Alberta’s Child:
I don’t watch MMA, but boxing was at a level of MLB back in the 1920s to 1950’s era. Thus, it had an audience that was more than just a niche audience. That audience was gone by the 1990’s.
Based on what you are telling me, what you have now is that a core group of former Boxing fans switched to MMA, but that does not translate to an increase in “Market Share” so to speak.
I do agree with your #2 about fixing fights, no doubt that was a major part of that sport.
All good points. I wouldn’t put too much stock in any comparisons between today and the period from the 1920s through the 1950s. Television brought a lot of changes to the business of sports, so the most relevant trends would be those since 1960 when most U.S. households had at least one TV set.