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By Frank Hyden, MMATorch contributer Note- Got a short column this week because, quite frankly, I've been slacking off and watching too much of the Olympics. What happened in the Taekwondo event was absolutely insane.
There's lots of things to change about the way the UFC puts on their shows. Some of the stuff would make the show better. Some of the stuff might make the show worse, but you never know unless you try. Most of this stuff is just little niggling things that aren't a big deal taken separately. But put together they can and do lead to some amount of frustration.
#1- No more commercials during a PPV. I understand the need to sell future pay-per-views or apparel or whatever, but I spent my money on this show, not a bunch of commercials. You have my money now, don't make me regret spending it. If I don't feel as though I'm getting my money's worth I may decide to stop giving you so much of it.
#2- Bring in more guest commentators. To be quite honest, it gets a little old listening to Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan all the time. It doesn't help that I usually know what trite comments they're going to make before they make them. Bringing in a different fighter to join the broadcast team would add some freshness to the show. It would also give the fighters a chance to show a different side of themselves, away from the tired cliches of the prefight sitdown interview. To be blunt, no bad can come from having guest commentators. Whether it's a different guest for each fight or one guy for the whole night, I'm for it. Even if a guest commentator totally bombs out it's still better than the alternative of listening to Goldberg and Rogan trying to fill time during slow moments of the show.
#3- More shots of the size of the crowd. This is only to be done with large crowds, obviously, but UFC needs to greater emphasize how large the crowds are at some of their shows. They can go with the hanging camera EliteXC uses or use more wide-angle shots. They need to better capture the energy at their shows. Perhaps they should use a camera that pans the crowd from the entrance the fighters use to get to the cage. Or, a few times per show, move a cameraman up to the very last row of seats and have him pan around. Or maybe hang a camera from the ceiling and use it to show the mass of humanity that's at one of their shows. They need to think outside the box in terms of the camera angles they use while presenting their shows. The same formula gets old after a while, no matter how good it may be.
#4- Don't cut to a shot backstage where the subject is just talking to someone or standing still. Mike Goldberg always tries to cover by saying they're getting, "mentally prepared" but it looks like they're just hanging out. I'll hang a mirror next to the TV and watch my friends if I want to see people just hanging out.
#5- Change the gladiator opening. I like the music but they need to get a different theme. I've always been in favor of changing the graphics of a show about once a year. And that goes for any show, sports or otherwise. Even the best stuff gets stale after a while.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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