How many fights does the body of a UFC champion possess in 2014?
By Zach Arnold | October 22, 2014
Cain Velasquez out with a right knee injury, derailing the building of Ultimate Fighter in Mexico and the highly anticipated main event against Fabricio Werdum in Mexico City. In steps Mark Hunt. Werdum is putting his best motivation forward.
When Cain Velasquez fights, he is one of the most gifted giants we’ve ever seen. His determination to be the best has made him an incredibly gifted heavyweight. The problem is that, like Chris Weidman, he has the injury bug. The toughest champions in UFC also seem to absorb the most punishment to their bodies. In retrospect, it makes Georges St. Pierre’s decision to temporarily step away look smart.
The UFC has invested so much into promoting Cain Velasquez and for good reason. However, he has difficulty maintaining his health to frequently defend the championship. What do you do if you’re UFC? I don’t know.
Guys like Cain are once-in-a-generation type fighters. In MMA, generations usually last 7 years or so. How much longer will he be able to last as an upper echelon heavyweight? It’s the heavyweight division. The lifespan of a solid heavyweight lasts much longer than fighters in other weight classes. We’ll see more of the big man soon enough. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 55 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Fight Opinion Radio discussion: How can UFC be growing so much, yet face so much uncertainty?
By Zach Arnold | October 10, 2014
Some days, being an MMA fan feels like fighting a two-on-one handicap match.
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The current UFC business model is proving to be very unique. How can the UFC be experiencing record international business growth in markets like Mexico and yet face real uncertainty regarding their next television deal in Canada (!), an office closure in China, the release of Asian middleman Mark Fischer, and now the reported mass resignations from UFC’s Singapore office? With a Singaporean report claiming that UFC is only interested in sold show-type zero-risk deals to run in big Asian markets due to their supposed unwillingness to change their product & business practices to mesh with cultural concerns, what is UFC’s plan for growth in Pacific Rim markets outside of Australia?
The UFC is allegedly experiencing big time TV growth internationally and yet their PPV revenue has declined substantially. One minute, Dana White is claiming that Conor McGregor is bigger than Brock Lesnar or GSP and the next minute you have estimates of UFC 178 drawing 180,000-230,000 PPV buys. Additionally, none of the current UFC champions appears to be an all-time Top 10 UFC PPV box attraction.
Dana White is busy telling The Financial Times that UFC could be worth billions. The next minute, another publication claims they’re worth a billion. What is the UFC brand really worth without Lorenzo Fertitta or Dana White? If UFC’s growth is so explosive, then why do the people who have an interest in Zuffa’s debt seem concerned about the company’s future earnings?
Envelope math based on S&P tea leaves suggests ballpark of $109M EBITDA / $500M revenue for Zuffa in fiscal 2014.
— Adam Swift (@AdamMSwift) October 9, 2014
S&P: We expect Zuffa will experience a 30% decline in EBITDA in 2014 & greater EBITDA volatility over time than prev anticipated #ufc #mma
— MMA Supremacy (@MMASupremacy) October 9, 2014
If you’re a manager or agent, how do you navigate the negotiating waters now with UFC given that their PPV buys are declining? Do you have more leverage given the volatility of UFC’s current business situation or do you have less leverage given that UFC has said the hell with it, we’re going to proceed with a McDonaldification of four or fight cards a month with line-ups consisting of bouts where fans only know 25% of the fighters participating?
It’s one thing to experience international growth. It’s another thing to maintain that growth & to retain, let alone maximize, your gains.
With so many UFC events happening globally, expect more colossal mistakes like the botched HGH drug test of Cung Le to happen. The amount of stress on the employees involved in regulation & the production teams is enormous and things will slip through the cracks. When mistakes are made, UFC rarely admits or takes responsibility for their problems.
So, what’s next for UFC? What’s next for the fighters? What about the fans? Jeff Thaler & I discuss all of these angles on this week’s edition of Fight Opinion Radio.
Special thanks
To Zack Nelson for his past & present support of Fight Opinion Radio.
Download the show
RIGHT HERE: (http://www.fightopinion.com/podcasts/foradio-10-10-2014.mp3).
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Time length of this week’s show: 30 minutes
Topics: Fight Opinion Radio, Jeff Thaler, Media, MMA, podcasts, UFC, Zach Arnold | 8 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Has UFC lost all credibility drug testing their own fighters for self-regulated shows?
By Zach Arnold | October 8, 2014
Is UFC’s HGH drug testing of Cung Le their ugly Roger Goodell moment?
I'm for cleaning up the sport, but also think the fighters deserve a fair process, with re-tests and appeals..what the ufc is doing ain't it
— Robert Joyner (@robnashville) October 6, 2014
Cung Le went into his Macau fight against Michael Bisping with a ripped physique. After he got Freddy Krueger’d by Bisping, UFC announced last week that Le had failed a post-fight HGH drug test. UFC initially suspended Le for nine months, then came back and stated that they made a mistake and the suspension would be a year-long ban.
Le’s camp argued that the Hong Kong lab UFC used wasn’t WADA-approved. The blood sample was collected after the fight. The IGF-1 test wasn’t used for HGH detection. The HK lab only kept the blood sample for one week. The WADA standard for keeping a blood testing sample is 10 years. There was no chance for appeal (the B sample) because the blood sample taken had allegedly been destroyed.
These are very specific allegations being made here. The claims should be easy for UFC to refute. Instead, UFC issued a no comment.
IMO @ufc "self-regulated" anti-doping team is INCOMPETENT. Protocol 4 total hgh test is fasted & rested. NOT POST FIGHT SAMPLE COLLECTION
— Victor Conte (@VictorConte) October 6, 2014
The blowback from defending Le’s protest was swift. On Twitter, Scott Carasik argued that the fighters signed contracts agreeing to let UFC handle the testing and that it is up to Le & other fighters to prove that UFC violated their own drug testing policy & protocols. In other words, UFC isn’t guilty of anything unless they contractually stated that their HGH testing had to be done at a WADA-approved lab. The counter-argument to that point is that UFC attempts to mirror various state athletic commissions and commissions like California and Nevada use WADA-accredited labs.
Whatever your opinion of the situation may be, it appears that UFC got caught with their pants down here. It is entirely reasonable for fans to believe what UFC is claiming regarding Le’s supposed HGH usage while at the same time recognizing that they screwed the pooch here on the process.
Smelling blood in the water and providing an appropriately aggressive defense, Cung Le’s camp is firing back again in the press. Previously, no appeals process was going to be granted by UFC. How can you have an appeal if the blood sample taken was allegedly destroyed?
Then came the U-turn today with ESPN reporting that UFC will allow Le to appeal his HGH test with a third-party arbitrator. The arbitration process will take place in America even though the testing happened overseas. UFC is now claiming that they will never use a non-WADA accredited lab again for blood testing. If you’re a fighter competing on a card where UFC is controlling the drug testing, how can you trust their protocols now? How can UFC stop the paranoia in which fighters & managers will be suspicious of drug testing results being used against their clients as a hardball financial negotiating tactic?
Gabriel Montoya published this damning article today at Bloody Elbow with comments from Don Catlin & Gary Ibarra (Le’s manager). Le’s camp claims that the drug testing results were not in English.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 3 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
UFC scoffed at WWE’s PPV abandonment strategy but will they end up doing the same thing?
By Zach Arnold | October 8, 2014
It turns out that the Rory MacDonald fight that aired on Fox Sports 1 after the marathon baseball game between the Giants & Nationals drew around 800,000 viewers. Not bad. I’m not sure if this should be celebrated, but everyone seems to be grading on a curve these days given the oversaturation of Zuffa’s TV product.
There was the recent report that the ill-fated UFC 177 Arco Arena show in Sacramento with TJ Dillashaw vs. Joe Soto drew 125,000 PPV buys.
As for the fate of UFC 178 Las Vegas PPV buys…
If you were wondering, the projected PPV buys based on trends for UFC 178 had it doing around 180K-230K PPV buys. #mma #ufc #ppv
— MMA Supremacy (@MMASupremacy) October 7, 2014
No matter how you spin the numbers, UFC is falling off a cliff on PPV right now. Sure, they can pop 500k for a Chris Weidman/Ronda Rousey dual event. That appears to be the ceiling. Without GSP & Anderson Silva, it’s a rough go of things. Johny Hendricks is really their best hope at this point in time.
As WWE got overexposed on PPV and stunk up the joint, they cut the cord on PPV and gambled with their online WWE Network. UFC is headed down the same path. They may not give up entirely on PPV but their own business practices are ensuring a one-way outcome for their PPV future.
A series of news items from the estimable Adam Swift indicates what the future looks like for UFC:
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Bellator, Media, MMA, UFC, WWE, Zach Arnold | 4 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
UFC discovered the hard way they’re not a #1 priority on Fox against a major sporting event
By Zach Arnold | September 29, 2014
The celebration after he wins is the best part of a Rory MacDonald fight. He studies tape just to mimic the human emotion of happiness.
— Jonathan Snowden (@mmaencyclopedia) October 5, 2014
The good news? UFC did some very solid business in Sweden and Halifax with their Saturday double-header. Over 10,000 at the Metro Centre. Over 10,000 in Sweden for a million dollar gate. Rory MacDonald tore apart Tarec Saffiedine and is ready for Johny Hendricks or Robbie Lawler. Raphael Assuncao had no trouble with Bryan Caraway but now is the odd-man out with UFC giving Conor McGregor Dominick Cruz a title shot against TJ Dillashaw.
The bad news? Rick Story exposed Gunnar Nelson. And most people didn’t see the Halifax fights on TV because UFC got pre-empted on Fox Sports 1 for the 18-inning marathon game between the Giants and Nationals. The UFC running on Saturday nights during college football season is a risky move and they will get pre-empted for a Big 12 game. Running against Major League Baseball is another no-no. Fox will always choose a NASCAR race, an MLB post-season game, or a Big 12 game as lead-in programming for Fox Sports Live any day of the week.
Rory MacDonald had exactly the type of performance needed after no one watched his PPV fight in Vancouver four months ago. UFC has to hope and pray that fans stuck through their FX impromptu telecast and watched the fight. Otherwise, another scenario where few people witnessed Rory do his thing.
The UFC can continue their global schedule but it comes with a price domestically in the United States when you are running against bigger sports fish on television. The only solace they can take is that FS1/FX didn’t get dropped from Suddenlink cable like Spike & other Viacom channels did. If you’re a Bellator fan, not a happy time right now if you’re stuck with Suddenlink.
Event: UFC Fight Night 2014 on October 4th in Stockholm, Sweden at Ericsson Globe Arena
TV: Internet
- Featherweights: Zubaira Tukhugov defeated Ernest Chavez in R1 in 4’21 by TKO.
- Lightweights: Mairbek Taisumov defeated Marcin Bandel in R1 in 1’01 by TKO.
- Middleweights: Krzysztof Jotko defeated Tor Troeng after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Middleweights: Cathal Pendred defeated Gasan Umalatov after 3R by split decision.
- Featherweights: Dennis Siver defeated Charles Rosa after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Welterweights: Nico Musoke defeated Alexander Yakovlev after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Middleweights: Magnus Cedenblad defeated Scott Askham after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Featherweights: Mike Wilkinson defeated Niklas Backstrom in R1 in 1’19 by KO.
- Light Heavyweights: Jan Blachowicz defeated Ilir Latifi in R1 in 1’58 by TKO.
- Featherweights: Max Holloway violently defeated Akira Corassani in R1 in 3’11 by KO.
- Welterweights: Rick Story defeated Gunnar Nelson after 5R by split decision.
Event: UFC Fight Night on October 4th in Halifax, Nova Scotia at the Metro Centre
TV: Fox Sports 1
- Bantamweights: Pedro Munhoz defeated Jerrod Sanders in R1 in 39 seconds with a guillotine choke hold.
- Welterweights: Albert Tumenov defeated Matt Dwyer in R1 in 63 seconds by KO with a head kick.
- Lightweights: Paul Felder defeated Jason Saggo after 3R by split decision.
- Welterweights: Olivier Aubin-Mercier defeated Jake Lindsey in R2 in 3’22 with an inverted triangle kimura submission.
- Welterweights: Nordine Taleb defeated Li Jingliang after 3R by split decision.
- Lightweights: Daron Cruickshank defeated Anthony Njokuani after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Flyweights: Chris Kelades defeated Patrick Holohan after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Bantamweights: Mitch Gagnon defeated Roman Salazar in R1 in 2’06 with a choke sleeper hold.
- Middleweights: Elias Theodorou defeated Bruno Santos after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Lightweights: Chad Laprise defeated Yosdenis Cedeno after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Bantamweights: Raphael Assuncao defeated Bryan Caraway after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Welterweights: Rory MacDonald defeated Tarec Saffiedine in R3 in 1’28 by TKO.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 18 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The state of the MMA union after UFC 178 (w/ audio discussion)
By Zach Arnold | September 27, 2014
MMA optimists stated that the momentum would pick up for UFC after a lackluster Summer 2014 business campaign. All signs pointed to UFC 178 being that launching point over the next five months to re-heat interest.
Heading into UFC 178, a legitimate question: was it the right call to put Demetrious Johnson in the main event slot as opposed to giving Donald Cerrone and Eddie Alvarez potentially five rounds? The results turned out to be rather interesting:
- UFC Flyweight title match: Demetrious Johnson defeated Chris Cariaso in R2 in 2’29 with a kimura submission lock.
- Lightweights: Donald Cerrone defeated Eddie Alvarez after 3R by unanimous decision.
Just like in Vancouver, the Las Vegas fans walked out during a Demetrious Johnson title fight. (Ed. — Those in attendance claimed the fans rushed out right afterwards rather than during the fight.)
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Bellator, Fight Opinion Radio, Jeff Thaler, Media, MMA, podcasts, UFC, Zach Arnold | 16 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
You can sell a lot of things as a Mixed Martial Arts promoter, but selling tickets today is the hardest
By Zach Arnold | September 24, 2014
It’s tough to promote Mixed Martial Arts. On paper, it sounds easy. Selling hope. Selling the future. Selling fun. Selling violence. How can it be that hard?
Try selling the rash of injuries to top fighters booked in main events. Grab the antacid every time Chris Weidman gets hurt. Hold your breath every time Cain Velasquez fights after the main event. Just pray that Anthony Pettis doesn’t get hurt in training before a big PPV date. To put into perspective the fragility of UFC’s top champions, consider the following: Velasquez, Pettis, and Weidman combined have fought 8 times since July of 2012. During the same time period, Donald Cerrone has fought 9 times. The guys who fight the most aren’t always rewarded with top spots on PPV.
This is why you get PPV main events like TJ Dillashaw vs. Joe Soto. This is why MMA was not meant to have three or four cards a month being promoted by one promotion. There simply isn’t enough talent to book given the absolute attrition this sport inflicts on top fighters. If it’s not injuries, it’s bad weight cutting. It’s drug suspensions. Guys use drugs for performance enhancement in and out of the ring. They’re more likely to use drugs if they have to fight as often as promoters call them with offers. Nobody can help themselves here.
Put into perspective all the craziness that went down with PRIDE a decade ago. Even running one card every 45 days resulted in a ton of last-minute fighter replacements, a wild west atmosphere for supposed drug testing, and lots of guys fighting through gruesome back & leg injuries because PRIDE was the biggest show in town. $50 million dollar years. A Fuji TV broadcast platform. And lots of colorful characters at ringside flaunting a lot of cash.
If you think the promoters and their backers are crazy, the fighters they book & their handlers are just as crazy if not more so. Dana White infamously remarked that every day he wakes up from bed he is prepared for the worst. Fighters say and do really stupid & violent things.
Jon Jones should be MMA’s most celebrated golden boy. An amazing fighter by in-ring standards and just as amazingly obtuse outside the cage.
Nick Diaz can’t help but get into trouble. One minute he’s holding out, the next minute he’s retired, and a few months later he’s in a headlining fight only to get exposed for having two DUI arrests.
Wanderlei Silva is running away from a drug test while claiming the process is a conspiracy to target him unfairly. When he tries to sue to get out of a sticky situation, he digs the hole deeper for himself by claiming the need to use a diuretic… for a wrist injury. Even worse, he can’t help himself from saying stupid things on social media. I wonder who produces his videos. A week before he was going to get hammered by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Wanderlei claimed he was retiring from Mixed Martial Arts and let ‘er rip on the UFC. He skipped Tuesday’s meeting in Las Vegas where he was issued a supposed “life time” ban and $70,000 fine. Wanderlei is claiming that his personal war against the authorities “is just beginning.” So much for that retirement thing.
At least the guy didn’t go to jail on domestic violence charges like War Machine or Josh Grispi. Heaven help us if an active, PPV-drawing headliner ends up in jail over domestic violence. In an industry where a quarter of the fans are female, attracting new fans who control the finances in your typical, every day household is critical for financial survival.
This is why promoting Mixed Martial Arts is so difficult. Not only do you need a bank account with at least $10 million dollars, you need experience & knowledge of an extremely volatile business that is entirely reliant on a strong television platform. The margin for error is very slim. The only way to attract money marks, as noted by MMA Supremacy on Twitter, is to sell the hope that you’ll get onto PPV within a few years. Without PPV to dangle as a financial carrot, you simply can’t attract the kind of cash needed to become a serious player. There is no college course or textbook you can buy to understand how to be successful in an industry with a failure rate above 95%. Good luck with that.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 7 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Even after Nevada political lifeline, Jon Jones still manages to screw up the PR
By Zach Arnold | September 23, 2014
The Nevada State Athletic Commission fined Jon Jones $50,000 for his brawl with Daniel Cormier and ordered him to do 40 hours of community service. Yes, an athletic commission acting like a courtroom judge. Laughable, but the point is that Nevada’s commission has always been about politics and public relations. This is the same athletic commission that praised Floyd Mayweather for his conduct before giving him a promoter’s license, only to see Mayweather get sued over domestic violence allegations. The same guy who spent time in jail over DV charges.
Essentially, Nevada gave Jon Jones a lifeline here. Pay a fine which will end up being worth it if it means a substantial increase in PPV buys and interest for his fight with Daniel Cormier. Do 40 hours of community service to put himself over as a babyface in Las Vegas. Of all the punishments that could have levied against him, this was tailor made public relations.
And right after Nevada gave Jon Jones his lifeline, he took a giant dump on it. He claimed that he lost his Nike sponsorship and lost an opportunity to get a six-figure sponsor. I find it hard to believe that he lost such opportunities because of a brawl with Daniel Cormier. The guy isn’t a sponsorship magnet because he isn’t likeable, isn’t going to move merchandise sales, and is completely socially awkward. He’s as obtuse about his lack of awareness as Jameis Winston but doesn’t have Winston’s smile or charm.
As if this wasn’t bad enough, Jones decided to go public and complain about doing 40 hours of community service.
40 hours of community service in Vegas with a fight coming up is the only thing that really concerns me.
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) September 23, 2014
He can’t spend one week in Las Vegas and do 8 hours of community service a day? This guy has three months to complete 40 hours of community service in Las Vegas. He probably has to go to Vegas anyways to do some promotional work with UFC to record footage to get the hype machine revved up for the Cormier fight. This is a no-brainer. Or maybe not.
The fact that this needs to be completed before the fight is definitely going to have effect on my camp. I respect the commission though
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) September 23, 2014
Any respectable agent or manager would get a guy like this off of social media permanently. Some people can’t be saved from themselves no matter how many Herm Edwards-style Twitter symposiums you put them through. Jon Jones has this uniquely disgraceful ability to wow the masses with his brilliant in-ring talent and yet completely suppress their desire to cheer him on because of all the stupid things he says and does.
Jon Jones is an idiot savant. A savant in the UFC cage and a complete idiot outside of it.
On the bright side, at least he’s not in Wanderlei Silva’s shoes right now:
Official: Wanderlei Silva has been given a lifetime ban in Nevada and fined $70,000 for running away from a random drug test.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) September 23, 2014
@yay_yee State commissions cannot issue lifetime bans. This was already decided in boxing cases. They can just refuse to license fighter.
— Eddie Goldman (@nhbnews) September 23, 2014
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 3 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
UFC wanted to become like FIFA. They now have Sepp Blatter’s social street cred without FIFA’s $
By Zach Arnold | September 19, 2014
I love tweeting with people up watching @UFCFightPass all the #dickheads went to bed!!! A ton of cool people up watchin tonight.
— Dana White (@danawhite) September 20, 2014
Dana White & Lorenzo Fertitta should thank their lucky stars that Roger Goodell had his pathetic press conference on Friday discussing issues relating to domestic violence. If there was 1/100th of the media spotlight on UFC that there is currently on the NFL, Zuffa would be having a full-fledged meltdown.
I’ve been very consistent in stating that UFC has no idea how to deal with real-life challenges. They live in a fantasy world bubble. They don’t like being challenged and they don’t respond well to being challenged. They wrap themselves in a cocoon. They can’t defend themselves. Whether it’s anabolic steroids or domestic violence, they don’t know how to be proactive. They are merely reactive.
While Roger Goodell was getting eviscerated by the likes of ESPN (!) after his ill-fated New York presser, the UFC was busy dealing with scandals of their own making involving Thiago Silva & Anthony Johnson. Two guys with a colorful past that is not exactly a state secret.
The first shoe to drop was UFC indefinitely suspending Anthony Johnson (whatever that means) because Brent Brookhouse reported that the mother of Johnson’s children got a restraining order over allegations of threats & abuse.
Dana: Thiago Silva never in #UFC again: http://t.co/uUd0nlmVDR Dana: Silva deserves to be in #UFC: http://t.co/zZOLloyjL3 Today Silva cut…
— Danny Acosta (@AcostaIsLegend) September 19, 2014
The second shoe to drop was UFC cutting ties with Thiago Silva (again) after his ex-wife, who Florida police had trouble getting cooperation from, posted videos online of Silva allegedly high on cocaine and in possession of a gun. The ex-wife further alleged that she had to have an abortion after being physically assaulted.
Thaysa didn't post every video she has of Thiago Silva. I've seen others, and they are worse. Believe me.
— Guilherme Cruz (@guicruzzz) September 19, 2014
In both the Thiago Silva & Anthony Johnson cases, the UFC is emulating similar behavior that the Baltimore Ravens franchise displayed when they handled the Ray Rice knockout incident with his fiancee Janay Palmer in Atlantic City. According to ESPN via their Outside the Lines reporting unit, the Ravens allegedly knew exactly what had happened with Rice in the Atlantic City casino elevator within a matter of hours after the incident but decided to supposedly overrule the wishes of their head coach John Harbaugh by keeping Rice around and campaigning for leniency. Kind of like how Dana White recently said that Thiago Silva deserves to earn a living. Furthermore, the ESPN report claims that Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti supposedly texted Rice with a message stating that he would have a future job in the Ravens organization.
For the Ravens organization, it didn’t matter what Ray Rice did or didn’t do in that Atlantic City casino elevator. It didn’t matter that he was becoming a washed up RB. All that mattered was the myth & belief that Ray Rice was such a great, upstanding citizen that no matter how heinous his personal behavior was that the organization needed to do everything possible to protect him and protect their image.
Similarly, UFC management doesn’t act as if they are responsible for delivering a consistent message on what kind of behavior will or will not be accepted. This organization doesn’t believe that the fish rots from the head down. It does. When you are hiring as many fighters as they book, you’re going to naturally attract people from the fringes. You’re going to attract out of control fighters who are over the edge due to the ultrahazardous nature of a very violent sport where guys suffer from traumatic brain damage & effects of significant drug usage. Cover-ups won’t work and don’t work. Making excuses and rationalizing criminal behavior is a losing proposition for UFC given their ties to Fox Sports right now.
The kind of security & investigative protocols currently in place in the UFC would be considered unacceptable at the casinos that the Fertitta family empire operates. Zuffa doesn’t need to create a pseudo-FBI investigative unit in the UFC but they do need some fresh perspective and a dose of common sense from upper management. Even if you accept the situational ethics from the powers-that-be, Dana White fighting for Thiago Silva’s job security is as stupid as the Ravens fighting for Ray Rice’s job security. These guys aren’t at the top of their profession.
Congratulations, UFC. You are getting close to the same level of credibility & respect amongst your fans as Roger Goodell & Sepp Blatter have with their disgruntled audiences. Unfortunately, your MMA company’s bank account will never match theirs. Fortunately, the people who love MMA really love MMA and will not let your poor judgment get in the way of their enjoyment of the sport.
Fox Sports has a lot of stake with both the NFL and UFC. Friday was not a good day for the Murdoch sports empire in America.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 13 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The Ultimate Disservice: TUF 20 115 pound all-female edition, so far, is a bore
By Zach Arnold | September 18, 2014
There are many things bad reality TV shows can be guilty of but the cardinal sin of failure is being boring. The Ultimate Fighter 20, the all-female MMA fighter edition on Fox Sports 1, is the worst of all Ultimate Fighter worlds. Every lousy aspect from previous seasons, so far in the first two episodes, has been compiled into one package of awfulness.
This is not what I envisioned when UFC announced an all-female version of The Ultimate Fighter. I can’t imagine that long-time supporters of women’s MMA are enthralled by Zuffa’s presentation so far.
Before the launch of TUF 20, I was asked by a national media reporter how UFC would market TUF 20 and women’s MMA in the future. I said the biggest problem facing the company is the fact that 80% of UFC’s current demographic is male and that their main concern is promoting female fighters would be trying to market it towards men the same way Spike TV marketed Manswers. The same way that Jim Rome asked Ronda Rousey about sex. There’s a reason fans thought it was OK to ask Ronda Rousey about her sex life after the Jim Rome interview.
While I was concerned about the way UFC would present female fighters on The Ultimate Fighter, my concern was about how UFC would portray the female fighters and if they would do it right. Right meaning not scripted. Right meaning educating fans on a women’s MMA world they didn’t know much about. Right meaning that we would get to see how complex & difficult the road has been for them to make it to the UFC. There’s a lot of compelling stories to tell.
Too bad UFC and Fox decided to blow it on the storytelling front. This show, so far, is excruciatingly boring and not very educational at all.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 7 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Andrei Arlovski knocking out Bigfoot Silva perfectly symbolizes UFC’s 2014 campaign
By Zach Arnold | September 13, 2014
Never has there been so much MMA activity and yet so much of it is insignificant.
Andrei Arlovski vs. Bigfoot Silva headlining a card in Brasilia with 8,000 fans was the perfect symbolism of what UFC is now in 2014. Arlovski, who struggled to get booked and ended up finding a home in the UFC-friendly World Series of Fighting, got a call from Zuffa to come back as a card filler a main eventer. His cable fights recently were on NBC Sports network with WSOF and not on any Fox platform under the UFC banner. (Ed. — After Andrei Arlovski and Anthony Johnson were granted releases from WSOF to get back into UFC, WSOF put a halt to the practice.)
UFC asked fans to pay to watch Andrei Arlovski’s last two fights on either PPV or an internet stream. Within the last three months. In 2014, no less. On the same night of a Floyd Mayweather fight. If Andrei Arlovski is considered a top 10 UFC Heavyweight by the end of 2014, then I don’t want to hear anyone attack the plausibility of a Brock Lesnar return.
Breaks my heart… boxing is a lost cause w/ Floyd at its helm. He's flawless but he's not a fighter. They got us again folks. Quit buying!
— Prescott Miller (@PrescottUFC) September 14, 2014
Arlovski, who should have retired long ago, proceeded to have an all-time ugly fight with Brendan Schaub in Vancouver. His reward was getting booked for an Internet card. He was supposed to be cannon fodder for one of the poster children of the testosterone plague in MMA, Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. More time was spent this week talking about Bigfoot needing surgery after the Arlovski fight to fix his medical ailments than the Arlovski fight itself. It was supposed to be a fait a’ccompli.
And right on cue, Arlovski knocked Bigfoot out. Yeah, the same Bigfoot who failed a drug test after his zombie Australia fight with Mark Hunt.
Big Foot didn't look good, gets KOd by Arlovski, and is yet another Brazilian in the main event who loses. I've lost track now. #mma #ufc
— MMA Supremacy (@MMASupremacy) September 14, 2014
Memo to UFC: Having alleged pirates agree to goofy shaming settlement press releases name-dropping copyright law firms like the infamous Lonsteins in Albany isn’t going to curb your piracy problems. What’s going to curb your piracy problems is presenting a product that is affordable and priced fairly in the market place.
The only bright spot from UFC’s Brasilia card was Jessica Andrade, who is well on her way to major league stardom. She is a machine that is only getting better each fight. Andrade says she needs two years more of development before fighting Ronda Rousey. I think that assessment is a fair one.
As for the rest of the action this week in boxing & MMA? What a joke it was for Fox Sports 1 to market Luis Ortiz vs. Lateef Kayode as “the fight of the year.” Spike TV may have delivered the two most interesting moments with Liam McGeary pulling off the inverted triangle and Emmanuel Newton finding his back-spinning fist mojo to knock out Joey Beltran. Marlon Moraes had little trouble with Cody Bollinger in the main event of WSOF’s Pennsylvania show. Good crowd at the Sands. The East Coast fans deserve a lot more fight cards.
Floyd Mayweather/Marcos Maidana pretty much turned out the way we all expected the fight to play out, sans the biting accusation. It’s been years since a Mayweather fight had such little heat going into it. He says there are two fights left in him. The next one will have to be against Pacquiao. He better pray that Pacquiao wins and wins convincingly in Macao.
Topics: Brazil, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 8 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
After Goodell meltdown, UFC/Bellator must establish policy for domestic violence cases
By Zach Arnold | September 10, 2014
Dana White spent the week of UFC 177 in Sacramento telling the press that he wasn’t upset about GQ Magazine naming him a sleazebag for not paying his fighters enough money. The mask came off during the Fox Sports 1 prelims broadcast when he went after GQ & Dave Meltzer. I’m sure Dave Meltzer & Wade Keller had visions of Vince McMahon media relations circa 1991 in their heads all over again.
When it comes to handling any sort of media challenge or criticism, UFC melts down. Whether it’s issues relating to fighter pay, anabolic steroid usage, or domestic violence, the UFC never has a consistent or coherent message. I’m sure they have access to some fine public relation specialists but it’s hard to craft a message for individuals like Dana White who are impulsive and lack the kind of discipline & responsibility required to be taken seriously on a big stage.
Does Dana still think media was too rough on him during Macau ref/UFC 177 pre-fight WK? Also which media person will Goodell bash in 3 days?
— Steve Cofield (@stevecofield) September 9, 2014
Roger Goodell may survive the firestorm right now over the way the NFL has handled the Ray Rice domestic violence situation, but the damage has been done long-term. When you are paid $44 million USD a year to make billions of dollars for owners like Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys, you are a target. You’re an even bigger target when you view yourself as judge, jury, and executioner for determining punishment against athletes for various transgressions.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Bellator, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 2 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Fight Opinion Radio: Will Spike TV’s 2005 MMA marketing playbook win fans over a decade later?
By Zach Arnold | September 6, 2014
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RIGHT HERE: (http://www.fightopinion.com/podcasts/foradio-9-5-2014.mp3).
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Time length of this week’s show: 42 minutes (19 MB MP3)
Contact us
Get a hold of us by messaging Judge Jeff on Twitter (@whaledog) and Zach on Twitter (@fightopinion).
Our e-mail address: [email protected].
Show preview
In case no one has noticed, MMA as a whole in North America is trying to do whatever the hell it can to get people interested in it again.
— MMA Supremacy (@MMASupremacy) September 6, 2014
If you watched the Friday night wars in Connecticut between UFC & Bellator, you know exactly what happened. Spike TV is going all-in with a pro-wrestling vision against the vision of MMA that UFC & Fox is pushing right now with a flood of cards and rankings.
The UFC has great business going in Mexico. The momentum is on their side for the November 15th Mexico City PPV with Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez. Bellator is countering with their own event in San Diego head-to-head on TV with Stephan Bonnar vs. Tito Ortiz and Michael Chandler vs. Will Brooks.
The new direction of Bellator has elicited a love-it-or-hate-it response. That much is clear. What we don’t know is whether or not the decade-old Spike TV playbook will work or not in a climate where MMA has (somewhat) matured as a sport. The gap between Stephan Bonnar and Jacare Souza in talent is as wide as the Grand Canyon. What Bellator is gambling on right now is attracting a segment of MMA fans, new and old, who are disgruntled with UFC’s current product and think the fun is missing.
Enter Sean Wheelock, the voice of Bellator on Spike TV. We had a chance to sit down with him this week on Fight Opinion Radio and talk about a number of issues, both past and present. Sean recently co-authored a book with UFC founder Art Davie. Davie came from an advertising background and created UFC from scratch. Today’s UFC product is a far cry from what he was trying to market. Hell, it’s a far cry from X-ARM extreme arm wrestling.
Nobody is better equipped to talk about past MMA history and frame it in context to what is happening in today’s MMA landscape than Sean Wheelock. His interview on Fight Opinion Radio is definitely worth your time to listen to. He not only brings an insider’s perspective but also a genuine fan’s perspective on what is good and what is missing in today’s MMA product.
For us, there is one simple question that Spike TV must answer with Bellator’s new creative direction: what can Spike TV do to lure in burned out MMA fans or create new MMA fans? What is it going to take? Is this a matter of growing the audience pie or is this a matter strictly of competitive intrusion?
Special thanks
To Zack Nelson for his past & present support of Fight Opinion Radio.
Topics: Bellator, Fight Opinion Radio, Jeff Thaler, Media, MMA, podcasts, UFC, Zach Arnold | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |