Jorge Santiago vacates Sengoku belt, wants better competition
By Zach Arnold | February 10, 2011
Video by MMAFighting.com and Ariel Helwani
The man from American Top Team who last year had a Fight of the Year bout at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo with Kazuo Misaki is free of his contract with Sengoku. He was one of their champions. He asked for his release so he could fight in the States. They obliged. That doesn’t sound like a good deal for Sengoku, does it? In this interview with Mr. Helwani, Mr. Santiago says that he’s ran out of good guys to fight in Japan and he wants to fight in the UFC or Strikeforce. He will quickly be picked up by one of those two promotions, probably Strikeforce, and be given a chance to see if he’s a top tier fighter right now.
For Sengoku to give him an unconditional release is an indication of how poor their situation must be right now. As with the pro-wrestling scene there in the 90s, you can foresee a collapse coming when the foreigners aren’t getting paid or are being allowed to work elsewhere. Japan always has prided itself on paying top money for foreign talent. Once that practice stop, usually bad things are coming.
Things continue to get worse for the Sumo Association
Speaking of Ryogoku Kokugikan, that’s the home base for the Sumo Association in Japan. Another day, another turn in the scandal that is tainting Sumo as we know it. As expected, some are coming out of the woodwork claiming that match-fixing is nothing new. There is now some calls for privatizing Sumo and getting it off the backs of taxpayers in Japan. Mark Schilling in The Wall Street Journal says that corruption in Sumo won’t change until the financial structure is altered. Things have gotten so bad that the Sumo Association has halted talks on getting a specialized tax status.
The Yomiuri Shimbun reports that the Sumo Association will lose up to 1.4 billion Yen. The current yokozuna, Hakuho, continues to see TV commercials featuring his presence get yanked off of networks.
With the cell phones of Sumo wrestlers allegedly involved in the cheating scandal being destroyed or damaged, police are using new-age techniques to recover deleted e-mails. How difficult is the process? The Yomiuri Shimbun says it’s a crapshoot as to whether or not data such as old, deleted e-mails can be recovered on the phones.
So, what kind of financial punishment are the alleged cheaters facing? Naturally, none.
Topics: Japan, Media, MMA, Sengoku, Zach Arnold | 16 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Alistair Overeem says Fedor’s camp doesn’t respect him at all
By Zach Arnold | February 9, 2011
MMAFighting.com video produced by Ariel Helwani.
ARIEL HELWANI: “In 2010, you had an amazing year. You won the DREAM Heavyweight title, interim title they’re calling. The K-1 title. You defend your Strikeforce belt against Brett Rogers. But a lot of fans wanted to see you more in Strikeforce and I think a lot of them are thinking that in this… so are you going to tell us right now that you are committed 100% to fighting in Strikeforce this year?”
ALISTAIR OVEREEM: “Yes I am, yes I am. I’ve been willing to fight in Strikeforce more as you may or may not know, I’ve been challenging Fedor trying to fight him for a year, year-and-a-half, he’s like The Legend, the unbeatable guy. I was hoping that I would be the first but Fabricio Werdum beat me to it. Well, after that fight, I challenged the winner which was Fabricio Werdum. He was injured. Fedor didn’t want to fight me. That’s why I went into K-1. But now I’m back and I think the Strikeforce Grand Prix is going to be a great opportunity for me to do those fights and show the MMA world that I’m number one.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Is it true that you asked Scott Coker to be in this tournament and to get Fabricio first?”
ALISTAIR OVEREEM: “Yes, definitely. He’s the winner of the Fedor fight and, if you think logically, he’s the next in line. So, I want to fight him. I want to fight the best.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Why isn’t your belt going to be on the line when you fight him?”
ALISTAIR OVEREEM: “Well it’s going to be a separate belt, it’s going to be a Grand Prix belt. So, sort of like the K-1 system and it’s not been my decision but I’m OK with it, I’m fine with it.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Do you have any idea where that fight will take place?”
ALISTAIR OVEREEM: “No, not yet. We’re still working on a date and location. It’s probably to be April or May, one of the two.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Any chance of Japan? We’re hearing rumors about Japan.”
ALISTAIR OVEREEM: “Yeah, me too. So I’m not really sure, but you know the thing is I’m going to be ready. When Scott says, give(s) me a date, I’m going to make sure I’m ready.”
And then the focused turned to Fedor and Alistair responded with laser-like precision.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: M-1, Media, MMA, StrikeForce, Zach Arnold | 20 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Where are they now: Former PRIDE boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara
By Zach Arnold | February 8, 2011
Last week, I alluded to the fact that former PRIDE head honcho Nobuyuki Sakakibara is off in Okinawa running a soccer club and trying to live out his dream in that sport. Little did I know that someone would find this US Marines newsletter and point out a letter that Mr. Sakakibara sent to their publication:
Letter from FC Ryukyu
FC Ryukyu finished its 4th season in the Japan Football League. As the owner and general manager of FC Ryukyu respectively, we would like to express our deep appreciation to the U.S. Marines, their families, and other dependents who regularly came out to watch our games here. Thanks to your strong support, we won our last home game with two great goals.
I would also like to thank those from the various American bases that volunteered at the games and during the season. Their contribution has been tremendous. As a small and young club, the extra help volunteers provide is deeply appreciated.
Soccer, like the U.S. Marine Corps, must be conducted as a team effort. Your help, your being a member of the team, makes the club as a whole better and more successful. You are our “force multiplier.” …
… The American community and the international influence felt here is a major part of Okinawan history and we would like to continue that great history by having more fans and volunteers turn out next year.
Nobuyuki Sakakibara — Team Owner
Philippe Troussier — Executive Coach
Topics: Japan, Media, PRIDE, Zach Arnold | 4 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Sumo’s financial mess grows big
By Zach Arnold | February 8, 2011
Previous articles:
- February 1, 2011 – The mess in the Japanese fight game grows: More Sumo match-fixing claims by police
- February 3, 2011 – Fuji TV pulls the plug on airing upcoming Sumo tournament
- February 5, 2011 — Meltdown: March Sumo tournament reportedly canceled
With the latest Sumo scandal being labeled ‘the greatest stain on the history of Sumo’, there are plenty of people asking if Sumo is still fit to be Japan’s national sport.
Hakuho is now having TV commercials temporarily taken off the air and other top Sumo fighters are scrambling financially with the upcoming March tournament in Osaka now canceled. The companies that manage Osaka Prefectural Gym, where the March tournament was going to be held, are now asking for cancellation fees to be paid because the annual tournament accounts for 25% of the building’s yearly revenue. Money marks Financial supporters who pony up money for tournaments are reportedly looking for their money back. Another local event promoter claims that he’s in the red 15-20 million yen and wants to be taken care of. To top it all off, Hakuho’s stable kept the media away from their practice session today.
Oh, and an update about the Sumo Association’s investigation into incriminating evidence regarding match-fixing claims? Some of the evidence apparently has been destroyed. The London Telegraph brings the metaphorical whammy and discusses the rise of an appropriate sporting contest during Sumo’s big crisis — competitive hole digging.
- Businessweek: ‘Goldman Sachs with guns’ joins Sumo on ropes
Topics: Japan, Media, Zach Arnold | 15 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Pro MMA Radio’s interview with Assemblyman Bob Reilly
By Zach Arnold | February 8, 2011
Eddie Goldman has often suggested that MMA advocates who interview New York state assemblyman Bob Reilly should be prepared to actually advance their argument in his presence as opposed to applying the same ‘ol playbook for why Mixed Martial Arts should be regulated in New York.
Well, consider this interview by Larry Pepe of Pro MMA Radio with Assemblyman Reilly to be a step in that direction. I am not going to transcribe the entire interview, but I would encourage you to download the audio file and listen to it. (Starts about 10 minutes into the show.)
A funny moment happened right at the beginning of the interview with Larry was giving the Assemblyman credit for walking into the proverbial lion’s den and was trying his best to be courteous and the Assemblyman curtly responded, “OK,” as if he was ready for a battle.
LARRY PEPE: “(What) is your opposition to (MMA) exactly?”
ASSEMBLYMAN REILLY: “Well, first off, there’s many, you know, Larry as you can I think understand I’ve heard all the pros and cons of Mixed Martial Arts, including you know ‘I just don’t understand.’ I do understand, I just disagree with the advocates on many points and one I hear many times, ‘well, the rules have changed.’ Well, the rules have changed or rules have been instituted, but the rules are not sufficient for the protection of the fighters or for the, um, welfare of our society as far as its violence in the sport and I would only point out how Michael Kirkham was killed recently in South Carolina on the old ground ‘n pound move where he was knocked to the ground, lay on his back, the other fighter came and proceeded to pound him in the head. That is not safer than boxing, another irrational, I believe, um… advocation for Mixed Martial Arts, but that is obviously a very dangerous move. But when a man or woman can take another man or woman, grab them by the head, and knee them in the head, when you can jump on somebody from a standing position as they lie on the ground and pound them in the head when their head is against the floor or the mat, um… this is brutality and danger beyond what’s acceptable. So I don’t find, in some way, I don’t find the rules acceptable today.”
