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Tuesday headlines: More media reaction to UFC 78

By Zach Arnold | November 19, 2007

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There is a lot of activity this week for MMA events.

Eddie Goldman discusses the latest news in the firing of Larry Hazzard from the NJACB.

Dave Meltzer on why UFC 78 didn’t validate anyone. MMA Analyst elaborates further. Plus, Fightmetric analysis of Rashad Evans vs. Michael Bisping. Here is a new edition of Fox News Fight Game, recapping UFC 78. CNBC’s Fast Money program was also at UFC 78. Mike Sawyer and Oliver Copp share their UFC 78 thoughts on a new edition of their radio show.

More coverage of UFC 78 in the British media. Plus, Michael Bisping reflects on his loss.

Comments from Houston Alexander.

The MMA scene in Liverpool.

Michael Woods at The Sweet Science:

Bob Arum, Don King, Oscar De La Hoya, Lou Dibella, each and every one of you should get a ticket to the next UFC show, and note for the record how a live fighting event could and should be crafted.

I’m writing to wake up some of the power brokers who are running shows that could be improved greatly, and help lure some of those fans that could get poached by the current vibe that I felt in Newark on Saturday at the Prudential Center.

The proxy wars in Japan

Regarding the Fedor vs. Choi Hong-Man rumors… I won’t address the entire story unless something is publicly and formally announced… Monte Cox did state that there is an effort to book Fedor vs. Choi Hong-Man for NYE in Japan.

As I’ve detailed months ago on this web site, you have to expect a lot of proxy wars right now in Japan with various groups and gangs (no different than the way politics work in the Middle East).

All I will state is that there are going to be a lot of promises made (some kept, some not kept) and a lot of people who don’t fully understand the politics of the Japanese scene are going to get sucked in believing some things that they shouldn’t be believing in. As long-time readers of this site, you’ve learned to use common sense and to trust your gut instinct on what is said versus what really happens in Japan.

Now… full discloure… I have known about the Fedor vs. Choi Hong-Man rumor for at least a week. There was a legitimate rumor about Fedor vs. Josh Barnett, considering that Barnett already has a work visa in Japan through Inoki (IGF) and Pancrase. Barnett is wrestling on 12/20 in Tokyo at Ariake Colosseum and has a catch wrestling match with Hikaru Sato on 12/22 in Ariake, so it would have made perfect sense to book him. Don’t know why the fight isn’t booked.

As far as the rumors about some of the names involved in the supposed proposed NYE event in Japan… I’ve heard rumors mentioning names like Monte Cox, Antonio Inoki (who is backed by power broker Tatsuo Kawamura), and others who were associated with the disastrous Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003 event and/or from PRIDE’s past. There is one name discussed in particular that has raised my eyebrows…

As far as my personal opinion is concerned about a proposed show with Fedor happening on NYE… I’m not buying it. Unless the people backing the show really want to take the risk and have the foreign fighters work on tourist visas instead of work visas, the timeline would be next to impossible to accomplish. At a bare minimum, it takes at least six weeks to get a work visa processed in Japan. Additionally, it takes at least three good months of solid on-the-ground promoting to really run a successful MMA event on NYE in Japan. To not even have a show announced with only one month ago… well, that kind of last-minute timing sounds awfully Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye-ish. At least Inoki had Nippon TV backing him in 2003. There will be no free-to-air TV backers for any sort of last-minute event here.

Call me skeptical.

Other notes

The California State Athletic Commission announced that Jason Winther, who tested positive for methadone and morphine, has now also tested positive for anabolic agents (Stanozolol and Trenbolone). He now joins Adam Smith in testing positive across the board for various drugs.

Royce Gracie was recently in Brownsville, Texas.

Meet Tyler Moyer.

Topics: Japan, M-1, Media, MMA, PRIDE, UFC, UK, Zach Arnold | 8 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

8 Responses to “Tuesday headlines: More media reaction to UFC 78”

  1. Ivan Trembow says:

    From the CNBC report on the UFC:

    ” It all is expected to pass $1 billion in video on demand revenue”

    Good lord! I guess that would have to include all of the PPV buys on UFC.com, individual fight purchases on UFC.com, PPV replay services on cable and satellite on-demand systems, and individual fight purchases on Xbox Live Video Marketplace.

    I think that must be a typo. It can’t possibly be $1 billion, although the UFC’s gross PPV revenues are indeed in the hundreds of millions. I would think that maybe CNBC accidentally typed “billion” instead of “million,” but the previously listed revenue streams would almost certainly add up to more than $1 million.

  2. ukiro says:

    Oh come on Zach, spill the beans. Is it Sakakibara you’re on about or what? If so, just say it. If you’re wrong, no big deal – it’s still just a rumour, after all. This is your second attempt at a tease over this, and I’m hereby giving you the reaction you’re seeking… Now let’s hear the details.

    Ed. — I’m not naming anyone (if it was Sakakibara, I would have said already) until I am certain and confident. This is not for teasing purposes, but rather because I am tentative…

  3. JThue says:

    Oh my god, it’s Ted Turner isn’t it. Or that guy who tried to be his MMA-equivalent anyway.

  4. […] world of mixed martial arts, but this is just getting so weird that even I’m doubting myself. Japan is a strange place, where fight promoters can say they’re hosting Fedor vs Jesus Christ on the moon and people […]

  5. Oh stop being vaginal and just spill the beans. If you just add a ‘might be’ beforehand, then that’s good enough! Come on … join the rest of the trashy MMA blogs as we gossip like bitches in a beauty salon

  6. FightMetric says:

    In addition to the article at MMA Madness, we’ve done something unprecedented today: We’re making our fight tracking sheet available to the public for free. The goal is to spread the statistical love and help anyone interested in pursuing MMA research of their own. Check it out at the FightMetric blog:

    http://www.fightmetric.com/blog/

  7. Zack says:

    Meltzer manages to even have typos on his Yahoo articles.

  8. 45 Huddle says:

    Would it really be a Real Meltzer article without a few typos? The guy is one of the best in the business, but he needs to learn the concept of spell check.

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