As I read over the opinions in relation to Steve Cofield's comments regarding the potential exodus of fighters in the UFC, it became evident that many people feel that it's an accurate statement, but the overall outlook of the fighter base will only improve. The one problem that I have with some of the opinions is that we aren't talking about the overall outlook of the talent within each weight division as a whole. We're talking about the UFC specifically, and we can only really claim one division as having major problems.
The UFC's Heavyweight division is the biggest contribution to the idea of a fighter exodus. Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic has moved on to DREAM, but will be back eventually. Tim Sylvia is rumored as seeking a better deal monetarily from possible M-1 or another promotion. Andrei Arlovski is all but gone after being pushed down to an undercard fight against Jake O'Brien as a farewell fight. Three top elite Heavyweights are gone, and people still claim that only 3 fighters leaving the promotion doesn't support the term "exodus".
I think it does, at least for the Heavyweight division. The top of the division looked like this: Antonio Nogueira, Tim Sylvia, uhhh... Werdum, Kongo, Mir, Lesnar, Vera, Gonzaga, and a few I forgot. If we transplant Sylvia to M-1 and become open to the fact that M-1 can wheel and deal fights with other promotions, the pool of fighters outside of the UFC grows to a level of very good competition that I feel is much better than the UFC's division. Fedor, Aleks, Arlovski, Couture for one fight, Sylvia, Barnett, and possibly Hunt, Rothwell, and Monson.
There are a couple of reasons that this small exodus is interesting in some ways to all MMA fans. First, the promotions outside the UFC will have some drawing power with the bigger names and can produce some premium matchups. Secondly, it allows the UFC to go out and start bringing in the next generation of talent in an otherwise slim heavyweight division. We get to see some of the bigger name fights in outside co-promoted events, and then turn around and watch the next generation of fighters gain their fame with the UFC's exposure. Right now, these roles are reversed, but the big difference is that the UFC has the resources to create stars much like many TUF alumni have experienced.
Of course, the current model works as well. Let the outside promotions be the proving grounds, and the UFC be the major leagues. The potential for the UFC to keep Sylvia and Arlovski is still there, and CroCop will be back at some point. In reality, the division may not suffer a setback at all. The UFC would remain the elite league to be in, and the rest of the world's heavyweight divisions would be the proving grounds to get noticed by Joe Silva.
In any instance, I don't think it affects the UFC a great deal. They have the promoting power to make a rags to riches story out of any heavyweight with some good talent and has the capacity to improve over his career. Mass exodus or not, the UFC's power to fill lacking divisions has worked in the past.