Alan Jouban advises UFC against adopting NFL's path of "overly protecting things", says combat sports fans are paying "for danger"
Alan Jouban recently advised the UFC against taking additional measures similar to the NFL as it is a much different sport than MMA. The UFC veteran noted that fighters and fans know what they're getting into with combat sports rather than a team sports environment like football.
The former UFC competitor-turned-analyst claimed that additional measures would turn MMA into a different sport. He outlined the difference between MMA and football to explain his reasoning for more measures being negative rather than positive.
While speaking to MMA Fighting's Damon Martin, the 41-year-old claimed that it would even be selfish to a certain extent because of the effect it would have on the results of fights. Jouban mentioned that it could harm the UFC's marketing of certain fighters should they decide to adopt additional protective measures. He said:
"We cannot let the UFC turn into the NFL. We cannot overly protect things. We cannot make it a completely different sport...This is combat sports, we're a different sport. That's a game, this is a fight. We're here to fight and we know every time we go out there, obviously the potential of getting knocked out or submitted...but that is what people pay to see. The danger, the risk, the excitement, the adrenaline."
Check out the Alan Jouban's comments below:
Alan Jouban claims adopting NFL's path would result in fewer highlight-reel UFC moments
Alan Jouban continued to discuss just how big of a change fans would notice should the UFC adopt the NFL's path.
During the aforementioned interview, the former UFC competitor-turned-analyst mentioned that there would be a significant decrease in highlight reel finishes that would hinder the promotion's ability to market its fighters. He said:
"This sounds kind of selfish in a way but for the fighter on attack, you just robbed him of a highlight reel. You just robbed him of something more, right?...Let the fight play out. If somebody gets knocked out, that's the sport that we play...And the guy that's getting the knockout, now his highlight reel, his resume, everything becomes more. Now they [UFC] have a way to promote this guy."
Check out Alan Jouban addressing his retirement from MMA below:
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