New York state capital paper on MMA legalization
By Zach Arnold | April 13, 2009
The Albany Times-Union has a letter-to-the-editor in today’s newspaper in support of legalizing MMA in the state of New York. Check it out when you have time to do so.
This week is will be the heat-up for UFC 97 in Montreal. It seems like eons ago when the Quebec commission almost didn’t allow the event to happen under the Unified rules. Anyhow, here is an interview with Chuck Liddell talking about his upcoming fight against Mauricio Shogun. During the interview, Liddell was asked about the growth of MMA in North America:
“I always thought the sport was great, from the time I was first involved. But I thought it was going to take a lot longer to get really big. There were certain things we needed, like getting on free TV. We knew that for a long time, and the reality show craze helped us do it with The Ultimate Fighter.”
Here is a Chuck video blog on UFC’s YouTube channel (already 22,000 hits in 18 hours):
Here is the line-up for this weekend’s UFC event.
Topics: Canada, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 2 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Quick thoughts on Showtime broadcast of Strikeforce 4/11 San Jose event
By Zach Arnold | April 11, 2009
– The announcing, for the most part, was completely useless if not downright terrible and unbearable to listen to.
– The aesthetics of the Strikeforce event were ugly. That cage looked hard to see through, and the cage canvas was ugly with that black logo in the center. What an eyesore.
– A comment was made during the second round of the Diaz-Shamrock fight that Nick Diaz’s boxing skills are better than a lot ‘at the top of their game.’ No they’re not, and KJ Noons flat out proved that in the past. I was surprised at how easy Diaz won the stand-up game against Shamrock. In fact, I thought the whole key to the fight would be Frank’s ability to beat him in the stand-up game and it simply didn’t happen. Anyone with a decent-to-good boxing skill set can easily pick Diaz apart.
– I think Gina Carano and Cris Cyborg are great athletes and tough women, but some of the actions that they have done over the last 18 months has made it hard to take women’s MMA seriously. They will profit handsomely soon when they fight, but the health of women’s MMA is in poor shape because it hasn’t been promoted seriously. I hope after both women have their mega-fight in August that they realize that it would be in their best business interests to start using their star power to create new stars and bring in new female talent to cultivate the women’s MMA scene. Otherwise, they won’t be around the industry much longer with no opponents left to fight.
Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, Zach Arnold | 53 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Strikeforce 4/11 San Jose (HP Pavilion)
By Zach Arnold | April 11, 2009
Event results: Observer | USA Today | MMA Weekly | Sherdog | MMA Torch | MMA Junkie | Bloody Elbow | Fanhouse
At the San Jose Arena, 7 PM PST local start time
Dark matches
- Bantamweights (135 pounds): Shingo Kohara (debut) vs. Jeremy Tavares
- Welterweights (170 pounds): Zak Bucia vs. James Terry
- Middleweights (185 pounds): Raul Castillo vs. Brandon Michaels
- Middleweights (185 pounds): Waylon Kennell vs. Eric Lawson
- Middleweights (185 pounds): Buck Meredith vs. Luke Rockhold
Main card (Showtime)
- Women (145 pounds): Cristiane Cyborg vs. Hitomi Akano
- Heavyweights (up to 265 pounds): Brett Rogers vs. Ron Humphrey
- Middleweights (185 pounds): Scott Smith vs. Benji Radach
- Interim Lightweight title match (155 pounds): Rodrigo Damm vs. Gilbert Melendez
- Catch weight fight: Frank Shamrock vs. Nick Diaz
Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, Zach Arnold | 22 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Shu Hirata makes the right call
By Zach Arnold | April 11, 2009
Update: Sherdog is reporting that the fight is in fact back on. Given what Hirata said in both English and Japanese, he was clearly against this fight taking place given the weigh-in developments. We know that he said that he, Barnett, and Hooper were against it, but ultimately a decision would be made between Megumi Fujii and Hitomi Akano. Right after Hirata wrote what he did, it was announced that the fight was canceled. Depressingly, an agreement was reached at 2 AM this morning. There could be a 25-plus pound weight advantage when the fight takes place. If Akano gets seriously hurt, this will really give the industry a black eye.
This quote from Scott Coker is, well, telling:
“I don’t really want to say what the deal is but I think that, let’s put it this way [her] gym will have a much better relationship with Strikeforce than just one fighter,” said Coker.
So, in other words, take the fight at a disadvantage and put yourself at risk in order for others to get an opportunity to fight for the promoter.
The original post content can be viewed in full-page mode.
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Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, Zach Arnold | 31 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Someone call GLAAD and report Nick Diaz to them
By Zach Arnold | April 10, 2009
Well, fair is fair after all:
When the two weighed in, they started talking smack to each other and as Diaz was pulled away, Diaz yelled “Why don’t you ask Frank about the faggot ass tatoo on the small of his back.” I guess Nick hasn’t been paying attention to the news this past week. It’s so bizarre to see an angle when one guy IN the angle has no clue it’s an angle.
Business for Saturday’s event at San Jose Arena is very good. So is business for UFC 100. What bad economy? This is a great sign if you support MMA because it shows how much passion there truly is for the business right now in North America.
Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 4 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Nick Lembo makes the right call
By Zach Arnold | April 10, 2009
MMA Weekly reports that the Tim Sylvia vs. Ray Mercer boxing fight scheduled in a couple of months has been canceled.
Update (3/29): The fight is now booked for Birmingham, Alabama. Alabama events are supposed to be regulated by the Mississippi state boxing commission.
Update (4/10): This boxing match will take place inside of a cage. I love how the idea that Monte Cox won’t take down and use a ring is being cleverly used as a marketing ploy here. I haven’t been this excited since Roddy Piper and Mr. T boxing at WrestleMania 2 at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale.
Topics: Boxing, Media, Zach Arnold | 41 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The Los Angeles Times talks about Frank shamrock vs. Nick Diaz…
By Zach Arnold | April 9, 2009
… with this headline: MMA fighter Nick Diaz says smoking marijuana is part of his plan
“I can pass a drug test in eight days with herbal cleansers. I drink 10 pounds of water and sweat out 10 pounds of water every day. I’ll be fine.”
The obvious is asked:
What exactly is the point of having a drug test if an athlete knows how to get past it? Drug testing is meant to discourage drug use. Here, we have a headliner for Strikeforce openly admitting his drug use, and sharing with the media methods to get around the testing. Is there any point in even having him take the test after his fights?
Frank Shamrock is the favorite going into the fight on Saturday. In the eyes of Nick Diaz, however, Frank’s career is tainted.
Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, Zach Arnold | 15 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Miguel Cotto and uncle duke it out in Puerto Rico
By Zach Arnold | April 9, 2009
I’m just disappointed that no urine bombs were thrown at the 2009 Jaguar. Will Cotto’s upcoming fight against Josh Clottey have to be rescheduled? Will anyone face criminal charges or will money sooth things over here? A split seems inevitable.
Fightnews has a statement from Cotto on the matter.
Topics: Boxing, Media, Zach Arnold | 1 Comment » | Permalink | Trackback |
Dana White critic Jenni Carlson not without controversy herself
By Zach Arnold | April 8, 2009
I’m sure that you’ve seen the stories on the USA Today and MMA Payout web sites about Jenni Carlson, leader of the Association of Women in Sports Media, making her displeasure publicly known about Dana White’s comments towards Loretta Hunt on YouTube.
Unfortunately, the situation for AWSM is one in which the organization has the right message but the wrong messenger leading the charge.
Sports fans in Oklahoma and the Dallas/Fort Worth area have a pretty good idea who Jenni Carlson is (long-time columnist for The Oklahoman). However, Carlson became a national figure a couple of years ago when Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy exploded on her at a press conference (in his infamous “I”m a man! I’m 40!” post-game rant). Gundy’s tirade was about a column Carlson wrote in The Oklahoman newspaper on QB Bobby Reid (who lost his job to QB Zack Robinson). Carlson’s column caused such a ripple effect in the local Oklahoma sports scene that she got nuclear heat for what she wrote.
After Mike Gundy’s rant went viral, Bobby Reid accused Gundy of putting on a show and not being serious about the matter. Gundy maintains that he was defending Reid from what Carlson said about him. Carlson, Reid, and Gundy all ended up taking heat.
Carlson’s column in question about Reid is here. In short, she came off as a female version of Jay Mariotti. If Mariotti went after Dana White on Around the Horn, the vast majority of sports fans would side with Dana White no matter what White did. That’s the position Carlson found herself in after this column — even if she was entirely accurate with what she wrote, she wrote it in such a manner that Gundy was automatically guaranteed super babyface heat from American sports fans. Jay Mariotti understands his schtick and his gimmick and has profitted handsomely from it. The difference between him and Jenni Carlson is that Mariotti is not the head of an advocacy group, while Carlson is.
Which brings us to Dana White’s rant on Loretta Hunt and the attitude towards women in MMA. Clearly there is a lot of sexism in the business. It’s wrong and it has no place in the industry. However, if Carlson’s media campaign continues to pick up steam against White, she may in fact end up hurting the cause more than helping it given her past incident with Reid & Gundy and the negative stigma she created for herself. The more people know who Jenni Carlson is and what she was written in the past, the more likely (in my opinion) Dana White is likely to gain babyface sympathy from American sports fans.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 10 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The second anniversary of PRIDE’s last show
By Zach Arnold | April 8, 2009
Yes, in fact, today is the second anniversary of the company’s last show at Saitama Super Arena.
To me, there were two unmistakable lasting impressions & images that came out of that show that were both sad and poetic at the same time:
- Nobuyuki Sakakibara using the show to basically put himself over for four hours. Anyone who remembers going to the show will remember his face on printed material. The weasel used the occasion to put himself over and that he did.
- Jeff Monson, who was marketed as UFC’s representative at the PRIDE 34 show, choked out PRIDE Japanese star Kazuyuki Fujita in the main event. Less than two weeks before this fight happened, UFC management was busy celebrating at Roppongi Hills in Tokyo and putting over their asset purchase of PRIDE.
Given all of the cartoons and editorials scoffing at UFC management for ‘destroying’ a Japanese company (which they did not), the end result played right into the hands of the race-baiters and nationalists. I’ll never forget the aftermath of the asset sale purchase, in which Hustle (Sakakibara’s pro-wrestling operation) was running angles out of the same office that PRIDE had been using in Japan.
Topics: Japan, Media, MMA, PRIDE, UFC, Zach Arnold | 16 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Ultimate Bet: Hey, look at us, we’re better than Full Tilt Poker
By Zach Arnold | April 7, 2009
Here’s their press release talking about sponsoring Chuck Liddell at UFC 97.
Bluff Magazine pointed out a very interesting tidbit about Full Tilt Poker/UFC:
The speed with which the two companies switched places could lead to an interesting scenario in Montreal. For the past two months Full Tilt has been running a series of freerolls for Canadian players that would see them travel by train with Howard Lederer, Erick Lindgren and Gavin Smith to see UFC 97. Given the relatively quick notice it is unlikely that Full Tilt would cancel their promotion.
That’s right – Lederer, Lindgren, and Smith were allegedly going to be at UFC 97. Now with UB in the fold, one can only hope that we’ll get Phil Hellmuth and Annie Duke at live events.
Related posts
- Report: Ultimate Bet gets UFC sponsorship deal, bye bye Full Tilt Poker
- Why has UFC had so many problems with corporate sponsors?
Topics: Canada, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 5 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Josh Stein’s PRIDE history series: The Power Vacuum in the East (Part 4)
By Zach Arnold | April 6, 2009
A note from the author: On the second anniversary of the PRIDE buyout by Zuffa (UFC’s parent company), I decided to post a series I’d been working on for a while in order to talk about some of the fallout from what was the most important piece of the history of the sport so far.
- Part 1 – On PRIDE Without Prejudice
- Part 2 – Free Agents & Mercenaries
- Part 3 – The Monopoly
- Part 4 – The Power Vacuum in the East
- Part 5 – Things Change
By Josh Stein
There is something to be said for the metaphor of the Japanese Sengoku Period, in the fifteenth century, a way of expressing the vacuum created by the removal of the Japanese titan. It seems appropriate, as a result, that one of the organizations coming up in the wake of PRIDE should name its brand of shows after the period of conflict. The reality, though, is that the fall of PRIDE did the same thing to Japanese MMA that the weakening of the Imperial powers did to Japanese politics so long ago.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Japan, Media, MMA, PRIDE, Zach Arnold | 4 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Josh Stein’s PRIDE history series: Free Agents & Mercenaries (Part 2)
By Zach Arnold | April 6, 2009
A note from the author: On the second anniversary of the PRIDE buyout by Zuffa (UFC’s parent company), I decided to post a series I’d been working on for a while in order to talk about some of the fallout from what was the most important piece of the history of the sport so far.
- Part 1 – On PRIDE Without Prejudice
- Part 2 – Free Agents & Mercenaries
- Part 3 – The Monopoly
- Part 4 – The Power Vacuum in the East
- Part 5 – Things Change
By Josh Stein
Before the fall of PRIDE, a fighter who was ranked in the top ten was a fighter who had a contract, simply by virtue of his position. Fighters were built into their organizations, branded like ten thousand cattle. If a fighter was any good, organizations would bite the head off of anyone trying to change that athlete’s allegiance.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Japan, Media, MMA, PRIDE, Zach Arnold | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |