Tuesday talk: Dynamite in Japan
By Zach Arnold | June 4, 2007
By Zach Arnold
The K-1 Dynamite!! show on Tokyo Broadcasting System (show was on June 2nd, aired June 4th from 9:00 PM-10:54 PM in Japan) drew an 11.1% TV rating. Not terrible at all considering the circumstances regarding the show. In other words, no real damage for K-1 in Japan. In fact, because the Japanese press played along with K-1’s company line, this show may in fact be a plus for them in the end. Incredible. Furthermore, a well-connected Japanese fight industry source that I deeply trust insists that K-1 made money on the LA Coliseum show via TV money from TBS (along with other deals including South Korean TV) and sponsorship money from Softbank. This is the perfect example of compare-and-contrast between K-1 and the IFL, two companies that share a similar business model except one is able to generate millions of dollars on television rights and the other company is making $50,000 USD/show on MyNetworkTV.
According to a Las Vegas source (not associated with Zuffa), the IFL show scheduled for the Las Vegas Hilton on June 16th is supposedly a ‘four wall deal.’ Generally, it means that the rent is free for the facility (in the case of the IFL, they are expected to be using a ballroom) and that costs for advertising, producing, etc. are picked up by the promoter. The promotion is supposedly going to be paying retail for everything else (hotel rooms, transportation, ec.) The IFL had originally scheduled a show at the Reno Events Center (about an hour away from Ken Shamrock’s Lions Den facility in Susanville, California), but cancelled the booking and shifted it to the LV Hilton instead. The Hilton is handling the box office.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Canada, HERO's, IFL, Japan, K-1, Media, MMA, PRIDE, UFC, WEC, Zach Arnold | 6 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Trouble for UFC sponsors
By Zach Arnold | June 4, 2007
By Zach Arnold
If you’ve followed the MMA scene on the Internet for the last couple of years, you’ve heard all the gossip and innuendo about the trouble that Xyience, UFC’s primary sponsor, allegedly has been in. Well, today, another shoe dropped as Amp’d Mobile filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The New York Times has more on the story.
I point this story out because one of the knocks against UFC in the American corporate media (primarily from CNBC’s Darren Rovell) is that UFC (and MMA in general) has not been able to attract the major blue-chip sponsors. This was also a claim that insiders leveled against PRIDE (which had many non-traditional or non-blue chip companies sponsoring their events). What made the criticism against PRIDE in terms of sponsors interesting is that Japan is home to the world’s largest ad agency, Dentsu. Plus, PRIDE had many free-to-air television events on Fuji TV.
The two other major sponsors currently for UFC are Toyo Tires and Mickey’s malt liquor.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 17 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
DSE rumor mill – 6/4
By Zach Arnold | June 4, 2007
By Zach Arnold
Last Thursday, judge Timothy Williams in Clark County, NV. court denied without prejudice DSE Inc.’s attempt to dismiss (motion to dismiss) the lawsuit filed by Fishman Companies. Today, Williams also rejected DSE Inc.’s motion for a summary judgment in the case. Therefore, the path is now clear for Fishman Companies to start lining up witnesses for deposition and to proceed in legal action. This past Friday, the legal team for DSE Inc. filed for a ‘discovery commissioner’s report and recommendations.’ A critical question that has to be asked is how much Lorenzo & Frank Fertitta III paid in the end for the PRIDE assets from DSE Inc. That may determine the future course of action in this case. Furthermore, the Fertittas and Kirk Hendrick have already objected to a witness subpoena issued by the legal team of Fishman Companies for depositions.
We have had multiple sources in the fight industry at both the UFC 71 and K-1 Dynamite events claim that Yukino Kanda and Hideki Yamamoto (DSE US office bosses) were present at both shows. Plus, there was a reported sighting of Nobuyuki Sakakibara and his posse in attendance at the K-1 event in Los Angeles.
Topics: HERO's, K-1, Media, MMA, PRIDE, UFC, Zach Arnold | 7 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Writer: MMA fans are cave dwellers
By Zach Arnold | June 4, 2007
From the hometown of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and the state of Michigan (home to Art Dore and Toughman), troll writer Brian VanOchten of The Grand Rapids Press doesn’t like MMA or the people that support it. Hint: He’s an angry boxing fan.
Mixed martial arts is a cultural plague.
I promise this is the last time I’ll ever write about UFC or the knuckleheads that participate in this savage bloodlust for the purpose of TV ratings.
I’ve made a list of so-called sports cluttering the cable TV landscape that I’d much rather watch than sit through UFC’s skull-bashing sessions.
His e-mail is [email protected] if you want to politely state your case to him. Other people to contact if interested: [email protected] (letter to the editor) and [email protected] (Mary Ullmer – sports editor). The paper claims to have a daily circulation of around 310,000 readers.
You have to love a sports writer trashing a sport that attracts a ton of people in the 18-34 year old demographic — the kind of people that newspapers practically should be begging to attract due to bleeding circulation numbers. MMA coverage is good to have right now. The Houston Chronicle, The Los Angeles Times, and The Orange County Register newspapers understand this. Steve Sievert and I talked about this issue on the latest edition of Fight Opinion Radio.
Topics: Boxing, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 17 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Fedor: Where have you gone?
By Adam Morgan | June 3, 2007
By Adam Morgan
Some of you may be familiar with me, some of you may not. For those who aren’t, I am Adam Morgan, proprietor of Sprawl ‘n Brawl, a wee little blog that doesn’t draw half the readership of a site such as Fight Opinion.
But this matters no longer, as Zach Arnold has invited me to write for this fine establishment of a website and I have gracefully accepted. I will be pulling double duty here and at Sprawl ‘n Brawl and I thank Zach for the opportunity. Now, on with the MMA rantings.
Where is Fedor Emelianenko? Has anyone heard from the “baddest man on the planet” since he snapped, crackled, and popped Matt Lindland’s elbow back in April? I really miss seeing him smash guys like in the above video. For someone who is seen as the most coveted fighter in all of mixed martial arts, there certainly hasn’t been any indication as to where Fedor might end up.
Read on…
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Adam Morgan, All Topics, Media, MMA, PRIDE, UFC | 51 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Monday lowlights: A pathetic display by K-1 and the Japanese media
By Zach Arnold | June 3, 2007
By Zach Arnold
The MySpace page of the K-1 Dynamite DJ?
I would copy some text from the following Japanese articles, but apparently WP 2.2 doesn’t support the Japanese text unlike past versions of WP.
How the Japanese media covered the K-1 Dynamite show (Part II): Part I discussed how Sports Navigator spoke about the show in glowing terms in terms of the ‘positive momentum’ coming out of the event. Sankei Sports has one main story about the show, which is Kazushi Sakuraba’s poor showing against Royce Gracie. Sadaharu Tanigawa is stated to be interested in booking Royce/Sakuraba III in the rubber match. The article claimed that in Japan, vaseline is prohibited in usage whereas in America it’s a requirement. In other words, this was excuse-making by the media for Sakuraba (similar to the vain of what happened with Yoshihiro Akiyama – which the paper brought up).
Nikkan Sports focused on Sakuraba vs. Royce, talking about this fight being Sakuraba’s American debut. The paper also brought up the issue of vaseline (so this is starting to sound like a K-1 talking point). The publication also mentioned the battery of ‘obstinate’ medical tests that Sakuraba had to undergo before the fight, plus the bad traffic in transporting fighters to the Coliseum before the show. NS further claimed that despite the fans booing the fight and the live DJ, Sakuraba showed his popularity in the States with his Stars-and-Stripes mask.
Daily Sports had an article on the Sakuraba/Royce fight and they brought up, you guessed it, the vaseline excuse. Plus, the article said that the three 5-minute rounds was too short for any conclusion to be made in the Royce/Sakuraba fight because of their 90-minute marathon match in 2000. The paper said a rubber match would be definitely booked.
Sports Nippon also had an article on Royce/Sakuraba and, surprise, vaseline became the main topic. It was put in context with the Yoshihiro Akiyama ‘cream’ scandal.
Yomiuri Hochi (Yomiuri Shimbun) also had an article on Royce/Sakuraba and vaseline took center stage. Plus, Sakuraba appealed for a no-time limit rubber match against Royce in Japan.
In the end, K-1 and Tanigawa tried to shift the heat onto the California SAC for Sakuraba’s loss based on the differences between HERO’s rules and the Unified rules. Plus, not one Japanese media outlet raised an eyebrow or questioned the 54,000 fan attendance claim by K-1. Funny how that works.
So, let’s break down the Japanese logic here. Kazushi Sakuraba and Yoshihiro Akiyama had a match on NYE that was deemed controversial because Akiyama used Oil of Olay (skin cream) to make himself slippery. Akiyama was branded a cheater and Sakuraba was branded as a victim in the scandal. Therefore, because the CSAC rules state that fighters should have vaseline on to prevent cuts during fights, Sakuraba was a victim because the vaseline (mixed with sweat) made his opponent slippery.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Canada, HERO's, Japan, K-1, Media, MMA, Pro Elite, UFC, WEC, Zach Arnold | 21 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Sunday media review: All UFC, all the time
By Zach Arnold | June 3, 2007
Tonight is WEC from Las Vegas on The Versus Network. The Versus Network is the home of the National Hockey League and has long been a media punchline due to supposedly nobody knowing what the channel is or being able to get it on a basic cable package. Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs drew a 0.72 cable rating. Will WEC become the network’s big ticket item?
Shannon Briggs lost on Saturday night. More details at Boxing Scene.
On Thursday, the Nevada State Athletic Commission will have their monthly meeting. Two interesting notes in their agenda list: 1) Zuffa LLC wants a waiver for a reality TV event and 2) K-1 wants to book the Bellagio Hotel Grand Ballroom for an event on August 11th.
An idiotic letter in the Albany Times-Union on the MMA/dogfighting link.
The newest edition of The Fightworks Podcast.
Onto today’s headlines.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Boxing, K-1, Media, MMA, PRIDE, UFC, WEC, Zach Arnold | 54 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
K-1 Dynamite at LA Coliseum
By Zach Arnold | June 2, 2007
Results: Observer | Sherdog | F4W Online | The Fight Network | MMA on Tap
Sherdog is reporting that Armando Garcia has indefinitely suspended Johnnie Morton after refusing to take a doping test after his fight. Josh Gross is reporting (as a rumor) on Sherdog radio that if you tried to buy two tickets on Ticketmaster for the show, you could get 10 for free. He also claimed that a friend who does guerilla marketing only received 250 posters and no more from K-1 to promote the event.
Dave Doyle of Fox Sports has a devastating article about the K-1 Dynamite show, including the LAPD claiming that the paid attendance was 1,000 going into the day of the show. Michael David Smith says that Johnnie Morton leaving out on a stretcher in his first MMA fight is a black eye for the business. If anyone knows how to contact Michael, please let me know.
Your image of the day — Dennis Rodman and YOSHIKI (former X JAPAN member). How the Japanese media is portraying the event: Sports Navigator portrayed the 54,000 fans who showed up as a positive despite the LA Coliseum being able to host 100,000 spectators. The outlet also praised K-1’s production values (fireworks, lighting, confetti, etc.) and coming out of the event, there was positive momentum.
Post-event media coverage: K-1 Press Release | The Sweet Science | The Orange County Register | The LA Times | The Long Beach Press-Telegram | CBS Sportsline | Yahoo Sports | ProphetFighting
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: HERO's, K-1, Media, MMA, Pro Elite, Zach Arnold | 92 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The latest update on PRIDE
By Zach Arnold | June 2, 2007
Sam Caplan has a very good posting about what the climate is like in this post-PRIDE world. He’s one of the few MMA writers who understands the picture pretty clearly, although I disagree with his conclusion that UFC will be successful in running a satellite office in Japan. The Japanese marketplace is an entirely different animal than any other foreign country for Americans to understand, especially if you have an aggressive attitude. The real winner, in my opinion, is BodogFight. They are doing co-branding deals with Pancrase right now and are slowly building a presence in the Japanese marketplace. By working with Pancrase, BodogFight will be able to use a native face to the Japanese public when doing business in that country. A 100% win-win for both parties. It’s a very crafty move.
On Thursday in Clark County, NV. court, judge Timothy Williams denied without prejudice DSE’s motion to dismiss the case against Fishman Companies in that lawsuit. The lawsuit is moving forward.
Topics: Media, MMA, PRIDE, Zach Arnold | 22 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Saturday media splash: Only UFC exists
By Zach Arnold | June 1, 2007
The latest edition of Fight Game on Fox News.
More Internet rumors about Xyience. Hope the reporting is solid, because there are some pretty heavy allegations being made there.
Today’s Globe & Mail newspaper in Canada has a story called Ultimate Fighting: Blood, guts, and PPV. The author’s e-mail is here. As we’ve discussed on Fight Opinion Radio this week, no one except UFC is benefitting from the avalanche of mainstream media press coverage. It’s ‘ultimate fighting’ and not ‘Mixed Martial Arts.’ It’s UFC and no one else. The media is literally going to re-write the history of this industry for mass consumption.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Canada, HERO's, IFL, K-1, Media, MMA, Pro Elite, UFC, WEC, Zach Arnold | 6 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Fight Opinion Radio #51: Post-UFC 71 aftermath
By Zach Arnold | June 1, 2007
Start your weekend off the right way with Fight Opinion Radio. Returning to the show this week are popular MMA writers Steve Sievert and Luke Thomas. Steve talks about his experience at the UFC 71 show in Las Vegas and how top bosses in the mainstream media are reacting to the American MMA boom. Luke gives his overall take on UFC 71 and how writers in the mainstream media reacted to the show (and why they may have reacted the way they did). This week’s show is brought to you by Monster Wrestling Rings and Kakuto Store.
In addition to our two respective guests, the Fight Opinion Radio crew breaks down the UFC 71 event and the aftermath. How will the Dan Henderson experiment work? Where does UFC booking go from here? Plus, we discuss what has become a very controversial topic, which is the attempt by both dogfighting supporters and mainstream media writers to try to lump MMA in the same category as dogfighting. This topic deserves serious debate because we do not expect the comparison to go away any time soon, so both MMA fans and writers alike need to pay close attention. Special credit and thanks to RawVegas.tv (video clip here) and WAVY TV 10 for the brief audio clips we used on this week’s show. WAVY TV has done excellent reporting on the dogfighting allegations against NFL QB Michael Vick. If you have not seen the audio of NFL RB Clinton Portis defending Michael Vick on WAVY TV with Mary Kay Mallonee, here it is:
The 51st edition of Fight Opinion Radio is now online and available to download. Download this week’s show here.
Or you can use the great flash player to listen to it streaming (without having to use an external program). Check it out (down below).
[audio:http://www.fightopinion.com/podcasts/foradio-6-01-2007.mp3]Podcasting: Use http://feeds.feedburner.com/fightopinionradio. This link should work for all RSS programs and podcatching programs. You’ll never miss another show again.
If you have iTunes, do the following:
- In your iTunes program, go to Advanced. Then choose the Subscribe to Podcast option.
- Type in http://feeds.feedburner.com/fightopinionradio.
- The newest edition of Fight Opinion Radio will be automatically downloaded and future editions of FOR will download for you as well, hassle-free.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Erin Bucknell, Fight Opinion Radio, HERO's, IFL, Jeff Thaler, K-1, Media, MMA, podcasts, Pro Elite, UFC, Zach Arnold | 3 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
MMA Internet shooters
By Zach Arnold | June 1, 2007
By Zach Arnold
Update: Ron at Concepts Marketing is encountering some ‘typical’ online MMA fans. A friendly warning to Ron that there is brazen hostility and inane screaming from idiots on the bigger MMA sites. Trust me. It pays to get a real thick skin if you want to peruse through some of the more popular MMA-related sites online. It’s unfortunate, but in many ways the MMA fans online act like professional wrestling fans do.
If you have been following YouTube or other online video web sites, you have seen a barrage of ‘Internet shooters’ discussing the aftermath of the UFC 71 event. It’s some of the wildest, strangest, and most fanatical behavior on display. A lot of it is centered around some fans who are angry that Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is now the face of the UFC in the 205-pound division.
Fear not, ladies and gentlemen, as we have found an Internet Shooter who is ready to stand up and defend the honor of UFC against the dispicable WWE-style character that is Rampage. This is truly redefining family honor at its finest.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 15 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The Ultimate Fighter Season 5 Episode 9
By Erin | May 31, 2007
Brandon says that he’s run down from his first fight and trying to cut weight. He’s also apparently not a fan of Jens’ coaching style. They get into a bit of a kerfuffel over whether or not Brandon is giving enough. This leads to Brandon having a bit of a cry.
Good grief, this is the cryingest season of TUF EVER. Are they putting something in the water? Or given the last show, putting something in the booze?
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Erin Bucknell, MMA, UFC | 5 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |