Is ‘mmalogic’ connected to Zuffa?
By Zach Arnold | January 29, 2009
Update: MMA Junkie and MMA Mania have posted information regarding Tom Atencio denying the reports.
So, Bloody Elbow is pushing a story that Affliction wants to make peace with UFC and that the MMA operations will soon be finished. Naturally, it’s curious that this type of ‘inside’ news would be broken on a blog as opposed to one of the independent sites (Sherdog, MMA Weekly, etc.)
The poster on Bloody Elbow, ‘mmalogic‘, is being pushed as a credible source on past MMA stories. As you will note from comments posted last September on Bloody Elbow, site readers over there started connecting the dots in regards to who the poster is.
What makes this interesting is that by leaking claims that Affliction wants to wave the white flag in terms of no longer competing with Zuffa that it all but eliminates any sort of leverage Atencio might or might not have if he is in fact doing this.
It’s no secret that Zuffa employees read message boards, blogs, etc. What is interesting is whether or not more and more UFC employees will start using blogs to manipulate the message they want the public to hear. The organization already has friendly broadsheet media outlets that aren’t willing to push back against them, and then you add on the generally UFC-safe Yahoo Sports coverage team, and what you end up with is a pretty sophisticated strategy to influence both hardcore and casual MMA fans.
If Zuffa employees are taking a more active role in blogs, then it certainly signals a rise in the way MMA blogs will be used as communication outlets for UFC, WEC, etc. and perhaps astroturfing in the future.
Topics: Affliction, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 105 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Dana White and UFC want to pump you up and take over the fitness industry…
By Zach Arnold | January 29, 2009
Update (1/29): UFC will now employ the branding of fighters to drum up interest in the new gyms.
Original post (1/26)
… by reportedly opening up their own brand of gyms for people to exercise at. Dana White says he’s going after the major players in the fitness industry.
Just what does this remind you of? What are those initials, WBF… what did they stand for…
(Cue up the boxercise jokes that people will start launching about the UFC President.)
You’ll notice that the name 24 Hour Fitness is used here as a reference point. It doesn’t feel like they’re going after the Gold’s Gym type of crowd, but what numbers indicate that this is a ‘growth’ industry right now? It may seem like a ‘low risk’ play in terms of financial output, but what’s the end game here?
- To continue pushing UFC as a lifestyle brand?
- Another part of ‘the wheel’ in UFC’s business plan, perhaps to sell BSN supplements at?
- A concept to start taking some market share away from fighters (like Randy Couture) who have their own gyms by creating their own gyms that could offer ‘fight courses’ from UFC fighters?
For old-school wrestling fans, this business idea conjures up bad memories of what Vince McMahon tried to do nearly 20 years ago. However, for as easily as one can dismiss this new business idea by UFC management… I have to say that if the risk assessment is accurate and costs can be kept low, then they may have a shot of making some money with it. I’m not sure how much they can make, but it does open some new doors for them and allows them to be able to go to sponsors like BSN and say look, not only do we have PPV events and Spike TV shows (fights and TUF) that you can sponsor, but we also have our own brand of gyms that people go to. The average American thinks UFC and equates it to fitness, to toughness, so you can market your product with us on many different platforms.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 57 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Predictions post – GSP vs. BJ Penn
By Zach Arnold | January 29, 2009
- Predict who will win the fight
- Predict how the winner will win the fight (submission, KO/TKO, decision)
- How long do you think the fight will last
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 33 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The legendary Helio Gracie dies at age 95
By Zach Arnold | January 29, 2009
Reports: MMA Opinion | Fightlinker | Sherdog | MMA Weekly | NBC Sports
Here, attached, is a write-up from the Grappling X newsletter:
The legendary master and head of the Gracie family, Helio Gracie has passed away at the age of 95. Helio was a father to 9 children including UFC great Royce Gracie. It was said to be believed that Helio passed away while he was in his sleep, but prior to that he was admitted into a local hospital in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil due to pain in his stomach. Helio Gracie passed away in his home in Itaipaiva, a small town in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
Helio Gracie was the youngest of 8 childrren and started to learn the disciplines of Jiu Jitsu by watching his Brother Carlos teach classes and later made changes to the techniques to call it Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Helio was known for going to Japan to challenge Masahiko Kimura, a fight in which his brother Carlos had to throw in the towel after Kimura had broken his arm after applying a shoulder lock that now in modern day MMA is a known submission hold.
Gracie’s son, Rorion was the man who first implemented the Ultimate Fighting Championship back in 1993 where back in that time the fights were a no holds barred like atmosphere in the Octagon which was known as the dark days of the sport where Helio’s son, Royce won the first ever UFC tournament which pretty much cemented his legacy as a mixed martial artist.
Helio is survived by his wife, Vera his sons, Royce, Royler, Rickson, Rorion, Rolker, Relson, Robin his daughters Rerika and Ricci and a large number of nephews, nieces and grandchildren as well.
Topics: Brazil, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 7 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
CSAC suspends license of Antonio Margarito
By Zach Arnold | January 28, 2009
Statement by California Athletic Commission Chair Tim Noonan
Following is a statement by Tim Noonan, Chairman of the California Athletic Commission, regarding Antonio Margarito:
“The California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) has temporarily suspended the licenses of Antonio Margarito and his chief corner man, Javier Capetillo. The temporary suspension will remain in effect until CSAC has fully investigated the circumstances surrounding events at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on January 24, 2009. A foreign substance was found by California State Athletic Commission staff in the hand wraps of Antonio Margarito before his bout against Shane Mosley at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The substance found in Margarito’s hand wraps is currently being analyzed by the California Department of Justice. An investigation as to whether either licensee violated CSAC rules is ongoing. Mr. Margarito and Mr. Capetillo have been asked to appear at an initial hearing scheduled for February 10, 2009.
“The licenses of Mr. Margarito and Mr. Capetillo were suspended pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 18842, which allows for the temporary suspension of a license when such an action is necessary to ‘protect the public welfare.’ CSAC Rule 323 limits the amount and type of gauze and tape allowed under a fighter’s boxing glove. Rule 390 allows CSAC to discipline a licensee when his or her actions are a “discredit to boxing” or violate the rules of CSAC.
“Commission staff will have no further comment until such time as the Commission makes a final determination of whether licensee actions in this case warrant fines, suspensions, or the revocation of licenses. The Commission has asked Mr. Margarito and Mr. Capetillo to appear at an initial hearing currently scheduled for February 10, 2009.”
Topics: Boxing, Media, Zach Arnold | 19 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
A mysterious Japanese scandal that could even top what happened to PRIDE
By Zach Arnold | January 27, 2009
Gryphon brings to your attention a story about a Japanese organization called GWG (Goodwill Group) that is reportedly embroiled in a giant money scandal. I read the Yomiuri Shimbun article in question that Gryphon links to, and it is very detailed. Gryphon points out this story because of possible ties that GWG has to the fight business.
So, let’s start with two English articles on the story that I found. Trading Markets has a translation of the Yomiuri Shimbun article. The article claims that three investors of a group called The Corinthian Fund took 38 billion yen from GWG. Read the full article to understand how these two financial groups supposedly worked with each other in order to ‘defraud’ GWG. United Press International has a general translation of the Yomiuri Shimbun article which you may find easier to understand and follow. The price tag of fraud? $336 million USD.
In the Japanese version of the Yomiuri Shimbun article, it discusses the fact of someone in the fight world being involved in this scandal under the banner of “Corinthian Partners.”
Two paragraphs from the TM article to focus on:
The contract of the fund showed Corinthian Fund comprised Goodwill Group, the representative of a martial arts organization, a former representative of an investment company, and Corinthian Partners, which was the managing firm for the fund, according to the sources.
Originally, the CPA, who heard that Crystal wanted to sell the company, proposed to then Goodwill Group Chairman Masahiro Origuchi through the representative of the martial arts organization and another fund investor that they buy the company.
The obvious question that is being asked in Japan: Who is the fight group that is being implicated by the newspaper in these allegations of fraud?
Topics: Japan, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 12 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Yahoo Sports should give credit to MMA Payout on the UFC/360 deals story
By Zach Arnold | January 27, 2009
MMA Junkie and MMA Payout are two great MMA web sites. One is a content partner with Yahoo Sports (Junkie) and one is not. One site wrote about UFC looking into the idea of ‘360 deals’ on January 5th. Steve Sievert (formerly of the Houston Chronicle) wrote about this topic yesterday on MMA Junkie. We’ve had Steve on our radio show several times and I consider him to be a very reputable writer.
So, given these facts, it should be of no surprise that Yahoo Sports would choose to give credit to MMA Junkie for this news item discovery instead of MMA Payout. It is not as if it was a big secret that MMA Payout was the first site to discuss the possibility of UFC using 360 deals, as I wrote an article on this topic on January 21st. My article essentially was adding a new layer to the discussion started by the Payout web site.
Yahoo Sports owes Adam Swift, Robert Joyner, and the rest of the MMA Payout crew the credit they deserve for mentioning this story several weeks ago. They don’t deserve to get the shaft here.
Why I covered the second Affliction MMA show the way I did
To make a long story short, read this article by me today and find out why I am not enamored with the Affliction MMA promotion. I realize that I name-dropped a two-decades old pro-wrestling reference when talking about UFC getting into the gym business, so be prepared to read the new article on Affliction and discover which wrestling analogy I used this time to describe what (in my view) Affliction’s MMA operation resembles.
(And, yes, I don’t know why the MMA Memories web site is attaching Dave Sholler’s name to my articles over there.)
Topics: Affliction, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 96 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Larry Merchant: Affliction had to pay ODLH $5 million USD just to show up
By Zach Arnold | January 26, 2009
Update (1/27): There are a lot of vehement denials about Larry Merchant’s claim that De La Hoya was paid $5 million USD to support Affliction. Golden Boy claims Merchant is full of it and that De La Hoya went to the Affliction show without renumeration. Steve Barry is trying to keep track of all sorts of different versions of stories in regards to what actually took place. Sam Caplan expresses his disgust towards Merchant.
—
Sucks to be the chumps who watched Affliction at a discount or for free. Do things the Oscar De La Hoya way:
“A celebrity who is here in bronze only,” quipped Merchant, referring to a bronze statue of Oscar De La Hoya that stands outside the Staples Center. “Oscar De La Hoya, the live version, is in nearby Anaheim, where his company got a $5 million fee from a t-shirt maker so that he would be personally involved in the promotion of a mixed martial arts show.”
Topics: Affliction, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 35 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Some praise for the WEC San Diego show
By Zach Arnold | January 25, 2009
Throughout the week, there wasn’t a lot of talk amongst the hardcores about the fights in San Diego but it seemed by every indication that the promotion was doing well in terms of drawing fan interest locally. The promotion did an excellent job in packing the San Diego Sports Arena and getting a relatively enthusiastic crowd.
Jose Aldo has a lot of star potential and he knows how to work over a crowd. Good performance tonight. The loss to Mike Brown did no damage to Urijah Faber, who was treated like a superstar. He really has the ‘it’ factor. Brown got booed by the crowd. Varner and Cerrone was a decent main event until the finish. I thought it was interesting that one of the judges had Cerrone edging out a decision (and it wasn’t Nelson Hamilton, either.)
Topics: Media, MMA, WEC, Zach Arnold | 43 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Versus totally mishandling WEC event in San Diego
By Zach Arnold | January 25, 2009
Not only did the network initially decide to air the show in a later time slot (due to the NHL All-Star Game), but they killed the lead-in audience that the NHL could have given WEC by showing a full airing of the awful show Sports Soup. The start time of the WEC broadcast was around 9:45 PM EST, which is incredibly late for a lot of people who have to go to work on Monday.
Then, on top of that, they predictably went ahead with Craig Hummer as the fill-in for Todd Harris.
Topics: Media, MMA, WEC, Zach Arnold | 5 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
WEC 1/25 San Diego Sports Arena
By Zach Arnold | January 25, 2009
Amazingly, the NHL All-Star Game from Montreal will be the lead-in for this show on Versus. The card line-up:
Dark matches
- 155 pounds: Ben Henderson vs. Anthony Njokuani
- 170 pounds: Edgar Garcia vs. Hiromitsu Miura
- 145 pounds: Dominick Cruz vs. Ian McCall
- 135 pounds: Scott Jorgensen vs. Frank Gomez
- 170 pounds: Bias Avena vs. Jesse Lennox
- 135 pounds: Charlie Valencia vs. Seth Dikun
Main card
- 155 pounds: Jamie Varner vs. Donald Cerrone
- 145 poundS: Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver
- 170 pounds: Danillo Villefort vs. Mike Campbell
- 145 pounds: Jose Aldo vs. Rolando Perez
Update: Todd Harris is doing coverage for ESPN of the Winter X Games, so there will likely be a replacement lead announcer on the TV telecast with Frank Mir. Craig Hummer?
Topics: Media, MMA, WEC, Zach Arnold | 12 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Quote of the Week – Freddie Roach
By Zach Arnold | January 24, 2009
From yesterday’s LA Times:
“Fedor’s boxing skills are not that good,” Roach said bluntly. “His footwork’s terrible. We have to take advantage of that.”
This, a day before Fedor knocked out Andrei Arlovski with one punch in their Affliction PPV main event match in Anaheim.
Topics: Affliction, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 36 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
“Holy crap, are you watching HDNet? There’s no one there.”
By Zach Arnold | January 24, 2009
The words from an MMA writer in regards to watching the Affliction undercard.
The phrases ‘plagued by empty seats’ and ‘There aren’t many fans here at this point, maybe 2,000 but it’s early’ are not uplifting.
Quote of the Night: “Merchant just said on the HBO boxing broadcast that ODLH was paid a fee to be at the Affliction fights tonight.”
Shane Mosley def. Antonio Margarito by TKO in R9 to win the WBA Welterweight crown. Here are the CompuBox stats. Affliction booked Vitor Belfort vs. Matt Lindland opposite of this fight on PPV.
Topics: Affliction, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 55 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |