Strikeforce taking over Elite XC is best possible outcome
By Zach Arnold | February 5, 2009
News broke today that StrikeForce has landed Elite XC’s Showtime and CBS broadcast TV deals. This is good news on many fronts.
For fighters stuck in Elite XC, it becomes pretty clear that there is now an alternative to UFC at the bargaining table. Understably, fighters like Jake Shields want to go to UFC. However, for Shields and those who want to go to UFC but might not be polished enough to hang with the best in UFC, having a strong position in the #2 MMA promotion in North America is good.
With so many fighters under contract to UFC and so many Elite XC fighters not earning a paycheck for months, now doesn’t seem to be the time to put up a significant fight in regards to a money war. Champions like Robbie Lawler and Jake Shields need to fight and fight soon. Strikeforce’s new deal gives them that opportunity to get booked relatively quickly.
Some fighters, like Gina Carano, did not seem to be a natural fit for Zuffa. She will be a natural fit for Coker’s promotion because people see her as a star attraction.
Coker’s quick rise to getting Strikeforce on NBC, Showtime, and perhaps CBS is remarkable. It should not be discounted by any measure. This is good for MMA.
Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 37 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
BJ Penn’s camp files legal inquiry for NSAC investigation
By Zach Arnold | February 4, 2009
Related posts:
- Where the St. Pierre/Penn vaseline story is heading
- Vaseline should pay BJ Penn and sponsor him
- Does the UFC now have their own version of the “Akiyama” scandal?
BJ Penn has just added oxygen to this situation by filing for a request for an investigation by the NSAC into the actions of Georges St. Pierre’s cornermen. This is not a formal complaint.
Here is the main argument from Penn’s camp in the filing:
“This illegal situation made it impossible for Mr. Penn to defend himself and unfairly exposed Mr. Penn to GSP’s ‘ground and pound’ strategy, which Mr. Penn extensively trained for and was fully prepared to perform against,” the letter states. “More importantly, by neutralizing Mr. Penn’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu abilities through the use of illegal and improper means, Mr. Penn was subjected to a life threatening and career ending environment; an environment that the Commission was formed to protect against.”
More information on the new filing can be read here, here, and here.
Dr. J says that the heat should be on the NSAC in this incident.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 30 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Debating the future growth potential of MMA as an industry
By Zach Arnold | February 4, 2009
Take some time today and read two articles on this subject: First, a positive take from The Las Vegas Sun and second, a negative take from Sam Caplan.
Some thoughts on both sides of the argument. Let’s stick with some positives here.
- UFC, for the third consecutive domestic PPV, will likely end up drawing more than 800,000 buys per event (Couture/Lesnar, Evans/Griffin, Penn/St. Pierre). Tell me what other sporting event right now has this kind of drawing power with customers willing to pay $40 ~ $50 for an event. The organization is on fire and since UFC has positioned themselves in the eyes of most fans as being the entire sport of MMA, I don’t see how things will slow down any time soon. If UFC is drawing this strongly in bad economic times, I’d really love to see how numbers will increase when people have more money in their pockets.
- For all the talk about UFC and MMA becoming an extension of showbusiness, let us not forget one thing — most indicators suggest that UFC’s audience is not poor. Perhaps not filthy rich, but not poor. How many times have we heard the argument that UFC’s audience revolves around pro-wrestling fans who grew up and didn’t like what they were watching any more (i.e. the ‘graduation’ theory)? Wrestling fans are notorious in marketing circles as being viewed as poor. UFC fans, on the other hand, are not. Granted, you find articles comparing boxing crowds bringing in more money than an UFC audience does at casinos, but MMA fans do spend disposable income and are very loyal to the sport.
- As long as the sport continues to thrive and generate new fans in the 18-34 demographic and add older fans into the mix, the industry will at the very least be a ‘value play’ in the eyes of marketers and may continue to experience further growth in international circles. UFC right now is the only player in town, but don’t sleep on potential competition in the industry. I expect a revival to happen in Japan, even if it’s not any time soon. You can’t keep a great market with great fans like Japan down long-term. Once new players develop internationally, it will only help grow the audience size for the sport.
- MMA, in the eyes of some, is becoming more or less part of a certain lifestyle. If you take BJJ classes or you train in MMA or you are involved in the sport one way or another as a promoter or matchmaker or writer, you’re going to be emotionally attached to it. It’s not a disposable hobby or interest unlike other sports that you may watch on TV only. Because MMA tends to draw more of a crowd that views it as a lifestyle, you will continue to see not only MMA events but also merchandising companies draw well. I don’t see a slowdown any time soon here.
- With fighters gaining notoriety, the level of agent representation in the business will continue to grow in legitimacy. Georges St. Pierre being aligned with CAA for endorsement deals is a big story. More and more fighters will turn to bigger sports agencies that realize what kind of potential MMA fighters have in marketing. If reports from sites like MMA Payout are true that UFC wants to implement 360 deals, then there will be a clash between fighters who have real agent representation versus those who sign over their rights to Zuffa. (In other words, a labor dispute.) In the end, I think the amount of money UFC makes will grow bigger each year and the amount of money fighters can make will slightly grow as well — maybe not in proportion to the increase in revenue that UFC makes, but it will grow.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 20 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
About those newly-proposed UFC-branded fitness gyms…
By Zach Arnold | February 3, 2009
Related post:
I saw this press release talking about how 24 Hour Fitness and NBC’s The Biggest Loser TV show will continue their business partnership. Makes sense.
Then, I stumbled into this interview by CNBC’s Darren Rovell with New York Yankees SS Derek Jeter, talking about how there are now 24 Hour Fitness Gyms being branded with his name:
I’m really excited. There’s one open now in New York City now and there’s going to be a second one that’s opening up and it has been really successful so far. I mean, I think when you talk about 24-hour fitness gyms, in New York City, 24 hours a day, the city that never sleeps, that seems like a perfect match.
Jeter actually owns the fitness clubs (3 in Manhattan and 1 in New Jersey). The bigger question for those of you who follow the business side of things: How effective is this kind of branding on a business project like this? In other words, if Derek Jeter will be able to pull this off with four facilities, shouldn’t UFC be able to pull off this concept successfully?
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 4 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Where the St. Pierre/Penn vaseline story is heading
By Zach Arnold | February 3, 2009
Previous posts on the topic:
- Vaseline should pay BJ Penn and sponsor him
- Does the UFC now have their own version of the “Akiyama” scandal?
Generally, with a story or a potential ‘scandal’ like this, fight fans and followers will pay attention for a limited amount of time unless something new develops. If nothing new develops, then the attention span wanders very quickly onto something else.
So, where is this current story heading?
- Was vaseline improperly used by St. Pierre’s cornermen in multiple rounds? It’s clear that an incident did take place, but the discussion has been primarily focused on intervention from the Nevada State Athletic Commission between rounds two and three. However, as Ivan Trembow succinctly lays out this morning, there’s plenty of discussion about possible improper vaseline application between the first and second rounds. If Penn’s camp & attorneys or the NSAC can prove a certain timeline of events here to implicate either trainer Phil Nurse or trainer Greg Jackson, then both men could be in serious trouble.
- If Penn files a formal complaint with the NSAC, will the NSAC used both edited and unedited UFC footage from multiple camera shots for investigation examination? So far, we’ve gotten to the point of speculation from both fans and writers based on a) people live at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and b) those watching the PPV telecast at home. What we haven’t seen or had access to are all the camera angles and VTR (video) that the production truck recorded. If the NSAC asks to see this footage, will they find conclusive evidence on St. Pierre’s corner using vaseline improperly or will the footage not show improper usage based on how the directors instructed the cameramen to shoot at certain angles?
- If any improper activity occurred, what should the punishment be? It seems highly doubtful that the outcome of the Penn/St. Pierre fight will be changed from a St. Pierre win to a no-contest. Therefore, the focus will be on trainers Phil Nurse and Greg Jackson. Jackson is the big fish here. If the NSAC was to suspend him indefinitely or even permanently from cornering in Nevada, it would certainly change the way fighters from Jackson’s camp (Rashad Evans, Keith Jardine, etc.) are instructed at the fights. Furthermore, if the NSAC were to suspend Jackson, would that suspension be enforced at UFC’s foreign events?
- Will this damage St. Pierre’s relatively clean-cut reputation? Fight fans can be a very forgiving lot, so I sincerely doubt that the taint from this incident will, pardon the pun, rub off on the Canadian superstar. If anything, I suspect that St. Pierre’s most ardent supporters will rally around him in a defensive posture and attack anyone who tries to insinuate anything negative about St. Pierre’s credibility.
- Will a fight between St. Pierre and Anderson Silva still draw mega-PPV buyrate status, even if the commission determines that something improper took place at UFC 94 involving vaseline usage? Yes, it will.
- If improper vaseline usage by St. Pierre’s corner is confirmed by the NSAC, how will this effect the public’s perception of BJ Penn? I don’t think he suffered much damage image-wise coming out of the fight, as everyone seems relatively fine with accepting the fact that St. Pierre is the better fighter between the two. That said, UFC has certainly edged their fan base (through the UFC Prime Time TV specials on Spike TV) to look at Penn as more of a heel than a face, even though he wasn’t booed much at all in Las Vegas last week. I highly doubt that the public in general would look at Penn filing a complaint on this matter as a cowardly act. The online reaction towards this developing story has been hysterical, primarily amongst flamers who have really dumped all over Penn as a person who only knows how to make excuses. I seriously doubt the average UFC fan looks at BJ Penn the way some people on Sherdog or The Underground Forum do. This situation should not be damaging towards Penn at all. I doubt that it will significantly soften the blow from the St. Pierre loss, but Penn should not be drawing heat for pointing out potential improper vaseline usage by St. Pierre’s corner, either.
After I wrote this initial post, I happened to read this and I am just shaking my head:
The newest canard being bandied about is that St. Pierre’s corner rubbed Vaseline on his back and shoulders between rounds and that the Vaseline constitutes “cheating” on the part of St. Pierre’s team (notice that no one is saying it changed the outcome of the fight). The charge is true in that the corner clearly committed wrongdoing, but it’s not the least bit clear how much Vaseline was used nor how much it impacted the fight. Most importantly, a champion like Penn deserves better than to have his shortcomings constantly re-examined because fundamentalists cannot accept what must be a very bruising reality.
And guess what label was attached to someone who believes this story has legs? According to the writer, you’re a “BJ Penn apologist.” Ah, this brings back memories to me… like when I was accused of being a “Zuffa apologist” for covering and highlighting the mafia scandal that destroyed PRIDE or when I was accused for being a “Dana White apologist” when I ripped into Gary Shaw, Jared Shaw, and Jeremy Lappen during Elite XC’s stand-up scandal involving Kimbo Slice and Seth Petruzelli. Apologists everywhere these days, I suppose.
That last article I linked to is a crystal clear example of the absolute killer bee-type hysteria online right now for anyone who even dares bring up this topic. Sad and regrettable.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 39 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Ian Freeman headed to jail for tax evasion and fraud
By Zach Arnold | February 2, 2009
News reports from the BBC and the Sun.
Topics: Media, MMA, UK, Zach Arnold | 1 Comment » | Permalink | Trackback |
Vaseline should pay BJ Penn and sponsor him
By Zach Arnold | February 2, 2009
Update: From the comments section — take a look at this animated GIF.
I’ve taken heat for even *considering* the argument that BJ Penn’s camp has presented in regards to allegations of illegal vaseline usage by George St. Pierre’s corner.
So, naturally, I’m here to provide you with many links to thoughts from various MMA writers on the subject.
Michael David Smith has rational thoughts on the matter and thinks that the trainer, Phil Nurse, should face punishment. He also thinks that the vaseline issue did not effect the outcome of the UFC 94 fight. On both accounts, I agree 100%. However, if you adopt this rational opinion, be prepared for an absolute e-mail and web site onslaught for even considering this point of view.
Sam Caplan thinks the incident is a serious situation to pay attention to.
Head on over to MMA Weekly to catch up on the latest story details. Sherdog has comments from Keith Kizer of the Nevada State Athletic Commission on the matter. As I stated before on this site, I figured that nothing in the end would happen from Kizer. MMA Convert has more updates on Penn’s camp filing a complaint.
Fightlinker mentions past incidents featuring greasing in MMA. To add fuel to the fire, he points out comments Jason “Mayhem” Miller made about a previous opponent he fought that he accused of greasing up.
The big loser in this situation? Ryoto Machida.
Gryphon, a famous Japanese MMA writer, points out the obvious comparison to Akiyama vs. Sakuraba from a couple of years ago (as I noted when this story first broke).
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 19 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Does the UFC now have their own version of the “Akiyama” scandal?
By Zach Arnold | February 1, 2009
Update: MMA Weekly has Greg Jackson’s unique take on the situation. Steve Cofield responds. The ‘NSAC official’ who went after GSP’s cornerman? Keith Kizer himself.
—
For those of you who don’t follow the Japanese MMA scene, it was approximately two years ago when Japanese judoka Yoshihiro Akiyama faced the legendary Kazushi Sakuraba on a K-1-promoted event on New Year’s Eve called Dynamite. Akiyama beat Sakuraba in the fight, but Sakuraba was screaming to the referee throughout the match that Akiyama had some sort of substance on him that made it hard to hold onto him. Eventually, it was revealed that Akiyama had been using skin lotion and that the substance made him slippery. He was promptly suspended by K-1.
Now, UFC finds itself in a developing controversy regarding the Georges St. Pierre/BJ Penn mega-fight that took place on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Cage Potato reports that BJ Penn’s camp has filed a formal complaint with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, claiming that a cornerman for St. Pierre was rubbing vaseline on his back in-between rounds.
If the NSAC agrees that indeed rules were violated, it will immediately taint St. Pierre’s dominant win over Penn. I realize and you realize that St. Pierre put on a dominant performance, but Penn’s camp has a perfectly legitimate gripe here if the accusations of vaseline usage (in this manner) are true. While Dana White tried to soften the blow of the allegations about possible illegal vaseline usage on St. Pierre, the fact that White is trying to deflect all the heat for the incident on a cornerman and not on St. Pierre is unacceptable.
As I laid out recently in a new article, the heat is on Keith Kizer and the NSAC. First, questions about Antonio Margarito (stemming from the California State Athletic Commission’s investigation into him). Second, questions promptly raised by Ivan Trembow regarding the NSAC not performing out-of-competition drug testing for the last two month’s worth of MMA shows. And now, you can add this brand new complaint filed by Penn’s camp against St. Pierre.
Here is St. Pierre’s side of the story.
Fightlinker, as usual, strikes the right tone.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 101 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
UFC 94 event results
By Zach Arnold | January 31, 2009
Reports: Sherdog | Yahoo Sports | AOL Fanhouse | MMA Frenzy | MMA Weekly | MMA Junkie | MMA on Tap
Any links to pictures, reports, etc. can be posted in the comments section.
Today, Zuffa announced the launch of UFC-branded jewelry for sale. If memory serves me right, I remember reading an article a month or two ago in the Las Vegas media about a local surgeon whose jewelry company was working with UFC and that some of the jewelry would include bone fragments and/or surgical plates removed from past surgeries. Sure enough, here is more information about Skeletal Metal: Home Page, MySpace, and Facebook.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 41 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Broadsheet coverage leading up to UFC 94
By Zach Arnold | January 30, 2009
For members of the media in Las Vegas reading this post — check out Ivan Trembow’s article claiming that the Nevada State Athletic Commission didn’t do out-of-competition drug testing for the last two months worth of MMA shows. Between the Margarito situation (articles: here, here, here) and this new development, it’s not a great PR situation for the NSAC. Not the end of the world, but certainly embarrassing (if true).
Here is a CNBC interview talking about UFC’s new gym business venture.
- The LA Times: BJ Penn and the pure fighting spirit
- The LA Times: St. Pierre, Penn are the main event now
- The Boston herald: St. Pierre, Penn light up Vegas in bout reminiscent of Hagler-Hearns
- Sportsnet (Canada): The UFC is rolling in dough when no one else is
- The Associated Press: BJ Penn envisions upset win over GSP at UFC 94
- The Boston Herald: Fighters predict who will win in GSP/Penn fight
- The LA Times: GSP favored at -165 in Vegas to win
- The Honolulu Advertiser: Over 5,000 fans show up for GSP/Penn weigh-in event
- AOL Fanhouse: GSP talks about destroying Penn, life in the Octagon
- The Las Vegas Sun: Penn, St. Pierre stay quiet at UFC weigh-in
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 10 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Juan Urango vs. Herman Ngoudjo
By Zach Arnold | January 30, 2009
If you did not watch the fight between Herman Ngoudjo and Juan Urango on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights, you missed quite a bout. Try to catch a replay of this fight.
In Round 3, Urango knocked down Ngoudjo twice but didn’t capitalize on the situation. He continued to swing wild hooks on Ngoudjo instead of going to the body and setting up for the kill shot.
Round 10 was punctuated by the fact that the timekeeper in Montreal didn’t keep very good time. Round 10 ended up being over five minutes long.
Teddy Atlas scored the fight in favor of Urango 115-113. Joe Tessitore had stressed throughout the telecast that Ngoudjo had never lost a hometown decision. How did the hometown Montreal judges score the fight for Ngoudjo? 118-108, 120-106, and 116-110 by unanimous decision for… Urango. Teddy’s reaction during the reading of the score cards was priceless. When the 120-106 score was read, Atlas just about had a heart attack because he (and everyone at home) was assuming that meant the score was in favor of Ngoudjo.
The referee for this fight was Marlon Wright, who was involved in a controversial situation in 2008 with Ngoudjo’s trainer. You can read all about that situation right here.
Topics: Boxing, Media, Zach Arnold | 7 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Antonio Margarito interview on ESPN Deportes
By Zach Arnold | January 30, 2009
If you did not get a chance to see Margarito’s interview on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights, it was quite the intriguing piece. Wearing dark sunglasses and speaking in Spanish, Margarito issued a blanket denial to all the charges against him. He kept talking about how he wasn’t physically hurt by Mosley and then promptly removed his eyeglasses towards the end of the interview. Margarito kept bracing the terms of his defense around how much he is hurt by the allegations because of the damage it is causing with boxing fans.
Afterwards, Teddy Atlas did a remote interview spot with host Brian Kenny from Montreal to comment on the situation. Atlas said that the only plausible explanation of a defense for a substance on the tape (to create wet gauze) would be some sort of water (like a sponge). Even then, it would be hard to figure out why it was the case in regards to the way the hands were taped. Atlas also broke down, in layman’s terms, the issue regarding taping the knuckles and what’s illegal/not illegal. Atlas said that the problem he has with the developing story is the California State Athletic Commission, which he noted has been scandal-plagued for the last several years. He said that the CSAC is keeping this story mysteriously clouded and that they need to be more open, more transparent with what is happening.
Topics: Boxing, Media, Zach Arnold | 17 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
UFC 94 (1/31 Las Vegas) fight card
By Zach Arnold | January 30, 2009
As it stands on Friday morning:
Dark matches
- 170 pounds: Matt Arroyo vs. Dan Cramer
- 205 pounds: Jake O’Brien vs. Christian Wellisch
- 170 pounds: Chris Wilson vs. John Howard
- 155 pounds: Manny Gamburyan vs. Thiago Tavares
- 170 pounds: Jon Fitch vs. Akihiro Gono
Main card
- 155 pounds: Nate Diaz vs. Clay Guida
- 170 pounds: Karo Parisyan vs. Dong Hyun Kim
- 205 pounds: Stephan Bonnar vs. Jon Jones
- 205 pounds: Ryoto Machida vs. Thiago Silva
- 170 pounds: Georges St. Pierre vs. BJ Penn
Don’t forget to make your predictions for the main event.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 26 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |