!!!

I can see where you are coming from payne, but with some changes, tournaments could easily fit into their schedule.

Take an 8 man tourney for example. Quarter and semi finals, one round, of say 7 minutes. The final would be one round of 10 minutes. No fighter would fight longer than 25 minutes, which is the same length as a title fight, but with longer breaks between rounds. Score the fights in a method similar to Pride, with point deductions for inaction (wall and stall, lay and pray holding position bollocks) and more emphasis on damage to the opponent and attempts to finishing the fight.

Fights would be short and fast paced, timing wise it could easily fit into a PPV, and theoretically the best fighter would win. If someone gets injured, then that is no different than someone breaking their hand in the first round of a fight.

The thing I like about this is that more natural and well rounded fighters would be at an advantage as game plans would be near pointless.

I would see it like MMA's version of T20 cricket. Let's face it - the UFC in particular needs something different. As a near monopoly, they have become a bit stale and have not done anything different for a while and have started resting on their laurels. TUF has become a bit dull and the quality of fighters going through the program overall seems to diminish with every series. I can see the UFC's point of view in that they have their successful business model in place and may be scared to deviate from that in case they lose cash but you can't go wrong with a tournament!!!

What are the athletic commissions views of tournaments? Anyone know?

dana is probably thinking of the money if he puts a top fighter in there who earns 150k per fight. that fighter will want 3 times that for one night.

i love one night tournaments Prizefighter is one of the boxing events i look forward to most

why don't we make the goals at the world cup 5 ft bigger,make it 15 minutes each way and we could get it all over and done in a weekend by making each team play 3-4 games a day,what about deciding wimbledon in a day by making 3 games sets and first to two.

One night tourneys in nearly any sport are for amature sports and not professional sports.

Not only are they IMO wrong for pro fighters,for the reasons i said,but also most of the time they get fucked up through injuries.

If one was on,would I watch it,yeah of coarse i would,they are fun,I'm not denying that,(i'd watch any form of combat sport)but i don't think they have a place in the pro ranks of the sport,they are purely entertainment shows,that are better suited as gameshow,entertainment style shows,for fans that aren't really interested in the competitors themselves or the skills they can show in a full proper fight,they are more interested in wanting to see a spectacle exhibiton for a quick and easy excitement fix.

I'm more interested in seeing a built up pro fight though,with two evenly matched fighters that have had a full training camp and are 100% ready to fight,100% focused on their opponent and want to leave it all out there without in the back of there minds thinking they might need to save something.



A pro MMA fighter should,like I said,have a full training camp to get himself ready for each 15 - 25 minute fight against one opponent.

A pro fighter,should also get paid per fight,it's his livelyhood and family he's looking out for,and he should be able to make sure he's in the best condition mentally aswell as pyshically for every opponent he faces,so he can maximise his career and the money he can earn from it,not risk himself going into something unprepared,tired,maybe at a disadvantage and not in the best condition he could possible get himself in,just to put on a exhibition style show.


Even if you shortened the rds,(which again doesn't change anything I think is wrong with them)you wont be finding the best fighters,you'd be finding the best three rd brawlers,I mean how would Ali,Sugar ray leonard,Mayweather and boxers of top quality have faired in three rd multiple fight,one night tourneys.
they probably wouldn't of been able to use there brilliant skills to out box and tire there opponents out like they can in a full fight,you'd have more than likely seen a wild brawler with far less skills take them in a 3 rd fight.
Butterbean would of stood a chance at winning one of these in a group of world class HW's


I don't know that much about Prizefighter apart from what i've caught on Sky sports news over here,but I would doubt a world class fighter would entertain the Idea of entering something like that,I could be wrong but isn't it basicly an Amature Toughman compitition,fought by pro's that hardly have a career left in boxing.

I just can't see nor want to see top pro MMA fighters in these Tournaments,I think the sport is so much better off since they stopped them over here to be honest,and i think the growth in the sport since they stopped,back that up some what also.

the format for a tournament that Bellator and now Strikeforce are using are great,since the fighters can rest,recover,replan and refocus for every opponent,allowing them to go full out and leave it all out there for every round.

payneNglory1 wrote:I don't know that much about Prizefighter apart from what i've caught on Sky sports news over here,but I would doubt a world class fighter would entertain the Idea of entering something like that

You've obviously never seen Carl "The Fridge" Baker...



Carl Baker > Danny Williams > Mike Tyson > Larry Holmes > Muhammed Ali

by the way i didnt mean to call anyone an idiot in my earlier post.

A pro MMA fighter should,like I said,have a full training camp to get himself ready for each 15 - 25 minute fight against one opponent.

