Why do Americans not care about kickboxing?
Pat Barry: “Kickboxing needs somebody who is going to play that Hollywood bad-ass movie role. But the thing is, kickboxers aren’t like that.”
Asses in seats at MMA events thrill for the standing knockout, and often boo when the fight goes to the ground. But give them a sport where it is all stand up, and few in the US care.
Marc Raimondi tries to understand why.
“I think that’s gotta be one of the top five most confusing things when it comes to a fight sport,” said Pat Barry who has competed for both the UFC and GLORY.
One of the things that seems to be holding GLORY back in the states is its commitment to holding shows overseas.
“We love live shows,” said GLORY CEO Jon Franklin. “Live sports is the original reality show. It always was and always will be. That’s really important. But we’ve got a big fanbase in Europe. We go to Croatia and sell 10,000 tickets.”
However, since GLORY 11 on Oct. 12, 2013, GLORY has averaged 460,571 viewers for shows on American soil that aired live on Spike TV. The tape-delay shows (including GLORY 22, which was live in the middle of the day) during that time period have averaged 403,800 viewers, which is not a huge difference.
A bigger problem for GLORY might be that it has yet to develop a marquee star who is a proven ratings draw. While MMA puts a premium on the entertainment aspect of its product, GLORY is very much driven by sport.
“People want to see a show,” Barry said. “They can talk all that craziness about [being like] WWE all day and all night, but they want to see Conor McGregor. You know what kickboxing needs? They need a Chael Sonnen, a Conor McGregor. Kickboxing needs somebody who is going to play that Hollywood bad-ass movie role. But the thing is, kickboxers aren’t like that. They would never have that.
“In kickboxing right now, they don’t have anybody who’s annihilating everyone and just talking crazy s— non-stop. That would be ridiculous. Unfortunately, that’s what it needs. Unfortunately, the fight game nowadays doesn’t have anything to do with fighting anymore. Whoever can talk the most s— gets the most money. Whoever can talk the most s— gets the most publicity.”
GLORY is still very much a European company with many of its best competitors, like heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven, lightweight champ Robin van Roosmalen and top welterweight Nieky Holzken, hailing from the Netherlands, a kickboxing hotbed.
“It is a different market,” said Wayne Barrett, one of GLORY’s most promising U.S. fighters. “People in Europe love that warrior — don’t say much and go out and fight. Here in America, they want to know who you are. Who am I rooting for? Why am I rooting for you? What’s your story? What’s the story behind this guy? And that’s just what it is.”
On September 19 Bellator and GLORY are putting on a hybrid “Dynamite” card in San Jose, with Joe Schilling and Paul Daley kickboxing for MMA fans. The hope is that American MMA fans will be drawn to kickboxing.
Barry may have gotten closest to the truth though, when he said the UFC “feels like a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert” and GLORY is more traditional. Apple computer, which is built on Look and Feel, is the world’s largest corporation, so the importance the feel of a product cannot be understated.
Kickboxing is a sport with European stars, and a disciplined, businesslike, non sensationalistic, European approach to combat sports. It feels different than MMA. Whether American fans can learn to appreciate it remains the great question for Spike, but if Americans are going to, GLORY is a tremendous league, and stands the best chance.