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Thursday media notes

By Zach Arnold | December 6, 2006

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  1. Bodog: Team Colosseum fighter Matt Thorpe is in Russia competing for the BodogFIGHT season two tapings (facing Diego Gonzalez).
  2. Antigua Sun: Canadian billionaire Calvin Ayre looks beyond the gaming horizon (he’s flying to Russia for the BodogFIGHT season two series)
  3. Radio: Cung Le interview (Interview starts at 19:40 and ends at 36:40. Le says he was approached by Dana White & UFC a few times but couldn’t because he has a contract with Strikeforce, his trainer Javier Mendez says that PRIDE is interested in using him on the 2/24 Las Vegas event because of the relationship AKA/Phil Baroni has with PRIDE. Le says that he usually walks around at 193 pounds, and will fight in the 185 pound weight-class only. Also, Josh Gross on the show notes that Hideki Yamamoto & Yukino Kanda are gone from PRIDE, with Turi Altavilla & Jerry Millen as the US office bosses now.)
  4. PRIDE HP (Japanese): DMM.com (Digital Media Mart) aims to start airing kakutougi contents live on the Internet
  5. Jutarnji List (Croatian): Mirko Cro Cop receives offer from UFC (and is considering his future options regarding the PRIDE 12/31 Saitama show and upcoming fights – more here)
  6. GBRing: K-1 announces Masato vs. Yong Soo Choi (boxer) in a K-1 rules match for their 12/31 Osaka Dome show.
  7. MMA Weekly: WFA President suing owners for non-payment
  8. The Fight Network: Mario Yamasaki will referee the Chuck Liddell/Tito Ortiz UFC 66 fight
  9. UFC Junkie: Vitor Belfort misses hearing for failed drug test
  10. Business Wire (PR): IFL receives sanctioning approval from NSAC
  11. Fight Report: VIDEO: Missing Bodog PPV Bout – Alvarez Jacks Up Riley
  12. Baltimore Sun: TV Guie to upcoming MMA action
  13. New York Press: Will the UFC totally eclipse boxing?
  14. Univ. of Hawaii-Kaleo: MMA fighters need protection
  15. UFC Mania: Kenny Florian vs. Spencer Fisher in February?
  16. The Fight Network: BodogFIGHT Season Two information from Russia

Topics: All Topics, K-1, Media, MMA, WFA, Zach Arnold | 26 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

26 Responses to “Thursday media notes”

  1. Preach says:

    Well, i’d say that’s it then for the WFA. It’s never a good sign, if you’re not able to pay your people for almost half a year….

  2. Jeff says:

    Masato vs retired 130lbs boxer…riveting

  3. Croatian Strength says:

    What does Bodog get out of this – I can’t see their TV show or PPVs making them any money in their current format. Surely they’d be better off investing in KOTC or Hook N Shoot and trying to make them players then this
    A guy that smart and successful can’t just be someone’s money mark so is he doing this for the love of mma? Or trying to attract mma fans to his gambling site that’s illegal for most of them to use.

  4. Zach Arnold says:

    Or trying to attract mma fans to his gambling site that’s illegal for most of them to use.

    If he runs in Russia or Europe, he could attract a good amount of potential betters.

  5. Mr. Roadblock says:

    Mario Yamasaki to ref Liddell/Ortiz. I smell a worked screwjob finish to sell a third installment.

    I can’t understand how this guy is even still a referree. Why not Big John or Herb.

  6. MMA T-Shirts says:

    Bodog starting to pick up some names now, even for the knockout part of the series – Zentzov and Yves specifically.

    However ghastly the first series was, I am becoming interested in the product as a whole and that includes the series part… Having English fighters on there is something which is worth a look at least.

    As for Mr Roadblock’s suggestion to associate with King of the Cage and such like, I would imagine that is exactly the opposite marketing approach to what they are looking at doing. They’re trying to be independent and [b]aiming[/b] for top of the range in terms of product / fighter quality – associating with lower / middle of the range promotions will not help them build that branding… And really, it isnt about making DIRECT income at an early stage for them. They build up a following first and then perhaps look to make money off them – for now it’s just advertising and brand awareness, much like Richard Branson & Virgin except Calvin is a giant penis and Branson is an alright guy.

  7. UFCjunkie says:

    As an FYI, the authors of that New York Press story say it’s supposed to be completely satarical.

    I know a lot of Sherdoggers tore into the guys once they saw it.

  8. Zack says:

    “Mario Yamasaki to ref Liddell/Ortiz. I smell a worked screwjob finish to sell a third installment. ”

    At least there won’t be an early stoppage. Mario believes in true NHB.

  9. MMA T-Shirts says:

    An edit to my above post – sorry I said it was Roadblock who wanted Bodog to associate with KOTC… Wrong person 😛

    p.s. I see nothing wrong with Yamasaki at all. The only criticism I have ever heard about him was on the FO radio show and I thought that was totally unjustified.

  10. Mr. Roadblock says:

    Yamasaki let Daniel Gracie/Wes Simms turn into a disaster, he also missed Trigg land a knee to Hughes’ nuts in their 2nd fight. There’s a couple other examples I can’t remember off the top of my head. He’s a disaster in there.

  11. The Gaijin says:

    Disclaimer: Take this info for what it is and who the source is, but FightSport.com (everyone stops reading now – lol) is reporting that DSE has signed Hong-Man Choi to fight Cro Cop on 12/31. They also claim he comes at a reported cost of $4M/fight.

    They’re also reporting Silva vs. Barnett for 12/31. Hopefully that’s true – could be a barnburner of a fight.

  12. Wanderlei Silva? Aren’t they different weight classes?

    And what kind of credibility does Fightsports have? Are they often wrong / often posts rumours?

    Thanks for the info! I’m adding this site to the list of pages I populate my linker site with.

  13. The Gaijin says:

    I’d also like to point out that *I* scooped Ishida vs. Gomi – before the Fight Opinion…HUZZAH for my cutting edge journalism and “inside contacts” in the industry!!

    I really hope someone will swoop in and buy DSE or PRIDE – b/c this card is already looking pretty stacked and I think it would/will be sad if we’re sitting around watching MMA in 2007 and have to be excited about a card by saying – WOW they had 2 – yes TWO – good fights!! And trying to justify being happy or proud of paying $40/ppv for that garbage.

  14. Zach Arnold says:

    I’d also like to point out that *I* scooped Ishida vs. Gomi – before the Fight Opinion…HUZZAH for my cutting edge journalism and “inside contacts” in the industry!!

    Tape Lord are ya, ‘eh?

    Maybe we’ll find out that another relative of Dana White used to be a boxercise instructor, because that’s the kind of hard-hitting analysis I expect.

    If Silva vs. Barnett is what DSE’s office is pushing, then at least one of those fighters doesn’t know about it and hasn’t been offered it. It’d be another bizarre match-up on the card.

    The idea of PRIDE signing Choi Hong-Man for NYE makes me laugh. You have to assume that they would have to have millions of USD to spend on a single fighter, whose fight salary demands would be double, if not triple (or even higher) than what the most expensive fighter gets paid in that company.

    And even if the story was true and to be taken on face-value… unless Cykan Entertainment (South Korea gaming company/sponsor) is funding that, what a giant waste of money that would be. Hong-Man’s worth is for TV (which PRIDE doesn’t have) and in South Korea (which is where PRIDE said they wanted to run in 2007). Even if they run in SK with a guy like him at the top of the card, they likely would not recover their money back without television money.

  15. To be fair, from many people’s POVs the UFC Dec 30th show has 4 really good fights lined up. Also the NYE show is supposed to be Pride’s figurehead event and the best card of the year. With that in consideration I don’t find the lineup thus far being that impressive (mind you I understand it’s being put together to create the most draw in Japan).

  16. The Gaijin says:

    *Just to clarify* I was being sarcastic and joking around when I was bragging on “out-scooping” Fight Opinion…I merely reported rumours I read on the ‘net that seemed somewhat credible (and Hong-Man Choi’s signing with PRIDE for NYE was not one of them…just merely a story for discussion).

    I fully agree with Zach on this one: It makes absoultely ZERO sense to pay someone the reported $4m/Fight if you have no tv deals…IF they are in the financial peril they’ve been reported to be and without TV or any other backers to fund that type of cash outlay – they’d have to sell out 100,000 seat arenas with great PPV revenues.

    Seacrest. Out.

  17. The Gaijin says:

    Zach: Maybe you can clear something up for me…this whole TV fiasco has been over Yakuza involvment within or alongside DSE in their promotion of PRIDE correct?

    I thought that the yakuza/organized crime was seen as quasi-legitimate business in Japan and can’t really seem to figure out how this is leading to the apparent downfall of a once internationally dominant mma organization. Last NYE they drew pretty huge ratings and I can’t see how they wouldnt this year (with a similar budget and tv deal). So what seems to be the whole problem with actually getting a tv deal – shouldnt this be something thats easily fixed??? It seems they’re having an extraordinary amount of trouble with something that doesn’t seem to be so troublesome. Something like pro-wrestling, that I would consider far more fringe here than something like MMA is in Japan, can easily find new networks when it gets dumped or doesn’t like its deal….whats the problem in Japan??

    Is this something that would be rectified with new ownership and a clean slate?

  18. JOSH says:

    Gaijin: the Yakluza is as legitimate a buisness as the Mafia is. Granted the japanese public at times turns a blind eye to the Yakuza BUT they are still a crime organization that loves to launder money which in any world IS ILLEGAL. The problem is that like the infmaous Capone, it was hard to come up with evidence to prove the laundering. EVen in the PRIDE case there is no concrete evidence of laundering but the stigma of the case has a huge influcence over everyone involved. The simple fact that a goverment audit of PRIDE funding will be invovled means any investor will also have their funding audited and NO ONE (clean or not) wants that to happen. Imagine if there was even a rumor of McDonalds being funded by the mafia….man investors will be leaving them like rats leaving a sinking ship. So yea its a pretty big deal that wont go away like nothing.

  19. mmaguru says:

    Gaijin… obviously theres alot we dont know something happened behind the scenes and it must have been pretty bad in order for all those stations to just walk away from all those millions of dollars that the pride nye show brings in.i dont understand why all the pride fans dont take out thier anger on sakakibara hes the 1 that fucked up.i imagine it has to be pretty hard for them not to succeed in japan selling martail arts

  20. JOSH says:

    Whose to say Sakakibara screwed up? Honestly nothing that has been printed has rightfully pointed the finger at Saki, and Im sure if the allegations were remotly true DSE would have forced Saki out of his posiiton because of the problems he is causing. Again the stigma of being involved with the Yakuza IS NOT GOOD…though EVERYONE does it…having people in the media know about it…is a death note.

  21. mmaguru says:

    well i should have been more clear i dont mean sakaikbara himself but somebody from the pride brass did something that was overboard.for all those tv stations to just leave all that money on the table tells the whole story.nobodies willing to work with these guys

  22. jwebb says:

    THey might not have a tv deal in japan but signing the big korean means massive ppv buys in korea

  23. Zack says:

    I thought Pride was on free TV in S. Korea?

  24. JOSH says:

    Has it been confirmed that Hong man is in PRIDE?

  25. Preach says:

    No, it hasn’t been confirmed. And just like Gaijin said, Fightsport’s “headline news” usually have the quality of “Aliens impregnated me with Hitlers sperm and stole my JFK-Baby while i was vacationing on Atlantis”. But the guys over at the sherdog forums are absolutely eating it up, and are blabbering about this being proof that Pride is in great health, since they can pay an unproven commodity like Choi that much money…

  26. Zach Arnold says:

    Whether it’s Bobby Ologun, Choi Hong-Man, or whoever PRIDE gets for Mirko, it needs to either be so outrageous that it’s a great freak show match or someone who is a serious, legitimate athlete. No more Mirko vs. Minowa fights!

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