A pro fighter,should also get paid per fight,it's his livelyhood and family he's looking out for,and he should be able to make sure he's in the best condition mentally aswell as pyshically for every opponent he faces,so he can maximise his career and the money he can earn from it,not risk himself going into something unprepared,tired,maybe at a disadvantage and not in the best condition he could possible get himself in,just to put on a exhibition style show.

whats all this "a pro fighter should..." nonsense?

believe me if the UFC wanted to hold an 8 man tournament the fighters would be queueing up to take part, it would be at a disadvantage to guy like Kenny Florian, who cherry picks his opponents, but it really would show who the best fighters are!!!!

It would be a disadvantage to guys like GSP and Greg Jackson, who like to scientifically analyse ways to restrain their opponent as much as possible.

at the end of the day tournaments are what MMA ~ and all martial arts competitions are built upon, the only real exception being professional boxing. so payne and dana are basing their beliefs on the sole example that does things that way.
if i wanted to watch protected fighters turn into hype machines based on favourable match-making etc.etc. i would watch boxing...or the UFC apparently.

whats all this "a pro fighter should..." nonsense?

sorry I should of said IMO,but I thought it was obvious that this is only my opinion,there's no right or wrong mate.

nothing like boxing,the UFC always try to make sure the best fight the best or the two guys that do fight are close to each other within there rankings,while they are moving up or down the rankings,OK obviously this isn't always the case,and they have in thetre tiome obviously put out a few mismatches,before anyone brings up the Randy - Toney fight,but i'd say atleast 90% of the time they do it the right way,so who are these protected fighters that you are talking about,Kenny ?? looking at who he's fought in the UFC,I wouldn't say he's one personally.
if you want to watch protected fighters turned into hype machines based on favourable match making you'd better stick to watching your favourite JMMA stars.

"it doesnt really see who is best" well duh...its about who is the best of the whole tournament, not individual fights!!
everyone knows that Overeem beat Saki easily because he had a broken arm, that simply means Saki shouldnt have gotten his arm broken in the first round.

seriously,you've stunned me with that statement,fancy going out and getting your arm broken,surely he should of known that could maybe be a hinderance in his next fight.

I believe you find out who the best fighter is,aswell as who the best fighter of the tournament is,if you do it the bellator/Strikeforce way,it eliminates all the bullshit I dislike that comes with one day tournaments and you get to see who is the best,in fair competative fights that fighters can give there all into every fight,giving us fans a show.

Steve Jennum was great wasn't he,obviously the best fighter in that tourney
I suppose Hansen was the best fighter in the Dream LW tournament aswell,even though he was originally eliminated in the second round.
what about the most recent Shine GP that Ficket won not long ago,Ficket faced Prater in the final having fought a total of about 6 mins,while Prater fought a hard 13 min (2-5 min rds + 3 min OT rd) in his first fight,which he actually lost but continued because Crunkilton couldn't continue,then he faced a fresh guy,Brown in the next rd because baker his original opponent had to pull out through injury,who took him another 10 mins,so basicaly he had to fight a full championship fight (well 23 mins)just to get to the final,where he had to then face a guy who had bearly fought over one rd.

Guess what,Prater was fucked and Ficket took him out in no time,that was a great final and what a surprise that result was hey.

They just don't work,never mind that injuries and fresh reserves coming in,fuck things up,but you don't get the best fights at these things either,because fighters either hold back in the first fights,knowing they need to keep something in the tank for the next rd,one fighter ends up facing an opponent he now easily beats because his opponent is only at 50%,one guy gets an easy ride to the final while the other turns up at the final fucked or they both end up fucked and unable to put on a good show in the final.


They are not good for the sport or the fighters,I personally think you should get over watching movies like Enter the dragon and bloodsport or playing to much mortal combat,streetfighter and Tekkan on your computers as a kid and separate it from what actually happens in real actual proffesional sports.

True It might not determine who the best man is to a degree when injuries come in to play but hell they are entertaining from K1 GP's to Prizefighter nothing is more exciting.

Steve Jennum was great wasn't he,obviously the best fighter in that tourney


Bit of a sore spot that one mate that should have been my man Harold Howard's moment of glory

Albion_Oakley wrote:
Steve Jennum was great wasn't he,obviously the best fighter in that tourney


Bit of a sore spot that one mate that should have been my man Harold Howard's moment of glory

i prefer tourneys over different events like the pride GP's.

I remember Strikeforce did a 4 woman one night tournament last year with #1 contendership for the 135lb title on the line. First round was 2*5 min with the final 3*5 min.

Seemed a pretty viable format.

Not to mention K-1 wouldn't be half the sport it was if there was no WGP and just a bunch of fights over the year with a vague ladder to belt system.