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MMA-GAF |OT5| Father Time Is Undefeated
- Thread starter polyh3dron
- Start date
dream
Member
I wonder if drm is enjoying the athleticism on display in womens figure skating.
I actually know Kaetlyn Osmond and never thought much of her until seeing her athleticism on display, and now I am gravely concerned for my future.
Rafa=FedKilla
Banned
Hhhhhhhmmmmm. I could make some money with her.
RBelong2Us
Member
Some guy that just got fired from starbucks can sell wolf tickets better than 95% of the fighters in Ultimate.
That's the spirit.
At least he wasn't afraid to stand in the pocket!
dem legs
TheKaeptain
Banned
Told you dude she's the truth.
I still find it funny that the dude contacted the ufc on twitter 7 days ago and he's fighting 10 days later as the co-main.
think she skated to that in her short program during the Team skating competition as well, that or another PF song.
and this athletic young lady has the gold in the bag...
polyh3dron
Banned
At least when LP gets sacked its because he's standing in the pocket winging bungalows.
This is some Vanquish 2 gameplay type shit.think she skated to that in her short program during the Team skating competition as well, that or another PF song.
and this athletic young lady has the gold in the bag...
think she skated to that in her short program during the Team skating competition as well, that or another PF song.
and this athletic young lady has the gold in the bag...
Who is this phenom?!
Maklershed
Member
I bet she wasn't just pouring coffee last week. Harumph. #TeamNegative
Whoa whoa whoa - there's a Vanquish 2 in the works?
Whoa whoa whoa - there's a Vanquish 2 in the works?
Maklershed
Member
Sorry,Damn you plywoooood!
Vanquish was surprisingly great.
It was the first thing that came to mind.
industrian
will gently cradle you as time slowly ticks away.
Vanquish is one of the most overrated games I've ever played.
But I'm sure GAF would tell me that I'm not "playing it right" or whatever...
But I'm sure GAF would tell me that I'm not "playing it right" or whatever...
karasu
Member
think she skated to that in her short program during the Team skating competition as well, that or another PF song.
and this athletic young lady has the gold in the bag...
Is that sped up?
TheKaeptain
Banned
Nope.
half the frames are chopped out, though.
Host Samurai
Member
UFC 170 |OT| - From Starbucks to PPV
UFC 170 |OT| - Started from the Bottom and now I'm here
UFC 170 |OT| - Started from the Bottom and now I'm here
TheKaeptain
Banned
Oh yeah. For some reason I forgot I was watching a gif.
polyh3dron
Banned
UFC 170 |OT| Can't Let You Do That, Starbucks
I vote for this one
A
A More Normal Bird
Unconfirmed Member
UFC 170 |OT| Bronze, Silver & Nescafé Gold
or
UFC 170 |OT| A Bronze medallist, a Silver medallist and a Gold level Starbucks cardholder walk into a cage
or
UFC 170 |OT| A Bronze medallist, a Silver medallist and a Gold level Starbucks cardholder walk into a cage
TheKaeptain
Banned
UFC 170 |OT| <500k buys
this is how I feel about all Platinum games
I can only imagine how many more of these kind of stories will start popping up in the near future.
http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2014/2/19/5427020/nate-quarry-interview-full-transcript-ufc-dana-white-fighter-pay-sponsor?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=cageriotmma_source%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2Fsportsblogs%2Fbloodyelbow_feed%3DBloody+Elbowdlvr_route%3DCage+Riot+MMA+Twitter
http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2014/2/19/5427020/nate-quarry-interview-full-transcript-ufc-dana-white-fighter-pay-sponsor?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=cageriotmma_source%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2Fsportsblogs%2Fbloodyelbow_feed%3DBloody+Elbowdlvr_route%3DCage+Riot+MMA+Twitter
That's extremely optimistic.
dream
Member
The announcement on Friday that Gilbert Melendez had signed a multi-year contract with Bellator is a potential game changer for the entire industry.
Melendez’s contract with UFC, a deal that carried over from the Strikeforce days, gives UFC the ability to match any outside offer. Terms of the deal have not been made public, but it is known that they include not only fighting, but also non-fighting aspects, and PPV points. UFC can match the offer by mid-March, and Melendez will be bound to them for several years. If not, Bellator can then start planning Melendez’s debut for the promotion, which would likely be in May.
Melendez’s exclusive negotiating period with UFC ended in late January, and he, through agent Rodolphe Beaulieu, who is also Georges St-Pierre’s agent, contacted Bellator immediately. The two sides negotiated over the past two-and-a-half weeks before reaching and signing the provisional agreement.
“I can’t be too specific, but (the deal includes) on-air opportunities, entertainment opportunities behind-the-scenes, some marketing opportunities. The whole genesis is Gil-specific,” said Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney, who negotiated the deal. “The key is to build the Gil Melendez brand, not the Bellator brand, the Bjorn brand, build the fighters brand is what’s important. The focus was talking to Gil and his team. How do we leverage all the resources we have to build the `El Nino’ brand? That’s what got us all on the same side of the table putting this structure together.”
No, Gilbert Melendez is not going to be the star that leads Bellator to overtaking, or even being competitive with UFC (although I suspect the Friday night audiences for Bellator this season to be competitive with UFC live events on FS 1 because of being on a stronger network that reaches more homes) as the leading MMA company in the world. But for top talent, everything is a little different today.
“We’re going to be going after everybody, and more and more often,” said Rebney regarding top fighters whose contracts with UFC or other groups expire. “I think it’s a bigger picture issue. The bigger picture is having two major players in MMA. It’s far and away better for the fighters. When a fighter has one option, he has no power at the negotiating table. With two options, the fighter has all the power. It’s counter intuitive for what a CEO of a fight company should say, but that’s the truth. My checkbook may take a shot. But if they can earn what they feel they deserve, overall we and the sport are in a better place. You’re going to see more of this as well moving forward, from the smallest regions where we find undiscovered talent to the superstars from the UFC and guys we find in the U.S.”
Since UFC purchased Strikeforce three years ago, the leverage for top fighters when it came to negotiating deals was all but gone. With the exception of very few, UFC had all the top talent, and paid far better than anyone else. You couldn’t match the exposure, nor could you possibly build a name anywhere near as much on the outside.
Bellator was there, but their game plan for the most part was to sign either undiscovered talent, or a few guys with some name value who had been let go by UFC. For most, Bellator offered relatively low start up money, while dangling the carrot of a potential $100,000 payoff for winning a tournament.
Sure, they paid big money for Quinton Jackson, but he was already leaving UFC and looking to get into the entertainment world. Bellator, owned by Viacom, provided a better entree. They would help him get into entertainment, whether it be a reality show or pro wrestling, and he’d fight to help up the profile of the promotion. Plus, in a television business, whether his best days were behind him or not, Jackson was one of the fighters who had established being a difference maker when it came to people wanting to see him fight.
Realistically, the only thing resembling a top guy that Bellator really got that UFC wanted was Eddie Alvarez, back in 2009. Alvarez was fighting in Japan, and had both charisma and an exciting in-ring style. But he was largely unknown in the U.S. market. Bellator, at the time catering to the Hispanic audience since their television deal was on ESPN Deportes, offered significantly more than UFC. To UFC, he was an unknown fighter, clearly one with marketability and potential, but there was no guarantee he would be a top guy in their deep division. For Bellator, they were looking for a signature star with an Hispanic surname, and knew they’d have to greatly outbid UFC to get him. Ironically, Alvarez was not Bellator’s first pick to be the company’s signature star in 2008.
That was Gilbert Melendez.
“Gil was the first big name I tried to recruit in 2008,” said Bjorn Rebney. “I jumped on the plane from Chicago to Northern California, sat down with Gil and talked about the vision I had. Today, it’s like night-and-day. Today we’re the second largest MMA organization, we’re beating UFC ratings on cable. Then I was a guy flying Southwest with an idea and a dream. He was a great listener and had a great vision of what he wanted to accomplish.”
However, Melendez decided to stay with Strikeforce, signing a long-term deal with the promotion that made him the highest paid lightweight in the United States except for B.J. Penn when it came to guaranteed money on his contract. That deal carried over when UFC bought Strikeforce, and expired after Melendez’s 10/19 fight of the year winning match where he beat Diego Sanchez in Houston.
Rebney later made a grandstand challenge trying to put together a fight with Alvarez, his lightweight champion at the time, and Melendez, when he was Strikeforce lightweight champion. Strikeforce at the time was the larger organization with stronger television exposure, and its CEO, Scott Coker, had no interest in making the deal.
Melendez is currently ranked as the No. 2 contender in UFC’s deep lightweight division. And if he was still under contract, and if a superfight with Jose Aldo wasn’t on the agenda, he was the only logical next lightweight title contender.
This is not a run-of-the-mill fighter. This is a guy whose next fight could very well have been a pay-per-view main event or headlining a FOX special. It’s a guy who has already main evented on FOX and drawn very strong spring-level numbers in the process. It’s a guy who came one round on one judges card away from being the lightweight champion on that show. It’s a guy who has been one of the best fighters in his weight in the world for just about a full decade.
And he could be with UFC tomorrow, and in a championship fight the next day. All the company has to do is match whatever offer Melendez has already agreed to with Bellator, a number that has established his current value in a free market enterprise. UFC has that right to match any outside offer and retain his services.
If not, the plan is to have Melendez debut as soon as possible. They want to line up the timing to where it is about the same time as the planned Alvarez vs. Michael Chandler III fight, which will headline Bellator’s first PPV show in a few months. Melendez would either fight on the PPV, or headline a Spike show at about the same time. Provided Melendez wins, the logical next step would be for him to face the Alvarez vs. Chandler winner, which could be on Bellator’s second PPV show, since PPV points are part of the Alvarez deal.
Having spoken to Melendez many times over the years, his long-term goal has always been to be viewed as the No. 1 lightweight in the world. Just like that could never happen in Strikeforce, it also can never happen in Bellator. But at 31, having picked up his fair share of injuries over the years, having an outside gym business and a daughter, legacy dreams are trumped by daily financial realities. He’s almost surely passed the midpoint, and maybe heading down the home stretch of his career.
And who knows how he views the Benson Henderson decision today, past the point he clearly believes he won. Whether one agrees with that assessment or not, what did happen over the past year, without any question, is the legacy of the Melendez/Josh Thomson lightweight era in Strikeforce was clearly established as being a lot stronger than it appeared to be when it was actually going on.
Before last year, they may have believed they were as good as any lightweight fighters in the world, but it was only supposition, with no tangible evidence one way or the other. But both have gone into UFC and established they are championship level main event fighters.
This is not a fighter who can be criticized for having boring fights. If anything he’s historically among the most exciting fighters to watch perform on the planet. He’s in his prime, although he hasn’t matched the ferocity of his 2011 win over Tatsuya Kawajiri, which would have to be his career peak. He’s coming off winning one of the wildest fights in company history.
If Melendez’s goal was to be ranked No. 1 in the world and hold the sport’s most important championship in his division, it’s something he’s come close to, but hasn’t reached. By signing the Bellator deal, he’s put himself in a position, if UFC declines to match the offer, that he’s made achieving that status almost impossible for the next several years, at which point he may no longer be able to fight at his current level.
If his goal was to prove to himself he was No. 1, and make the most money to support his family, he may have already proven the latter to himself in the April fight with Henderson, and by his decision this week, guaranteed the second thing.
Of course, all things considered, having that income and getting another shot to prove he’s No. 1 would be the ultimate scenario. But that’s only happening if UFC matches the offer.
UFC has not given any comments on the situation, past Dana White’s more than cryptic hinting that negotiations weren’t going well earlier in the week.
For the past three years, UFC has had the upper hand in negotiations with talent. The alternatives for a top-tier fighter was to take the offer, or fight for less money and no notoriety elsewhere. Melendez himself benefitted from being on the outside in the past. As far as base salary was concerned, Melendez’s Strikeforce contract was more lucrative than any UFC lightweight fighter’s base for the very reason that Strikeforce didn’t want to lose one of its four key fighters. That contract carried over to UFC. He earned a $175,000 base for his fight with Henderson, and almost surely earned more than that for the final fight of his deal, his Oct. 19 fight with Diego Sanchez, between winning and getting a fight of the night bonus in a bout that captured a number of Match of the Year awards.
Because the terms of the deal with Bellator are not public, and because UFC hasn’t made any comment regarding passing on him or not, there’s nothing that can be said regarding the company until they make the key decision.
Melendez is not a giant drawing card. If you look at the lightweight contenders who can possibly get the next shot, which would be TJ Grant, Thomson, Henderson or the winner of the upcoming Rafael dos Anjos vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov fight on 4/19, Melendez would mean slightly more than anyone but Henderson. As a business, the UFC can easily afford the loss. But it’s a loss of one of the best fighters in the world nonetheless.
But for the industry, this was huge. There is a level of leverage that star fighters now have that hasn’t been there for three years. Competition naturally raises the value of the performers, and their compensation level. Bellator has talked competition, but had yet to make a move to prove they really were. Until now.
Melendez’s contract with UFC, a deal that carried over from the Strikeforce days, gives UFC the ability to match any outside offer. Terms of the deal have not been made public, but it is known that they include not only fighting, but also non-fighting aspects, and PPV points. UFC can match the offer by mid-March, and Melendez will be bound to them for several years. If not, Bellator can then start planning Melendez’s debut for the promotion, which would likely be in May.
Melendez’s exclusive negotiating period with UFC ended in late January, and he, through agent Rodolphe Beaulieu, who is also Georges St-Pierre’s agent, contacted Bellator immediately. The two sides negotiated over the past two-and-a-half weeks before reaching and signing the provisional agreement.
“I can’t be too specific, but (the deal includes) on-air opportunities, entertainment opportunities behind-the-scenes, some marketing opportunities. The whole genesis is Gil-specific,” said Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney, who negotiated the deal. “The key is to build the Gil Melendez brand, not the Bellator brand, the Bjorn brand, build the fighters brand is what’s important. The focus was talking to Gil and his team. How do we leverage all the resources we have to build the `El Nino’ brand? That’s what got us all on the same side of the table putting this structure together.”
No, Gilbert Melendez is not going to be the star that leads Bellator to overtaking, or even being competitive with UFC (although I suspect the Friday night audiences for Bellator this season to be competitive with UFC live events on FS 1 because of being on a stronger network that reaches more homes) as the leading MMA company in the world. But for top talent, everything is a little different today.
“We’re going to be going after everybody, and more and more often,” said Rebney regarding top fighters whose contracts with UFC or other groups expire. “I think it’s a bigger picture issue. The bigger picture is having two major players in MMA. It’s far and away better for the fighters. When a fighter has one option, he has no power at the negotiating table. With two options, the fighter has all the power. It’s counter intuitive for what a CEO of a fight company should say, but that’s the truth. My checkbook may take a shot. But if they can earn what they feel they deserve, overall we and the sport are in a better place. You’re going to see more of this as well moving forward, from the smallest regions where we find undiscovered talent to the superstars from the UFC and guys we find in the U.S.”
Since UFC purchased Strikeforce three years ago, the leverage for top fighters when it came to negotiating deals was all but gone. With the exception of very few, UFC had all the top talent, and paid far better than anyone else. You couldn’t match the exposure, nor could you possibly build a name anywhere near as much on the outside.
Bellator was there, but their game plan for the most part was to sign either undiscovered talent, or a few guys with some name value who had been let go by UFC. For most, Bellator offered relatively low start up money, while dangling the carrot of a potential $100,000 payoff for winning a tournament.
Sure, they paid big money for Quinton Jackson, but he was already leaving UFC and looking to get into the entertainment world. Bellator, owned by Viacom, provided a better entree. They would help him get into entertainment, whether it be a reality show or pro wrestling, and he’d fight to help up the profile of the promotion. Plus, in a television business, whether his best days were behind him or not, Jackson was one of the fighters who had established being a difference maker when it came to people wanting to see him fight.
Realistically, the only thing resembling a top guy that Bellator really got that UFC wanted was Eddie Alvarez, back in 2009. Alvarez was fighting in Japan, and had both charisma and an exciting in-ring style. But he was largely unknown in the U.S. market. Bellator, at the time catering to the Hispanic audience since their television deal was on ESPN Deportes, offered significantly more than UFC. To UFC, he was an unknown fighter, clearly one with marketability and potential, but there was no guarantee he would be a top guy in their deep division. For Bellator, they were looking for a signature star with an Hispanic surname, and knew they’d have to greatly outbid UFC to get him. Ironically, Alvarez was not Bellator’s first pick to be the company’s signature star in 2008.
That was Gilbert Melendez.
“Gil was the first big name I tried to recruit in 2008,” said Bjorn Rebney. “I jumped on the plane from Chicago to Northern California, sat down with Gil and talked about the vision I had. Today, it’s like night-and-day. Today we’re the second largest MMA organization, we’re beating UFC ratings on cable. Then I was a guy flying Southwest with an idea and a dream. He was a great listener and had a great vision of what he wanted to accomplish.”
However, Melendez decided to stay with Strikeforce, signing a long-term deal with the promotion that made him the highest paid lightweight in the United States except for B.J. Penn when it came to guaranteed money on his contract. That deal carried over when UFC bought Strikeforce, and expired after Melendez’s 10/19 fight of the year winning match where he beat Diego Sanchez in Houston.
Rebney later made a grandstand challenge trying to put together a fight with Alvarez, his lightweight champion at the time, and Melendez, when he was Strikeforce lightweight champion. Strikeforce at the time was the larger organization with stronger television exposure, and its CEO, Scott Coker, had no interest in making the deal.
Melendez is currently ranked as the No. 2 contender in UFC’s deep lightweight division. And if he was still under contract, and if a superfight with Jose Aldo wasn’t on the agenda, he was the only logical next lightweight title contender.
This is not a run-of-the-mill fighter. This is a guy whose next fight could very well have been a pay-per-view main event or headlining a FOX special. It’s a guy who has already main evented on FOX and drawn very strong spring-level numbers in the process. It’s a guy who came one round on one judges card away from being the lightweight champion on that show. It’s a guy who has been one of the best fighters in his weight in the world for just about a full decade.
And he could be with UFC tomorrow, and in a championship fight the next day. All the company has to do is match whatever offer Melendez has already agreed to with Bellator, a number that has established his current value in a free market enterprise. UFC has that right to match any outside offer and retain his services.
If not, the plan is to have Melendez debut as soon as possible. They want to line up the timing to where it is about the same time as the planned Alvarez vs. Michael Chandler III fight, which will headline Bellator’s first PPV show in a few months. Melendez would either fight on the PPV, or headline a Spike show at about the same time. Provided Melendez wins, the logical next step would be for him to face the Alvarez vs. Chandler winner, which could be on Bellator’s second PPV show, since PPV points are part of the Alvarez deal.
Having spoken to Melendez many times over the years, his long-term goal has always been to be viewed as the No. 1 lightweight in the world. Just like that could never happen in Strikeforce, it also can never happen in Bellator. But at 31, having picked up his fair share of injuries over the years, having an outside gym business and a daughter, legacy dreams are trumped by daily financial realities. He’s almost surely passed the midpoint, and maybe heading down the home stretch of his career.
And who knows how he views the Benson Henderson decision today, past the point he clearly believes he won. Whether one agrees with that assessment or not, what did happen over the past year, without any question, is the legacy of the Melendez/Josh Thomson lightweight era in Strikeforce was clearly established as being a lot stronger than it appeared to be when it was actually going on.
Before last year, they may have believed they were as good as any lightweight fighters in the world, but it was only supposition, with no tangible evidence one way or the other. But both have gone into UFC and established they are championship level main event fighters.
This is not a fighter who can be criticized for having boring fights. If anything he’s historically among the most exciting fighters to watch perform on the planet. He’s in his prime, although he hasn’t matched the ferocity of his 2011 win over Tatsuya Kawajiri, which would have to be his career peak. He’s coming off winning one of the wildest fights in company history.
If Melendez’s goal was to be ranked No. 1 in the world and hold the sport’s most important championship in his division, it’s something he’s come close to, but hasn’t reached. By signing the Bellator deal, he’s put himself in a position, if UFC declines to match the offer, that he’s made achieving that status almost impossible for the next several years, at which point he may no longer be able to fight at his current level.
If his goal was to prove to himself he was No. 1, and make the most money to support his family, he may have already proven the latter to himself in the April fight with Henderson, and by his decision this week, guaranteed the second thing.
Of course, all things considered, having that income and getting another shot to prove he’s No. 1 would be the ultimate scenario. But that’s only happening if UFC matches the offer.
UFC has not given any comments on the situation, past Dana White’s more than cryptic hinting that negotiations weren’t going well earlier in the week.
For the past three years, UFC has had the upper hand in negotiations with talent. The alternatives for a top-tier fighter was to take the offer, or fight for less money and no notoriety elsewhere. Melendez himself benefitted from being on the outside in the past. As far as base salary was concerned, Melendez’s Strikeforce contract was more lucrative than any UFC lightweight fighter’s base for the very reason that Strikeforce didn’t want to lose one of its four key fighters. That contract carried over to UFC. He earned a $175,000 base for his fight with Henderson, and almost surely earned more than that for the final fight of his deal, his Oct. 19 fight with Diego Sanchez, between winning and getting a fight of the night bonus in a bout that captured a number of Match of the Year awards.
Because the terms of the deal with Bellator are not public, and because UFC hasn’t made any comment regarding passing on him or not, there’s nothing that can be said regarding the company until they make the key decision.
Melendez is not a giant drawing card. If you look at the lightweight contenders who can possibly get the next shot, which would be TJ Grant, Thomson, Henderson or the winner of the upcoming Rafael dos Anjos vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov fight on 4/19, Melendez would mean slightly more than anyone but Henderson. As a business, the UFC can easily afford the loss. But it’s a loss of one of the best fighters in the world nonetheless.
But for the industry, this was huge. There is a level of leverage that star fighters now have that hasn’t been there for three years. Competition naturally raises the value of the performers, and their compensation level. Bellator has talked competition, but had yet to make a move to prove they really were. Until now.
industrian
will gently cradle you as time slowly ticks away.
dream
Member
The Rashad Evans vs. Daniel Cormier fight scheduled for UFC 170 on 2/22 in Las Vegas is off due to Evans suffering a leg injury in training. Evans had done a media call that afternoon and did not sound like himself. News of the injury surfaced a few hours later. Evans was first said to be off training for about four weeks and UFC was planning on getting the fight moved to 4/26 in Baltimore. However, later word was that Evans would be needing surgery and wouldnt be back that quickly. Rashad is not going to be out for four weeks, said Dana White. Hes screwed. He needs surgery. He was doing throws and his foot got stuck in the mat, and twisted his knee. Evans will be undergoing reconstructive knee surgery in Los Angeles this week, and will be out of training for six months, which means no fighting for probably eight or more months.
Cormier was significantly disappointed when he learned he was being pulled from the show. As soon as word got out, both Chael Sonnen and Pat Cummins (a two-time All-American heavyweight at Penn State who is 4-0 in MMA with four first round finishes, but has never faced anything close to a name fighter so this is a jump in caliber like nobodys business) said they wanted to face Cormier. UFC immediately told Sonnen No, as they wanted him to face Wanderlei Silva as scheduled in May didnt want to risk that fight. Cummins was a 250-pound heavyweight at Penn State who placed 4th in the NCAA tournament in 2003 and 2nd to Tommy Rowlands in 2004. Hes very legit as a wrestler as those placings would show and I remember watching him back then. Hes big, agile and explosive. He claimed that once, in practice, he made Cormier cry when they were doing a practice match together after launching him with a five point throw. Cormier was on the Fox Sports News show with Cummins and cut a promo on him saying that what happens in the training room shouldnt be talked about and that now its personal and Cummins is in way over his head and going to get hurt. Cummins, was calm through the whole thing, even heeled it up and laughed at Cormiers comeback, acted confident he would win because he knows Cormiers weaknesses. Jon Jones went on Twitter and said that anyone that could make Cormier cry was okay in his book, but then realized how that would come out and deleted it. Cormier said what happened was in training for the Olympics and Cummins was one of many guys who would rotate in and out against him because they were supposed to get him ready for the Olympics. In actuality, this was in 2004, prior to the Olympics, and it did happen, and Cummings did beat Cormier in a practice match and this was a few months after Cormiers baby girl died in a car accident which is something he doesnt like to bring up because its just a killer. Cummins also claimed hed get a percentage of Cormiers purse because he knew Cormier wouldnt make weight (Cormier was hospitalized in 2008 when his kidneys shut down trying to cut from 248 to 211 at the Olympics, but Cormier has been below 220 of late cutting to 205). Cummins trains with Mark Munoz in Southern California and has had trouble getting opponents. He actually had his first pro fight with Strikeforce in 2010, but never did after an arrest warrant in early 2011. He pleaded guilty on a charge of burglarizing seven Penn State fraternities in 2008 along with another wrestler, teammate Eric Bradley, who also became an MMA fighter. He failed to appear for his sentencing hearing and ended up serving eight months in prison in 2011. He and Bradley were charged with breaking into seven fraternities and stealing valuables, most of which were recovered when they were apprehended. Their attorneys claimed a deal had been worked out where they were going to get probation if they helped return everything that was stolen. Prosecutors said they never reached a plea bargaining agreement. Dana White said that he tried to get in touch with Cummins but he was at work at a coffee house. When he finally got him on the phone at work, Cummins was talking so long to White that his manager fired him. White then said, Tell your manager to go F*** themselves and go to the gym, youve got a fight. The weekend promotional work was a classic case of making lemonade out of lemons, and getting a guy over as much as could be possible in a two minute segment on a low rated sports show. Even though Cummins talked about making Cormier cry and breaking him every time they went against each other, the two only wrestled once, and Cormier, wrestling up a weight class (he was 211 at the time and Cummins was a heavyweight, won that match 7-0. After Cummins had gone everywhere and claimed hed always gotten the better o Cormier when they wrestled and it was brought up, he passed it off saying it was a five minute wrestling match.
But this does hurt the card which is really now Rousey and nothing else, because the reality is that nobody knows Sara McMann, and Cummins is also an unknown to all but those who saw the few TV shows or Internet clips of those shows in the last few days. Plus hes the worst kind of an unknown because a big overpowering wrestler that nobody knows who is a gym monster really means Cormier gains nothing from beating him and everything to lose, even if he wins a competitive fight. Unless he takes the guy apart, it may hurt him in his quest to get a shot at Jon Jones. Cormier and Evans were actually good personal friends and in this case, Cormier and Cummins, the two arent friends, but at such late time, Im not sure how much itll mean. I know the rule that everyone who bets against Rousey always ends up looking bad in the end, but I never saw big numbers from this show even with her because I knew there would be no fireworks in the buildup, which is the key in garnering late buys. But losing Cormier vs. Evans takes it from a decent show to a weak show.
Sara McMann, who has done little promotion for her fight, actually called up Ariel Helwani to defend Cormier, saying she was shocked Cummins would publicly talk about a wrestling practice story from ten years ago. She noted about coaches rotating fresh people in against tired members of the Olympic team to get them ready. Regarding her doing little promotion, she said, Thats the great thing about fighting Ronda. Shell sell the show. And thats fine with me.
Right now the lineup has Ernest Chavez vs. Yosdenis Cedeno and Erik Koch vs. Rafaello Oliveira in the Fight Pass fights at 7 p.m. The FS 1 fights at 8 p.m. are Zach Makovsky vs. Josh Sampo (this is an underrated fight with the winner being a guy who can legitimately challenge Demetrious Johnson for the flyweight title), Cody Gibson vs. Aljamain Sterling, Raphael Assuncao vs. Pedro Munhoz and Alexis Davis vs. Jessica Eye. The PPV at 10 p.m. has Stephen Thompson vs. Robert Whittaker, Mike Pyle vs. T.J. Waldburger, Rory MacDonald vs. Demian Maia, Cormier vs. Cummins and Rousey vs. McMann. MacDonald vs. Maia is a fight of guys coming off losses who both have styles that can make for boring fights, oh boy.
Georges St-Pierre was in Brazil to second Francis Carmont and talked to media there. In an interview with the Combate web site, translated on MMAFighting.com, he said he wasnt sure if he would return to UFC. Maybe, one day if things happen like I think they should happen, Ill return. I dont know how long it may take, but Im waiting. He said he doesnt want to publicly say anything bad about UFC, only said, I just wanted some things to change. The way things are, Ive been receiving messages, some secret, from people that are afraid to publicly say what they think and congratulating me for doing what I do for the fighters and the sport, encouraging me to continue.
White said at a media event in Las Vegas on 2/13 that after UFC 170 and her payoff that night, that Rousey could, after just three fights, break into the top ten for most money earned ever in UFC (she got a cut of PPV off a 1+ million buy show which, based on contract cuts that have come out, would probably fall between $2 million and $3 million). He said Rousey was the biggest star the company has ever had, and that nobody worked harder for what they have gotten. On 2/17, he said that Rouseys total earning after two fights were the most of any fighter in their first two fights in UFC history (given her cut from UFC 168, I dont doubt that a bit), breaking the prior record set by Brock Lesnar. She does work harder than most when it comes to media, although it doesnt appear to me shes done as much for this fight as she did for the Liz Carmouche fight because I was constantly hearing stuff on that one daily for the last two weeks and just days before this one, this is feeling like a secondary show. He brought up that shes getting paid big for her movie roles. That could be my imagination because checking Internet interest, Rousey six days out was identical to where she was prior to UFC 168, and that show it wasnt until the Wednesday before the show that interest started to skyrocket, but I sure was feeling that show well ahead of time as compared to this one. And this cant possibly touch that, because that big number came from the combination of two huge title matches and the big-time grudge match dynamic, plus Tate is a far bigger star than McMann. Rousey does get more media requests than Lesnar got when he was in UFC, but I wonder if White believes shes the biggest star ever or is just trolling because nothing gets more of a negative reaction in certain places than even suggesting Rousey is a star. So many people were so sure shed flop in some form and are still rationalizing like she has, even today. That said, her first fight was a home run as far as PPV goes for a womans first for someone in their first UFC fight against an unknown. Her second was an even bigger success. I do not believe her third will match up to the first two. Its not even the weak undercard, although that doesnt help. Its too fast of a turn around (eight weeks, the shortest time between title fightsMatt Hughes also had an eight week turnaround in 2006, beating B.J. Penn and then losing the title to Georges St-Pierre), no grudge match aspect involved, no historical novelty, only one of the two participants promoting it hard, and another unknown opponent. If you consider that Jon Jones and Cain Velasquezs last fights each did 300,000 to 330,000 buys and both had far better known opponents and far stronger undercards, to me, 300,000 is a success here given all the factors involved, because I havent felt any kind of strong dynamic of what would usually draw. The only thing its got going for it is that Rousey is fighting, but not the fight itself because the opponent is unknown and an unknown who hasnt worked to make herself someone in the build-up. The Olympic medal vs. Olympic medal right after the ending of the Olympics sounded like a good hook, but up to this point, I havent seen any major mainstream publicity based on that. But people will call anything under 500,000 a failure because they are so desperate for one. My prediction is the number will be called a failure when it comes out, but will end up being the second biggest of the first four months, trailing only Baltimore with Jones vs. Glover Teixeira, which has a little stronger undercard and people have at least seen Teixeira beat people, plus women vs. men is always a major handicap for the women when it comes to carrying a PPV main event even with the other factors equal.
White blew off talk of Rousey vs. Cyborg, saying that Cyborg couldnt have hired a bigger f***ing idiot as a manger than Tito, and Cyborg vs. Ronda is ridiculous. Cyborg said she would die if she went to 135. It doesnt make any sense. Cyborg looks like Wanderlei Silva. Shes done so many drugs her head is this big. Does anyone really think she fights clean? Ortiz then announced he was no longer managing Cyborg because he doesnt want the animosity toward him to affect her career, which means she wants to get into UFC this year.
Here are the updated advances for the major shows upcoming. Saturdays show in Las Vegas had 6,400 tickets sold at ticket outlets for $1.1 million. As noted before, tickets were priced lower than usual. The number of sold tickets is normal level for an average Las Vegas show, but not what a hot show would do. With casino buys, it will be packed at Mandalay Bay. We dont have anything on 3/1 in Macau. 3/8 in London (Alexander Gustafsson vs. Jimi Manuwa) at the O2 Arena is almost sold out with 13,700 paid and $1.9 million. That show ended up being far more successful than Id have thought, as I was skeptical of running the O2 for a Fight Pass card with the lineup they have. 3/15 in Dallas (Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler for the vacant welterweight title) has sold 14,800 tickets for $2.3 million, so it is also close to sold out. We dont have anything for 3/23 in Natal, Brazil (Dan Henderson vs. Shogun Rua). The 4/12 debut in Orlando (Fabricio Werdum vs. Travis Browne) has sold 9,300 tickets for $1.2 million the first week tickets were put on sale. I think thats more about the first time in the market. 4/19 in Baltimore for the debut there sold 10,000 tickets for $1.9 million in the first week it was put on sale (Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira), but thats a smaller arena so its only a few hundred shy of sold out. But first time in the market in that smaller building with a PPV card, and Id have been surprised with anything less.
The Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva fight was moved off the 5/24 show in Las Vegas to a 5/31 show in Brazil, a site to be announced but most likely the arena in Sao Paulo. Its on the same show with the TUF Brazil season three finals, and will air on FS 1. To build up their fight, in an interview Silva claimed Sonnen needed TRT because he cant get it up otherwise.
UFC Tonight reported Dana White saying that Alistair Overeem had turned down two offers to face Junior Dos Santos, one as a guaranteed main event for a show in Brazil that would go five rounds, and another for a three-round semifinal fight on a PPV show. He wants nothing to do with Dos Santos, White texted to Ariel Helwani. Hes literally hiding from JDS...but he had no problem calling out Brock Lesnar, who hasnt fought in two years and who is in WWE. Overeem responded by saying he had a rib injury and didnt know when it would be healed, thus couldnt accept a fight right now.
If Overeem had told White he was hurt or he needed to rest up, White wouldnt have buried him the way he did, and there is the track record from a few years back of Overeems management asking for more money (this was when he was still with Glory), and then claiming an injury which would up in him being out of the Strikeforce heavyweight tournament (which Daniel Cormier ended up in as his replacement and won), which then wound up with Overeem signing with UFC after being released from Strikeforce (which was owned by UFC) and then splitting with Glory. Whether its the best thing for business for White to have portrayed Overeem like that is a different question. I guess theres the feeling that if Overeem wont fight Dos Santos, which is a golden opportunity to get back into title contention that by his win-loss record in UFC he probably doesnt deserve, then hes not devaluing a guy who is going to draw him money. Still, lots of guys play games about not wanting to fight certain people no matter what the sport and you dont see the promoters burying them, at least while they are still under contract. White said that Overeems rib wouldnt hurt if they offered Brock Lesnar and said Overeem only brought up a rib injury after he tried to get him to fight Dos Santos. I have a feeling that Alistairs rib injury will last as long as it takes for Dos Santos to get another opponent, then itll heal.
White said they are working on UFC uniforms which would likely change the entire way the sponsorship for fighters aspect of the game is played. He said its not done yet. The idea would be that all fighters would share in sponsorship revenue in some form from business negotiated by UFC, as opposed to the fighters individually making deals.
Regarding the idea of Fight Pass being a subscription service for the big shows in the future, like WWE is doing, White said, I dont think there will be a time when PPV is dead. Thats crazy. Thats not why Fight Pass was created. PPV will change, but its not dead.
Anthony Pettis will be meeting with his doctor this week to find out when he should be able to fight. If Pettis is ready by 7/5, UFC is likely to match him with Jose Aldo in Las Vegas. If not, they may put Aldo against either Cub Swanson or Chad Mendes in a featherweight title fight next.
Clay Guida vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri was announced for the 4/11 show in Abu Dhabi, which is huge for both. A loss by Guida will pretty much bury him in the featherweight division, coming off being knocked out by Chad Mendes in his last fight, his third loss in four fights. Kawajiri debuted with a win over Sean Soriano on 1/4 in Singapore, but at 35, age is working against him in a run for the featherweight title.
Stefan Struves heart is now working at 90 percent capacity and hes talking of returning at some point this year.
Also on MMA Tonight, Frank Mirs manager Malki Kawa said that Mir had not been cut by UFC. He said Mir, who has lost four fights in a row (Dos Santos, Overeem, Cormier and Josh Barnett) and hasnt looked good in any of them, would still like to fight in UFC. If not, there may be interest in Mir going to WWE. I dont know if WWE would have interest in him, given hes 34 and has a lot of injuries. He does have the size, the look, a natural ability of getting a reaction and if taught correctly to transfer his skills, could be one of the five best promos in the company if he puts his mind to it. But even with those positives, as well as a history with Lesnar, WWE has moved away from the mentality of using guys who have made a name elsewhere and wants to use guys they discover and train from scratch.
UFC announced a new TUF Latin America show that is being earmarked for television in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. The show will be shot this spring in Las Vegas. They right now are looking for fighters in any weight class, so its not yet decided what weight classes theyll be doing. Its open to fighters between the ages of 21 and 34, who speak Spanish, and have had at least three fights and have to have a .500 or better record.
Regarding UFC suing people who have viewed their PPVs on an unauthorized stream, they have successfully sued a number of establishments for airing their shows without authorization, and a number of web sites who have put the shows off. Ive heard for years talk of UFC getting out of court settlements after suing individuals who have streamed the shows for free, but the only case that actually had a verdict was a case UFC won via default judgment for $11,948.70 for someone who viewed a PPV on the Internet without paying for it. The UFC recently received records from a European MMA site that had streamed its last two PPV shows, including the sites e-mail addresses, IP addresses, user names and information of people who watched their streams of the shows. The protocol is that almost everyone sues ends up settling rather than having to incur the costs of paying a lawyer and fighting. The UFC insists on signed confidentiality in all settlements. The company is expected to start suing people who watched UFC 168 and 169 off a European web site www.cageawtcher.eu after getting the records while shutting down the site.
Former UFC fighter Nate Quarry, who after retiring, hosted MMA Uncensored on Spike, posted on MixedMartialArts.com saying how UFC cares nothing about its fighters, and only about its bottom line. He first said when he fought, UFC would give out an iPod to all fighters as a Christmas present, A very bottom of the line iPod but it was still cool, he wrote. He said now they get a gift certificate from the UFC store and only have one day to use it. He complained that the fighters get to use the gym at the hotel for free, but his cornermen have to pay. He noted when he first started that he was told they couldnt pay much but you can have any sponsors you want, but now only a limited amount of money is available from sponsors since all sponsors have to first pay UFC for the right to sponsor fighters, which hurts everyone, but those at the bottom end more than the top end. Im incredibly grateful for the opportunity to fight for the UFC, and everything I have besides my daughter has come from fighting. But lets not fool ourselves. Its not a charity. Its a business. And they are doing everything they can to make money. The fighters are just a product to use and discard. Every up and coming fighter is the best ever. Every ex-fighter who then expresses an opinion is a coward, loser, etc. He claimed when he fought Rich Franklin for the middleweight title (November 19, 2005 in Las Vegas) that he made $10,000 for the fight. Not a penny more. No bonus. No cut of the PPV. It should be noted that 2005 was when UFC was still digging itself out of a huge hole of debt and the company didnt really start doing big numbers regularly on PPV until 2006. He claimed the gate on that show was $3.5 million, one of the biggest of all-time (actually it was $1.99 million).
This all stemmed from Chris Leben putting out a tweet that hes broke and has nothing to show for his nine years in UFC and would have been better off driving a truck, because at least hed have some retirement benefits. Leben later retracted the tweet, saying he was in a bad place mentally (either his dog or cat had just died). Dana White had noted not that long ago that Leben had never paid taxes his entire time in UFC, so it would figure at this point he was broke. Leben and Quarry have been longtime friends and were teammates before the Ultimate Fighter out of Randy Coutures team when Couture still lived in Oregon, and after.
Ian McCall was injured and had to pull out of his 3/8 fight in London with Brad Pickett.
Cormier was significantly disappointed when he learned he was being pulled from the show. As soon as word got out, both Chael Sonnen and Pat Cummins (a two-time All-American heavyweight at Penn State who is 4-0 in MMA with four first round finishes, but has never faced anything close to a name fighter so this is a jump in caliber like nobodys business) said they wanted to face Cormier. UFC immediately told Sonnen No, as they wanted him to face Wanderlei Silva as scheduled in May didnt want to risk that fight. Cummins was a 250-pound heavyweight at Penn State who placed 4th in the NCAA tournament in 2003 and 2nd to Tommy Rowlands in 2004. Hes very legit as a wrestler as those placings would show and I remember watching him back then. Hes big, agile and explosive. He claimed that once, in practice, he made Cormier cry when they were doing a practice match together after launching him with a five point throw. Cormier was on the Fox Sports News show with Cummins and cut a promo on him saying that what happens in the training room shouldnt be talked about and that now its personal and Cummins is in way over his head and going to get hurt. Cummins, was calm through the whole thing, even heeled it up and laughed at Cormiers comeback, acted confident he would win because he knows Cormiers weaknesses. Jon Jones went on Twitter and said that anyone that could make Cormier cry was okay in his book, but then realized how that would come out and deleted it. Cormier said what happened was in training for the Olympics and Cummins was one of many guys who would rotate in and out against him because they were supposed to get him ready for the Olympics. In actuality, this was in 2004, prior to the Olympics, and it did happen, and Cummings did beat Cormier in a practice match and this was a few months after Cormiers baby girl died in a car accident which is something he doesnt like to bring up because its just a killer. Cummins also claimed hed get a percentage of Cormiers purse because he knew Cormier wouldnt make weight (Cormier was hospitalized in 2008 when his kidneys shut down trying to cut from 248 to 211 at the Olympics, but Cormier has been below 220 of late cutting to 205). Cummins trains with Mark Munoz in Southern California and has had trouble getting opponents. He actually had his first pro fight with Strikeforce in 2010, but never did after an arrest warrant in early 2011. He pleaded guilty on a charge of burglarizing seven Penn State fraternities in 2008 along with another wrestler, teammate Eric Bradley, who also became an MMA fighter. He failed to appear for his sentencing hearing and ended up serving eight months in prison in 2011. He and Bradley were charged with breaking into seven fraternities and stealing valuables, most of which were recovered when they were apprehended. Their attorneys claimed a deal had been worked out where they were going to get probation if they helped return everything that was stolen. Prosecutors said they never reached a plea bargaining agreement. Dana White said that he tried to get in touch with Cummins but he was at work at a coffee house. When he finally got him on the phone at work, Cummins was talking so long to White that his manager fired him. White then said, Tell your manager to go F*** themselves and go to the gym, youve got a fight. The weekend promotional work was a classic case of making lemonade out of lemons, and getting a guy over as much as could be possible in a two minute segment on a low rated sports show. Even though Cummins talked about making Cormier cry and breaking him every time they went against each other, the two only wrestled once, and Cormier, wrestling up a weight class (he was 211 at the time and Cummins was a heavyweight, won that match 7-0. After Cummins had gone everywhere and claimed hed always gotten the better o Cormier when they wrestled and it was brought up, he passed it off saying it was a five minute wrestling match.
But this does hurt the card which is really now Rousey and nothing else, because the reality is that nobody knows Sara McMann, and Cummins is also an unknown to all but those who saw the few TV shows or Internet clips of those shows in the last few days. Plus hes the worst kind of an unknown because a big overpowering wrestler that nobody knows who is a gym monster really means Cormier gains nothing from beating him and everything to lose, even if he wins a competitive fight. Unless he takes the guy apart, it may hurt him in his quest to get a shot at Jon Jones. Cormier and Evans were actually good personal friends and in this case, Cormier and Cummins, the two arent friends, but at such late time, Im not sure how much itll mean. I know the rule that everyone who bets against Rousey always ends up looking bad in the end, but I never saw big numbers from this show even with her because I knew there would be no fireworks in the buildup, which is the key in garnering late buys. But losing Cormier vs. Evans takes it from a decent show to a weak show.
Sara McMann, who has done little promotion for her fight, actually called up Ariel Helwani to defend Cormier, saying she was shocked Cummins would publicly talk about a wrestling practice story from ten years ago. She noted about coaches rotating fresh people in against tired members of the Olympic team to get them ready. Regarding her doing little promotion, she said, Thats the great thing about fighting Ronda. Shell sell the show. And thats fine with me.
Right now the lineup has Ernest Chavez vs. Yosdenis Cedeno and Erik Koch vs. Rafaello Oliveira in the Fight Pass fights at 7 p.m. The FS 1 fights at 8 p.m. are Zach Makovsky vs. Josh Sampo (this is an underrated fight with the winner being a guy who can legitimately challenge Demetrious Johnson for the flyweight title), Cody Gibson vs. Aljamain Sterling, Raphael Assuncao vs. Pedro Munhoz and Alexis Davis vs. Jessica Eye. The PPV at 10 p.m. has Stephen Thompson vs. Robert Whittaker, Mike Pyle vs. T.J. Waldburger, Rory MacDonald vs. Demian Maia, Cormier vs. Cummins and Rousey vs. McMann. MacDonald vs. Maia is a fight of guys coming off losses who both have styles that can make for boring fights, oh boy.
Georges St-Pierre was in Brazil to second Francis Carmont and talked to media there. In an interview with the Combate web site, translated on MMAFighting.com, he said he wasnt sure if he would return to UFC. Maybe, one day if things happen like I think they should happen, Ill return. I dont know how long it may take, but Im waiting. He said he doesnt want to publicly say anything bad about UFC, only said, I just wanted some things to change. The way things are, Ive been receiving messages, some secret, from people that are afraid to publicly say what they think and congratulating me for doing what I do for the fighters and the sport, encouraging me to continue.
White said at a media event in Las Vegas on 2/13 that after UFC 170 and her payoff that night, that Rousey could, after just three fights, break into the top ten for most money earned ever in UFC (she got a cut of PPV off a 1+ million buy show which, based on contract cuts that have come out, would probably fall between $2 million and $3 million). He said Rousey was the biggest star the company has ever had, and that nobody worked harder for what they have gotten. On 2/17, he said that Rouseys total earning after two fights were the most of any fighter in their first two fights in UFC history (given her cut from UFC 168, I dont doubt that a bit), breaking the prior record set by Brock Lesnar. She does work harder than most when it comes to media, although it doesnt appear to me shes done as much for this fight as she did for the Liz Carmouche fight because I was constantly hearing stuff on that one daily for the last two weeks and just days before this one, this is feeling like a secondary show. He brought up that shes getting paid big for her movie roles. That could be my imagination because checking Internet interest, Rousey six days out was identical to where she was prior to UFC 168, and that show it wasnt until the Wednesday before the show that interest started to skyrocket, but I sure was feeling that show well ahead of time as compared to this one. And this cant possibly touch that, because that big number came from the combination of two huge title matches and the big-time grudge match dynamic, plus Tate is a far bigger star than McMann. Rousey does get more media requests than Lesnar got when he was in UFC, but I wonder if White believes shes the biggest star ever or is just trolling because nothing gets more of a negative reaction in certain places than even suggesting Rousey is a star. So many people were so sure shed flop in some form and are still rationalizing like she has, even today. That said, her first fight was a home run as far as PPV goes for a womans first for someone in their first UFC fight against an unknown. Her second was an even bigger success. I do not believe her third will match up to the first two. Its not even the weak undercard, although that doesnt help. Its too fast of a turn around (eight weeks, the shortest time between title fightsMatt Hughes also had an eight week turnaround in 2006, beating B.J. Penn and then losing the title to Georges St-Pierre), no grudge match aspect involved, no historical novelty, only one of the two participants promoting it hard, and another unknown opponent. If you consider that Jon Jones and Cain Velasquezs last fights each did 300,000 to 330,000 buys and both had far better known opponents and far stronger undercards, to me, 300,000 is a success here given all the factors involved, because I havent felt any kind of strong dynamic of what would usually draw. The only thing its got going for it is that Rousey is fighting, but not the fight itself because the opponent is unknown and an unknown who hasnt worked to make herself someone in the build-up. The Olympic medal vs. Olympic medal right after the ending of the Olympics sounded like a good hook, but up to this point, I havent seen any major mainstream publicity based on that. But people will call anything under 500,000 a failure because they are so desperate for one. My prediction is the number will be called a failure when it comes out, but will end up being the second biggest of the first four months, trailing only Baltimore with Jones vs. Glover Teixeira, which has a little stronger undercard and people have at least seen Teixeira beat people, plus women vs. men is always a major handicap for the women when it comes to carrying a PPV main event even with the other factors equal.
White blew off talk of Rousey vs. Cyborg, saying that Cyborg couldnt have hired a bigger f***ing idiot as a manger than Tito, and Cyborg vs. Ronda is ridiculous. Cyborg said she would die if she went to 135. It doesnt make any sense. Cyborg looks like Wanderlei Silva. Shes done so many drugs her head is this big. Does anyone really think she fights clean? Ortiz then announced he was no longer managing Cyborg because he doesnt want the animosity toward him to affect her career, which means she wants to get into UFC this year.
Here are the updated advances for the major shows upcoming. Saturdays show in Las Vegas had 6,400 tickets sold at ticket outlets for $1.1 million. As noted before, tickets were priced lower than usual. The number of sold tickets is normal level for an average Las Vegas show, but not what a hot show would do. With casino buys, it will be packed at Mandalay Bay. We dont have anything on 3/1 in Macau. 3/8 in London (Alexander Gustafsson vs. Jimi Manuwa) at the O2 Arena is almost sold out with 13,700 paid and $1.9 million. That show ended up being far more successful than Id have thought, as I was skeptical of running the O2 for a Fight Pass card with the lineup they have. 3/15 in Dallas (Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler for the vacant welterweight title) has sold 14,800 tickets for $2.3 million, so it is also close to sold out. We dont have anything for 3/23 in Natal, Brazil (Dan Henderson vs. Shogun Rua). The 4/12 debut in Orlando (Fabricio Werdum vs. Travis Browne) has sold 9,300 tickets for $1.2 million the first week tickets were put on sale. I think thats more about the first time in the market. 4/19 in Baltimore for the debut there sold 10,000 tickets for $1.9 million in the first week it was put on sale (Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira), but thats a smaller arena so its only a few hundred shy of sold out. But first time in the market in that smaller building with a PPV card, and Id have been surprised with anything less.
The Chael Sonnen vs. Wanderlei Silva fight was moved off the 5/24 show in Las Vegas to a 5/31 show in Brazil, a site to be announced but most likely the arena in Sao Paulo. Its on the same show with the TUF Brazil season three finals, and will air on FS 1. To build up their fight, in an interview Silva claimed Sonnen needed TRT because he cant get it up otherwise.
UFC Tonight reported Dana White saying that Alistair Overeem had turned down two offers to face Junior Dos Santos, one as a guaranteed main event for a show in Brazil that would go five rounds, and another for a three-round semifinal fight on a PPV show. He wants nothing to do with Dos Santos, White texted to Ariel Helwani. Hes literally hiding from JDS...but he had no problem calling out Brock Lesnar, who hasnt fought in two years and who is in WWE. Overeem responded by saying he had a rib injury and didnt know when it would be healed, thus couldnt accept a fight right now.
If Overeem had told White he was hurt or he needed to rest up, White wouldnt have buried him the way he did, and there is the track record from a few years back of Overeems management asking for more money (this was when he was still with Glory), and then claiming an injury which would up in him being out of the Strikeforce heavyweight tournament (which Daniel Cormier ended up in as his replacement and won), which then wound up with Overeem signing with UFC after being released from Strikeforce (which was owned by UFC) and then splitting with Glory. Whether its the best thing for business for White to have portrayed Overeem like that is a different question. I guess theres the feeling that if Overeem wont fight Dos Santos, which is a golden opportunity to get back into title contention that by his win-loss record in UFC he probably doesnt deserve, then hes not devaluing a guy who is going to draw him money. Still, lots of guys play games about not wanting to fight certain people no matter what the sport and you dont see the promoters burying them, at least while they are still under contract. White said that Overeems rib wouldnt hurt if they offered Brock Lesnar and said Overeem only brought up a rib injury after he tried to get him to fight Dos Santos. I have a feeling that Alistairs rib injury will last as long as it takes for Dos Santos to get another opponent, then itll heal.
White said they are working on UFC uniforms which would likely change the entire way the sponsorship for fighters aspect of the game is played. He said its not done yet. The idea would be that all fighters would share in sponsorship revenue in some form from business negotiated by UFC, as opposed to the fighters individually making deals.
Regarding the idea of Fight Pass being a subscription service for the big shows in the future, like WWE is doing, White said, I dont think there will be a time when PPV is dead. Thats crazy. Thats not why Fight Pass was created. PPV will change, but its not dead.
Anthony Pettis will be meeting with his doctor this week to find out when he should be able to fight. If Pettis is ready by 7/5, UFC is likely to match him with Jose Aldo in Las Vegas. If not, they may put Aldo against either Cub Swanson or Chad Mendes in a featherweight title fight next.
Clay Guida vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri was announced for the 4/11 show in Abu Dhabi, which is huge for both. A loss by Guida will pretty much bury him in the featherweight division, coming off being knocked out by Chad Mendes in his last fight, his third loss in four fights. Kawajiri debuted with a win over Sean Soriano on 1/4 in Singapore, but at 35, age is working against him in a run for the featherweight title.
Stefan Struves heart is now working at 90 percent capacity and hes talking of returning at some point this year.
Also on MMA Tonight, Frank Mirs manager Malki Kawa said that Mir had not been cut by UFC. He said Mir, who has lost four fights in a row (Dos Santos, Overeem, Cormier and Josh Barnett) and hasnt looked good in any of them, would still like to fight in UFC. If not, there may be interest in Mir going to WWE. I dont know if WWE would have interest in him, given hes 34 and has a lot of injuries. He does have the size, the look, a natural ability of getting a reaction and if taught correctly to transfer his skills, could be one of the five best promos in the company if he puts his mind to it. But even with those positives, as well as a history with Lesnar, WWE has moved away from the mentality of using guys who have made a name elsewhere and wants to use guys they discover and train from scratch.
UFC announced a new TUF Latin America show that is being earmarked for television in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. The show will be shot this spring in Las Vegas. They right now are looking for fighters in any weight class, so its not yet decided what weight classes theyll be doing. Its open to fighters between the ages of 21 and 34, who speak Spanish, and have had at least three fights and have to have a .500 or better record.
Regarding UFC suing people who have viewed their PPVs on an unauthorized stream, they have successfully sued a number of establishments for airing their shows without authorization, and a number of web sites who have put the shows off. Ive heard for years talk of UFC getting out of court settlements after suing individuals who have streamed the shows for free, but the only case that actually had a verdict was a case UFC won via default judgment for $11,948.70 for someone who viewed a PPV on the Internet without paying for it. The UFC recently received records from a European MMA site that had streamed its last two PPV shows, including the sites e-mail addresses, IP addresses, user names and information of people who watched their streams of the shows. The protocol is that almost everyone sues ends up settling rather than having to incur the costs of paying a lawyer and fighting. The UFC insists on signed confidentiality in all settlements. The company is expected to start suing people who watched UFC 168 and 169 off a European web site www.cageawtcher.eu after getting the records while shutting down the site.
Former UFC fighter Nate Quarry, who after retiring, hosted MMA Uncensored on Spike, posted on MixedMartialArts.com saying how UFC cares nothing about its fighters, and only about its bottom line. He first said when he fought, UFC would give out an iPod to all fighters as a Christmas present, A very bottom of the line iPod but it was still cool, he wrote. He said now they get a gift certificate from the UFC store and only have one day to use it. He complained that the fighters get to use the gym at the hotel for free, but his cornermen have to pay. He noted when he first started that he was told they couldnt pay much but you can have any sponsors you want, but now only a limited amount of money is available from sponsors since all sponsors have to first pay UFC for the right to sponsor fighters, which hurts everyone, but those at the bottom end more than the top end. Im incredibly grateful for the opportunity to fight for the UFC, and everything I have besides my daughter has come from fighting. But lets not fool ourselves. Its not a charity. Its a business. And they are doing everything they can to make money. The fighters are just a product to use and discard. Every up and coming fighter is the best ever. Every ex-fighter who then expresses an opinion is a coward, loser, etc. He claimed when he fought Rich Franklin for the middleweight title (November 19, 2005 in Las Vegas) that he made $10,000 for the fight. Not a penny more. No bonus. No cut of the PPV. It should be noted that 2005 was when UFC was still digging itself out of a huge hole of debt and the company didnt really start doing big numbers regularly on PPV until 2006. He claimed the gate on that show was $3.5 million, one of the biggest of all-time (actually it was $1.99 million).
This all stemmed from Chris Leben putting out a tweet that hes broke and has nothing to show for his nine years in UFC and would have been better off driving a truck, because at least hed have some retirement benefits. Leben later retracted the tweet, saying he was in a bad place mentally (either his dog or cat had just died). Dana White had noted not that long ago that Leben had never paid taxes his entire time in UFC, so it would figure at this point he was broke. Leben and Quarry have been longtime friends and were teammates before the Ultimate Fighter out of Randy Coutures team when Couture still lived in Oregon, and after.
Ian McCall was injured and had to pull out of his 3/8 fight in London with Brad Pickett.
karasu
Member
That is nuts.
Sato Koiji
Member
Lorenzo just watches how Dana crashes the ship. Fucking throw him off the ship...guy has shit for brains!
Can Crusher
Banned
All of Platinum games essentially tap into anime fandom. So of course a sizable portion of GAF would hail it.
At this point they're just sticking it to the fighters, without even the common courtesy of a reach around.
industrian
will gently cradle you as time slowly ticks away.
Here Comes The Boom is on TV right now. It's surprisingly watchable.
