Well of course he says that now, knowing Jones is tied up till April with Sonnen.
So he is saying, yeah, we'll fight sometime in 2014 when the stars align.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
MMA |OT3| When you lose you're a can, when you win you're unstoppable.
- Thread starter Heel
- Start date
Well of course he says that now, knowing Jones is tied up till April with Sonnen.
So he is saying, yeah, we'll fight sometime in 2014 when the stars align.
FYI, Undertaker is the P4P best striker in the WWE. Source: Michael Cole, WMXXVIII during his bout against HHH.
TheKaeptain
Banned
Who?
GungHo
Single-handedly caused Exxon-Mobil to sue FOX, start World War 3
CD Projekt Red. Makers of Witcher. Suckers of dwarf cock.
Well he DOES wear mma gloves.
And he's undefeated at WM, seems legit.
industrian
will gently cradle you as time slowly ticks away.
He also has a devastating ground game, making dudes choke on their own blood with his epic gogoplatas.
Even 195 would be a stretch for Jones to make weight. Might be Silva's best opportunity to take on an emaciated Jones.
Assuming, of course, this fight ever takes place.
Ninja Scooter
Member
I bet Anderson wouldn't be willing to go catchweight for GSP though. Slithery bastard.
TheNatural
My Member!
Uh, hes been talking about 170 period.
http://www.mmamania.com/2012/8/7/32...itle-welterweight-georges-st-pierre-fight-ufc
Ninja Scooter
Member
I'll believe Silva can make 170 when I see it.
dream
Member
After doing what was by far the lowest rating in the history of the Ultimate Fighter show on 10/5, Dana White did a reversal.
Over the weekend he was saying he was going to put together a Jon Jones vs. Anderson Silva dream fight, even though both men had continually said they had no interest in it. White said that he would offer them enough money and they would take the fight.
But instead, on 10/16, White announced Jones and Chael Sonnen would coach season 17 of the Ultimate Fighter reality show which will film before the end of the year and start airing in January. This would lead to Jones defending his light heavyweight title against Sonnen on 4/27. Sonnen on UFC Tonight said he was first told about it earlier in the day. No location has been announced for the show.
Sonnen's 12/29 fight with Forrest Griffin was canceled because they can't afford the risk of Sonnen losing. Sonnen claimed that Griffin would get a new opponent on that show, while Griffin said to Ariel Helwani that he had just been told the fight with Sonnen was off and was not told if he's still fighting on 12/29 or given a new opponent.
It is expected that as part of the deal in getting Jones and Sonnen on the show, that FX will move the show from Friday night to Tuesdays. Moving a show that is steadily declining in ratings from a night you expect to do badly to a night that you need to do well in to carry the weekly average is a risky move for FX. It's one that programmers will almost never do, and shows that FOX as a network is both trying to save the show and is also committed to helping build UFC since it's got the contract for six more years. It also puts pressure on the show do to large ratings since FX is in a battle for top ten on cable and needs a show on a Tuesday not to drag down the weekly average.
Sonnen getting a title fight will be criticized for obvious reasons. Sonnen's last fight saw him get stopped in the second round by Anderson Silva. He is moving up a weight class and getting a title shot with a loss. The situation is very different than what happened at UFC 151. When you have a card you are trying to save, you can't necessarily make the perfect sports match when people are booked and injured. The Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar fight was a perfect example. Under normal circumstances, that fight made no sense, but they were trying to save a show.
This is completely different. Dan Henderson was scheduled for a title match and was injured. He's still coming off wins over Fedor Emelianenko and Shogun Rua, and at 42, time is of the essence. Lyoto Machida earned and was promised a title shot, although in his case, he was offered a short-notice title shot and turned it down. If Alexander Gustafsson beats Rua on 12/8, he also would have a valid claim for a shot. Plus, Glover Teixeira, if he faces Rampage Jackson next, and beats him, would at that point also be a deserving contender. Sonnen getting the shot delays all existing real contenders for until late summer at the earliest, and that's provided Jones doesn't get hurt again.
On the flip side, there is desperation at stake. The Ultimate Fighter did a 0.49 rating on 10/5, roughly half of what would have been considered a below average rating a year ago. If the show can be saved, Sonnen is the guy to do it, and saving the show and drawing a big buy rate from a business standpoint may be a lot more important right now than a bunch of guys who are more deserving of a title shot, but there is right now no fans clamor to see any of them get a title shot.
With the build of 12 or 13 weeks of the show, Jones vs. Sonnen could be Jones' biggest drawing fight to date. In addition, the reality show is Jones' best bet to rehab his image. He was heavily booed in Toronto against Vitor Belfort, and he is not like Josh Koscheck, Sonnen or Michael Bisping where they have worked to garner that kind of a reaction. The one thing about the show is people who watch it weekly believe they know the person, and it can turn people around, to a degree.
Jones is also coming off his lowest PPV number since becoming champion. In turning down Sonnen, he wound up with an injured arm and a lighter bank book then if he had fought him. But it will turn out for the best, because Jones vs. Sonnen, a match Jones would be a heavy favorite in, with this build will do far more business than it would have in September as a late fill-in. And it also delays Jones actually risking his title against a serious threat for nearly another year. For Jones, it's exactly what a fighter wants, the highest pay with the lowest risk, plus a chance to rehab a public persona. For Sonnen, his long-term future is in broadcasting anyway.
Jones' right arm was injured in the Belfort fight from the early armbar. He had a second opinion on the arm by a specialist in Los Angeles this past week who diagnosed him as having strained ligaments in his right elbow. He would not need surgery but we need rehab. He wouldn't be able to fight until early next year anyway. Often being on TUF will take a drawing card out for months because you have to tape the show, and then have it air, and they miss a fight cycle. When there are only a few top draws, having any of them miss a fight unless they are injured isn't worth it. But with Jones injured, the timing made sense.
A few days earlier, Jones on twitter said that because all the fans want to see him face Chael Sonnen, he's considering the match even though Sonnen doesn't deserve it. It started when he asked people who they would like to see him face, and Sonnen's name came up most often.
Jones at that time said he would be willing to coach on Ultimate Fighter, but not against Daniel Cormier, citing that Cormier isn't a big enough star. Cormier recently said that he would love to coach against Jones and was willing to drop to 205 next year to do so. Cormier has talked at times of cutting to 205, although it was always before said that he'd do it if Cain Velasquez won the heavyweight title.
There are those in UFC who like the idea of Cormier vs. Jones at light heavyweight, thinking it could be Jones' toughest potential fight. Jones was interviewed by ESPN in the U.K., and said, "I'd be interested in a TUF season in the future, but it'd take the right opponent. As far as Daniel Cormier, Cormier saying he wants to coach against me, he would want that, wouldn't he? He's relatively unknown. I want to do it when the fans are aware of both guys, and when it's spunky and when it raises a lot of viewers. I'm not here to raise his stock."
The 11/3 Strikeforce show in Oklahoma City was canceled, making three shows in the span of about nine weeks. There had been rumors for several days that the show was going to be canceled after Luke Rockhold suffered a wrist injury that forced him off the show, combined with no new opponent being gotten for Daniel Cormier after Matt Mitrione turned down the fight. Sara McMann's injury probably didn't help, but the reasons cited were Frank Mir (Cormier's opponent) and Rockhold being pulled from the show. This is the second straight Strikeforce cancellation. Showtime sent out a release saying that there would be a loaded show in January. Showtime this year only ran five Strikeforce events as compared to 16 in 2011. There was little in the way of advertising locally and no significant advance ticket sales sold. In fact, they had not even gotten all the paperwork in with the commission for the date. Yet, the day before the cancellation, UFC sent out a request to reporters to register for press credentials for the show. None of the fighters were told anything about the show being in jeopardy and the key guys found out either being called by reporters after it was canceled, or reading about it on the Internet. Several expressed unhappiness, most notably Tim Kennedy noting he was nine weeks into a hard training camp when this happened. However, after being talked with by company officials, both Kennedy and Cormier (who found out about it when a reporter called asking his thoughts) seemed more accepting. They were told the company was going to take care of them financially for their training (at the last cancellation as well as the UFC 151 cancellation, the company paid fighters in most cases their guarantee) and make sure they are booked on the January. Kennedy was told by Strikeforce matchmaker Sean Shelby that he found out about the cancellation the same way they did, when Showtime's release went public. With Strikeforce, when it comes to giving guys a fight, it's far more difficult than UFC. UFC had a number of shows over the next couple of months to spread the canceled fights over. Strikeforce has two complete canceled shows full of fighters waiting for a new bout with