Larry argued that boxing has more deaths per year than MMA, therefore why isn’t the Assemblyman advocating a ban on professional boxing?
ASSEMBLYMAN REILLY: “Well, first of all and I want to not be, um… too contentious when I say this…”
LARRY PEPE: “Sure.”
ASSEMBLYMAN REILLY: “But step back and look at the rationale. To say, ‘well, 10 people a year are killed in boxing and not that many are killed in Mixed Martial Arts, therefore we should sanction Mixed Martial Arts.’ It’s just a horrible, irrational argument. Now, on looking at this sport for the last three years and having the idea of boxing come up, come up many times as ‘it’s less dangerous than boxing’ which I don’t agree with and I have studies that show that, um… the fact is, I grew up being a boxing fan, all right? Muhammad Ali, in fact I go back to Rocky Marciano, but all of our great fighters and I enjoyed it and thought it was a great sport, but today I don’t think professional boxing, as opposed to amateur boxing, professional boxing I don’t think would be legalized in many states today because of the danger to the fighters. So, I just dismiss that argument of ‘safer than boxing.’ One, I don’t, you know, boxing has a much longer history, there are many more boxing matches than there are MMA matches. And it’s something, as I say and this is not entirely facetious, more people are killed fishing than in boxing, so let’s eliminate fishing. Well, no. What we do is we put in safety measures. For example, in New York state, we have rules where in certain boats you have to wear a life preserver.”
The Assemblyman then argued that the Unified Rules are the problem and need to be entirely revamped in order for him to find the sport to be acceptable for regulation in New York. Larry compared the violence in boxing and football to violence in MMA.
ASSEMBLYMAN REILLY: “Well, first of all, you’re mixing two things entirely here, all right? Your boxing argument has a good degree of validity. Your football argument, I think, has none because the purpose in Mixed Martial Arts or Ultimate Fighting is to aggressively damage your opponent, according to the rules, all right?”
LARRY PEPE: “What rules? I’m sorry, Assemblyman, but what rules would those be?”
ASSEMBLYMAN REILLY: “The Unified Rules. The five judging criteria in the Unified Rules, one is aggression. Correct?”
LARRY PEPE: “Correct.”
ASSEMBLYMAN REILLY: “And one is the striking force of the blows, correct?”
LARRY PEPE: “Uh, it’s called effective striking, but boxing has that exact same rule.”
ASSEMBLYMAN REILLY: “But boxing has completely different rules for amateur and for professional and in amateur fighting, boxing, the cleanness of the blow but not the force of the blow is what is given points. So, it’s entirely different.”
While this interview aired yesterday on Pro MMA Radio, Frank Shamrock (along with lawyer Justin Klein & Jeff Blatnick) made the trip up to Albany to visit politicians to push for MMA regulation in the state. You can read all about it at The Fight Lawyer blog.
Topics: Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 4 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Kimbo Slice does not end up making his pro-wrestling debut
By Zach Arnold | February 7, 2011
He was supposed to face ex-Sumo Wakakirin, but ended up backing out at the last-minute. Good idea. So, who filled in for Kimbo? You guessed it, Bob Sapp. Sapp and Wakakirin had a match and Wakakirin won in 1’57 with a front neck lock. In other words, about as fast as a shooting match would have gone anyways.
The event was IGF Genome 14 at Fukuoka International Center with a claimed attendance of 5,885. The semi-main event featured an opening round match in the “Stone Market presents IGF championship” tournament. Josh Barnett defeated Montanha Silva in 5’53 with an STF. Mil Mascaras and Tatsumi Fujinami went to a 10 minute draw. Original Tiger Mask defeated Black Tiger in 7’48 with a Tiger Suplex Hold. Eric Hammer & Atsushi Sawada (Naoya Ogawa’s protege) defeated Bobby Lashley & Shad Gaspard in 10’31 when Hammer pinned Shad after a spear. Interestingly, the show featured the same sponsors as K-1 shows do (HEIWA & Fields).
Report: Strikeforce plans for Japan postponed
Quietly (again) last Friday, this report surfaced claiming that things fell apart for the proposed April 9th event in the Kanto region for Strikeforce and DREAM to put on a show. Instead, the show will reportedly happen in the States.
Topics: Japan, Media, Pro-Wrestling, StrikeForce, Zach Arnold | 3 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
What do we do now about the Japanese fight scene?
By Zach Arnold | February 6, 2011
I cannot possibly envision a worse scenario for Japanese fight fans than what has happened this week. I don’t even know where to start when it comes to having a discussion about the precipitous erosion that we are witnessing. It is both a combination of falling behind in the evolution of the sport (MMA) and the soul of combat sports in Japan eroding due to the corrosive and corrupt nature in which the entire industry (from boxing to pro-wrestling to Sumo to MMA) is built upon.
If you’ve read this site regularly this week, you know what is happening in Japan with the implosion of Sumo on various levels. The March Grand tournament got canceled and television support from NHK & Fuji TV is currently gone. Politicians are feeling the heat for giving Sumo favored status in the country. The image is being destroyed from within.
The image for Japanese MMA is taking a beating, too. This is a results-oriented industry today and people who lose get put on the chopping block very quickly. Fans are willing to ride a fighter’s bandwagon until he/she loses one fight and all of a sudden, those same fans are gladly willing to tell you how much a specific fighter sucks. However, the criticism being leveled at the Japanese fighters is largely valid.
The history of Japanese fighters crossing over into the States for MMA can be summarized in one phrase — what’s old is new again. There’s one common pattern that we’ve seen since the 90s with Japanese MMA. The fighters from Japan who do the best in excelling overseas are not fighters who generally got a push in their home country. Kaoru Uno was in Shooto and not on a large platform. His success in the States didn’t translate or make him into a larger mainstream star in Japan. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka was a mid-level RINGS Japan fighter who ended up doing the best of the bunch and when he came back to Japan he wasn’t an ace or a drawing card to the public. Kiyoshi Tamura, who was the ace for Akira Maeda, got embarrassed by Valentijn Overeem in a legitimate fight. However, Tamura continued to fight for many years afterwards and made lots of money. There is a weird dynamic in Japan in which the public there only cares about Japanese fighters succeeding in the States if those same fighters had originally become stars in Japan in the first place.
Which is why fighters like Yoshihiro Akiyama and Kid Yamamoto losing in the States are big deals. Those were the big names to come over. Akiyama has nothing to be ashamed about so far. He’s shown a lot of heart, albeit with a questionable gas tank and a penchant for listening to what the crowd wants him to do instead of sticking with a game plan. Nevertheless, when big-name Japanese stars lose in the States, it doesn’t go over well back home.
Yushin Okami, however, falls into the Kaoru Uno/Tsuyoshi Kohsaka slot. He’s done the best out of the Japanese fighters in the UFC (in their Middleweight division) and yet, back home, nobody cares about him. He’s a no-name. He’s done occasional Samurai TV spots with New Japan wrestlers but as far as being a household name, it’ll never happen. That’s because he violated the Japanese rule of not becoming a major star in Japan before trying to win overseas. When I often describe this phenomena to American MMA fans, I often get that look of befuddlement. The best way I can explain it is that trying to compare the Japanese MMA and US MMA worlds is like trying to compare Apple’s operating system to Windows. For one reason or another, there’s always seemingly some incompatibility issues at play.
I bring up Mr. Okami’s name because he was at UFC 126 watching Anderson Silva destroy Vitor Belfort with a vicious kick. Dana White, at the post-fight press conference, knows that Okami is lingering around but is trying to figure out what to do with him if he needs to push Okami aside to make an Anderson Silva/Georges St. Pierre fight happen. In comments made to Ariel Helwani at the show, Okami says he’s ready to fight Anderson.
“I have never seen this kind of knockout. It was incredible, an awesome kick,” describing Anderson’s finish. When asked if Anderson is the best fighter in UFC, Okami simply replied, “Of course, he is the best fighter who I want to beat.” As for a plan on how to beat him, “I keep moving about and applying pressure and I grind him out.” Exactly what Dana might be afraid of (a boring fight). “I would like to have (the fight) as soon as possible but it’s all up to Zuffa.” When asked if he was afraid of everyone avoiding booking him against Anderson he calmly replied, “I don’t care because I simply like to fight the best fighters.” Well, at least he’s learning to pick up the company line.
While Okami is angling for a title shot, Kid Yamamoto is trying to angle for a do-over in the UFC after losing to Demetrious Johnson by unanimous decision. He apologized to fight fans (in this Ariel Helwani interview) for the way he performed in his UFC debut.
“I don’t feel (this) fight. I feel (it was) like just a wrestling match, you know. Sorry. Like people before the fight cheer me, you know, like people told me, yeah, I always wanted to see you in the US, you know, but I disappoint everybody in the US and whole world. I am like sorry, you know, but I learn. Next time I’m going to fight good.”
Yamamoto noted that a lack of experience in the cage and lack of adaptation to the UFC-style of fighting hurt him.
“I show everybody, you know, like I got taken down like 4-5 times, like little girl, you know. It’s no good.
“I thought, you know, more stand-up, you know, but… he took me down, you know, but I learn, you know. Next time I’m going to watch the takedowns.
“After, you know, second round I was worried too much about takedowns so I couldn’t go scrap.”
Kid noted that the problems he faced against guys like Joe Warren came back to haunt him here, something he vows to fix the next he fights in the cage.
“Yeah, takedown defense and then I’m going to takedown, too, I’m going to try takedown. I get more focused. I see many UFC fights, you know, today, many like winner guy did more takedowns and pound, hit. Yeah, that’s what it’s about.”
As for changing up his training style to be successful in the UFC, Kid was asked if he would consider training extensively in the States.
“Yeah, yeah. You know over here like many fighters have experience about cage, yeah, so I train in Japan good and before the fight I come and I want to spar a lot of people and I got to get used to (being) in the cage.”
Can you teach old Japanese dogs new MMA tricks?
Topics: Japan, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 35 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
UFC 126 (2/5 at Mandalay Bay); Jon Jones says he and Rashad Evans won’t fight each other
By Zach Arnold | February 5, 2011
Dark matches/preliminaries
- Welterweights: Mike Pierce defeated Kenny Robertson in R2 in 29 seconds by TKO.
- Light Heavyweights: Kyle Kingsbury defeated Ricardo Romero in R1 in 21 seconds by TKO.
- Bantamweights: Demetrious Johnson defeated Kid Yamamoto after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Lightweights: Paul Taylor defeated vs. Gabe Ruediger in R2 in 42 seconds by KO.
- Featherweights: Chad Mendes defeated Michihiro Omigawa after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Lightweights: Donald Cerrone defeated Paul Kelly in R2 in 3’48 with a choke sleeper hold.
Main card
- Bantamweights: Miguel Torres defeated Antonio Banuelos after 3R by unanimous decision.
- Welterweights: Jake Ellenberger defeated Carlos Eduardo Rocha after 3R by split decision.
- Light Heavyweights: Jon “Bones” Jones defeated Ryan Bader in R2 in 4’20 with a choke hold.
- Light Heavyweights: Forrest Griffin defeated. Rich Franklin after 3R by unanimous decision.
- UFC Middleweight title match: Anderson Silva defeated Vitor Belfort in R1 in 3’29 by KO.
Notes coming out of the show
Rich Franklin may have lost, but Forrest Griffin paid the physical price. According to Bryan Alvarez, a broken foot and a strained right biceps. Never an easy day in the office against Rich.
The domination of the marquee Japanese fighters was illuminating. Omigawa’s impression about Chad Mendes was right — a guy who plays the position game and isn’t the most brutal finisher in the world. However, he had no answers on how to stop Mendes and Chad just beat him up with elbows to create a nasty eye cut that had everyone grossed out. As for Kid Yamamoto, he will never get a chance to fight Urijah Faber now. UFC had one shot of doing it and they passed up on it. Demetrious Johnson is really opening some eyes (he trains with Matt Hume at AMC Pankration).
Who’s left for Anderson Silva?
Bones Jones will face Mauricio Shogun on 3/19 in New Jersey for the Light Heavyweight title. Rashad Evans will take some time off due to a knee injury he suffered. Evans said he suffered a severe MCL tear last Wednesday in wrestling practice (after he got ‘blindsided’). Rashad is expected to face the winner, but he may get an interim fight (a rematch with either Rampage or Forrest?) in the mean time. Jones vs. Shogun will help create some momentum for a New Jersey that, according to Dave Meltzer, had average or below-average momentum for ticket sales. (Seattle’s Fight Night show with Tito Ortiz, however, has well over 10,000 tickets sold and momentum is off the charts for that event. Tito’s still a draw with casual fans.)
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 62 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Meltdown: March Sumo tournament reportedly canceled
By Zach Arnold | February 5, 2011
Previous articles:
- February 1, 2011 – The mess in the Japanese fight game grows: More Sumo match-fixing claims by police
- February 3, 2011 – Fuji TV pulls the plug on airing upcoming Sumo tournament
When we last checked in on what was happening on the ground in Japan over alleged admissions by at least three Sumo wrestlers of leaving behind evidence in the form of text messages on their cell phones about throwing bouts, both Fuji TV & NHK had canceled plans of airing Sumo for this month and for March. The Fuji TV cancellation of the March broadcast put the Sumo Association in a horrible situation. Last year, NHK pulled the plug on airing a Nagoya Sumo tournament after a yakuza scandal.
What makes the Sumo scandal story here eerie is that it has a very bad smell, similar to what happened when PRIDE collapsed. Once the TV networks back out, suddenly the power brokers don’t want to be associated with a tainted product. However, PRIDE was a company. Sumo is a sport that has long been protected by politicians and the Japanese government. It’s an institution and anyone who takes on the institution is risking a lot by doing so. The late Toshiro Igari, an activist lawyer that was well-respected in the legal community, went after corruption in baseball and had invested matters related to PRIDE. However, he was making waves in some sensitive places that most consider too hot to handle. More on that in a minute.
Asahi Shimbun has a cover story today called: For struggling wrestlers, the fix was in. The amount of details in the article is worth the read alone. It sets the table of a pending announcement on Sunday where it is reportedly expected that the Sumo Association will cancel their March tournament. Without television support, it makes running the tournaments financially shaky. It would be the first cancellation of a tournament since 1946.
Despite no criminal charges currently being filed, the police and leaks in the media have effectively damaged the sport. And when an arrest is made, there are leaks of admissions about gambling not only on baseball games but Sumo fights as well.
All of this withstanding, this Yomiuri Shimbun report brings up of the hammer being dropped on the Sumo Association. The Yomiuri article is very detailed and requires full reading, but the gist of it is that the Sumo Association has long received favored status as a public corporation. Should the Government decide to dissolve that non-profit status, a lot of assets would be at risk of transfer including the grounds of Ryogoku Kokugikan. Ryogoku is the famous arena that has hosted so many major fighting events involving boxing, pro-wrestling, and Mixed Martial Arts. It was the building that replaced the old Kuramae Kokugikan, which hosted a lot of famous fighting events in the mid 1900s.
Right now, the talk of status dissolution is just that — talk. However, Sumo has long relied on it’s heavy backing from politicians to run its business on NHK TV and for its actual business structure. Take that powerful support away and suddenly you’re dealing with a monumental shake-up for the industry.
Topics: Japan, Media, Zach Arnold | 6 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Joe Rogan on why Vitor Belfort is Anderson Silva’s toughest UFC challenge to date
By Zach Arnold | February 4, 2011
Before I get to that part of the interview that Mr. Rogan did with the estimable Steve Cofield of Yahoo Sports & Cagewriter.com, I wanted to point out this section of the interview that Smokin’ Dave Cokin (of Jim Feist fame) did with Joe in relation to the evolution of MMA fighters versus the evolution of boxers. The starting point for context was a discussion about Brock Lesnar accepting the June fight with Junior dos Santos and how Brock came into MMA with such a strong amateur wrestling background but hasn’t trained in MMA for his entire career.
SMOKIN’ DAVE COKIN: “It’s reached the point now in terms of legitimacy where guys that are coming from other sports, they may be great athletes and they may be able to get by but they’re not going to be able to flourish against guys who have made this their first sport from day one.”
JOE ROGAN: “Yeah, it’s really kind of freaky to watch it evolve the way it has and, you know, to have seen it really from the very, very early days. It’s, um, the real true Mixed Martial Artists of today are such on a high level as opposed to 1993, I mean that was only, you know, it’s not that long ago, 18 years ago, that’s nothing, you know, as far as sports go to leap. I mean, if you go back to like Marvin Hagler and compare Marvin Hagler with like maybe Chad Dawson, you know, Hagler hangs with these guys, you know what I’m saying? I mean I don’t think there’s a big gap. Sugar Ray Leonard? I think Sugar Ray Leonard, you know, he hangs with Floyd Mayweather. I think he’s one of, if you at like skill-wise, there’s not that much of a variation between the greats of 20+ years ago and the greats of today in boxing.
“But in MMA? It’s a GIANT leap, it’s a Grand Canyon chasm, I mean it’s huge. The guys that you see today and the variations in the styles today, I mean you’ve got like Nick Diaz who’s got this very unorthodox striking style which is, you know, really oddly effective and then you’ve got Alistair Overeem who’s, you know, K-1 Grand Prix champion and also a Strikeforce champion and also a DREAM champion. And then you’ve got, you know, Cain Velasquez, this guy just seems to never get tired, an incredible cardio machine that’s got also an iron chin and, you know, an unbelievable work ethic and you got Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva, who fights like he’s in the Matrix. I mean, really, it’s an amazing time for this sport.”
Which leads us to what Joe had to say about why Anderson Silva is such a reliable, steady fighter and how his opponent in the fight, Vitor Belfort, is someone who presents a tough challenge for Anderson because of the tools he brings to the table. There’s a debate during the interview as to whether or not Vitor should focus on a stand-up fight with Anderson or if he should take it to the ground quickly.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Brazil, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 6 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Dana White on why he thinks the Strikeforce business model is flawed
By Zach Arnold | February 3, 2011
I would strongly encourage you to watch the entire interview because he has some intriguing comments about what he thinks of HBO and the idea of doing business with them. His tone about HBO is the complete opposite when compared to what he thinks of Showtime. He basically says that HBO didn’t lose Bob Arum but that Bob Arum went to Showtime and that HBO is still #1. Also in the video interview, he talks about why he thinks Vitor Belfort is deserving of a Middleweight title shot and the art of the fighter stare-down.
With the announcement that UFC will air Kid Yamamoto’s fight against Demetrious Johnson on Facebook this Saturday night, it’s a fascinating announcement for sure. Everyone in the world except in Japan can see the fight on FB, which is somewhat of a role reversal to how Japanese streaming companies for years have treated foreign web viewers by blocking them out from “Japanese only” content streams.
(WOWOW will air the fight as part of a three-fight UFC 126 show package on the cable/satellite pay network, with the other two fights being Chad Mendes/Michihiro Omigawa and Anderson Silva/Vitor Belfort.)
While it is unique that Kid’s UFC debut will be on Facebook for fans to watch, it is kind of… strange… that someone who drew millions and millions of eyeballs on Japanese network television now finds himself as a ‘Facebook feature fight,’ but life changes quickly. Here is how Dana White assesses the current MMA situation in Japan:
DANA WHITE: “You know, I don’t ever sit around say, ‘Oh, Japanese MMA is done, it’s over, it’s blown up.’ The world is in a really weird place right now, you know, it doesn’t matter what business you’re in, a lot of people are struggling and… you know, I think the bottom fell out on Japan when PRIDE went away. I mean, when PRIDE didn’t work, it definitely upset the balance over there and I think it’s great right now that we get to see guys that people have heard about for so long in Japan finally fighting in the UFC.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Is the time now for the UFC to return to Japan?”
DANA WHITE: “Uh, we’ll find out, you know, we’re talking about going there this year, so we’ll see how it all plays out.”
Tying in the Japanese MMA business model with what else is happening in the MMA industry with organizations like Strikeforce going to run fights in Japan, Mr. White says that Strikeforce’s business model doesn’t make sense compared to the UFC business model. The starting point for this discussion is in regards to the upcoming Heavyweight tournament:
DANA WHITE: “Part of the problem is and, you know, you see all these guys on the Internet that always have this great advice and, you know, they (think they) know how to do
shitbetter than anybody else, but the reality is that if you don’t have guys locked up to contracts to fight with you, how the hell are you going to get them to fight? You have other people offering them more money. When Japanese MMA was strong and, you know, you’re talking a year ago when there was still some money floating around and you got Strikeforce making an offer over here for X amount and the guys in Japan will beat them every time. Those guys are never going to come over here and fight. That’s why you have these big gaps and you can’t efficiently run your business. It would be like, first of all, it’s almost like, you know, when certain guys don’t want to fight each other. The thing about having a powerful league like the UFC is (that) we make fights that people want to see and the fans, you know,bitchabout, you know, how the business is run some times. We’re able to put the fights we want to see because of how we run our business.“Now, imagine if in baseball the Yankees said, ‘we don’t want to play the
fuckingRed Sox.’ You know what I mean, ‘we don’t want to play them.’ The Green Bay (Packers), these guys both make it and Green Bay’s like, ‘yeah, we don’t want to play Pittsburgh, we hate Pittsburgh’ or ‘they’re offering me more money to do something somewhere else. We just don’t want to do this.’ I mean, it makes no sense, right? The way that this thing is done makes sense. The way that they run their business doesn’t.”ARIEL HELWANI: “If you’re not doing anything next Saturday night, will you watch Fedor fight?”
DANA WHITE: “Uh…. yeah, I guess so.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Are you interested at all is the question after his loss?”
DANA WHITE: “Here’s the thing with me is that, for instance, last Saturday I watched the boxing match (Alexander/Bradley) on HBO and it was horrendous. I mean, I can’t even believe they’re showing the replays.”
ARIEL HELWANI: “Right.”
DANA WHITE: “I’m the type of person I would yank all the
fuckingreplays and wouldn’t even replay that fight. Um, and then the problem with that fight is, it’s not ‘live’ live all the over the (States), you know, so you got to wait till 10 o’clock. I’m doing othershit, that’s why I didn’t watch it, but I did watch the replay last night. So, I will end up seeing the Fedor fight, for sure.”
I should note this interview Ariel Helwani did with Kid Yamamoto. Kid is very shy here and plays it conservatively in terms of what he says here (as opposed to what he has said in recent Japanese interviews). Nevertheless, a good interview to watch just to see what kind of mood he is in going into the fight. I chuckled when he said that he watched Mighty Mouse’s fights on the Internet. (What, no DVD from the UFC? They make DVDs all the time for fighters.)
Overall, UFC 126 is a card that is really good on paper and I’m looking forward to watching it, for sure. Big house & gate and probably good business on PPV, too.
Topics: Japan, Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 27 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Fuji TV pulls the plug on airing upcoming Sumo tournament
By Zach Arnold | February 3, 2011
If you didn’t read my article about the latest Sumo scandal from yesterday, start reading.
Mainichi Daily News has the latest update about a crisis meeting for Sumo’s authoritarian regulatory body yesterday. Take note of the fact that Shukan Gendai, which got sued in court last year and had to pay out big bucks because they wrote stories about allegations of match-fixing in the past, is mentioned in the Mainichi article. Gendai is produced by big publishing house Kodansha, so they have plenty of money and power backing their efforts. I remember when Nobuyuki Sakakibara was talking big about pressing criminal charges against Gendai for their negative campaign against PRIDE and nothing ever came of it. Marijuana usage, match fixing allegations, yakuza showing up at events, and gambling is about as bad of a combination as you could have if you are trying to run a sport that’s slumping at the box office.
On Thursday, the Sumo wrestlers in question of having text messages supposedly incriminating themselves for match fixing admitted their activities. Just how explicit were the text messages in question? Reportedly, names and money figures were discussed without caution and the activity was supposedly done… last year, with bank account numbers? A former Sumo wrestler, on background, claims in a Mainichi report that he was offered money three years ago that he had a conversation about fight-fixing in Sumo.
Daggers from both Fuji TV and NHK have come down on the Sumo association. NHK, which was supposed to air a charity Sumo event, has canceled that TV airing. Fuji TV, which was supposed to air a broadcast of the upcoming March Grand Sumo tournament, canceled that broadcast airing and is scrambling to find replacement programming. As you might recall, it was Fuji TV that canceled PRIDE from the network after Gendai’s negative campaign against PRIDE and pressure from many different parties (stockholders, media, police, etc.)
If you haven’t already detected an underlying tone here of just how many powerful people are involved in what’s happening with the Sumo scandals right now, take note of this Wall Street Journal article talking about the current Prime Minister regarding comments of investigating into the matter (along with the Tokyo Metropolitan PD). Sumo has long been a powerful institution with strong Government ties and backing. Things are starting to disintegrate.
Topics: Japan, Media, Zach Arnold | 4 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Jordan Breen on why UFC production values are better than Showtime’s for MMA
By Zach Arnold | February 2, 2011
A caller asked the Sherdog radio host on his Tuesday show why Strikeforce events on Showtime feature wide-angle camera shots and a feel of ‘distance’ from the in-ring product as opposed to the way UFC produces event. Here is how Mr. Breen responded:
“It’s funny that you bring that up and would you like to know the main reason why? Because Showtime knows nothing about MMA and their production staff are incredibly worried about, literally, missing things. That’s how they explained things. Talking to them in meetings, it’s like, well, like I’ve literally heard this like word-for-word, this is verbatim from someone on the Showtime production staff, ‘What if someone throws a kick or something and we miss it?’
“Think about that for a second. They’re worried that someone might kick and they’ll miss it? I know, this is the thing and this is something that, um, the people who don’t think about this with production but the camera angles that you get, people think that like camera work and production is germane to itself, like you know, if you have good camera man and a good production set-up and a good director that whatever they shoot it’ll be good and, frankly, familiarity with the product matters. Look at HBO and how they shoot boxing. There are shots at HBO Boxing that are like super in-close with the fighters in the clinch and it’s masterful and the reason is that they have so much experience doing boxing and likewise, the UFC and the crews they use have a lot of experience of doing MMA so they get a lot better shots and you get a lot, like you feel close to the action and I’ve gotten e-mails from people about this in the past saying that, you know, Showtime, they shoot really far away and I mean that’s like that goes more centrally to what I was talking about with the whole ‘what happens if they kick and we miss it?’ They use like wide angle far-away shots so often times when you’re watching Strikeforce like you feel really far away from the action that’s happening. Same thing with Elite XC, whereas with the UFC they use camera angles that are a lot closer because the guys are a lot more experienced with shooting and they know how to change angles and stuff like that. It is night and day and it’s not just because of the people involved, um, and their skill. It’s their familiarity with MMA. They just don’t feel comfortable with it so they use all this kind of wide angle long-distance hackery that just doesn’t look as good and in the situation like TJ (De Santis) and I were in, you end up missing tons of stuff.”
Breen and De Santis were in San Jose this past weekend for the Strikeforce show and helped out with the preliminary fights that streamed live on the Sherdog web site.
Continue reading this article here…
Topics: Media, MMA, StrikeForce, UFC, Zach Arnold | 23 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |