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UFC 94 card line-up (Penn vs. GSP)
By Zach Arnold | January 8, 2009
Undercard
- Welterweights: Matt Arroyo vs. Dan Cramer
- Heavyweights: Jake O’Brien vs. Christian Wellisch
- Welterweights: Chris Wilson vs. John Howard
- Lightweights: Manny Gamburyan vs. Thiago Tavares
- Welterweights: Jon Fitch vs. Akihiro Gono
Main card
- Lightweights: Nate Diaz vs. Clay Guida
- Welterweights: Karo Parisyan vs. Dong Hyun-Kim
- Light Heavyweights: Stephan Bonnar vs. Jon Jones
- Light Heavyweights: Ryoto Machida vs. Thiago Silva
- Welterweights: Georges St. Pierre vs. BJ Penn
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 46 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
My predictions for the big 6 fights:
Fitch, Guida, Parisyan, Bonnar, Silva, & GSP.
Thiago Silva is my big “upset” pick…. But I really don’t see it as an upset. This guy seems to be the real deal, and his ground and pound is fantastic.
I know, it’s been said before, but it’s still quite a sight to see Bonnar vs. Jones on the main card and Fitch vs. Gono on the undercard. I keep thinking I’ve misread something.
I have Jon Jones winning this one. I can’t bet aganist him after he made Andre Gusmao look really really bad.
This fight could easliy be Fight of the Night.
Thiago Silva is a badass, but I don’t know if I’d put money on him here.
I think someone just needs to solve the strangely evasive, backpedalling defense that Machida (sort of) innovated, and now Anderson Silva and Kenny Florian have adopted.
If Thiago can get his hands on Machida, he could definitely score a TKO, especially on the ground. But I have a bad feeling Machida will stretch this out to yet another R3 decision.
Nate Diaz might surprise everyone with a submission.
Karo Parisyan should pull of a win – likely by decision.
If Bonnar doesn’t impress in this outing, he’s done in the UFC, IMO. I think he knows this, and he’ll be hungry for win.
I think GSP’s size and strength could be the x-factor in the title fight.
Thinking they’ll cut Bonnar is hilarious. Not happening.
Also, submitting Guida is not that big of a deal. Someone call Yusuke Endo, who is probably still laughing his ass off.
Thiago Silva won’t even touch Machida, let alone beat him. Machida has fought K-1 guys and avoided getting caught- Thiago Silva’s terribly standup is not going to be the first to get to him.
will GSP wrestle BJ down again and GNP? his wrestling is way better since the first fight
“Thinking they’ll cut Bonnar is hilarious. Not happening.”
I know they WANT him to succeed, but he’s been off for a while…if he doesn’t look impressive, Bonnar could be in trouble. He’s in a pretty competitive division.
“Also, submitting Guida is not that big of a deal. Someone call Yusuke Endo, who is probably still laughing his ass off.”
In the world of MMA, one year might as well be five. A LOT can change is a short period of time, and I think Guida has improved since then.
“Thiago Silva won’t even touch Machida, let alone beat him. Machida has fought K-1 guys and avoided getting caught”
I’m sure a lot of people were saying that about Alister Overeem fought he Badr Hari on New Year’s.
“Thiago Silva’s terribly standup is not going to be the first to get to him.”
‘Terrible’ is a pretty strong word (even though I’m pretty sure you were just exaggerating for effect). I don’t think someone gets to where Thiago Silva is by being ‘terrible’.
BJ is the same fighter as the first time but with twice the cardio
GSP however is twice the fighter he was then with just as amazing cardio as ever.
GSP by BRUTALITY
I think Bonnar or Griffin would have to lose 5 fights in a row, look horrible during each one…. And Zuffa would still only THINK about cutting them. Their TUF 1 Fight gave them a meal ticket for life, or at least for the life of their fight career. I don’t think many other fighters have that same ticket, besides maybe Couture, Liddell, & Hughes.
As for Thiago Silva beating Machida…. I think Silva is going to try and make it a rough fight. And I think he only has to connect with one good shot to completely throw Machida off his game.
Word on the street is that UFC 92 did more PPV Buys then UFC 91, making it the best selling MMA PPV of all time. Not sure the validity of this, but just wanted to say if it is true, then Zuffa deserves it…. They put on a great card, and it shows that stacked cards can sell very well, no matter what the economy.
It also would showcase a point I made a few months ago… That when the economy does bad, entertainment at home does better. We have seen a decrease in tickets sold and live gates for UFC Events…. But their PPV numbers are getting even higher. This is in direct correlation with how the economy is doing. People can’t travel as much, but still want to be entertained.
At least for the moment, Bonnar remains a good fighter, if not an elite level fighter. It’s not so much about losing as who you lose to.
You may notice that his record has three losses to the two most recent UFC light heavyweight champions, and one loss to Lyoto Machida, who is pretty damn close to an unstoppable force right now.
Chopped liver? Not yet.
“Word on the street is that UFC 92 did more PPV Buys then UFC 91, making it the best selling MMA PPV of all time.”
That’s not “word on the street.” That’s what Dana said. They also exaggerated the Chuck/Rampage 2 figures also, so we’ll see what the real numbers are at some point hopefully.
They didn’t exxagerate figures, someone asked him the number the day after the show and he said a million buys. Nobody has the numbers until almost a week or so after, which is why it was obvious Atencio was lying too about Affliction.
I haven’t seen a source for that quote. If it’s true it is unreal. They have to report buyrates in Nevada too for taxes so it will be revealed eventually.
Should be a great night. I’m picking almost all the favorites to win (assuming Guida is the favorite), with the lone exception of Karo. I have questions about his mental game. He looked out of shape against Alves, pulled out of the Yoshida fight less than 24 hours before the fight, and looked sickly in some of the videos I’ve seen.
I’ll take another look at him during the weigh-ins, but if I don’t see a big improvement my money is on Kim.
Bonnar will probably always stay with the UFC because of Bonnar v Griffin 1.
I think Lyoto will KO Thiago. Thaigo is agressive but Lyoto has the skills to beat him.
I would have to say GSP will beat BJ in the later rounds, but I wouldn’t be unhappy if BJ won. It would create some headaches for the matchmakers. lol.
Nice to see that the UFC is taking advantage of what they found out after Lesnar/Couture took place, which is that they can embellish their PPV buyrates and get their corporate content partners to repeat it as fact. Even though all of the cable industry numbers were coming in along the lines of 800,000-something, the UFC was able to convince Dave Meltzer that not only did UFC 91 actually top one million buys, but also that they were only expecting like 600,000 or 700,000 buys in the first place, even though they publicly said 1.0 to 1.5 million in the months prior to the event.
After finding out first-hand that they can say pretty much whatever they want and Meltzer will likely report it, and that after Meltzer reports it everyone repeats it as indisputable fact without stopping to consider who his source is (and why the numbers were so different from the cable and satellite industries’ own numbers), now they’re taking that ball and running with it.
I’m sure it’s just a matter of time until we see a report from Dave Meltzer that UFC 92 drew 1.1 to 1.2 million PPV buys according to Zuffa’s internal numbers, and once that gets reported, self-contradiction is very unlikely because that would be like admitting that the initial sources were questionable or had reason to embellish. Kind of like how once the Bisping-Evans buyrate from late 2007 got reported as 400,000+ based on one Lorenzo Fertitta interview in which he said it drew “an above average buyrate,” that wasn’t going to be contradicted.
UFC 92 drawing somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.2 million buys? Sure, why not. And the St. Pierre vs. Penn buyrate? It will be whatever the UFC says it is. Of course, officially they “don’t like to get into numbers,” but in reality they’re leading the way in how UFC PPV buyrates get reported.
On an unrelated note, you gotta love our criminal justice system in America. Getting zero jail time (which is what has ultimately happened here) for what Quinton Jackson did, especially as someone who is not a first-time offender, is just ridiculous. But it’s just one of many ridiculous things that happen every day in the court system. Murder, rape, and robbery get plea-bargained down every single day somewhere in this country. Compared to that, I guess endangering numerous people’s lives while on what was not his first religion-fueled hunger strike is nothing.
Speaking of the justice system, Josh Neer has a previous drunk driving arrest on his record. If he ultimately gets convicted stemming from his latest drunk driving charge (and it’s too early to know if that’s going to happen), then he would deserve to be in a prison cell somewhere, serving an actual prison sentence, not getting a slap on the wrist. The same goes for anyone who is a multi-time drunk driving offender, or for a first-time drunk driving offender if they kill someone (which Neer was lucky enough not to). That’s the way it should be, but all too often people get slaps on the wrist even if they kill someone (which Neer didn’t) or if they’re a repeat offender (which Neer will be if he gets convicted).
Clearly, Ivan, prison is the solution to America’s growing unemployment problem.
I’m not sure what unemployment has to do with what I was talking about.
Also, before anyone says something about the new, more mature and responsible Rampage, I don’t think it reflects well on him to have punched a clearly unconscious fighter in the head three times, including two times after the referee was already pulling him off and trying to crook his arm to prevent him from throwing more punches. It’s kind of like talking about the new, more mature and responsible Chris Leben after his positive steroids test.
I agree completely about Rampage’s punches – to a man who was lying with his hands above his head, eyes closed.
I was a little shocked, and even more surprised that this is the first time someone has brought it up here.
I know he was “amped up” as Joe Rogan put it, but that was clearly over the line. Once the referee is CLEARLY trying to get in between you and your opponent, and forcibly removing you, a punch thrown after the fact should be dealt with. A SECOND one should be met with a fine at least.
Babalu was fired for holding a submission when a ref was trying to pull him off – how is this any different?
How is it different?
Wanderlei pushed him at the weigh-ins. Not saying it makes it justified, but it makes me feel less bad for Wanderlei.
Continuing to punch someone on the ground after a clean, standing KO is total bullshit and should be penalized in some fashion, IMO. This is a sport, not bar brawl or a street fight.
A “heat of the moment” defense does not hold water either since plenty of fighters DO hold up after a clean, standing KO. Look at Franklin/Quarry. Wand/CC 2. Wand/Sak 3. Evans/Liddell. There are plenty of other examples that I can’t think of off the top of my head.
On a sidenote, has anyone out there gotten the sense that once the UFC reaches show #100 that afterward they’ll cease with numbers in each PPV’s title?
I mean, I can understand their wanting to reach the century mark. But, beyond that, numbering each show doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.
It works when something only comes around on a once a year and/or on very limited basis like the Superbowl, but not with a promotion that now sometimes has multiple events per month like the UFC does.
I know that Dana borrows a lot from the WWE & pro wrestling, but damn, even the
McMahons don’t host a Wrestlemania once, sometimes twice a month. And even if they were to, at that point it would be silly to keep numbering them.
Being a legit fightsport, once show 100 is achieved, it’s time for the UFC to stop with the numbers game. I mean, just think how ridiculous it would be in boxing if each one of their fight promotions we were labeled something silly like Top Rank #2197 or Don King Productions #1252 …
What do the rest of you gentlemen think?
It will probably go away eventually, after all they’ve dropped numbers for fight nights (if they ever really had them) but it’s a convenient shorthand for those who have trouble separating one similarly titled event from another (like me).
It’s ridiculous how similar all these generically named events sound (Ill Will? or was it Bad Intentions?) not to mention that some of them are repeated in different promotions (Return of the Warriors, do you know if that was a Pride event or a UFC event)?
If they can get rid of the hokey names, then we’ll all be better off, at least in regard to figuring out who the headliners are.
I remember them saying they tried to stop the numbering system a while ago, but some fans didn’t like it. Personally, I will always number the PPV’s. Easier to keep track of.
As for the bad event names…. It seems like more and more events are being named after the main event. Which I like. It shows that fighters names can sell (at least with the UFC Brand attached). And I assume the December Show will always be “The Ultimate” from now on. They just need to find cool names for the Super Bowl & 4th of July Shows.
Roget Huerta is quitting fighting to become an actor. No joke. Check out Sherdog.
Ivan,
I am pretty sure you are dead wrong in your rant about Meltzer. I distinctly remember seeing him be one of the first guys to put out the 800K-850K buy rate in the weeks following UFC 91.
Also, he doesn’t get his numbers from Dana/Zuffa. He gets his numbers from his contacts in the PPV industry that he developed while covering pro wrasslin’.
Steve— He reported that at the time, then updated it to being over one million based on internal Zuffa numbers that they were actively trying to leak to anyone who would print them at the time.
Good for Huerta. He’s probably going to make just as much money in acting and modeling without having to get punched in the face. Fighting is a poor man’s sport. We’ve lost Cung Le to movies and the same will probably be the case for Huerta if his acting career is successful.
If it’s true, it’s a loss for the sport. He’s a prick, but he’s also a great fighter.
What I love about the online reaction to Roger Huerta’s comments last year is that he apparently committed the worst sin of all. Fighters have been arrested for assault, for drunk driving, and for high-speed police chases, and they’ve tested positive for steroids and just about every other banned substance known to man. But I don’t think any one of those incidents has generated as much universal scorn as Huerta did for the unforgivable sin of questioning the UFC’s pay scale.
After that interview was printed, and after the retaliatory leak came out from Zuffa that Huerta supposedly wanted low six figures and a PPV bonus and that even BJ Penn doesn’t get that, the response from much of the online MMA community was the anticipated response of, “OMG, Huerta is so greedy!” I didn’t see anyone respond with, “Wait a minute… BJ Penn doesn’t make low six figures with a PPV bonus?”
I have to disagree with the comments on Meltzer, he has proven to be a great MMA journalist and the most accurate MMA reporter IMO. He first reported the 800,000-850,000 buyrate for 91 as an early estimate, but like most major PPV’s those numbers rise as more info comes in and more people buy the PPV replays.
I mean Meltzer has covered MMA from its inception and the PPV business for over 2 decades. What other MMA journalist can say that? And if these PPV numbers are clearly wrong than why not provide back up, I hear a lot of theories but where are the facts? If Meltzers figures are truly bloated than show us the real figures. Until than I’ll believe Meltzer.
And I find it hard to believe that all the sponsors and media outlets are reporting these figures with out actual researching them. You telling bud light is going to spend millions of dollars sponsoring the UFC with out actually researching these numbers? Bud light the largest sponsor of sporting events will just believe what ever the head of a company tells them? Yeah right.
Its not only Meltzer as well, cable industry websites, ESPN, and other media outlets have reported on the UFC’s dominance in PPV arena. You telling me they’re all just listening to Dana’s faux numbers?
You’re right that PPV numbers do generally go up slightly after a while, but they don’t generally go up 20% to 25% in that short of a time period. As for what the actual numbers are for UFC 91, MMAJunkie.com reported it as 700,000 to 800,000, and I’d tend to believe them a lot more than Meltzer at this point because they don’t have the huge conflicts of interest that he does.
In response to your second point, the sponsors aren’t reporting the PPV numbers. Media outlets are. When a major sponsor like Bud Light eventually finds out what the real PPV numbers are, and if those numbers are a few hundred thousand lower than the number that Zuffa leaked, they’re not going to make an issue of it publicly. They would likely still be thrilled with 700,000 to 800,000 PPV buys.
As for whether media outlets, even major media outlets, would repeat information without actually researching it or verifying it for themselves, the answer to that is a resounding “yes.” How many major media outlets repeated the “Zuffa Myth” that Zuffa added many of the rules that were actually added years earlier, even as recently as 2008?
As for your last paragraph, no one is disputing the UFC’s “dominance in the PPV arena.” They do extremely well on PPV. That’s all the more reason that there’s no really need for them to embellish the numbers like they appeared to do with UFC 91.
As for UFC 92’s buyrate “crushing” UFC 91’s buyrate, that part of the interview with ESPN-Mag was just a more public version of the kind of thing that happens all the time. Notice that the ESPN-Mag interviewer didn’t bring up the subject. The subject was brought up by Dana White and the information was volunteered by him, followed shortly thereafter by the familiar refrain that they don’t really like to talk about numbers.
Also, when I say “they’re not going to make an issue of it publicly,” I mean they wouldn’t go out and do interviews in which they said, “We were lied to!” If anything like that ever happened and if they were very upset by it instead of still being very happy with the real numbers, it’s more likely that they would just not renew their sponsorship deal without ever publicly saying why. However, it’s very likely that big sponsors of that stature would be privately given the real numbers from the start, because I don’t believe for a second that Zuffa is dumb enough to lie directly to major sponsors like that. There could be actual consequences for doing that, whereas there are no consequences for lying to the media, especially when they happily lap up whatever you tell them.
I think if you’re contesting Meltzers numbers than you should have the actual numbers on hand instead of saying you believe MMAjunkie rather than Metlzer. Saying you believe MMAJunkie instead of Meltzer is not proof that Meltzers wrong. The MMAjunkie article placed the UFC 91 buyrate “initially” at approximately 800,000 buys. After that MMAjunkie never followed up on the buyrate news and Meltzer did. Meltzer is an expert in this field, hes got decades of experience, legit sources inside the PPV industry, and I just don’t see the conflict of interest with the UFC. Meltzer has made his living covering pro wrestling most of his life and he had no problem bashing WCW or WWE.
I have also seen major PPV events have drastically different buyrates than their initial estimates. Just a few months ago Pacquiao-Marquez 2 was initially reported at having a 525,000 buyrate, than 450,000 buyrate, only to have the final buyrate come in at 400,000 buys. final buyrates can often be drastically different than initial estimates.
But where is the idea that Dana leaked a fuax 1,010,000 figure and Meltzer spreading it coming from? Dana was predicting a 1.2 million dollar buyrate openly in the media, and 1,010,000 is still short of that number. I mean the true number would have been revealed any way so why lie? And how does it help the UFC to lie? If anything word of their success would just make the fighters want more money, and if he doesn’t have the money than hes screwed. And I don’t see anyone coming out and challenging these numbers, cause if they were false I don’t see why McMahon, boxing promoters, or MMA hating journalists don’t just reveal it to make the UFC look bad. I see no real proof of these numbers being fabricated, just theories of fabrication and propaganda. You need some real evidence cause everything points to the number being 1,010,000.
Your right when you said the UFC is doing great on PPV and has no need to embellish numbers, so why would they? The real numbers will sooner or later come out making anyone who lies looks stupid. Sponsors aren’t gonna pay to advertise on the UFC on hearsay numbers but concrete numbers. And where are the PPV executives, Cable operators, journalists, competitors, debunking these falsified numbers? Cause they would relish doing so if they really could.
MY opinion is the UFC scored over a million and Meltzer was right on the money again. Theres a reason Meltzer is the most trusted journalist in MMA.
Ivan,
Do you have any proof that he changed the numbers based on Zuffa’s own internal numbers?
I don’t particularly care what he thinks he should get paid, I just don’t like the self-important smirk that he wears. Just like George Bush or Bernie Madoff.
Did you not read the Observer report when the 1 million figure was first leaked? It said, “Dana White has told people that the number is right at the 1 million mark. Two others have confirmed that this is at least the number UFC is talking about internally, with the actual figure pegged at 1,010,000 buys.” I can remember when Meltzer used to wait for actual PPV numbers to come from actual cable industry sources, as opposed to getting numbers from the head of the promotion and “confirming” them with two of that promotion’s employees.
Just three days after that issue went to press, Meltzer reprinted the leaked number of 1,010,000 in a Yahoo Sports article about the top PPV buyrates of 2008. Once Meltzer went with that number, going back on the number at that point would have been self-contradiction that would have made himself look bad for printing a “UFC internal number” in the first place.
You really don’t see the conflicts of interest that Meltzer has? You must not have been following the MMA media field very closely. Yes, Meltzer has been a journalist for a long time, but he didn’t spend most of that time on friendly terms with Vince McMahon and more importantly as a corporate content partner with Vince McMahon.
For competitors, other companies’ real PPV numbers can be hard to get a hold of and are often based on hearsay. It’s certainly not something that they would have 100% confidence in, to the point they could publicly accuse the UFC of inflating the numbers without taking a risk of coming off looking bad themselves if they were wrong.
As I said in a previous post, major sponsors would almost certainly not be getting inflated numbers from Zuffa, because there could be actual consequences to giving false information to sponsors, whereas there are no consequences to giving false information to journalists who will print just about anything you tell them.
Again I see no actual proof or facts that the buyrate was fabricated, just theories and opinion. If you are so sure the figures Meltzer reported are fabricated than you should atleast provide the real figures.
I don’t even see any circumstantial evidence of a fabricated buyrate. Your theory seems to be the initial estimates had the PPV at 800,000 and because it rose to over a million that it had to be fabricated by Dana and Spread by Meltzer. I have no idea why this seems so unbelievable when like I said this happens a lot with PPV buys.
And the part about Meltzer is even stranger, I still don’t see this conflict of interest you say he surely has. The fact that he was critical of Vince at times and didn’t work for the content partner of Vince shows to me that hes more independent than anything. He had offers to work for Vince but turned it down because he didn’t want Vince controlling what he wrote. I don’t see why he wouldn’t be the same with the UFC. I mean he had no problem taking Dana to task over the Fitch/firing situation, or reporting the real attendance/comps numbers for live UFC shows. But when it comes to PPV buyrates he’ll willing lie for Dana? That just doesn’t make sense. I mean just cause he works for Yahoo who offers UFC PPV’s doesn’t mean hes gonna protect the UFC. Meltzer has shown through 3 decades to be very fair, impartial, and the go to guy in regards to ratings and PPV buys.
So Affliction, Arum, or Vince would be afraid of revealing UFC numbers for fear of having their unimpressive numbers revealed? Than why didn’t Arum reveal the “true” UFC 91 numbers after Pac/Dela Hoya fight which beat UFC 91. I mean why should he fear having Pac/Dela Hoya fight numbers revealed it beat UFC 91. And Affliction bosses openly talked about Stations casinos going out of business by February of this year, you telling me they would be afraid to reveal the true buyrate number of one of UFC’s PPV’s? And I’m pretty sure Vince would love to take the UFC down a peg by revealing the real numbers if he could. Vince knows the UFC is dominating PPV and would like nothing better than to reveal they were inflating their numbers. But fact is nobody is denying or challenging these numbers.
Again we can debate for days, but the only way to settle the argument is by providing the so called real facts. Until than I will believe Meltzer as he has proven o be the most reliable and accurate MMA reporter.
There is nothing in there that shows proof that he is going by the internal UFC source. A lot of speculation by you, but no real proof. It’s pretty bold to accuse Meltzer of these actions with nothing to go upon.
As other people have said, Meltzer has been getting PPV numbers for years. The numbers might not be exact, but they are typically very close.
And Meltzer himself has talked about how what Dana White said for Liddell/Rampage was incorrect and posted correct numbers. So he has shown in the past that he doesn’t just spout out what Zuffa is saying.
Meltzer has been a credible source for years. He gains nothing by giving out false numbers. And he already has contacts within both the PPV industry and Zuffa, so it’s not like he even has to “play nice” to get the scoop.
I think your hate for everything Zuffa is clouding your vision on this one.
Ivan, you’re really outdoing yourself in this thread. Seriously, Meltzer was the first one to report the lowered number for 71, and cautioned on the original observer report that the 91 buyrate could actually be way lower cause the real number for 71 was.
It’s amazing how many paragraphs you churned out without any proof of wrongdoing or conflict.
First of all, I don’t “hate everything Zuffa.” I dislike some of their business practices, but so do most people, and there’s a big difference between that and hating an entire company that has done as much to grow the sport of MMA as Zuffa has.
You are correct that Meltzer reported the real number for UFC 71 (675,000) and did not bite on the number that they were “throwing around” (as he put it), which was one million. However, the Dave Meltzer of that time period (June 2007) didn’t have the aforementioned huge conflicts of interest of the Dave Meltzer of December 2008.
“However, the Dave Meltzer of that time period (June 2007) didn’t have the aforementioned huge conflicts of interest of the Dave Meltzer of December 2008.”
Elaborate please.
You said that you believed the initial estimate numbers from MMAjunkie rather than Meltzer because Meltzer working for UFC content partner Yahoo would be more likely to embellish the numbers in favor of the UFC. But MMAjunkie is an official MMA partner of Yahoo and even has articles from Meltzer him self on the site!! So why is MMAjunkie to be believed and not Meltzer if both are ran by UFC content partner Yahoo.
Again I have no sources in the PPV industry, but I choose to believe Meltzer as he has been accurate in the past. But if you are so sure that these numbers are fabricated than the onus is on you to provide the real numbers to back your point up. No more theories or trying to peace a puzzle together that isn’t there, just cold hard facts and the debate is settled.
Regarding the issue of Yahoo Sports, Dave Meltzer, UFC bias, etc.
Let’s put it this way — Yahoo has a very big interest in the success of MMA. MMA brings them a significantly younger demographic of readership than other sports do. UFC is the only major player left in MMA. So, if Yahoo Sports wants to continue to generate new readers, is it in the best interests to criticize a player like UFC or is it in their best interest to pimp UFC content and act like a PR machine for them?
It goes back to the old days of PRIDE and the Japanese media. The media never crossed with Sakakibara and his crew. The one time the press crossed Sakakibara was Yomiuri Shimbun and that dealt with them leaking Yoshida/Ogawa for the Man Festival show a few years ago and how it was going to be the highest-salary MMA fight in the history of the business. DSE promptly barred Yomiuri from media sessions and Yomiuri covered K-1 only.
As far as Meltzer and his coverage of UFC… this is strictly an opinion, but coming from someone who for years has dealt with promoters and people inside both pro-wrestling and MMA… UFC has given Dave access on many levels that he simply never got with Vince McMahon for a few decades. When you are a writer, access is everything, and you have to make a decision — do I eat on criticizing a company in exchange for access? Financially speaking for Dave, it makes sense — covering UFC and having access helped him get his Yahoo Sports job. That Yahoo Sports job has given him far more exposure than the Observer newsletter ever has. Furthermore, the majority of Meltzer’s content in the Observer is now about MMA and not so-much about wrestling. Meltzer has a financial interest in seeing MMA do well, and coincidentally UFC is the only major player in the business.
Regarding the issue of ‘leaking’ out of PPV buyrates, only for the real numbers to come in smaller than what was first bragged — that’s the media’s fault for biting into an old promoter trick. I don’t blame UFC (if they are responsible for the leaks) one bit — it’s the people carrying the water on those false numbers that deserve criticism. I don’t see why Meltzer is above being criticized for floating out inaccurate numbers.
“I don’t see why Meltzer is above being criticized for floating out inaccurate numbers.”
Do you have actual proof that he floated inaccurate numbers? If you want to criticize him for something than do it for something that actually happened. I still see nothing but conspiracy theories and grasping for straws. If you’re calling him out for providing inaccurate numbers than the burden is on you to provide the real numbers. So I’ll ask again what are the real numbers and what is you’re source.
Cause again I see no body in the media or competitors challenging these numbers.
As for the Meltzer part, again there is no proof just more theorizing. There is no evidence to prove Meltzer is doing UFC’s bidding, just cause he works for Yahoo doesn’t mean hes a shill. Meltzer has revealed plenty of information in the past that UFC wouldn’t like to have floating out their. And really hes is the only one providing MMA fans legit information regarding ratings, gate numbers, and buyrates. If some one wants to challenge his information they better be factually prepared cause Meltzer has been covering MMA since its inception and he has proven to be very accurate with his info.
But historically there is a firewall between the editorial side and business/content side of major companies.
Even ESPN has this, which is why there’s constant bellyaching from various fans of minor sports that their sport isn’t on Sportcenter even though it’s on ESPN2.
Unless I know otherwise, I’m going to continue to assume that this is also true at Yahoo. Yahoo isn’t Sherdog, they’re not “enthusiast media” and they have significant immunity from the normal conflicts of interest that are out there for small enthusiast media outlets (advertising for example, since Yahoo has a massive advertising department that is separate from their other businesses).
Conspiracy theory or not re: Fitch on the undercard, I’m just glad to see him fight, although it is kind of disconcerting that’s GSP is headlining the PPV when he fought (and went the distance) with him. But I just say it happens.
Regardless, my company, RooftopComedy made Jon Fitch guest editor for the week (he’s a huge comedy fan, and a Bay Area transplant, like us). You can check out his picks here:
http://www.rooftopcomedy.com/staffpicks