nothing scheduled until January. In theory, Gilbert Melendez, Ronda Rousey, Cormier, Nate Marquardt, Josh Thomson and every other name guy on the roster would be due to fight by then. There were far too few spots and shows now for the roster they have, so fighters are having careers stalled and income stalled. This brings up a lot of questions regarding the future of the relationship with Showtime and the future of the Strikeforce brand. The brand will almost certainly die if the Showtime relationship ends. And with two straight cancellations, that is hardly a good sign that Showtime sees this as something they are trying to build for the future. Those close to the situation have said that the relationship doesn't look good, even though there are logical reasons Showtime would want to continue, given the show's have done surprisingly strong ratings. UFC may feel it's time to give the big push to Ronda Rousey, who may have the most mainstream marketability of anyone on the UFC roster right now. The Showtime contract keeps her from appearing on a UFC show. Still, it is Showtime that made the call to cancel the past two shows on their network. Zuffa then decided against going forward with them as arena events since ticket sales weren't good and because they legally couldn't get them on any television.
Des Moines police claimed that their having police in Minnesota arrest Jeremy Stephens the morning of his fight was not a wait until the last minute but simply the first chance they had to pick him up. Des Moines Police Sgt. Joe Leo said that Stephens, who moved from Iowa to San Diego, has had a year to turn himself in and take care of the situation. The police released the information that the assault he is charged with took place on October 15, 2001, at Fat Tony's restaurant and bar. The victim was reportedly told to leave the bar because he had been drinking and causing a scene. According to the wife of the man claimed to have been assaulted, Stephens punched him in the left eye and Dustin Bachman, a friend of Stephens, punched him in the face several times. The wife, according to police, was trying to get him into the car when, according to the report, Bachman pulled the man out by his feet, and then Bachman and Stephens punched and kicked him in the head and body for about a minute before fleeing the scene. The victim, whose name was not released, reportedly stopped breathing twice and was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. Stephens had told Dana White about the incident, but told him that it was his friend who attacked the victim and he was dragged into it because of his being known as a fighter. Ryan Hass, the agent for Stephens, said that Stephens was never contacted about charges or told there was a warrant for his arrest, and that he has lived at the same address and had the same phone number for the past year. He also noted Stephens is regularly on social media providing updates on what he is doing and where he is, and would not be hard to contact. The police said Stephens was notified of having a warrant and had plenty of opportunities to appear. They said that with Stephens being in California, they couldn't get him because their warrant only allowed them to travel to certain surrounding states to pick him up, Minnesota being one of them. Stephens was extradited to Iowa this past week and remains in Polk County jail on $101,000 bond. He's charged with assault with willful injury, and assault causing bodily injury or mental illness.
White has been saying that the company is about to make some major changes in how they do things, but won't hint at what they are. He did tell us via text that the first of the new moves would probably be released very shortly, as in the next week or two. Long-term with television rights fees for sports continuing to escalate, that would seem a positive. But then television ratings become more important and UFC's numbers are declining. White keeps noting that they are still in the first year of a seven year deal with FOX and that everyone is thrilled. Every indication I have is Fuel is and should be thrilled, as they were an unknown station with virtually no viewers and they've grown with all the UFC programming. I can't believe FX picked up TUF with the idea it would do significantly lower numbers than the same show did on much-lower rated Spike, let alone now being down to roughly half the numbers that TUF was doing on a bad night. The Male 18-49 demos are still good, although this past week's weren't and there is no indication the slide in ratings is over. It's not nearly as valuable the marketing tool for UFC due to so many less people watching. The other thing is the original goal of the quarterly FOX specials was to reach new viewers and expose them to the sport. Lorenzo Fertitta when the deal was first cut talked about the goal being that by hopefully millions of new viewers being created on FOX (which after the first two shows hasn't really happened), that it would lead to more people buying PPVs. Their goal as he stated a year ago was to get 100,000 new regular buyers and buys haven't grown at all. What we have learned is that just being on FOX with big shows and having that credibility and exposure on the biggest venue UFC has ever had means nothing for a monthly PPV. We've also learned not having the Countdown shows on a station with the exposure of FX has largely rendered them useless. To me, anything that airs on Fuel is only reaching the super hardcores to begin with, and those shows are about the 300,000 viewers that make the difference between your 200,000 buys show and your 500,000 buys show. They are not watching Fuel.
There was one hell of a grandstand play that took place over the past week and is still taking place. I know people won't believe this because so much of hype is make believe, but Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin, who coached on TUF, came out of the show not liking each other. In fact, Carwin, who is a mild mannered guy outside the cage, hates Nelson. Since nobody is watching the show, and the season isn't done airing, whatever the reason or reasons aren't clear yet. Then, Victor Conte put on twitter that Nelson and Carwin had agreed to VADA drug testing, which is far more comprehensive than commission testing. The problem is, Carwin had not agreed to it, but now he's in a bad position in the sense by not agreeing to it, he becomes the worker who holds a world title belt in the 1930s being called out by the rival world champion who is a shooter. By ignoring it, everyone starts asking questions regarding why you are ignoring it. Nelson, by having his camp approach VADA in the first place, knew exactly what he was doing and in a sense, broke protocol in the sport where it's pretty much accepted lots of guys are doing things. It's different from B.J. Penn and Rory MacDonald where MacDonald was aware ahead of time what would be happening. Still, I can see where clean fighters are coming from. Carwin's name came up in one of the government investigations of a steroid pharmacy, but even though his name came up while he was in UFC, it was from a time frame early in his career (when he was 290 pounds and ripped like a WWF 2003 version of Brock Lesnar when he competed as a super heavyweight). Jason Genet, the manager of Carwin, claimed VADA was anti-Carwin and questioned whether their testing was valid. Mike Kogan, the manager of Nelson, e-mailed Genet and Carwin last week saying they had secured sponsorship to cover the cost of the testing for their 12/15 fight in Las Vegas. Genet also stated that on the VADA web site there was a story on the reality show which stated that Carwin's only potential contribution as coach was to teach athletes how to dope. Apparently that line was in an outside contributed story that was put on their site. Carwin also has gone after Conte himself, calling him a convicted criminal. Because Carwin didn't like Conte, Nelson attempted to bring Conte on as an assistant coach for his team on the show. He also wanted to bring in Kurt Angle as a wrestling coach. Dana White allegedly nixed those requests. Nelson said that he knows a bunch of guys that he fought were on something, and said eventually he'll do a tell-all book like Jose Canseco, except he's clean. "If I knew you were on the juice or doing something wrong, I just wanted to basically for my own morals, I just beat a guy who was sticking it in," he told Andy Samuelson of MMAfighting.com. "He wasn't the better fighter. He was the guy who cheated. I got off on that. But now that we're in the business aspect and we're in the fight business, it's a dog-eat-dog world and now that my wife is pregnant, now you're taking money from my kid. Now it's a business aspect and I just want everyone to be level. Either I can juice or you can make everybody not juice. It's either one or the other. I don't care really which it is. I just need to know what the rules are so I can play by the rules and make everybody level."
One of the fighters at UFC 152 received a testosterone use exemption, but tested within allowable limits. The name of the person was not disclosed.
Over the weekend he was saying he was going to put together a Jon Jones vs. Anderson Silva dream fight, even though both men had continually said they had no interest in it. White said that he would offer them enough money and they would take the fight.
But instead, on 10/16, White announced Jones and Chael Sonnen would coach season 17 of the Ultimate Fighter reality show which will film before the end of the year and start airing in January. This would lead to Jones defending his light heavyweight title against Sonnen on 4/27. Sonnen on UFC Tonight said he was first told about it earlier in the day. No location has been announced for the show.
Sonnen's 12/29 fight with Forrest Griffin was canceled because they can't afford the risk of Sonnen losing. Sonnen claimed that Griffin would get a new opponent on that show, while Griffin said to Ariel Helwani that he had just been told the fight with Sonnen was off and was not told if he's still fighting on 12/29 or given a new opponent.
It is expected that as part of the deal in getting Jones and Sonnen on the show, that FX will move the show from Friday night to Tuesdays. Moving a show that is steadily declining in ratings from a night you expect to do badly to a night that you need to do well in to carry the weekly average is a risky move for FX. It's one that programmers will almost never do, and shows that FOX as a network is both trying to save the show and is also committed to helping build UFC since it's got the contract for six more years. It also puts pressure on the show do to large ratings since FX is in a battle for top ten on cable and needs a show on a Tuesday not to drag down the weekly average.
Sonnen getting a title fight will be criticized for obvious reasons. Sonnen's last fight saw him get stopped in the second round by Anderson Silva. He is moving up a weight class and getting a title shot with a loss. The situation is very different than what happened at UFC 151. When you have a card you are trying to save, you can't necessarily make the perfect sports match when people are booked and injured. The Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar fight was a perfect example. Under normal circumstances, that fight made no sense, but they were trying to save a show.
This is completely different. Dan Henderson was scheduled for a title match and was injured. He's still coming off wins over Fedor Emelianenko and Shogun Rua, and at 42, time is of the essence. Lyoto Machida earned and was promised a title shot, although in his case, he was offered a short-notice title shot and turned it down. If Alexander Gustafsson beats Rua on 12/8, he also would have a valid claim for a shot. Plus, Glover Teixeira, if he faces Rampage Jackson next, and beats him, would at that point also be a deserving contender. Sonnen getting the shot delays all existing real contenders for until late summer at the earliest, and that's provided Jones doesn't get hurt again.
On the flip side, there is desperation at stake. The Ultimate Fighter did a 0.49 rating on 10/5, roughly half of what would have been considered a below average rating a year ago. If the show can be saved, Sonnen is the guy to do it, and saving the show and drawing a big buy rate from a business standpoint may be a lot more important right now than a bunch of guys who are more deserving of a title shot, but there is right now no fans clamor to see any of them get a title shot.
With the build of 12 or 13 weeks of the show, Jones vs. Sonnen could be Jones' biggest drawing fight to date. In addition, the reality show is Jones' best bet to rehab his image. He was heavily booed in Toronto against Vitor Belfort, and he is not like Josh Koscheck, Sonnen or Michael Bisping where they have worked to garner that kind of a reaction. The one thing about the show is people who watch it weekly believe they know the person, and it can turn people around, to a degree.
Jones is also coming off his lowest PPV number since becoming champion. In turning down Sonnen, he wound up with an injured arm and a lighter bank book then if he had fought him. But it will turn out for the best, because Jones vs. Sonnen, a match Jones would be a heavy favorite in, with this build will do far more business than it would have in September as a late fill-in. And it also delays Jones actually risking his title against a serious threat for nearly another year. For Jones, it's exactly what a fighter wants, the highest pay with the lowest risk, plus a chance to rehab a public persona. For Sonnen, his long-term future is in broadcasting anyway.
Jones' right arm was injured in the Belfort fight from the early armbar. He had a second opinion on the arm by a specialist in Los Angeles this past week who diagnosed him as having strained ligaments in his right elbow. He would not need surgery but we need rehab. He wouldn't be able to fight until early next year anyway. Often being on TUF will take a drawing card out for months because you have to tape the show, and then have it air, and they miss a fight cycle. When there are only a few top draws, having any of them miss a fight unless they are injured isn't worth it. But with Jones injured, the timing made sense.
A few days earlier, Jones on twitter said that because all the fans want to see him face Chael Sonnen, he's considering the match even though Sonnen doesn't deserve it. It started when he asked people who they would like to see him face, and Sonnen's name came up most often.
Jones at that time said he would be willing to coach on Ultimate Fighter, but not against Daniel Cormier, citing that Cormier isn't a big enough star. Cormier recently said that he would love to coach against Jones and was willing to drop to 205 next year to do so. Cormier has talked at times of cutting to 205, although it was always before said that he'd do it if Cain Velasquez won the heavyweight title.
There are those in UFC who like the idea of Cormier vs. Jones at light heavyweight, thinking it could be Jones' toughest potential fight. Jones was interviewed by ESPN in the U.K., and said, "I'd be interested in a TUF season in the future, but it'd take the right opponent. As far as Daniel Cormier, Cormier saying he wants to coach against me, he would want that, wouldn't he? He's relatively unknown. I want to do it when the fans are aware of both guys, and when it's spunky and when it raises a lot of viewers. I'm not here to raise his stock."
The 11/3 Strikeforce show in Oklahoma City was canceled, making three shows in the span of about nine weeks. There had been rumors for several days that the show was going to be canceled after Luke Rockhold suffered a wrist injury that forced him off the show, combined with no new opponent being gotten for Daniel Cormier after Matt Mitrione turned down the fight. Sara McMann's injury probably didn't help, but the reasons cited were Frank Mir (Cormier's opponent) and Rockhold being pulled from the show. This is the second straight Strikeforce cancellation. Showtime sent out a release saying that there would be a loaded show in January. Showtime this year only ran five Strikeforce events as compared to 16 in 2011. There was little in the way of advertising locally and no significant advance ticket sales sold. In fact, they had not even gotten all the paperwork in with the commission for the date. Yet, the day before the cancellation, UFC sent out a request to reporters to register for press credentials for the show. None of the fighters were told anything about the show being in jeopardy and the key guys found out either being called by reporters after it was canceled, or reading about it on the Internet. Several expressed unhappiness, most notably Tim Kennedy noting he was nine weeks into a hard training camp when this happened. However, after being talked with by company officials, both Kennedy and Cormier (who found out about it when a reporter called asking his thoughts) seemed more accepting. They were told the company was going to take care of them financially for their training (at the last cancellation as well as the UFC 151 cancellation, the company paid fighters in most cases their guarantee) and make sure they are booked on the January. Kennedy was told by Strikeforce matchmaker Sean Shelby that he found out about the cancellation the same way they did, when Showtime's release went public. With Strikeforce, when it comes to giving guys a fight, it's far more difficult than UFC. UFC had a number of shows over the next couple of months to spread the canceled fights over. Strikeforce has two complete canceled shows full of fighters waiting for a new bout with nothing scheduled until January. In theory, Gilbert Melendez, Ronda Rousey, Cormier, Nate Marquardt, Josh Thomson and every other name guy on the roster would be due to fight by then. There were far too few spots and shows now for the roster they have, so fighters are having careers stalled and income stalled. This brings up a lot of questions regarding the future of the relationship with Showtime and the future of the Strikeforce brand. The brand will almost certainly die if the Showtime relationship ends. And with two straight cancellations, that is hardly a good sign that Showtime sees this as something they are trying to build for the future. Those close to the situation have said that the relationship doesn't look good, even though there are logical reasons Showtime would want to continue, given the show's have done surprisingly strong ratings. UFC may feel it's time to give the big push to Ronda Rousey, who may have the most mainstream marketability of anyone on the UFC roster right now. The Showtime contract keeps her from appearing on a UFC show. Still, it is Showtime that made the call to cancel the past two shows on their network. Zuffa then decided against going forward with them as arena events since ticket sales weren't good and because they legally couldn't get them on any television.
Des Moines police claimed that their having police in Minnesota arrest Jeremy Stephens the morning of his fight was not a wait until the last minute but simply the first chance they had to pick him up. Des Moines Police Sgt. Joe Leo said that Stephens, who moved from Iowa to San Diego, has had a year to turn himself in and take care of the situation. The police released the information that the assault he is charged with took place on October 15, 2001, at Fat Tony's restaurant and bar. The victim was reportedly told to leave the bar because he had been drinking and causing a scene. According to the wife of the man claimed to have been assaulted, Stephens punched him in the left eye and Dustin Bachman, a friend of Stephens, punched him in the face several times. The wife, according to police, was trying to get him into the car when, according to the report, Bachman pulled the man out by his feet, and then Bachman and Stephens punched and kicked him in the head and body for about a minute before fleeing the scene. The victim, whose name was not released, reportedly stopped breathing twice and was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. Stephens had told Dana White about the incident, but told him that it was his friend who attacked the victim and he was dragged into it because of his being known as a fighter. Ryan Hass, the agent for Stephens, said that Stephens was never contacted about charges or told there was a warrant for his arrest, and that he has lived at the same address and had the same phone number for the past year. He also noted Stephens is regularly on social media providing updates on what he is doing and where he is, and would not be hard to contact. The police said Stephens was notified of having a warrant and had plenty of opportunities to appear. They said that with Stephens being in California, they couldn't get him because their warrant only allowed them to travel to certain surrounding states to pick him up, Minnesota being one of them. Stephens was extradited to Iowa this past week and remains in Polk County jail on $101,000 bond. He's charged with assault with willful injury, and assault causing bodily injury or mental illness.
White has been saying that the company is about to make some major changes in how they do things, but won't hint at what they are. He did tell us via text that the first of the new moves would probably be released very shortly, as in the next week or two. Long-term with television rights fees for sports continuing to escalate, that would seem a positive. But then television ratings become more important and UFC's numbers are declining. White keeps noting that they are still in the first year of a seven year deal with FOX and that everyone is thrilled. Every indication I have is Fuel is and should be thrilled, as they were an unknown station with virtually no viewers and they've grown with all the UFC programming. I can't believe FX picked up TUF with the idea it would do significantly lower numbers than the same show did on much-lower rated Spike, let alone now being down to roughly half the numbers that TUF was doing on a bad night. The Male 18-49 demos are still good, although this past week's weren't and there is no indication the slide in ratings is over. It's not nearly as valuable the marketing tool for UFC due to so many less people watching. The other thing is the original goal of the quarterly FOX specials was to reach new viewers and expose them to the sport. Lorenzo Fertitta when the deal was first cut talked about the goal being that by hopefully millions of new viewers being created on FOX (which after the first two shows hasn't really happened), that it would lead to more people buying PPVs. Their goal as he stated a year ago was to get 100,000 new regular buyers and buys haven't grown at all. What we have learned is that just being on FOX with big shows and having that credibility and exposure on the biggest venue UFC has ever had means nothing for a monthly PPV. We've also learned not having the Countdown shows on a station with the exposure of FX has largely rendered them useless. To me, anything that airs on Fuel is only reaching the super hardcores to begin with, and those shows are about the 300,000 viewers that make the difference between your 200,000 buys show and your 500,000 buys show. They are not watching Fuel.
There was one hell of a grandstand play that took place over the past week and is still taking place. I know people won't believe this because so much of hype is make believe, but Roy Nelson and Shane Carwin, who coached on TUF, came out of the show not liking each other. In fact, Carwin, who is a mild mannered guy outside the cage, hates Nelson. Since nobody is watching the show, and the season isn't done airing, whatever the reason or reasons aren't clear yet. Then, Victor Conte put on twitter that Nelson and Carwin had agreed to VADA drug testing, which is far more comprehensive than commission testing. The problem is, Carwin had not agreed to it, but now he's in a bad position in the sense by not agreeing to it, he becomes the worker who holds a world title belt in the 1930s being called out by the rival world champion who is a shooter. By ignoring it, everyone starts asking questions regarding why you are ignoring it. Nelson, by having his camp approach VADA in the first place, knew exactly what he was doing and in a sense, broke protocol in the sport where it's pretty much accepted lots of guys are doing things. It's different from B.J. Penn and Rory MacDonald where MacDonald was aware ahead of time what would be happening. Still, I can see where clean fighters are coming from. Carwin's name came up in one of the government investigations of a steroid pharmacy, but even though his name came up while he was in UFC, it was from a time frame early in his career (when he was 290 pounds and ripped like a WWF 2003 version of Brock Lesnar when he competed as a super heavyweight). Jason Genet, the manager of Carwin, claimed VADA was anti-Carwin and questioned whether their testing was valid. Mike Kogan, the manager of Nelson, e-mailed Genet and Carwin last week saying they had secured sponsorship to cover the cost of the testing for their 12/15 fight in Las Vegas. Genet also stated that on the VADA web site there was a story on the reality show which stated that Carwin's only potential contribution as coach was to teach athletes how to dope. Apparently that line was in an outside contributed story that was put on their site. Carwin also has gone after Conte himself, calling him a convicted criminal. Because Carwin didn't like Conte, Nelson attempted to bring Conte on as an assistant coach for his team on the show. He also wanted to bring in Kurt Angle as a wrestling coach. Dana White allegedly nixed those requests. Nelson said that he knows a bunch of guys that he fought were on something, and said eventually he'll do a tell-all book like Jose Canseco, except he's clean. "If I knew you were on the juice or doing something wrong, I just wanted to basically for my own morals, I just beat a guy who was sticking it in," he told Andy Samuelson of MMAfighting.com. "He wasn't the better fighter. He was the guy who cheated. I got off on that. But now that we're in the business aspect and we're in the fight business, it's a dog-eat-dog world and now that my wife is pregnant, now you're taking money from my kid. Now it's a business aspect and I just want everyone to be level. Either I can juice or you can make everybody not juice. It's either one or the other. I don't care really which it is. I just need to know what the rules are so I can play by the rules and make everybody level."
