Loretta Hunt: CBS Sports won’t cover UFC because of Zuffa’s media policy
By Zach Arnold | April 12, 2011
Jason Probst & Loretta Hunt did a series of online segments on Monday discussing the political and business fallout from last Saturday’s Strikeforce show in San Diego which featured Zuffa’s presence in terms of managing/running things. One interesting note (which you can watch here) is Loretta claiming that Mr. Kato, the man behind Real Entertainment and one of the top suits during the PRIDE days (a buddy of Nobuyuki Sakakibara), was there at the show in San Diego. Bet that was a fun encounter with the Japanese and Zuffa brass. Zuffa sued Sakakibara after the PRIDE asset sale agreement and we all know about reports suggesting that Sakakibara & Kato are sharing an office in Tokyo (with Kato wanting to become a public face for future Japanese events).
An item from the weekend that generated buzz online was the fact that Zuffa took over the media credentials process for Strikeforce shows. That means the standard UFC operating procedure with contracts and media access now applies to SF events that were once very much open to the press. The restricted media list includes Loretta Hunt, Josh Gross (ESPN), Sherdog, and other media writers that don’t have close business relationships with the organization.
Loretta commented on not getting credentialed for the San Diego event.
“Did it hurt me? Yeah, sure. That was my first assignment for CBS Sports. I worked with one of the editors, producers over there who does the NFL and also had done MMA in the past. His name is Denny Burkholder, he’s a big fan of Mixed Martial Arts and CBS Sports, I’m told, hasn’t really covered MMA for the last year or so for various reasons I’m told because they’ve had some difficulty with getting interviews and things like that in the past, so they kind of cooled off from it and then they were coming back in, this was the first show that they were going to do in quite some time. They brought me in, assigned me, and then we were turned down. So, CBS Sports decided that they just weren’t going to do any coverage at all of the UFC. They don’t want to be told who they can send to their events and who they shouldn’t send to their events representing them.
“Yeah, I mean that I’m sad this door closed. I mean, a door really did close. CBS Sports is not going to look at MMA for at least a little while.”
The premise of CBS Sports not covering MMA extensively because they can’t get credentialed by Zuffa is a fascinating topic in and of itself. It should be noted that I’ve offered in the past to write articles on CBS for nothing and that got turned down, so Loretta is right in saying that the political brass did not want to touch MMA content.
With that said, Sherdog finds plenty of ways to interview fighters without having Zuffa show credentials. Nobody’s stopping them and Crave Online from making a nice bottom line for business.
Interestingly, you could juxtapose this to the kerfuffle that happened at The Masters over the weekend in Augusta when security banned a female reporter from a media room to cover the event. That said, Augusta has always been an easy whipping boy for the press for being a good ‘ol Southern white sexist club dating back to Martha Burk’s protests of Hootie Johnson, so there’s no surprise that the media would have a field day with a controversy like this. However, you rarely hear anything about the way UFC handles the press in the manner in which they do. The only time it blew up in their face was Dana’s infamous video rant against Loretta two years ago (you can read the transcript here). Rampage Jackson also is no fan of hers.
Just like Augusta had to apologize to the reporter in question, Dana White issued his own apology but it was with a lot less slobbering and a lot more mocking.
Back to what Loretta had to say about where CBS Sports stands when it comes to covering MMA and why the topic should matter to everyone.
“Yeah, you know, I don’t want to speak out of turn. I just, I had some conversation with CBS Sports a little bit. They just haven’t really covered Mixed Martial Arts so much because, uh, you know, because like I said I don’t want to speak out of turn but I definitely got the indication that, you know, when they were running the Elite XC events on CBS which was a competitor, you know, I think some of the access that they wanted to get in interviewing certain people and stuff was difficult for them. They felt some kind of restriction, so they kind of backed away from it and this was them kind of dipping their toe back in the water again and, you know, something like this happens again and it just reinforces, you know, the UFC and their take on the Mixed Martial Arts media and them trying to decide, you know, who they want to sent and who they don’t want to send and… you know, there’s no… there’s no secret that, uh… there’s some kind of vendetta against me. You know, I’m not welcome at the UFC shows, I haven’t been for some time. I’ve been in and out of this media ban since October 2005 when I started. You know, I’m obviously not welcome at the events probably for any outlet that I work for. You know, I’m with Sports Illustrated now and still if I apply for a credential with SI I’m not going to be allowed in either.
“But, you know, the bigger picture here is, it’s not just about me, there’s other people involved, too. There’s other media that’s not allowed in. It’s the UFC’s decision that they’re going to do this because, from everything I’ve been told, this doesn’t happen in other sports. Journalists are granted credentials if they work for a reliable media outlet and, you know, are responsible reporters. I don’t think it’s been proven that any of us on this banned/restricted list were ever irresponsible in our reporting, we haven’t been. So, you know, that’s the bigger picture with the media ban for people are kind of stepping into this and seeing this for the first time.”
After this comment, she and Jason fretted over a recent online post by Mark Cuban in which he talked about how useless the online media is for sports and that they don’t carry themselves like the print media did in the past. He talked about how broken the financial model is for sports media and that he could buy out most writers if he wanted to do so and draw as much business on his platforms than the ones currently being used. He also heaped praise on UFC’s way of handling media and this upset Loretta, but I think Mark was more or less praising UFC for their media strategy on the social networking sites (especially Facebook) and with Dana’s vision for where content is heading for online/on-demand distribution.
In this last video clip, listen to what Jason had to say about how ‘ambivalent’ he is in regards to MMA because of the kinds of fans that go to the shows. He puts it in context of trying to do his job and how hard it is without getting media credentials to do things like live PBP, shoot interviews, so on and so forth. For four minutes, it’s a burial of MMA fans and a regret that he didn’t go into covering a sport like curling. If I’m a casual MMA fan who goes on Twitter or FB and I stumble in seeing two MMA media writers talking about how they are banned from getting credentials for Zuffa shows, the last thing that would persuade me as a fan to believe they deserve any credentials is getting buried (as a fan) for how I look, what I wear, and how I behave at the fights.
Anyways, here was the final comment Loretta had to say on the matter.
“(Zuffa) wants to move into being a mainstream sport and a mainstream league at this point, like I don’t think that’s there any argument that UFC is now the our league of our sport, right? The thing that we didn’t think would happen but it happened and, you know, I gladly I can admit that and say that about this sport. If they want to be like all the other leagues, you know, the NBA like you know barring whatever Mark Cuban is considering, the NFL, all these other guys they don’t restrict the media and I bet you they don’t like the media that comes through because they are probably a lot more critical in other sports than the hardest critics are in Mixed Martial Arts. So, what’s happening is extraordinary and makes us seem kind of hokey, you know, Mixed Martial Arts compared to all the other sports. What other big promotion do you know that doesn’t let the media in? It’s the WWE, it’s the professional wrestling. They don’t let certainly media in that they don’t like, who they don’t want covering certain things. Dave Meltzer’s been banned from the WWE for years. So the UFC’s following a model of a fake sport!”
Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 94 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Mauro Ranallo speaks out on Bi-Polar Affective Disorder
By Zach Arnold | April 11, 2011
Once upon time, he was a rat-faced commentator and heel in professional wrestling. Today, Mauro Ranallo is the lead MMA announcer (when Gus Johnson isn’t around) on Showtime broadcasts. Mauro knows a thing or two about managing, talking, and playing the role he’s given on television.
On Monday, a former wrestling manager named Larry Sweeney reportedly took his own life at age 29. He suffered from mental health issues that were covered extensively in media circles. The sad announcement of Sweeney’s death gave Mauro a chance on his Monday radio show to talk about a condition he has been managing for many years now – Bi-Polar Affective Disorder.
“I know that my nickname, and some people might think that it’s a joke but it is not, I call myself The Bi-Polar Rock ‘n Roller, I’ve actually been called that in the past and… it’s the truth. I am someone who suffers from Bi-Polar Affective Disorder. Any of you who have seen my interview with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani knows what I’ve had to deal with throughout my life and one of the reasons I did that interview in August of last year was to try to convey to people that, yes, mental illness is a reality and, yes, people can actually function and at a very high level while suffering from it. Has it always been easy? No. Have I gone through trials and tribulations? Have I hit proverbial rock bottom in my life? Yes. But I also had a very strong family background. Tremendous friends. And a love and understanding of not only what it is that I feel I’m put on Earth to do which is stuff like I’m doing right now and being afforded the ability and the opportunity to do what I would do for absolutely free. I’ve said it many times and I know not only my career has saved my life but, again, the fact that people who are close to me in my inner circle have gone out of their way to learn, to educate themselves on mental illness. Has society done a good job of educating people on it? Not necessarily. I think there is still very much a stigma attached and that is why there is a very high suicide rate for those who suffer from mental illness, and unfortunately today, it’s claimed yet another victim.
“I can’t say that I knew Larry Sweeney on any other basis other than professionally. I met him in person a few times. I always thought he was very similar to me in many ways, coming from a pro-wrestling background, beginning as a very young manager. He had the gift of the gab. Was a very creative person and unfortunately Larry Sweeney had his own personal demons. I know that he suffered from mental illness. I know that he suffered from Bi-Polar Affective Disorder.”
Mauro says he chose to speak out about the mental condition he tries to manage with medication in hopes that he can raise awareness and combat the negative stigma those who suffer from the condition have to deal with publicly.
“The fact that a lot of times because it is an invisible, for the most part, disease when I say that is we’re not in the wheelchair, and again this is not to malign, degrade anyone with a physical or mental handicap. I’m just saying that coming from all walks of life, everyone has a blue day. Everyone goes through a depression up-and-down. But there is a difference between that and being clinically depressed or being diagnosed with a chemical imbalance. It is like someone with Diabetes who has to take an insulin injection every day to survive. I now, for the past eight years, have committed myself to taking my medication in the morning. Did I want to at one time? No, of course not. None of us want to be labeled. No one wants to admit that there is a problem. But that’s the way it is and it’s a legitimate illness.
“And, to me, it really I guess because it does hit so close to home, it almost wants me to make me stand up on my soap box even here on this radio show that I have and tell people out there and I know that my interview with Ariel Helwani really did strike a chord with a lot of people. There is someone out there to help you. I wish I could help each and every person that is suffering with a form of mental health or Bi-Polar disorder. If it takes you e-mailing me, [email protected], hit me up at Twitter at mauroranallo and let me see what I can do because one of the reasons I just, you know, started getting more involved in this is that, again, I was there. I was in the darkest moments, in a bed, in a psychiatric ward by myself, four concrete walls, no windows. I spent three months in a psychiatric ward in my 20s thinking that not only my career but my life was over. But again, by the grace of God or whatever entity you want to choose to believe in, I’m here and my career I cannot ask for more. I could not ask for more success. So, please, I don’t want this to turn into a melodrama thing or whatever, I’m just saying we’ve lost yet another one. If it takes you to reach out to me for help, I will do so. There are many, many different organizations around North America, wherever you’re listening. Mental health issue does not have to be a death sentence.”
Topics: Media, MMA, Pro-Wrestling, Zach Arnold | 2 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Dana White’s Strikeforce party in San Diego
By Zach Arnold | April 10, 2011
(Click the picture to watch the video. Image/video courtesy AOL/MMAFighting.com.)
We all know how similar Dana White & Vince McMahon are (scary). However, tonight may have been the moment where we truly say that we saw that McMahon-like quality to rub it into people’s faces. Other than showing up with Jake Shields on camera during the WEC PPV last April, this was the top rub-in moment. Dana White shows up in a Strikeforce t-shirt to basically throw himself a party and watch fights for the competition he just bought.
“It just feels like being at another fight.”
He observed the way Showtime produced the show and hinted at changes to come to make the live house experience better — a complaint that was almost universal at last February’s Izod Center SF show.
“Without sounding like a dick, I think we’re the best in the business.”
Videos (ESPN): Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley | Gilbert Melendez vs. Crusher Kawajiri
He gives the proverbial middle finger to Rockstar by drinking Xyience, the drink of choice for the Fertitta empire, and has the cage canvas plastered with a UFC PPV ad graphic. Everywhere you looked, Dana was in an over-joyous mood. The mood got even better when Nick Diaz knocked around Paul Daley.
“When I listen to Nick Diaz talk, you know, this kid’s talented. He’s well-rounded, you know. I like his attitude and the way that he carries himself… to a point. He always crosses the line every time he gets out there and talks publicly and… he can be such a big star. This kid could be a big star if he would just calm down a little bit and not so be so angry with everybody. I mean, seriously, who the fuck wants to beat up Ariel Helwani, man? Other than other reporters, who wants to beat up Ariel Helwani?! It’s just… Nick has this talent and he talks about the big money and all the other things. He can make this big money. He can do that. He can be that guy. He could fight GSP. He could have all these opportunities. He’s got to tone it down a little bit, you know, and I don’t think that many people out there would disagree with me and I’m not asking Nick Diaz not to be Nick Diaz. I like Nick Diaz. I like the way he is and it’s part of the appeal of him, you know. But you gotta tone it down just a little bit.
“I’ve told him that when he did and didn’t work for me. And I’m sure he’s heard me say it many times and I’m sure he’ll hear me say this, you know, and his brother Nate & I have a great relationship. Nate is like Nick in a lot of ways, you know, they’re brothers, they’re close and they train together and they come out of the same camp but, you know, Nate is Nate without always crossing that line, you know, if we could get Nick to a point where he doesn’t cross the line and he doesn’t get so crazy all the time, he could be a big star. People like him. And people dislike him, too. That’s not a bad thing.”
We all know what the end game here is. Showtime’s essentially paying Zuffa and giving them a media platform to push upcoming PPV events. Some suggested that they should grateful that they stumbled into obtaining a Zuffa-based product. I suspect Ken Hershman is not one of those people.
“Showtime’s actually been great to deal with.
“It’s been great, and no, I haven’t talked to them. You know, Lorenzo (Fertitta) talked to them originally and then flew out and talked to them a couple days ago and everything’s been great. There’s no hard feelings on that side and there’s no hard feelings on this side. We’ll figure this thing out.
“There’s some guys over at CBS & Showtime that I’ve had great relationships with and never had a problem with and then there’s some that I’ve butted heads with.”
After everything was said and done Saturday night in San Diego, Dana White lives in an MMA world where he is the judge, jury, and executioner. His verdict is often final. Just ask Chael Sonnen. Mr. Sonnen has had a lot of experience dealing with judges and verdicts lately.
“I think the kid’s paid his dues as far as time goes and financially. He’s taken his lumps. He’s paid his dues, so time to get back and get to work. ASAP.”
DW translation: Get your head out of your ass, Keith Kizer. You’re not going to stop us. No one else has been able to, so far.
Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 61 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Ben Askren wins over few fans at Bellator 40 in Oklahoma
By Zach Arnold | April 10, 2011
Ben Askren: A pain in the ass to watch and an even bigger pain in the ass to fight.
Ben is one of the few fighters who both entertains and aggravates me each time I watch him fight. He really is masterful at neutralizing the offense of an opponent. He makes the complicated look ridiculously easy when it come to positioning. Those are his strengths. He’s trying to improve his finishing ability, but he’s not there yet. There’s a long ways to go for him in this sport to compete with the very best.
The part that is frustrating to watch is that he’s active… enough… to not have a referee stand him up but when he’s on offense it’s not very damaging at all. That’s the next big step he needs to take in order for his career to progress. He toyed around with Nick Thompson and Ben was truthful in advertising that he would take down Thompson any time he wanted to.
Is he right about most of the fans at MMA events wanting blood and guts? Yes. But I also think that many who do watch for the technical side of the game can both be pleased and frustrated by his unique fighting style. There’s no question that he’s talented. The disparity, however, between the charisma he exudes in interviews and outside of the cage does not match his fighting style… just yet. Patience is a virtue here. The fact that he’s so talented at avoiding submissions and cannot be out-wrestled are huge building blocks.
The one area, briefly, that he displayed rather average skill (at best) was his stand-up game.
Speaking of the stand-up game, I have no idea what to make of the game plan Jay Hieron brought to the table against Brent Weedman in his tournament fight. I was surprised (maybe even a little stunned) when the judges unanimously gave Hieron the 29-28 win over Weedman. I thought Jay won R1, Weedman R2, and then R3 could have either been a draw or slightly in favor of Brent. When the fight was on the ground and Jay was on top position, not much his opponent could do. However, too much of the fight was standing up and Weedman was able to avoid being in much trouble. I still am trying to figure out how the judges scored the fight for Hieron. Josh Gross:
Kinda feels like Jay Hieron got away w/ one. Felt Brent Weedman did enough to fight Rick Hawn in Bellator 170 finals. R3 was tight though.
After the main event, Ben Askren was asked his thoughts about the possibility of fighting Jay Hieron. He totally buried Hieron and said that he didn’t see anything impressive about Hieron’s fight to make him worry much. He’s right.
Check out Ben’s image on the Bellator van.
Next week: Joe Warren. I love watching this guy fight. Your turn, Marcos Galvao.
Topics: Bellator, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 9 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Will Zuffa address buying out Strikeforce on tomorrow’s Showtime broadcast?
By Zach Arnold | April 8, 2011
It’s an interesting question to ask because the main event features two fighters who I would not exactly call friendly to the organization. Nick Diaz is busy telling the world that he’s driving a Honda and that he’s the most overworked, over-trained, underpaid fighter in MMA. Paul Daley got booted out of the UFC after sucker punching Josh Koscheck at the end of their Montreal fight last year. He then went online after Scott Coker made the deal and expressed his anger.
How close was he to not signing the fight contract for the bout with Diaz?
“Uh, fairly, initially, because it was a shock to me. I said that I enjoyed the competition, I liked that Strikeforce was the competition. You know, the UFC got rid of me and I was doing my own thing, fighting for various organizations and Strikeforce was the first big one where I made an impact and I did it in, you know, a good fashion that was remembered for all of last year. So, I was generally kind of pissed off that I felt like Scott Coker had sold out and, you know, he e-mailed me and I responded along those lines, I told him the same thing. But having spoke to a few people and thought about it, it’s just, it’s what it is. It’s what it is. I have to fight because I agreed to fight, I signed the contract, so. You know, it’s what it is.”
Scott Coker’s reaction?
“I can’t remember, I’ve got the e-mail in my inbox. It was kind of long. You know, I said to him basically I’m a fan of the martial arts and I don’t want, you know, this form of martial arts and martial competition to be referred to as the UFC when in fact it’s a mixture of martial arts and I think Mixed Martial Arts is more representative of what we’re doing. And he kind of agreed-ish, I can’t really remember the e-mail, so I don’t want to put no heat on him. But he kind of agreed with me and that was that.”
What does he see his future like under the Zuffa umbrella?
“Well, I signed for six fights and this is number two, so… All going well on Saturday, knocking Nick Diaz out, and being champion I’ll have four more fights on that contract. And, if not, we’ll see what happens, see what the people at the top want to do with me. But I can fight anywhere. I enjoy fighting. I don’t mind where it is. I can get paid. I can draw a crowd and, you know, draw press attention. So I’m cool.”
Did he reach out to Dana White?
“Nope, I haven’t. I have no reason to. I released a public apology after the incident and that’s that.”
I know that Zuffa has been largely quiet and has gone in their ‘business as usual’ mode since the deal was made, but this is the first major Strikeforce broadcast since the acquisition and it’s on Showtime. Should they try to ignore the large proverbial elephant in the room?
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 60 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Bjorn Rebney: It’s MTV’s call to shift Bellator’s TV time slot to not conflict with UFC
By Zach Arnold | April 7, 2011
I slept on this overnight after hearing the initial comments in order to get a better read on what is being said here. Earlier in the week, we laid out the various issues Bellator is facing with MTV2 both on the positive & negative sides of the equation. A big negative is that their time slot is not consistent, which happens to be a big reason they left Fox Sports Net (due to the shifting time slots and pre-emptions). However, FSN is a far bigger platform/chain of networks than MTV2. MTV2 isn’t on the roster of some cable providers and for many it’s either not available in HD or it’s on a pay tier. So, access is always going to be an issue.
Our buddy Jack Encarnacao asked Bjorn Rebney about the moving time slot on MTV2 and whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing.
“Well, yeah, I mean it… *sighs* That was… *sighs* I thought, and I still believe to this day, I think it’s a good philosophy and it’s a good way to be able to orchestrate because the UFC, as well all know, anybody who has been watching this game over the years knows that the UFC counter-programs and that’s not an unusual position for an organization in any sport or any entertainment industry to take. When somebody else was doing an event and, you know, the UFC existing under the MTV Networks banner was able to counter-program them, they did, and they did it really effectively. We’re under the same banner corporately that they are. MTV Networks owns Spike and MTV Networks owns MTV2 so it’s a conscious decision of our partners to move our programming up and to be able to say, ‘Hey, you can watch Bellator on MTV2 and then you can turn over when the Bellator show is over and watch the UFC on Spike.’ So, it works for us now. What’s going to happen in the coming year and years, you know, that’ll have to be dictated in terms of looking at the schedule and determining what we’re going to do. You know, I like the flexibility of not having, as an MMA fan, having to making a choice whether you’re going to watch one or the other but given the option to watch both.”
There are one of two reads you can interpret from this answer:
- MTV is doing it in order to protect Bellator from losing viewers if the promotion had to run head-to-head against UFC.
- UFC is Viacom’s golden goose for MMA and they are not going to piss off Zuffa, an organization that plays hardball, in order to treat Bellator as an equal in the MMA field.
You can pick which read you want to. As Mr. Rebney pointed out previously, having Bellator on a media platform that understands what the sport of MMA is and knows how to produce MMA programming is a big plus. However, Bellator is now under the same media umbrella as UFC and that will put them in a box in a lot of ways. The only way that ceiling is lifted is if Bellator’s numbers dramatically grow or if UFC leaves the Viacom umbrella and signs a deal with another big media partner.
Jack also asked the Bellator CEO a very interesting question about the Strikeforce asset sale to UFC. He framed it this way: “Is that a success or failure story to you?” The answer given was revealing.
“Well, it depends on what your business goals were. I mean, it would not be, if you’re looking at it and fast-forwarding in Bellator’s future, it would not be a success in our business model. But, you know, you got to ask yourself, what did the ownership of Strikeforce want? What was Scott Coker looking for? What did he want to accomplish? Quite obviously, it was an exit strategy. And, you know, he was able to accomplish that. And I guess congratulations are, you know, due to Scott for having accomplished that successfully. It’s not our model but, you know, ultimately the impact that it has on the game and the impact that it has on our sport… I look at it as a fan, I’ve said this many times. I think that the more competition you have out there, the more people you have out there regularly programming and producing, you know, high-level world-class Mixed Martial Arts events, the more world-class wrestlers, the more world-class judokas, the more world-class Jiu-Jitsu players, the more world-class guys are going to gravitate toward this game and ultimately more quickly what I believe is the greatest sport in the world is going to get better, stronger, faster, more exciting. So, from a fan’s perspective, I look at that transition and I think, hey, that’s probably not overall great for our game because the elimination of competition eliminates a number of options that fighters have to pursue this full-time. But, you know, hey, you have to ask the folks at Strikeforce, that’s obviously what they were looking for and they got it and it limits the scope of the field now.”
He knows what we all have known, which is that what has happened in the American pro-wrestling scene with one major player (WWE) is happening to the American MMA scene with UFC. The more failures and sales there are, the less inclined people are going to be to put up any sort of cash to get involved in the business. When that happens, salaries go down and there are fewer job slots open. When there’s less money, fewer people are interested in getting involved in making it a full-time career and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The danger that Zuffa needs to avoid is the fate that WWE has now, which is a fan base that has atrophied and been demoralized. That demoralized wrestling fan base has a substitute, not a replacement, to turn to in watching UFC. Where will MMA fans go when they get burnt out or get bored with the product?
Topics: Bellator, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 25 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Ben Askren: Fighters who focus on putting on a show instead of winning are losers
By Zach Arnold | April 7, 2011
Ben Askren was booked for a radio interview on Sherdog. The lead-in topic was fan feedback, most of it in disgust about Eddie Alvarez not finishing off Pat Curran last Saturday at Bellator 39 in Eddie’s five-round title defense (he won by unanimous decision). Without much of an introduction, Askren jumped right into the fray and stood up for the Bellator Lightweight champion.
“I thought he was fairly aggressive. As MMA goes on, people are going to get tougher and tougher and tougher and everyone’s getting harder to finish. In the past, the levels of fighters have been so far apart but now as everyone gets better it’s going to get closer and closer, it’s going to be harder to finish fights.”
He believes that winning is the primary objective and that fighters who fight for bonuses (like the Leonard Garcias, the Chris Lytles, the Jorge Gurgels of the world) are losers.
“I think people like that are losers because, in my mind, a fight’s about winning, not about putting on a show. We’re not singers, we’re not actors, we are Mixed Martial Artists or fighters or athletes, whichever way you wanna do it and that’s about winning. I mean, and when you consider it consider this point from an athlete’s perspective. So, a championship fight’s 25 minutes. That’s a long fricking time to fight. I’ve done a lot of hard things in my life and that’s one of the hardest. 25 minutes is a long time to fight. When you consider, if you go out there and say you go out like a sprint pace, like you go hard and Eddie Alvarez went to take his head off in the first two minutes, he might have gassed out in two minutes and lost the fight. That would have been so stupid and, so, I mean when you’re fighting for 25 minutes, every fan and their mother can talk shit about this and that and don’t finish fights. Well, why don’t they get in there and fight for 25 minutes? That’s a long time. And you got to win before you show. I mean, people that show on top of winning, say Anderson Silva, that dude now he’s a showman but he’s also won, what, 13 fights in a row? So, obviously, he can do it. And there’s people like Leonard Garcia who goes out and puts on a show but he’s like 3-5 in his last 8 fights. Like, c’mon dude.”
Mr. Askren also thinks the fans that encourage that mentality are marks who don’t grasp what the sport of MMA is about.
“It’s kind of annoying but I understand that all they want to see is blood and guts, 90% of them. I mean there’s only a small few that actually appreciate the intricacies of grappling and all the other stuff that goes on within a fight. Most of them just want to see someone get knocked out cold.”
Ben also jumped into another hot-topic discussion, which is the concept of UFC wanting teammates to fight each other. Consider Ben squarely in the corner of Cesar Gracie on the topic.
“I mean, Tyron Woodley is the only person in my division that I wouldn’t fight. Jake Shields… I went up and trained with him for a while and I really like him. We kind of became friends, so, you know, I would think twice about ever taking that and maybe if they forced into it, I might, but… it’s just, there’s how many people that fight? There’s probably 100 people on the UFC roster in Welterweight, maybe 75, I don’t know. But, it’s like, I can fight all those dudes and Cesar Gracie’s point was you can fight one guy for $10 million or you can fight another guy for $8 million, like, what’s the difference? There’s so many other people to fight. You know, what’s the point? And that’s kind of the way that I feel about it. It’s like, if I’m going to fight, I’m going to try to hurt somebody. I might have to do something dirty to do that and I don’t want to have to worry about my friend saying, ‘Why the hell did you do that to me?’ And, so, it’s just not worth it to me and there’s so many other people that I can beat up in the world, why would I want to beat up one of my friends?”
Askren was doing the media rounds to promote his upcoming fight on Saturday night against Nick Thompson. Suffice to say, Ben’s not into the entertainment thing because rather than try to build up the fight, he destroyed Thompson throughout the interview as an opponent that poses no threat of winning their fight.
“I really don’t believe he brings a lot (to the table). The one thing, you know, I won’t get in a boxing match with him. Like I said, if I do stand-up with him it’ll be after I tenderize him for a few minutes and he won’t be the same person that we was at the beginning of the fight. He’ll be a much weaker, worn-down opponent. Other than that, I’ll know he’ll try to go for a sneaky submission here and there, he is a veteran, he’s obviously won a lot of fights, I think he’s won 38 fights so obviously he does a few things well. But I’ve been grappling with a lot of black belts and I know I’m a very difficult person to submit, so I’m not really worried about that. I don’t think he’s been training that hard, I think he’s over the hill, I don’t think he’s got great cardio, he’s probably cutting too much weight which leads me to believe that he’s going to come out and try to throw a few hard punches and, after that, it’s money in the bank for me.”
He explains his high level of confidence as more or less factually-based rationalization.
“I wasn’t the kind of wrestler that stood around and won a match 3-2. When I was in college wrestling, I won by big points and I took the guys who are the best college wrestlers in the nation, I took them down lots of time in a match. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, I took them down that many times in a match so really the only people you have in fighting right now in my weight class are Johny Hendricks and Josh Koscheck. And that’s it, that’s two people, that’s not very many when you consider how many people are fighting in my weight class. And below that you have Tyron Woodley, he never won a national title, he’s a great wrestler but I won’t fight him because we’ve been friends since I was 17 years old. So, really, I don’t think there’s anyone that can stop me from taking them down because not only am I going to try taking them down once but I’m a very persistent person and I get what I want and I’m going to keep on coming until I get it so it’s going to be very difficult for someone to stop me from doing that.”
Mr. Askren feels his skill set makes him very hard to beat in today’s MMA environment.
“I love the sport of MMA. I try to be an intelligent fighter like I try to be an intelligent wrestler. I’m not one of those guys that goes, ‘oh, I’m just going to go out there and see what happens.’ … So when I got into the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, I know for a fact that, hey, I’ll be able to take anyone down that I want. So, OK, after that, then what’s my next point of emphasis… Jiu-Jitsu. If I can take anyone down and no one can submit me, then already at that point I’m a very, very difficult person to beat. And so then that’s what I did, so I went there, I got some black belts and I said, c’mon, let’s go, submit me as many times as you can and I’m going to figure out how to get out of it. So, right away I’m a tough person to beat because I got good cardio, I’m going to quit, I’m going to take you down, and you can’t submit me. That’s a tough person to win a fight against, strategy-wise, against anyone in the world that can happen. And then after that, now I’m just starting to work on my hands in case there is someone who I do prefer to stand up with or whatever.
“Right now, I feel like I’m really a threat to anyone. I mean I’ve trained with guys who are the best in the world. I’ve trained with Jake Shields, I’ve trained with Nick Diaz, I’ve trained with Jon Fitch. I understand how good the best people in the world at my weight class are. I really do. And just because I haven’t fought them in a real fight doesn’t mean that I don’t understand that. So, yeah, I’m trying to step up fast. I’m not trying to be in fighting until I’m 40. I want to see how good I can get, get there as fast as I can, do it, say OK, I did it, and then calm down, have a family, and live happily ever after, I guess.”
Topics: Bellator, Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 18 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Cesar Gracie: If UFC wants teammates fighting, why doesn’t Dana White fight Lorenzo Fertitta on PPV?
By Zach Arnold | April 6, 2011
There was a great interview with Cesar Gracie on The Fight Show yesterday. A lot of topics were covered and I’ll have the quotes here for you in a second.
One of the big topics discussed was, should Jake Shields beat GSP in Toronto and win the UFC Welterweight title, the concept of UFC wanting Jake Shields (as a UFC champion) facing Nick Diaz (as the Strikeforce champion should he beat Paul Daley). The idea of UFC wanting that to happen, given what’s happened with Rashad Evans & Jon Jones at Greg Jackson’s camp, is one that Cesar Gracie says he would not allow to happen.
“Well, every camp has to make that decision for themselves. But you first have to define the term ‘teammate.’ If a teammate is starting a camp and you recruit fighters from outside who have never met each other or, you know, barely know each other and you bring them in, OK now you’re training here. Well, you know, they can fight each other because these guys haven’t grown up in the sport before that and when you get a guy like Jake Shields and Nick Diaz, Gilbert Melendez, Nathan Diaz, guys like that what happens is these guys went from, you know, beginning white belt and at the very infant stages of their careers to where they’re at now, superstars. So, in that sense, it doesn’t make sense for them to fight. I would never have Nick and, you know, Jake fight each other and I wouldn’t have Gilbert and Nathan fight each other, it’s just not going to happen. So whether the fans want it or not, and you know, I know we get a lot of people complaining about that, that’s usually people who aren’t part of a team or who have never trained in their lives so they are looking at it from a different viewpoint than we do. But if you’re thinking about fighting your teammate, I mean… Nick has helped Jake tremendously and Jake has helped Nick tremendously. For example, when you think there’s a possibility that you might have to fight this guy, why would you help that guy? That’s the guy you’re helping to beat you some day.
“The Rashad Evans thing, I mean I obviously wasn’t there, I probably know as much about it as anyone else just reading something on the Internet or something. But when the other guy came in, Jon Jones, I’m sure Rashad helped that guy tremendously to be where he is at now. If they would have known from the get-go that they would be fighting each other possibly in the future, would Rashad have helped him? He probably wouldn’t have and therefore Jones wouldn’t be what he is today. And so I can absolutely see, you go in and it’s like, hey, this camp is saying ‘we don’t fight each other.’ Well, OK, then you help the guy out and, you know, he steamrolls everybody out there but you, that’s great. But if you think there’s a chance that you guys are fighting, why are you going to help him? It’s just a different thing.
“And Dana, you know, Dana White doesn’t appreciate that because he’s always looking for the big-money fight and what the fans want, to make money. But I’ll pose this question to him — when’s he going to fight one of the Fertitta brothers? Not going to happen! Someone offers him a bunch of money, is he going to go punch Lorenzo in the face, possibly knocking his teeth out for money?
“How about a childhood friend? If they grew up together, made money together and everything, he’s not going to go fight that guy. Well, why not? What if the fans called for it tomorrow? What if we thought that was interesting? And people obviously would pay to see that. Is he going to do it? No. OK, well, there you go.”
April is a big month for his camp, as both Nick Diaz & Gilbert Melendez fight on Saturday night’s Strikeforce card at the San Diego Sports Arena. Nate Diaz and Jake Shields fight on the huge Sky Dome/Rogers Centre event in Toronto at the end of the month.
(By the way, if you want to get credentialed for the Strikeforce event, Showtime’s PR firm isn’t controlling it any more. Guess who’s running credentials now? Lots of unhappy folks.)
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Canada, Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 18 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Bellator’s Bjorn Rebney: “We’re not bleeding”, says they’re breaking even
By Zach Arnold | April 6, 2011
The news coming out of this weekend’s Bellator show on MTV2 is not especially positive. The promotion drew 174,000 viewers for last weekend’s fight between Eddie Alvarez and Pat Curran. By comparison, last Friday’s Strikeforce event with a lackluster card drew 214,000 viewers on Showtime.
(If you haven’t already done so, read Eddie’s interview that we transcribed talking about why he’s with Bellator and not the UFC.)
What’s been clear so far with Bellator’s MTV2 deal is the following:
- The platform is not a great one for the promotion. It’s core demos are pre-teens and teenie boppers. (Take note of this for later reference.)
- The shows air on Saturday nights. They are having to run opposite to Zuffa-owned shows (either UFC or Strikeforce.) They also face weekly sports competition such as big boxing events, college football season, March Madness, and playoffs of other leagues like MLB & the NBA. It’s an onslaught they are facing in terms of keeping eyeballs amongst the network’s demographic with all the sports-related programming available.
- The time slot is not consistent. That’s a result of reason #2 and it’s hurt the promotion to some degree. If you’re a glass half-full kind of guy, you can say that retaining 170,000 viewers of the 230,000 that watched the second show is not a bad retention rate. Then again, I think a ceiling of 230,000 viewers is a little bit underwhelming.
Combine these points with points made from outlets like MMA Payout and MMA Supremacy about the financial backing of Bellator (along with Bjorn Rebney’s history as a promoter) and, suffice to say, Bellator faces plenty of challenges as far as being on the road to being a long-term successful organization.
During a recent interview with Sherdog, I was struck by the tone of the sales pitch that Mr. Rebney said in regards to why he thinks Bellator is a good star-making platform for up-and-coming fighters in MMA.
“I mean we got the platform with MTV2 live on Saturday nights. One of these guys is going to fight three times in a 80 million home universe, literally you know before the end of May is going to win our world title and it’s the same kind of thing that we were able to accomplish with Eddie Alvarez, with Hector Lombard, (Joe) Warren came over here a year ago and unless you were a hardcore fan of MMA, you had no idea who he was. Now he’s on TNA Wrestling on Spike. He’s doing all the promos. He’s all over the television. You know, it’s a quick format that allows a guy to really come out of nowhere and, you know I mean, if you look out of our organization, look at a guy like Jon Jones. I mean, I’m watching The Tonight Show and Jon’s on The Tonight Show and a year & two months ago, nobody had any idea who he was.”
One of the problems with Bellator has been what I call the yo-yo effect. They were on ESPN Deportes and had something going there. Then they were on Fox Sports Net. The ratings were OK but they bounced around in terms of different time slots. Running on Thursday nights, however, was a good idea. They were also on NBC & Telemundo. Now they are on MTV2 & MTV Tr3s (which is an over-the-air channel in certain markets like Los Angeles). As I’ve said before, American TV viewers are creatures of habit and are lazy. If you have to challenge them to keep up in regards to finding your program, you’re going to lose that battle even in today’s DVR culture.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Bellator, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 32 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Eddie Alvarez: If I was in the UFC, I’d just be another disposable fighter
By Zach Arnold | April 4, 2011
After a horrible debut show on MTV2 to start their new season, Bellator has found its footing and has produced some shows featuring fights that have had some very memorable finishes. Last Saturday’s show was no exception when Patricky Pitbull hit a stunning knee strike on Toby Imada. Thankfully Toby is OK, but that knee strike was something that Patricky’s late manager Ivan Canello would have been proud to see.
The main event of Saturday’s show featured Eddie Alvarez beating Pat Curran by unanimous decision to retain his Lightweight title. The fight was not pretty to watch, but Mr. Alvarez played it smart and did some damage to Curran who hung around and survived. It wasn’t an exciting fight to watch, however. At the beginning of the fight, fans were chanting “Eddie! Eddie!” By the end, there was booing.
With Strikeforce fighters now under the Zuffa banner, the amount of competition remaining for Eddie Alvarez has thinned out. Things fell through when Bellator and Strikeforce never seriously got to the table about doing some co-promotional fights. So, we won’t be seeing Alvarez vs. Gilbert Melendez any time soon. (Melendez will fight Crusher Kawajiri this Saturday in San Diego on Showtime.) Outside of the Pitbull family, who is left right now for Alvarez that poses a serious threat that isn’t under contract to UFC?
Eddie recently did an interview with Josh Gross (audio here) and made some very blunt, candid statements about where his career is at and how he would react should circumstances change. He was asked about where he felt his standing was in the MMA landscape with guys like Gilbert Melendez now under the Zuffa banner.
“It means I’m still somewhat in-disposable. If I was among that group, I’d be disposable immediately the day that my contract was taken over by Zuffa, so… I feel like I still can have some sort of say with where my career goes and what sponsors I want to get and whether I want to be in a video game or not. There’s a lot of things. The whole signing with Zuffa thing is a big control issue with me and I don’t know, I just… I’m happy that they’re doing what they’re doing but right now I don’t know if it’s the right move for me.”
Mr. Alvarez tried to walk a fine line but remain honest about his feelings regarding the UFC.
“I don’t think they’re doing anything wrong. I think they’re running their business the way they are supposed to. But my issue with it is the way fighters lose one or two fights and they’re fired and, not only that, there is no like, it’s not like a union like the NFL, the NBA, and these other sports where the finances are regulated and you have to receive a minimum in order to be a part of that league. Like NFL, I don’t know, maybe you have to receive half a million dollars per year just to play in the NFL or maybe a quarter of a million. The UFC’s not like that. They can offer someone, you know, $5,000 and $5,000, the guy can fight at first and get his face broken to pieces and then he can totally put on a poor performance and then get fired. That scares me. I would like to be paid like an athlete and, I don’t know. I guess I have a lot of issues with it and when I was, I believe when I was ranked #2 in the world, I was offered something from the UFC but it was significantly lower than what I was getting paid at that time, almost like insultingly low and I just, it wasn’t the right move for me at that time. I have no qualms, I like the UFC, Dana White does a great job with them and they’re definitely the biggest stage on Earth. And if I fight there some day, then great, but right now I think I’m where I’m supposed to be at.”
He says that he remain honest with his public comments about UFC and that if he has to fight in the UFC down the road, they probably won’t hurt him politically.
“No, I think Dana realizes, you know, the type of person I am and he’s seen me fight and I think he knows, you know, I don’t take anything he says or doesn’t say about me to heart. He’s been in a number of interviews where he discredits my abilities and I understand why. I’m not mad at him. I’m not mad at him about it, I understand why he would discredit anything that I do. I don’t work for him. But, you know, this is a business, man, so I mean I don’t expect him to get emotional and say, ‘Let’s never hire this kid because whatever.’ I don’t badmouth the UFC, it’s just not the right move for me right now.”
The Bellator Lightweight champ says that when it comes to fighting, he would like to fight the best but he also has to weigh his financial obligations and make the best business decision.
“It would be great to fight them guys but at what cost, you know what I mean? At what cost to me? Do I have to, what measures do I have to take in order to fight them guys? Do I have to take an $80,000 pay cut? Do I have give up all my, every single ancillary right I can dream of? Do I have to, you know, now I can’t get certain sponsors that I want to get certain sponsors that I want to get because I have to pay the UFC before they pay me? There’s a lot of issues involved and I don’t know if people understand that. And if I was 20 years old and I was single and I had no kids, I would jump to the UFC tomorrow. But the reality is (that) I have three kids and I have a family to take care of and everything has to line up. Yeah, I want to be #1 in the world but I also want to be able to maintain a home for my family so I can’t tell my wife and kids, ‘hey, Daddy’s going to take a huge risk and this may not work and hopefully we do well.’ Like, I can’t tell my kids that. I got to tell them that I’m going to work hard and I’m going to get compensated correctly for my hard work and that’s all I really ask for.”
Topics: Bellator, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 55 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Who should Matt Hughes fight next in the UFC?
By Zach Arnold | April 4, 2011
It’s been a weird few weeks for Matt Hughes. Right as this video interview was posted online by HDNet, the H.I.T. Squad gym in the St. Louis area was sold to Jesse Finney. Before that announcement broke publicly, Matt Pena posted this item on the Underground Forum and Kyle Watson jumped in to add more details. During the HDNet interview, a relaxed and happy Matt Hughes answered questions from Ron Kruck about whether or not he was leaving the gym. He said he wasn’t. Travel to the H.I.T. Squad gym is an hour each way (so two hours out of his day is spent traveling). I would encourage you to watch the interview fully to get his thoughts on the subject matter.
The interview itself is intriguing on several levels. Matt Hughes talks about the fact that fighters can come to the area and camp out at their dorms ($100 every two weeks) while spending time training at the gym. He came right out and said that he enjoys being able to travel to different gyms and learn something new from each gym. His demeanor on the subject is a complete 180 degrees from the philosophy that Greg Jackson believes in. (Greg believes in having a loosely-affiliated circuit, like Grudge, Tri-Star, etc.)
Naturally, he defended the decision the judges rendered in scoring the BJ Penn/Jon Fitch fight a draw. (He did this while there was a John Deere tractor in the background with the UFC logo on the window.) As for who he wants to fight next, Matt made it clear that he wants to go out with a win and not with a loss. He says late Summer/early Fall is the plan for the next fight and that he would like to fight once or twice a year until he retires. He’s hosting a hunting show now (guess him and Shawn Michaels can share tips).
Kruck brought up the idea of another fight with GSP but Matt seemed sheepish on the idea. So, if you had to book a ‘final’ opponent for Hughes in a fight that he could win and put on a show with, who would you book him against and why?
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 11 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
The next 8 days a peek into the non-UFC MMA landscape for rest of 2011
By Zach Arnold | April 1, 2011
Tonight is the first Strikeforce event on Showtime under the Zuffa banner. It’s at Stockton Arena and business has universally, through various media reports, been described as bad. I know UFC was doing a lot of ticket giveaways for the show. No Diaz Brothers on the card + A’s starting 2011 campaign vs. Mariners & Felix Hernandez + largely pedestrian card = little interest. In a sense, I’ll have some interest for the show but mainly due to seeing how “business as usual” will take place. That phrase is one that many MMA writers have been mocking Dana White with since Zuffa purchased the Strikeforce assets.
Here’s how the card looks for tonight’s event:
- Adam Antolin vs. Ronald Carillo
- Tristan Arenal vs. Tom Peterson
- Robert Escalante vs. Raul Sandoval
- Rafael Rios vs. Anthony Avila
- Damian Douglas vs. Wayne Phillips
- Josh Thornburg vs. James Terry
- Caros Fodor vs. David Douglas
- Lorenz Larkin vs. Scott Lighty
- Justin Wilcox vs. Rodrigo Damm
This was the show that Satoshi Ishii was originally scheduled to fight on against Scott Lighty, but he ended up back in Japan to finalize his divorce. Also, take note that there are no longer amateur fights on future Strikeforce cards. Which means that Jeremy Lappen’s biggest backer (for promoters) for CAMO, which was his attempt to take over amateur MMA in California, is no longer giving him moment. I’m sure Zuffa is shedding a tear or two for Jeremy.
One other interesting thing to watch for — will dark match/undercard fights be shown on the telecast? Remember, Showtime hasn’t aired any in the past and their main reason according to various reporters is that airing dark matches taped earlier the night of a show “is a UFC thing.” Well, now Strikeforce is Zuffa. Business as usual?
On Saturday night (MTV2), Eddie Alvarez squares off against Pat Curran. It’s an important fight for him (read Josh Nason’s article on Eddie Alvarez) and it’s an important show for Bellator. They’re on MTV2, which is not a platform that everyone gets on cable. Then their show has a moving time slot to try to avoid weekend competition from UFC/Strikeforce. So, they’re on a platform that isn’t known for a big MMA demographic (under 21) and they aren’t in a position for viewers to remember one basic time slot (let alone those with DVRs who are having trouble recording the program weekly). The margin for error is so slim for the promotion, meaning they cannot afford any screw-ups. Right now, their estimated viewership is around 175,000 viewers. M-1 on Showtime last Friday drew more than that. Bellator is fighting for its future and I wish they would settle on a consistent strategy all the way around. You can’t giving the same speech to everyone and expecting fans to buy into it on the 37th try the same way they may have the first time you gave it.
As for the fight between Alvarez and Curran, I think it will be an excellent contest. The card for Saturday’s MTV2 event:
- John McLaughlin vs. Blair Tugman
- Matt Veach vs. Rene Nazare
- Mike Winters vs. Ryan Quinn
- Greg Rebello vs. Dan Cramer
- Dave Jansen vs. Scott McAfee
- Ben Saunders vs. Matt Lee
- Lightweight Tournament semi-final: Toby Imada vs. Patricky Freire
- Welterweight Tournament semi-final: Lyman Good vs. Rick Hawn
- Bellator Lightweight title match: Eddie Alvarez vs. Pat Curran
‘Business as usual’
Next Saturday (8 days from now), there’s the Strikeforce card from the old San Diego Sports Arena with Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley. This feels, more or less, like the first ‘major’ SF show under the Zuffa umbrella. Mike Kyle is out with a broken hand. Here’s how that card looks:
- Edgar Cardenas vs. Rolando Perez
- Casey Ryan vs. Paul Song
- Saad Awad vs. Joe Duarte
- Brett Albee vs. Virgil Zwicker
- Hiroyuki Takaya vs. Robert Peralta
- Shinya Aoki vs. Lyle Beerbohm
- Gegard Mousasi vs. TBA
- SF Lightweight title match: Gilbert Melendez vs. Crusher Kawajiri
- SF Welterweight title match: Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley
It’s an interesting card in one respect — outside of the main event, there is not a lot of star power here. Nick Diaz become Scott Coker’s #2 ace for ratings on Showtime behind Fedor (as far as regular fighters go). Daley is known because of his fight with Josh Koscheck, but it does not feel like there has been a lot of promotion at all for a fight between two men that, for the masses, is a pretty easy sell to make if you want to put the elbow grease into promoting it.
Aoki should tie up Beerbohm into a knot, but who knows? Melendez/Kawajiri is the fight that the hardcores are interested in seeing, but it’s not a fight with much if any casual fan appeal.
This will be the first event where I think we will see some of our questions answered regarding how serious Zuffa wants to promote Strikeforce and get along with Showtime. How will the production for the shows look? Will there be continuity in terms of trying to rebuild momentum for the HW tournament? What about the Fedor factor? Will Dana White or Joe Silva be at any of the shows? It reminds me very much of the feeling that I had when WCW had Nitro in Panama City, Florida right when WWE purchased the assets from Turner. Will there be an interpromotional war vibe going on or will it be ‘business as usual’?
One thing is for certain — Nick Diaz is recalcitrant to the idea of fighting one of his teammates.
This may be the last time you see Brock smiling for a while, let alone UFC executives if the ratings for The Ultimate Fighter don’t pick up steam over the next weeks.
Topics: Bellator, Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 18 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
A largely quiet start to Brock Lesnar’s debut on The Ultimate Fighter; draws 1.0 cable rating
By Zach Arnold | March 30, 2011
On a night that turned out kind of interesting for MMA news (more on that later), Brock Lesnar’s debut on The Ultimate Fighter with Junior dos Santos largely proved to be free of emotional fireworks. I’m not sure where it sets the table for the rest of the season, but if show one is an indication of things to come then I suspect we’ll be seeing wins traded back and forth or Brock lose his mind with his guys losing (ala Ken Shamrock-style on the show). It’s pretty clear that Junior’s team isn’t hitting the skids.
The contrast between the two men was what you would expect. Junior pointed out in the obvious in saying that he values how someone performs in the cage for examining talent as opposed to Brock who focuses mostly on conditioning (and less on taking a punch, a preview that we saw during his ESPN media car wash.)
Brock was largely quiet and laid back. Erik Paulson is a great trainer but I’m not sure how things will play out during the season for him. JDS came across ridiculously relaxed throughout the show and incredibly likeable. The big question is whether or not casual fans stick with him or get bored because of his even-tempered style.
As for the first fight on the show (between JDS pick Shamar Bailey of Indianapolis and Lesnar pick Nordin Asrih), the less said the better. All that needs to be said is that Shamar used a lot of wrestling, pinned the guy down, and won by decision. He claimed he was holding back his best skills for later in the competition. That does not make for good television.
Onto more exciting news
Bad news (or good news depending on your point of view): Jon Fitch has reportedly withdrawn from his July 4th fight against BJ Penn due to a shoulder injury. Good news: Carlos Condit may step up as the replacement opponent. Initial reaction to a Penn/Condit fight — a lot of happy faces.
Bad news for Bellator: M-1’s telecast on Showtime last Friday from Virginia drew more eyeballs than Bellator’s MTV2 event last Saturday night (189,000 versus 150,000 viewers). The bad news for M-1 is that they aren’t back on Showtime until July 8th, but at least their ratings didn’t tank. UFC’s Spike show last Saturday night from Key Arena in Seattle, in comparison, did a 1.5 cable rating (2.4 million viewers). Dan Hardy was the ratings champ there. The obvious point to make regarding Bellator’s ratings on MTV2 is that the idea of moving the show around on Saturday nights and not having a consistent timeslot because you want to avoid running head-to-head against Zuffa is a bad idea. Yes, people who watch Bellator are aware of what is happening with the UFC. However, you can’t confuse your fans and make it a struggle for them to figure out when to tune in, how to find you on their DVR, so on and so forth. If accessing your show becomes any sort of challenge or requires any sort of effort (Americans can be lazy), it will hurt the ratings. If you’re a half-glass full person, I suppose you can say that Bellator retained 75% of their viewers despite the moving time slot.
I’m not a half-glass full person.
Half-glass full of fake urine bad news: Thiago Silva admits that he tried to alter his urine sample for a Nevada State Athletic Commission drug test that he had to take because of his UFC fight against Brandon Vera. Brandon, naturally, is rejoicing his good fortune.
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 18 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |