UFC 77
By Zach Arnold | October 20, 2007
All thoughts, spoilers, reviews, etc. goes here. Feel free to post thoughts about the show in the comments section.
Event results: MMA Weekly | Sherdog | MMA Junkie | UFC Mania | Yahoo Sports | Steve Cofield | F4W Online | Observer | The Canadian Press | The Sweet Science | CBS Sports | Dayton Daily News | Houston Chronicle | Long Beach Press-Telegram | Gregg Doyel
Second round of links: Cincinnati Enquirer | CE II | CE III | Dann Stupp | Washington Post | NBC Sports | Hamilton Journal-News | MMA HQ
Audio review: Fightlinker
Alex Marvez at Fox Sports says that Rich Franklin is considering a retirement from MMA. Marvez also says that Randy Couture has a press conference scheduled for Thursday in Las Vegas.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 69 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
More on White/Couture dispute
By Zach Arnold | October 19, 2007
Dana White addressed the topic today on ESPN TV. Adam Swift has further analysis.
Meanwhile, Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports is firing back at his ‘critics’ (audio here).
The Dayton Daily News: Dana White is a visionary. The Wilmington News Journal says that Dana White needs to learn how to cope with competition. Steve Cofield has an interview with Jens Pulver discussing Couture’s split from UFC.
UFC 77 previews: Brent Brookhouse | Gambling 911 | MMA Madness | Mike Coughlin | MMA Opinion | MMA on Tap | Cincinnati Enquirer | Cincinnati Enquirer II | London Free Press | Washington Post
Misc. note: Emelianenko Alexander is back to his winning ways.
Topics: Canada, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 12 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Heat-up for UFC 77
By Zach Arnold | October 19, 2007
Everyone made weight for the UFC 77 show. More weigh-in notes at Yahoo Sports and NBC Sports. Gregg Doyel at CBS Sportsline has an article about some of the wacky hijinx at the weigh-ins.
Here is an article on Jason MacDonald and here is your quote of the day from MacDonald as to why his fight with Yushin Okami is a dark match:
“As far as the decision to not be on the main card, the UFC has told me that it has nothing to do with me. It has to do with the fact that Okami is a boring fighter. They know I’ll try to put on an exciting fight. In fact, as I left the hotel on Thursday, I ran into Joe Silva, the matchmaker for the UFC, and he asked to talk to me to express that again and apologized in advance to me.”
Sam Caplan has a new interview with Melvin Costa.
I’m sure the folks at The Canadian Press are so proud of this article.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 10 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
A weekend full of great MMA action includes free webcast from Ireland
By Jeff Comstock | October 19, 2007
On a weekend full of great MMA action, I thought I’d let Fight Opinion readers know that http://www.cagewars.co.uk is planning on providing a free webcast for their Cage Wars 8: Celtic Rage Northern Ireland vs. USA event.
MAX Entertainment present: Cage Wars live from the Kings Hall Belfast free on the web! On Saturday October 20th, Click link below shortly before 7 pm GMT (2 pm EST). A nice way to spend the afternoon leading up to the UFC PPV. Enjoy the show!! http://stream02.keyone.co.uk/ut
The last available fight card was as follows:
95kg: Jimmy Mills vs Colin Davidson
67kg: Cliff Wheatly vs Augusto Frota
77kg: James Orso vs Colin McKee
HW: Kalum King vs Dion Starring
70kg: Tim Estes vs Daniel Abrol
77kg: Lee McKibben vs Bastiaan Rejen
75kg: Brian Kerr vs Paul Murtagh
70kg: Chris Stringer vs M. Angelista
70kg: Peter Duncan vs Arman Soufi
70kg: John Smith vs Moien Takalou
70kg: Ciaran Kelly vs Darren Hughes
70kg: Ali McClean vs Ryan Roddy
(Amateur) Steven Nolan vs. Michael Reid
Topics: Jeff Comstock, MMA, UK | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
News of the weird: Houston Alexander has a new enemy
By Zach Arnold | October 19, 2007
From a Yahoo Sports report about Tom Osborne returning to the University of Nebraska to try to restore their football program:
Peter said he was allowed to purchase season tickets a few months ago when he moved back to Lincoln and began working as a radio host. But even then, he wasn’t given access to the field.
“And here’s the worst part,” Peter said. “Last weekend I look down there and some UFC fighter from Omaha, Houston Alexander, is down there on the sidelines. Everything has gotten so twisted.
“They tried to tell me they’ve never let former players on the sidelines. That’s bull(crap). When I was playing I’d look over there and see Danny Noonan and Roger Craig and Broderick Thomas. I remember thinking, ‘Damn, that’s Husker loyalty. I’m playing my ass off today.'”
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 2 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Friday fight notes: Dana White has a lot to say
By Zach Arnold | October 18, 2007
If you’ve experienced any problems lately with the site loading slowly or not loading at all, you’re not alone. There’s been a lot of traffic hitting our server as of late.
Make sure to get your picks in for the Hardcore Championship Fighting show over at MMA Predictions.
Just asking… If Monte Cox is going to be the CEO of M-1, how is this any different than the situation Stephane Patry is in with TKO (as both a promoter and an agent)?
Dana White is laying the hammer down in regards to fighters who are unhappy about their UFC paychecks. Fox Sports quotes White as saying that Couture “belongs to me.”
“I’ve got these guys for three-, four-, five-, six-fight deals and then their contracts come up, why are they re-signing with me? Why do they keep re-signing with me when all these other guys are out there throwing crazy money around? Because we’re paying these guys very well and we take care of them.”
“At the end of the day, he’s someone I consider a friend,” White said. “As men, as humans, we all have our own paths to walk down. I don’t know what he’s doing. The thing that upset me is when he said me and [Zuffa owner] Lorenzo [Fertitta] lied to him. Lorenzo and Frank [Fertitta] are good people and never lie to anyone. This just isn’t the Randy I know, and I’ve dealt with him for eight years. Does it hurt the company? Yeah. He could have had one more big fight. But it’s not going to hurt us long-term.”
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Boxing, Canada, Japan, M-1, Media, MMA, UFC, UK, Zach Arnold | 14 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Evening news update (10/18)
By Zach Arnold | October 18, 2007
Fox News Fight Game (video here) has a review of the latest edition of The Ultimate Fighter. MMA Madness has a Q & A with Matt Hughes.
Here is the latest IFL SEC filing.
The controvery over Randy Couture’s depature from UFC continues to heat-up. Randy Couture’s agent has officially responded, laughing at Kevin Iole’s Yahoo Sports report about what Couture was making on his latest contract in UFC. One interesting question to ask about a supposed “freeze” clause in the UFC contract with Couture – is such a provision enforceable long-term under US law given that the deals fighters sign with UFC make them independent contractors and not full-fledged employees? For years, smart mark wrestling fans have wondered when a WWE wrestler would sue the company (they hire all wrestlers as independent contractors) based on the issue of enforcing certain rules and standards given their ‘independent contractor’ status.
UFC is launching an online fantasy game.
UFC’s scheduled event for Montreal has been canceled because the HBO deal fell through. BJ Penn will not be fighting on the 12/29 UFC Las Vegas event. Instead, he’s expected to fight on the Super Bowl weekend event.
The firestorm about KOTC fighter Melvin Costa is growing. More reaction here.
Steve Cofield is on an audio binge with MMA guests: Keith Jardine | Wanderlei Silva | Jesse Holland | Neil Davidson. Cofield will be interviewing Dana White tomorrow night at 9 PM EST. Submit your questions here.
Topics: Media, MMA, Pro Elite, UFC, Zach Arnold | 22 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The Japanese MMA landscape is fraught with peril
By Jeff Comstock | October 18, 2007
Pride Worldwide abruptly shuts down operations, citing “uncooperative staff from Dream Stage Entertainment” – Pride’s former parent company, as the reason for the company’s inability to conduct business operations in Japan. This might seem surprising if it weren’t for the documented reasons for Pride’s financial collapse and subsequent sale in the first place.
FightOpinion.com’s archives are full of such documentation but perhaps a little analysis of foreign investment in Japan and the problems faced with doing so is in order. In particular when it comes to dealing with Japan’s organized crime syndicates. Due-diligence when investing in Japan often involves employing as many former FBI and other law enforcement agents, as it does accountants.
On November 6, 2001, the Japan Society heard a panel of experts on Japan’s underworld share their knowledge of Yakuza behavior and debate the extent of financial risk to foreign investors. Yakuza Inc.: Foreign Investment Meets Organized Crime in Japan, Robert Whiting, author of Tokyo Underworld states:
“If your standard is that you will not do business with any firm with connections to the Yakuza, you might as well not come to Japan.”
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Japan, Jeff Comstock, PRIDE, Yakuza | 7 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Thursday trash talk: Marc Ecko supporting M-1?
By Zach Arnold | October 17, 2007
If you have not yet signed up for the brand new MMA HQ Fighter Rankings site, go sign up. First-day turn out was great and I want to see as many readers as possible sign up. I think Dr. J is building an excellent project here.
Just asking… Monte Cox was pretty quick in publicly stating that he would not work with the IFL any longer. Rarely does an agent with his business smarts shut the door on someone in the fight industry so quickly and so publicly. Where does Monte stand in relation to M-1? Is he going to be a part of M-1? Fedor will be at a press conference this Monday. Take a look at who Steve Sievert names – Marc Ecko, as in the Marc Ecko who spent $750,000 USD on Barry Bonds’ 756 HR baseball and did an online vote to determine whether or not he should put an asterisk on the baseball and send it to Cooperstown.
A second opinion about UFC’s financial situation:
It looks to me like the Fertitas and Dana White “cashed out” and purposely switched to a very risky capital structure. Can’t say I blame them; they get to keep all the upside potential of the company while passing off the downside to their lender. This sort of thing often proceeds a bankruptcy. It signals to me that Zuffa’s owners may not be all that confident in the long-term profitability of the company.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Boxing, IFL, M-1, Media, MMA, Pro Elite, UFC, UK, Zach Arnold | 23 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
UFC 77 odds
By Zach Arnold | October 17, 2007
The latest odds according to Bodog Life:
Anderson Silva: -190
Rich Franklin: +155
Brandon Vera: -165
Tim Sylvia: +135
Stephan Bonnar: -325
Eric Schafer: +250
Jorge Gurgel: -165
Alvin Robinson: +135
Alan Belcher: -115
Kalib Starnes: -115
Yushin Okami: -205
Jason MacDonald: +165
Josh Burkman: -360
Forrest Petz: +280
Jason Black: -450
Matt Grice: +300
Curious sidenote: Anderson Silva won’t be in Cincinnati until Thursday.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 8 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Wednesday war room: New fighter ranking system online
By Zach Arnold | October 16, 2007
Danny Hodge, Chairman of the Oklahoma Professional Boxing Commission
Sick of various MMA web sites producing their own Top 10 fighter rankings? Dr. J has come up with a solution that involves audience participation. Check out his new rankings project.
Monte Cox appeared for an interview on Fight Network Radio yesterday (audio here).
Fox News Fight Game has two new videos (here and here) featuring highlights from the HDNet Fights debut event last weekend in Dallas. The second link points to a video interview with Josh Barnett talking about Randy Couture’s departure from UFC. Frank Shamrock also has some thoughts on this particular topic. So does the staff of Five Ounces of Pain, along with the staff at MMA Opinion. More details on the contractual dispute between Couture and UFC are available at Yahoo Sports. I don’t know how the $13-15 million USD figure was calculated in terms of hard numbers. Then again, Kid Nate is not buying what Kevin Iole is selling. Neither does the audience at Five Ounces of Pain.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Boxing, HDNet, IFL, Media, MMA, Pro-Wrestling, UFC, Zach Arnold | 63 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
More trouble for UFC’s main sponsor, Xyience
By Zach Arnold | October 16, 2007
By Zach Arnold
Adam Swift at MMA Payout is reporting that the Department of Corporations in the state of California has issued a desist and refrain order against Xyience. Read Swift’s full report for the list of complaints against Xyience Inc.
The news comes at a very interesting time for Rich Bergeron, who was sued by Xyience Inc. for $25 million USD in Clark County, Nevada (Las Vegas). An interesting sidenote to the Bergeron lawsuit is that the judge in the case, Timothy C. Williams, was the same judge that presided over the Fishman Companies vs. DSE Inc. lawsuit. On October 11th, Bergeron filed a 1-page motion to dismiss document with the court. The attorney representing Xyience Inc. is Jamie Cogburn.
Xyience Inc. recently signed a three-year extension with the UFC to remain as the promotion’s main sponsor.
Bonus question: When will media writers start scrutinizing the relationship between Xyience and UFC? It may not be a glamourous or sexy topic, but it is a story worth commenting on… is it not?
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 27 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Tuesday headlines: Kang vs. Akiyama booked
By Zach Arnold | October 15, 2007
HERO’s 10/28 Seoul, South Korea card line-up: Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Denis Kang, Yoon Dong Sik vs. Fabio Silva, Kin Tai Ei vs. Zelg Galesic, Yoshihisa Yamamoto vs. Lee Tae Hyun, Minowaman vs. Kim Min-Soo, Carlos Newton vs. Shungo Oyama, Bernard Ackah vs. Poai Suganuma, and Marcelo Garcia vs. Kim Dae Won.
Eddie Goldman has a new radio show talking about the futures of both Evander Holyfield and Randy Couture. Plus, he has some commentary about both the boxing and MMA media writers. Mike Sawyer and Oliver Copp have a brand new radio show (audio here) that you should check out. It’s really unfortunate that Blog Talk Radio has eliminated direct MP3 links to archived shows (like their old format used to feature). MMA Predictions radio (audio here) has a preview of the upcoming UFC 77 and Hardcore Championship Fighting events.
Here’s a Q & A session with Brandon Vera. Vera also made a media appearance Monday on Fight Network Radio (audio here).
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Boxing, HDNet, HERO's, IFL, Japan, K-1, Media, MMA, Pro Elite, South Korea, UFC, Zach Arnold | 28 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |