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MMA notebook: Rampage Jackson gets some good legal news
By Zach Arnold | May 3, 2010
Remember when he had his meltdown and allegedly hit a woman and she claimed he caused her a miscarriage? The civil lawsuit has been dropped. Gut feeling — a settlement was reached?
The Utica Observer-Dispatch has an article about the latest details on the fight to regulate MMA in New York.
So I saw this book review about Sam Sheridan’s book. I agree that his book is great, but I didn’t agree with this quote about MMA books in general:
The landscape is littered with quick-hit biographies and glorified message-board material masquerading as total reads on MMA.
I would highly recommend Total MMA by Jonathan Snowden. It’s good enough for Jim Ross and JR is not a mark. Don’t be a mark, either — go grab a copy of the book.
I was reading this article about MMA fighters and how they shouldn’t trust judges, which leads me to this article at MMA Junkie about Marc Ratner and his ongoing efforts to recruit new judges and referees. What’s interesting is that Mr. Ratner is encouraged by the involvement of the ABC (Association of Boxing Commissions) in recruitment. Make of that what you will.
The Boston Herald has a preview of coming attractions for UFC’s first event in Boston this Summer.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 25 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The Ratner thing is a good and bad thing….
On one hand, having a smart, trustworthy guy making a real push towards better refs and judges is a great thing for the sport.
On the other hand, it is out of the norm from the typical “The Commissions choose the judges, not the UFC”.
Overall, I think it will be a positive thing if done right.
(My last post vanished into thin air)
There’s two arguments against this.
One, the tinfoil hat theory that judges having this close of a relationship with the promotion they work for is going to turn into a subject of controversy the next time we get a Machida-Shogun decision. It’s one thing to throw up your hands and say the judges are just stupid and it’s not your fault. It’s another when you trained the judges are they still make dumb calls, or people start complaining you’re teaching them to point what UFC wants to see in a fight (aka sloppy kickboxing) more than what the casuals hate (ground games, especially bottom work.)
Two, Ratner was great when he first came on board. But he’s frankly outstayed his usefulness and done more harm than good these days. He has a very close relationship with some people who he should be using his influence to be shown the door. But instead he continues to kiss their Keizer….er, I mean keister. He could law down the law without going through something as drastic as opening up Judge College. He could, y’know, just get rid of the crappy ones and keep the good ones.
I honestly don’t think it matters, like the UAE show was clearly UFC-picked refs and judges, you know?
The MMA biography books are as lousy (actually worse because they’re less interesting) than the Wrestling ones.
Those books aren’t even proofred by publishers. When they get 220 pages typed out they’re released.
Loretta Hunt’s ‘book’ about Randy Couture has to be the worst. She’s a terrible writer and that thing had tense changes within paragraphs, run on sentences and tangents left and right. It may have gotten better after the third chapter. But I wouldn’t know. I put it down because it was hurting my head.
Wow. I don’t think the odd choice of words leaves any doubt that this is a cheap shot.
Not a fan of Loretta, but I agree with the statement from Jonathan. Kind of a low blow.
How is it it a low blow?
She’s a terrible writer and the book stunk. I listed why it stunk, from a literary perspective. I think it was a very fair critique.
The Iceman and Hughes books weren’t good either.
Ratner having control of the judges… bad news through and through!
I don’t think he would technically have control of them.
I think it would be more like….
Let me go out and find 20 or so competent judges and train them on how to be judges. Bring them to school so to say. And then once they are ready…. Unleash them, with our stamp of approval to the athletic commissions.
All of the major sports hire their own officials. They just have to make sure there is a nice line drawn in the sand that they should not be in contract with the guys like White, Silva, and Fertitta’s.
Hey, what the hell? Just because I don’t own the book doesn’t mean you have to insult me like that. Especially after all the nice things I’ve said about you over the years, Zachary!
Zach I have a review for the book on The Queensberry-rules.com website. It focuses more on the boxing angle, but I think it still represents MMA quite a bit. Check it out if you would like to compare it with the other.
Iole is saying Mayweather/Mosley did around 1.1 to 1.2 Million buys. I predicted it would do UFC 111 numbers which was around 750,000.
I don’t think that is what they were expecting for the PPV. They were probably expecting much bigger numbers. I think the Mayweather and Manny problems have hurt both in the buyrates…..
You’re correct. They’re probably pulling their hari out right now because of the low buy rates. I think this points out two things:
1. Mayweather is not a bigger draw than Pac man. They are probably around the same level. And…
2. Mosely, although an all time great, is not a big draw at all.
1.1 – 1.2 is a really good number for that fight.
I’m sure Golden Boy and the Mayweather camp are excited by it.
Breaking a million PPV buys is really strong.
A lot of people saw the Clottey fight as a squash match and it still did 750,000. This was a fight hardcore boxing fans were pumped about and it tickled the mainstream fans a bit. I’m surprised it did that well.
I went to the bank today and was chatting with the teller. He asked what I did this weekend and I told him I watched the boxing match. He perked right up and asked how it was. Then he said, the one I’m waiting to buy is Pacquiao vs Mayweather.
Later in the day I was at the grocery store and the lady at the counter asked what I did this weekend. I told her I watched the boxing match. True story. She says, “I don’t like that Pretty Boy. When he fights the Filipino guy I’m going to watch. I hope he gets his mouth shut.”
Pacman vs Floyd is going to be a mega-event.
1.2 million would be nearly double what Manny did last time out and is likely the biggest PPV of the year unless Pacquiao/Mayweather finally happens. Its kinda tough to call it a “disappointment”.
They were expecting over 2 million. When expectations are off by 1 million buys labeling it as a “disappointment” is fair I think.
What’s the source on them expecting 2 million? I find it hard to believe they were only paying someone $7 million dollars for a fight they were thinking was going to do the second biggest buyrate of all time.
This site. 4 million payperview buys! The guy Richard Scaefer you know the head of GBP.
Shane Mosley was getting 7 million as a base. Mayweather was getting 26 as a base.
“Mayweather’s welterweight mega-fight Saturday against “Sugar” Shane Mosley (46-5-0, 39 KOs) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas (HBO PPV, 9 p.m. ET) is expected to threaten the pay-per-view record of 2.4 million buys set in Mayweather’s fight with De La Hoya in December 2007.”
Thats a quote from USA today.
I don’t actually think they believed it would do 4 million buys or even two million. 2 million buys with one guy making 7 million even with the other making 26 doesn’t make sense for boxing. I have a hard time believing Mosley would agree to a fight where the distribution company makes a mint off him and he gets peanuts.
I mean he’s definately getting more than 7 million after the percentages were doled out. I read on one of the hip-hop websites that the final purse was 50 million after the payperview buys, and thats with PBF obviously getting the majority.
You could definately be right that they really didn’t think they were gonna do 2 mill, and it was all just bs for the cameras. I think we all know they didn’t expect 4 million, but I think they really thought they’d do around 2. I know I did. I completely overestimated Shane Mosley’s drawing power.
Hahahahahaha! Over a million buys is a disappointment now? Wow. Actually, that’s right in line with what people expected, if not better. And the last Manny fight wasn’t a disappointment either (maybe a mild one at best) because he was hardly fighting an A-level star the public was clamoring to see happen.
If the Lesnar-Carwin show doesn’t match this number I can’t wait for your spin on that. Probably “Brock was out of the public eye a long time so it will take time to rebuild his brand.”
It’s right in line with what who expected? Not what GBP expected. Not what PBF expected. Not what Mosely expected. WHo are you talking about? Why did you bring up Lesnar? Why would I spin anything for Lesnar?
These are disappointments to the promoters. Why would you or I care how many PPVs it did?
I’ve read most of the major MMA books out there and found Snowden’s to be a good general history. I’d recommend Clyde Gentry’s book more highly, though.
As for Sheridan – his first book had a chapter on dog-fighting and he tried to equate that to MMA. That alone proves he has either a defective brain or some serious glitches in his moral code. It makes everything he writes suspect, at best, and more likely, grossly irrelevant.
Haven’t read Hunt’s book on Couture but she’s an awful writer so aren’t at all surprised by Mr Roadblock’s criticisms.
[…] of Boxing Commissions (ABC), which happens to be an entity that UFC regulatory czar Marc Ratner is interested in seeing play an active role in recruiting MMA judges and […]