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#UFC on Fox: Man with one testicle didn’t look like 9-to-2 favorite over Michael Bisping

By Zach Arnold | January 28, 2012

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Mr. Bisping’s words about Chael Sonnen having one testicle, not mine…

Date/Location: Saturday, January 28th, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois at the United Center
TV: UFC on Fox (network/broadcast over-the-air)

Dark matches

Main card


***

UFC January fight cards (1/14 Rio, 1/20 Nashville, 1/28 Chicago)

Date/Location: Friday, January 20th, 2012 in Nashville, Tennessee at Bridgestone Arena
TV: UFC on FX

Dark matches

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***

Date/Location: UFC 142 on Saturday, January 14th, 2012 in Rio at HSBC Arena
TV: PPV

Dark matches

Main card

Topics: Brazil, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 124 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

124 Responses to “#UFC on Fox: Man with one testicle didn’t look like 9-to-2 favorite over Michael Bisping”

  1. Nepal says:

    Amazing the Rio show is a PPV. Can’t imagine how low the rate for this one will be. 250,000 buys if they do well.

  2. 45 Huddle says:

    2 weeks after Lesnar/Overeem, and they expect that to sell?

    I buy almost all UFC PPV’s, and I’m skipping UFC 142.

  3. Dave says:

    Bleh.

    While there are some OK fights on each card, there is nothing that is jumping out at me and saying MUST-SEE! There is definitely nothing on 142 that says BUY ME and I love watching Aldo fight.

    • 45 Huddle says:

      Well, if you like watching Aldo fight then 142 is a bad event for you. Mendes is going to blanket him for 5 rounds.

      And the FOX show is stellar. All 3 fights could produce title challengers. I’m pumped for that card…..

      • Megatherium says:

        Mendes really represents the next generation of lay and pray artist, he really takes the artform to a whole new level. When he works his magic in the octagon time seems to stand still for fifteen minutes.

        I don’t know if I can stomach watching him hold down Aldo for 25 minutes.

        • david m says:

          You won’t have to watch Mendes snore and bore for 25 minutes. Aldo is going to annihilate him. The secret about mma is that wrestling is the best skillset against the last generation of mma fighters. Jose Aldo, like GSP, like Jon Jones, is so much more athletic than everyone else (to go with an elite skill level) that you can’t really outwrestle him. Mendes isn’t fast enough to take him down without taking a lot of damage, if at all. Aldo will control the range with footspeed and do whatever he wants.

        • 45 Huddle says:

          I joke about Mendes being a blanket…. It is a possibilty though….

          This fight is nearly impossible to predict because there are so many unanswered questions for both fighters. How can Mendes take a punch? How will Aldo’s conditioning be if pressured hard for 5 rounds?

          I could see this fight going many different ways.

        • edub says:

          I agree with 45, and if there is an underdog bet to be made (+250 or higher) I will put some money on Mendes. His wrestling is a world’s better than Faber, and actually a lot better than Maynard’s.

        • david m says:

          quoted for posterity’s sake:

          January 4, 2012 at 8:41 am
          You won’t have to watch Mendes snore and bore for 25 minutes. Aldo is going to annihilate him. The secret about mma is that wrestling is the best skillset against the last generation of mma fighters. Jose Aldo, like GSP, like Jon Jones, is so much more athletic than everyone else (to go with an elite skill level) that you can’t really outwrestle him. Mendes isn’t fast enough to take him down without taking a lot of damage, if at all. Aldo will control the range with footspeed and do whatever he wants.

        • edub says:

          So you gonna come on here, and post about how wrong you are the next time you miss?

  4. Zack says:

    How will Brazil’s MMA lovin momentum be quelled if Aldo gets LNP’d and Vitor loses a boring decision?

  5. lenkani says:

    I’m just now starting to gain my bearings in the MMA world, and found Ultimate Knockouts a welcome introduction to a lot of UFC’s past and present stars, not to mention an entertaining two hours of action.

  6. 45 Huddle says:

    Just watched UFC Tonight. It’s a nice news program that flows well. For some reason, ESPN Live and Inside MMA just don’t have a good flow and are painful to watch. UFC Tonight is much better.

    I’m liking this FUEL TV stuff so far. Just need it in HD….

  7. jim allcorn says:

    OK, we all know that 142 is going to totally tank as far as buy rates are concerned. So, how long before Zuffa gets the message that they’ve GOT to cut back on their PPVs?
    I mean seriously, there’s simply no way possible that they can really expect fans to purchase even one show per month. What with the Fuel, FX & FOX programming along with the Strikeforce shows, there’s just not going to be the demand for them.
    Ideally, they’d cut back to a half dozen PPVs per year, but 8 – 10 seems more likely. Which I think is really pushing it.

    • 45 Huddle says:

      They seem rather clueless and will likely still try and push across 15 PPV’s in 2012.

      I wouldn’t mind 8 PPV’s a year. Put in the 4 FOX shows in months that they are not running PPV’s, and that would be 1 big event per month. Along with the FUEL TV & FX shows, it would certainly be enough.

      Have a PPV 2 weeks after Lesnar/Overeem is pathetic. The big show for January should be the FOX show…. No PPV.

      • Megatherium says:

        The way they’ve been sucking the marrow from the ppv bone it makes me think they may be getting ready to discard the carcass soon.

    • Jason Harris says:

      Let’s say this event does 200,000 buys.

      200,000 x $55 = $11,000,000

      That’s on top of the fact that the event is going over big in Brazil which is their new big market.

      A “low” selling PPV still earns them a hefty profit. What’s the loss?

      Everyone throws around this notion that if fans miss one PPV they’ll stop watching entirely, and I don’t buy it. Baseball and basketball fans don’t even watch half of their team’s games on average and they still keep coming back. This PPV is going to make a profit, some people will skip it and buy the next one, some people will buy this one.

      Where’s the loss for UFC?

  8. david m says:

    It is hard to convince a company that is turning a profit on every PPV show to not run as many any more, and in so doing, to make less profit. They are being shortsighted in their approach to MMA and the fan base will burn out. On the other hand, there is an entire generation of kids out there who have known UFC all their lives, and are entirely hooked on it. Perhaps the UFC thinks the best way to get kids into mma is to saturate the hell out of the market? I’m not sure. I would imagine they have done studies and have concluded that having 14 events a year is more profitable than 8 stacked ppv events a year. Who knows.

    The UFC fanbase is comprised largely of young, tech-savvy individuals, who are willing to pay for shows when they are worth it, but not willing to pay for shit shows like 142. This has led to a situation in which it is not hard to be able to watch UFC ppvs for free, and the fanbase has chosen to do so on events like the one upcoming.

    • Jason Harris says:

      Basketball teams play 82 games from November-April plus playoffs. Baseball teams play 162 games from April to October plus playoffs. You’re talking about several games per week if you pick one team and decided to follow them. Where’s the “burnout” in those sports?

      People skip games and then watch the next one, but when has someone just up and stopped being a baseball fan because there were too many games to watch?

      As for people watching PPVs for free….I really think the amount of people who sit at home watching an internet stream on their computer on a Saturday night rather than watching the fight at a bar or with friends is very, very low.

      • david m says:

        Those sports are on free television. We are talking about paying 50 dollars to watch a show that is being promoted as so amazing it is worth paying 50 dollars 2 weeks after paying 50 dollars to see a show similarly promoted as being a can’t miss, must see spectacle.

        I think you are incorrect on the internet stream issue; I know lots of mma fans who, if they can’t find anyone to go watch the fights with at a bar, instead stay home and get on gchat and talk to their friends in other cities during the fights.

  9. 45 Huddle says:

    Lesnar vs. Overeem did 800,000 buys. Looking at the buyrates of the October and November…. That is a fantastic number. Especially considering that Lesnar had not fought in over a year, was coming off of getting completely dominated, had bad ratings on TUF, and the show was on a Friday before NYE.

    What I think this shows is that the fanbase has not washed away. They will still show up for the big cards. December’s 2 PPVs did them a total of 1.25 Million PPV Buys. Between the strong FOX Ratings and now this…. The UFC is doing solid. Not the record business they did around UFC 100, but still good enough numbers to keep the sport strong.

    I’m interested in seeing how bad Aldo/Mendes does…. And also how UFC on FOX 2 does without a huge main event but a strong overall 3 fight card.

    • The Gaijin says:

      How does it really say anything about their ppv fan base? Doesn’t this just prove that Lesnar is/was their biggest drawing star (Who retired in the cage after another loss)?

      I’d be more willing to buy your argument if we saw these numbers come up for a “stacked card” supershow or something featuring say, Anderson Silva or Overeem or Nick Diaz, but to say 750k buys on a Lesnar headlined card shows their overall base isn’t being eroded is somewhat naive.

      • 45 Huddle says:

        Over 7 Million saw the fight on FOX. 2.5 Million for TUF Finale. 450,000 for Bones. 800,000 for Lesnar.

        These are not the numbers of an eroded fanbase. The peak numbers are not there. The UFC 100 time frame popularity is gone. But what is left after that dip is still strong and significant. Nobody expected them to keep that record business from a few years ago. But to still be pulling good numbers still is great news for the UFC.

        I still think the number of PPV’s is hurting them…. The 2 PPV’s in one month might not have hurt December’s buyrates but it certainly will hurt January’s as a result.

        • The Gaijin says:

          Wow…sorry, totally missed the point you intially made re. FOX ratings (not to mention the TUF # as well).

          Can’t disagree there – I thought you were solely pointing out the PPV numbers for a Lesnar-based ppv to get there, which you weren’t. My bad.

    • edub says:

      A small decline in sales isn’t going to do anythinge to quell Zuffa’s appetite for sending out ppv’s.

      Damn, I was hoping for something smaller to get more “free” events.

      • The Gaijin says:

        On the plus side – maybe a few of those eyeballs will follow Overeem. Just hope they can keep the message on point about Overeem being a beast HW as opposed to the Lesnar retirement show, like what happened when Liddell lost to Rampage.

  10. CapnHulk says:

    Well, at least it’s being offered for free on XBOX Live if you tried watching the abysmal UFC 141 stream.

    http://www.platformnation.com/2012/01/11/microsoft-offering-ufc-rio-142-for-free/

  11. Megatherium says:

    Really sweet odds on Etim and Mendes. Chad just has to remember to bring his blanket with him to Rio!

  12. Rich says:

    I really think Mendes is going to have a tough time getting Aldo down in the first couple rounds as has everyone else who has fought him. I definitely think he’ll get it down though. I’m also interested to see how the threat of a takedown affects Aldo’s usual game plan of throwing leg kicks. Really interesting matchup to say the least.

  13. david m says:

    The thing is, in a 5 round fight, it is hard to avoid big shots. Mendes could conceivably win a round or two (although I think it is unlikely), but it is unlikely he will be able to avoid a crushing blow for 25 minutes, and once Aldo hurts him, he will finish him.

  14. 45 Huddle says:

    I was really thinking that UFC 142 would do 500,000+ PPV Buys. But with the Patriots vs. Broncos game being on around the same time, I think I will have to downgrade it to 210,000.

    If there was ever a time when it was okay to have a strong program running against a UFC PPV, it would be this one. It’s so weak that it’s not like it’s going to suffer much more then it already would have.

    • The Gaijin says:

      500k+?!?! I assume that’s a typo.

      I think this might be the first one in “recent” memory that doesn’t break 200k…Aldo was semi-main of the Edgar-Maynard card that drew 225K and that was against KenFlo who is much more recognizable to casuals. Vitor’s name might help pull in some buys (and it seems to be getting just as big of a push as the title fight), but given the timing being so close to 141, Denver-Pats, UFC on Fox for free in 2 weeks, January being a customarily “belt tightening” month in North America and this getting the typical foreign card’s lack of ad push – I think it will be a sub-200 bomb.

      • 45 Huddle says:

        Not a typo, just a joke.

        I wouldn’t be shocked if it didn’t break 200,000 either. I’m not ordering it. I will watch the prelims on FX though….

  15. […] A Look at the Betting Odds for UFC 142 (FightOpinion.com) […]

  16. 45 Huddle says:

    Looks like the E:60 program on ESPN didn’t use the interview favorably from Lorenzo Fertitta. Dana White is claiming that they taped the interview in full themselves and will be releasing it.

    The plot thickens…

    • Zach Arnold says:

      Gaijin’s Youtube link was a small preview piece and not a full segment. Does anyone have the full ESPN segment on YT?

    • The Gaijin says:

      Outside the Lines!

      Sad news about Florian.

    • The Gaijin says:

      http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/page/UFCpay/ufc-fighters-say-low-pay-most-painful-hit-all

      Article link. The episode doesn’t run until this weekend so won’t be available until then.

      “Looks like the E:60 program on ESPN didn’t use the interview favorably from Lorenzo Fertitta. Dana White is claiming that they taped the interview in full themselves and will be releasing it.”

      Also – this is PURE speculation. When asked if he’d seen the OTL footage DFW admitted, “no, I don’t have to. I know how they operate.”

      So take that all with a boulder of salt.

      • 45 Huddle says:

        No salt needed.

        From what I have read, ESPN did a past interview with John Cenathat was editted so poorly that the WWE released the interview themselves to show what was really said.

        ESPN does not have a good track record. Plus Josh Gross is involved and he is about the worst “journalist” in MMA….

        • The Gaijin says:

          So…you haven’t seen the interview and Dana hasn’t seen the interview – but you don’t think Dana going all frothy over how they’ve cut an interview he hasn’t seen doesn’t need to be taken with even a grain of salt?

          But you did read about an interview – that you haven’t seen – that the WWE thought was unfairly biased. So that means you’ll believe a guy who is known to be prone to massive over-reaction that an interview he hasn’t even seen is unfairly biased/provocative.

          Hmmm…sounds logical.

        • The Gaijin says:

          And to be clear – that Josh Gross article was pretty bad. Poorly sourced, a lot of generalities and inconsistencies…not good. And no offence to Rob Maysey, but if that’s the best source you can provide…45 wants to talk about people with a counter-interest to UFC, there’s a silver bullet right there.

          On the otherhand, Fertitta’s claim that the revenue splits are on par with other major sports is ridiculous.

        • 45 Huddle says:

          Multiple companies are being forced to tape the ESPN interviews because of their bad track record. Where there is smoke there is fire. That’s pretty obvious.

          How can you say it’s ridiculous about fighter pay? It’s to the point now where people are just trying to hate on the UFC. They are paying out more then any other company has ever paid out… And to more fighters. The champions today are paid the best they ever have been. The lower level guys are making more then they ever did, including having insurance.

          Things are moving up…. And they are every year as the market for MMA expands internationally. Sweden sold out in an hour. There is another market with potential. When fighter pay stabilizes or goes down, then start your complaining.

          Until they, let business work it’s natural cycle and stop complaining.

          Gross is an id#ot who just has a grudge against the UFC. He is a garbage reporter.

        • The Gaijin says:

          “How can you say it’s ridiculous about fighter pay? It’s to the point now where people are just trying to hate on the UFC. They are paying out more then any other company has ever paid out… And to more fighters.”

          Umm…because he’s claiming payouts are on par with other major sports, ya’know, the ones paying out ~50-57% of their revenues to the athletes.

          How is that “hating on the UFC”?????? – I’m saying that the statement is ridiculous because it’s untrue and by a long shot. They are probably paying out between 15%-25% – I never said that was bad or that it wasn’t higher than it’s ever been [but I’m sure you don’t mind trying to falsely attribute that to me to help your argument!] – which is multiples below “the other major sports”.

        • 45 Huddle says:

          I doubt they are paying out over 50% of revenues. But you might be taking his comment the wrong way.

          The UFC is smaller then the NFL. So the percentage of their expenses compared to revenues will naturally be higher (not including fighter pay).

          But in terms of what money is available to pay, I wouldn’t be shocked if it is closer to the major spors leagues. The problem is that if they did pay out 50% of the revenues, I highly doubt the UFC would be making a profit.

          For all the complaining I hear about the UFC…. BAMMA couldn’t even get Nathan MArquardt a fight and had to release him. Internationally there is little to no MMA market. Outside of Pride, the UFC, and a few years of random companies that lost money, there never has been. This is the best it can and will get for a long time.

        • edub says:

          I would actually guess that they are paying out 30% to fighters when all is said and done.

          This argument comes down to a few things that can’t be proved without them opening their books (IMO):

          -What percentage of the revenue goes to costs for the UFC.

          -What each fighter is actually paid.

          -What you personally think is a good balance of ownership revenue compared to combatant revenue.

          Just argued about this in person with somebody (intelligent MMA fan). We are on opposite sides and pretty much had to agree to disagree.

      • 45 Huddle says:

        In general the fan response to this has been uneducated. I’ve seen a lot of people say the UFC should have minimum pay closer to $100,000 a year (for 3 fights) and stuff like that.

        Sound fair, right? It absolutely does. If you are good enough to fight in the UFC, you are good enough to get good pay, just like in the other major sports. F#ck the UFC for not paying their fighters a minimum like this!!

        But then let’s do the math….

        Let’s say Zuffa did that. Then look at a 12 fight FX or FUEL TV card. Let’s say the bottom 9 fights all have fighters who are making a guaranteed $33,3333 per fight.

        Those bottom 9 fights just cost $600,000. It’s then easy to assume that the fighters with more experience will have a pay increase compared to the base. So for the sake of the discussion, those remaining 6 fighters each make $50,000 a fight. Sounds reasonable as well. That’s another $300,000. That card just had a payroll of $900,000.

        Imagine a FUEL TV card, which is going to bring in 100,000 viewers top, having a payroll of $900,000. Guess what would happen to FUEL TV live cards if every fighters had a minimum salary of $100,000 a year for 3 fights? Those cards would go away.

        And so would most of the FX cards if the payroll was so uncontrollable like that.

        Increasing pay sounds nice, and can certainly fit the PPV model. But it would essentially kill the free cards on TV.

        Think of it this way…. A rookie in the NFL making the minimum… Even with how huge that sport is…. Is not even making $33,000 per athletic performance…. They make about $24,000 per game. And yet the UFC on FUEL TV should be paying their fighters more money?

        Common sense is not a strong ability in the MMA world….

        • Nepal says:

          If UFC is getting $100M/year from Fox, then $900K could be viewed as a loss leader for 4 shows per year. There would be revenue from the live show, revenue from merchandise and advertisement so it’s not like a lot of money is lost.

        • The Gaijin says:

          “In general the fan response to this has been uneducated. I’ve seen a lot of people say the UFC should have minimum pay closer to $100,000 a year (for 3 fights) and stuff like that.”

          I have a feeling this is yet another one of your made up “I’ve seen people say ‘stats’…” to lay-up a point you want to make.

        • 45 Huddle says:

          The Gaijin,

          Go to The UG and read the comments section about the UFC fighter pay. Multiple fans are asking for a minimum salary just of this nature. I’m not making it up.

          Nepal,

          So they should take 16 of their 32 shows and make them loss leaders? That would put them out of business.

          The UFC could not sustain even a $100,000 a year for 3 fights minimum salary. Even the NFL does not pay their rookies $33,333 minimum per contest, and they have more revenues then any other sports league in the world.

          What it comes down to is that the top guys are getting paid enough that they are happy…. And the lesser known guys are getting paid less because the UFC does not make enough on those smaller shows the warrant close to a $1 Million fighter payout for Fuel TV and FX level shows.

        • The Gaijin says:

          “The Gaijin,

          Go to The UG and read the comments section about the UFC fighter pay. Multiple fans are asking for a minimum salary just of this nature. I’m not making it up.”

          I’m just going to have to take your word for it, I’m not going to waste my time on that cesspool.

        • nottheface says:

          According to Lorenzo in his interview, since TUF started on Spike, the UFC has paid out $250 million to its fighters. During that same span the UFC has generated over $2 billion in revenue. That’s approximately 12%. No where close to 50%.

          Now is there anything wrong with Zuffa paying what they do? No, not at all. They are maximizing their profit. But one can’t look at the percentage and not think that there is something out of whack with the market in MMA. That the talent we are paying to see has so little leverage that such a large portion of the profits go to the owners and not the “stars”.

          My problem has never been with what the UFC does (unless the FTC comes back with something) but with the fact that their are no options in the business. I am not a fan of too much power being concentrated into too few of hands. Although, apparently a large portion of the fanbase our huge fans of absolute monarchy.

          As for the article, it used a lot of poor data and way to many anonymous quotes for my taste. But for those that say that want the fighters to form a union or association they should be cheering this piece as poor as it is. If anything is going to get the fighters to organize its having the facts pushed into their face how small their piece of the pie really is.

        • Steve4192 says:

          “According to Lorenzo in his interview, since TUF started on Spike, the UFC has paid out $250 million to its fighters. During that same span the UFC has generated over $2 billion in revenue. That’s approximately 12%. No where close to 50%. “

          C’mon now. You know as well as anyone that nearly half of that $2 billion goes to the PPV providers. You can’t use gross revenue as a benchmark.

        • nottheface says:

          Yes, I know that. And that number is after the ppv provider cut.

  17. david m says:

    The upcoming UFC on Fox card is better than UFC 142…Talk about creating perverse incentives.

    • cutch says:

      This is on Globo, which is the only big network in Brazil. Globo are only going to air a few shows a year plus TUF, they will get more from the PPV than they would from FX or Fuel and FOX probably would’nt air a Brazilian centered show.

  18. […] – Buying or selling Chad Mendes as 2-1 dog to Jose Aldo? (Fight Opinion) […]

  19. […] Fight Opinion’s Zack Arnold breaks down January’s upcoming MMA cards. […]

  20. […] UFC 142: Chad Mendes is a 2-to-1 dog to Jose Aldo, you buying or selling? | Fight Opinion […]

  21. edub says:

    So Anthony Johnson leaves WW to weigh in 12 lbs over against Belfort.

    Does this make sense to anyone? Especially after talks about him being 215 and him looking great (so there should be no injury or sicness excuse).

  22. Megatherium says:

    Hopefully Johnson gets the axe after Vitor puts him out.

    Also LOL at Mayseys’ 5 percent payout percentage estimate.
    Ithink I’m looking forward to Outside the Lines more than 142.

  23. jim allcorn says:

    Well, after the fiasco at the weigh in & THAT performance vs Belfort, Johnson’s UFC career is over. If he makes it through the night without being given his walking papers, I’ll be shocked.
    Did he even HAVE any sort of a gameplan or was it always to just go out there, be hyper-aggressive & see what happens? If this is the sort of preparation that his camp comes up with, then Rashad Evans just might be in big trouble vs Phil Davis. Much less against “Bonez” Jones.
    My original thoughts were that AJ could keep his job with a victory & if he gave a good account of himself in a loss, he’d probably be doing the Zuffa shuffle on over to Strikeforce. But now…?
    I think he’s gone. I think Dana & the boys cut him loose & make him re-establish himself on the regional circuit before ever looking at him again.

  24. jim allcorn says:

    Wow, for $55.00 fans got five fights, four of which were first round finishes, most of them terribly onesidedly so. That just sucked.
    I think this, coming so close on the heels of another PPV that featured two high profile one round blowouts doesn’t bode well for Zuffa’s plans for what? 18 PPVs this year?
    It’s just WAY too much.
    And they’re just flying at us like crazy.
    So much so that I’m having a hard time keeping track of which cards on FOX, which one is FX & whats on Fuel. Not to mention these PPVs.
    And I’m hardly your casual UFC fan. I’m a dedicated, die hard MMA fanatic that’s been with this sport since UFC 1, someone who follows this sport on a daily basis just about as closely as someone possibly can. So, if I’M struggling with keeping things straight & already suffering from PPV fatigue, dissatisfaction & sticker shock, I can only imagine what the more casual “Joe Six Pack” type of fans are feeling/thinking after tonight’s show ( those few who ordered anyhow… ).

    • Akemi Homura says:

      I doubt that ever elusive casual fan is disappointed with a series of quick finishes; most in brutal fashion.

      • jim allcorn says:

        I’m not so sure about that.
        For most, the Diaz-“Cowboy” fight likely went a long way toward justifying their purchase of the last show in combination with Overreem’s demolition of Lesner.
        But tonight?
        I honesly thought the prelims on FX provided more competetive contests than did the PPV. And, after a while, if more folks start seeing things that way, then, other than the absolute mega-fights, I think Zuffa’s going to see the PPV market drying up quite a bit.
        Like I said earlier, I love this sport I’m not particularly hard to please. I love a good KO or nasty submission as much as anyone. That’s what makes this & every other fightsport so unlike all the others.
        Even though The Pats had the game won decisively tonight before halftime, they had to play all four quarters ( much to Tebow & The Bronco’s chagrin… LOL ), but there’s such a thing as TOO MUCH of a good thing with some people. And, no matter how spectacular the quick finishes might be, some folks will feel as if they’ve wasted their money if all the fights end so fast.
        Not that Joe Silva should turn around after tonight & change the way he books fights in hopes of providing more distance affairs. The nature of fightsports IS the unexpected.
        What we are is back to the original question, how often is the fight buying public willing to pay for something that they have a LOT more access to than ever before now?
        And my guess is, not nearly as often as Dana & the boys would like.

  25. RST says:

    Twelve more months of the terror of vitors under achievements!

    Vitor always seems to be good enough to throw a munkey wrench into things….

    ….And thats it!

  26. […] A Look at the Odds for Tonight’s UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller Event (FightOpinion.com) […]

  27. 45 Huddle says:

    I really like the Fuel TV Prelim Telecast overall. A few thoughts:

    1) Anik is doing good. Still needs to come into his own, but already has shown big improvements from a few years ago. Anik & Florian have good chemistry.

    2) Glazier has got to go. That guy trips over his own words time and time again. And his voice is downright annoying. Bonnar isn’t bad along with him, and probably has a career in commentating when his career is over.

    3) Since the UFC now has a “B Team” for commentators, it only seems natural to have a “B Team” Announcer to replace Buffer. I think it would add to the feeling that the PPVs & FOX shows are bigger if they did that.

    Overall, it’s great to be able to watch the prelims on TV and DVR it. Facebook just wasn’t cutting it.

  28. EJ says:

    No Fuel TV for me, but thankfully Fox Sports Deportes has basically become what Fuel TV is only in Spanish. Was able to catch all the prelim fights and the spanish announcers again did a great job with explaining what mma and did a good job calling all the action.

    As far as the FX show goes it was a fun night of fights, and i’m really happy to see Jim Miller back to being the guy i’ve been hyping up for years now.

  29. Megatherium says:

    Easton/Papazian was not fight of the night!!!

    The broadcast team did a great job and I love UFC every six days. Really feeds my addiction.

  30. Zack says:

    Great debut by Papazian.

  31. Megatherium says:

    Bisping is certainly winning the war of words with the unitesticular one isn’t he? I’ve bean waiting for an opponent to go on offense against Chael, given the depth of material available through Chaels’ trials and tribulations and Bisping seems just the man for the job.

    Now winning the actual fight is another story. I can’t see that happening although it might have its’ moments.

    Kind of surprised to see Weidman favored over Maia although I do see Weidman winning that fight myself.

    It’s a solid FOX card with a couple of decent matches on the undercard as well.

  32. EJ says:

    I don’t see Bisping winning anything so far, i’ve seen posters on the internet make better testicle jokes about Sonnen than he did. To me Mike’s problem is the same as Koschecks he seems so forced and looks like he’s trying so hard to hype up a fight that I can’t take it seriously. The difference between what he and Sonnen do is so vast that it’s almost as big a mismatch as the actual fight will be.

    Unless of course Sonnen follows the course of the last couple of wrestlers who’ve fought on these past shows and comes out with a ridiculous gameplan and unprepared. But I think he knows better, because for good or bad Chael always fights the same regardless of opponent.

    • Mark says:

      So you don’t think Chael jumped the shark in hyping fights when he became a parody of his public image a year ago?

      • EJ says:

        Of course not, because unlike alot of guys who put on an act and it comes through blatantly when they do it. Sonnen has taken a cue from pro-wrestlers whose he’s a fan of and is living the gimmick.

        Even when he’s blatantly over the top with his comments he sells them with such conviction that it works. It’s part of why he’s gotten over with the fanbase like he has while never changing his fighting style which is wrestling based.

        Like the old saying goes it’s not about what you say but how you say it, and Sonnen is one of the very few mma fighters who can do trash talk and hype while not looking phony about it.

        • Megatherium says:

          To be fair, few people share your unbridled admiration for Chael, EJ. The likes of Tank Abbott and Ken Shamrock did it earlier and did it better.

        • EJ says:

          Actually as I look around the net the Sonnen admirers are a pretty sizeable bunch but that’s besides the point. While Shamrock did a great job playing the nutjob his promos were pedestrian and Tank while having a great gimmick as one of the originals faces of the UFC was a step below what Chael is doing.

          If you don’t believe me just check out his latest 2 interviews with Dan Lebatard on ESPN and Ariel Helwani on MMA Fighting. Both are incredibly funny and again show the difference between what he’s doing as far as promos and hype and Bisping.

        • Megatherium says:

          Chael does have an aptitude for cutting promos I will admit but at this stage he still seems to be finding his voice. The race/ethnicity stuff for instance is wildly off the mark, for me at least.

          I really think you overlook Bispings’ heel stuff, it can be really funny and he does seem to be enjoying the repartee with Sonnen very much.

        • Mark says:

          While Shamrock did a great job playing the nutjob his promos were pedestrian and Tank while having a great gimmick as one of the originals faces of the UFC was a step below what Chael is doing.

          Well, it’s obvious why this is to people who lived through those days: MMA fighters in the 90s were out for respectability. Back then, fighters wanted to convince you they weren’t thugs in press interviews. They weren’t fortunate enough to be able to act like Chael.

          I don’t think Ken was ever a “nutjob in his promos” until the Tito Ortiz “feud”. Ken talked about being competitive and doing whatever it took to win a fight, but he wasn’t the guy threatening to end Don Frye’s career by destroying his knees for making Ryan Shamrock (Alicia Webb, not his son) jokes. That came from his WWF influence. The worst trash talking Ken ever did before then was probably the stuff building the Tank Abbott fight that never happened in 1996. And at any rate, Ken was a crappy promo. He always sounded a little dumb and tended to trip over his words and lose his train of thought.

          And Tank was kept away from the media when the heat on SEG ot intense (partially due to Tank) around UFC 7 in 1995. They let him do his shtick in front of their paying crowds who “got it”, but they never let him do media since even Dave Meltzer was trashing him in Observers back then. But at the same time they also hid that he was a trained wrestler and the persona was put-on to draw money. But even when he got press for doing Friends, they never put him in the media, they let respectable guys with athletic credentials like Severn, Kerr and Coleman do the press rounds.

        • Mark says:

          Of course not, because unlike alot of guys who put on an act and it comes through blatantly when they do it. Sonnen has taken a cue from pro-wrestlers whose he’s a fan of and is living the gimmick.

          I think Chael feels incredibly fake, personally. It was fun for a while, but then it’s just so forced it’s annoying. I think he jumped the shark with the Lance Armstrong stuff. Now he comes off like he’s convinced he’s got to say something controversial to get attention “PAY ATTENTION TO ME! I’VE GOT A NEW CHAEL WORLD EXCLUSIVE! ANDERSON SILVA TOLD ME THE BRAZILIAN MOB HAD MY MOTHER HELD HOSTAGE AND SHE’D BE KILLED IF I DIDN’T TAP TO THE TRIANGLE! HE WON’T FIGHT ME AGAIN BECAUSE SHE HAS NOW ASSUMED A NEW IDENTITY AND THEY CAN’T FIND HER!”

          And I don’t think “living the gimmick” is a good thing at all. If you know about professional wrestlers, doing that leads to major self destruction in many, many cases. Even ones who were wealthy for years doing it. Ask Ric Flair.

        • The Gaijin says:

          There probably hasn’t been a more contrived and forced “personality” in mma than Sonnen. His schtick was mildly amusing the first few times, now he just runs out this tired (recycled right from an already ran pro wrestling angle) junk about “the real world’s champion”, etc., etc.

          He’s LAME as hell and jumped the shark a LONG time ago, imho. Oh wait – that’s actually him working me like a mark right?!? LMFAO.

  33. 45 Huddle says:

    Davis, Bisping, & Weidman. I could easily see myself going 3-0 or 0-3….

    • edub says:

      Taking the jump on Bisping eh?

      Was thinking about putting something small down on him (+300)…

      • edub says:

        I said screw it, and put one on him to win inside distance (+600).

        • 45 Huddle says:

          I wouldn’t be shocked to see any of the main card fighters win. They are all very competitive fights.

          I just see Sonnen as a guy who is sort of a mental midget.

          Bisping will likely submit him.

    • Darkmader says:

      Davis is a great bet, especially if you bet him winning via decision as I’m pretty sure it’s only 3 rounds instead of the 5 which I thought Dana said would be standard from now on. Whatever happened to that?

      http://www.headkicklegend.com/2012/1/25/2732779/ufc-on-fox-2-rashad-evans-and-the-smoke-and-mirrors

      That is a great opinion piece and he breaks down the facts instead of other stuff I read that Rashad is a lock. Hell, if he loses this fight and doesn’t get the chance for the belt there was rumblings that he could make it down to Middleweight.

      • 45 Huddle says:

        Evans belongs at Middleweight. Despite still only having 1 MMA loss, he is greatly outsized and as the sport continues to progress, his size will be an issue at that weight class.

  34. Mark says:

    How is Chael Sonnen a mental midget? He dominated the best pound for pound fighter in the world until making a mistake (that wasn’t due to a lack of mental toughness). Bisping on the other hand hasn’t proven himself anywhere near what Chael has. And I don’t see him having any tools to beat Sonnen.

    And actually I’d call Bisping the dumber fighter. Remember this is the same guy who did exactly the one thing anybody with half of a brain wouldn’t do when fighting Dan Henderson (walk into his right hand.)

    • edub says:

      I’d call him a mental midget because every time a submission gets even remotely close on him (unless it’s a guillotine) he begins to tap/scream.

      Bisping has a close loss to Evans and the KO loss to Henderson. Sonnen has 8 losses by submission alone.

      All this being said I don’t think Bisping wins, but there is definitely a chance.

      • Mark says:

        Bisping has a close loss to Evans and the KO loss to Henderson. Sonnen has 8 losses by submission alone

        You can’t compare Bisping’s record to Sonnen’s. Bisping was one of the most protected fighters the UFC ever had until they gave up on England.

    • The Gaijin says:

      “He dominated the best pound for pound fighter in the world until making a mistake (that wasn’t due to a lack of mental toughness).”

      You forgot the part about him being juiced to the gills on steroids – funny how he went on a big run right around the time he apparently started TRT’ing. Everyone hates on Josh Barnett, but at LEAST he beat Randy Couture when he pissed hot.

      I find there to be NOTHING impressive about Sonnen’s performance given the results of his test.

      • Megatherium says:

        Absolutely. People need to throw that fight away considering the fact that Sonnen was hopped up sky high on testosterone all that he ever came close to achieving in the match was a NC/ND.

        Some people had so much fun watching a wired-to-the-gills Chael tearing around the cage after Anderson like the Tasmanian Devil that they tend to have selective amnesia about the whole flunked PED test debacle.

        • EJ says:

          I think the only people who have selective amnesia are the people who think that it was the elevated TRT that caused Sonnen to dominate Silva not his world class wrestling.

          I mean every excuse in the book has been made by these same people to justify the so called p4p king being dominated for 23 minutes. If you can’t even give the man credit for doing to Anderson what he’s always done then your opinons on that guy are going to be taken with a huge grain of salt.

          I might dislike Anderson for many reasons but i’ll always give him his props, I never have called his submission lucky in fact it was very well set up by him. Sadly because of Sonnen’s act and the way he’s worked people they can’t seem to give him the same respect for dominating Anderson which again makes me question where they’re coming from.

        • The Gaijin says:

          Guy constantly gets tapped by anyone with a BJJ pulse.

          Guy starts running the gamut against a bunch of lesser skilled wrestlers while on HGH/TRT (Miller, Okami, Nate).

          Guy is juiced to the gills and “dominates” a guy not juiced up and still gets embarrassingly ] tapped.

          = EJ’s hero.

          Who’s making excuses? A guy defending the LOSER who CHEATED and still LOST or the people pointing out the CHEATING fighter that LOST was a POS that never deserved to be there in the first place…there’s a reason PED’s are illegal.

          But he did a D-level pro wrestling impression, so mouth breath EJ is ready to swallow it all down with his mouth wide open. We know exactly where you’re coming from. 😉

        • EJ says:

          Clearly you’re the one making all of the excuses and justifications here not me. I mean your whole post comes off sounding like a Sherdog poster rant about how Sonnen sucks. Seriously if that’s how you really feel you’ve lost any little bit of credibility you have as far as i’m concerned. And have gone from just a guy who hates Sonnen to be bitter and delusional hater that can’t see past his hate to give the #2 MW in the world his props which is beyond sad.

        • The Gaijin says:

          What excuses?

          He used steroids, and lots of them. There’s a reason PEDs are not allowed in combat sports. You don’t think juicing up on steroids gives a huge advantage to a top control wrestler? If you really need someone to explain this to you, then you’ve got bigger issues.

          What is there to really “respect” about a guy that always finds ways to [get] choke[d], that cheated to get where he got and couldn’t even do the job when it counted? Sorry brah, but your delusional fanboyism is just rotting your brain and clouding your poor judgement.

        • EJ says:

          The one that clearly needs to have things explained to them is you. But that seems to be a lost cause, since you can’t see past your blind hate of Sonnen to get that. So keep being the delusional hater that never wants to give Sonnen props while being obssessed with him that seems to be working for you just fine.

        • The Gaijin says:

          LOL. You’re never worth having a debate with as you literally never provide any backup or justifications for your claims

          Please enlighten me as to why steroids had nothing to do with his run to the belt and gave him the advantage to do as well as he did before he lost the fight. I know this is useless because you’ll never give us anything other than your irrational belief that it didn’t. Just like you fail to back up that Sonnen “works” people because they say hes a cheater and his act is a tired, played out embarrassment Business as usual.

  35. Megatherium says:

    What I seem to remember is that Chael cheated and he still lost.

  36. Alan Conceicao says:

    Rashad is in a high risk fight. The payoff is, I guess, lots of eyeballs watching him win. The risk is that its lots of eyeballs watching him get trounced by a no name. He’s a lot smaller. Lot smaller. I think he can outstrike Davis all day, but its not a fight about striking. Its about wrestling. Davis is the better wrestler, and I think he’s gonna expose Rashad to some degree here as not being a true light heavyweight (which has been obvious FOREVER) and send him to 185. Davis/Jones would be a really interesting fight if Davis didn’t have the kind of style built for Jon Jones to demolish, and I don’t think him beating Rashad in a grinder makes the fight big. I think the UFC missed out on Rashad/Jones in terms of PPV sales, but no one will ever admit that if Evans loses. The UFC is never allowed to miss making a money fight in the press.

    Sonnen is going to beat Bisping. C’mon now. Bisping might do decently though, I won’t be surprised if that is the case. I think he’s game. But he can’t win this fight. Sorry. Not happening.

    Maia/Weidman is a “who cares” affair where Maia probably submits the green wrestler. Russow beats the piss out of Einemo. Nothing else matters and no one cares.

    • edub says:

      I’d be hard pressed to put Einemo-Russow in the “matters” department actually.

      Weidman trounces Maia. Dude was competing with top tier BJJ guys after a freaking year of rolling. That shit’s unheard of outside of BJ.

      I think Evans wins, but you’re right. If he loses all the talk will be “well he shouldn’t have got the fight in the first place”.

      • The Gaijin says:

        What an UGLY fight. That 3rd round is what I hate about the whole takedowns to win…I know it’s on the other guy to defend it and JOE was horrid in his own right, but that was just turrible.

  37. Megatherium says:

    If Goldie doesn’t stop saying teep I’m going to die of alcohol poisoning before the main card even starts!

  38. The Gaijin says:

    “I think the UFC missed out on Rashad/Jones in terms of PPV sales, but no one will ever admit that if Evans loses. The UFC is never allowed to miss making a money fight in the press.”

    100% agree. I always laugh when I hear people troll on boxing because PBF – Pac doesn’t get made. There’s tons of examples of UFC “failing” to make some big money fights that the Zuffa umbrella is supposed to provide, because really if a guy won’t fight someone there is not much you can do and Jones has shown this on several occasions.

    Looks like the Strikeforce HW division wasn’t that bad after all given that Lavar Johnson absolutely TRUCKED a guy that the mid-tier guys like Mitrione, Barry and Miocic couldn’t and it’s not like have any different tools that would provide a different challenge.

    • 45 Huddle says:

      Some guys just match up better then others. Mitrione, Barry, & Miocic would all beat Johnson.

      The UFC right now has Sonnen/Silva and Evans/Jones set up for this year. I think their system overall is lightyears ahead of what we see in boxing.

      Heck, the year Jon Jones had in 2012 would be impossible in boxing because we would never see a top tier boxer even get the chance to fight that much top talent….

      • The Gaijin says:

        “Some guys just match up better then others. Mitrione, Barry, & Miocic would all beat Johnson.”

        While I agree with that first part generally, I don’t agree with the last part. All three as well as Johnson are brawlers (even if Barry is a “K-1 level striker”) and all three fought the same guy and he looked light years better. He’d mangle Mitrione without a doubt and he’d probably take the other two as well – this isn’t an issue of styles making fights here – it was the same fight for them all and we saw the proof of who the better fighter was tonight.

        • Steve4192 says:

          Johnson’s ground game is awful. Mitrione is the only one of these three he would stand a chance against. Barry is way too technical for him on the feet and Miocic is a fantastic wrestler who would take him down and smash him on the mat.

          In terms of fighting style, Johnson reminds me a lot of Mike Kyle. He is dangerous as hell standing despite his technique being a little sloppy, but can’t get past guys who can put him on the mat.

        • The Gaijin says:

          Barry *should* be too technical for him on the feet, along with a whole bunch of other mid-level HWs, but his fight IQ is horrendous and he can be sucked into brawling not to mention he’s absolutely dwarfed by Johnson and would probably get bullied around.

          I honestly haven’t seen enough of Stipe, but based on the fight with Beltran I was really unimpressed with all the hype he was getting – his cardio was terrible. Maybe it was octagon jitters and whatnot given that he’s pretty green – I’ll have to look him up some more.

          None of these guys is going to be a contender (outside of maybe Miocic if you’re buying the hype) but at least they’ll give the fans some HW slobberknockers.

  39. 45 Huddle says:

    These FOX shows are far too much story telling and not enough fighting. I’m hoping they change that in the future as these imaginary “new fans” have seen the UFC.

    What has always made the UFC great is how they just put a lot of quality fights on one after another. This feels too much like boxing with all of the time between fights.

    They certainly are not catering to their current fanbase with this stuff.

    I think in the future I will have to start watching the FUEL TV prelims at 7pm….. And then the FOX show afterwards. I will probably end up watching the main event live….

  40. Mr.roadblock says:

    I think it’s safe to say zero new MMA fans were made tonight from that awful show. That was as bad as UFC 33. At least no one (except the those in attendance) wasted any money on it.

    • 45 Huddle says:

      I think it’s even more safe to say that MMA is past the stage of worrying about gaining new fans. If people like fighting, they will watch.

      Nothing happened tonight that was bad. The 1st FOX card people complained that the fight went to short. For the 2nd FOX card people are complaining that the fights were too boring. Seems like the internet fanbase is never happy.

      This is fighting. This is what this sport is. Some fights are more exciting then others. But you don’t hear people watch football and say they are doomed if there is a boring Super Bowl.

      Heck, boxing had boring PPV’s for years and people still bought them.

      Sonnen/Silva and Evans/Jones will be big sellers for the sport.

      Oh and I bought UFC 33. This wasn’t even in the same planet as UFC 33.

      • Dave says:

        The card even on paper had no fireworks on it.

        I mean, it is what it is and they really didn’t put their best foot forward for this card.

        After watching that It’s Showtime card earlier this just sounds so awful.

        • Chuck says:

          I saw the It’s Showtime card, and yeah it was great. The Daniel Ghita KO over Hesde Gerges was one of the most phenomenal KO’s I have ever seen. And Badr Hari looked like a beast against Ghokan Saki. The Zimmerman KO over Rico Verhoeven was great too. Those commentators though…..UGH! They are fucking awful. They are okay enough color commentary guys, but they are awful at p-b-p. When one of them would start doing p-b-p he would go “Oh! A great….uh….left hook from…..” and never get around to mentioning who did what. They gotta hire someone like Mauro Ranallo for p-b-p.

          The UFC card…..yeah, not very good. Not nearly as awful as UFC 33, but I wouldn’t call it “good”. Maybe a scosh better than the Nashville Strikeforce card (you all know the one).

  41. RST says:

    Davis did a good enough job taking shad all 5.

    Nothing to be ashamed of this young in his career.

    loved his more varied striking.

    Shad stuck with his meat and potatoes, and Davis brough jello, biscuits, strawberry soda and horse divers.

    Unfortunately none of those carry much nutritional value, and Davis burnt himself out in the first round beating the isht out of the air.

    I’m seeing the fruits of training with brandon vera.

    Good striking technique, wasted by bad application.

  42. Alan Conceicao says:

    Sometimes you get a bunch of terrible fights. Didn’t take long for a bad Fox show to happen. Rashad/Jones wasn’t helped any by this fight but you can’t say looking at it that the odds for Rashad are any less. Its still the best fight by miles in the division. So naturally it will be Jones/Henderson next in April.

    Sonnen looked anything but a monster, but I expected Bisping to not look insultingly bad out there.

    Weidman reminds me a lot of his division’s Ryan Bader. Great wrestling, zero gas tank, sloppy striker.

    • Megatherium says:

      Young 7-0 Weidman basically got off the bar stool and got a split over a ranked mw. He cut 32 lbs in 10 days!

      Color me impressed.

      • Alan Conceicao says:

        He definitely showed that he can avoid submissions, which is a huge part of the game, but I’d like to see him be able to go 15 minutes without huffing and puffing. I don’t want to say the win was meaningless because Maia looked bad because I’m sure the pressure Weidman put on him assisted in that (and because Maia generally doesn’t get better over the long run). He beat a top ten fighter though, and I think based on his performance and given who’s in the division, he’s only a fight away from being a title contender. He and Bisping would actually be really good as a #1 contender fight given both men’s performances.

        • RST says:

          “…he’s only a fight away from being a title contender.”

          there aren’t many title contenders left!

          I would hate to think that the current middleweight champ would be considered a “great champ”, without defending against some decent comp!

  43. The Gaijin says:

    So now Sonnen is stealing promos almost verbatim from Superstar Billy Graham?…even lamer than I thought was possible.

    How creative! This guy is revolutionizing mma as we know it. *rolling eyes*

    • Mark says:

      Yeah, I’m probably the biggest wrestling fan on here, and even I was cringing every time they showed Chael talking outside of showing the clips from the Countdown show.

      There’s bringing creative trash talking from wrestling. Then there is coming off like you are reading from a script, and people seeming like they are reading off of a script is going to turn people off.

      But the show as a whole was mediocre. Not as bad as Strikeforce: Nashville, but really mediocre. And I’d argue this harmed Chael way more than it helped him, so it was a failure for Zuffa.

  44. RST says:

    Shad seemed VERY serious!

    No fun!

    Which is totally NOT his style!

    I think he’s really got his mind set on Jones!

    I might give him a smidge better chance…

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