UFC’s plan for “World Fucking Domination” needing professionalism & perspective
By Zach Arnold | November 21, 2013
The UFC put this image on their Twitter feed & now it’s gone. On Instagram.
Heading into 2014, the UFC has no rival on their global level as an MMA property. Bellator has some building blocks for a successful 2014 campaign but is nowhere near the UFC in terms of business metrics. The only thing that can stop the UFC from growing is the UFC itself. They can be their own worst enemy.
Putting on corporate pep talks with a backdrop of the Earth in the shape of an Octagon.
Lorenzo Fertitta just said the UFC is doing 54 events next year. I really hope he misspoke.
— Marc Raimondi (@marc_raimondi) November 21, 2013
If the UFC wants to grow, not shrink, their business in 2014 then they will have to change their behavior. You can’t simply rely on a fan base that worships the cult of Dana White & Lorenzo Fertitta. They need to expand the base and attract casual fans. They’re struggling in that department.
Part of attracting new fans is to not turn off potential casual fans by acting like irrational testosterone-fueled idiots. Another part of the equation is finding a new way to build up new stars that the fans view as credible championship contenders who also aren’t socially awkward.
The UFC needs a star-making concept that is completely different than The Ultimate Fighter. Wednesday night’s episode on Fox Sports 1 proved how much of a train wreck the show has become and how far the once highly-valued franchise vehicle has crashed. Ratings are at an all-time low. The show no longer attracts top-class prospects because the UFC is signing such prospects without sending those newcomers onto TUF. The format is completely played out and few of the reality show winners go on to have big success in UFC. The show, at this point, only manages to drive up the negatives for most of the people who appear on it.
The UFC likes to say that they are real as it gets. Wednesday’s one-hour show about contestant Anthony Gutierrez missing weight for his semi-final bout against David Grant was raw, brutal television.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 25 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
You will lose brain cells watching Rios/Pacquiao pre-fight promotion
By Zach Arnold | November 20, 2013
Lets of racial, ethnic and gay slurs, a kick, a punch in the brawl between Roach Garcia and Ariza. Working on massive update.
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) November 20, 2013
Mocking Jews, Mexicans, and people with Parkinson’s. Not since the racialist crap between Rashad Evans & Rampage Jackson has my head hurt from such over-the-top testosterone-iffic BS.
And on top of it all, Manny Pacquiao’s manager Michael Koncz suffered a heart attack. Welcome to Macau.
Everyone in boxing should be ashamed of trying to promote this Pacquiao PPV by having scumbags make fun of Freddie Roach's Parkinson's.
— Jonathan Snowden (@mmaencyclopedia) November 20, 2013
The long and short of the gym brawl on Wednesday: Brandon Rios had two hours of gym time before having to leave to give Manny Pacquiao six hours of gym time. Freddie Roach stirred the pot when it was time for Rios to leave and Robert Garcia exploded when the war of words began, prompting a debate over who kicked whom.
Naturally, all the big boxing writers were in Macau for the fight and Top Rank staff were taking pictures. Alex Ariza, quite the charmer, mocked Roach’s Parkinson’s disease. Then the battle lines were drawn over who called someone a fucking Mexican, a fucking Jew, and a piece of shit.
Kevin Iole brings some clarity as to why Roach hates the Rios camp big time:
Seckbach is close with Rios’ camp and operated the video camera in 2010 when Rios and Garcia mocked Roach’s tremors from his Parkinson’s disease. There has been tension between them ever since.
Adding to the over-the-top nature of the proceedings was the Rios camp antagonizing the press from the Philippines, implicating that they are marks who give Pacquiao awards and instigators for what happened on Wednesday.
A writer asked one of the parties involved if they regretted what happened.
“Regret what? I regret that he can’t act like a professional and come over and have some dignity and class and just say, excuse me Robert, when you get done, can I have a couple of words with you for a second? How hard would have that been? Seriously, ask yourselves that. You guys are all grown adults. This isn’t a high school playground. This isn’t a basketball court. Unfortunately, this is a place that we all have to use and that we all have to share. Sometimes, with all the media, we have to be accommodating for times and some times run over. We didn’t complain when they wanted to take up the whole day from 11 to 5 o’clock. That’s six hours of training. They’re accommodating the interviews and things like that, the promotion of the fight.
So, this is how they plan to try to get last-minute buys to sell a PPV this weekend at $65 a buy. Good luck on that front.
Topics: Boxing, Media, Zach Arnold | 7 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Keith Kizer’s Nevada judges predictably give GSP decision win over Johny Hendricks
By Zach Arnold | November 16, 2013
@mikewhitmanmma @MMAdamMartin was a closer round 1 then ppl think. Close Round 1's always go to a challenger that can hang with champ
— Michael Hutchinson (@MikeHutchMMA) November 17, 2013
The judges for the main event were: Tony Weeks (GSP), Sal D’Amato (GSP), and Glenn Trowbridge (Hendricks).
D’Amato: Gave GSP rounds 1, 3, 5.
Weeks: Gave GSP rounds 1, 3, 5.
Trowbridge: Gave Hendricks rounds 1, 2, and 4.
Event: UFC 167 (Saturday, November 16th)
Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
TV: Fox Sports 1/PPV
- Light Heavyweights: Gian Villante defeated Cody Donovan in R2 in 1’22 by TKO.
- Bantamweights: Sergio Pettis defeated Will Campuzano after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Welterweights: Jason High defeated Anthony Lapsley after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Bantamweights: Erik Perez defeated Edwin Figueroa after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Welterweights: Rick Story defeated Brian Ebersole after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Middleweights: Thales Leites defeated Ed Herman after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Lightweights: Donald Cerrone defeated Evan Dunham in R2 in 3’49 by submission with a triangle choke hold.
- Featherweights: Ali Bagautinov defeated Tim Elliott after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Welterweights: Tyron Woodley defeated Josh Koscheck in R1 in 4’38 by KO.
- Welterweights: Robbie Lawler defeated Rory MacDonald after 3R by split decision.
- Light Heavyweights: Rashad Evans defeated Chael Sonnen in R1 in 4’05 by TKO.
- UFC Welterweight title match: Georges St. Pierre defeated Johny Hendricks after 5R by split decision.
If UFC is serious about Nevada, they get Keith Kizer fired next week. But unlikely they won't. TV tax & no state income tax only NV edges.
— FightOpinion (@FightOpinion) November 17, 2013
GSP says he can't sleep at night and that his head is not right. Needs to walk away. Dana is beginning to block questions towards Georges.
— Joe Ferraro (@ShowdownJoe) November 17, 2013
Event: Ultimate Fighter 18 Finale (Saturday, November 30th)
Venue: Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada
TV: Fox Sports 1
- Welterweights: Zak Cummings vs. Sergio Moraes
- Featherweights: Rani Yahya vs. Tom Niinimaki
- Featherweights: Akira Corassani vs. Maximo Blanco
- Heavyweights: Jared Rosholt vs. Walt Harris
- Lightweights: Gray Maynard vs. Nate Diaz
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 126 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Trapped: Ben Askren’s limited options
By Zach Arnold | November 15, 2013
He’s the best free agent welterweight fighter available for any promotion in MMA to sign. In a sport-first climate, Askren wouldn’t be sitting on the sidelines. However, combat sports is and always will be entertainment-first. That’s especially true for Mixed Martial Arts, which is heavily reliant on pro-wrestling fans.
During his run in Bellator, Askren made it clear that he wanted to fight the best in the world and that meant going to the UFC. After he was granted his release from Bellator on Thursday, he reiterated his desire to go to the UFC to beat the best fighters. The problem is that UFC apparently isn’t interested in signing Ben Askren. Dana White seems too busy egging on Rory MacDonald to leave his training partners at Tri-Star in Montreal in order to set up Rory vs. GSP should St. Pierre beat Johny Hendricks on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Rory should ask Rashad Evans how Dana’s gym-busting shenanigans worked out for his career.
If the UFC won’t sign Askren, it means he will have to either go back to Bellator and cut a deal or else sign with UFC stalking horse World Series of Fighting. WSOF is bankrolled by Sig Rogich, top Nevada political fixer who is one of the men responsible for Keith Kizer having his job security at the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Rogich is very close to Marc Ratner & Lorenzo Fertitta. WSOF is UFC’s unofficial bastard child and exists for experimentation in different markets and to sign talent so that they don’t land in Bellator.
The problem for Ben Askren is that he’s all about credibility and relevancy. He didn’t view the competition in Bellator as being on his level. He’ll likely feel the same way about WSOF. Askren is stuck because he doesn’t possess much leverage at the moment with no bidding war on the horizon. Perhaps he (and many other fighters) should read this Cage Potato article about learning lessons from the sport of boxing when it comes to building leverage at the negotiating table.
If he wants to maintain exposure to MMA fans, Bellator remains his best option. If he wants to convince himself that going to UFC stalking horse WSOF means he’s a step closer to getting to the big show, then he’ll take the risk — but it is a mighty risk. He’ll be facing guys like Jon Fitch, Josh Burkman, and Steve Carl. UFC would love to see Askren in WSOF, as it would give them access to file tape to use to promote Askren on television should they decide to bring him in down the road.
All of this is irrelevant if UFC is hoodwinking everyone and is ready to bring Askren in as a surprise. That said, there are plenty of reasons the UFC legitimately isn’t interested in Ben Askren. His fight style is boring for their (shrinking) audience. He’s one of the good guys when it comes to calling out the rampant drug usage in the sport and that is a no-no in the organization that publicly backs anabolic steroid passes for certain fighters. UFC’s track record of bringing in guys from Bellator has been mixed.
So, where does Askren go from here? Bellator’s contracts are onerous but the Viacom-owned league remains his best option to stay relevant and in the public spotlight. If Bellator was gone from the MMA picture, he would have nowhere to go but to WSOF. Interesting to note how WSOF swept right in with a contract offer right after Dana White said they weren’t interested. Let’s see how many people in the press will connect the dots about the UFC/WSOF relationship.
Exit question: Is money really an issue in regards to UFC not wanting to sign Askren? Hard to believe, but this is the same operation that cut bait with Jon Fitch. They look like geniuses now for doing so, but at the time they got creamed for saying Fitch was too expensive. This is an operation that is making $90 million a year from Fox Sports and solid PPV revenue even if the buy rate numbers are in decline.
Topics: Bellator, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 47 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
15 years after McGwire & Sosa, Fox Sports stuck in marriage to a pro-steroids UFC
By Zach Arnold | November 11, 2013
Imagine Roger Goodell, David Stern, Bud Selig touting their athletes getting anabolic steroid passes. Media would destroy. This is UFC now.
— FightOpinion (@FightOpinion) November 10, 2013
In 1998, Fox Sports & MLB made outrageous amounts of cash on the backs of steroid-using athletes who whacked baseballs out of ballparks. In 2013, Fox Sports is making some curious history by building a cable channel (FS1) around the first modern semi-major American professional sports organization openly declaring support for anabolic steroid usage.
As Mark McGwire & Sammy Sosa enthralled the masses in 1998 with their record-breaking home run chase to surpass the great Roger Maris, Associated Press writer Steve Wilstein dropped the stink bomb of all stink bombs on the proceedings. He wrote about seeing a bottle of Androstenedione in McGwire’s locker. Wilstein wrote this article during the time in which McGwire’s chase of 70 home runs was being touted as the thing that saved baseball from it’s doldrums of the 1994-1995 strike. Skip Bayless, a newspaper beat writer at the time, noted that the heavy majority of baseball writers were completely clueless about steroids and buried their head in the sand. Steve Wilstein may have not known everything about steroids, but he knew enough to take notice of McGwire using Andro and wrote about it. He wrote his AP article at a time when the major television partners for MLB (Fox Sports & ESPN) were cashing in big time. For Fox Sports, baseball was a key ingredient in building up their RSNs (regional sports networks) with each market’s team having their games shown on the respective RSNs.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Brazil, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 21 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Too many TV filler fights impacting both Bellator & UFC ratings
By Zach Arnold | November 8, 2013
Sorry for the late numbers, but TUF Fight for the Troops on FS1 last night drew 641K viewers. TUF after the live event drew 583K #mma #ufc
— MMA Supremacy (@MMASupremacy) November 7, 2013
In my Thursday column on Fightline, I laid out the numerous challenges Bellator is facing when it comes to expanding their horizons to PPV. The biggest challenge is that they are trying to convince fans to pay for a product that they often see for “free” on cable. In other words, when you condition fans to watch your product for free, you’re going to have a hell of a time convincing them to pay for a show. That’s what Viacom is hoping they can convince MMA fans of doing in 2014.
Part of the problem Viacom faces is that Bellator has weekly MMA programming. UFC has a glut of programming on Fox Sports 1. The ratings for Bellator shows have yo-yo’d up-and-down. On FS1, UFC programming has drawn mediocre numbers outside of the Chael Sonnen fight in Boston. That fight drew 1.8 million viewers.
At stake are a few issues. First, even with a heavy glut of MMA programming on cable, you can still pop a solid number if fans are convinced that the fight you are pushing is the real deal. This is why Bellator was able to score with Michael Chandler vs. Eddie Alvarez despite their low profile name value to the masses. It’s why UFC did so well with the Sonnen fight when FS1 launched.
Second, there is an impact on TV ratings when it comes to the amount of programming. Simply put, there are so many shows that fans are picking and choosing what events to watch. This is a real phenomena amongst MMA fans. You can’t treat MMA fans like traditional sports fans because they aren’t. Many are pro-wrestling fans who watch one or two other sports. Pro-wrestling fans are used to watching episodic television on a weekly basis and are conditioned to tune into a certain time and channel. The problem with MMA is that you don’t see the same fighters week to week. So, there’s a lot more fickleness going on here. So, as there’s been more supply of MMA programming on cable, the ratings generally have gone down for shows that fans don’t perceive as important.
Right now, a lot of UFC’s C-level and B-level shows are not drawing on Fox Sports 1 because the fans don’t perceive the fights to be important enough to watch. The Ultimate Fighter experiment with Ronda Rousey has fallen off the tracks. DVR or not, the live numbers are not very good. I think a solid reason behind this, besides the fact that the show has ran its course, is that the Fox Sports 1 brand is absolutely driving negatives for UFC. The channel stinks. There’s not much programming you want to watch on the network. The graphics and presentation feel second-rate for their Sportscenter-type shows. It feels like a chore for me to watch FS1 as opposed to ESPN. I don’t want to watch FS1 on a regular basis. I have zero emotional attachment to the network and I think a lot of sports fans feel the same way. Same with NBC Sports Network except for the fact that they went all-in with the English Premier League and the gamble has paid off.
So, with the lower cable ratings for many of the UFC shows, the ratings tend to suffer when fans don’t perceive the fights as important to watch. Which leads to a bigger problem — the impact on PPV numbers.
Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman drew 525,000 PPV buys and since that point it’s been malaise city for the UFC. They need big numbers from Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva in the next two months or else the 2013 PPV campaign will close out with a whimper for UFC.
Part of the reason why the numbers are down on PPV is because there’s so much content available on cable that the motivation to pay for a fight is not as great if you perceive the PPV fights to be only slightly above the quality that you see on the cable shows. So, UFC has double trouble on this front — many of their cable shows are drawing fewer viewers because fans perceive the fights to not be important enough to watch and they hate FS1 as a channel. That in turn means that you’re getting fewer eyeballs for the prelim barker shows that are supposed to sell PPVs. When UFC went from Spike TV to FX, there was a decrease in viewers but still respectable numbers. The drop off from FX to FS1 has really hurt. I honestly thought that UFC’s gamble of taking a hit on ratings in exchange for building leverage over Fox would pay off. I’m having second thoughts about that strategy right now.
The difference between Bellator and UFC is the fact that Fox is paying UFC over $90 million a year for TV rights while Viacom is budgeting $50k-60k per Spike TV show. Hard for Bellator to gain steam when you don’t have a lot of money to spend and can’t afford to get into bidding wars. Well, Viacom can afford to do it but choose not to do it because they want to stay in the MMA space but on the cheap.
Bellator is facing the same challenges as UFC is now but only on a grander scale. They have to convince fans who have been watching them for “free” to finally pay for a product. I am not sure if the Long Beach card was exactly enough to convince MMA fans that Bellator PPV quality is worth dishing out $60. The additional challenge Bellator faces is drawing live gates that can finance the undercards. MMA Weekly reports that Bellator drew 6,600 in Long Beach with 4,200 paid. It sure didn’t look like 6,600 on camera. The original goal heading into the show was to have 8,000 in the building. They need the PPVs to come across as major events on television.
Although Bellator has a lot of questions heading into their 2014 campaign, at least I have a sense about where things are headed for the company. Whether it will succeed or not, who knows. As for UFC, Fox Sports 1 is turning out to be quicksand for the promotion. If the numbers don’t come back strong to close out the 2013 campaign, then I think there are a lot of questions that will need to asked by Zuffa as to where things are headed in 2014. The Super Bowl 2014 weekend card with Renan Barao vs. Dominick Cruz and Jose Aldo vs. Ricardo Lamas is WEC-level drawing power in Newark. They could have booked Alexander Gustafsson vs. Jon Jones in a rematch here. Instead, Gustafsson will face Jimi Manuwa in London this March.
The only constant we know with the UFC is that they’re continuing to let the testosterone flow, as both Vitor Belfort & Dan Henderson will be using the magic T heading into their Saturday fight. Of course, both men now claim that they don’t need to use testosterone to keep fighting… and yet the athletic commissions and promoters continue to rubber stamp the anabolic steroid usage. I wonder why.
Topics: Bellator, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 24 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Text of lawsuit filing against Don King for alleged Ali Act violations
By Zach Arnold | November 7, 2013
A couple of days ago, Courthouse News published a basic summary of a 25-page court filing in the Southern District of New York by lawyer Jonathan Plaut on behalf of his client, boxer Bermane Stiverne, against Don King, King’s step-son Carl King, Don King Productions, Elite Sports and Entertainment Management, and Dana Jamison.
The last time we saw Don King was six months ago on HBO when a floor director/producer was pushing him around and nearly pushed him off the ring to the floor during a post-match interview with Bob Papa.
The long and the short of it: Stiverne alleges that Don King made him sign contracts to become his exclusive promoter in exchange for fighting another Don King fighter, Ray Austin, in 2011 for the WBC Silver Heavyweight title in Missouri. Stiverne wants out of the contractual agreements, claiming he was pressured & coerced into signing the deals which are being portrayed as contracts of adhesion (leverage all one-sided).
The text of the court filing is long but yet a very interesting read. When my colleague Rob Maysey talks about the Ali Act needing to be amended to cover MMA, this is a perfect example of why he is motivated to see changes occur. I’ve always stated that the Ali Act is largely toothless because no one has been criminally prosecuted since the Act passed. However, Rob has argued that the private right of action clause in the Ali Act provides civil relief and provides some legitimate protection to boxers.
Onto the lawsuit filing text. Not all 25 pages is included here but pertinent parts relating to the allegations are included. If you ever wanted to see supposed details of a Don King promotional contract and wanted to compare it to what a UFC contract reportedly looks like, here you go.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Boxing, Media, Zach Arnold | 2 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Why Andy Foster & Sacramento politicians freak out over kids pankration
By Zach Arnold | November 7, 2013
Andy Foster appears on HuffPost Live to talk about kids pankration (click image to view the video from Friday, November 8th, 2013)
Last July, we wrote an article about the brewing battle between the United States Fight League and the California State Athletic Commission. ABC, via their long-standing news program Nightline, grilled Sacramento about the kids pankration events happening throughout the state (and Arizona). The events happen both at traditional gyms and also on tribal land at casinos.
Adding to the political heat Sacramento was facing was the fact that Pilgrim Studios, the producers of The Ultimate Fighter reality show, inked a TV deal with the USFL. This lead to Foster sending USFL a cease-and-desist letter. It infuriated parents involved in kids pankration. This led to CSAC creating a two-person sub-committee to talk to the USFL and try to figure out a way to sanction events. Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla passed AB 1186 in the State House to have CSAC’s tentacles involved in monitoring pankration for future events.
The reason Andy Foster wanted to get ahead of this issue so aggressively is because there is a growing media interest in covering the topic and blasting all parties involved. After the Nightline interview, he decided to put his foot down. The problem is that there are photos and videos available that are being easily framed in a way to push the story as child abuse and bullying.
When the British tabloids get their hands on a story, you know it’s trouble. The Daily Mail in the UK, which often focuses on salacious stories in the States, wrote this picture-filled item online: “Inside the outrageous world of child cage fighting: Tiny boys who are trained to attack each other in America’s baby MMA arenas.“
The Daily Mail item was a summary of a CNN Photos post featuring Polaris Images showing kids in arm bars, crying, and parents actively involved in kids pankration.
Because CNN and Daily Mail picked up on the story, other media outlets are starting to spend some time on the matter as well. On Wednesday, Fox News’s resident liberal Bob Beckel showed images from Polaris and ripped into the parents who are involved in kids pankration. They pushed the angle that a bunch of 5 and 6 year old kids are breaking bones and showed footage from the Nightline show on the USFL. Beckel said that MMA is the most barbaric sport in existence and that it should be banned on the kid’s pankration, on the amateur level, and on the professional level.
In response to the negative press attention, USFL posted this statement online this past Monday:
Did you know the vast majority of kids who actively compete in Pankration have a B average or higher in school. Should their academic credentials be included with their competition accolades during All Star shows?
So much ignorance in the media but also our own Martail Arts community reagrding the effects of this sport on our youth. We can show documented evidence of the safety but how can we combat the misconception of bullies and bad kids?
Ignoring the naysayers is not an option since they are the ones who go to the media and legislators. We have overwhelming evidence that we are doing a good thing, producing good kids both on the mat and off.
How to we ensure the facts are presented when someone reports on our sport?
Our problem is solely political right now. If we just rely on the facts of our safety and sportsmanship we are golden. Unfortunately we are getting beat up in public relations And it’s all due to ignorance And the media looking for easy ratings. If only we had a good public relations person with us. The kids speak for themself.
We also have kids with learning disabilities who don’t get A’s, B’s and C’s but I’m sure they are doing better because they participate in this Martial Art. As long as we allow cameras in the venues people will film and take photos, some will be exploited so we need all the ammo possible to counter the vast majority who make ignorant statements of street fighting, brain damage and bullies. The majority of our kids are exceptional students, why not celebrate their academic accomplishments while shutting up the critics. This is a necessary evil. The problem with Pankration is solely political. If we do nothing to combat the political / public perception we will continue to be targeted by legislators like Susan Bonilla.
Topics: CSAC, Media, Zach Arnold | 19 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
What direction is Bellator heading into 2014?
By Zach Arnold | November 3, 2013
I thought Saturday night’s show would give us some answers. Some answers, but just as many questions now.
This Bellator crowd is kind of a dud. Bet they wouldn't even try to steal a hat if they had the chance.
— Dann Stupp (@MMAjunkieDann) November 3, 2013
The Long Beach crowd was small & less enthusiastic than the Irvine crowd last January. Bellator makes Southern California their home and yet it doesn’t across on television that So. Cal is home base. Not that rabid hardcore following. Feels more like a passing following. This Long Beach crowd seemed like they came to watch a show as opposed to watching the Chandler/Alvarez fight. The pops both men got was slightly above the reactions the other fighters on the card received but not really substantial at all.
Going into the show, the expectation was 8,000 tickets sold for Rampage Jackson vs. Tito Ortiz. Just stating what was said behind the scenes. A month ago, news broke that 4,000 tickets were sold. When MMA Junkie broke news that only 1,800 of those tickets were actually sold and another 2,200 were given to fighters to contractually sell, then the bubble popped and there was a lot of second-guessing.
Then Tito backed out of his fight with Rampage. And suddenly there wasn’t going to be 8,000 fans in Long Beach. Not sure what the crowd size was on Saturday, but 4,000 a best case scenario. What it means is simple. Bellator is not ready for PPV. They still remain a sold show proposition first and foremost. Until they can change the dynamic and prove they are a drawing powerhouse as a non-sold show entity, then it’s difficult to see the path forward.
The TV opener with Mike Richman was a nice scrap.
Then the show dragged — and dragged hard. Joe Riggs won Bellator’s reality TV show.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Bellator, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 35 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The magic T’s on/off switch: Vitor Belfort’s golden flip on using testosterone
By Zach Arnold | November 1, 2013
This article is co-authored by Zach Arnold & writer @teamgDp.
Did Vitor Belfort admit to cheating against Anderson Silva when they fought in February of 2011 in Las Vegas?
Anyone paying attention? Hello? Anyone out there care?
Well, technically, people do care enough to vent on Twitter on social media while they are throwing a testosterone tantrum about Belfort. But that doesn’t stop people buying tickets to go to Belfort’s fights or shell out cash to watch him on PPV. Just the way the UFC likes it.
And, hey, who’s the hottest UFC ratings getter of them all? Fox’s Ageless Male, Chael Sonnen.
In September of 2012, a testosterone (anabolic steroid) exemption was granted to an anonymous fighter for UFC 152 (MMA Junkie, 2012). Speculation was rife that it was Vitor Belfort and this was essentially confirmed when he was granted a further exemption for his next two fights in Brazil at UFC on FX 7 and 8 (MMA Junkie, 2013) (Fightline, 2013).
Apparently, his testosterone usage goes back even further as Belfort revealed in a puzzling interview to UOL that he was already using testosterone when he fought Anderson Silva, back in 2011 at UFC 126.
“I’ve (been doing this) for three years,” Belfort said. “I did some exams and they saw I had low testosterone levels. The doctor said ‘Vitor, we need to do something. I don’t know if you agree with this, but it’s important that you do it.’ And it was done.”
“If you has something, if you need something, do it the right way. That’s what I do. I do blood tests all the time… It’s a process that you have to do, (MMA Fighting, 2013).
And who is the doctor UFC uses to oversee fighters using testosterone on foreign shows? Dr. Jeff Davidson via Marc Ratner.
Read the Halloween UOL article (via MMA Fighting) carefully & in its entirety.
When did it start?
Based on this UOL article, one has to wonder if Belfort was also using testosterone in his previous fights against Yoshihiro Akiyama and Anthony Johnson, which took place in Philadelphia and Rio de Janeiro respectively. By admitting he has been using testosterone for the past three years, Belfort has essentially admitted that he has cheated in three separate fights.
How dare you call using testosterone cheating!
When a fighter has elevated levels of testosterone or gets busted for steroids, they’re cheaters. When they get a mark doctor to cry hypogonadism and issue a testosterone slip, they have “a medical condition.” There’s sure a lot of muscular, brawny men in Mixed Martial Arts who have serious medical conditions requiring the approval of anabolic steroids.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Brazil, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 21 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Good old boys network at Nevada meeting approve Josh Barnett for license
By Zach Arnold | October 31, 2013
Back to business for the usual political fixers. Throw a party. Marc Ratner was at this morning’s Nevada State Athletic Commission meeting.
I did live-tweeting of the proceedings. A couple of items to focus on:
NSAC/Kizer booked officials for GSP/Hendricks: Mario Yamasaki referee, judges Sal D'Amato, Glenn Trowbridge. @MMASupremacy
— FightOpinion (@FightOpinion) October 31, 2013
Sal D'Amato is continually one of the worst judges in MMA yet still keeps getting the top assignments. Makes no sense.
— Adam Martin (@MMAdamMartin) October 31, 2013
A dog’s breakfast of officials for the UFC show in Las Vegas in a few weeks. When I say dog’s breakfast, I mean the whole list of potential candidates that Keith Kizer came up with.
Today’s main event at the NSAC meeting was all about whether or not Josh Barnett would get approved for licensed.
Josh Barnett granted conditional license w/ UFC paying WADA lab & NSAC tests through 2014. Unanimous approval. @jordanbreen
— FightOpinion (@FightOpinion) October 31, 2013
We all knew he would, but the dog & pony show was excruciating to listen to. Bill Brady said that if Josh Barnett tested clean with “enhanced” drug testing that he would be a trailblazer and build a bigger legacy.
Now, when Georges St. Pierre wanted VADA testing, UFC thought that was “weird.” Well, guess who’s picking up the tab for the random drug testing of Josh Barnett?
NSAC asks Marc Ratner about testing Josh Barnett randomly (both WADA & NSAC standards). Ratner says UFC agrees to pay for all testing.
— FightOpinion (@FightOpinion) October 31, 2013
NSAC asking Josh Barnett for extra random drug testing & he has to provide location schedule. UFC being asked if they'll pay $20k bill.
— FightOpinion (@FightOpinion) October 31, 2013
As for the dog & pony show, the same athletic commission that hands out permission slips for testosterone (anabolic steroids) is the first to get haughty when a fighter fails a standard drug test for steroids. Josh Barnett had two lawyers with him present at the meeting. For the most part, he tried to put on a charm offensive but it was painful listening to him try to fall on his sword by saying that despite whatever the circumstances were regarding his failed drug tests that he would take full responsibility for what happened. Barnett took a veiled shot at the hypocrisy involved by saying he’s 35 years old and he would not go the route of begging for a testosterone slip like other fighters. NSAC had Barnett take a drug test on October 15th and he passed.
So, once again, the NSAC with their new “enhanced” drug testing (whatever the hell that means) is beating their chests about how great they are but if a fighter like Georges St. Pierre wants to get drug tested by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association, then it’s “weird” and Goodman is Dracula who should be castigated. Kind of like how Vince McMahon orders his TV announcers to scream “bizarro world” whenever an audience doesn’t cheer or boo the wrestlers he wants them to go along with.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 3 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Ugly, lopsided main event for Fox Sports 1 California Golden Boy show
By Zach Arnold | October 26, 2013
Click the image to watch the video of Yahoo Sports Talk Live profile on Manuel Avila
As I sat and watched a syrupy, softball preview on Comcast Sportsnet Bay Area for this Monday’s Fox Sports 1 Golden Boy show in Redwood City, California, I couldn’t help but think back to Steve Kim’s article a couple of days ago on the death of boxer Franky Leal. He was let down by everyone who could have stopped the man from being his own worst enemy. The regulators failed him.
Steve’s article inspired me to write about the current slate of ongoing horribly violent mismatches being rubber stamped by the California State Athletic Commission throughout the whole state. Promoter-friendly and all. As I’ve stated in previous articles, boxing promoters in California know that the situation is basically the wild west right now because the MMA people are in charge.
The feedback to my article on the violent mismatches, both online & offline, has been instructive. I’ve gotten various tips on where else I should be looking and what the public should know. One of those tips involves the upcoming Fox Sports 1 Golden Boy show in Redwood City, California this Monday night. Golden Boy’s name is on the show as the promoter but their regular conduit in Northern California is Paco Presents/Don Chargin w/ Jorge Marron. It was a Paco/Chargin show four months ago that boxer Mike Alexander was sucker punched by Ricardo Pinell after the bell and knocked out cold. Pinell was not disqualified and fought two more times after the fight. Alexander was not medically suspended after being stretchered out of the building and proceeded to fight two more times after the June bout. In both fights, Alexander lost by KO/TKO and the athletic commission didn’t medically suspend him after his latest loss.
It is with this backdrop that we focus on the main event of the Golden Boy FS1 event — Manuel Avila, a 12-0 fighter who was originally scheduled to face 34-year old journeyman fighter Jose Silveira. It was going to be a mild test for Avila, who has some but not a lot of power. The fight likely would have gone to a decision. Silveira had to drop out of the fight and has now been replaced by older journeyman Jose Angel Cota from Mexicali. He’s 8-9-1. He’s not close to Avila in skill and he’s not even close to Silveira in terms of respectability. The Sacramento front office rubber stamped the replacement booking. They shouldn’t have done so.
On the Comcast segment Friday night, writer Ryan Maquinana glowingly talked about Manuel Avila being promoted by Richard Schaefer Oscar De La Hoya and managed by Cameron Dunkin as a top prospect in the Golden Boy ecosystem.
Examining the record
The mild excuse for justifying the fight booking, as pointed out in this article titled Manuel “Tino” Avila ahead of the game as headliner, is that this will be Manuel Avila’s first go-round in a 10-round fight and that Angel Cota will be a good test on this front.
In the last 6 1/2 years, Cota has had 10 fights. He’s 1-8-1. His one win was against a guy who was 1-19-2. If you discount the squash win, Angel Cota hasn’t had a real win since December 2006. When he fought Leo Santa Cruz in June 2010, Boxrec noted that his announced fight record was made up. Cota announced as 20-4 (17 KO) before the bout.
Angel Cota’s last 10 round fight was in 2007. In five of his last eight losses, he’s gotten battered and knocked out or stopped. In his decision losses, the outcomes have been utterly one-sided on the cards. He can’t go 10 rounds at this point without enduring a beating. He’s facing an opponent in Avila who has a little power but not brutal KO power.
You can see where this is going. Avila is going to pound away on Angel Cota like a punching bag, dish out a lot of punishment in the softening up process, and then get a promoter-friendly outcome against an opponent who shouldn’t be in the ring with him. It’s a recipe for physical punishment. We expect garbage bookings like this from commissions like Florida but to see it happening in California in 2013 and on television, no less, is dangerous.
Golden Boy can’t figure out why their ratings aren’t so hot for their Monday night FS1 telecasts. The FS1 brand sucks (ask UFC all about that). There’s Monday Night Football. And, oh, it would help if you stop booking squash fights like Manuel Avila vs. Jose Angel Cota. This is why Golden Boy draws 150,000 viewers per telecast at maximum.
The last time Angel Cota fought was a year ago in Ontario, California and he was medically suspended after losing a one-sided unanimous decision. His booking this Monday night against Manuel Avila should have never been approved by the Sacramento front office. The paying customers deserve better than this and so do the officials who get booked on shows with these types of lopsided matches and are left to deal with the carnage afterwards.
Nichole Bowles, the lead athletic inspector who is Andy Foster’s number one in Northern California, will be working the Golden Boy show. She was the same lead inspector who worked the show with Mike Alexander getting brutally knocked out in June and knocked out later for another promoter in October. Hanley Chan, golden boy from CAMO, worked the June fight in Redwood City and has this booking as well.
I can only hope that Ed Collantes is booked as the referee for the main event and that he’s ready to pull a quick trigger to stop some of these Golden Boy mismatched fights early in Redwood City on Monday night. The last thing we need to see is another stretcher job in Redwood City.
Topics: Boxing, CSAC, Media, Zach Arnold | 5 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The wheels fall off of the Humpty Dumpty Bellator PPV
By Zach Arnold | October 25, 2013
@ryanbiankowski there is NO value. They sold 12 tickets for this fight. This was the best thing that could have happened to them
— Dana White (@danawhite) October 25, 2013
When news broke on Friday that Tito Ortiz had a neck injury and was pulled off the Bellator November 2nd PPV in Long Beach, you knew Dana White was going to throw a party on social media. You also knew that the chants from UFC fans of death to Bellator would start. Bad contracts, legal fights with Eddie Alvarez, a tumultuous free agency situation with Ben Askren. Like a house of cards, Viacom’s attempt to stay in MMA on the cheap is proving to be worth a whole lot of trouble.
It’s been a bad week for California State Athletic Commission boss Andy Foster. First, the attempt to create a commission-controlled association for officials with Big John McCarthy was revealed. Second, a connecting-the-dots article on our site about the current violent mismatches being rubber stamped by the Sacramento front office was published. And now, say bye bye to the Bellator PPV next week.
Last August, Bellator had Tito Ortiz and Rampage Jackson stare down at their event in Albuquerue, New Mexico. Less than three months later at the same venue, Bjorn Rebney delivered the news that Bellator’s PPV would be converted into a three-hour Spike TV special with Pat Curran vs. Daniel Straus & Michael Chandler vs. Eddie Alvarez getting top billing. Part of the settlement between Alvarez and Bellator was the idea that his fight would be on PPV. Now it’s not. That’s a whole another can of worms.
In retrospect, it’s amazing to look back at how much faith Viacom put into Tito vs. Rampage. They spent over a month pushing the fight by integrating the two fighters into TNA storylines. Tito then turned heel on Rampage and both men disappeared to training camps. Rampage taped a reality show in which he slacked off from training and wasn’t taking the fight seriously. Way to promote the fight. Months of advertising was launched. Even during Friday night’s Bellator event from New Mexico, there were still Rampage/Tito ads all over the place.
So, next Saturday night, we have a 3-hour Bellator block on Spike TV. Here is how the card looks:
- Bellator Lightweight title match: Michael Chandler vs. Eddie Alvarez
- Bellator Featherweight title match: Pat Curran vs. Daniel Straus
- Light Heavyweights: King Mo vs. Emanuel Newton
- Heavyweights: Cheick Kongo vs. Vinicius Queiroz
- Middleweights: Joe Riggs vs. Mike Bronzoulis
- Lightweights: Terry Etim vs. Patrick Cenoble
- Featherweights: Mike Richman vs. Akop Stepanyan
- Welterweights: Karo Parisyan vs. Cristiano Souza
As for Rampage Jackson, he told Inside MMA that he wanted his fight still on PPV and that he would approve of Kimbo Slice, Houston Alexander, Tyrone Spong, or Chuck Liddell as opponents.
“My heart goes out to Tito. At the end of the day I can’t be selfish and be upset. Injuries. Damn things happen all the time. … Throw another opponent at me and still keep the PPV. I just wanted to show the world and the fans that still support me that I’m back.”
Dave Meltzer has a breakdown of what happened on Bellator’s hastily-arranged Friday conference call.
For Andy Foster and the California State Athletic Commission, they just lost an automatic $25,000 PPV tax check. CSAC will get a TV tax check but it may be smaller than expected. John Morgan of MMA Junkie claimed that 1,750 tickets were sold and that another 2,000 tickets were given out to fighters to go sell. Yes, a Viacom-owned MMA property reportedly used an independent promoter gimmick of having fighters sell ticket blocks. The word going around in optimistic Sacramento circles was that they were told that 4,000 tickets had been sold for Long Beach and that 8,000 tickets would be dispersed come show time. Instead, there’s going to be a whole lot of papering going on with the freebies available the day of the show. Fans probably won’t need to pay for a ticket if they show up near the building (or have connections) the day of the show. This will certainly mean a smaller tax haul for the commission from the live gate revenue than first expected.
Bellator is now based in California. This was supposed to be one of the crown jewels for Andy Foster. Bellator running PPVs and big events in the state. So far, the TV tax revenue from Bellator events has been minimal because Spike is only budgeting $50,000 to $60,000 per event, which translates into a $2,000-$3,000 TV tax check to the commission. Viacom is making money on Bellator through advertising because they aren’t spending a whole lot of money on shows. However, as I wrote recently on Fightline, there was a reason Viacom wanted Bellator to make the gamble and hit PPV. They’re not into small ball. They want to see growth. They want higher cash flow. Now the Long Beach PPV is canceled — and that’s probably a good thing given how tough of a sell it was going to be. Live to fight another day.
In the grand scheme of things, there are plenty of lessons for Viacom/Spike TV/Bellator to take away from the failed Long Beach PPV experiment-turned-dry-run. The question is whether or not they will learn from those mistakes when they attempt to get on PPV in 2014.
Topics: Bellator, CSAC, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 11 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |