UFC question for avid and causal followers

Injuries killed it for me. It got to the point where I couldn't get excited about a card because I knew it would look totally different come fight night

Used to be a huge fan. Watched every event and rented old MMA tapes. Kind of lost interest.

I watched it when Chuck Liddell, etc were popular. Seems like after those guys left, it was just two dudes rolling on the ground. Lost interest in it.

I got into pankration when I met a crew in Kansas City through wrestling that were training and putting on fights. We put on a ton of boxing/MMA/toughman/wrestling/pankration shows through KS/MO/AR/OK/NE and a few small ones in Colorado and Texas through affiliates. It was wildcatting days back then and not much regulation. I completely lost all interest in the UFC when I saw Ortiz/Griffin in what was a complete work. That was a fixed fight and I've never cared to watch anything Ortiz or Griffin have been involved in since.

I hated the super-juiced era of MMA, the fights were ridiculous and it felt nasty. Didn't like the undue punishment it seemed every knockout had. I started casually getting back into it about this time 3 years back and if I'm being honest the promos around McGregor/Holloway after the Brimage KO intrigued me and McGregor captivated me and I just started watching everything.

The in-game threads on here also helped pull me in and now I'm crazy hooked.

I'm probably going to be locked in for life now. UFC 200 and typically the big July cards are on the weekend around my birthday so that looks to become a tradition now.

As goofy as this may sound, I really started getting interested in MMA when Ken Shamrock was a wrestler for the WWF. I had seen a segment on him on one of those world's most dangerous jobs type things, so I kind of knew who he was. That led me over to the UFC. I'm not sure exactly when that was, but the Tito/Chuck/Randy Couture feud was going on. It was not long before the first Ultimate Fighter show. I was a big fan of Matt Hughes, Rich Franklin, and BJ Penn. Then the Pride guys came over. Started losing interest a couple of years after that. Seems like it became more of a spectacle and less about who was a bigger badass.

I picked up on it when the Hughes and Penn rivalry was starting up. There was just so much hype surrounding both fighters and it was just an awesome thing to see. My buddies and I would go to wherever they were broadcasting the fights and would knock back cold ones and make little $1 bets on the fights. Of course, being a fan I've gone back and watched the very first UFC and man what a difference time makes. I would HATE to see that sort of thing now. It would be an absolute slaughterhouse. Guys fighting multiple times a night, no weight classes, just an all out brawl.

I started watching at UFC 1. Saw UFC 15 live. Followed it through the dark years. Still watch when there is a good fight card. Beats the hell out of boxing

I've been off and on as a casual follower since the beginning, Dad was a huge boxing fan so I've always enjoyed "big fights."

Ive really started watching a lot more over the last year or so, a big reason because I switched jobs and now have a lot of time to listen to podcasts throughout the day. Joe Rogans podcast is one I listen to once a week or so and he us extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the sport and has helped me understand and appreciate it a lot more than I ever did before.

The sport has evolved a ton as far as the game planning and behind the scenes preparation for fights.

I started to watch it after I started training in bjj and mma in '05.

Genki Sudo is the one fighter who really got me hooked.

It's a thinking man's sport and I'm still a fan of it today. It's just watered down compared to years past because there are so many more fights now than back then.