Comments on: Friday media coverage

By: Zack

Zack — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 22:49:47 +0000

Big John & Ken Shamrock lobbyed on the UFC’s behalf against kicks/knees to a downed opponant & the use of the ring. Ironically, only months later, Shamrock would take another fight in Pride vs Sakuraba.

By: Zach Arnold

Zach Arnold — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 22:47:12 +0000

One thing that isn’t discussed re: UFC is the tax situation. Whenever UFC runs in California, they have to pay 9.3% (or 10%) in nonresidential taxes based on profits they make per show – and that’s after the CA’s 5% commission cut is already taken out. This is known as the jock tax.

Whereas in Nevada (and states like Florida and Texas where there is no state income tax), only a 5% fee to the commission is paid out w/ no nonresidential jock taxes. This is why I believe that if UFC runs in the PNW, it’ll be in Washington (which has no state income tax) instead of Oregon (which has California’s awful tax structure but about 1/10th of the population).

By: Ivan Trembow

Ivan Trembow — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 22:46:36 +0000

” Zuffa went out of their way to make sure that California did not allow knees and kicks to the head of a downed opponent during the hearings in California to design a rule set when the state regulated MMA.”

That is correct. However, Dana White did state in a recent interview that he thinks knees to the head on the ground should be allowed, which makes no sense given the previous fight to keep them illegal.

By: Mr. Roadblock

Mr. Roadblock — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 22:34:54 +0000

Gaijin, you are incorrect. Zuffa went out of their way to make sure that California did not allow knees and kicks to the head of a downed opponent during the hearings in California to design a rule set when the state regulated MMA. If Zuffa really wanted knees and kicks to the head all they have to do is tell California to go for it. Then the Nevada commission all future UFC events will be in CA unless the rules are changed. The original unified rules were so sweeping because the old MMA was so wide open that when rules were instated they were very heavy handed. I think the sport is controlled and safe enough now that the knees and kicks should be brought back in.

By: Zach Arnold

Zach Arnold — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 21:35:37 +0000

I cannot imagine that Cage Rage is able to pay Sapp more money than Elite XC, UFC, or PRIDE.

Maybe fighting in the UK helps avoid any legal battles with K-1 in the US?

By: CapnHulk

CapnHulk — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 21:04:48 +0000

Bob Sapp just signed with Cage Rage.

http://www.thefightnetwork.com/news_detail.php?nid=3211

Hurting for money?

By: AJAX

AJAX — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 20:36:00 +0000

The fact that White wants to use the same Goddam American ruleset all over the world and make it the “norm” makes me feel really sad. It kind of took the wind out of me like I got punched in the stomach, mostly because he’s promoting watered down competition where the fighters know if they drop a knee to the ground they are safe from a whole slew of attacks. This guy should be working to get the rules changed. I also have a question. For the people who feel the UFC is more exciting than Pride, I’d like to know why. Why do you so heavily endorse a product that most of the time has less talented fighters and a rule set that for me (after seeing a Pride show) just plain sucks. Look at the last UFC PPV. It was two guys who got to the top of the Pride latter and lost when everything was on the line, and a guy in Silva who lost to Ryo Chonan at Shockwave a couple years ago. There is a arguement out there that easily says the new wave of UFC stars are all Pride rejects, and don’t tell me Fedor didn’t completely dominate CroCop when they fought. I love this website because it favors mature discussion over name calling (most of the time), and thats why I can’t understand why you UFC enthusiasts support mediocrity with such ferocity.

By: The Gaijin

The Gaijin — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 19:32:30 +0000

Roadblock:

Im sure the UFC would allow PRIDE rules if they were allowed – but now that their rules are so entrenched…they’ve gone a long way into making their bed in Nevada and that’s the rules that Nevada wants – the uniform rules of mma (created by Zuffa or New Jersey’s AC, depending on who you chose to believe!).
There was an article a few weeks/months ago about PRIDE lobbying to have the CSAC allow “PRIDE rules”, but the UFC and others lobbied very rigourously to not allow them. I’m sure there’s a litany of reasons, but a large one would likely have been the fact that UFC didn’t want to have their homebase state with one set of rules and the set of rules they’d like to have being allowed in a neighbouring state for their competitors (Pride, IFL etc.). I’m pretty sure the NSAC doesn’t act too kindly to org’s who operate under non-uniform rule sets simply because they’re running some shows in states that allow them.

By: JThue

JThue — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 16:03:38 +0000

KID in WEC?

By: Will Ziacoma

Will Ziacoma — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 15:23:29 +0000

Did you guys watch Inside the UFC on Spike last night? They showed Dana getting interviewed buy a Japanese fight mag (I thing it was called Gong-Zach would know) and at one point he holds up a copy with Kid Yamamoto on the cover points at it and says “I want him”. I thought it was interesting and starting thinking maybe a 145lb. division is on the way. If so, UFC would have to bring in some Japanese guys to help fill the roster with quality.