Getting dropped by the UFC actually could work out better for them in the short-term. Their grudge match probably would have paid them 3G a piece based on entry-level UFC contracts. Now, they can shop their feud around.

Those two guys are going to make some money together, they should probably end up being friends.

Cage Fury Fighting Championships.

http://mma.komikazee.com/news/comments/nbcsports_interviews_dana_white/

Dana White gets all jiggy with it on NBCSports spouting his usual bravado. We here at Komikazee add our two cents to the interview where Dana only drops 1 or 2 eff-bombs.

He hit on a number of topics. Dana mentions that he doesn’t think that the UFC is mainstream. He wants to be able to go out on the street in Las Vegas and have their stars names be as recognizable as Shaquille O’Neal. No matter what Dana says, The UFC is well on the way with Liddell on the cover of SI and Randy Couture getting the cover of ESPN the Magazine, plus all the ESPN coverage that happens before an event. Dana’s comments are just the mark of a good businessman not to be satisfied where you company is today and always wanting more.

Dana also talked about corporate sponsorship. He poo-pooed the idea of needing corporate sponsors like Coke, etc and stated he was happy with sponsors such as Mickey’s and Toyo. One of the qualities that I like about Dana is that he is definitely loyal to paying customers. If you were around in the beginning, he will ride your bandwagon until the wheels fall off and there ARE sponsors where the wheels are falling off, I.E. Amp’d Mobile and Xyience . Now realistically, if a corporate sponsor like Coke came with a nice contract for Zuffa then Dana isn’t an idiot. He would take it in a heartbeat. Most of what Dana spouts is rhetoric and changes at will as the winds of business blows a different direction.

I also think that Dana undersold both the Fertitta’s and himself by stating that they weren’t business geniuses. To take an organization that was as buried as the UFC was when they acquired it to the heights that it is now takes tireless work, happy thoughts, and plenty of pixie dust. The Fertitta’s pulled the proverbial rabbit out of the hat and now have a quarter of a billion dollar entity under their pervue. You don’t stumble into that kind of prosperity. You have to work at it and be good at what you do.

Look at the highly successful off-strip Station Casino’s franchise, which the Fertitta’s own, and you can see a pattern where these business men have taken something that nobody has done before and made it not only work but profitable as well.

I saw something interesting about the WEC Rating.

1. It is the fifth highest rated show on the network.

2. It drew more of the key male demographic then the NHL on that channel.

What this basically means is that the Versus Network is a crap channel. For a .39 to be a moderate success on Versus means the channel has nobody watching it. I wouldn’t be shocked to see the UFC shop the WEC around to like ESPN for possibly a weekly show at some point.

It’s probably a sweetheart deal for Zuffa that pays well. Versus is desperate for programming that will beat big bass fishing and Chuck Norris’ Glorified Sparring League. Is it currently a crap channel? Yes. But they’re trying to grow — the NHL contract was a step in that direction, and WEC was another.

Steve Sievert of The Houston Chronicle is reporting that Marlon Sims and Noah Thomas have been kicked out of the UFC. Read Steve’s post in its entirety. This has not been a good PR week for Dana White on various issues.

I. Zach, after you bashed Dana as a hypocrite for promoting this fight, the only thing you can say is “this has not been a good PR week for Dana White?”

a) No acknowledgment that maybe he isn’t as hypocritical as you made him out to be? Sievert’s article suggests that he believes White had a change of heart — and if that’s your position as well, then you should say so to explain why you’re not retracting your earlier comments. Personally, I’m not so sure. I hope Sherdog or someone else is able to speak to Marlon and/or Noah to find out what they knew and when.

b) Where is this negative PR you speak of? UFCMania.com doesn’t count — that’s catering to psycho-fans who will watch no matter what. I doubt more than 5 total people will skip the next UFC PPV because of a blocked sponsorship. In fact, I’d say it’s a positive PR week. Dana backed up what he said on national TV (during TUF) — that those fighters would never be in the UFC.

II. To Jim who didn’t think this meant they would never fight in the UFC, he said directly “Those guys will never fight in the UFC – ever.” Not that those guys will never fight each other in the UFC.

One year (it expires in mid-2008)

“And would a deal with ESPN interfere with the Spike-exclusivity?”

Yes.

Also, the full report on the WEC’s ratings is at http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=4083