Ultimate Fighting Championship, a mixed martial arts (MMA) organization based out of the United States and known as the biggest MMA league, is owned by Lorenzo Fertitta, along with his brother Frank.
And he just said something pretty damn controversial. He’s declared that he feels “it’s not a bad thing” to bet on the UFC.
The quote that rocks the sportsbook world
By stating this the way he did, he’s putting himself and his organization, Ultimate Fighting Championship, on a solitary ledge in the sports community. His take on sports gambling is a complete 180 degree shift from the stance of the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), and most other major sports organizations in the United States and around the world. It’s such a gutsy move and I’m very curious to see the reaction that major anti-gambling commissioners in sports league have to this (e.g. David Stern from the NBA).
“If people want to bet legally on the UFC, we think that it’s not a bad thing,” said Fertitta.
Hell yeah Fertitta and UFC! This is exactly what I like to hear! What’s wrong with throwing down some bets on UFC fights legally at places like U.S. Friendly BetUS or other sportsbooks? I’m glad to see someone stepping up and having a unique attitude on sports gambling. Granted, it’s coming from the UFC, which in the modern sports world, is seen as the rebel child that doesn’t quite fit in neatly and friendly with the rest of the sports world.
Mixed Martial Arts versus the Sports World
We know the kind of heat that the MMA world gets from other sporting organizations like boxing for example. You’ve heard the smack talk that goes on between boxers and UFC fighters. I was going to do a comparison of the two organizations so I was going to type out the names of some boxing organizations but there’s such a ridiculous amount right now I can’t keep track… Some of the boxing associations I know off the top of my head are The World Boxing Association (WBA), The World Boxing Council (WBC), The International Boxing Organization (IBO), The International Boxing Federation (IBF). A quick search online and I come up with The International Olympic Boxing Association (IOBA) which I can only conclude is for the Olympics. Damn, I’m smart. But seriously, is there a need for so many “organizations” and “associations” in boxing? This is just one of those things that’s bringing down boxing – how the hell can you have multiple heavyweight champions? And then they have to “unify the belts”? What is that? Boxing is so overcommercialized and mismanaged it’s crazy.
Gambling and UFC: A marriage made in sports heaven?
Back to the Ulitmate Fighting Championship and the pro-gambling stance. This stance in favor of gambling on UFC results in what I feel will be an ever further fractured relationship between MMA and other sporting associations.
We can agree that boxing has its history. But is the future of sports owned by the likes of the UFC, International Fight League (IFL), and MMA? A lot of the big sporting leagues other than the National Football League are dwindling in attendance and interest. Meanwhile MMA is getting more popular than ever. Imagine how it’ll be in 10 years? 20 years?
This separation between these sports and MMA is not necessarily a bad thing. Think about it, sports like boxing are getting behind the times and I’m sad to say that because I really like boxing. But damn, when’s the last time you’ve seen a good boxing match? Or the last time you really got behind a fighter because you really identified with them? Unless it’s Rocky Balboa it really hasn’t happened. Granted, I was real into Felix Trinidad and Arturo Gatti, just cause I loved the heart they had and their relentless style. Instead, I’ve been associating more with UFC and MMA fighters. Guys like Tito Ortiz, Chuck “Iceman” Lidell.. these guys get me glued to the television. These guys make me pick up a pay-per-view box and watch it with my buddies and our girls.So really, this gutsy move just endears me more to the UFC and MMA movement. It shows that they aren’t afraid of breaking away from the rest of the sporting pack. They aren’t afraid of taking a stance on a controversial issue that other organizations in the sporting world take a politically correct stance on. Let’s face it, it’s easy to be anti-gambling and anti-sportsbook betting in today’s culture. Look at the Absolute Poker controversy and the arrests of major casino executives. It’s easy to point the finger. But it’s all about responsibility. Responsible betting, done in a legal way, is nothing to be ashamed of and should be something we embrace to have fun and unwind and make some money while we’re at it. I love that the UFC stands behind this and I’m sure many will agree with me.
The benefits of the pro-gambling stance of the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization
It makes sportsbook gamblers more at ease about being open about their UFC betting. It builds attention to a relatively young sport to a section of society that really takes these matches seriously. It’s going to make a lot of long-time boxing bettors think twice about betting on boxing matches and consider moving to UFC gambling due to the openness and frankness of its ownership group. We all know boxing has been a huge gambling mecca for a long time – maybe this gutsy quote shifts the gambling balance a bit in favor of MMA.
It’s a great move all around for the UFC.
And he just said something pretty damn controversial. He’s declared that he feels “it’s not a bad thing” to bet on the UFC.
The quote that rocks the sportsbook world
By stating this the way he did, he’s putting himself and his organization, Ultimate Fighting Championship, on a solitary ledge in the sports community. His take on sports gambling is a complete 180 degree shift from the stance of the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), Major League Baseball (MLB), and most other major sports organizations in the United States and around the world. It’s such a gutsy move and I’m very curious to see the reaction that major anti-gambling commissioners in sports league have to this (e.g. David Stern from the NBA).
“If people want to bet legally on the UFC, we think that it’s not a bad thing,” said Fertitta.
Hell yeah Fertitta and UFC! This is exactly what I like to hear! What’s wrong with throwing down some bets on UFC fights legally at places like U.S. Friendly BetUS or other sportsbooks? I’m glad to see someone stepping up and having a unique attitude on sports gambling. Granted, it’s coming from the UFC, which in the modern sports world, is seen as the rebel child that doesn’t quite fit in neatly and friendly with the rest of the sports world.
Mixed Martial Arts versus the Sports World
We know the kind of heat that the MMA world gets from other sporting organizations like boxing for example. You’ve heard the smack talk that goes on between boxers and UFC fighters. I was going to do a comparison of the two organizations so I was going to type out the names of some boxing organizations but there’s such a ridiculous amount right now I can’t keep track… Some of the boxing associations I know off the top of my head are The World Boxing Association (WBA), The World Boxing Council (WBC), The International Boxing Organization (IBO), The International Boxing Federation (IBF). A quick search online and I come up with The International Olympic Boxing Association (IOBA) which I can only conclude is for the Olympics. Damn, I’m smart. But seriously, is there a need for so many “organizations” and “associations” in boxing? This is just one of those things that’s bringing down boxing – how the hell can you have multiple heavyweight champions? And then they have to “unify the belts”? What is that? Boxing is so overcommercialized and mismanaged it’s crazy.
Gambling and UFC: A marriage made in sports heaven?
Back to the Ulitmate Fighting Championship and the pro-gambling stance. This stance in favor of gambling on UFC results in what I feel will be an ever further fractured relationship between MMA and other sporting associations.
We can agree that boxing has its history. But is the future of sports owned by the likes of the UFC, International Fight League (IFL), and MMA? A lot of the big sporting leagues other than the National Football League are dwindling in attendance and interest. Meanwhile MMA is getting more popular than ever. Imagine how it’ll be in 10 years? 20 years?
This separation between these sports and MMA is not necessarily a bad thing. Think about it, sports like boxing are getting behind the times and I’m sad to say that because I really like boxing. But damn, when’s the last time you’ve seen a good boxing match? Or the last time you really got behind a fighter because you really identified with them? Unless it’s Rocky Balboa it really hasn’t happened. Granted, I was real into Felix Trinidad and Arturo Gatti, just cause I loved the heart they had and their relentless style. Instead, I’ve been associating more with UFC and MMA fighters. Guys like Tito Ortiz, Chuck “Iceman” Lidell.. these guys get me glued to the television. These guys make me pick up a pay-per-view box and watch it with my buddies and our girls.So really, this gutsy move just endears me more to the UFC and MMA movement. It shows that they aren’t afraid of breaking away from the rest of the sporting pack. They aren’t afraid of taking a stance on a controversial issue that other organizations in the sporting world take a politically correct stance on. Let’s face it, it’s easy to be anti-gambling and anti-sportsbook betting in today’s culture. Look at the Absolute Poker controversy and the arrests of major casino executives. It’s easy to point the finger. But it’s all about responsibility. Responsible betting, done in a legal way, is nothing to be ashamed of and should be something we embrace to have fun and unwind and make some money while we’re at it. I love that the UFC stands behind this and I’m sure many will agree with me.
The benefits of the pro-gambling stance of the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization
It makes sportsbook gamblers more at ease about being open about their UFC betting. It builds attention to a relatively young sport to a section of society that really takes these matches seriously. It’s going to make a lot of long-time boxing bettors think twice about betting on boxing matches and consider moving to UFC gambling due to the openness and frankness of its ownership group. We all know boxing has been a huge gambling mecca for a long time – maybe this gutsy quote shifts the gambling balance a bit in favor of MMA.
It’s a great move all around for the UFC.