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Friday media guide

By Zach Arnold | November 30, 2006

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More Nick Diaz fights coming up, Dr. 90210 meets the Gracies, Gilbert Melendez announces his next PRIDE fight (and it’s not against Aoki), more controversy over Nastula’s alleged failed drug test, and more fun with Dana White.

  1. Donate: Help us out with the costs of maintaining our project
  2. Gracie Fighting Championships: Nick Diaz vs. Thomas Denny signed for their 1/20 Miami, Florida event (this is the much-rumored PPV show that was happening in Florida, but nobody publicly stated what promotion was running the show)
  3. IFL HP: An interview with Don Frye
  4. Entertainment: Famous plastic surgeon ‘Dr. 90210’ Robert Ray meets Rener Gracie
  5. Gilbert Melendez: He’s fighting Tatsuya Kawajiri on 12/31 in Saitama (so much for the build-up between him and Shin’ya Aoki, which included promos at the Bushido 11/5 Yokohama Arena show… this news is traveling fast in Japanese media circles…)
  6. The Fight Network: Nastula claims steroid contamination, PRIDE contract allows “doping”
  7. Comic Book Resources: Wizard Entertainment fires editor-in-chief (article goes on to say that “2006 has been a tumultous year” for Gareb Shamus’ company)
  8. Pro Karate Weekly radio is reporting that The Versus Network will air Chuck Norris’s WCL (World Combat League) events.
  9. Associated Press: Boxer Omar Nino (Light Flyweight) tests positive for meth
  10. Detroit Free Press: Legendary Kronk Gym closes for good
  11. Honolulu Advertiser: Miller, Trigg to settle who’s unstoppable one
  12. Carlsbad Current Argus (New Mexico): Fighters clean house at MMA event
  13. Honolulu Star-Bulletin: Tyson Nam aims to close trying year with a title
  14. UPI: Bruce Lee theme park planned for China
  15. Times & Star (UK): Patrick Carr goes to Hollywood (Florida) for TUF tryouts
  16. On the new Inside the UFC show on Spike TV, Dana White claimed that after 6 years of owning UFC, new management was $44 million USD in debt. If this doesn’t pass the immediate smell test, here’s why.
  17. Bodog: Mike Brown vs. Yves Edwards will happen on 12/14 in St. Petersburg, Russia for the second season of Bodogfight.
  18. 24 Hours Vancouver: Calvin Ayre will not show up for BodogFight event in Vancouver

Topics: All Topics, BoDog, Boxing, IFL, Media, MMA, PRIDE, UFC, Zach Arnold | 24 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

24 Responses to “Friday media guide”

  1. Preach says:

    Whoa. Should the story about Nastula’s contract indeed be true, all i have to say is: Kick them in the balls, tell them to p*ss off, and boot them out of the US for good. Contractually allowing their fighters to resort to doping? Talk about REALLY giving the sport a black eye…

    As for Dana: the CNN-article stated that they had a debt of 34 Mio $ in 2004, Dana said that they had 44 mio after 6 years of ownership (which they haven’t approached yet, as they purchased the company in January of 2001). Could be that he just exaggerated, like he always does, or that he simply mixed up the numbers. Or it could be simply because the UFC was in worse financial shape than they ever admitted before…

  2. KennyP says:

    My WAG is that if Dana can inflate (the perceived depth of) the cumulative losses after 2001, then he can better justify the UFC’s economic model in the public eye and to fighters. Even if UFC (or MLS or TNA or NHL) is making money in 2006, retirement of the debts incurred building (or rebuilding) the league/sport is a use of the profits that is widely accepted as a legitimate restraint on salary inflation. Once ownership is in the black, then the equation (or at least the perception) changes. Big time.

  3. Just because the UFC is doing well now doesn’t mean it will continue to do well. This could very well just be a fad … look at the WWE’s massive success in the late 90s and how it’s dropped back to being something people are embarrased to admit they watch. Personally I’d rather the UFC hoarded the money and put it in a war chest for the lean times. I’m not anti-fighter, but after watching so many sports get fucked because fighter salaries go out of control, I’m all for a bit of restraint in the pay department. Fighter salaries will get to where they need to go in the next while, but it’s important to wait and see how the market sustains before pushing too hard to raise the bar. Once it goes up it’s very hard to bring it down again.

  4. KennyP says:

    Raising salaries isn’t really too much of a problem. (It pacifies the talent and makes the sport seem “major league” to mainstream audience) Raising salaries through long-term, guaranteed, no-cut contracts is. If business turns south, UFC could buy their way out of most unneeded contracts for pennies on the dollar–if the contracts are written to allow it.

    During the late 90’s wrestling boom, WWE signed top talent to contracts with high 6 figure/low 7-figure minimums. (The majority of annual compensation for guys like Austin/Rock was earned from PPV bonuses and merchandising royalties.) If talent didn’t work out (or the pay was too much), most performers could be released with several months of severance pay. When WWE business declined, numerous performers were released (or re-signed to lower deals). And the bottom part of the roster was purged of six-figure veterans, replaced by developmental talent working for five-figure contracts.

    By contrast, WCW (flush with Turner/Time Warner money) signed performers to contracts with much higher minimum guarantees and fewer incentives. When business collapsed in 99, WCW was stuck paying millions worthless veteran “talent” like Piper, Savage, Luger, Sid, Rick Steiner, etc. (Plus guys like Poffo that never performed but still had talent contracts). And the Hogan/Nash/Stings who were still of value, but overcompensated relative to their drawing power. If WCW could have cleared out the dead weight on the (relative) cheap like WWE, they may not have been closed down in 2001. (Even if Turner cancelled the broadcast, they may have been sold for far more as an ongoing concern than WWE paid for the intellectual property and tape library.)

  5. JOSH says:

    U also forgot to mention that the downfall of WCW was also caused by bad booking and Eric Bischoff not knowing how to remove his head from Hogan’s ass.

  6. Will Ziacoma says:

    Why is everyone questioning the $44 million the UFC lost? The way I read the article the $34 million the mentioned didn’t include the $10 Million in production costs for TUF 1 and may not have included the total amount spent to buy the brand from SEG as well as some of the rights to older content. Incidentally, is the difference between $34MM and $44MM that significant?

    The fact is, love ’em or hate ’em, the boys at Zuffa turned a loser into a champion and they had to put a lot on the line to do it. If you have any doubts about whether or not they should get credit for this, look at the money men behind the WFA. All we heard was how great the reborn WFA was going to be and they basically quit after the first show bombed. According to the article linked here, Zuffa lost $1.5 million on their first event and they didn’t falter. There are a lot of things to criticize Zuffa for, but inflating the amount of time and money they invested to make UFC successful shouldn’t be one of them.

  7. badape says:

    If you still take the NSAC at their word on doping, read this article: http://www.thefightnetwork.com/news_detail.php?nid=2765

  8. utlm says:

    I doubt his contract says anything like “Nastula is allowed to dope.” It probably just says something to effect of his contract status not changing in the event that he tests positive for prohibited substances, ie. he can’t be fired for testing positive. A subtle difference, but still a big one.

  9. Ommabudsman says:

    For some perspective on the whole UFC-underpaying-fighters controversey, in a recent interview on Sherdog/Beatdown with Josh Barnett, who is as straight an arrow as they come when it comes to interviews, alluded to how he probably would have been much better off financially if he stayed with the UFC after his drug suspension. So much for how Pride pays its fighters so much more and how the UFC exploiting its fighters.

  10. The Gaijin says:

    HAHAHA…

    I LOVE how its IMPLIED that the contract reads: you can/should “dope”. When the simple fact that the contract probably is silent to the situation is clearly and logically what the truth is. God knows why it would be gleefully reported as if the organization is pushing him towards using banned substances.

    Let’s not lose sight of the fact that his lawyer is obviously doing his best to make a good case for Nastula, however if you know anything about contract law, you don’t need to have things in a contract which are covered by statute etc etc. Maybe the PRIDE lawyers didnt include anything speaking to banned substances because simply by fighting in Las Vegas you’re subjected to their laws, which includes random drug testing and subsequent enforcement.

  11. KennyP says:

    The Gaijin said:
    “I LOVE how its IMPLIED that the contract reads: you can/should “dope”. When the simple fact that the contract probably is silent to the situation is clearly and logically what the truth is.”

    No businessman would ever sign a contract that would tell a contracted employee that they should break the law. That is a sure-fire path to oblivion. But what if the contract included explicit language that (1) PRIDE did not operate under an independant sanctioning body; or (2) signing an employment contract with PRIDE did not confer on the organization the authority to compel its employees to drug testing. Employment contracts often specify whether the company can require drug testing (most companies), can’t ask for drug testing (some unions), or can only test for certain, specified drugs (most US pro sports leagues)

    In other words, “we can’t force you to pee in a cup”. And if it so happens that we don’t even ask and don’t want to know the answer….

  12. PizzaChef says:

    The Gaijin: Then bitch to The Fight Network about it since THEY are the first ones to POST/WRITE THAT STORY.

  13. PizzaChef says:

    On another topic….Has anyone heard about this?

    http://www.hollywood.com/movies/detail/id/3464784

    aronavssilva posted this:

    According to Hollywood.com, Zuffa is resuming its plans to produce a UFC movie under its Insomnia Entertainment label. The name of the movie will be ‘Flow with the Go’.

    According to Hollywood.com, the synopsis for the movie is as follows:

    “A soldier returns from the Middle East wanting to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He slowly works his way up from bar fights, and backroom brawls until he reaches the UFC.”

    The movie has no lead actor as of yet. Mark Wahlberg aka ‘Marky Mark’ was originally approached to play the lead, but he turned the offer down.

    The former-boxercize-instructor-turned-UFC-president Dana White has been handed a position as an executive producer for the movie, even though he has no previous background in the movie industry or in big business. Below are the production credits for the ‘Flow with the Go’:

    Director: John Herzfeld
    Producer: Trent Othick
    Executive Producer: Lorenzo Fertitta
    Executive Producer: Frank Fertitta
    Executive Producer: Dana White
    Executive Producer: Tom Breitling
    ==========

    Yup, Zuffa = The McMahons.

  14. JOSH says:

    ah man…thats just sad…if the UFC paid any attention to WWE, they should right now because WWE films is going to go under in less than a year with such classics as the “Marine” and “See no evil”.

  15. badape says:

    Today’s Incompetent Post: “How Many FREAKSHOWS and 1-SIDED MATCHUPS will the PRIDE NYE SHOW HAVE????” Posted by Chev Chelios at http://www.sherdog.com. Online 12-01-2006, 04:52 PM.

  16. The Gaijin says:

    PizzaChef:
    Pull your head out of your ass and get your pitchfork and torch lynching back in the shed. A guy who got caught doping is trying to save his ass – and they quote what he said, they don’t state it as a fact.

    Why would I bitch to the Fight Network, when I’m talking to retards on this board who either: A) lack reading comprehension skills or B) are drooling for something else to try and blindly bash DSE about, when they dont know the whole story nor the actual FACTS.

    If my employment contract doesn’t explicitly state that I cannot commit crimes and I go out and commit a crime knowing that it’s agains the law and I could get caught and punished, does that give me the opportunity to argue that its somehow their fault and they are the ones that should be punished?? Deflecting the blame….

  17. The Gaijin says:

    So should we go review the contracts of Sylvia and Bonnar and see if there’s a clause relating to substance abuse?

    IT appears that “UFC’s contracts allow doping”, seeing as their HW champion was TWICE nailed for positive steroid tests.

    To quasi-quote Preach:
    “Whoa. Should the story about Sylvia’s (Bonnar’s) contract indeed be true, all i have to say is: Kick them in the balls, tell them to p*ss off, and boot them out of the US for good. Contractually allowing their fighters to resort to doping? Talk about REALLY giving the sport a black eye…”

    Retards…

  18. Chuck says:

    I am still shocked about the Kronk Gym closing down. Didn’t someone give an anonymous donation of WELL over a million dollars to keep it up for a few more years?

    And I don’t know about ya’ll, but I am SO looking forward to a Bruce Lee theme park. Retarded idea, and such a money-influenced idea, but still.

  19. Zach Arnold says:

    On another topic….Has anyone heard about this?

    Pizza – you are referring to something that a FightSport guy posted which reads perfectly like a parody. If you notice lately, there are tons of press releases from Imperia Entertainment about their movie “Never Submit.” So, what do we get here in the parody… Insomnia Entertainment. You can be guaranteed that if there is a parody or an anti-UFC story, the boys at FightSport (with their blogger account posting stories and the web server hosted in Hong Kong) will post it.

    Just like this week they claimed to debut a “long-time famous columnist” named Eddie Goldstein (gee, a rib on… Eddie Goldman). What amazes me is that people buy into the FightSport ribs and posts, and they have been… for years… and years.

    Now watch – the story will bizarrely end up being true and making all of FightSport’s UFC parodies look realistic.

  20. Preach says:

    Umm, Gaijin, Sylvia was NOT nailed twice for steroids. Your “second time” was merely a mandatory re-testing, where they found remnants of the substance he used before, which doesn’t necessarily imply that he used again. Every humans metabolism works different, and therefore there’s no timeline as to exactly when a substance has been totally degraded. Especially big men have that problem, i mean, i’ve seen it with myself (seeing that i’m Tim’s size and weight). Sure, i didn’t take steroids, but a few years ago i contracted a very serious respitorial disease while working in africa, and was pumped to the hilt full of various medications for months, some that are considered to be doping agents over here. And i had remnants of that stuff in my system for more than half a year, so i surely would’ve tested positive, even though i wasn’t “using” anymore. Yeah, there are various masking agents to flush steroids out of your system, but contrary to popular belief most of them are traceable (you just have to look for them), so in Tim’s case it would’ve looked not too good, if they had found something like that in his 2nd piss test.

    Zach:
    I wouldn’t be too sure that the story is fake, because “Insomnia Entertainment” is an actual company. Furthermore it’s the company of Tom Breitling and Trent Othick, who are credited as producers of “Flow with the go”, and one of their previous credits (both as producers and as a company) is “Bachelor Party Vegas” aka “Vegas, Baby!” starring – Chuck Liddell. And the man credited as director is John Herzfeld, whose best known film to date has been the Robert DeNiro movie “15 Minutes” starring – Oleg Taktarov, who has just finished his new film “The Life and Death of Bobby Z” – starring Chuck Liddell, Pat Miletich, Tim Sylvia, Robbie Lawler and Rory Markham. And who’s known to attend every UFC, since he’s a good friend of the Miletich Camp.

    Sure, it could still be fake, but there’s actually too much work invested in this, to be your typical Fightsport-story. Usually they’d have a guy like Brian Yuzna produce it, and some b- to c-celebs attached to it, like Gary Busey or K-Fed…

  21. Preach says:

    And for those interested, here’s a trailer to “The Life and Death of Bobby Z”. It’s not a real trailer, but a temp assembly used in film markets like Cannes and AFM, that’s why it’s rather incoherent (show something of everything in the movie) and features lousy royalty free incidental music. A real trailer should be out around january, until then this one has to do, but hey, at least we get to see Chuck and Timmay as inmates 😉

    http://trailersforthemasses.blogspot.com/2006/08/death-and-life-of-bobby-z-2006.html

  22. The Gaijin says:

    Preach:

    Was his 2nd test after a fight?(Legit Q)? IF so, then no matter what he still tested positive and shouldn’t have been fighting if he had the steroids in his system.

    If thats an acceptable excuse for him, then I guess we should accept, with equal legitimacy, Nastula’s reasons for testing positive. He merely used substances that had precursors and the levels were pretty low…

  23. Preach says:

    Nope, the second one was the mandatory re-testing right before his first fight after the suspension was lifted. Standard procedure, and they even had a replacement for him lined up (Cabbage), in case that the test would still contain remnants of the steroid.

  24. The Gaijin says:

    Thanks for the fyi.

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