Julien Solomita: The lone fighter’s team in the corner (a real support system)
By Zach Arnold | August 28, 2011
In the mind of a fighter, the solitary goal is, “be better than the other guy in order to survive.” When watching a fight (martial arts, boxing, or any other competition) it is evident that significant strategic preparation goes into any given bout, but really the big question is, how much of this groundwork is the fighter solely responsible for, and who is carrying the rest of the load? At the peak level of competition that professional fighters are involved in, it is obvious that a fighter’s camp and team are highly responsible for their success (or failure), but what is it that makes a team so important? Could a fighter in fact be self-trained, self-coached, and completely alone in the entire process, yet still be as great as a team member?
Being that the only people who actually know this answer are those who experience it as their profession, I interviewed one fighter in particular — undefeated UFC light heavyweight contender Phil Davis, a former NCAA wrestling champion who is 4-0 in the UFC. He gave me some insight to how his team helps him do what he does so well — win.
Davis is part of Team Alliance Mixed Martial Arts based out of Chula Vista, California which is home to UFC veterans; Dominick Cruz, Joey Beltran, Travis Browne, and Brandon Vera. The first relevant question was because of the Jones/Evans dispute which all came about because two teammates refused initially to fight each other. When Light Heavyweights Jon Jones and Rashad Evans had trained with each other, the two “friends” quickly became bitter enemies after Evans refused to fight Jones because he didn’t want to fight his teammate.
“I don’t worry about fighting teammates,” Mr. Davis quickly responded.
Davis, who has earned an impressive submission victory over Alexander Gustafsson, is now “a training partner and teammate” of his.
“My team at Alliance is a complete group of fighters.”
Before joining this camp he remembered being able to stay in great shape but “just didn’t have the combination of coaches and bodies to work with and learn from.” Having a team full of fighters helped Phil bring his “game up a couple notches.”
There are currently many figures in the MMA world that have expressed strong opinions that fighting is not a team sport. Whether or not one approves of fighting against teammates or not, I believe that independent fighters cannot thrive as well as those with a team. Before, during and after battle, the fighter’s team is guiding them through the extremely consuming process.
“With all the resources available, and with all of the fighters, I can pick up their habits, and do what they [my teammates] are doing to win.”
In arguably the ‘purest form of competition,’ collaborating strategies, or as Davis notes, “tips and tricks,” are vital to elevating the skill sets of both athletes.
In addition to such teamwork as exchanging moves in practice before a fight, there is even real-time coaching that a team uses during the battle to stay by a fighter’s side. When watching and attending fights, I have always heard the corner yelling at a fighter mid-competition, but until Davis kindly clarified, I believed most of it was ‘Go get em!’ type encouragement. I believed also that even if it was advice being spurted through the cage door, that a fighter would be too focused on their opponent to even allow any of it to register. It turns out that a fighter’s corner can remind the fighter of a game plan while the fight is progressing.
“They yell out either set ups or when they want a takedown. Or if I’m on the ground, striking, they will tell me which position they want next.”
When I asked Mr. Davis if he was always able to understand his coach’s instruction with all of the crowd noise, he confidently stated, “Oh yeah, I can always hear them.” This makes advancing positions that much simpler because the corner will take a fighter through the grappling aspect, and many times the striking game too.
The average person, whether they are a competitive athlete or just have aspirations to be in shape, hires a personal trainer for one reason that many people miss. It isn’t as if a personal trainer holds the coveted secret to being a ripped, lean, and strong person, but rather the role they play in propelling the client to actually never relent in working. Waking up at eight a.m. before a long workday for the common folk can be very tedious, and after a while, trying to put oneself through a repetitive workout schedule can turn into an insurmountable task. Right when the initial burst of motivation dissipates; a personal trainer comes to the rescue. There now is an excuse to force oneself to be at the gym every day rather than fabricating reasons not to go. The mindset becomes ‘I have to wake up now. My trainer is up waiting for me’, or ‘I can’t skip out this workout or I will be letting down someone that is there for me.’
In the scenario of a fighter and his trainer, the bond becomes much deeper. A fighter’s trainer knows the fighter inside and out; strengths, weaknesses, personality, and habits. A fighter’s camp normally consists of a 6 day-per-week, and 2-3 workouts per day regimen. Spending all this time with any one person will undoubtedly strengthen a relationship, but when going through such extreme training, and pushing each other through freakishly tough workouts the two become like family.
Even with such specimens who possess an awe-inspiring amount of dedication and drive, the long and strenuous preparation for battle weighs on them, and being alone through this can break them. Having a team is having a commitment, and it becomes a family of athletes who are constantly working harder and harder in order to better everyone, and push each other past doubt, and towards greatness.
Mixed Martial Arts is no simple sport, and there are many different dimensions to it. Essentially, an MMA fighter must refine their skills in a numerous individual sports to be successful. The need for a well-versed skill set heavily relies on a strong relationship between athlete and coach. The UFC’s hit reality series, The Ultimate Fighter is one of the most entertaining and well-rounded shows on television. One main reason for this is the complexity of the coaching and training in the many different areas of the sport of MMA. The viewer gets to watch the athletes develop in front of their eyes, and also see’s what methods the coaches use to mold their team.
After coaching season 9 of the show UFC middleweight fighter and coach, Michael Bisping discussed his new role as a mentor during an interview with Heavy MMA.
“It’s very rewarding at the end of it, and I think they all left much improved fighters. I was able to show them things that I like to do. It was nice to show them some stuff, and see them listen and put it into practice when they’re fighting or sparring.”
Being able to experience what the different workouts, and training camps consist of gives the viewer a good taste of what really goes into a fighter’s learning process with his teacher. In addition to the abundant entertainment this show provides with its drama and personality, there is the hidden virtue of passing down knowledge, that Bisping reiterates, “was very rewarding.”
Greg Jackson’s camp in Albuquerque, New Mexico is home to some of the top fighters in the world; Jon Jones, Carlos Condit, Melvin Guillard, Georges St. Pierre, Brian Stann. The list goes on and on. Each and every one of these fighters consider each other a part of their own family. The blood, sweat and tears shed in training glue all of these athletes together on a level that only they can understand.
Recently, a well-known head trainer to many top-level fighters passed away. This sudden loss struck the MMA world with devastation as Shawn Tompkins died of a heart attack on August 14th. Fighters were mourning one of their own. The Canadian, Tompkins was even married to one of his fighter’s (Sam Stout) sister, Emilie. Tompkins’ passing was extremely unfortunate as anyone would imagine, and it depicts the level of connectedness of this family of fighters. Tompkins and his teammates were all related on a physical, psychological, and emotional level. Losing a fellow friend often reveals the love for a person, and this was more than evident for Tompkins. Featherweight Mark Hominick and lightweight Sam Stout, among others, were beside themselves upon hearing the tragic news.
“You did so much for me, more than anyone will ever know. Shawn Tompkins “the coach” I’ll miss you for the rest of my life,” Mr. Stout stated on Twitter.
Mark Hominick added, “I would like to thank everyone for the overwhelming support shown to the Team Tompkins family this week.”
The aftermath of this devastating event, reminded everyone in the worst way, that a fighter’s coach is blood.
When accustomed to having a support system, imagining life without it reminds one how important the camaraderie & help is. Phil Davis knows this point better than anyone else.
“I definitely wouldn’t be where I am right now (without my team).”
Whether or not you believe fighting is a team sport, it is important to hear the side of the story from someone who deals with this issue in their profession. A fighter and their team can develop bonds that mend the same wear and tear that breaks a single fighter down. Coming from Phil Davis, who has never lost even at the highest level of competition in the world of MMA, a team is your support system. Although it is a one-on-one battle, it’s not the destination that matters but rather the journey.
Julien Solomita is a student at Chapman University. He can be reached on Twitter @JulienSolomita. His personal web site can be accessed here.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Dana White on why UFC 134 Rio was one of the company’s all-time best showings
By Zach Arnold | August 28, 2011
Click on my exhausted mug to find out why the boss thinks UFC 134 was one of the best shows ever in this interview with Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com
ARIEL HELWANI: “I’ve had the privilege of covering this sport around four years. You’ve been around it a lot longer than I have. Have you ever seen a crowd like this in MMA?”
DANA WHITE: “Never. There were some impressive crowds and I’ve been to some pretty amazing events. This one topped it all. I’ve never seen it anything like this (until) tonight.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “What were you thinking when they’re singing, dancing, they’re doing the wave, is this sort of how you envisioned MMA or where the UFC would be one day?”
DANA WHITE: “No, it was insane, you know. What was… all that was incredible plus the first fight of the night sounded like it was the Anderson Silva fight, I mean this place was rocking from the first fight of the night, this place was packed. It was an incredible night.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Is it safe to say from the tickets selling out in 74 minutes to the media workouts, the press conference, to tonight that Rio exceeded your expectations?”
DANA WHITE: “It did, I mean, Rio exceeded our expectations before we even got to the show. It went to a whole another level because of the fighters here tonight and they put on an incredible performance. From, you know, the first fight of the night right up until the main event.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Let’s talk the main event. Anderson Silva looked impressive. It was Roy Jones Jr.-esque or maybe Anderson Silva-esque with his hands down, the jab knocks Okami down. In my opinion, one of his best performances ever, the way he just almost toyed with Okami in the second round. Would you agree?”
DANA WHITE: “I agree 100%. I think everybody who knows anything about Mixed Martial Arts knew what the game plan was for Okami and he went for it. Get up against that fence, get in the clinch, and try to work from there and rough him up and try to get him to the ground. He got him in the clinch and started get caught to the body with those big knees, didn’t like it, didn’t like being here, I guarantee you but I don’t know but after the first round his corner was saying, he got hit with that big head kick, his corner was saying do not stand out in the middle with him, get him against the cage, try to take him down but he absolutely could not impose his will tonight, he couldn’t implement his game plan… and, you know, I’ll say it again, like I’ve said a million times, this guy is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world and, in my opinion, the best fighter ever.”
- Wade Keller (MMA Torch): Is Anderson Silva the greatest professional athlete in any sport on the planet right now?
- Jonathan Snowden: Anderson Silva is the greatest fighter in the history of MMA
- Dave Meltzer: Anderson Silva — greatest fighter in the sport’s modern history
ARIEL HELWANI: “In the past, Anderson has sort of played around with his opponents but in the second round it seems as though he almost wanted to prove a point, he was almost upset and wanted to put on a show for the crowd. That has to make you happy seeing his mindset change a lot since, say, Abu Dhabi.”
DANA WHITE: “Well, the thing is, you know, I don’t ever want a guy to fight a certain way or have a certain game plan but when you know how talented Anderson Silva is, when people tune in and, you know, I’m an Anderson Silva fan. When you watch the fight, you expect him to showcase that talent and, you know, Abu Dhabi’s always going to be the big sore thumb, you know, that sticks outs in his career. But, you know, I think he has definitely made up for Abu Dhabi.”
**
Not transcribed from that interview is Dana White explaining why Forrest Griffin mentally was a no-show at UFC 134 in Rio for his fight against Mauricio Shogun. Ben Fowlkes elaborates on the matter.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira claims that UFC will have a show in Japan in February.
Topics: Brazil, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 25 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
UFC 134 Rio at HSBC Arena: Nogueira prolongs his career with win over Brendan Schaub
By Zach Arnold | August 27, 2011
Dark matches/Facebook
- Featherweights: Yves Jabouin defeated Ian Loveland after 3R by split decision.
- Welterweights: Erick Silva defeated Luis Ramos in R1 in 40 seconds by TKO.
- Featherweights: Yuri Alcantara defeated Felipe Arantes after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Featherweights: Raphael Assuncao defeated Johnny Eduardo after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Middleweights: Rousimar Palhares defeated Dan Miller after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Welterweights: Paulo Thiago defeated David Mitchell after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Lightweights: Thiago Tavares defeated Spencer Fisher in R2 in 2’51 by TKO.
Main card
- Light Heavyweights: Stanislav Nedkov defeated Luiz Cane in R1 in 4’20 by TKO.
- Lightweights: Edson Barboza defeated Ross Pearson after 3R by split decision.
- Heavyweights: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira defeated Brendan Schaub in R1 in 3’09 by KO.
- Light Heavyweights: Mauricio Shogun defeated Forrest Griffin in R1 in 1’53 by KO.
- UFC Middleweight title match: Anderson Silva defeated. Yushin Okami in R2 in 2’04 by TKO.
How the odds looked going into the show
- Anderson Silva (-500) is a 5-to-1 favorite over Yushin Okami (+400).
- Mauricio Shogun (-250) is a 5-to-2 favorite over Forrest Griffin (+180).
- Brendan Schaub (-250) is a 5-to-2 favorite over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (+200).
- Edson Barboza (-300) is a 3-to-1 favorite over Ross Pearson (+220).
- Luis Cane (-220) is a 11-to-5 favorite over Stanislav Nedkov (+175).
- Thiago Tavares (-240) is a 12-to-5 favorite over Spencer Fisher (+180).
- Rousimar Palhares (-260) is a 13-to-5 favorite over Dan Miller (+200).
Topics: Brazil, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 81 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Dana White at UFC 134: The American media is dumb & needs to smarten up like the Brazilians
By Zach Arnold | August 27, 2011
Click on my mug to watch me gloat about the huge success that is UFC 134 in Brazil with Ariel Helwani at MMAFighting.com
ARIEL HELWANI: “Now, you said a couple of months ago that you were a little surprised at how the mainstream media in Brazil didn’t know that much about MMA. But being here the last couple of days, in terms of the number of media here, very impressive — a lot more than the United States and it seems as though they’re kind of well-versed. So, what about their knowledge of the sport surprised you?”
DANA WHITE: “It’s turned around real quick, you know, let me tell you. Listen, the American media needs to take notes here how fast these guys have turned around and how much media there is and how they’ve educated themselves on the sport. You know, obviously what they’ve looked at here in Brazil is this thing is getting big and, you know, obviously a lot of people that are into it, it’s very popular, maybe we should learn about this sport, all right? Maybe we should dive in and learn about it and figure out who the fighters are and what’s going to happen, you know. I wish the American media would do the same!”
(Later on…)
ARIEL HELWANI: “You’ve been banging the ‘Anderson Silva is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world’ drum for a long time. It feels at least to me that the MMA community has finally accepted this, the mainstream media has accepted this. Why do you think that is only now?”
DANA WHITE: “Because they’re dummies, man, it always takes them a little while to catch on. You know, I don’t know how many guys he has to beat in incredible ways for people to realize it. You know, I think to be honest with you, too, I think that the Abu Dhabi fight didn’t help. That Abu Dhabi fight was weird because everybody was on the Anderson bandwagon and when that thing happened I think he lost a lot of fans and people are coming back around. I mean, after his last fight, the Chael Sonnen fight and then the Vitor Belfort fight…
“And if you look at this guy’s career and what he’s done and all the records he’s broken, you know, you just got to be a hater or out of your mind not to believe that this guy is not the pound-for-pound or the best ever.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Has he talked to you about retirement recently?”
DANA WHITE: “He hasn’t, no, he hasn’t talked about retiring But, you know, you asked that question at the conference and what a lot of people don’t realize about Anderson because of how talented he is and I mean this guy’s 36 years old, going on 37 and to still do the things that he does is amazing. I mean, imagine if Anderson was 26 and, I don’t know, it’s amazing.”
(Later on…)
ARIEL HELWANI: “What was the thinking in terms of putting Forrest (Griffin) and (Mauricio) Shogun together again? You know, Forrest had that moment, it’s almost like why ruin the moment? It was such a great moment for him, what does he have to gain from fighting Shogun again? So, what were you thinking when you put that fight together?”
DANA WHITE: “Well, what he has to gain is they’re two of the best Light Heavyweights in the world and they both want to get back into that title picture and he’s got to beat Shogun to do it. I mean, Shogun was just the champion. Forrest, yeah, Forrest beat him but Shogun just lost his title and it’s a big fight for Forrest.”
(Later on…)
ARIEL HELWANI: “Are you really considering a fight in a 100,000 seat stadium?”
DANA WHITE: “We should have done this one, we should have done this one in a bigger stadium.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “You think you could have filled it up for the first event?”
DANA WHITE: “I do.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “So, is that sort of on the calendar for next year?”
DANA WHITE: “Yeah, we’ll be back down here and we’ll do a soccer stadium.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Chael Sonnen isn’t coming after all, after all he’s said about Brazil. Does that surprise you?”
DANA WHITE: “I think that’s a great idea, it’s actually the most sensible thing I’ve heard him say in the last two months! I mean, I don’t event know how the guy gets into Brazil. I don’t even know how he can walk around and, you know, he was part of Yushin’s camp down here… he’s nuts, man, he’s crazy.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Do you enjoy the talk or do you think he’s crossed the line a bit?”
DANA WHITE: “He is who he is, you know? Listen, I don’t tell guys who to be and how to talk and what to do. If you do cross the line and you get crazy, yes, then I will but, you know, Chael Sonnen… some of the stuff he says is nutty as hell but… he is who he is, it is what it is.”
Topics: Brazil, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 22 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
MMA Link Club: Are the top fights at #UFC 134 really competitive?
By Zach Arnold | August 26, 2011
Jamie Penick at MMA Torch on why Brendan Schaub is such a solid favorite to beat Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 134:
Nogueira’s last two losses came against faster fighters with power that were able to knock him down and hurt him in Frank Mir and now Heavyweight Champ Cain Velasquez. Schaub is a faster fighter with power coming into this fight, and regardless of his recovery, until he can show otherwise,
David Williams tells you why Mauricio Shogun should beat Forrest Griffin and why the gap between Anderson Silva & Yushin Okami is so large.
Member sites of the MMA Link Club
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- Cage Potato – http://www.cagepotato.com/feed
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- Fight Opinion – http://feeds.feedburner.com/fightopinion
- MMA Payout – http://feeds.feedburner.com/Payout
This week’s MMA Link Club featured stories
Five Ounces of Pain: UFC 134 Rio press conference highlights
MMA Fighting: Fresh off surgeries, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira has sharpened his wrestling
From his hip to his knees, the 35-year-old Brazilian has undergone a complete physical overhaul since his knockout loss to Cain Velasquez, and questions about whether it’s left him in better or worse condition for Saturday night’s fight with Brendan Schaub seem to follow him wherever he goes.
NBC Sports: Mike Chiappetta’s UFC Rio event primer
The best long-term prospect on the card is a native son, Brazilian-born lightweight Edson Barboza. The unbeaten fighter moved to 8-0 in March with a unanimous decision over Anthony Njokuani. He flashes an impressive mix of skill and power on his feet with a strong Muay Thai influence. Though he’s a purple belt in jiu-jitsu, he’s reportedly progressing quickly in the discipline, and he has flashed good wrestling skills when called upon. Just 25, Barboza has a big future.
Cage Potato: Joe Son convicted on torture charge related to 1990 gang rape, faces 15 years to life
MMA Mania: Viva Brazil! So, about that OTHER time the UFC was in Brazil…
Thankfully, no chairs were thrown and the only punches were inside the Octagon. In the fourth bout of the evening, Tsuyoshi Kosaka earned a unanimous decision over Pete Williams to advance in the UFC’s heavyweight title tournament. You know, if I was Kosaka, I’d be pissed at Fabricio Werdum, Antonio Silva, AND Dan Henderson for taking away the the title of “Only Man to Ever Beat Fedor” away. But I digress…
5th Round: Flashback – Video of Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami from Rumble on the Rock 8
Bleacher Report: 10 reasons why BAMMA could, and should, be on Spike TV
The BAMMA executive team possesses two eminent members with varied TV production credentials, having produced programming that ranges from mainstream reality shows to documentaries and chat shows.
This invaluable experience, coupled with a database of prestigious contacts, has ensured that Europe’s elite organization is seeking to provide much more high-octane, high-quality viewing entertainment aside from its several annual live events, something which the other cited organisations have not yet promised to deliver.
Middle Easy: Jon Jones plans to move up to Heavyweight in a couple of years
Low Kick: Dana White confirms negotiations underway with Alistair Overeem
The Fight Nerd: ‘Red Corner vs. Blue Corner’ — backstage access at Bellator 48
MMA Convert: UFC 134 preview – ‘Hometown advantage’ edition
Do you think Yushin Okami brags to ladies at parties that he once defeated Anderson Silva? I bet he does. Why shouldn’t he?
Topics: Brazil, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Lorenzo Fertitta discussing the impending UFC boom in Brazil
By Zach Arnold | August 25, 2011
LORENZO FERTITTA: “I made a stop in Amazonas to meet with the city of Manaus and the overwhelming [support] that they want us to come there, they think they can fill 100,000 seat stadium for an event. José Aldo is from that region of the country. It just feels like the entire country’s excited that we’re here.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “There are a lot of fans who have been talking us saying, ‘why has it taken the UFC so long to come back here? The last event was in 1998.’ Do you have an answer for them?”
LORENZO FERTITTA: “Well, look, we had a lot to do in the United States and Canada and in Europe and other parts of the world. When you come into a country like this, you know, it took time to set up business development and make the right relationships and things like that. In addition to that, we’ve really only been on free-to-air TV here for about two years. Before that, we were on a subscription channel that didn’t have that many subscribers but now we’re kind of reaching the masses. The fight on Saturday night between Anderson (Silva) and Yushin (Okami), we’re expecting between 20-to-30 million people to watch it on free TV so it’s a big event.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Has that been sort of the business approach here to try to get it on free TV and if you didn’t get it on free TV then it wouldn’t have been accepted this well, that first you need to sort of expose it to the masses and then go into the pay scale?”
LORENZO FERTITTA: “Exactly, it’s no different than what we did in the United States. I mean, there was a direct correlation between us being on Spike, right, and having that kind of broad audience watching, learning about the UFC, getting to know who the fighters were and that’s the model we’re following all over the world as we can. Brazil’s a perfect example, Australia’s another example, and now it’s even more exciting because in the U.S. we’re going to have Fox which is an even bigger platform. So, yes, that’s part of the strategy to grow the sport.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Any kind of ideas as to what kind of economic impact in terms of tourism and all that stuff that [UFC 134] will have on the city of Rio?”
LORENZO FERTITTA: “We think it’s going to be similar to Toronto. Toronto was between a $40-50 million dollar economic impact. I mean, who knows? It may even be more. We’ve got a ton of people traveling from the U.S., from Europe, of course from inside Brazil, the majority of the people coming to Rio are from Sao Paulo. So, we’re filling the hotel rooms, we’re filling the restaurants. You can just kind of feel the buzz around town already.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “It seemed to me, and correct me if I’m wrong, after the Vitor Belfort win for Anderson Silva his stock in Brazil rose exponentially maybe because of Vitor and how famous he is here. But he’s got this Budweiser deal, a bunch of other deals, would you agree with that?”
LORENZO FERTITTA: “It’s unbelievable. He’s had an absolute meteoric rise since that fight. It was like the entire country stopped to watch that fight. There were people billowing out of bars, there were obviously people in their homes, it did a huge rating and it’s almost like the country now has this hero that they’re embracing at the same scale as a Ronaldo or some of the big soccer players. I mean, he’s getting Nike, he’s getting Burger King and massive sponsors, so… I mean, he even told me it’s kind of surreal because he can’t walk outside of his house. He literally can’t go to the grocery store, he can’t do anything, so his life has changed permanently since that February fight.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Dana said in July that he was surprised at how uneducated the press was here about MMA. What’s been your take with the way the press has covered this event?”
LORENZO FERTITTA: “Well, I think that’s true. I think the broad mainstream media, no different than the U.S. or some of these other countries, they really don’t understand MMA that well so it’s taken them a little bit longer to embrace it but as with anywhere else, the fans are behind it. So, it’s more of a groundswell and now they’re starting to see, hey, we got to get behind this thing because this is a big deal, they see what’s happening here in Rio.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Has there already been some talk that you’re going to return to Brazil and that it’s on the schedule next year? Is that true?”
LORENZO FERTITTA: “Yeah, we haven’t laid the schedule out completely. We think we can come back here maybe four times next year, maybe it’s two big shows, maybe it’s a couple or three Fight Night shows, really showcasing some of the younger Brazilian talent here. There’s so many fighters from Brazil that, you know, we want to come down here and be permanent. We don’t want to have a situation where we just come in and then we leave for two years, you know, we want to have an ongoing business here.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “I think I just heard the entire United Kingdom scream in anger. ‘They’re going to come here four times and what about us?!’ How do you sort of map that out?”
LORENZO FERTITTA: “You know, part of the issue is that we’ve struggled, not with the popularity in the U.K., I mean we have a huge fan base, we do very well with selling tickets there but we’ve had a hard time getting a television deal that makes sense for us. So, we’ve got to move our business around where it makes the most sense. And we’re not in any way abandoning that. We’re coming back to England in November, we’re going to have multiple dates in Europe next year as well. So, it’s just trying to balance, you know, where supply and demand is.”
Topics: Brazil, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 5 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Joe Rogan on why Edgar/Maynard III is important & how Fedor lost his competitiveness
By Zach Arnold | August 25, 2011
500,000 views of Pat Curran’s KO of Marlon Sandro last Saturday in the Bellator cage. One of the many interesting comments Joe Rogan made during this Tapout Radio interview is how he would love to see a lot of the Bellator fighters in the UFC and that he thinks they would do well. For instance, he would like to see Pat Curran, Ben Askren, Hector Lombard, and Eddie Alvarez. In fact, Joe went as far as to say that he thinks Alvarez could be the #1 Lightweight in MMA and that the #1 spot in that weight class can be claimed by several guys right now (both inside and outside the UFC).
“You see how high-level [Eddie’s] striking has gotten. He’s a gamer, he goes after you.”
We won’t be seeing Eddie any time soon in the UFC if you believe Tony Loiseleur’s report at Sherdog that Alvarez will get to fight Shinya Aoki in 2012 in Bellator.
Joe Rogan also thinks Gilbert Melendez has the right to stake a claim at the top of the 155 pound division.
“There’s so many fucking good guys in that division. It’s such an exciting time.”
Which leads us to the comments he made on the Tapout radio show about the upcoming Frankie Edgar/Gray Maynard trilogy fight and why it’s such an important fight for UFC’s Houston event.
“Just from a cinematic point of view, that last fight was so fucking dramatic! There was so much going on in that fight, you know, Frankie Edgar getting ROCKED bad in that first round and it looked so close to being stopped so many times. I mean, you wondered like how does a guy come back from this, he’s getting fucking battered and then what he did do? He comes back in the second round and he fucking wins it and then he wins the third and he might have won every round other than the first and the real question became, how much damage did Gray Maynard do in the first? Some people think it was like a 10-5 round, a 10-4 round, it was ridiculous. He knocked him down, he hurt him, I mean is it just 10-8? If that’s just 10-8, that seems a little silly, that’s as close as you can get to stopping somebody and not stopping and beat him up for the whole round? To me, it might like 10-6 or 10-7, you know, it seems like a big round.
“So, then that became the debate, how many other rounds did Gray Maynard win? Did he win one other round? And it’s like, how the fuck did Frankie Edgar come back from that? Frankie Edgar is a MONSTER, you got to put that guy away, his heart is INCREDIBLE! I mean, the beating that kid took in that first round to come back and start teeing off on Gray in the second round was ridiculous, incredible. I didn’t know if it was even possible for him to make it to the finish. I was like, is he going to be able to go five rounds after the first round, is his body just going to give out on him? I mean, that was a crazy first round.
“So, I’m really curious to see what kind of alterations either guy has made, you know, they must have watched that fight 100 times, they must be thinking about the moment what could have been different. For Gray Maynard, maybe if he picked his shots more and didn’t swarm, maybe he could have stopped him. For Frankie Edgar, what was it that caused him to get hit, what silly mistakes did he make, what did he do when he dropped his hands, what was it? They’re going to study those tapes and they’re going to come back and it’s going to be a fascinating fight. So that one I’m looking forward to just from maybe not even stylistically, just as a story, you know, just an amazing fight.
“Plus, that division is so crazy right now. With Ben Henderson’s victory over Jim Miller and then (Donald) Cerrone destroying (Charles) Oliveira, it’s like that fucking weight class is STACKED, God damn what a crazy shark tank that weight class is. You know, everywhere you look at 155 there’s another killer, it’s a weight class filled with savages. It’s almost too competitive, it’s crazy.”
From there, the interview discussion took an interesting turn in regards to how quickly someone’s career can turn on a dime and the name Jamie Varner was mentioned. Guys who were on top of their game just a few years ago now are now often considered ‘washed up’ and finished, both physically and mentally.
Fedor should have had this conversation with Greg Jackson before he fought Werdum
Then the name Fedor came up… and whether or not he will be able to make a come back as a competitive MMA fighter.
“I think Fedor probably got tired of fighting but I also think Fedor never fought the guys that he fought even when he lost before. That Bigfoot Silva guy would have given him a hard time at any point in his career, I firmly believe that. That guy takes a tremendous shot, he’s a legitimate BJJ black belt, and he’s a big fuck. That guy’s big. He’s like 290, cuts down to 265, he’s got giant hands and feet, if he hits you it’s like getting hit by a fucking tree, you know? And he gets on top of you… that legitimate black belt beast and he’s dropping bombs on your fucking head, try peeling that guy off of you, try hip escaping when that guy’s got the mount on you. YOU’RE FUCKED! You know, if a real BJJ black belt mounts you, there’s a certain feeling like, OH SHIT, like this is like let Jean-Jacques Machado mount you, let Jacaré mount you, and you get this creepy feeling like OK, I’m never getting out of this, never, and that’s the kind of mount that fucking big guy has and he’s punching you in the head? If Fedor fought that guy in PRIDE the guy might have beat him. If the same Bigfoot Silva of today fought Fedor in PRIDE five years ago, he might have beat him. I’m not saying he would have but he might of.
“I think it’s also him being an undersized Heavyweight that quite frankly is fat, you know? He’s obviously very skilled, you know, you can’t look at the way he came back and won the Brett Rogers fight and not be impressed. You can’t look at the way he timed Andrei Arlovski’s knee and KO’d him, you can’t look at that and not be impressed. You can’t look at the armbar that he nailed (Mark) Coleman with, the fucking kimura that hit (Kevin) Randleman with, you can’t look at those and not be impressed. I’m forever going to be a Fedor fan, he’s amazing, he’s an amazing fighter. But I think when you compare him to the greats of all time, if there was a 225 pound weight class you know he might have been one of the greatest of all time. But as a heavyweight? I think there’s always going to be guys that are like just going to be able to beat him, I think that there’s a few guys that are just too big and too strong and he’s certainly not the same guy that he was back when he was in PRIDE, he doesn’t even physically look like that guy in any more. He’s lost a considerable amount of muscle mass. I know that he doesn’t lift weights any more, he talks about it, but he just does fight training. I need think he needs to life weights, man, I think your body needs to be fucking strong.
“Who am I to question Fedor’s motivations or techniques for training but I just think that strength & conditioning is part of the fucking program, man, you got to be strong to pull shit off sometimes. A lot of it is technique but there’s time where you’re going to rely on your body and if you look at Fedor’s body from 2001 and Fedor’s body from now, he’s a different dude. He always had the gut but he used to be way thicker, he used to look like a guy that’s throwing kettlebells around all the time, he used to look like what he was, this fucking Judo/Sambo champion.
“There is a problem in losing the way he’s lost three times in a row and the last two in really kind of devastating fashion, he was really destroyed and that takes a lot of your motivation away, man, it just does. But, technically, there’s no question about it. He has to get in there and train with a camp of really good guys that are going to test him, that are going to test him hard. He can’t hang out with that Baby Fedor kid and a couple of others and his brother and a few other fighters, it’s not enough. He needs a world-class camp. I mean, he’s going in there against Dan Fucking Henderson, he’s going in there against Alistair Overeem, he’s going in there against a Josh Barnett, he needs a God Damn world-class camp. He needs a strength-and-conditioning coach. He needs someone to push him. He needs someone to feed him correct food, you know. He needs people to monitor his heart rate to make sure that when he gets up in the morning that he’s not overtraining. He needs a lot of shit. There’s a lot on the line when you compete at the highest levels of the game, you know, and Fedor I don’t think is getting the kind of training that he could have. It was enough in the beginning, he’s so fucking skilled, the Sambo, he’s so skilled with striking, he’s such a wild man, he’s so fearless, it was enough to beat a lot of people for a long time but I don’t know if it’s going to be enough to beat the guys of today. I think there’s a different breed today and he’s not the same guy any more.”
Dan Henderson’s name was mentioned as someone who is heading in the opposite direction for his career.
“Dan Henderson is a lot hungrier than him at 40 but Dan Henderson is a fucking savage. Dan Henderson is one of those guys that just, look, you have to remember that he came from a wrestling background, a pure wrestling background with really very little striking training and he went and became one of the most dangerous one-punch knockout artists in the history of the sport and that’s for real, man. That knockout that hit Michael Bisping with, that shit is going to be on highlight reels to the end of humanity. They’re going to carve that in little cartoon blocks on a stone wall after the nuclear holocaust, people that are going to be alive that remember that knockout.
“There’s knockouts that he hit like when he put Babalu away and Babalu’s eyes started rolling in his head, dude… Dan Henderson is a monster. He can fucking punch and he knows he can fucking punch. He knows that all he has to do is clip you one time with a clean one and you’re fucksville, you know, and the fact that he was able to do that Fedor and the fact that he was able to do that to Feijao, how quickly that Feijao fight turned around, he’s a monster, man. At 40. But you know why? Because he still likes to fight.
“Everyone’s different, man, you know, you got your motivations and it’s different than Tom up the block, everybody’s got their own fucking thing for why they’re doing this sport but a certain point and time some dudes start to question why. They don’t know what their motivations are any more, they don’t know if it’s smart, they don’t know if there’s other things to pursue but there’s money involved in this and so they keep doing it but they lose the passion (for) it. The guys that don’t lose the passion, the Randy Coutures, the Dan Hendersons, they can compete well into an elevated age that we have never considered to be competing at like the highest level of combat sports just a few decades ago. You know, there was no fucking 40 year old bad motherfuckers in 1988, you remember 1988 when (Mike) Tyson was the king? Man, fucking 40 year old dudes were done. If you were 40 you had a gut and you looked stupid and you got your ass kicked always…”
‘Elevated’ is an interesting word choice here. A lot of guys in their 30s and 40s back in 1988 weren’t using Testosterone Replacement Therapy, either. Amazing how that works.
The irony of listening to this radio passage hit me when Geno Mrosko wondered whether or not Fox & mainstream media outlets would investigate issues like TRT & steroid usage in MMA because UFC will soon become ‘mainstream.’ You can read my response here. When FNC is suddenly pushing Dana White & UFC as what President Obama should start studying in order to create new jobs, do you think that big media outlets are going to apply heavy scrutiny in regards to UFC business practices or the drug usage by fighters? Not a chance. Two years ago, Dana White had his infamous rant on Loretta Hunt on Youtube. It sure didn’t hurt UFC’s bottom line in getting $100 million USD a year from Fox, did it? I expect UFC to largely get a free pass from the mainstream media when it comes to potential scandals.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 37 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
PR: Muay Thai Premier League debuts on September 2nd
By Zach Arnold | August 24, 2011
Press release
MUAYTHAI PREMIER LEAGUE MAKES INTERNATIONAL DEBUT IN LONG BEACH
Twenty-Four Of The World’s Top Fighters Will Descend Upon The Walter Pyramid In Long Beach For September 2 Event
Los Angeles, Calif., August 24, 2011 – Martial arts fans will have the opportunity to see 24 of the world’s top MuayThai fighters in action on September 2 when the MuayThai Premier League (MPL) makes its international debut at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, Calif.
The MuayThai Premier League, which was introduced earlier this year by former five-time world champion and League President and CEO Clifton Brown, is the first forum for the sport’s most skilled athletes to compete on an international stage in a structured league format. The Long Beach event is one of three MuayThai events set to take place in the greater Los Angeles area over the course of an eight-month season and promises to be the biggest event in the sport’s storied history.
“MuayThai has seen a steady increase in global popularity among fighters and fans in the past decade,” said Clifton Brown, MPL President and CEO. “While elements of this fighting style are used in other martial arts leagues, we felt it was time to offer true athletes of the sport a venue to showcase MuayThai in its purest form. The new league format, with eight events globally, allows us to provide an exhilarating show for the fans and gives us an avenue to crown the true MuayThai World Champion.”
Tickets for the Long Beach event may be purchased at www.TheMPL.tv. Doors will open at 6 p.m. for the 7 p.m. event. The Walter Pyramid is located at 1250 Bellflower Blvd. in Long Beach.
About MuayThai and the MuayThai Premier League (MPL)
MuayThai, also known as Thai boxing, is an extremely effective and lethal form of martial arts utilizing punches, kicks, knees, and elbows. Originally practiced in the once closed society of Thailand, MuayThai has always flourished in the Asian region and has seen a dramatic increase in international participation over the last 30 years – from the development of professional fighters, to executives incorporating this form of martial arts into their workout routines.
The MPL is a structured league format comprised of five weight divisions – four male, one female – where fighters must earn their place in the finals. With eight competitors in each division, the fighters are split into two pools. In the Round Robin stage, each fighter faces the other three competitors in their group, earning three points for a knockout victory, two points for a decision victory, and one point for a draw. At the conclusion of the Round Robin stage, the top two fighters in each Group will advance to the elimination stage, where the top fighter in Group A will compete against the second place fighter in Group B and vice versa. The winners of these semi-final matches will then advance to the finals to compete for the MPL and WMC World Championships in their respective weight classes. At the conclusion of the season, athletes who advanced to the elimination stage will remain for season two, the following September. Fighters who do not advance to the elimination stage will be replaced with new competitors drafted by the league to compete in the upcoming season.
Weight Divisions
* 140 lbs/ 63.5 kgs- Super Lightweight (Female)
* 147 lbs/ 66.7 kgs – Welterweight (Male)
* 160 lbs/ 72.5 kgs – Middleweight (Male)
* 182 lbs/ 82.5 kgs – Super Light Heavyweight (Male)
* 210 lbs/ 95 kgs- Heavyweight (Male)
The MPL boasts an impressive stable of world-renowned fighters, combining to hold more than 220 Championship belts, with eight events across the world over the course of the season.
MPL Season
* September 2, 2011 – Los Angeles, California
* October 8, 2011 – Venice/Padova, Italy
* November 5, 2011 – Amsterdam, Netherlands
* December 5, 2011 – Bangkok, Thailand
* January 17, 2012 – Los Angeles, California
* February 20, 2012 – Marseilles, France
* April 6, 2012 – Canada (Semi-Finals)
* May 25, 2012 – Los Angeles, California (Finals)
For more information on the league, an overview of the competitors and to purchase event tickets, visit www.TheMPL.tv or www.facebook.com/TheMPL.tv.
Media Contacts:
- Lindsey Early, Edelman for MPL, 312-297-7514, [email protected]
- Luka Dukich, Edelman for MPL, 312-297-6903, [email protected]
Topics: Media, Zach Arnold | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Eddie Goldman: What’s the coded message the Fox Sports boss sent about boxing & ufc?
By Zach Arnold | August 23, 2011
Earlier, we posted this item about Lorenzo Fertitta’s comments from last Thursday’s press conference in Los Angeles at Fox Sports HQ.
(For a complete summary of what was said at the presser, check out this recap by William Holmes at Boxing Insider.)
Gary Andrew Poole at The Atlantic summarized the new UFC/Fox deal in this manner:
Whatever you think of mixed martial arts (and it is actually, in the opinion of many including me, safer than boxing), blood sports have always done well in poor economic times, and the UFC seems to be the sport for our downtrodden era.
If there was any doubt about the power of Fox branding, Dana White’s brief appearance this morning on Fox & Friends on the Fox News Channel sent a very loud & clear message. White was introduced while footage of a Forrest Griffin aired on screen with the graphic, “knockout jobs plan” and how President Obama could learn from the UFC. During the course of three minutes, the network aired three different graphics on-screen with headlines such as:
- “Hiring in hard times — White’s UFC among most successful franchises. Dana’s job creation advice for the President.”
- “Knocking out unemployment — what President Obama can learn from the UFC.”
- “Business as Usual – how UFC is doing so well in this tough economy.”
By the way, Dana White says that his issues with ESPN have been ‘resolved’ only a few days after he publicly said ‘fuck ESPN.’
Which leads us to some discussion on Eddie Goldman’s radio show recently about UFC’s desire to be covered and presented on television like a mainstream sport. Given all of the scandals right now in the major sports, UFC getting pushed as a shiny new toy in the sports landscape is providing some interesting contrasts. Eddie starts out by playing a quote from last Thursday’s presser in which Fox Sports boss David Hill is talking about how watching The Ultimate Fighter changed his mind on liking the UFC.
“My reservations were back in 2001 and the initial conversation that I was having with Lorenzo and then I saw what was happening and the key thing was the reference between boxing being one-dimensional and this being three-dimensional and I changed my mind.
“It was that program, it was watching that show. It was probably more enjoyable on a visceral and cerebral level than any kind of like martial art sports I’ve ever seen, I thought it was fantastic. You get to know through the show the athletes and they’re a different breed than the boxers that I’ve known over the years. They’re intelligent, they’re smart, they’re committed. It’s an entirely different world than what I grew up in doing boxing like I said when pterodactyls’ the Earth.”
Which led to this response from Eddie Goldman:
“If you listen to what this guy said, why he likes MMA better than boxing, he finds The Ultimate Fighter such an enjoyable show. In other words, I guess he liked the pissing and getting drunk and all of that. In particular he says the MMA fighters are a different breed from boxers. Well, that’s an interesting comment and could be a code word for a lot more.
“He says, yeah, they’re more intelligent, they’re smarter, they’re more committed. What boxers does he know? What is this guy actually talking about? Is he going to say that if there were a debate between Wladimir Klitschko and Brock Lesnar that the MMA guy is more intelligent? If there were a discussion between Bernard Hopkins and Chael Sonnen that the MMA guy is smarter? If there were training that so many of these MMA guys are more committed than Floyd Mayweather Jr. who has played a pioneering role in raising the issue of Performance Enhancing Drugs in the sport of boxing, what is this guy talking about?
“In fact, this statement was so disgusting, I sent it to Dr. Margaret Goodman, who of course is a practicing neurologist in Las Vegas, the former head of the Medical Advisory Board of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, former long time ringside physician and one of the staunchest fighters for fighter safety, and this is her reply to David Hill:
“I am shocked and dismayed at such derogatory statements from the chairman of Fox Sports, which has hosted and continues to host boxing events. Anyone who has worked with boxers understands the great amount of intelligence, fearlessness, heart, and devotion it takes to step into a boxing ring. For someone to make such comments insults every boxer, including the great champions of the past and everyone who works in the sport.”
“I think that’s a great statement and I think there’s something else going on, too, in terms of the demographics, in terms of this different breed that they’re looking at and it’s even reflected in who they invited on the podium from the UFC of the UFC fighters. There were four UFC fighters on the podium but only two of their champions. They had Rashad Evans, the former Light Heavyweight champion. Chuck Liddell, of course, who held the title and is now retired. Frankie Edgar and Georges St. Pierre. Why did they have only these two champions and these four guys? Three of them are college-educated former wrestlers.
“Let’s look at the other champions that were not invited there for one reason or another. The UFC Heavyweight champion is Cain Velasquez, a Mexican-American. He lives in California. He was not invited. The 205 Light Heavyweight champion is Jon Jones. He’s African-American. He was not invited. The Middleweight champion, 185 pounds, is Anderson Silva who Dana White says is the #1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He was not invited. The Welterweight champion, Georges St. Pierre, who is from Quebec was invited as was the 155 pound champion Frankie Edgar. But Jose Aldo, the Brazilian 145 pound champion, he was not there nor was the 135 pound champion, the Bantamweight division in MMA, Dominick Cruz (from San Diego). According to the UFC.com profile of Dominick Cruz, he never went to college and he grew up in Tucson, Arizona in a trailer with his mother and brother and it says he was kicked out of his home at age 19 for hosting a house party but he says the experience was ‘the greatest thing that ever happened to me’ because it forced him to become a man. But they didn’t have Dominick Cruz there.
“You’re going to tell me that’s not a compelling story? You’re going to tell me what Anderson Silva went through or Jose Aldo or Cain Velasquez or any of these other guys went through are not compelling stories? And yet you invite your former college wrestlers at various state schools, Liddell at Cal Poly, Rashad Evans at Michigan State, and Frankie Edgar at Clarion, none of them by the way were All-Americans although they were Division I wrestlers. You’re going to tell me that these guys have more compelling stories than the boxers, the people that have had to overcome all sorts of incredible obstacles in their life? Floyd Mayweather Jr. with his dysfunctional family, Bernard Hopkins who didn’t graduate with a degree in anything except from Graterford penitentiary in Pennsylvania and has never been back since? You’re going to tell me that the stories of so many of the great Mexican fighters from the veteran Juan Manuel Marquez to the up-and-coming star Canelo Saul Alvarez are not compelling stories?
“It looks like for Mr. Hill’s taste and for those at Fox Sports there are too many Black and Brown skins in the sport of boxing. And even though you have such a diversity in the UFC champions they were pretty selective in terms of who was invited. I really do not think this was just some coincidence. So, this is the way MMA is going to be positioned on Fox Sports — as an elitist, predominantly White sport with a sprinkling of African-American and Latino athletes to entertain a largely upscale, young, uneducated, lover-of-trash-talking, White suburban male audience. This is what mainstream sports is catering to today. This is what is happening.”
For those interested in the reaction from the boxing world about UFC’s new deal with Fox, check out Kevin Iole’s new article at Yahoo discussing the war of words between UFC & Top Rank.
Topics: Boxing, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 25 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
“(UFC) is the only sports property that is pure and works literally around the entire world.”
By Zach Arnold | August 22, 2011
Listen to the boss of FX talk to the Yahoo Sports Cagewriter.com crew about changes coming for The Ultimate Fighter and UFC programming on Fox platforms
A couple of interesting developments have surfaced in regards to UFC’s new 7-year deal with Fox. Before we get to those developments, I thought some of the comments Lorenzo Fertitta made last Thursday should be highlighted here.
“Well, we always really felt like we wanted to be on network and those other deals just didn’t make sense for us, not just financially but in a lot of different ways. The reason this deal works is because of what you saw here (on Thursday). It’s not just, hey, we’re going to throw a fight up on Fox and see if it works. This is a 7 year commitment at every level – broadcast, cable on a channel that is my favorite channel, it’s in over 100 million homes, definitely at the front edge of new, original programming. Now FX is not only going to have the UFC but they got PAC 12 football, Big 12 football, so now they’re jumping into the sports area in a big way and then also having shoulder programming on Fuel and then count all the RSNs (regional sport networks). So, it’s not just about this is a broadcast deal, this is a major media deal at every level throughout the spectrum.”
“I mean, when you have the biggest sportscaster, biggest sports media company in America coming to the UFC saying we’re not going to just put you on, we’re going to embrace you as part of our family, we’re going to treat you exactly we treat the NFL, college sports, MLB, I mean, yeah, this is a big deal.”
As for how the deal got consummated, Middle Easy has been discussing and pontificating on the role of Ari Emanuel as the ‘fixer’ between the two sides. Ari Emanuel, the brother of President Obama’s former chief-of-staff Rahm Emanuel (the current mayor of Chicago). It should come as no surprise given that Blago talked about Rahm’s brother wanting MMA legislation in Illinois and that UFC happens to be one of his clients. Who can blame Zuffa?
The next domino to fall — Spike TV. Who will they get behind and promote? Will they end up working with Zuffa again to promote Strikeforce? It would be an easy way for Zuffa to block potential competition from getting some good cable real estate. Here’s Lorenzo describing UFC’s current relationship with Spike.
“You know, it’s been a real cordial situation. Let me tell you what, what a run it had been over the last 7 years for the UFC and for Spike. I mean, this relationship really benefited both of us. The reality is, though, that come December 31st at 12 o’clock, there’s no more UFC original programming on Spike. So, at some point we had to figure out where our home’s going to be because you can’t just turn it on a dime. We wanted to hit the ground running in 2012 with a lot of momentum and a whole game plan going forward. Of course, we were going to have to come out and tell people where we were going to be.
“Really, what it came down to, it wasn’t a money issue, it was a number of fights issue. We have to grow our business, we need more fights. We need more programming. We’ve got more weight classes and more fighters We’ve got fights we need to do from an international standpoint. So, when you have one channel that you’re broadcast on, one channel can only take so much programming, right? Now, with what I explained here, Fox broadcast, FX, Fuel, all the RSNs, so it opens up a number of pipes for us to be able to provide original programming and live fights. That’s really what the issue was.
“Look… competition’s great. We love to compete, we wake up every morning, that’s all we think about. It’s good. I hope these guys step up and come up with a creative idea and challenge us. I think it’d be good.”
Yes, competition is great… for them to buy out and savage like a carnivore, so I give Lorenzo credit for stating the obvious that they do think about crushing others in their ‘space.’
The obvious answer for a replacement on Spike would be Bellator. However, Dave Meltzer says that Viacom is not interested in seeing Bellator move from MTV2 to Spike. What, are they concerned about the Feds looking into the hedge fund money backing Bellator? Bjorn Rebney seems to be hedging his bets and basically saying he is powerless at this point in regards to what Viacom wants done on Spike. Then again, what other alternative options are there for Spike for replacement MMA programming? Bellator is far ahead of Pro Elite in terms of structure and experience in putting together a roster to run cards and produce events. Shark Fights?
The biggest question mark about this new deal with Fox is whether or not the increased exposure will help grow UFC and, if so, by how much.
“Fox just got a sports property that is going to be the biggest sport on the planet, right? It literally is going to be the biggest franchise on the planet and we tell the story all the time. The NFL doesn’t work outside of the United States. FIFA has all the problems with the corruption and everything that is coming of. There’s corruption in cricket and cricket doesn’t work in other countries. This is the only sports property that is pure and works literally around the entire world and I’ve tried to explain because I think there’s still some people out there here in the U.S. on the reporting side that just don’t get the magnitude of what’s going on here. I mean, obviously this is big for the male demographic 18-to-35, people in the know, that generation. But a lot of people don’t know that we’re going to go down to Brazil and literally take over that country. There are signs in the airport in Brazil that say, 2011 UFC, 2014 World Cup, 2016 Olympics. They’re putting us in the same frame work as the World Cup and Olympics and you know how big that’s going to be in Brazil. We’re taking over the country, the city of Rio is sponsoring the event, and we’re expecting 30-40 million people, maybe more, being conservative, [that are] going to watch Anderson Silva defend his title against Yushin Okami. I don’t think people get that here in the U.S. because we haven’t been on that broadcast platform here in the U.S. to really show what we can do.”
UFC growing and the sport of MMA becoming more stable is a benefit to the fans, to writers, and to the fighters who depend on making a living. At the same time, however, it is fair for someone to be skeptical about whether or not we are going to see a real growth explosion under this new business marriage. Yes, UFC going from Spike to Fox is like an ice cream store going from a strip mall to Mall of America, but they are still an ice cream store that sells & markets one flavor of product.
I’m of the belief that UFC running too many shows risks overheating the company’s business machine and stretching their production crews out too thin. They will be able to run in most world markets (outside of a few like Japan) and do so very profitably. The question is whether or not UFC can treat their business like most retail stores (the Best Buys of the world) treat their bottom line by encouraging investment simply due to sheer volume of activity at the risk of having to contract later on down the road when things get too bumpy.
As for whether or not the broadsheet media in the U.S. will embrace UFC on a different level thank to their new deal on Fox, my guess is that there will only be a limited impact because most of the stick-and-ball sports writers & editors will look at UFC as a niche sport permanently. That’s something that UFC simply can’t control.
The best quote on the current media landscape covering MMA:
“Zuffa has created a culture where the media is actually their promotional partners. Zuffa believes media only there to promote their product.”
An addition domino to fall — Zuffa has hired a New York City-based legal firm to help them out with the current FTC investigation against the company.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 12 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Pat Curran kicked Marlon Sandro so hard, he might send Bellator off MTV2 & to Spike TV
By Zach Arnold | August 20, 2011
Pat Curran has been looking to rebound since his decision loss to Eddie Alvarez. On Saturday night, he delivered in ways Cole Konrad could only dream of.
Marlon Sandro was winning the stand-up war against Pat Curran and looked to be primed for a decision or a late finish. Instead, he got caught moving backwards and Pat blasted him with a career-defining kick that knocked Sandro out cold. It was a brilliant finish for the promotion’s Featherweight tournament. Whether he actually gets his title shot against Joe Warren, who knows. (Warren has to first deal with Patricio Pitbull.)
Warren wants to fight in the promotion’s Bantamweight tournament and win that title. He may have to defend his 145 pound crown first and, barring hideous judges, Curran will likely be the man to take the Featherweight title away from him.
The immediate screaming about Sandro being overrated because of the hype from his Japanese bouts is warranted, but not too much so. Hatsu Hioki is Zuffa bound and Curran is starting to build a nice career resume at age 23. Curran’s knock out of Sandro was a much-needed outcome to wash the bad taste out of everyone’s mouth over Cole Konrad’s three round decision win over Paul Buentello. The only highlight of that fight was listening to Neil Grove on commentary, who I thought did a solid job as the third man in the booth.
Seth Petruzelli dispatched of Ricco Rodriguez and says he wants to fight at Light Heavyweight. He was sporting the Tri-Coasta name, headed up by the lovely Michelle Lee and Korean Zombie nation.
Jack Encarnacao said that he saw a Spike TV presence at the Mohegan Sun event. If there was any doubt that Spike is ready to make the move into Bellator’s camp, those doubts should be erased. For MMA fans, Bellator obtaining a great slot on Spike TV is a good development for the business. It means Bjorn Rebney will be able to make some money and not have fighters stuck in contractual limbo (like they would be if the promotion went bankrupt).
It means that Sam Caplan and company will be able to develop new talent Stateside and either keep the stars they create or watch them move up to Zuffa. No matter how you slice it, Bellator heading to Spike TV would be a very solid move for both parties and for the sport of MMA itself.
Somehow, I don’t think Mr. Rebney will be saying things like ‘fuck ESPN‘ in negotiations. The idea of UFC getting $100 million USD/year from Fox one week and Bellator signing a deal with Spike TV the next week would really cement the stability of the sport. There’s no other way to state it. I’m all for Bellator moving to Spike TV… and I don’t think they’ll need Ari Emanuel’s help in brokering a deal.
That, and watching Spike TV run non-stop Bellator ads during upcoming UFC telecasts.
Topics: Bellator, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 37 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Carlos Condit thinks GSP will beat Nick Diaz by decision
By Zach Arnold | August 20, 2011
RON KRUCK: “Well, speaking of success, you’ve won 12 out of 13, you’ve been on fire. How much do you attribute training here at Jackson’s to your recent success?”
CARLOS CONDIT: “It’s a huge part of it. I started training with Greg and out of Greg’s system when I was very young, 15 years old, and you know Greg Jackson was teaching Mixed Martial Arts before most people even knew what UFC was so he’s got a wealth of experience, you know, didn’t start off teaching grappling or teaching striking, he started off incorporating everything together and that’s why our fighters here are so well-rounded.”
RON KRUCK: “Well, it’s paid off for you, there’s no doubt about it and you’ve earned a huge fight with BJ Penn. Give us your thoughts on first off before we break the fight down really in fighting an MMA pioneer in BJ Penn.”
CARLOS CONDIT: “Yeah, you know, it’s an absolute honor to be facing BJ, you know, it’s really amazing to have worked my way up to facing somebody, you know, of legendary status in this sport and I’m as motivated as I’ve ever been in my career and, you know, I better be because I know I have a very, very tough test in front of me.”
RON KRUCK: “Biggest fight of your career?”
CARLOS CONDIT: “Absolutely. You know, every fight’s the biggest test of your career. They’re all important these days, it’s always a tougher and tougher opponent so I’m training for BJ as if he was the toughest guy that I’ve ever faced because he probably is.”
RON KRUCK: “When you go up against a guy like Penn not only a veteran with a ton of cage experience but a guy who’s really well rounded, is there anything you’ve been concentrating on in training to help prepare a little bit better or is he just one of those guys you better practice everything?”
CARLOS CONDIT: “Yeah, BJ is very, very well-rounded. There’s really nobody like him in the sport so it’s really hard to get a training partner to emulate his style. So, you know, right now I’m just focusing on working all aspects of my game, being the best Carlos Condit that I can be and, you know, hopefully I’m able to pull it off.”
RON KRUCK: “If you are able to pull it off, that would be a huge victory for you. You’d win 13 out of 14, do you feel that you should get the next title shot?”
CARLOS CONDIT: “Yeah, you know, I’ve not only been winning my fights I’ve been winning them by stoppages, you know, for the most part. Every one of my wins has been a finish and… you know, I think that definitely qualifies for me title contender status.”
RON KRUCK: “Who do you like in that next fight, Georges St. Pierre is taking on Nick Diaz. First guy to really come over from Strikeforce, which generates some interest but really a match-up of two of the top fighters in the division. Who wins and why?”
CARLOS CONDIT: “You know, Nick Diaz is a very, very tough fighter, well-rounded, unorthodox striking style that works very well for him but Georges St. Pierre does what he does so well and he has his strategy and his style down and I really feel that Georges takes this fight. I don’t see him finishing Diaz but I think he gets the decision.”
***
Here some video tributes to the late Shawn Tompkins, including the video package HD Net aired last night.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 4 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
MMA Link Club: What’s the next domino to fall after #UFC & Fox tie up for 7 years?
By Zach Arnold | August 19, 2011
A hearty congratulations to our old friend Tetsuya Sano, who won two fights this past weekend at Akira Maeda’s ‘Outsider’ event in Tokyo. Sano will face Keinosuke “Tattoo Man” Yoshinaga on 11/13 at Yokohama Bunka Gym.
And, yes, that is the extent of what is happening these days in Japan.
Josh Barnett was supposed to fight Jerome Le Banner on Inoki’s 8/27 Tokyo, Ryogoku Kokugikan event. This is going to be the ‘protest’ show running opposite the Tokyo Sports event at Nippon Budokan. However, IGF announced today that Barnett had to cancel at the last-minute due to Strikeforce having their Heavyweight GP set for September 10th. The focus on Zuffa owning Strikeforce now is the reason he had to back out of the IGF date.
Member sites of the MMA Link Club
- Five Ounces of Pain – http://fiveouncesofpain.com/feed/rss
- MMA Fighting – http://www.mmafighting.com/rss.xml
- NBC Sports – http://www.nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/42363531/device/rss/rss.xml
- Cage Potato – http://www.cagepotato.com/feed
- MMA Mania – http://feeds.feedburner.com/sportsblogs/mmamania.xml
- 5thRound – http://www.5thround.com/feed
- Bleacher Report – http://bleacherreport.com/articles/feed?tag_id=3007
- MiddleEasy – http://middleeasy.com/index.php?format=feed&type=rss
- LowKick – http://www.lowkick.com/newrss
- The Fight Nerd – http://www.thefightnerd.com/feed
- MMA Convert – http://feeds.feedburner.com/mmaconvert
- Fight Opinion – http://feeds.feedburner.com/fightopinion
- MMA Payout – http://feeds.feedburner.com/Payout
This week’s MMA Link Club featured stories
Five Ounces of Pain: UFC 136 press conference highlights
Lost in all the shuffle of the big news this week is the fact that UFC is ramping up the hype machine for their two huge shows in October. Kenny Florian is doing his best to convince everyone that he can beat Jose Aldo. Easier said than done.
MMA Fighting: Monumental TV Deal Expands UFC’s Reach, but Sport Remains the Same
Remember how your grandfather used to tell you about boxing’s heyday, when you could sit down on Friday night and watch Rocky Marciano or “Sugar” Ray Robinson duke it out on network TV in between commercials for shaving cream and hair tonic?
Yeah, this is kind of like that. Or at least, it could be, even if it probably won’t change the entirety of the MMA landscape the way some might expect.
NBC Sports (Mike Chiappetta): Underrated Joseph Benavidez awaits another shot
Of course, Benavidez would like a third shot at Cruz, but in the promotional landscape, it’s a hard sell, if not downright impossible. Even if you accept Benavidez as the No. 2 fighter in the division — most do — you can’t erase the fact that he’s already had two chances to beat Cruz, and failed both times. What, the critics ask, would a third time change?
Cage Potato: Dear Fox, please keep Gus Johnson away from your UFC broadcasts. Signed, everyone.
MMA Mania: UFC on Fox event November 12th show will feature two fights
The key here is that this will air before Manny Pacquiao’s fight, so that night is turning in a great one for everyone.
5th Round: UFC and Fox — awkward start to a great partnership
Joe Rogan in a suit is always bananas.
Bleacher Report: Who will headline UFC on Fox November 12th event?
The fight everyone keeps harping about is Tito Ortiz vs. Rich Franklin with Ben Henderson vs. Clay Guida as the opener. Better suggestions?
Middle Easy (Zeus): So, here’s every possible note that I could take during the UFC on Fox press conference…
Due to my innate paraonia, I arrived two hours early for the UFC on FOX press conference. A group of us waited in the lobby of the FOX studio, curiously looking at the wide-screen tube television that was set up on a white podium. Montell Wiliams was on, advocating the benefits of marijuana. Before we could all unanimously agree how right Montell was, we were whisked away by someone at FOX Sports. It’s important to note that every female staff member in the FOX studio was astonishingly attractive and dressed in either a moderately short skirt or a very tight skirt. There was no in between. Granted the event was held in Beverly Hills, but kudos to the hiring director over at FOX. You know how to appeal to my sexually deprived reality, sir (and I’m absolutely certain that it is a ‘sir’).
It’s important to keep your priorities straight.
LowKick: Brendan Schaub interview, says he will knock out Nogueira in R2
The Fight Nerd: Bellator heavyweight champion Cole Konrad discusses season five of Bellator FC
MMA Convert (Jim Genia): Upon reflection after UFC signs deal with Fox, a look at most important milestones
MMA Payout: Bellator remains committed to MTV2
If Bjorn Rebney won’t take a deal with Spike because it would mean altering his current matchmaking process, then there’s nothing anyone can say that will help him out. If T. Jay Thompson is able to get a deal with Spike TV, that would be saucy.
Topics: Bellator, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 13 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |