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GSP on Fitch: “I’m better than he is”
By Zach Arnold | July 24, 2008
Georges St. Pierre seems very confident that he will beat Jon Fitch in August. ‘I’m better than he is.’
AOL Fanhouse has a preview of this weekend’s EXC show on CBS.
Today, we have a motley selection of articles. No real theme or direction, just some news items to read.
- The Arizona Republic: Tito Ortiz will host “Ultimate Blood Drive II” this Saturday in Phoenix at the Metrocenter
- MMA Payout: Zuffa’s finances – cash-strong and cocksure, but consistent?
- The Liverpool Echo (UK): Paul Kelly set to star at UFC 89
- The Oklahoman: Oklahoma City fans prove strength of local MMA market
- Sherdog: CBS title bout Saturday, Bar exam Monday for Nick Thompson
- 2 The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA): Affliction vs. UFC – a split decision
- The Northern Light (Canada): Former Petit-Rocher resident Denis Lagace preparing for MMA debut
- The Lancashire Telegraph (UK): Chris Leben’s mission to beat Michael Bisping
- The Orange County Register: Joe Rogan experiences fatherhood, Zen, ultimate fighting
- The Loughborough Echo (UK): ‘Judo Jimmy’ Wallhead hopes for US cage stardom
- Hall of Fame Magazine: Assessing the Affliction
- USA Today: Elite XC returns to CBS with re-match
- The Washington Post: All the world’s a cage
- KARE 11 (Minnesota): Brock Lesnar ready, willing to work for his shot at UFC title
Topics: Affliction, Canada, Media, MMA, Pro Elite, UFC, UK, Zach Arnold | 16 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
GSP IS better than Fitch, at least on paper. But he was also better than Serra and we all know how that ended the first time.
If he stays focused, GSP vs. Fitch should pretty closely mirror GSP vs. Koscheck.
I’m more looking forward to Huerta vs. Florian…but how can anyone NOT look forward to a Roger Huerta fight?
Ok so I just got all the way back from LA and the Affliction show. I’m posting my thoughts here so as to be current.
First Fedor is a fucking star and the show was truly electric. I’m not sure where this myth that he is unknown in the US came from but I’m not sure if I have ever been to a live event where the crowd was so loudly cheering for a moment (in this case any moment involving Fedor). Second I expected a bunch of “MMA Hardcores” but the crowd was basically a decent representation of LA’s demographic. I thought there would be a bunch of pasty faced white boys (Sherdog being reped) and crusty old timers (Fight Opinion’s crowd) but really it was just a very young and not so hardcore crowd. Third Affliction has a LOT of fans. I stared seeing these shirts EVERY where around LA and about 1/3-1/2 of the crowd was sporting an shirt.
Fourth Lil’ Nog is a star. Seriously he got a major pop from the crowd and the arena was not even full yet.
Finally, while I understand that there were some Ring and sound issues, I thought live it flowed MUCH better than the one UFC show I’ve been to. THe fights came fast and furious, almost to fast. My girlfriend, who is game to come to live shows with me, agrees. She remembers the UFC show as LOTS of waiting, waiting, waiting for the next fight.
Lastly Affliction gave us a show and it had and ending. Again comparing it to the UFC show, there was more of a sense of it having been an EVENT and of having a real ending. THis is not to important on PPV but live it was really nice.
So that all for now.
P.S. Does anyone know why their ring gave more trouble than the Dream and Pride rings? To me it looked as though the vertical straps needed to be tighter, anyone with any experience in these matters?
“I’m more looking forward to Huerta vs. Florian…but how can anyone NOT look forward to a Roger Huerta fight?”
Oh, I can’t wait. But maybe for different reasons than you.
Space…I agree. I’ve been to over 10 UFCs , and walking out of the building on Sat, I’ve never seen a crowd buzzing so much.
Rollo the Cat – why is that?
I think Huerta is non-stop excitement, BUT he tends to give up his back a lot on the ground, and then tries to elbow his way out. I don’t know if you want to give your back up to K-Flo.
spacedog – awesome report! Thanks for sharing all your thoughts. Loved the PPV Saturday night, and it really had a “Big event” feel to it. Wish I could have been there.
“Rollo the Cat – why is that?
I think Huerta is non-stop excitement, BUT he tends to give up his back a lot on the ground, and then tries to elbow his way out. I don’t know if you want to give your back up to K-Flo.”
Let’s just say I love to hate Huerta. He does put on exciting fights but it is the overrated factor and the overhyped factor that always turned me off.
I am not going to say anything more about this until after Ken stops him in round 1.
More proof that LA is the douchebag capital of the nation.
@spacedog:
Definitely the ropes. They had way too much give on them when everyone running into them were HWs-LHWs.
So have you heard Meltzer’s estimate of the PPV buys?
50K to 85K for Affliction PPV buys, according to Meltzer. That would make it one of the highest for a non UFC event, but still basically non existant in the realm of MMA. Just putting together rough estimates, the show lost at least $2 to $3 Million minimum. That is a lot.
As long as Affliction doesn’t fold until the Oct 11 show, I’m okay with it. Make it happen: Fedor VS Arlovski.
Dana White is right. You can’t throw money around and expect a show to be successful.
Lesson #1: Fedor doesn’t sell PPV.
Lesson #2: Never pay Sylvia 800k a fight.
Lesson #3: Overpay the most exciting fighters rather than the best fighters.
Lesson #4: People over pay for T-Shirts due to the prestige of a name brand. When the brand becomes synonymous with a fight promotion, it ceases to carry that aura of a high-end name brand. It becomes just another fanboy advertisement.
“”Anybody who went to the arena on Saturday to purchase a ticket, was able to buy a ticket for $39.95 no matter what price range it was in. They discounted all the tickets to $39.95. As a result, the tax on (the ticket) is paid by the promoter so they can say it sold as a $500 or $1000 ticket. It happens in boxing all the time.”
Very nice, Affliction. By screwing the early ticket buyers, they can expect to sell most of their tickets on the day of the show.
“Lesson #4: People over pay for T-Shirts due to the prestige of a name brand. When the brand becomes synonymous with a fight promotion, it ceases to carry that aura of a high-end name brand. It becomes just another fanboy advertisement.”
I never thought of that, since I don’t buy high end clothes or designer labels. I’ll take your word for it.
45,
are you sure it is that little? I have asked this question before, but can someone tell me what satellite time costs? I think it was mentioned here a year ago being in the range of 10,000 per minute. That would mean they need 100,000 buys to cover that alone.
This might be a little early, but how many times do promoters have to make the same mistakes?
You make a good point. I always assumed that each PPV was split approximately 50/50. However, if they need to cover a certain base amount, then could be getting less. I just don’t know the answer to that. I am curious as to how it is handled.
Floria stopping Huerta in R1?
Hmm. That would suck. But it’s definitely possible.
I don’t think the hype surrounding Huerta is anything more than people just loving to watch him.
There are plenty of fighters who are ‘better’ with wins over more impressive opponents…Tim Sylvia has beaten Arlovski twice, and he’s a top-10 ranked fighter – but who the hell would put him in their top 10 fighters they like to watch?
I can see why you think Huerta is over-rated, but I wouldn’t hold it against him. I’ve always seen him as an exciting middle-of-the-pack fighter that’s respectful, has a lot of heart, and gives it his all every fight. When you get down to it, I like him for all the reasons I like Guida. What’s not to love?