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Monday morning quarterback (4/7/08)
By Zach Arnold | April 7, 2008
Hayato “Mach” Sakurai will face David Baron in Shooto on 5/3 in Tokyo at JCB Hall (Tokyo Dome City). Also booked for the show is Lion Takeshi vs. Rumina Sato.
The circus between Nobuyuki Sakakibara and UFC continues to grow.
Luke Thomas does therapy.
- Eurosport: Michael Bisping’s blood is boiling
- Fox Sports: Kendall Grove, Evan Tanner to meet at ‘TUF 7’ finale
- The Dayton Daily News (OH): Kenny Florian excels in UFC, but he’s no ‘TUF’ guy
- Fightlinker: Mark Dion is an idiot
- MMA Memories: BRAWL – A behind-the-scenes look at MMA
- TKO Xtreme (Canada): Iroquois MMA championships returns to Hagersville on April 26th
Results from yesterday’s Jungle FC qualifying event:
Jungle FC – Qualifying // Full results
Minotauro Team Academy, Rio de Janeiro
Sunday, April 6th – 2008
- Erinaldo Pitbull (Gracie Fusion) def. Vinicius Lemos (Killer Bees) by unanimous decision
- Andre Luiz (Caverna/Top Brothers) def. Marcos Maciel (BTT) by TKO – R1
- Alexandre “Pulga” Pimentel (NG Combat) def. Paulo Silva (TFT) by triangle – R1
- Rodrigo Ximbica (Gracie Fusion) def. Pedro “Stone Hands” Santos (Clube de Luta) by doctor stoppage – R1
- Rodrigo Smurf (Carlos Henrique JJ) def. Maicon Ribeiro (BTT) by submission – R3
- Paulo Thiago (Ataide Jr.) def. Leonardo Pecanha (Minotauro Team) by unanimous decision
Topics: Brazil, Canada, Japan, Media, MMA, PRIDE, UFC, UK, Zach Arnold | 11 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
sounds like Sakakibara’s suit against Zuffa was written by a sherdog pride mark 🙂
With a name like “Sukkibara” you’re hardly the unbiased appraiser of said issue. 😀
(unless I’m catching the wrong reference)
I’ll be honest, I don’t get the double-standard when it comes to the KJ Noons / CBS situation.
On one hand, you have most blogs saying that UFC fighters are underpaid and that no-name fighters should not accept the small, exclusive contracts the UFC offers them — which in its essence run cheap because it gives these fighters exposure in MMA’s most popular organization and more sponsorship money than they’d ever get elsewhere.
On the other hand, now you have blogs that are saying KJ Noon’s agent is an idiot for not falling for the exact same type of negotiating tactic, because it will give him “exposure and sponsors”.
Would be nice if the peanut gallery were consistent every once in a while.
^^^ It is always consistent. UFC = Evil.
Jesus, you better be a good fighter with a name like Rodrigo Smurf…
There is no word on who “Lion” Takeshi and Rumina Sato is fighting yet. They are only listed as participants so far.
They are both confirmed for the show though.
GKH,
That’s a very astute comment. The market will take care of itself. I agree with the bloggers that Noon should take the deal.
Marketable fighters will always get want they want. Noons may take a raw deal now, but with the exposure, he will be able to demand more money afer three fights than he can right now or later without broadcast network exposure. It sounds like Dion is trying to make himself more money by going for a higher pay contract without thinking about the long term potentials for his client. He’s trying hard ball tactics like this is a mainstream sport.
Noon being a champion for EliteXC doesn’t exactly mean he’s a world beater considering where EliteXC is in the MMA food chain.
Wins don’t always equal higher pay. Fedor’s management needs to learn that. Fighters need to learn to better market themselves. Fedor is a guy that nobody can market, considering he looks like an average joe, can’t speak english well, and has the personality of dry paint.
Tito right now is average at best of a fighter, but he’s marketed himself well and is still one of the top draws. If you’re not popular enough, then why not play the heel like Frank Shamrock and Josh Koscheck (and Nate Diaz and now Gamburyan)? Otherwise, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth when a great opportunity presents itself. KJ Noons should drop his manager ASAP.
But there’s a difference there. Fedor doesn’t need the UFC to make a lot of money. KJ Noons, however, needs the exposure and sponsors because his market worth just isn’t that great these days. He’s missing an opportunity of a lifetime thanks to his agent. CBS is a big deal. But Fedor, he can fight freakshows in Japan for the rest of his career for seven figures and retire comfortably. KJ Noons doesn’t have that luxury.
One has to wonder how many big payday freakshow matches Fedor will be able to get in Japan. MMA has lost a quite a bit of popularity in Japan, and his match with Choi didn’t pull well.
Anyway, regardless of how much he makes fighting guys like Choi, he’d be able to make much more in the UFC. Retiring with $10 million instead of $5 million makes a much bigger difference than I think you realize.
cyph, don’t get me wrong, I totally think Noons should take the deal.
My comment was more based on the fact that I seem to be one of the very few people that also don’t think the 2k/2k fighters are getting screwed by the UFC.
I think both situations are comparable.
I’m in total agreement with you. If there is enough competition, and the fighters deserve more money, then they will be paid that much. If they only get paid 2k/2k, that only means the market can only bear that much for unproven fighters.
I’ve been arguing that point forever.