Mike Tyson’s PPV value in 2006 is…
By Zach Arnold | October 27, 2006
Half of what Total Nonstop Action wrestling draws.
Oleg Maskaev has his Christmas card ready to send and mail off to Iron Mike now. Even he is laughing at Tyson’s buyrate power.
PRIDE looks to be very smart by marketing Tyson in Macau and not in America.
If you click on full-post view, you can read comments that HBO Sports boss Ross Greenburg made to Eddie Goldman in regards to UFC (along with the potential of MMA programming airing on the network).
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Boxing, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 7 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Drug test failures draw no Japanese media attention
By Zach Arnold | October 27, 2006
By Zach Arnold
When news broke that both Vitor Belfort & Pawel Nastula apparently failed the NSAC-sanctioned drug tests, it was certainly a story with some traction on the various English MMA web sites.
However, the story is a completely different one in regards to the Japanese press.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Japan, Media, MMA, PRIDE, Zach Arnold | 6 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Monson + St. Pierre = UFC Problem?
By UFCmania | October 27, 2006
By Tom Bones
Before we get going, just want to say thanks to the folks at FightOpinion.com for the opportunity to share some of our thoughts on the UFC. We’ll try and contribute as often as possible, but feel free to visit UFCmania if you want a more regular fix.
Now let’s get started.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Tom Bones, UFC | 17 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
GSP interview on RDS
By Stephan | October 27, 2006
A great article on RDS. RDS is the French version of TSN, which in turn is the Canadian equivalent to ESPN. Funny enough, RDS covers a lot more sports than TSN. TSN seems to cover mainstream sports only.
I thought there would be enough interest to warrant a full translation (right Erin?), as it does really give some great insight to George’s training. Regardless, heres my translation of it:
Tuesday, October 24th, 2006 – Yes, finally the big day has arrived! I have impatiently waited since October 22, 2004 the chance to finally avenge my loss to Matt Hughes. It is now signed and will be on Novemver 18th in Sacramento, California. I more than ever desire to become UFC world champion and I will really use this opportunity to realise my dream in a couple of weeks, even though I’m only 25 years old.
Since my defeat against the champ, I have won 5 straight victories (Strasser, Miller, Trigg, Sherk and Penn) and I really believe that my maturity and skills are ready for this ultimate match-up. Meanwhile, Hughes has won 4 fights in a row and the timimg is excellent for this fight between us.
During his fight against B.J. Penn in September, Hughes did not impress me and during the interview in the octagon after the fight he said something to me since I was next to the ring. I thought he had insulted me and that is why I went and told in front of millions of fans that he had not impressed me. I realize that my commentswere not too respectful and are in fact nt in my personality, but Hughues is always commenting on me, specially during the reality show “Ultimate Fighter 4”. So, lets say that it sparked something! I apologized after, but it will not change anything about my attitude towards him when the bell rings on November 18th (Editors note: there are no bell in the UFC, just a metaphor I guess).
After my groin injury in September, I have taken some rest and then I stared my real training camp for Matt Hughes. I train with a lot of intensity and probably am in the best shape of my career. I continue to spend one week per month in New York with Renzo Gracie’s Academy, more specifically with my brasilian jiu-jitsu mentor, John Danaher. Danaher will be one of my corner men for the fight against Hughes (he was also there during the BJ Penn fight). My training in boxing and kick-boxing is also excellent and I always work under Victor Vargotski (kickboxing) and Jean-Pierre Deneault (Boxe). As far as wrestling goes, I am still with the national team and M. Victor Zibberman. And, every Friday, we get together in Victoriaville with other professional fighters of the TKO Group (Patrick Côté, Jonathan Goulet and company) and its a solid training where we mix all styles, its a real ultimate training.
During the Tito Ortiz-Ken Shamrock fight in October in Fort Lauderdale, my manager Stéphane Patry introduced me to Greg Jackson. Stéphane believes that Jackson is the best trainer in the world for our sport right now and he manages a fantastic team which includes Rashad Evans, Nathan Marquardt, Diego Sanchez, Damacio Page to name just a few. I was very impressed by M. Jackson and even though I am not on their team, I will work with them in the coming months. Actually, Nathan Marquardt and Rashad Evans will be in Montreal in the next couple of weeks to help me prepare for my fight against Hughes. (Editors note: Evans is a fantastic wrestler, very smart for GSP).
As for the rest, all is going well. I am in great shape and happiness surrounds me. The media around here, are starting to cover our sport more and more and I was very touched by the welcome that people gave me at the Bell Centre during a gala organised by Stéphane et le Groupe TKO. It was very special. It was an exceptional night for our sport in Canada and I really hope to one day be able to defend my title here in Montreal.
