How high can the UFC rise?
By Tomer Chen | February 11, 2007
By Tomer Chen
It’s simply amazing: a product which, five years ago, was on the verge of collapse due to ever increasing expenses as well as not being able to run in a number of prime markets suddenly became in the last two years one of the biggest businesses to shift itself from ‘Dog’ status (under the BCG Growth Matrix) to something combining ‘Star’ and ‘Cash cow’ status on the matrix. Although the Zuffa-run UFC was not the force that opened the door for unified MMA rules and the beginning of acceptance in most states (insofar as regulation was concerned; you can read in detail the so-called Zuffa Myth story here), the selling of the UFC by Bob Meyrowitz’ Semaphore Entertainment Group (SEG) to Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, the owners of Station Casinos (and Lorenzo was also a commissioner in the Nevada State Athletic Commission) began the pathway towards a new course for the UFC (and really MMA as a whole).
For the first four years of the Zuffa-run UFC, Dana White generally reported that Zuffa was going through an investment stage, being in the red as they were investing for the long term (the exact figures aren’t readily available as Zuffa is a privately owned company). Then, it seemed as though their investment was beginning to produce dividends for the company as the first season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ produced both a crop of pretty appealing fighters (such as Forrest Griffin, Diego Sanchez & Chris Leben) to a new audience of fans of the UFC and the Mixed Martial Arts product and a large main event fight at the PPV that followed the live season finale (UFC 52 – Randy Couture vs. Chuck Liddell II). Part of the success in attracting viewers to the TUF product should probably be credited to the fact that the WWE, which preceded TUF on Monday nights, most likely had carried over some casual fans who wanted to see the hyped reality show.
UFC 52 drew an estimated 280,000 buys and a live gate of $2,575,450, breaking the previous records set by the organization. And while there wasn’t any other significant drawing events in 2005 that showed the ever rising star that was to begin the following year, it was a good sign for Zuffa and Spike TV, especially given that the WWE was to leave in September of the year, forcing Spike TV to shift their focus from WWE as their flagship product to the UFC product, which showed viewership growth potential. A number of the more marketable TUF season 1 fighters also got initial exposure in the year, with the most notable moment being Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar in the TUF 1 finale, which raised the stock of both fighters and the UFC product. 2006, however, would prove to be the year that UFC really hit its stride and moved on to the next level in the business industry, changing from a ‘Question Mark’ into the ‘Star’/’Cash Cow’ hybrid.
UFC 57, the rubber match between Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell (each won one of their previous encounters) occurred on Super Bowl Saturday. As discussed here, the suggested retail price for the PPV event was raised from $34.95 to $39.95, apparently to test the elasticity of the organization’s product demand and also to try and maximize the profitability of the PPV event given that it was perhaps the most heavily hyped UFC (with possible exception to UFC 40 with Ken Shamrock-Tito Ortiz I). The PPV broke the records set by UFC 52, earning $3,382,400 at the live gate and an estimated 400,000-410,000 buys, reaching nearly 150% of the previous record. While it wasn’t completely shocking that Couture vs. Liddell III would be successful, few if anyone really expected the massive growth in purchases and gate (from raised ticket prices).
Of course, UFC 58 would exceed expectations by most insiders, earnings 275,000, shocking given the main event (Rich Franklin vs. David Loiseau) and showing that a new plateau of fans had been reached. And UFC 59 would really get the ball rolling, getting 425,000 buys for the hyped Forrest Griffin vs. Tito Ortiz bout (as well as Tim Sylvia-Andrei Arlovski II). This trend continued throughout 2006, with UFC 60 drawing an estimated 615,000-625,000 buys for Matt Hughes vs. Royce Gracie in a catchweight non-title bout, 775,000 buys for UFC 61 (which had Tito Ortiz-Ken Shamrock II as the hyped fight as they were opposing coaches on TUF season 3 and Tim Sylvia/Andrei Arlovski III as the supporting bout), another shocking buyrate at UFC 63 for Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn II (700,000 estimated) and finally, but definitely not least, UFC 66 with the Chuck Liddell-Tito Ortiz II fight have insiders estimating the total buys at around 1,000,000, a figure absolutely shocking, given that Oscar De La Hoya only cracked the million buyrate point twice (Felix Trinidad & Bernard Hopkins), though the upcoming Floyd Mayweather Jr. bout is anticipated to be his third. In addition, if the million+ expectation for UFC 66 is true, that will mean it is the biggest drawing PPV of the year, going over Oscar De La Hoya vs. Ricardo Mayorga (which had 925,000 buys). Truly, this is a huge shake up in the structure of the combat sports and PPV industries.
Naturally, coming off this initial analysis of the huge upward movement of the UFC PPV buyrates as well as its increasing gate plateaus, one would think that in another few years, there may be a very good chance that the UFC will beat the current outstanding PPV record (Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield II with 1,990,000 buys). However, there are several factors to consider before putting the proverbial cart in front of the horse that should be considered, amongst others: (i) the marquee matchups such as Randy Couture-Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz-Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz-Ken Shamrock that are available in the next few months and years to create in order to constantly raise the bar, (ii) the significant amount of UFC events (PPVs & live TV fight cards) that will require a deep pool of fighters, (iii) market expansion opportunities as well as the elasticity of demand for the product (when considering PPV and ticket prices) and (iv) the UFC brand name (how effective can an ‘average’ card draw).
Regarding the first point, there are several questions to be asked: (i) What is the ‘ideal’ fan favorite type of fighter?, (ii) How long does the UFC have to promote such a matchup and with what tools? and (iii) How long can the fighter be a marquee draw who either draws at the same levels or even increases in value over time? Regarding the first point, the UFC tends to cater to a crowd who enjoys an active fighting style (rather than clinching against the octagon or laying and praying constantly after getting a takedown). An explosive puncher like Chuck Liddell is more marketable to the average fan than a Jake O’Brien who, while he may be a solid wrestler is generally content in getting the decisions through controlling his opponent on the ground and not trying to actively finish the fight. Although many fans tend to dismiss the UFC audience (using the live crowd reactions as an informal surveying tool) as only enjoying stand up battles, there are cases of exciting ground fights that they rather enjoyed (such as Karo Parisyan vs. Diego Sanchez). Of course, on the whole, it is possible that the average UFC fan wants to see a (T)KO standing up more than a ground and pound exhibition or a submission clinic. But even if a fighter does not fight completely in a manner which would be considered crowd pleasing, he may still get a fanbase through his ‘gift of gab’. Probably one of the best examples of a fighter who has become a significant drawing force based off of his talking abilities more than the amount of exciting battles he’s had would be Tito Ortiz. After all, he was involved in the two (current) biggest drawing UFC PPVs (UFC 61 vs. Ken Shamrock II and UFC 66 vs. Chuck Liddell) as well as the biggest pre-2005 buyrate (UFC 40 vs. Ken Shamrock). His smarmy, ‘I don’t give a fuck what you think’ attitude tends to heavily polarize the crowd, who more often than not boos against him, but at the same time attracts the fans like Muhammad Ali did for a good part of his career. The fans are enticed by the Pro Wrestling style of promo cutting because it creates color for a matchup that may otherwise be bland, or make a heated rivalry that much more heated (such as Ali calling Joe Frazier an ‘Uncle Tom’ before their ‘Fight of the Century’ first bout in 1971) because of the personal feelings that seep into the pre-fight hype.
Regarding the second point, it is generally considered a good idea to build up a fight for 4-6 months (at least) before the fight. By giving time to develop the matchup, its significance in the total picture of the sport and the implications of one fighter or the other winning, the fans can eat up the fight’s importance and hopefully some casual fans who may not have previously been interested in ordering the event will be interested in purchasing it, thus raising the revenue from bigger buyrates or higher ratings (if the TV contract gives incentives for drawing higher ratings). In the case of Randy Couture-Chuck Liddell II and Ken Shamrock-Tito Ortiz II, for example, the UFC promoted the fights by building The Ultimate Fighter 1 & 3 seasons around these four men coaching their teams of fighters while setting up the tension of their own conflict. Although in the case of Couture-Liddell both parties seemed rather respectful, in the case of Shamrock-Ortiz II, there were numerous confrontations between the two fighters and vignettes cut about the pathetic nature of the other throughout the season, showing the little respect both parties had for the other. As such, a national audience was given a near four month hype period for why these two guys wanted to destroy each other, even though Shamrock was pretty horribly beaten up several years earlier at UFC 40. The intense hatred between these two men masked the fact that in terms of a quality matchup it was essentially a mismatch and a rather fast stoppage at UFC 61 (which received the second highest buys to date for the UFC with 775,000) led to a rubber match on free TV, giving the UFC its biggest rating (to date) with a 3.1 overall and a 4.3 for the Ortiz/Shamrock fight. As such, the quality of the storyline became the critical variable in drawing in the fans. If there are two men who have a mutual respect for one another, the fans naturally will be skeptical regarding the potential quality of the bout as they may be more laid back than two guys ready to go for the other’s jugular at any moment.
As for the third point, one can look at the drawing power exhibited by Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz, as well as the staying power of Boxing fighters such as Mike Tyson (until recent times) and Oscar De La Hoya. Tyson is probably the best example, being a dominant force in the late 1980’s Heavyweight Boxing scene and becoming the biggest name and drawing card of his period. Following the ‘Buster’ Douglas upset and his prison time, however, many weren’t sure what Tyson had in the gas tank. Nonetheless, two of the biggest drawing PPVs of all time featured him (vs. Evander Holyfield II with the all-time record of 1.99 million buys and 1.8 million vs. Lennox Lewis, though the Lewis fight had the highest revenue gross at $103 million) clearly at the tail end of his career. Why? The most likely reason is (i) the aura of invincibility that Tyson had in the late 80s was in the minds of many fans and (ii) both fights (as well as the first Holyfield fight which reportedly drew 1.59 million buys) were the best fights that could be arranged at the time in terms of the name value of the fighters and general fan interest. Tyson’s insane press conferences and the (bad) publicity that was brought by the result of the second Holyfield fight (DQ by ear biting) probably continued his ‘bad boy’ image that he had developed since he began (and really launched through his prison stint for rape). So, for nearly 10 years (as he was in prison for a few years), Tyson was a phenomenal draw, becoming the king of PPV through his fights with Lewis & Holyfield. Meanwhile, Oscar De La Hoya still is going strong as a drawing card in his mid 30s, drawing 925,000 buys against wild swinging brawler Ricardo Mayorga and will more than likely draw over 1,000,000 buys for his 5/5 fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr. As for Tito and Chuck, looking at their second fight’s expected buyrate (1,000,000+ buys) shows you that even if both are in their 30s (Tito in his early 30s while Chuck in his late 30s), Tito’s charisma and Chuck’s badass persona and brawling style still managed to endear themselves to the fans.
The next issue that comes up is the amount of events the UFC is currently planning to run. It is expected that they’ll be running around 11 PPV events and probably 6-8 live events this year (including 1-2 TUF finales). Given that the UFC cards contain 8 or 9 fights on them, this means the total amount of fighters needed for the year will be anywhere from 272 to 342 fighters involved on the shows this year (assuming that they only bring in a fighter only once, which isn’t true, of course). Although they will certainly have the ability to bring in random opponents from the outside in order to fill out the undercards while placing the more established fighters towards the top of their card, it still may pose a problem in the long term in that the top end matchups may start to become rematches and rubber matches once the first set of matchups is complete. In the Light Heavyweight division, for example, Chuck Liddell has recently had to rematch Renato Sobral and Tito Ortiz (although in the case of Ortiz it was due to the massive buyrate and gate that the fight offered) in order to provide competition for his crown. At this point, the only opponents of potential significant drawing value that Liddell could face would be Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson again. In addition, a number of the top candidates besides Rampage that could theoretically face Liddell (such as Michael Bisping & Rashad Evans) are rather incomplete as fighters and would likely be defeated pretty easily. As such, it is important for the UFC to continue to bring in seasoned fighters in the fold and not just guys who had a few fights in KOTC or a similar independent organization without any truly quality opponent.
Another point of contention with regards to the amount of fighters needed is the fact that fighters may end up getting injured or having to face mandatory suspensions by the various athletic commissions due to the type of loss that they faced (TKO, KO or submission). The UFC will need to continually bring new fighters into the fold and though some may be of a higher quality, there will likely be lots of undercard guys who are essentially ‘learning on the job’ and building themselves up slowly to perhaps eventually face Sylvia, Liddell, Silva, GSP or Sherk or just to become a good gatekeeper-type of fighter. It will be interesting to see in the next few months if any contracts that may expire in other big organizations like K-1 HERO*S and PRIDE will lead to bidding wars between the UFC and these organizations (or even groups like the IFL and BoDog fight) where the UFC may be forced to present significantly higher purses per fight than it is currently (and subsequently the minimum purse offered may go up from around $3,000 to something like $6,000).
Another facet is the UFC’s market expansion and profitability expansion goals. Dana White has been talking heavily in the last few months regarding the desire to head into Europe, Japan and Canada to expand the markets where the UFC will participate in, hoping to capture a global market share. On first glance, it seems like a solid idea given that (i) the UFC can truly claim that they are an international product by presenting themselves in international territories for the long haul and (ii) they may be over saturating the US fight market at the moment by holding so many cards in a relatively small region (Nevada, California, New Jersey & Connecticut) and they may be risking backlash in the long haul. However, the UFC is entering some new US markets (such as Ohio & Texas), so they may be able to spread out the overexposure risks by going to one state at most twice a year (possibly even once if they get more states to accept MMA through Marc Ratner’s lobbying). With the former Executive Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission in the UFC, the opportunities for expanding the acceptance of the sport from a legal standpoint (reversing any official bans such as in New York and getting an official set of rules down) are important for the long term success (and continued drawing power) of the UFC. After all, the 1950s growth of Boxing on Television essentially created a serious backlash within a few years as 2 national televised weekly shows (and a brief third one) caused a serious problem when most of the events were being held in the New York City area, causing declining attendances both due to the fact that a fan could watch the fight from home and also because the market became oversaturated.
In addition to the desire of the UFC to expand their market into new states and even new countries, there is also the element of elasticity of demand for the UFC product. As it is, the product is currently selling at $39.95 and is going strong. Initially, there was skepticism as to how well the UFC would be able to overcome price increase and still draw in fans, but as it is, it seems that the consumer’s willingness to consume has not been reached (or it may be at the threshold but they have not explored higher price ranges yet). It would probably serve the UFC best to slowly test the above $40 waters with a super fight (such as Liddell-Rampage II if it happens at UFC 71 as expected), charging $44.95 to see if the fans would be willing to pay that much for ‘special’ fights and if so, slowly edge it in as the new plateau level. By doing so, the revenues for the organization will increase with a minimal loss of consumer base. Of course, as it is, there is roughly 11 PPV events expected to occur over the year, costing $439.45/year for a customer (if he or she pays individually rather than as part of a group). A price increase to $44.95 would likely not be the true threshold point for most fans given that the five dollar bump would net only $55 in costs tot total $494.45. Nonetheless, it is generally believed in the PPV industry that the maximum threshold point for fights is $49.95, so the UFC may be inclined to stop at that point if they do find success at the $44.95 and $49.95. It should also be noted that the UFC has shown very good success in selling tickets to their Ohio & Texas debut shows, even with ticket mark-ups in the last few years, so the bottom lines are likely going up nicely in the black.
Finally, the brand name value of the UFC is critical to the long term value of the organization. After all, guys like Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell will only be around for so many years before either they wisely hang up their gloves or the commissions will force them to retire for significantly declining quality (such as what happened to Evander Holyfield after losing to Larry Donald). Luckily for the UFC, however, the original image brought in by Rorion Gracie and Art Davie and later fostered by SEG of a ‘No Holds Barred’ brawl until someone was stopped still resonates in the minds of the fans and the media as being the ‘real’ MMA product and every time MMA is mentioned, you are bound to hear “You mean UFC?” or “You mean Ultimate Fighting?” in the conversation, a sign to the strength of the sport’s association with the organization in the United States. Of course, on the flip side the fact that the media still claims that the UFC and MMA in general has a minimal set of rules and is anything close to the 1993 product is not really a wide endorsement of the product (especially considering that there are groups in states such as Utah that hawk around the product from 1993 as proof of the need to ban it, which would be comparable to demanding Boxing be banned based off of the London Prize Ring rules (Bare knuckle) era and the brutal ness of combat at the time). Nonetheless, the UFC is in the enviable position of being a pioneer in the MMA market, establishing their brand name thirteen years ago (albeit from a rather extreme marketing campaign as well as rather limited rules that in some ways will probably halt MMA’s mainstream acceptance for years) and becoming the face of MMA in the US and a good deal of the world.
What should the UFC do to try and expand their brand name value both to potential fans and to the media? It would probably be wise to first say that while it is true that the original UFC rules were rather limited, that the product produced at the time was the brain child of Rorion Gracie, Art Davie and SEG, who were trying to create a gimmick competition rather than a legitimate sporting event. It would also be a good idea to promote the fact that the competition showed good sportsmanship and requires skills and talent rather than the claims often made by critics of the sport that it’s a bunch of bar brawlers with little to no skill going at. Perhaps more of Marc Laimon’s ‘on the mat’ segments would be a good way to promote the complexities of the ground game, and also have Muay Thai, Wrestling, etc. segments placed on the free TV and PPVs cards to try and teach the fans a bit more about the finer points of the sport. And, of course, utilizing the TUF program as well as the numerous other shows on Spike TV and possibly even HBO (if things go well) to build up both a current super fight as well as the new generation of fighters that will replace the old guard.
So, what’s my personal opinion on the UFC’s ability to continue moving up? I would say they have a very good chance of increasing their fanbase if they utilize the assets that they currently have (pioneer in the sport, Marc Ratner for PR/sanctioning and their growing TV outlet) to promote themselves. Unlike Boxing where HBO, Showtime and ESPN are typically competing with one another for the viewers, the UFC is one organization what is getting quite a bit of free advertising on Spike TV (where they are the flagship program at this point) as well as getting lots of TV spots on channels such as MSNBC and Fox (News) to promote their product (usually the right way, although some of the shows do produce negative images for their own benefit). While we won’t know how far the fans will accept increasing PPV and ticket prices (given that elasticity in the real world is trial and error), it seems that, at least for now, the ceiling on UFC’s success is not foreseeable and even when they reach their limits the UFC will be involved in MMA (as its ambassador in the US) for many, many years to come.
Topics: All Topics, Boxing, MMA, Tomer Chen, UFC | 8 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Sunday fight headlines
By Zach Arnold | February 11, 2007
- The Deseret News: How the Sydney Olympics changed wrestler Rulon Gardner’s life (key line in the article is that PRIDE keeps calling him with offers to fight Fedor at $500,000 USD)
- Observer: Reader challenges Eddie Goldman in regards to the ‘ground rule’ in effect at the Elite XC show
- The Cleveland Plain-Dealer: MMA is not safer than boxing — according to this writer
- Doghouse Boxing: Shane Mosley defeats Luis Collazo
- Boxing Scene: Sugar Shane is too sweet for Luis Collazo
- China Combat: BJJ is catching up with Kung Fu
- The Las Vegas Review-Journal: UFC owners pledge $2 million to college
- MMA HQ: Liddell vs. Rampage at UFC 71?
- New York Newsday: Your money – WWE, UFC, IFL
- MMA HQ: Brandon Vera demanding too much?
- The Muskegon Chronicle: The cage is the rage – MMA show the ultimate for 3,000 fight fans (read some of the quotes comparing MMA to Toughman)
- The Muskegon Chronicle: MMA professional earns title fight
- New America Media: Women fight their way into MMA
- The Cincinnati Enquirer: Training to be the ultimate – the violent and often bloody sport is going mainstream
- 7 Days: ‘Bigger than boxing’
- The Quay County Sun: City nixes event ban
- UFC Mania: BJ Penn’s girlfriend, Tori Paver, is hot
Topics: All Topics, Media, MMA, PRIDE, Zach Arnold | 14 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Elite XC 2/10 Southaven, MS
By Zach Arnold | February 10, 2007
This is the open post for everyone who is watching tonight’s event. ProElite.com will be airing their undercard fights (starting at 7 PM EST) on their web site, but the catch is that you have to sign up for an account first. The main card will air on Showtime in America and The Fight Network in Canada. The Miami Herald previews the event.
Any and all thoughts on the fights and fallout from the event goes here.
Fallout
- The Canadian Press (via The Brandon Sun Online): Gracie beats Shamrock by DQ on first Elite XC MMA card
- The Houston Chronicle: DQ leads to Gracie’s MMA win
- The Memphis Commercial Appeal: Think women don’t belong in MMA? Tough. Carano scores decision in first for cable
- MMA on Tap: Elite XC: Destiny thoughts
- CBS Sportsline: Shamrock DQ’d for illegal strikes against Gracie
- MMA Ring Report: Elite XC results & photos
- Fight Report: Renzo Gracie wins by DQ!
- Radio: Eddie Goldman reviews Elite XC event
- Josh Gross: Controversial end greets Showtime’s MMA debut
- Doghouse Boxing: Elite XC: Main event controversy, card a success
- MMA Insider: Elite XC Event pics from press row
- UGO: Elite XC Fight Impressions
- 15 Rounds: Elite XC on Showtime vs. Boxing on HBO
- The Houston Chronicle: Elite XC debut lacked big-league punch (‘it was easily the quietest MMA show I’ve ever attended’)
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Media, MMA, Pro Elite, Zach Arnold | 190 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Saturday news round-up
By Zach Arnold | February 10, 2007
Top story of the day (outside of Elite XC’s debut show) is that Sven Bean’s Ring of Fire promotion has signed a deal with HDNet to air all of its MMA shows.
Onto today’s headlines.
- Multichannel News: Ultimate Fighter – Dana White took on boxing and pro-wrestling
- KG: At the balance of a very lousy set of scales (this is an article talking about the fallout in Michigan with MMA in relation to Toughman promoter Art Dore)
- All American Patriots: State of Michigan serves cease & desist order against Adoreable Promotions
- The Bay City Times: State orders halt to Toughman Extreme Caged Combat, other similar fighting
- The Peterborough Today: Cage fighters put on a brutal display
- The Honolulu Advertiser: Robbie Lawler misses main event, Icon draws 2,500 at Blaisdell Center
- UFC Mania: Jon Fitch says ‘I have been demoted’
- The Memphis Commercial Appeal: MMA staking place on scene
- MMA on Tap: TKO 28 event results (Hatsu Hioki, Jonathan Goulet, and Sam Stout win their fights)
- The Canadian Press (via CBC Sports): Sam Stout retains lightweight title at TKO 28
- The Canadian Press (via CBC Sports): Hatsu Hioki wins unpopular decision over Mark Hominick at TKO 28
- MMA Insider: Elite XC Feb. 10 event preview
Topics: All Topics, Canada, Media, MMA, Pro Elite, Zach Arnold | 3 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Michigan looks to ban all MMA
By Zach Arnold | February 9, 2007
The headline says it all. The worst fears of those who did not want to see Toughman linked to MMA may be coming true. While ‘ultimate fighting’ is already prohibited in Michigan, this new action seeks to eliminate amateur MMA fights and any boxing promoters who are using modified boxing fights to slip MMA bouts under the state Government’s radar.
In addition to Michigan, other states have considered bans or stricter regulation on MMA (including Louisiana, and rumoredly Utah). Also, Kentucky recently made headlines when a local businessman (who is a big boxing supporter and not an MMA fan) tried to get MMA shut down in the state.
The Associated Press: The state of Michigan is looking to ban MMA (and guess whose name indirectly shows up – Art Dore, the infamous Toughman promoter)
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 9 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Friday media links – round two
By Zach Arnold | February 9, 2007
Too much news today, so two posts.
There is a new Chinese MMA blog called China Combat that you should keep your eyes on. At least, bookmark it’s RSS feed. Also, Komikazee has a new radio show up that has full audio coverage of the IFL event that happened last week in Houston. If that isn’t enough new content for you, check out the third edition of FoxNews.com’s Fight Game video segment online.
Go to full-post view for more links.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Boxing, Media, MMA, Pro Elite, UFC, Zach Arnold | 10 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Friday media coverage
By Zach Arnold | February 8, 2007
Red meat week here at Fight Opinion. Here’s some red meat for site readers. Bugly Blog: F.O. Radio panel not as entertaining as Sherdog’s radio team. Tasty. He clearly must not be talking about me.
An update to something I mentioned on the radio show about Bruce Buffer’s continuous blunders as UFC ring announcer. Yes, there is in fact a town called Milford, Iowa w/ a population of 2,500 people. So I guess we can safely say that Jorge Rivera and Tim Sylvia managed to take all of their friends from Boston and Maine and moved them out there, right Bruce?
An interesting interview done by Manabu Takashima of the Fight & Life publication with UFC President Dana White. Click the link to read it in full if you understand Japanese.
Go to full-page view to see some of the quick notes from the interview (and also today’s story links).
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, BoDog, Japan, Media, MMA, PRIDE, UFC, Zach Arnold | 15 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Thursday media topics
By Zach Arnold | February 8, 2007
Despite a report (and claim by UFC) stating that UFC is preparing to run in the state of New Jersey, information provided to us claims otherwise. The New Jersey State Athletic Control board has supposedly not been contacted with any request to hold dates, get a venue permit, or approve matches for a UFC event in the state.
Elite XC announced that Mauro Ranallo & Jay Glazer have been added to their commentating team.
Red meat time. Weekly Pro reports Akira Maeda has announced his intentions of bringing back RINGS by the end of 2007, teasing a match between himself and Tsuyoshi Kohsaka. If you know Japanese, keep your eye out on Maeda’s blog.
Results from our last site poll question: Predict the PPV buyrate for UFC 67.
- 300,000-500,000 PPV buys – 42%
- 500,000-700,000 PPV buys – 30%
- Over 700,000 PPV buys – 16%
- Under 300,000 PPV buys – 12%
A new poll question has been added to the right side of the page.
Onto today’s headlines.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Japan, Media, MMA, PRIDE, UFC, Yakuza, Zach Arnold | 26 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
PRIDE notes
By Zach Arnold | February 7, 2007
MMA Weekly reports that PRIDE will air their next Japanese show live in the US on PPV. (Ed. — I’ve done PBP before of PRIDE shows. The last Bushido show, 11/3/06 Yokohama Arena, lasted 6 hours. It started from 11 PM-12 AM PST. Nobody in large numbers is staying up this late to watch a Japanese show.)
Second, PRIDE’s desire to run shows in California is true. The Staples Center is believed to be the building of choice. No paperwork has been filed on behalf of PRIDE, and it’s still unknown who will be the licensed promoter (whether it’s Turi Altavilla or Ed Fishman). A meeting is expected in the coming weeks in California as far as the multiple Los Angeles shows in 2007.
Topics: All Topics, Japan, Media, MMA, PRIDE, Zach Arnold | 16 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Wednesday fight notes
By Zach Arnold | February 6, 2007
22 articles linked to.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 28 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Fight Opinion Radio #40: Big happenings
By Zach Arnold | February 6, 2007
Add us as your MySpace friend.
Potential sponsors (web sites, fighters, teams, companies) – if you want to have ads on our show (paid or barter), e-mail us immediately.
We’ll keep this short. We have a lot of content in our three-hour show. We have a lot of guests, including Mac Danzig, Sean Salmon, Jordan Breen, and UFC Junkie on what the process is like for sponsoring an MMA fighter.
In addition to our guest interviews, we have a segment reviewing the controversial statements made by Eddie Goldman on his radio show. Plus, a recap of the UFC 67 event (take note of some of the items we noticed that others didn’t during this event).
Comments off
Podcasting Links
- iTunes subscribers – click here.
- Yahoo Podcast subscribers – click here.
- Podcast Alley subscribers – click here.
The 40th edition of Fight Opinion Radio is now online and available to download. Here are your options for listening to the show:
Broadband (MP3) | Dial-up/Streaming
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Erin Bucknell, Fight Opinion Radio, HERO's, Japan, Jeff Thaler, Media, MMA, podcasts, PRIDE, UFC, Zach Arnold | 1 Comment » | Permalink | Trackback |
Tuesday media mania
By Zach Arnold | February 6, 2007
- Nevada State Athletic Commission: Injury report for UFC 67 show
- WSB TV: Atlanta boxer O’Neil Bell arrested for ax attack
- Mac Danzig: PRIDE wanted me to do a pro-wrestling style promo
- Mainichi Daily News: 3 shooting incidents in Tokyo believed related to killing of gang boss (story update here)
- MMA HQ: Heath Herring returns at UFC 69
- UFC Mania: UFC headed back to Japan? (read my primer about this story here)
- The Buffalo News: MyNetworkTV experiment ends, mercifully
- Prime Newswire (PR): For first time ever, major MMA event to stream live undercard bouts for free
- WOWT TV: Teens face charges after fight (the dreaded ‘ultimate fighting’ imitation creeps up)
- The Daily Journal: Son of WWF star sees other side of beast (interview with son of Dan Severn)
- CBS 2 (Los Angeles): Rampage Jackson knocks out Beastman (video included)
Topics: All Topics, Boxing, Japan, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 19 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Monday news and notes
By Zach Arnold | February 5, 2007
Red meat time. OK, maybe not. K-1 had a show today at Ariake Colosseum that completely flew under the radar. Only interesting headline was both Albert Kraus and Takayuki Kohiruimaki losing.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Japan, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 15 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |