Michael Rome of BloodyElbow raises the topic of MMA event production reform with regard to ring or cage entrances in his latest piece on the website:
A big part of promoting mixed martial arts is giving fans a reason to care about the fighters on the screen. They should have their favorites that they’re rooting for, because if they don’t they’re very unlikely to tune in in large numbers just to see good technique. They need to care, and in order to care they need to know who fighters are. Since Strikeforce doesn’t really have any vehicle to promote fighters outside of the cage, allowing for spectacular entrances is the next best thing. When BJ Penn’s music hits, you who it is. It’s a spectacular extension of his persona. Strikeforce has nothing like it.
This brings us to King Mo Lawal. It truly boggles the mind that his entrance wasn’t shown on television, considering the fact that it was the only somewhat special entrance of the night. Was Showtime embarrassed by it? Are they averse to star creation? The entrance wasn’t even anything that special compared to the kinds of entrances stars like Randy Couture, Forrest Griffin, and Georges St. Pierre have, but it was still worth showing.
Payout Perspective:
The issue of fighter entrances ties in well with the topic of story telling that we’ve discussed almost ad nauseam over the last few weeks.
A fighter’s entrance is a small but important part of communicating the personality, the human interest, and the overall story behind the individual that’s about to step into the cage . The fan reaction, the demeanor of the fighter as he approaches the cage, and even the choice of music can go a long way towards communicating a specific and very influential message.
By overlooking fighter entrances, Strikeforce is missing an opportunity to reach the fan in a unique and memorable way, which is ultimately a lost opportunity to drive awareness, interest, and viewership.
However, there’s a fine line between communicating a memorable message and exhibiting too much showmanship. An organization that focuses too much on the pyro, risks losing a bit of the professional sporting feel that is necessary for legitimacy. This is largely the reason why the UFC abandoned the stage entrance model in the earlier part of the decade – they wanted to put the focus on the fights and get away from that professional wrestling type of spectacle.
So, where does that leave the likes of Lawal or Miller? Their entrances do a good job of communicating who they are as individuals and differentiating them from the rest of the pack. But that will only continue to be the case so long as it doesn’t become a trend within the rest of the sport.
If everyone starts walking to the cage with an entourage of six girls, or a ten minute dance routine, then none of it adds any value. At that point there’s no unique message of differentiation – just a bunch of bad dancers.
I love Miller’s entrances.
They didn’t air Mo’s entrance . . . shame on them.
They fined Mo for drinking the sponsor’s drink after his victory . . . huhhh?
He he he. Excellent post. I agree. I think the things that stick out to me most are the entrances of each fighter. I think I started to take notice to entrance music when Mike Tyson walked out to Redman’s “Time 4 Sum Aksion.” That shit gave me the absolute chills and everytime I hear that music it reminds me of what Mike Tyson may have been thinking of upon his entrance into the ring.
BJ Penn’s entrance music does the same for me. The music is so calm and probably calms him before he enters the ring to release all of the rage.
The music, the clothes, the facial expressions all focused on the gladiator helps with the marketing of each individual fighter.
I think Mayhem Miller’s entrance extravaganza all stemmed from fighting in K-1 or Japan. A perfect example of that is Hong Man Choi’s entrance doing his little Korean pop rap with cutesy school girls singing backup. Sorry, but that looks really cheesy. I’d have to say the only K-1 entries I liked were those of Kid Yamamoto, Badr Hari, Melvin Manhoef (loose pit bull and MIke screaming at him is intense) and Genki Sudo.
In the end, I totally agree with MMA Payout. Please give us that one on one with the fighter and not doing your cheesy choreography with your horrible dancing.
Interesting subject. Like Mr Philpott said the UFC cut them out long ago and i remember at the time i wasnt to happy about it. Around that time Tito was putting on great intro’s with Limp Biscuit’s Break Stuff. It was one of there best ever. But the UFC found a why to cut back on production cost which was along with WWE theatrics why the quit them. But they were still able to use great intros. They did this by making you care about fighters through other avenues. Then using anticipation during the entrance. The UFC and the fighters make the best of just using music. Some of the most memorable entrances are recent. Rich Franklin coming out to “For those about to Rock (We Salute You)”. Couture coming out of retirement vs Sylvia to “Back in the saddle again”. I was there in person and it give everyone goose bumps. They didnt need any Pyro. They let their actions in and out of the ring combine with the music to create the moment.
I wish they would add the pyro back in but there has to be a cut off to keep everyone from doing it. Thats why only champs and headline fighters should get to do it.
Entrances are always going to be a fan favorite when it comes to MMA shows! Similar to starting line-ups in other sports, it gives the fans that opportunity to let the world know who they are going to cheer for and gives the audience a chance to see their favorite fighters as showcases. The music they choose and their attire is a major part of the show and fans appreciate that. Strikeforce’s first bout of the night always appears in the background leaving the fans a little disgruntled and puzzled. “Why couldn’t they wait just 5 more minutes to allow the fans to see the first bout entrances on the live broadcast?” We could all see King Mo in the background in his crazy attire dancing his way to the cage, we all wanted to see what was going on? The one area where Strikeforce lacks is in the entrance aspect, generic music instead of personal fighter picks, even with all the smoke and pyro, it still sucks and should be re-thought immediately! I never want to see MMA entrances that are similar to WWE entrances. Fans want to see fighters entering the cage in their own personal ways and how they choose to enter. Anyone who has ever attended a UFC event knows that as soon as a fighter’s music blares through the arena, as a fan the bar for spectator sports has just been elevated by 100%. Theres nothing like it! Strikeforce puts on great shows except in one area, fighter entrances!
Strikeforce seems like it’s just going through the motions. I have to ask myself, is there a principle-agent conflict here? Scott Coker is not exhibiting the same creativity and attention-to-detail that he did when he started Strikeforce back in 2007 with creating a huge fight out of shitty talent in Frank Shamrock vs. Cesar Gracie. Then he builds Cung Le from a guy in a peripherial low-quality kickboxing sport to a legitimate star by feeding him bad competition — culminating in Frank Shamrock vs. Cung Le. That’s good promotion, that’s creativity, that’s good event buisness.
Now it seems like Strikeforce doesn’t care so much. They hop into bed with anyone from CBS to M-1 Global. They sign fighters like Herschel Walker and Fedor that they never would have signed when they were more judicious with their cash. They don’t seem to care to build anyone up like they did Cung Le. Instead, they get fighters, they put on fights, and they collect a paycheck.
Is Strikeforce trying to be the next UFC or is it trying to milk a cash cow so that Scott Coker can retire on a beach somewhere?
Strikeforce needs Paul Heyman. They already match-make for exciting stand-up fights. They have already signed several of the more unique personalities of MMA.
There’s no better promoter for an underdog combat sports promotion than Paul Heyman.
Think about it.
PrideFC had extravagant everything. From a full fledged superbowl type start of the show, fighter theme music and dancers, and even TWO announcers. None of this took away from the fights. It added even more. If its done right like Pride did, I welcome it.