Talking about medias, I will be on the very popular tv show “Tout le Monde en Parle” (Everyone talks about it)next November 12th and I will do all I can to give a great impression of our sport to people that will hear about it for the first time.
Thank you again for your support and encouragement, I will give everything I have in my body and my heart to come back to Quebec with theUFC World Title for 170lbs.
Topics: All Topics, Media, MMA, Stephan Marceau, UFC | 4 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The Ultimate Fighter Season 4, Episode 11
By Erin | October 26, 2006
Update: Din Thomas has a message for those of you who thought this week’s TV fight was boring.
I argue that we haven’t seen nearly enough of Randy and GSP this season, and there is no excuse of this! Well, other than the fact that it’s about the fighters and not the trainers, but really, that’s soooo beside the point.
We get a review of last week’s fight, which I really could have lived without because of Shonie’s jock, sigh.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Erin Bucknell, MMA, UFC | 4 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Fight Opinion Radio: Episode 29 (PRIDE in Las Vegas)
By Zach Arnold | October 26, 2006
Right after we taped our newest show (reviewing the PRIDE Las Vegas event), news broke that both Vitor Belfort and Pawel Nastula failed their drug tests (issued by the NSAC). Will the company recognize the drug testing suspensions worldwide? We’ll have a lot more on this story on next week’s show. On this week’s show, we discuss the fallout from PRIDE’s LV event (what the future of the company is, what the company is attempting to do that no other major fighting league has ever accomplished, reaction to The Echo Chamber article). Also, we have a news-of-the-world segment previewing the dream match that everyone has wanted to see, Mike Tyson vs. Tom Jones. Plus the world famous grab bag segment. A very entertaining show this week.
Podcasting Links
- iTunes subscribers – click here.
- Yahoo Podcast subscribers – click here.
- Podcast Alley subscribers – click here.
The 29th 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
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-10-26-2006.mp3]Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Erin Bucknell, Fight Opinion Radio, Jeff Thaler, Luke Nicholson, Media, MMA, podcasts, PRIDE, UFC, Zach Arnold | 19 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Thursday and Friday multipurpose thread
By Zach Arnold | October 26, 2006
This will be updated throughout the next two days.
If you click full-post mode, you’ll read comments made by Dave Meltzer in an interview on Thursday in regards to how UFC is reacting to PRIDE’s first Las Vegas event.
Plus (updated Friday), Tito Ortiz finds new ways to create controversy.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 14 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
NSAC releases PRIDE Gate Figures.
By Luke | October 25, 2006
The NSAC recently released PRIDE’s live gate numbers on their website yesterday. It turns out the paid attendance was 8,079 for a gate total of 2,056,440, which ranks them sixth in all-time attendance in Nevada for MMA events.
For a first time event, the number is always high due to the curiosity factor, and with PRIDE in particular, they’ve had a small hardcore fan base in America for years, so the hardcore fans were going to come from across the country to see the debut show in America.
The biggest question, as Zach Arnold pointed out in his piece, is whether that show got over with any casual fans that might have been watching because to build on that attendance figure, they will need to start attracting more casual fans. The hardcore fan base is a good place to start from. UFC relied on their base for support for many years following the cable ban, and even after Zuffa put them back on PPV, but were still without national television.
The difference between PRIDE and UFC in this instance is that UFC already had an established fan base that was significantly larger than PRIDE’s hardcore base in America. PRIDE – at the most – probably draws about 20 thousand PPV buys per show. UFC drew – at their peak – around 70-80 thousand buys, prior to the reality series.
It’s going to take time for PRIDE to establish their name in the United States, and in Las Vegas in particular. If PRIDE is serious about making a home in the United States, they’ll need a stronger television deal, and a very long, and aggressive advertising campaign to let people know who they are, and what they’re all about.
The other question is this – Is Ed Fishman committed to PRIDE long-term? DSE has issues in Japan due to the Yakuza scandal that was broke by the series of articles in the Shukan Gendai. Having Ed Fishman there to help finance the American shows allows DSE to stay in the background, which lessens the chances of their previous troubles being brought to the surface in America. Ed Fishman certainly has the money to bankroll PRIDE through the tough beginnings if he chooses, but it took Zuffa four years to start turning a profit in UFC, and that was with a twelve year headstart.
Thats one part of this scenario that isn’t talked about enough, when people discuss rival promotions challenging UFC’s supremacy in the United States. Having a twelve year head start on every other promotion, when it comes to name recognition, and a fan base, etc. is a huge advantage that PRIDE will have to overcome if they want to rival UFC.
For a debut show in a new market, The Real Deal has to be considered a success when compared with the debut shows of other start-up promotions like WFA, or IFL. The challenge going forward will be building a fan base in Vegas (if thats where they choose to stay) that will pay to see their shows, and getting a national television deal that will help them build a bigger niche on PPV, because unlike Japan, PPV is the major cash cow on this continent. Without PPV, it’s very tough to exist on a national level.
Topics: All Topics, Japan, Luke Nicholson, MMA, PRIDE | 7 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Will BoDog be able to book Fedor away from PRIDE?
By Zach Arnold | October 25, 2006
By Zach Arnold
Update: Gryphon comments on the story.
Emelianenko Fedor, the PRIDE Heavyweight champion, is certainly one of the most coveted fighters in the industry today. In 2003, when Miro Mijatovic was his agent in Japan, he worked the Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003 event at Kobe Wing Stadium. That event became part of the larger yakuza scandal storyline that has embroiled the Japanese fight scene in 2006.
One of the big questions about Fedor’s status with PRIDE is what kind of contract he has with the organization. Is it a worldwide contract? Is it limited to Japan (or Asia)?
According to Gong Kakutougi (information relayed at NHB News), there may some competition for Fedor’s services outside of PRIDE.
The GK article talks about BoDog & MFC. The MFC side talks about plans of running an event in Russia and being on PPV. They also talked about having a two-year contract with Roger Gracie for promoting fights in North America. However, the big item to come out of the article is that BoDog/MFC is interested in Fedor, particularly for their plans in Russia.
While BoDog/MFC was limited in scope in comments in the article, the clear impression given by GK was that there is a loophole or loopholes in Fedor’s contract with PRIDE that could allow him to fight for different promotions outside of Japan. We know BoDog has the money to buy any fighter they want to. The question is whether or not discussion of Fedor being booked outside of PRIDE is serious or just a pipe dream.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, BoDog, Media, MMA, PRIDE, Zach Arnold | 12 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Wednesday media round-up
By Zach Arnold | October 25, 2006
- Dave Doyle: Showbiz and MMA (a fantastic article about Vince McMahon’s past failures and what it would mean in MMA)
- UFC HP: Nick Diaz prepares to fight at UFC 65 near his hometown
- Complete Vale Tudo Access: Pancrase 10/25 Korakuen Hall event results
- Nevada State Athletic Commission: Medical suspensions coming of PRIDE 32 event (take note of the real, non-kayfabed names for the ring announcers)
- Sherdog (Greg Savage): PRIDE slips foot in the door
The arena was chock full of hardcore MMA fans. And by that I mean the hardest of the hard. It was as if I had been inserted into a virtual reality Internet message board.
- MMA California: Frank Shamrock discovers more YouTube fun
- NHB News (Japan): Will Rickson Gracie have a retirement fight in HERO’s?
- Mike Sawyer: Phil Baroni rocked by divorce
- The “O” Show: The ramifications of WWE entering the world of MMA
- Reuters: Fighting spirit saves retiree from attack (Japanese text version here)
Topics: All Topics, Media, MMA, PRIDE, Zach Arnold | 6 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Tuesday media circus
By Zach Arnold | October 24, 2006
The big news of the day (reported by Channel News Asia) is that King of the Cage will have an event on November 30th in Singapore. The report does not list what venue the show will take place at. If it happens at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, that is an estimated 10,000-12,000-seat building. If you are in Singapore and reading this, please e-mail us if you have any more information on this upcoming event.
More news and notes can you seen in the full-post view.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 1 Comment » | Permalink | Trackback |
UFC 65 Sacramento card line-up
By Zach Arnold | October 24, 2006
Nine fights are scheduled. Here are the fights announced so far:
- Welterweight Title Match: Matt Hughes vs. Georges St. Pierre
- Heavyweight Title Match: Tim Sylvia vs. Jeff Monson
- Brandon Vera vs. Frank Mir
- Alessio Sakara vs. Wilson Gouveia
- Brad Imes vs. Antoni Hardonk
- James Irvin vs. Hector Ramirez
- Nick Diaz vs. Gleison Tibau
- Joe Stevenson vs. Dokonjonosuke Mishima
- Jake O’Brien vs. Josh Shockman
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 16 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The Echo Chamber
By Zach Arnold | October 23, 2006
By Zach Arnold
I realize that by writing this article, it is going to draw significant heat with a lot of PRIDE fans. I accept that premise going into this. However, this article has to be written because a few things need to be pointed out about PRIDE’s Las Vegas event that haven’t been mentioned online.
Update: Nikkan Sports has an article which quotes PRIDE management as hinting that they are in negotiations to get a TV deal for their New Year’s Eve show. Sakakibara is claiming that he is talking with “two or more TV stations.” He claims a conclusive answer will be issued on November 10th.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: All Topics, Media, MMA, PRIDE, Zach Arnold | 57 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |