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MMA-GAF |OT5| Father Time Is Undefeated

industrian

will gently cradle you as time slowly ticks away.
I've tried watching Bellator once or twice before and never stayed on the train. Is it worth hopping on now?

Let's ask Rampage:

alwX2QA.jpg
 

dream

Member
New York, NY - November 18, 2014 – Bellator 131 knocked out the competition on Saturday, November 15 with record ratings for the emerging MMA franchise under new president Scott Coker. The Bellator 131 main event between Tito Ortiz and Stephan Bonnar (11:50pm-12:16am) drew 1.8 million viewers, peaking at 2 million, making it the most-watched and highest–rated MMA fight on cable in 2014.

The Ortiz-Bonnar fight ranks as 2nd highest-rated MMA fight telecast in all of television with Men 18-34 and Men 18-49, including broadcast, in 2014. Also, Ortiz-Bonnar ranked #2 in its timeslot in all of cable with Men 18-34 and Men 18-49.
 

N° 2048

Member
New York, NY - November 18, 2014 – Bellator 131 knocked out the competition on Saturday, November 15 with record ratings for the emerging MMA franchise under new president Scott Coker. The Bellator 131 main event between Tito Ortiz and Stephan Bonnar (11:50pm-12:16am) drew 1.8 million viewers, peaking at 2 million, making it the most-watched and highest–rated MMA fight on cable in 2014.

The Ortiz-Bonnar fight ranks as 2nd highest-rated MMA fight telecast in all of television with Men 18-34 and Men 18-49, including broadcast, in 2014. Also, Ortiz-Bonnar ranked #2 in its timeslot in all of cable with Men 18-34 and Men 18-49.

holy shit I'm laughing so hard at this.

What is this gif? Grown baby? What is this?

I was starting to feel bad for being creeped out. Thought someone had some type of disease...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsBOmGNqlYs
 
New York, NY - November 18, 2014 – Bellator 131 knocked out the competition on Saturday, November 15 with record ratings for the emerging MMA franchise under new president Scott Coker. The Bellator 131 main event between Tito Ortiz and Stephan Bonnar (11:50pm-12:16am) drew 1.8 million viewers, peaking at 2 million, making it the most-watched and highest–rated MMA fight on cable in 2014.

The Ortiz-Bonnar fight ranks as 2nd highest-rated MMA fight telecast in all of television with Men 18-34 and Men 18-49, including broadcast, in 2014. Also, Ortiz-Bonnar ranked #2 in its timeslot in all of cable with Men 18-34 and Men 18-49.

Hahahaha based Bellator.
 
ALRIGHTY!

After last night conference I caught up with McGregor and saw all his UFC fights and some amateur stuff. I gotta tell ya im very impressed by this guy. Hes able to mix looseness and power together intelligently

What really caught my eye:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obgm6JNtyVo#t=367

Its just a perfect counter. He was only able to execute this while being unbelievably calm. Notice the tiny step backwards and slip almost simultaneously.
 

Heel

Member
New York, NY - November 18, 2014 – Bellator 131 knocked out the competition on Saturday, November 15 with record ratings for the emerging MMA franchise under new president Scott Coker. The Bellator 131 main event between Tito Ortiz and Stephan Bonnar (11:50pm-12:16am) drew 1.8 million viewers, peaking at 2 million, making it the most-watched and highest–rated MMA fight on cable in 2014.

The Ortiz-Bonnar fight ranks as 2nd highest-rated MMA fight telecast in all of television with Men 18-34 and Men 18-49, including broadcast, in 2014. Also, Ortiz-Bonnar ranked #2 in its timeslot in all of cable with Men 18-34 and Men 18-49.

ibn02I8LsmFp4S.gif
 
The lesson to be learned here for Dana? Stop trying to turn MMA into a "legit sport". The mass majority of people just don't see it that way and never will. MMA will never be on the front page of the sports section. I think everybody could have predicted that Tito/Bonnar would probably be a shit fight, but Tito and Bonnar are big names. Less cards/More names is a start for UFC. They also need to quit trying to force fighters to fit into their vanilla ass marketing schemes and let the cream rise to the top.
 

VoxPop

Member
Let the Saturday Night Wars begin.

Bellator really needs to change its name. Doesn't sound like a MMA org at all and instead some kind of bull fighting group.
 

industrian

will gently cradle you as time slowly ticks away.
Bellator really needs to change its name. Doesn't sound like a MMA org at all and instead some kind of bull fighting group.

Weren't they considering this already?

Anyhow, I agree. To be taken seriously as a sports organization in the USA you need a good, three-letter initialism. Bel-la-tor is too much of a mouthful. That and it's some high-falutin' foreigner language like Turkish or something that I dun understand.
 
It's true, most of the big sport leagues have three or four-letter acronym names like NCAA, MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL, NHL, etc.

Names like Bellator, Strike Force or WSoF (that's not too bad) don't resonate.

Despite the quality of fighters, I feel like Bellator did a great job with presentation and making a compelling reason to watch fights on a Saturday night.
 

Heel

Member
Outside of someone like Khalidov, GLORY kickboxers, etc. Bellator has pretty much signed who they can sign. The war starts when UFC contracts start expiring. Dana might stroke out when he finds out his fighters are only loyal to the almighty dollar.
 

industrian

will gently cradle you as time slowly ticks away.
Outside of someone like Khalidov, GLORY kickboxers, etc. Bellator has pretty much signed who they can sign. The war starts when UFC contracts start expiring. Dana might stroke out when he finds out his fighters are only loyal to the almighty dollar.

Coker needs to get hooked up with local gyms as well.

One of his true successes with Strikeforce was his partnership with AKA and other Californian gyms.
 

Next

Member
Outside of someone like Khalidov, GLORY kickboxers, etc. Bellator has pretty much signed who they can sign. The war starts when UFC contracts start expiring. Dana might stroke out when he finds out his fighters are only loyal to the almighty dollar.

are they willing to commit to that though?
 

SKINNER!

Banned
It's been a while since I watched an event (Silva vs Weidman iirc) so I'm not up to date with the news/fights but I'm surprised to see the UFC slipping hard like this.
 

MjFrancis

Member
Silva v. Weidman was the last UFC PPV I bought. Fight Pass has been underwhelming at best. The UFC lost all it's stars (or they are all past their prime). It's impending demise should be no surprise.
 

Heel

Member
Coker needs to get hooked up with local gyms as well.

One of his true successes with Strikeforce was his partnership with AKA and other Californian gyms.

They just signed the hottest prospect in MMA, Aaron Pico. Surprise, training with AKA:

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2014/11/...pect-aaron-pico-gold-gloves-olympic-wrestling

Bob Cook is head over heels about this kid.

http://www.mmafighting.com/2014/1/4...n-pico-is-greatest-mma-prospect-ive-ever-seen

But yeah, in the long term it becomes about finding the next big thing. I actually think Bellator had been pretty good at staying on curve under their old regime as far as new talent is concerned, though it remains to be seen if any of them can draw money.

Julio Neves Jr. (this kid isssss nasty)
Michael Page
Russians

It only gets better from here with Coker / Rich Chou, IMO.

are they willing to commit to that though?

I guess time will tell. Spike has already thrown around a lot of cash signing these old timers.

Rockhold just got a huge extension. Makes me feel like UFC wants to lock down fighters before it come to that, like it did with Gil Melendez.
 

alr1ght

bish gets all the credit :)

I don't think he should go necessarily. The company is trying to "expand" the sport internationally and make it more mainstream (FS1/FS2, Fox, etc). They're after those long-term figures.

I will say I became a fan of the sport in the last 2000s. And right now, it "feels" like the buy rates and interest has gone down due to the Pay Per View cards being watered down, unmarketable stars to a lesser extent (compared to GSP, Penn, Rampage, Lesnar, etc), cards every week, etc. Back then, you had a PPV card probably once a month and the cards felt "special."

What was the last card with a high buy rate? Was it the Anderson Leg break and Rhousey/Tate 2?
 

Guru-Guru

Banned
New Japanese MMA promotion that would be worth watching at least once.

Is the world ready for a new Japanese fighting promotion? Well, it's getting one. And while it's not even really MMA, the names involved and the crazy rules (along with a major TV deal) means that it should get some eyes on it right away. It's called "Ganryujima", and Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer newsletter (subscription required) shared a lot of information regarding it:

The rules explained at the press conference today in Tokyo are that it will be partially MMA fighting, but without submissions. The matches will be held in an elevated flat circle, similar to sumo, with no ring or a cage. The fighting surface will be surrounded by water. One of the ways to win is to put your opponent off the surface and into the water. A fighter who goes into the water three times would lose the fight by TKO. Punching will be allowed on the ground. Wrestling is allowed. All types of throws from wrestling and judo are legal. Kicks to the head and face of someone on the ground will be illegal, but kicks and stomps to a downed opponent from the shoulder down are legal. There will be quick stand-ups from lack of punching on the ground, as the ground work will be allowed only if there is an attempt to finish the fight. MMA gloves will be mandatory.

The promotion, which will make its debut on February 28th in Differ Ariake in Tokyo, is considering some other things as well:

The complete rule set is not finalized. Other rules under discussion include allowing kicks and knees to the groin standing, but not on the ground. They are also considering allowing head-butts, and elbows on the ground (in Pride, they never allowed elbows on the ground). These rules were not told to me but have been talked about, but the talk may just be for attention and not that they are actually considering them. 12/6 elbows are not being considered, however. Also under discussion are time limits, whether to use rounds, to do no time limit matches (figuring the throwing into the water rule means matches will not go forever). The size of the circle and a point system, if they do go with time limits, are also still under discussion.

Ganryujima (which is named after a small Japanese island that has seen some historical battles) will be headed by Sadaharu Tanikawa, the man who ran K-1 from 2003 to 2012. Others involved are Hiro Hase (influential Japanese senator and former pro wrestler/booker), and Masato, a top Japanese K-1 fighter for many years. The shows will air on Fuji TV, which was where Pride aired before their Yakuza downfall.

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2014/11/20/7256723/japanese-fighting-promotion-with-crazy-rules-to-debut-in-february
 

VoxPop

Member
Sounds amazing. Excited for the inevitable standing groin shot into a belly to belly suplex into the water. Pride never die.
 

industrian

will gently cradle you as time slowly ticks away.
I don't think he should go necessarily. The company is trying to "expand" the sport internationally and make it more mainstream (FS1/FS2, Fox, etc). They're after those long-term figures.

I will say I became a fan of the sport in the last 2000s. And right now, it "feels" like the buy rates and interest has gone down due to the Pay Per View cards being watered down, unmarketable stars to a lesser extent (compared to GSP, Penn, Rampage, Lesnar, etc), cards every week, etc. Back then, you had a PPV card probably once a month and the cards felt "special."

What was the last card with a high buy rate? Was it the Anderson Leg break and Rhousey/Tate 2?

The problem is that the UFC are trying to be a "proper" sport when:

1) The vast majority of people in the world consider MMA to be more a spectacle than a sport.
2) The UFC doesn't know how a sport should fundamentally be operated.
3) The UFC's business plan - and MMA as a whole really - goes against how a sport should be operated.
 
The problem is that the UFC are trying to be a "proper" sport when:

1) The vast majority of people in the world consider MMA to be more a spectacle than a sport.
2) The UFC doesn't know how a sport should fundamentally be operated.
3) The UFC's business plan - and MMA as a whole really - goes against how a sport should be operated.

This. Glad to see 90% of the posters in this thread are on the same page.

Been losing more and more interest in UFC by the event. The cards all suck. I seriously don't remember the last time a card was stacked from head to toe
 
I think it's time to accept that the Brock Lesnar era was an outlier. I think at the time a lot of us (Dana and co included) thought that was the dawn of mma becoming a legit sport and a part of the sports culture consciousness when in reality it turns out that was just the peak.
 

industrian

will gently cradle you as time slowly ticks away.
Speaking of Brock. A very good drinking game you can always rely on is to have a Coors Light (because Bud Light won't pay you nothing) whenever an MMA journalist writes an article about the potential of Brock coming back. It's the biggest innovation in combating slow news days since the Top Ten list was invented.
 

Archaix

Drunky McMurder
This. Glad to see 90% of the posters in this thread are on the same page.

Been losing more and more interest in UFC by the event. The cards all suck. I seriously don't remember the last time a card was stacked from head to toe


The cards don't all suck. It's even worse than that, so many of the cards suck that it's impossible to remember that there is actually a decent/good card on the schedule. I got reminded on Wednesday that there was a damn heavyweight title fight this past week. I knew it was coming up sometime soon, but there's a UFC card that I don't have any interest in watching most every weekend and just figured this was another one of those weeks.

The fact that the free cards are 100% unwatchable even when the fights are okay doesn't help. Quick finish? Great! That means we can fit 20 more minutes of ads here. Oh, wait, where did everybody go? Why isn't anybody still watching? Guys?
 
The cards don't all suck. It's even worse than that, so many of the cards suck that it's impossible to remember that there is actually a decent/good card on the schedule. I got reminded on Wednesday that there was a damn heavyweight title fight this past week. I knew it was coming up sometime soon, but there's a UFC card that I don't have any interest in watching most every weekend and just figured this was another one of those weeks.

The fact that the free cards are 100% unwatchable even when the fights are okay doesn't help. Quick finish? Great! That means we can fit 20 more minutes of ads here. Oh, wait, where did everybody go? Why isn't anybody still watching? Guys?

duane-o.gif
 

Dysun

Member
Speaking of Brock. A very good drinking game you can always rely on is to have a Coors Light (because Bud Light won't pay you nothing) whenever an MMA journalist writes an article about the potential of Brock coming back. It's the biggest innovation in combating slow news days since the Top Ten list was invented.

Pretty hilarious how many articles these clowns write about a 38 year old, coming off a 4 year layoff and diverticulitis returning to MMA
 

Heel

Member
“Brock Lesnar wouldn’t go to Bellator,” said White. “Brock wants to fight the best guys in the world. The best guys in the world are [in the UFC].”

I tell ya what, my man is sweating right now. The landscape would shift overnight if Viacom signs Brock.
 

industrian

will gently cradle you as time slowly ticks away.
The cards don't all suck. It's even worse than that, so many of the cards suck that it's impossible to remember that there is actually a decent/good card on the schedule. I got reminded on Wednesday that there was a damn heavyweight title fight this past week. I knew it was coming up sometime soon, but there's a UFC card that I don't have any interest in watching most every weekend and just figured this was another one of those weeks.

The fact that the free cards are 100% unwatchable even when the fights are okay doesn't help. Quick finish? Great! That means we can fit 20 more minutes of ads here. Oh, wait, where did everybody go? Why isn't anybody still watching? Guys?

The problem is that there's nothing to focus on.

One big event a month = the centre of attention for everyone. At least four weeks to build momentum and marketing buzz. It becomes a mainstream spectacle and attracts new fans and casual viewers.

One big event and a smaller event every month = the small event helps build up potential stars and provides a free advert and mindshare for the big event. New fans and casual viewers may still be interested as it would probably be free.

One big event and two smaller events = Er... passable. Still enough time to build up the big event, but they're gonna be scraping the bottom of the barrel of the roster to fill out those cards.

Four smaller events = That once-big event has been torn apart to fill the cards for the smaller events. Now each event has equal importance even though they're generally not important at all unless there's a title shot on one of them. There's not enough time or resources to make a major marketing push for the largest of these small events, nor is there enough quality on the cards to boost mindshare. At this point, you're just preaching to the choir instead of inviting a new audience.

Five smaller events = Please stop.

Six smaller events = Oh god make it stop.

Seven smaller events = The UFC's laughable answer in 2016 to stave off bankruptcy.

And before anyone hits that "Quote" button: I am not attacking the fighters involved. I am not questioning the ability of fighters nor their heart or their resolve or even their personalities just because they don't have a Wikipedia page. All I'm saying is that they should not be fighting in the UFC for the sole fact that the UFC should not be running this many events. I've always envisioned the UFC to be the "Champions League" of MMA, meaning that only the best and most noteworthy fighters should be involved. But with these 4+ events every month the UFC has devolved into a state where fighting in the UFC is all but guaranteed to any warm body that has two arms, a pulse, a body temperature of between 36c-37c and six months of sprawl.

Pretty hilarious how many articles these clowns write about a 38 year old, coming off a 4 year layoff and diverticulitis returning to MMA

Brock can sell fights but not fight them.

But like Scooter said, it's more indicative of the state of the industry than anything else that MMA journalists, Dana, et al, cling to Brock's name in an attempt to interest people, as it harkens back to the days when the UFC could do no wrong and MMA was experiencing a massive boom. It's kind of like if the British Prime Minister were to tell a journalist "Canadians like Prince William and his wife" and then having the journalist write "There's a chance the Canadians might rejoin the UK!! We're making calls and talking to people, but nothing yet."
 
Pretty hilarious how many articles these clowns write about a 38 year old, coming off a 4 year layoff and diverticulitis returning to MMA

Very true, but think about it. Tito and Bonnar are both washed up. Everyone knows they are washed up. Yet their Bellator event just pulled better ratings than anything UFC has done all year. It's indicative of the state of where mma is as a sport, and also indicative at how terrible UFC has been at building stars over the last 3-4 years.
 
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