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MMA has always learned from the mistakes of other major combat sports and that is why the world of MMA is built with leagues rather than promoters.
In boxing, the world is split by promoters who manage fighters and their careers in order to allow those fighters to earn the most possible with someone controlling their contracts.
The problem with that system is the fact that those promoters tend to take the path that is best for their fighter and only their fighter.
They have never liked to sign a fight contract with a fighter who had a good chance of beating their fighter.
It has led to a system where the best fighters in the world almost never face off and if they do it often comes at a point where there are literally no fights left.
The MMA world is different as they learned that fans don’t want to wait to see the big fights only to see them when the fighters are past their prime.
That informed the promotions in MMA to form in a different way as the promotions would sign enough fighters to pit them against each other.
They created what was essentially leagues and with full rosters of fighters they could pick and choose any matchup without any concern over their fighter having success.
They could put together fights that everyone wanted to see because no matter who lost it didn’t really matter in the long term.
This has always been one of the biggest selling points of the sport of MMA as the best fighters often fought each other in their prime.
That was the biggest selling point of the UFC as well as it was always the promotion with the best talent in the world.
That meant that the best were going to face the best on a regular basis giving fans the fights that they want to see.
The UFC might not have as big a monopoly on talent as they used to but they still know how to put together the fights that fans want.
That is what they seem to be doing more and more as they head into the end of the year as dream matchups are becoming more common in the final few months.
One of those will be two fighters who never back down from a fight and are known for earning bonuses every time they step into the octagon.
Donald Cerrone was the original as he was the first guy in MMA to make his name by never saying no to a fight.
No matter the risk he was always game to get into the octagon and fight someone even if he had to travel halfway around the world.
His exciting fighting style made sure he was a fan favourite as he was always a favourite for a bonus.
Justin Gaethje is the younger version of Cerrone as he has taken the same path to being a fan favourite.
The college wrestler came into his MMA career as a ground specialist who was likely to keep things on the mat.
That wasn’t his plan though as his time in MMA has been full of stand up battles that usually leave both fighters bloodied.
It has made him one of the fan favourites as he will always put in a good show and he continues to prove to be a fighter that everyone wants to see.
The UFC is fully aware of the reputations of both fighters and so they are putting on a show in Vancouver.
Gaethje and Cerrone will put on a great fight and although often these fights end up being duds this doesn’t seem to be the case for these two.
Neither care too much about titles or how many wins they have although they both do care about winning.
They want to go forward ad put on a show because they know that the pressure that they bring will either get them a win bonus or a fight bonus.
There is a good chance that this fight can live up to the hype as Gaethje will likely start early and if Cerrone can weather the storm he will begin to pressure in the later rounds.
This is not a fight that should go the full five rounds as someone’s pressure will dominate too much for the other to handle.
The Sport Addiction 