As we've commented on in the past, WAMMA is an organization that is looking to sanction the sport of mixed martial arts. This has been looked down upon as many people in the business of promoting mixed martials arts simply see WAMMA as a virus. Confirming some of our suspicions, CBS Sports ran a small AP story on WAMMA with some notable quotes from people involved in the organization as well as quotes from Dana White himself.
The first quote from David Szady, CEO of WAMMA:
"You don't have those entrenched folks right now," said Szady, the CEO of the for-profit organization and a former FBI assistant director for counterintelligence. "You have the beginnings of the sport, and we're trying to help take the sport mainstream."
Mixed martial arts doesn't exactly need help heading toward the mainstream. The only real obstacles that MMA has is the fact that it's hand-to-hand combat with more elements than that of boxing. Boxing has mastered the art of calling itself the sweet science and garnering audiences that want to see the beautiful battles in the ring of the highly technical striking athletes. MMA has that element at times, but usually isn't as beautiful and is seen as more brutal. Add in the fact that ground tactics come into play, submission techniques, and small gloves that allow for the quick knockout, it seems that many of these aspects of MMA are keeping it out of the mainstream due to some people feeling that it's just a street brawl.
MMA has, however, grown and proven that it can produce ratings in certain demographics. This seems to be the driving force behind its growth. Besides the piece of the population that simply enjoys the huge standup wars and knockouts, there also seems to be a growing fanbase that enjoys the technical aspects of fights. The jiu-jitsu battles, the submission attempts, and the tactical prowess of the all-around fighter who can end it either on the ground or on the feet. This may be another encouraging piece of the puzzle for MMA. Can it begin to do the same that boxing has done in making people see the sweet science in the sport?
With those aspects of MMA being part of the larger debate as to whether or not it can break into the mainstream, what exactly is WAMMA hinting at? My opinion is that MMA has to break the perception that these fighters are just knuckleheads. The constant debate of boxing vs. MMA always leads to an argument about how Boxing is the sweet science and MMA is just a street fight. As MMA fans, we all know that MMA takes a lot more training and training multiple aspects of the game to be successful. WAMMA doesn't seem to be helping that part of the equation. If helping MMA break into the mainstream means getting huge sponsors, MMA must first tackle the obvious hurdle that is its perception.
Szady and WAMMA founding partner Michael Lynch understand what they're up against. They say their goal isn't to take money from the promoters, but to generate revenue from a sponsored title belt given to a single champion in each weight class.
This is the second piece on WAMMA that basically stated this goal for WAMMA. From the press release of WAMMA's creation and this article, WAMMA's main concern seems to be profit from a sponsored title. They will sanction the bouts, do the medical clearance, and other things that the Athletic Commissions throughout the United States seem to already be doing.
It all sounds good in theory, but conspicuously absent from a recent news conference announcing WAMMA at a midtown Manhattan steakhouse was any representation from the UFC, even though it was promoting a pay-per-view card that weekend not far away in Trenton, N.J.
The UFC, which in the early 1990s first showcased MMA to an American audience, was responsible for bringing the sport back several years ago. It worked meticulously to popularize the combat sport, working with state athletic commissions to get fights approved.
It's been the face of the sport ever since, signing most of the top fighters and putting on mega pay-per-views, and is understandably wary of an outsider looking for a cut of the profits.
"Sanctioning bodies are what killed boxing. They're a virus in this sport," said UFC president Dana White, who got his start in boxing. "Nobody wants that for this sport. It's one of the beautiful things about this sport right now. It doesn't have all the dirty, greedy stuff."
The UFC is the number one reason why WAMMA will not survive. Although many organizations seem to be contemplating on using the sanctioning body, the biggest promotion in the world that holds nearly all of the best fighters in every division is not going to be a participant. If WAMMA intends to determine who the best fighter in the world is while getting money from sponsors to slap their name on a title belt, how can they do so without the #1 fighters in the world? Even more disheartening for the sanctioning body, many other promotions look at the UFC's denial of the body as a sign:
White sees WAMMA as one of several organizations "coming out of the woodwork to make a buck out of this thing," and worries that it will breed other sanctioning bodies.
"Maybe there's other organizations that want to use (WAMMA)," White said. "We'll never be involved."
IFL chief executive Jay Larkin said he has no problem cross-promoting - his organization is already working with Mark Cuban's HDNet Fights -- but can't see how the UFC has anything to gain from an overarching sanctioning body.
"That to me, in this moment, appears to be the fatal flaw," Larkin said.
Open and shut case. The UFC won't be involved. The article also has a quote from Jay Larkin, Chief Executive for the IFL. The IFL has co-promoted with HDNet recently with Tim Kennedy battling Jason Miller this weekend. Larkin sees what many of us see as fans. The simple fact that the UFC won't be moving toward working with the sanctioning body is "the fatal flaw".
Let's ask one specific question though. What's wrong with organizations co-promoting currently in MMA? Is there really a need for a sanctioning body to help see who is actually the best fighter? If fighters want to see if they are the best, join the UFC's ranks. It's as simple as that. Maybe there are cases in which the UFC lowballs a fighter who wants to come into the organization, so they end up signing with Strikeforce, EliteXC, or another organization. What can they do to possibly get the money they deserve? Keep winning.
Organizations outside the UFC have been co-promoting with each other for quite some time now. Strikeforce, EliteXC, BodogFIGHT, and even K-1 are all intertwined at times by co-promoting events. This can continue to occur without the use of sanctioning bodies. Sure, it won't determine who the best in the world is, but the UFC seems to have a fairly big grasp on the fighters who are determined to be the best.
Final thoughts
WAMMA once again confirms our suspicions that they are clearly in this to make a buck. Without the UFC, even other smaller organizations such as the IFL are weary of the organization. I can't imagine that ProElite will be jumping on board either. Without bigger organizations working with the sanctioning body, we most likely will be seeing the body dissolve soon enough.