TheKaeptain
Banned
The best
-
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MMA-GAF |OT5| Father Time Is Undefeated
- Thread starter polyh3dron
- Start date
The best
BigJonsson
Member
AstroZombie
Banned
Can Crusher
Banned
I'm still butt hurt about the whole "no primetime for UFC 168" thing. I mean seriously, I can't comprehend how that was even an option.
They already got you.
Sato Koiji
Member
TheKaeptain
Banned
ItAintEasyBeinCheesy
it's 4th of July in my asshole
What the hell is he wearing. Giant zipper pants or what?
TheKaeptain
Banned
going hunting or fishing.
AstroZombie
Banned
Shael Pee. American hero. *edit* What the fuck IS he wearing?
Brock on blast.
Can Crusher
Banned
Chael Budo Sonnen.
AstroZombie
Banned
Ruh roh. Looks like Team McKayla's taking a hit.
Steven Marrocco on the Mark Hunt drama:
@MMAjunkieSteven - Lots of shoot the messenger in this industry. "Interview" was 2 minutes, & quotes were pretty memorable. At no point did hunt say OTR.
Should Mark Hunt presume that any interaction with a journalist is on the record, or is it ethical for Steven Marrocco to say something during the call? It seems kind of weaselly on Steven's part.
@MMAjunkieSteven - Lots of shoot the messenger in this industry. "Interview" was 2 minutes, & quotes were pretty memorable. At no point did hunt say OTR.
Should Mark Hunt presume that any interaction with a journalist is on the record, or is it ethical for Steven Marrocco to say something during the call? It seems kind of weaselly on Steven's part.
Wow, he probably would have gotten blasted regardless tho
How does someone get medically cleared to fight a day after that?
I don't know if Mark is mad because of something he said, or that he didn't know what he was saying was going to be used for "MMA journalism."
Does Steven need consent to record a phone call? Something tells me he's saying the quotes were "memorable" because he didn't ask for any consent to record the conversation.
It just seems like really poor form to me.
AstroZombie
Banned
I feel like you should shut up and your face is dumb.
RBelong2Us
Member
Alright bruhs, I wanna go to ufc 168. Do I shell almost $300 for nose bleeds right now or wait closer to the fight and maybe luck out on people trying to sell their tickets in desperation?
Host Samurai
Member
Bork looks fat and he still has that scar that Can left him on his right eye
GungHo
Single-handedly caused Exxon-Mobil to sue FOX, start World War 3
You hunt submarines, not submarine sandwiches.
TheKaeptain
Banned
That Duck Dynasty dude saying bigoted shit really made it easier to thin my FB numbers.
Ninja Scooter
Member
Chris B. Badd
AstroZombie
Banned
Why is it that when you want for time to fly it slows to a crawl?
TheKaeptain
Banned
I don't know why but this post and avatar combo made me laugh.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=94055815&postcount=199
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=94055815&postcount=199
Maklershed
Member
I have to admit that Chael looked uncharacteristically lethargic and just plain off. I just chalked that up to the fact that he truly didn't wan to fight Rashad and was just paying back a favor to the UFC for gifting him Jones.
Also, what's the deal with airplane food?
dream
Member
Georges St-Pierre, one of the two greatest fighters in UFC history, announced on 12/13 that he was taking an undetermined leave of absence from the sport to deal with personal issues and get his mind clear.
In doing so, St-Pierre vacated the welterweight title, which he captured five years and eight months ago, on April 19, 2008, in Montreal. During that period he became a major Canadian sports figure, voted by fans in the annual Rogers Sportsnet awards as the countrys athlete of the year in 2008, 2009 and 2010. At the age of 32, St-Pierre holds the UFC record for most career wins, with 19, most wins in championship matches, with 12, and was one shy of Anderson Silvas record for most consecutive title defenses, with nine, when he vacated the title. His 2,064 consecutive days as champion was also second to Silva (2,457 days) for the longest title reign and most title match wins (Silva had ten, GSP has nine). Nobody else has approached 1,500 days. He was second to Randy Couture for most championship matches in a career. He sold more PPV buys for a career than any fighter in UFC history, and is right now the second biggest PPV draw in the world behind only Floyd Mayweather Jr. He headlined the biggest grossing live event in company history, as well as four of the top six.
The decision came just four weeks after a controversial decision win over Johny Hendricks, a result determined by the peculiarities of the ten point must system and how it is applied, in a fight where it appeared Hendricks did far more damage. But each man clearly won two rounds in the fight, leaving the verdict to a swing round that was very close.
At the conference call where St-Pierre said he was stepping away, UFC President Dana White announced Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler for the vacant welterweight title as the main event on 3/15 in Dallas, with a co-feature being a top contenders fight in the division between Carlos Condit vs. Tyron Woodley. The original 3/15 Dallas main event, Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira, was being moved to April, likely being the UFCs debut in Baltimore, because with Cain Velasquez and Anthony Pettis both out with injuries, they dont have enough title matches to get away with doubling up on any show. White also attempted to make a top contenders fight with Condit vs. Nick Diaz on that show, but Diaz turned down the offer, saying hed come back for a title fight, but not to face Condit to earn the shot. White said Diaz did indicate he would come back in May.
Lawler and Condit were the two fighters who had the best claim to be in the title decider after Hendricks. The decision went to Lawler, according to White, even though Condit is ranked higher. Condit had already gotten a title shot that he lost to St-Pierre, and also lost a decision to Hendricks. Lawler is 3-0 since moving down from middleweight.
Another reason for Lawler being picked is that Hendricks vs. Lawler looks to be a stylistic great fight, since both have knockout power. Lawler (22-9, 1 no contest), is 31 years old and was the first guy handpicked by Dana White to be groomed for stardom after he saw him fight as a 19-year-old on a smaller show. The idea was to book him like a rising boxer, with opponents he could beat and move him slowly up. He looked good in winning his first three fights using his hard punching and takedown defense, until running into Pete Spratt and low kicks, and being injured in the process. He was then cut in 2004 after being finished by Nick Diaz and Evan Tanner. Lawler remained outside of UFC because he got big money contracts to fight for both Elite XC and Strikeforce, where both companies used him as one of their signature stars. He was the Elite XC middleweight champion, but only went 3-5 in Strikeforce before dropping to welterweight and knocking out Josh Koscheck in the first round. While Hendricks, based on record and his last fight, would be the heavy favorite, Lawler does have the skills and power to catch him.
White stated that St-Pierre was getting away to deal with a personal life issue that came up before the Hendricks fight. St-Pierres trainer, Firas Zahabi, said St-Pierre had questioned taking time off as far back as leading into the Condit fight, which took place on November 17, 2012.
St-Pierre was coming off a nearly 19 month layoff due to a series of injuries, the most notable being a torn ACL, which required reconstructive surgery. When he first came back from the injury, he was concerned that he wasnt at the level he was before, and called Dana White to tell him he was thinking of quitting. But as he continued training and saw his athletic skills returning, he changed his tune.
St-Pierre has always come across as someone who, if and when he saw his skills fade, would likely walk away as opposed to a Chuck Liddell type, who had to be dragged out kicking and screaming, or the usual fighter who goes on because its a way to make a good living. White has always emphasized that St-Pierre has more than enough money to retire, and that he believes that if someone isnt committed and wanting to fight, he doesnt want them to fight. Hes also said that once fighters start using the word retirement in their thoughts, that its usually not a good thing for their career. But he also made clear St-Pierre never used the word retirement, himself, only that he was stepping away.
St-Pierre was the last champion left from UFCs PPV peak of the record-setting 2010, when they had the murderers row of champions with Brock Lesnar, Anderson Silva, GSP and B.J. Penn, plus a light heavyweight champion (Lyoto Machida and later Shogun Rua) which also always drew reasonably well. Its a hindsight lesson but an inevitability. In creating more titles, the drawing power of the championship matches has taken a huge hit, and instead of the titles being guaranteed draws themselves, its now all about the champion. But as the sport grew and became more like a sport, the other divisions were inevitable. You can argue they moved too fast, but the end destination is years down the line, more will be added, and title matches will mean what they mean in boxing and pro wrestling, which is very little.
St-Pierre stated that hes felt there is a lot of of pressure on him and he needed to take time off.
Every fight, Im carrying a weight on my shoulders, he said. Every fight you add weight. At some point it becomes so heavy its hard. Physically, Im 100 percent, I feel Im on top. Mentally, I cant go through another training camp now, and I dont know when I can again.
St-Pierre never said he was retiring, although did say there was no guarantee he would come back, and he is setting no timetables for anything.
One day, if I feel ready, Ill come back. The next time, Ill be the challenger. I had to come back from losing to (Matt) Hughes, (Matt) Serra, and from an injury. And if I have to do it a fourth time, believe me, Ill do it.
Another time he also indicated coming back, saying, I need to take a break. I need to have a normal life for a bit, then Ill feel better and come back stronger.
He said he would like to train, but without the pressure of preparing for competition.
The problem, the reason that made me champion is my biggest and best quality, but its also a big issue. Im completely obsessed. When they announce me to fight, Im right away thinking about it and get completely obsessed. When I go to bed, when I eat, when I train, thats all I think about. Now Im going to focus on real life. Im going to keep training, so if I come back one day, Ill come back stronger.
I believe one day Ill come back. I dont know how long it will take. I cant put myself through another training camp. Mentally, I need a break. I didnt want to make anyone wait (for his return and for a title shot). I want to do it again when I feel like it. It will be up to me and it will have to be on my terms.
I choose this life. Nobody ever forced me to do it. Now I choose to not do it. Im allowed to not do it if I choose to not do it. Nobody can understand the situation. All this pressure has been built up. So much promotion goes with this, the prime time, the cameras, the trash talk. Everywhere I go in Quebec, people tell me, `Good luck in the fight. They talk about it to me all the time, completely, every day of my life. Its hard to explain.
If I give you a date, it immediately puts me back to pressure. I dont know when. I dont know if. I think I will (fight again). I cant say 100 percent.
Dana White said that St-Pierres current contract will be frozen until he calls and says hes ready to return.
Even though much of what St-Pierre said related to the pressure of being champion, which many feel felled him once in his career prior to his upset loss to Matt Serra, both White, St-Pierres trainer Firas Zahabi and St-Pierre all brought up a personal life issue as the key catalyst in him getting out. Those who know have been quiet about what it is, and denied the TMZ report that St-Pierres father was dying (which his sister quickly denied) or that he had gotten a woman pregnant (which TMZ insisted was accurate and is something sources very close to the situation also stated to us). That would make sense in the idea St-Pierre would think of it as a huge deal due to his image and just because it would be, while White, having dealt with hundreds of athletes, many of whom screw-up, would react like it was something big to St-Pierre but not the disaster he was making it out to be, which was Whites reaction after St-Pierre told him what the issue was.
St-Pierre has said that his goal in MMA was to be regarded as the greatest fighter of all-time. Right now he is in the argument, with Anderson Silva and Fedor Emelianenko. Hes faced tougher opposition than either Silva or Emelianenko, but they have finished at a higher percentage. If he was to leave at 32, he would likely not be as highly regarded as Silva. St-Pierre was more dominant in controlling fights and winning rounds against together competition, but Silva was still world champion at 38, a more spectacular fighter, and holds key records that St-Pierre walked away from chasing.
St-Pierre started his career on January 25, 2002, at the age of 20, finishing Ivan Menjivar in Montreal via ground and pound. He won the UCC welterweight championship from Justin Bruckmann in his second fight, on June 15, 2022, in Gatineau, Quebec. At the time there were very few promotions, so being a champion gave you instant recognition. St-Pierre was regarded as the Canadian welterweight champion when he debuted with UFC on January 31, 2004, defeating Karo Parisyan in Las Vegas.
He lost his first title fight, on October 22, 2004, when he submitted to an armbar against Hughes in 4:59. But after dominating high level wrestlers Frank Trigg and Sean Sherk in the wrestling aspect of their matches, it was clear he was the second best guy in the division and perhaps the heir apparent.
He got a second title shot on November 18, 2006, where he finished Hughes with a head kick. The key to this fight was St-Pierre blocking Hughes takedowns, and Hughes was considered almost unstoppable at this point when it came to power wrestling, and his ability to take Hughes down. While St-Pierre was good in every aspect of the game, as time went on, he relied on his wrestling and was dubbed the best MMA wrestler in the game.
After losing the title to Serra in what was the biggest title match upset in modern UFC history, he started his current 12 fight winning streak with a decision win over Koscheck. The key to what wasnt that he won, since he was the favorite. The key was that he beat Koscheck, a former NCAA champion, in a match that he turned into primarily a wrestling match, instead of a striking battle, starting a phase where he gained a reputation of beating guys where they were best, like outstriking B.J. Penn and Thiago Alves and outwrestling Jon Fitch. Hendricks, one of the best college wrestlers in the U.S. of the last decade, more than held his own with St-Pierre at that aspect of the game, but neither could dominate the other in the wrestling aspect.
His loss to Serra came when he was knocked down hard at the start of their title match, and he could never recover from the initial onslaught.
He changed his style after the loss to concentrate on more ground domination. He spoke of playing the percentages, noting that he wants to fight a fight where the percentages are the highest of his winning. His style was criticized, but he became a huge drawing card with his second win over B.J. Penn, and with the retirement of Brock Lesnar, had become very clearly the biggest star, drawing wise, in the company.
In 2013, his two fights, with Nick Diaz and Hendricks, were the two most purchased PPVs of the year for UFC.
His departure and vacating the title was treated as the biggest sports story in Canada that day, and one of the biggest news stories. But it did not get nearly the mainstream coverage in the U.S. It was notable how the story was not addressed on UFCs FOX show, given if a similar caliber star, say Manny Pacquiao, had announced he was leaving boxing the day before an HBO card, it would be handled very differently.
ST. PIERRES MAIN EVENT RECORD
10/22/04: lost to Matt Hughes for welterweight title via armbar 4:59 (40,000 buys)
3/4/06: def. B.J. Penn via split decision to become top contender for welterweight title (300,000 buys)
10/18/06: def. Hughes via head kick and punches, 1:25 round two to win the welterweight title (500,000 buys)
4/7/07: lost to Matt Serra via punches on the ground, 3:25 (400,000 buys)
12/29/07: def. Hughes to become interim welterweight champion via armbar, 4:54, second round (730,000 buys)*
4/19/08: def. Serra via ref stoppage after knees to the body to unify interim and regular welterweight title, 4:45, second round (530,000 buys)
4/9/08: def. Jon Fitch via decision to retain welterweight title (625,000 buys)**
1/31/09: def. Penn via corner stoppage after four rounds to retain welterweight title in the first and only champion vs. champion match in UFC history (800,000 buys)
7/11/09: def. Thiago Alves via decision to retain welterweight title (1,600,000 buys)***
3/27/10: def. Dan Hardy via decision to retain welterweight title (770,000 buys)
12/11/10: def. Josh Koscheck via decision to retain welterweight title (800,000 buys)
4/30/11: def. Jake Shields via decision to retain welterweight title (800,000 buys)
11/17/12: def. Carlos Condit via decision to retain welterweight title (700,000 buys)
3/16/13: def. Nick Diaz via decision to retain welterweight title (950,000 buys)
11/16/13: def. Johny Hendricks via decision to retain welterweight title (number expected to fall between 600,000 and 650,000 buys)
*While promoted as the main event, the real main event was Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva
**While promoted as the main event, the show also featured Brock Lesnar vs. Heath Herring
***Billed as part of a double main event, but the big draws were the UFC 100 designation and the Lesnar vs. Frank Mir heavyweight title fight
UFC RECORDS
Most wins - 19
Most wins by decision - 12
Most successful title defenses in the welterweight division - 9
Most time spent in Octagon combat: Five hours, 28 minutes and 12 seconds
AWARDS
Canadian Athlete of the Year (Rogers Sportsnet) - 2008, 2009, 2010
Spike Guys Choice award Worlds Most Dangerous Man - 2010
Sports lllustrated Fighter of the Year - 2009
Wrestling Observer Most Outstanding Fighter - 2008, 2009, 2010
Wrestling Observer Most Valuable Fighter - 2011
World MMA Awards Fighter of the Year - 2009
In doing so, St-Pierre vacated the welterweight title, which he captured five years and eight months ago, on April 19, 2008, in Montreal. During that period he became a major Canadian sports figure, voted by fans in the annual Rogers Sportsnet awards as the countrys athlete of the year in 2008, 2009 and 2010. At the age of 32, St-Pierre holds the UFC record for most career wins, with 19, most wins in championship matches, with 12, and was one shy of Anderson Silvas record for most consecutive title defenses, with nine, when he vacated the title. His 2,064 consecutive days as champion was also second to Silva (2,457 days) for the longest title reign and most title match wins (Silva had ten, GSP has nine). Nobody else has approached 1,500 days. He was second to Randy Couture for most championship matches in a career. He sold more PPV buys for a career than any fighter in UFC history, and is right now the second biggest PPV draw in the world behind only Floyd Mayweather Jr. He headlined the biggest grossing live event in company history, as well as four of the top six.
The decision came just four weeks after a controversial decision win over Johny Hendricks, a result determined by the peculiarities of the ten point must system and how it is applied, in a fight where it appeared Hendricks did far more damage. But each man clearly won two rounds in the fight, leaving the verdict to a swing round that was very close.
At the conference call where St-Pierre said he was stepping away, UFC President Dana White announced Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler for the vacant welterweight title as the main event on 3/15 in Dallas, with a co-feature being a top contenders fight in the division between Carlos Condit vs. Tyron Woodley. The original 3/15 Dallas main event, Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira, was being moved to April, likely being the UFCs debut in Baltimore, because with Cain Velasquez and Anthony Pettis both out with injuries, they dont have enough title matches to get away with doubling up on any show. White also attempted to make a top contenders fight with Condit vs. Nick Diaz on that show, but Diaz turned down the offer, saying hed come back for a title fight, but not to face Condit to earn the shot. White said Diaz did indicate he would come back in May.
Lawler and Condit were the two fighters who had the best claim to be in the title decider after Hendricks. The decision went to Lawler, according to White, even though Condit is ranked higher. Condit had already gotten a title shot that he lost to St-Pierre, and also lost a decision to Hendricks. Lawler is 3-0 since moving down from middleweight.
Another reason for Lawler being picked is that Hendricks vs. Lawler looks to be a stylistic great fight, since both have knockout power. Lawler (22-9, 1 no contest), is 31 years old and was the first guy handpicked by Dana White to be groomed for stardom after he saw him fight as a 19-year-old on a smaller show. The idea was to book him like a rising boxer, with opponents he could beat and move him slowly up. He looked good in winning his first three fights using his hard punching and takedown defense, until running into Pete Spratt and low kicks, and being injured in the process. He was then cut in 2004 after being finished by Nick Diaz and Evan Tanner. Lawler remained outside of UFC because he got big money contracts to fight for both Elite XC and Strikeforce, where both companies used him as one of their signature stars. He was the Elite XC middleweight champion, but only went 3-5 in Strikeforce before dropping to welterweight and knocking out Josh Koscheck in the first round. While Hendricks, based on record and his last fight, would be the heavy favorite, Lawler does have the skills and power to catch him.
White stated that St-Pierre was getting away to deal with a personal life issue that came up before the Hendricks fight. St-Pierres trainer, Firas Zahabi, said St-Pierre had questioned taking time off as far back as leading into the Condit fight, which took place on November 17, 2012.
St-Pierre was coming off a nearly 19 month layoff due to a series of injuries, the most notable being a torn ACL, which required reconstructive surgery. When he first came back from the injury, he was concerned that he wasnt at the level he was before, and called Dana White to tell him he was thinking of quitting. But as he continued training and saw his athletic skills returning, he changed his tune.
St-Pierre has always come across as someone who, if and when he saw his skills fade, would likely walk away as opposed to a Chuck Liddell type, who had to be dragged out kicking and screaming, or the usual fighter who goes on because its a way to make a good living. White has always emphasized that St-Pierre has more than enough money to retire, and that he believes that if someone isnt committed and wanting to fight, he doesnt want them to fight. Hes also said that once fighters start using the word retirement in their thoughts, that its usually not a good thing for their career. But he also made clear St-Pierre never used the word retirement, himself, only that he was stepping away.
St-Pierre was the last champion left from UFCs PPV peak of the record-setting 2010, when they had the murderers row of champions with Brock Lesnar, Anderson Silva, GSP and B.J. Penn, plus a light heavyweight champion (Lyoto Machida and later Shogun Rua) which also always drew reasonably well. Its a hindsight lesson but an inevitability. In creating more titles, the drawing power of the championship matches has taken a huge hit, and instead of the titles being guaranteed draws themselves, its now all about the champion. But as the sport grew and became more like a sport, the other divisions were inevitable. You can argue they moved too fast, but the end destination is years down the line, more will be added, and title matches will mean what they mean in boxing and pro wrestling, which is very little.
St-Pierre stated that hes felt there is a lot of of pressure on him and he needed to take time off.
Every fight, Im carrying a weight on my shoulders, he said. Every fight you add weight. At some point it becomes so heavy its hard. Physically, Im 100 percent, I feel Im on top. Mentally, I cant go through another training camp now, and I dont know when I can again.
St-Pierre never said he was retiring, although did say there was no guarantee he would come back, and he is setting no timetables for anything.
One day, if I feel ready, Ill come back. The next time, Ill be the challenger. I had to come back from losing to (Matt) Hughes, (Matt) Serra, and from an injury. And if I have to do it a fourth time, believe me, Ill do it.
Another time he also indicated coming back, saying, I need to take a break. I need to have a normal life for a bit, then Ill feel better and come back stronger.
He said he would like to train, but without the pressure of preparing for competition.
The problem, the reason that made me champion is my biggest and best quality, but its also a big issue. Im completely obsessed. When they announce me to fight, Im right away thinking about it and get completely obsessed. When I go to bed, when I eat, when I train, thats all I think about. Now Im going to focus on real life. Im going to keep training, so if I come back one day, Ill come back stronger.
I believe one day Ill come back. I dont know how long it will take. I cant put myself through another training camp. Mentally, I need a break. I didnt want to make anyone wait (for his return and for a title shot). I want to do it again when I feel like it. It will be up to me and it will have to be on my terms.
I choose this life. Nobody ever forced me to do it. Now I choose to not do it. Im allowed to not do it if I choose to not do it. Nobody can understand the situation. All this pressure has been built up. So much promotion goes with this, the prime time, the cameras, the trash talk. Everywhere I go in Quebec, people tell me, `Good luck in the fight. They talk about it to me all the time, completely, every day of my life. Its hard to explain.
If I give you a date, it immediately puts me back to pressure. I dont know when. I dont know if. I think I will (fight again). I cant say 100 percent.
Dana White said that St-Pierres current contract will be frozen until he calls and says hes ready to return.
Even though much of what St-Pierre said related to the pressure of being champion, which many feel felled him once in his career prior to his upset loss to Matt Serra, both White, St-Pierres trainer Firas Zahabi and St-Pierre all brought up a personal life issue as the key catalyst in him getting out. Those who know have been quiet about what it is, and denied the TMZ report that St-Pierres father was dying (which his sister quickly denied) or that he had gotten a woman pregnant (which TMZ insisted was accurate and is something sources very close to the situation also stated to us). That would make sense in the idea St-Pierre would think of it as a huge deal due to his image and just because it would be, while White, having dealt with hundreds of athletes, many of whom screw-up, would react like it was something big to St-Pierre but not the disaster he was making it out to be, which was Whites reaction after St-Pierre told him what the issue was.
St-Pierre has said that his goal in MMA was to be regarded as the greatest fighter of all-time. Right now he is in the argument, with Anderson Silva and Fedor Emelianenko. Hes faced tougher opposition than either Silva or Emelianenko, but they have finished at a higher percentage. If he was to leave at 32, he would likely not be as highly regarded as Silva. St-Pierre was more dominant in controlling fights and winning rounds against together competition, but Silva was still world champion at 38, a more spectacular fighter, and holds key records that St-Pierre walked away from chasing.
St-Pierre started his career on January 25, 2002, at the age of 20, finishing Ivan Menjivar in Montreal via ground and pound. He won the UCC welterweight championship from Justin Bruckmann in his second fight, on June 15, 2022, in Gatineau, Quebec. At the time there were very few promotions, so being a champion gave you instant recognition. St-Pierre was regarded as the Canadian welterweight champion when he debuted with UFC on January 31, 2004, defeating Karo Parisyan in Las Vegas.
He lost his first title fight, on October 22, 2004, when he submitted to an armbar against Hughes in 4:59. But after dominating high level wrestlers Frank Trigg and Sean Sherk in the wrestling aspect of their matches, it was clear he was the second best guy in the division and perhaps the heir apparent.
He got a second title shot on November 18, 2006, where he finished Hughes with a head kick. The key to this fight was St-Pierre blocking Hughes takedowns, and Hughes was considered almost unstoppable at this point when it came to power wrestling, and his ability to take Hughes down. While St-Pierre was good in every aspect of the game, as time went on, he relied on his wrestling and was dubbed the best MMA wrestler in the game.
After losing the title to Serra in what was the biggest title match upset in modern UFC history, he started his current 12 fight winning streak with a decision win over Koscheck. The key to what wasnt that he won, since he was the favorite. The key was that he beat Koscheck, a former NCAA champion, in a match that he turned into primarily a wrestling match, instead of a striking battle, starting a phase where he gained a reputation of beating guys where they were best, like outstriking B.J. Penn and Thiago Alves and outwrestling Jon Fitch. Hendricks, one of the best college wrestlers in the U.S. of the last decade, more than held his own with St-Pierre at that aspect of the game, but neither could dominate the other in the wrestling aspect.
His loss to Serra came when he was knocked down hard at the start of their title match, and he could never recover from the initial onslaught.
He changed his style after the loss to concentrate on more ground domination. He spoke of playing the percentages, noting that he wants to fight a fight where the percentages are the highest of his winning. His style was criticized, but he became a huge drawing card with his second win over B.J. Penn, and with the retirement of Brock Lesnar, had become very clearly the biggest star, drawing wise, in the company.
In 2013, his two fights, with Nick Diaz and Hendricks, were the two most purchased PPVs of the year for UFC.
His departure and vacating the title was treated as the biggest sports story in Canada that day, and one of the biggest news stories. But it did not get nearly the mainstream coverage in the U.S. It was notable how the story was not addressed on UFCs FOX show, given if a similar caliber star, say Manny Pacquiao, had announced he was leaving boxing the day before an HBO card, it would be handled very differently.
ST. PIERRES MAIN EVENT RECORD
10/22/04: lost to Matt Hughes for welterweight title via armbar 4:59 (40,000 buys)
3/4/06: def. B.J. Penn via split decision to become top contender for welterweight title (300,000 buys)
10/18/06: def. Hughes via head kick and punches, 1:25 round two to win the welterweight title (500,000 buys)
4/7/07: lost to Matt Serra via punches on the ground, 3:25 (400,000 buys)
12/29/07: def. Hughes to become interim welterweight champion via armbar, 4:54, second round (730,000 buys)*
4/19/08: def. Serra via ref stoppage after knees to the body to unify interim and regular welterweight title, 4:45, second round (530,000 buys)
4/9/08: def. Jon Fitch via decision to retain welterweight title (625,000 buys)**
1/31/09: def. Penn via corner stoppage after four rounds to retain welterweight title in the first and only champion vs. champion match in UFC history (800,000 buys)
7/11/09: def. Thiago Alves via decision to retain welterweight title (1,600,000 buys)***
3/27/10: def. Dan Hardy via decision to retain welterweight title (770,000 buys)
12/11/10: def. Josh Koscheck via decision to retain welterweight title (800,000 buys)
4/30/11: def. Jake Shields via decision to retain welterweight title (800,000 buys)
11/17/12: def. Carlos Condit via decision to retain welterweight title (700,000 buys)
3/16/13: def. Nick Diaz via decision to retain welterweight title (950,000 buys)
11/16/13: def. Johny Hendricks via decision to retain welterweight title (number expected to fall between 600,000 and 650,000 buys)
*While promoted as the main event, the real main event was Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva
**While promoted as the main event, the show also featured Brock Lesnar vs. Heath Herring
***Billed as part of a double main event, but the big draws were the UFC 100 designation and the Lesnar vs. Frank Mir heavyweight title fight
UFC RECORDS
Most wins - 19
Most wins by decision - 12
Most successful title defenses in the welterweight division - 9
Most time spent in Octagon combat: Five hours, 28 minutes and 12 seconds
AWARDS
Canadian Athlete of the Year (Rogers Sportsnet) - 2008, 2009, 2010
Spike Guys Choice award Worlds Most Dangerous Man - 2010
Sports lllustrated Fighter of the Year - 2009
Wrestling Observer Most Outstanding Fighter - 2008, 2009, 2010
Wrestling Observer Most Valuable Fighter - 2011
World MMA Awards Fighter of the Year - 2009
dream
Member
The last time UFC ran on FOX during football season, on 1/25, there was a lot of criticism of the lineup going in, since the show was headlined by flyweights, champion Demetrious Johnson defending against John Dodson.
The results told a different story. With a 2.43 rating and 4,219,000 viewers, it was the highest rated show on television, either network or cable, in all the key demos.
The four match show had unknown featherweights Ricardo Lamas vs. Erik Koch battling for a possible title shot, Anthony Pettis vs. Donald Cerrone battling for a possible lightweight title shot, plus established superstar, Rampage Jackson, in the final fight of his contract, put in place to be the guy putting over the new star on his last match in the territory, facing Glover Teixeira, in his quest to be built for a light heavyweight title shot.
Johnson headlined a second time on FOX, on 7/27. The show drew a 1.5 rating, slightly above what the bad shows over the summer had been doing, and 2.38 million viewers, the lowest for a live network special. But with a Johnson vs. John Moraga main event, and the time of the year, most went in expecting the lowest number to date.
On 12/14 from the Sleep Train Arena (formerly Arco Arena) in Sacramento, Johnson defended his title for the third time in the same calender year on FOX, this time against top contender Joseph Benavidez. The show beat July numbers. But given a total lack of competition on television, it being during football season where the prior Johnson vs. Dodson rating was UFCs lowest to date, that was expected. It also came on a night where much of the country was in a blizzard, so less people were going out, meaning, if anything, ratings should have been higher than usual.
That wasnt the case. At press time, we dont even have complete ratings information other than the show did a 1.8 rating, down about 25%. Well have more, including the viewer total, next week. Based on the overnights, which dont accurately measure the West Coast, and also only measure the 8 to 10 p.m. time slot across the country, the show was down in viewers by 36% from the Johnson vs. Dodson shows overnight numbers (3.77 million vs. 2.41 million).
Ive had people tell me that while FOX did mention the show frequently during NFL games in recent weeks, the promotion of this show was not close to the level during football of the two shows last season that were big successes. Several ahead of time expected numbers to be way down. Another key is the two successful shows last year during football season had legends in the semifinals, B.J. Penn on the December show and Rampage Jackson in January. This show, which changed many times, did have Urijah Faber, but he, due to being in WEC during his heyday, is not the same level of national name as Penn or Jackson. Johnson vs. Benavidez wasnt even the planned main event. The actual plan was Anthony Pettis vs. Josh Thomson for the lightweight title, but that fell through when Pettis opted to have knee surgery. Johnson vs. Benavidez was earmarked for 11/30 on FS 1, and moved back two weeks because this show was in need of a main event. It also lost Carlos Condit vs. Matt Brown a week out when Brown suffered herniated discs in his lower back. While that hurt the quality of the show, its doubtful it had any significant affect on the final rating.
Most likely, because the show didnt have a five-round main event, and instead had a two minute main event, and it ended shortly after 10 p.m., meaning growth past the overnight average will be far less, the final percentage drop may look even worse.
While FOX can boast of winning the night in Men 18-34, Men 18-49 and Overall 18-34, there was no major sports competition, and the network competition was all reruns. FOX even lost to CBS in the 18-49 demo, with CBS airing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and Frosty Returns, which should have killed UFC with kids, but also significantly beat UFC with adults. For total viewers for the night among the four networks, Fox, the only network not airing reruns, finished last.
As compared to what FOX usually does in the slot, they did beat a Stanford vs. Oregon game two weeks ago in the 18-49 demo, although drew less viewers overall (the game was in the 3 million viewer range) since football is so much stronger past the age of 50. Last week in the slot was Michigan vs. Ohio State, and that did more than 12 million viewers, so beat the UFC by four times.
The three hours of prelims on FS 1 from 5-8 p.m. Eastern time did 613,000 viewers, along the lines of what prelims on FS 1 do before PPVs when they are in the more attractive 8-10 p.m. slot, so it would have to be considered good.
So far this year, Johnson had been featured, going into this show, five times before larger network viewership, with the two prior FOX shows and three preview shows.
One of the hopes was that FOX would give UFC exposure to a wider audience, giving them a new fan base who would order more PPV shows. That hasnt happened, as UFCs increase in PPV this year was based more on a few intriguing match-ups that did great, but the overall PPV base audience had dwindled. Another hope was that exposure on FOX would create new PPV drawing cards. But with Johnson, who had won two fights, and looked great in the process, to the point people are talking of him as a possible winner of Fighter of the Year, more FOX exposure than anyone to date hasnt even made him a drawing card for free shows on FOX.
Johnson defeated Benavidez via knockout in 2:08, connecting with a perfect punch that put the very legitimate top contender out cold. With three title defenses, two via stoppage, Johnson strengthened his case for Fighter of the Year. For Observer awards, this show doesnt count, which also would hurt Urijah Faber (4-0 for the year, three wins via submission). The other strong candidates are Vitor Belfort (3-0, all knockouts, two in the first round, three big name foes in Dan Henderson, Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold) and Cain Velasquez (3-0, destroying Junior Dos Santos twice and Antonio Silva, although the first Dos Santos win came last December, which means its part of the Observer awards but takes his title win away from most other awards. My gut says if Chris Weidman beats Anderson Silva on 12/28, hell end up winning for beating Silva twice.
With his win, Johnson, in a division that has major depth issues, is now in a position without any contenders anyone will care about. Newcomers Ali Bagautinov and Alpetkin Ozkilic have looked good so far, but at this point, few fans can even pronounce their names, let alone pick them out of a police lineup. Josh Sampo looked good in his UFC debut, but also failed to make weight. John Lineker could be at the top of the class with his three straight knockout wins, but hes missed weight three times in his last five fights and Im not even sure UFC should be booking him another time at 125. Zack Makovsky, the former Bellator bantamweight champion, debuted this weekend beating Scott Jorgensen, after taking the fight on ten days notice. The weakness in the division is such that a guy not even under contract two weeks ago isnt far from being the top contender.
UFC just announced Bagautinov vs. Lineker for 2/1 in Newark, NJ, which from a timing standpoint and looking at the landscape of the division, would seem to be a fight where the winner would get the shot, provided Lineker doesnt win and blow weight a fourth time.
Faber, with his fourth straight win, has clearly earned the next bantamweight shot against the winner of Dominick Cruz vs. Renan Barao, which also takes place on 2/1. Fabers win made him 19-0 in his career in fights where no championship was at stake. But, hes also lost his last five title fights since dropping the WEC featherweight title to Mike Brown on November 5, 2008.
Faber was the main star of the show to the live crowd in his home town of Sacramento. Many talked going in that it felt like a WEC card, since the emphasis was on smaller fighters, and Sacramento was WECs biggest market. Of the 11 fights on the show, only one, a welterweight fight with Court McGee vs. Ryan LaFlare, had fighters who weighed in at more than 156 pounds.
The show drew 11,573 fans paying $1,066,610, not a sellout, but a healthy number for a show on free network television. Overall, it was not nearly the quality of the great WEC shows in the building in the past. With eight decisions in the first nine fights, the show dragged at times. The crowd was really only really into the Sacramento fighters, Danny Castillo, Faber, Benavidez and Chad Mendes. Even when Faber came out, his reaction was nothing close to what it was during the glory days, although the reaction to his win could match nearly any big reaction anywhere from the past year.
Mendes, the top featherweight contender, was battling a sinus infection and flu, and got tired only a few minutes into his fight with Nik Lentz. Even against a tough foe, Mendes easily took the decision in a lackluster fight that he admitted being disappointed with. But if youre getting solid decision wins on your worst day against serious contenders, the news isnt that bad. Mendes was going for a UFC record fifth straight knockout, and nearly got it in the first round, but when Lentz survived that outburst, and Mendes was gulping for air, he played it safe from there. The next featherweight title bout is Aldo vs. Lamas on 2/1. If Lamas wins, then either Aldo or Mendes should get the next shot. If Aldo retains, and hell be heavily favored, it would come down to Mendes and Cub Swanson for the next show.
Not surprisingly, Sacramento, which did a 2.8 rating, was the second strongest market for the show, behind Tulsa, which did a 3.7.
The $50,000 bonuses went to Edson Barboza vs. Castillo for fight of the night (obvious pick), Johnson for best knockout and Faber for best submission.
The results told a different story. With a 2.43 rating and 4,219,000 viewers, it was the highest rated show on television, either network or cable, in all the key demos.
The four match show had unknown featherweights Ricardo Lamas vs. Erik Koch battling for a possible title shot, Anthony Pettis vs. Donald Cerrone battling for a possible lightweight title shot, plus established superstar, Rampage Jackson, in the final fight of his contract, put in place to be the guy putting over the new star on his last match in the territory, facing Glover Teixeira, in his quest to be built for a light heavyweight title shot.
Johnson headlined a second time on FOX, on 7/27. The show drew a 1.5 rating, slightly above what the bad shows over the summer had been doing, and 2.38 million viewers, the lowest for a live network special. But with a Johnson vs. John Moraga main event, and the time of the year, most went in expecting the lowest number to date.
On 12/14 from the Sleep Train Arena (formerly Arco Arena) in Sacramento, Johnson defended his title for the third time in the same calender year on FOX, this time against top contender Joseph Benavidez. The show beat July numbers. But given a total lack of competition on television, it being during football season where the prior Johnson vs. Dodson rating was UFCs lowest to date, that was expected. It also came on a night where much of the country was in a blizzard, so less people were going out, meaning, if anything, ratings should have been higher than usual.
That wasnt the case. At press time, we dont even have complete ratings information other than the show did a 1.8 rating, down about 25%. Well have more, including the viewer total, next week. Based on the overnights, which dont accurately measure the West Coast, and also only measure the 8 to 10 p.m. time slot across the country, the show was down in viewers by 36% from the Johnson vs. Dodson shows overnight numbers (3.77 million vs. 2.41 million).
Ive had people tell me that while FOX did mention the show frequently during NFL games in recent weeks, the promotion of this show was not close to the level during football of the two shows last season that were big successes. Several ahead of time expected numbers to be way down. Another key is the two successful shows last year during football season had legends in the semifinals, B.J. Penn on the December show and Rampage Jackson in January. This show, which changed many times, did have Urijah Faber, but he, due to being in WEC during his heyday, is not the same level of national name as Penn or Jackson. Johnson vs. Benavidez wasnt even the planned main event. The actual plan was Anthony Pettis vs. Josh Thomson for the lightweight title, but that fell through when Pettis opted to have knee surgery. Johnson vs. Benavidez was earmarked for 11/30 on FS 1, and moved back two weeks because this show was in need of a main event. It also lost Carlos Condit vs. Matt Brown a week out when Brown suffered herniated discs in his lower back. While that hurt the quality of the show, its doubtful it had any significant affect on the final rating.
Most likely, because the show didnt have a five-round main event, and instead had a two minute main event, and it ended shortly after 10 p.m., meaning growth past the overnight average will be far less, the final percentage drop may look even worse.
While FOX can boast of winning the night in Men 18-34, Men 18-49 and Overall 18-34, there was no major sports competition, and the network competition was all reruns. FOX even lost to CBS in the 18-49 demo, with CBS airing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and Frosty Returns, which should have killed UFC with kids, but also significantly beat UFC with adults. For total viewers for the night among the four networks, Fox, the only network not airing reruns, finished last.
As compared to what FOX usually does in the slot, they did beat a Stanford vs. Oregon game two weeks ago in the 18-49 demo, although drew less viewers overall (the game was in the 3 million viewer range) since football is so much stronger past the age of 50. Last week in the slot was Michigan vs. Ohio State, and that did more than 12 million viewers, so beat the UFC by four times.
The three hours of prelims on FS 1 from 5-8 p.m. Eastern time did 613,000 viewers, along the lines of what prelims on FS 1 do before PPVs when they are in the more attractive 8-10 p.m. slot, so it would have to be considered good.
So far this year, Johnson had been featured, going into this show, five times before larger network viewership, with the two prior FOX shows and three preview shows.
One of the hopes was that FOX would give UFC exposure to a wider audience, giving them a new fan base who would order more PPV shows. That hasnt happened, as UFCs increase in PPV this year was based more on a few intriguing match-ups that did great, but the overall PPV base audience had dwindled. Another hope was that exposure on FOX would create new PPV drawing cards. But with Johnson, who had won two fights, and looked great in the process, to the point people are talking of him as a possible winner of Fighter of the Year, more FOX exposure than anyone to date hasnt even made him a drawing card for free shows on FOX.
Johnson defeated Benavidez via knockout in 2:08, connecting with a perfect punch that put the very legitimate top contender out cold. With three title defenses, two via stoppage, Johnson strengthened his case for Fighter of the Year. For Observer awards, this show doesnt count, which also would hurt Urijah Faber (4-0 for the year, three wins via submission). The other strong candidates are Vitor Belfort (3-0, all knockouts, two in the first round, three big name foes in Dan Henderson, Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold) and Cain Velasquez (3-0, destroying Junior Dos Santos twice and Antonio Silva, although the first Dos Santos win came last December, which means its part of the Observer awards but takes his title win away from most other awards. My gut says if Chris Weidman beats Anderson Silva on 12/28, hell end up winning for beating Silva twice.
With his win, Johnson, in a division that has major depth issues, is now in a position without any contenders anyone will care about. Newcomers Ali Bagautinov and Alpetkin Ozkilic have looked good so far, but at this point, few fans can even pronounce their names, let alone pick them out of a police lineup. Josh Sampo looked good in his UFC debut, but also failed to make weight. John Lineker could be at the top of the class with his three straight knockout wins, but hes missed weight three times in his last five fights and Im not even sure UFC should be booking him another time at 125. Zack Makovsky, the former Bellator bantamweight champion, debuted this weekend beating Scott Jorgensen, after taking the fight on ten days notice. The weakness in the division is such that a guy not even under contract two weeks ago isnt far from being the top contender.
UFC just announced Bagautinov vs. Lineker for 2/1 in Newark, NJ, which from a timing standpoint and looking at the landscape of the division, would seem to be a fight where the winner would get the shot, provided Lineker doesnt win and blow weight a fourth time.
Faber, with his fourth straight win, has clearly earned the next bantamweight shot against the winner of Dominick Cruz vs. Renan Barao, which also takes place on 2/1. Fabers win made him 19-0 in his career in fights where no championship was at stake. But, hes also lost his last five title fights since dropping the WEC featherweight title to Mike Brown on November 5, 2008.
Faber was the main star of the show to the live crowd in his home town of Sacramento. Many talked going in that it felt like a WEC card, since the emphasis was on smaller fighters, and Sacramento was WECs biggest market. Of the 11 fights on the show, only one, a welterweight fight with Court McGee vs. Ryan LaFlare, had fighters who weighed in at more than 156 pounds.
The show drew 11,573 fans paying $1,066,610, not a sellout, but a healthy number for a show on free network television. Overall, it was not nearly the quality of the great WEC shows in the building in the past. With eight decisions in the first nine fights, the show dragged at times. The crowd was really only really into the Sacramento fighters, Danny Castillo, Faber, Benavidez and Chad Mendes. Even when Faber came out, his reaction was nothing close to what it was during the glory days, although the reaction to his win could match nearly any big reaction anywhere from the past year.
Mendes, the top featherweight contender, was battling a sinus infection and flu, and got tired only a few minutes into his fight with Nik Lentz. Even against a tough foe, Mendes easily took the decision in a lackluster fight that he admitted being disappointed with. But if youre getting solid decision wins on your worst day against serious contenders, the news isnt that bad. Mendes was going for a UFC record fifth straight knockout, and nearly got it in the first round, but when Lentz survived that outburst, and Mendes was gulping for air, he played it safe from there. The next featherweight title bout is Aldo vs. Lamas on 2/1. If Lamas wins, then either Aldo or Mendes should get the next shot. If Aldo retains, and hell be heavily favored, it would come down to Mendes and Cub Swanson for the next show.
Not surprisingly, Sacramento, which did a 2.8 rating, was the second strongest market for the show, behind Tulsa, which did a 3.7.
The $50,000 bonuses went to Edson Barboza vs. Castillo for fight of the night (obvious pick), Johnson for best knockout and Faber for best submission.
dream
Member
Cain Velasquez underwent surgery on 12/10 due to a torn labrum in his left shoulder suffered in his 10/19 fight against Junior Dos Santos. Velasquez had believed he would not need surgery. After going through rehab, the decision was made to have the operation. It will be six months before he can start serious training, meaning probably a good nine months before he can defend the title. The most logical situation would be to put Fabricio Werdum against the winner of the Josh Barnett vs. Travis Browne fight on 12/28, for the next title shot, a fight that UFC did suggest to Werdum. Werdum has said hes considering just waiting for Velasquez to recover as opposed to risking his title shot in another fight. Velasquez is believed to have suffered the injury when Dos Santos used a whizzer to block one of his takedowns. The situation is similar to 2010, when Velasquez beat Brock Lesnar, but suffered a torn rotator cuff in the process. It was more than a full before he returned to action.
Antonio Silva was suspended for nine months due to testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone in his 12/7 fight with Mark Hunt. What makes this one tricky is that Silva had already been given an approval for testosterone replacement therapy. While on that therapy, they do regular blood tests of your testosterone level and you cant exceed the top number (usually 1100 or 1200). Silvas testosterone levels fell within normal range for all his pre-fight testing, but on the day of the fight, he exceeded the top level. Before getting on testosterone, his level was 153, and anything under 300 would be dangerously low to fight with (although we know that Chael Sonnen on 11/16 and Alistair Overeem earlier this year fought on dangerously low levels and Sonnen even had a TRT exemption). Silva was also stripped of his $50,000 best fight bonus. No word on what will happen to his winning bonus. The fight was a draw, but Dana White, because of how great the fight was, paid both Silva and Hunt their win bonuses and gave them the best fight bonuses. Silva joins Ben Rothwell and Nate Marquardt as fighters who were given TRT exemptions who then used too much of it to the point they were going into the cage with above even the highest end of normal levels. What makes this case bad is that in 2008, when Silva was fighting for Elite XC, he tested positive for Boldenone, an anabolic steroid, in a California State Athletic Commission test, and was suspended for one year. At the time, Silva claimed that due to his condition (he was suffering from acromegaly, giantism) that he wasnt taking steroids because they would be so dangerous for someone with his condition that he could die. Silva had an operation to remove a growth on his pituitary gland that caused his problems that led to his suffering acromegaly and caused the growth of his hands, feet and head, giving him a similar look as Andre the Giant and the Great Khali (Big Show had a similar condition but had an operation in college to take care of it; Choi Hong-man also had a similar condition but had an operation to remove the growth). The claim is that the operation and medication caused his testosterone to drop to dangerously low levels. He argued that he tested positive for Boldenone due to taking a contaminated supplement. Its one thing to allow TRT usage in fighters, but with Silva, Marquardt and Vitor Belfort, they are allowing TRT for fighters who had documented positive steroid tests in their past. Silvas issues are a lot trickier than the other two due to his acromegaly and subsequent surgery messing up his system, so its not as cut-and-dried as the idea some guy took steroids for years, now has low testosterone, and they are giving approval for him to use it in fighting. Silvas people claimed that even with the TRT therapy, the testing showed Silvas levels were too low in the period leading up to the fight, so they upped his dosage and then he tested positive. Silva, on Facebook, stated, Clarification. Months before my fight, I looked for the UFC doctor Marcio Tannure in Brazil so I could start the hormonal replacement TRT which was authorized and recognized by a professional. I started the treatment and two weeks before my fight, I did all the exams required by the UFC. My testosterone level continued to be low so I was recommended by the doctor to increase the dosage. Unfortunately, my level increased too much and caused me to suspend (be suspended). I only did what was recommended by someone trained who understands about the subject, therefore it was not my mistake. Im cool, because I know the mistake was not made be me. I never tried doing anything wrong for my fight. .
The UFC 168 PPV price was raised by $5 ($49.95 SD and $59.95 HD) because its such a loaded show. Lorenzo Fertitta made the call. If the show does 800,000 buys (and judging from Dana Whites talk of breaking the all-time record, which at this point Id be shocked if they did it, my thoughts are going to be a disappointment to the company), its an extra $1.6 million to $2 million based on that decision. They will go back to regular prices on 2/1.
Because of the demand for tickets after being sold out, they are starting to open up closed circuit locations including a second arena at the MGM Grand.
Theyve also been beyond strict for comp tickets to the show. There are celebrities that one would think they would want at the show who were turned down for comps.
The company has made the call to discontinue the three-week Prime Time shows due to expense. I had heard that the GSP vs. Hendricks would be the last one, but Dana White had said they were going to do it for Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman. The object of the show is to increase PPV buys, but the feeling is that the shows have cost more to produce (they are very expensive) than the number of buys theyve added for the last two shows, Velasquez vs. Dos Santos and GSP vs. Hendricks. In a sense, that is putting UFC behind boxing, since both HBO and Showtime are continuing to do it for their big fights. The shows, when on Spike, were usually doing 600,000 viewers and for big fights, topping 1 million. With the move to FX, they were doing about 600,000 viewers. But on FS 1, the numbers dropped to the 125,000 range. My belief when you get to 125,000 viewers is that most of those viewers are the people already buying in the first place. White said the show is on hiatus until there is a platform where they can get more viewers.
While not finalized, the plan for the April PPV, headlined by Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira, is to be the UFCs debut in Baltimore. They want to do the D.C. market but there are reasons having to do with a PPV tax that makes running a PPV event smarter just outside the D.C.
Diego Sanchez signed a new eight fight contract. He had said he wanted to face Joe Lauzon on the 3/15 show in Dallas, but instead will be facing the less known 13-0 Myles Jury. Also added to that show is Sean Spencer vs. Alex Garcia. Garcia is the Hector Lombard lookalike who made a great debut on the Australia show.
A show on 12/20 in Rio de Janeiro, promoted by Shooto Brazil, will supposedly feature the first man vs. woman fight ever held in a major promotion, but right now there are a lot of indications its nothing more than a publicity stunt to call attention to the show. Emerson Falcao (0-1) is scheduled to face Juliana Velasquez (0-0). It should be noted that after this fight was announced, Falcao went on Facebook and said he was injured and wouldnt be fighting until next year. But Shooto president Andre Pederneiras (who is also the trainer of a number of big name fighters including Jose Aldo and Renan Barao) told MMAFighting.com that Falcao would be fighting this weekend. Pederneiras came up with the idea of doing such a fight and contacted Team Nogueira for a 135 pound woman. But after the announcement, the Brazilian Mixed Martial Arts Confederation, the regulatory body, noted that there is nothing in their rule book that would specifically ban a male vs. female fight (which means they need to change their rule book), but Osiris Maia of the commission told MMAFighting that there was no way such a match should be allowed. He said Pederneiras had not sent them the lineup, but announced the fight to the media, but he said he didnt think they would allow it to happen. There was at least one non-sanctioned match many years ago held in the U.S., and in Japan there was a famous and very brutal kickboxing match where woman wrestling star Kyoko Inoue got beaten up by a male kickboxer (who years later, in a weird follow-up to the story, ended up having a sex change).
This is the latest on the WrestleMania scorecard. Hulk Hogan isnt signed as of this moment but people are talking confidently about the idea hed be with the company and involved with Mania in some form. However, it is openly believed and talked about internally that he is not expected to wrestle, with the belief even if they wanted him to he could not pass medicals so the idea of a Cena & Hogan tag match is thought to be unlikely, and more likely is just an appearance, somebody running into his fist, a promo and posing. Batista is openly talked about as being in great shape and probably coming back. If Michaels is wrestling on the show, it is something kept quiet. Internally people are being told it is not the case, and friends of Michaels continue to also say they dont think its happening. Michaels has directly told people he is not going to do another match. As Ive mentioned before, people who are there who are very smart on the landscape and how things operate, who dont know but are right most of the time, that have believed he would wrestle Bryan at Mania even before the superkick on Bryan angle played. There have been talks with Goldberg, which hes admitted and openly talked about, but in his case, the word is that he drives a hard bargain so it doesnt sound like they are close. At this point, RVD is not in the plans for Mania. I dont know a thing about Jericho. Its one of those things where its expected but nobody has said anything is in place. His last scheduled concert was 12/14 in Sydney and hes starting on a new album in January.
Antonio Silva was suspended for nine months due to testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone in his 12/7 fight with Mark Hunt. What makes this one tricky is that Silva had already been given an approval for testosterone replacement therapy. While on that therapy, they do regular blood tests of your testosterone level and you cant exceed the top number (usually 1100 or 1200). Silvas testosterone levels fell within normal range for all his pre-fight testing, but on the day of the fight, he exceeded the top level. Before getting on testosterone, his level was 153, and anything under 300 would be dangerously low to fight with (although we know that Chael Sonnen on 11/16 and Alistair Overeem earlier this year fought on dangerously low levels and Sonnen even had a TRT exemption). Silva was also stripped of his $50,000 best fight bonus. No word on what will happen to his winning bonus. The fight was a draw, but Dana White, because of how great the fight was, paid both Silva and Hunt their win bonuses and gave them the best fight bonuses. Silva joins Ben Rothwell and Nate Marquardt as fighters who were given TRT exemptions who then used too much of it to the point they were going into the cage with above even the highest end of normal levels. What makes this case bad is that in 2008, when Silva was fighting for Elite XC, he tested positive for Boldenone, an anabolic steroid, in a California State Athletic Commission test, and was suspended for one year. At the time, Silva claimed that due to his condition (he was suffering from acromegaly, giantism) that he wasnt taking steroids because they would be so dangerous for someone with his condition that he could die. Silva had an operation to remove a growth on his pituitary gland that caused his problems that led to his suffering acromegaly and caused the growth of his hands, feet and head, giving him a similar look as Andre the Giant and the Great Khali (Big Show had a similar condition but had an operation in college to take care of it; Choi Hong-man also had a similar condition but had an operation to remove the growth). The claim is that the operation and medication caused his testosterone to drop to dangerously low levels. He argued that he tested positive for Boldenone due to taking a contaminated supplement. Its one thing to allow TRT usage in fighters, but with Silva, Marquardt and Vitor Belfort, they are allowing TRT for fighters who had documented positive steroid tests in their past. Silvas issues are a lot trickier than the other two due to his acromegaly and subsequent surgery messing up his system, so its not as cut-and-dried as the idea some guy took steroids for years, now has low testosterone, and they are giving approval for him to use it in fighting. Silvas people claimed that even with the TRT therapy, the testing showed Silvas levels were too low in the period leading up to the fight, so they upped his dosage and then he tested positive. Silva, on Facebook, stated, Clarification. Months before my fight, I looked for the UFC doctor Marcio Tannure in Brazil so I could start the hormonal replacement TRT which was authorized and recognized by a professional. I started the treatment and two weeks before my fight, I did all the exams required by the UFC. My testosterone level continued to be low so I was recommended by the doctor to increase the dosage. Unfortunately, my level increased too much and caused me to suspend (be suspended). I only did what was recommended by someone trained who understands about the subject, therefore it was not my mistake. Im cool, because I know the mistake was not made be me. I never tried doing anything wrong for my fight. .
The UFC 168 PPV price was raised by $5 ($49.95 SD and $59.95 HD) because its such a loaded show. Lorenzo Fertitta made the call. If the show does 800,000 buys (and judging from Dana Whites talk of breaking the all-time record, which at this point Id be shocked if they did it, my thoughts are going to be a disappointment to the company), its an extra $1.6 million to $2 million based on that decision. They will go back to regular prices on 2/1.
Because of the demand for tickets after being sold out, they are starting to open up closed circuit locations including a second arena at the MGM Grand.
Theyve also been beyond strict for comp tickets to the show. There are celebrities that one would think they would want at the show who were turned down for comps.
The company has made the call to discontinue the three-week Prime Time shows due to expense. I had heard that the GSP vs. Hendricks would be the last one, but Dana White had said they were going to do it for Anderson Silva vs. Chris Weidman. The object of the show is to increase PPV buys, but the feeling is that the shows have cost more to produce (they are very expensive) than the number of buys theyve added for the last two shows, Velasquez vs. Dos Santos and GSP vs. Hendricks. In a sense, that is putting UFC behind boxing, since both HBO and Showtime are continuing to do it for their big fights. The shows, when on Spike, were usually doing 600,000 viewers and for big fights, topping 1 million. With the move to FX, they were doing about 600,000 viewers. But on FS 1, the numbers dropped to the 125,000 range. My belief when you get to 125,000 viewers is that most of those viewers are the people already buying in the first place. White said the show is on hiatus until there is a platform where they can get more viewers.
While not finalized, the plan for the April PPV, headlined by Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira, is to be the UFCs debut in Baltimore. They want to do the D.C. market but there are reasons having to do with a PPV tax that makes running a PPV event smarter just outside the D.C.
Diego Sanchez signed a new eight fight contract. He had said he wanted to face Joe Lauzon on the 3/15 show in Dallas, but instead will be facing the less known 13-0 Myles Jury. Also added to that show is Sean Spencer vs. Alex Garcia. Garcia is the Hector Lombard lookalike who made a great debut on the Australia show.
A show on 12/20 in Rio de Janeiro, promoted by Shooto Brazil, will supposedly feature the first man vs. woman fight ever held in a major promotion, but right now there are a lot of indications its nothing more than a publicity stunt to call attention to the show. Emerson Falcao (0-1) is scheduled to face Juliana Velasquez (0-0). It should be noted that after this fight was announced, Falcao went on Facebook and said he was injured and wouldnt be fighting until next year. But Shooto president Andre Pederneiras (who is also the trainer of a number of big name fighters including Jose Aldo and Renan Barao) told MMAFighting.com that Falcao would be fighting this weekend. Pederneiras came up with the idea of doing such a fight and contacted Team Nogueira for a 135 pound woman. But after the announcement, the Brazilian Mixed Martial Arts Confederation, the regulatory body, noted that there is nothing in their rule book that would specifically ban a male vs. female fight (which means they need to change their rule book), but Osiris Maia of the commission told MMAFighting that there was no way such a match should be allowed. He said Pederneiras had not sent them the lineup, but announced the fight to the media, but he said he didnt think they would allow it to happen. There was at least one non-sanctioned match many years ago held in the U.S., and in Japan there was a famous and very brutal kickboxing match where woman wrestling star Kyoko Inoue got beaten up by a male kickboxer (who years later, in a weird follow-up to the story, ended up having a sex change).
This is the latest on the WrestleMania scorecard. Hulk Hogan isnt signed as of this moment but people are talking confidently about the idea hed be with the company and involved with Mania in some form. However, it is openly believed and talked about internally that he is not expected to wrestle, with the belief even if they wanted him to he could not pass medicals so the idea of a Cena & Hogan tag match is thought to be unlikely, and more likely is just an appearance, somebody running into his fist, a promo and posing. Batista is openly talked about as being in great shape and probably coming back. If Michaels is wrestling on the show, it is something kept quiet. Internally people are being told it is not the case, and friends of Michaels continue to also say they dont think its happening. Michaels has directly told people he is not going to do another match. As Ive mentioned before, people who are there who are very smart on the landscape and how things operate, who dont know but are right most of the time, that have believed he would wrestle Bryan at Mania even before the superkick on Bryan angle played. There have been talks with Goldberg, which hes admitted and openly talked about, but in his case, the word is that he drives a hard bargain so it doesnt sound like they are close. At this point, RVD is not in the plans for Mania. I dont know a thing about Jericho. Its one of those things where its expected but nobody has said anything is in place. His last scheduled concert was 12/14 in Sydney and hes starting on a new album in January.
AstroZombie
Banned
I think today has been the worst day of my life.
bone_and_sinew
breaking down barriers in gratuitous nudity
Fuck ESPN
Fuck fuckball
Fuck the Pacers
TheKaeptain
Banned
lol Heat win on a play where Lebron hugs the other player.
bone_and_sinew
breaking down barriers in gratuitous nudity
Cry more. The game as a whole was terribly officiated. It was a terrible shot anyway.
TheKaeptain
Banned
Shit, I don't give a shit about these teams. Although Bron trying to punk Mario and sitting down when Chalmers didn't back down was great.
bone_and_sinew
breaking down barriers in gratuitous nudity
What are you talking about? Udonis pulled his arm and held him back
You're more off than Kobe bricking threes.
And since I know the next post is "Well he's a bad leader", he apologized and Chalmers gets yelled at by everyone all the time anyway since he's our Irrational Confidence Guy
bone_and_sinew
breaking down barriers in gratuitous nudity
He's a future star in the making.
Also I just got a look the upcoming card (168) and WOW that card is stacked. These are the prelims:
Preliminary card (Fox Sports 1)
Middleweight Chris Leben vs. Uriah Hall
Lightweight Gleison Tibau vs. Michael Johnson
Featherweight Dennis Siver vs. Manvel Gamburyan
Welterweight John Howard vs. Siyar Bahadurzada
Preliminary card (Online)
Welterweight William Macario vs. Bobby Voelker
Featherweight Robbie Peralta vs. Estevan Payan
Those prelims are better than most Fight Nights and recent ppvs. There should be some good scraps there.
Renato Laranja vs Chris Weidman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcdZc4WDC-s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcdZc4WDC-s
Rafa=FedKilla
Banned
Damn. That's a Meltzer article alrigh.
AstroZombie
Banned
Cheer up with some prashoot and a softball of muhzarel, my good friend.
That looks pretty tasty. Perfect night for insomnia too. Gonna catch up on my call of duty...whooo!.
industrian
will gently cradle you as time slowly ticks away.
That was a brilliant makeup job in hiding the stitches and scars then. But I'm sure that people can just stroll out of a hospital a day after complex surgery and do some intense exercise and activities nowadays. I'm sure it's perfectly normal. Perfectly. And doctors are totally cool with it.