How big a sport will the UFC be by 2020?
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Answer by Nate Moore, Fighter, Trainer, Entrepreneur at combatcircuit.com
Huge, but it will soon peak and get a little less popular before then.
Once the awareness of MMA spreads to the mainstream households, it will become very popular, but the public will tire of the WWE-like drama and over-hyped matchups. Already, people are getting burnt out on the UFC and the fights they are choosing to promote. It's hard to keep up with all of the fights since the UFC now has fights almost every weekend.
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The mid-level promotions will disappear because the demand to see unknown, mid-level professional fighters will diminish with the ever-increasing availability of MMA content. Right now, MMA is overcoming its' over-saturation that happened when the sport exploded. Hundreds of fight gear companies and local MMA promotions have already come and gone to meet the sudden demand that was found with the sport on the local level. Basically, there are still too many people trying to make money in MMA (as promoters, entrepreneurs, and fighters).
Because amateurs fight for free, amateur shows will be the only way to get fights before you go to a bigger promotion like the UFC. It will be a lot like the NFL, NBA, and boxing, where young amateurs will have to prove themselves before going pro. They'll have dozens of fights before turning pro. Going pro in the future will be a really big deal because you'll know that you're fighting good competition, and the pro organizations will pay big money.
As the fans become more experienced and the fighters become more refined, MMA fights will become more boring, like boxing. You have to win in MMA, or your career isn't going to go anywhere. The most cautious fighters will be the only ones that can go undefeated. As the sport continues to evolve, the technique used by pro fighters will be much cleaner and you'll see only the most effective moves and strategies.
Soon we will see NFL quality athletes that have been training in martial arts since they were kids. You won't see out of shape fighters that have less than five years experience in the game. The days of Roy Nelson and Tank Abbot type "athletes" in MMA are fading away fast.