About Zach Arnold

A writer in the fight game since the early 1990s. Also writes about sports in general and many other topics. MMA articles can currently be seen at MMA Memories and Heavy. Previous sites that articles have been on: Fox Sports, CBS Sports, Boxing Scene, and the Observer. Plus articles in magazines such as Boxing Digest and Powerslam Magazine in the UK, along with references in Shukan Gong (Japan).

For those interested in my services, contact me.

Donate to our site here.

Friend of our site


Make a new MMA blog

MMA Opinion


MMA Headlines


UFC HP


WEC HP


OC Register


By the Numbers


USA Today


AOL Fanhouse


Jake Rossen


MMA Weekly


Sherdog (News)


Sherdog (Articles)


Fight Network


MMA Torch


Headkick Legend


F.O. Mag


MMA Junkie


MMA Mania


Bloody Elbow


Fightlinker


MMA Unlimited


Josh Gross


Ben Fowlkes


RDS (Canada)


MMA For Real


Infinite MMA


MMA Convert


CompuBox


CompuStrike


MMA Frenzy


Ult MMA


Dave Meltzer


Kevin Iole


Yahoo MMA Blog


MMA HQ


MMA Payout


MMA Betting


Sportsnet


Joe Ferraro


MMA Ratings


Friend of our site



MMA Memories


MMA Online


Friend of our site


Buy the world's best rings, cages, & supplies

Search this site



News Corner


World Combat


Houston Chronicle


Heavy.com


Pro MMA


Audio Corner


Joe Ferraro


Fight Opinion Radio


The Fightworks Podcast


Eddie Goldman


Pro MMA Radio


Josh Gross


BetUS Radio


Sherdog Radio


Video Corner


The Fight Nerd


ESPN MMA Live


Strikeforce


Japanese MMA


Japan MMA


Nightmare of Battle


Special thanks to...

Link Rolodex

Site Index


To access our list of posting topics and archives, click here.

Friend of our site


Buy and sell MMA photos at MMA Prints

Site feedback


Fox Sports: "Zach Arnold's Fight Opinion site is one of the best spots on the Web for thought-provoking MMA pieces."

Site Meter

« Independent World MMA Rankings - November 27, 2009 | Home | Junie Browning’s white trash version of Rick Rude’s gimmick »

UFC in expansion mode in Canada and elsewhere

By Zach Arnold | November 28, 2009

Couple of interesting news items to digest:

The San Francisco Chronicle has an article about the first UFC-branded gym in nearby Concord. As expected, the UFC brand being attached makes the difference in terms of credibility with casual MMA fans.

Randy Couture is in New York this weekend and UFC company officials will be also in attendance for a petition drive to get MMA legalized in the state.

A big test run happened in Vancouver on Friday night with some amateur MMA bouts in order for the city to slowly allow MMA to happen. Background articles here and here. On Friday night, Rampage Jackson and Denis Kang attended one of two MMA shows that happened within city limits. Vancouver city councilors were on hand.

Topics: Canada, MMA, Media, UFC, Zach Arnold | | Permalink | Trackback | Share This

21 Responses to “UFC in expansion mode in Canada and elsewhere”

  1. November 28th, 2009 at 8:06 am ttt Says:

    wondering why the hell rampage would be in vancouver then i remembered the A-Team movie and how lots of movies are filmed in vancouver

    http://www.onlocationvacations.com/2009/11/09/on-set-a-team-second-unit-filming-in-downtown-vancouver-11-7-09/

  2. November 28th, 2009 at 10:24 am Fluyid Says:

    Best of luck to them with the fitness clubs.

  3. November 28th, 2009 at 10:48 am 45 Huddle Says:

    I can’t wait to hear all these people who “Train UFC”….

  4. November 28th, 2009 at 11:58 am Bryan Says:

    I can wait. Ugh…

  5. November 28th, 2009 at 1:11 pm Safari Punch Says:

    Is Carl DeMarco helping with the expansion efforts or is the UFC doing this with their own people?

  6. November 28th, 2009 at 2:02 pm Fightlinker Says:

    Yeah it’s so terrible that the UFC is making MMA a more accessible sport to learn.

  7. November 28th, 2009 at 3:19 pm Fluyid Says:

    Can it, “Fightlinker,” if that really is your name.

  8. November 28th, 2009 at 4:46 pm 45 Huddle Says:

    My real name is 45 Huddle, so don’t make fun!!

  9. November 28th, 2009 at 8:28 pm Chuck Says:

    Chuck really is my name! Well, actually it’s Charles, but that’s besides the point.

    Anywho, speaking of the expansion of UFC, at UFC 110 in Australia there will allegedly be a rematch between Elvis Sinosic and Chris Haseman (Haseman won the first fight way back in 1997).

    Here’s my question…….WHY?!?!?! That is BEYOND retarded! Elvis Sinosic has a 8-11-2 record, hasn’t fought in almost two years, and hasn’t had a victory in almost three years. Why does UFC love this guy? He fought and lost to Michael Bisping at UFC 70, and even further than that he fought Tito Ortiz for the (then) UFC middleweight title in only his second UFC fight (after beating Jeremy Horn, to his credit) and with a 4-3-1 record going in. And you thought UFC bringing back Phil Baroni was bad!

    Chris Haseman, on the other hand, is 20-16, and while winning his last fight and holding onto a winning MMA record, is 2-5 in his last seven fights, including a loss to Fedor in RINGS. I can digest UFC using Haseman, but Sinosic is so worthless at this point. This has to be the first time in years that UFC has used a guy with a losing record on one of their shows. Probably the first time since they used……ELVIS SINOSIC two years ago.

  10. November 28th, 2009 at 9:14 pm Zack Says:

    Superbowl of MMA, IMO

  11. November 28th, 2009 at 9:50 pm David M Says:

    Im still tingling with excitement for the 50 dollar ppv main event of UFC 109, Couture v Coleman.

  12. November 28th, 2009 at 10:16 pm 45 Huddle Says:

    Sinosic vs. Haseman….

    The UFC guys like Sinosic, it’s as simple as that. I don’t see the problem with it as long as the fight doesn’t lead to either of them getting another fight in the UFC….

  13. November 28th, 2009 at 11:08 pm Fluyid Says:

    I just hate to think that two deserving fighters missed out on the opportunity to fight on this show because of Elvis Sinosic.

    Oh well, there are plenty of UFC shows coming up in 2010.

  14. November 29th, 2009 at 1:49 am jr Says:

    Elvis is the Barry Horowitz of the UFC

  15. November 29th, 2009 at 2:21 am Alan Conceicao Says:

    Argurably the two best Australian fighters ever in a fight where neither will hurt the other. What’s the problem? Better than either guy being used to beef up some TUF prospect by taking a horrendous beating.

  16. November 29th, 2009 at 8:37 am Fluyid Says:

    It’s no biggie. It’s about a 0.5 on my give-a-shit meter, Alan.

    Having said that, I hope Elvis suffers another monumental beating.

  17. November 29th, 2009 at 9:23 am Zheroen Says:

    I think George Sotiropoulos will end up eclipsing both Haseman and Sinosic by a good margin…even though that’s hardly a significant feat. Chris Haseman was fun to watch in RINGS, but I don’t think anyone bought him as any sort of credible contender. Sinosic is one of those guys who is either going to get beaten badly, or he’ll pull off a flash submission win (as he almost did against Bisping). IMO, having a fighter like that around is a no-win situation. If he’s beaten by an up-and-coming prospect, there will be a collective shrug of expectation. If he somehow defeats said prospect, then he’s only served to taint and diminish any promise or potential the other fighter may have previously shown.

  18. November 29th, 2009 at 1:04 pm Chuck Says:

    45 and Allen;

    Zheroen said it better than I was planning on, and Fluyid touched on what I was going to say, but I will add to both comments I guess. The problem with UFC using Haseman and Sinosic is that it takes spots away from deserving fighters. And what does it say to other fighters who want to make it in the UFC? Be a wacky Croatian-Australian with weird-colored hair and you’re in, even if you have a losing record and haven’t had a victory in almost three years? The UFC is black-balling fighters who are signing on with EA Sports MMA and from making a little more money via sponsors that Zuffa doesn’t like, and they decide to use these guys? As I said, I can digest UFC using Haseman, but Sinosic? No way!

    People here bash DREAM and Sengoku for using bums and freak-show fights, and same deal with Strikeforce, but UFC can get away with it? They should ALL get whatever flack they can get. And here’s a great question……we all know Sinosic’s pro MMA record is 8-11-2, but what will UFC say his record is? No way will they admit that number. His UFC alone record is 1-5. That’s even worse! Hey, UFC came up with a phantom 11-1 record for when Royce Gracie came back to fight Matt Hughes, and for Matt Hamill’s record they use his TUF fights, so I am sure they can come up with something.

  19. November 29th, 2009 at 3:54 pm 45 Huddle Says:

    George is fighting Joe Stevenson on that show. I’m looking forward to that fight.

  20. November 30th, 2009 at 4:04 am Alan Conceicao Says:

    The problem with UFC using Haseman and Sinosic is that it takes spots away from deserving fighters.

    Like who? They’re being used to sell tickets in Australia for a lousy card that they will want you to buy on PPV. It will very likely not be set for TV because A) they will want to sell tickets off it in Australia B) its an irrelevant fight. But they have irrelevant fights all the time. Was anyone here really pretending that Baroni/Sadollah was important or that either guy “deserves to be there”?

    Furthermore, its a false claim that they’re keeping guys off the roster. Neither one will probably come back. That whole claim is BS and you know it. They’ll be more than willing to sign the guys they want, but they’ll make examples of guys they really don’t care if they have (the Joe Riggs of the world) to “prove” otherwise.

  21. November 30th, 2009 at 4:41 pm Fluyid Says:

    What’s this site all about: http://newyork.fighthype.com/2009/11/30/blue-magicl-ufcs-misrepresentation/

Comments

*
To prove you're a person (not a spam script), type the security word shown in the picture.
Anti-spam image