The state of MMA: Boring cards, ex-fighters going crazy, and lawsuits
MMA, or more specifically UFC, lately, has been in a bit of a downward spiral in the past year. There are a number of controversies about various things and for the most part, the once very open-to-talk-about-anything Dana White is remaining very quiet about the issues when honestly, a lot of this stuff needs to be talked about immediately.
We'll start things out with what is really important, and that is the fact that the cards lately have just been rather boring non-issues and there isn't a great deal on the horizon that looks as though it is going to change that.
While not entirely their fault, much of this can be attributed to the rise of the Daegestan fighter. This specific part of Russia introduced a very unique fighting style that while effective is, for lack of a better word, boring. It also just happens to be very effective. The fights consist of extreme levels of patience on the part of the fighters and a real urge to get to the ground for a very unique mixture of wrestling and jiu-jitsu. There is nothing wrong with these things, but when it ends up combined with a real lack of punching and kicking, this isn't a great deal of fun for the audience and the crowds are starting to boo at events when the fights go to the ground and stay there.
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This is not necessarily a new strategy, it is a very valid one and has been used by loads of people for a very long time. The first time I can recall someone using the rules of the octagon, which favor "ground control time" as a point of achieving victory, was a fighter named Johny (not spelled wrong) Hendricks. Once finally getting the belt all of his fights consisted of him getting his opponents to the ground and then just hanging out there. He didn't appear to even be trying to do any damage once he got in that position. While the Daegestani fighters aren't that bad, they don't seem to be in any hurry to actually do anything with the time they do spend on the ground and are waiting for a perfect moment.
In a way this is admirable, that they have a plan, but that doesn't make it entertaining for the watcher and once a fight with any of these guys goes to the ground it is just a waiting game: Waiting for them to go for some boring arm move or for the ref to stand them up due to inactivity. I suppose you could wait for the end of the round as well and it's kind of funny because at many of the bars I have been at in the past year for PPV events, as soon as a Daegestani takes someone to the ground, the masses can be seen heading for the bathrooms because they are basically certain that nothing is going to happen and for the most part, they are correct.
It doesn't help that the Daegestani fighters also tend to not have much in the way of exciting personalities either and therefore are terrible at the promotional game and are basically stoic during interviews and the short films that are made about them.
Next up we have the always tragic story of ex-fighters ending up in a bad state after their run with fighting has come to an end.
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If you have any history with this sport, you probably know the name BJ Penn. He is an OG in the game, and was a pioneer or a trailblazer or whatever other cliche word you can think of. Basically he was there at the start and helped make MMA what it is today. He is also a legend that tainted his good name by sticking around far too long after his prime and suffered a lot of damage to both his reputation and likely his brain by getting beaten up repeatedly. He holds a record for 7 straight losses before Dana White finally refused to allow him any more fights and now the amount of times his brain has been knocked to "la la land" is showing some more of the dark side of this sport.
BJ Penn has been arrested multiple times in 2025 stemming from him accusing his family members of having been murdered by his mother and replaced by imposters. He accuses his mother of being a body double as well and has gone so far with the psychological abuse that she has a restraining order against her own son. This past time BJ Penn was arrested for violating the restraining order and we are getting to a point of "what else can be done?"
They guy is clearly messed up and Dana White and the rest of the UFC isn't really talking about it even though they are asked about it constantly. I guess I can understand their silence because what advice are they really going to offer? They aren't scientists or doctors, but I don't think you need to have an advanced degree to know punch-drunk crazy when you see it. I don't know what the future holds for BJ Penn, but it doesn't look like it is going to be good.
Last up we have the never ending lawsuits against UFC, some of which I can agree with. The UFC has long been accused, I think correctly, of cornering the market so that they never have any real competition. I try to like ONE and Bellator, but the fact remains that the best talent is all at UFC. They have been accused of locking fighters into long-term contracts and then not even utilizing them. While this is only speculation and there is no paper trail about this sort of thing, the UFC is accused of buying up contracts with various fighters not for the intention of actually promoting them and using them, but making it so other promotions CAN NOT use them.
If true, this is a horrible practice across the board and not only does it ensure there is no competition for views, it stifles the careers of fighters who might have had a chance at glory. Think about it: You reach the promised land by getting a contract with the biggest promotion in the land only to have them not offer you any fights for years. They never wanted to use you and don't actually think you are good enough but the real reason they hired you was so that Bellator wouldn't get views from you.
Unfortunately, this lawsuit is a class-action suit being propped up by one of the most boring fighters of all time, Phil Davis.
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Even though I really didn't care for Phil in the ring, I believe that what he is saying should be listened to by a judge and if necessary, a jury. He is suing for contracts to be limited to 1 year meaning that any fighters locked into a contract with UFC (or any other promotion) would have a restrictive contract for a maximum length of 1-year. After that time they would be permitted to look for other "work" anywhere that they want.
It is unfortunate, but since we live in a world dominated by lawyers, understandable, that the lawsuit seeks a crazy amount of money in compensation as well.
It also seeks to end the clause that is in all UFC fighters' contracts that doesn't allow them to join class-action lawsuits against UFC which is a strange clause to have in a contract, doncha think?
In the end 2025 has not been a great year for UFC or for MMA generally speaking and this is before we even start to talk about the fact that the Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones, seems to be completely unwilling to defend his title but due to his relationship with Dana White and UFC, isn't being stripped of his belt like anyone else would be.
I am not excited about anything UFC has planned for the rest of the year and I am not alone in this sentiment. I would have loved to have started to watch other promotions but there is no denying that UFC has a headlock on all the top talent in the world, yet doesn't use them.
I hope something will change soon but rather than step back and address the situation, UFC is now focusing on creating a monopoly in the world of boxing as well and man oh man, I hope that they are not successful in that!