One of the fighters at UFC 152 received a testosterone use exemption, but tested within allowable limits. The name of the person was not disclosed.
industrian
will gently cradle you as time slowly ticks away.
I'm guessing that Overeem's been helping Belfort with his horse meat diet.
A
A More Normal Bird
Unconfirmed Member
Vitor was in Victor Gracie shape for that fight. I haven't seen a shoulder girdle that gormandised since Rashad threw a spider-knee at Tito's solar plexus.
industrian
will gently cradle you as time slowly ticks away.
Lil Nog's offered to fight in Chael's place against Forrest at UFC 155. Decent enough fight, even if it's a sure sign of circling the drain for both fighters' careers.
polyh3dron
Banned
So Serpentinious Canderson now says he's reconsidering his position on fighting JBJ.
Nice timing.
Nice timing.
Maklershed
Member
Matt Riddle - 90 day suspension retroactive to 7/21 for marijuana
Francisco Rivera - 90 day suspension retroactive to 7/21 for OTC stimulant
He'll get his chance yet because with UFC's luck, Chael will be injured in March.
Francisco Rivera - 90 day suspension retroactive to 7/21 for OTC stimulant
He'll get his chance yet because with UFC's luck, Chael will be injured in March.
GungHo
Single-handedly caused Exxon-Mobil to sue FOX, start World War 3
Ariel Helwani also floated out the idea of a book-end for both Forrest and Stephan Bonnar as a mutual retirement match, but Bonnar didn't sound enthused at the idea, though that may be because he knows that it would be unlikely-to-impossible for that to happen.
And, yay dream essay!
Roland Deschain
Member
Welcome back wall of text! You were missed.
Maklershed
Member
Anderson Silva warms to Jones superfight but it would have to be non-title catchweight
-mmafighting.com
-mmafighting.com
Host Samurai
Member
Bonnar vs Griffen as TUF coaches and double retirement fight just make way too much sense to do.
It would have been nice if Tito fought Wand in a double retirement fight as well, but too late for that.
It would have been nice if Tito fought Wand in a double retirement fight as well, but too late for that.
joeygreco1985
Member
Fuck that, fight GSP already and be done with it!
GungHo
Single-handedly caused Exxon-Mobil to sue FOX, start World War 3
Make it a triple treat to retire TUF and we can Kickstart this sonnavabitch.
SFL 5 is streaming
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5iTRsRqEtUM
Also Griffin will be fighting Phil Davis at 155. I don't see that going well for Forrest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5iTRsRqEtUM
Also Griffin will be fighting Phil Davis at 155. I don't see that going well for Forrest
TheNatural
My Member!
Pretty clear by what's listed here is that in the new year the number of cards needs to be cut down significantly.
GungHo
Single-handedly caused Exxon-Mobil to sue FOX, start World War 3
I don't get Fuel in HD, therefore I don't watch. I realize it sounds like a shitty reason, but I am spoiled to the point where SD broadcasts look horrible to me. You might as well ask me to watch re-runs of Welcome Back Kotter and Bosom Buddies.
Roland Deschain
Member
Apparently Griffin faces Phil Davis at UFC 155.
TheNatural
My Member!
Blah matchup. They should have just gave it to Bonnar and then let them both retire afterwards.
TheKaeptain
Banned
FRB said Bonnar declined the match.
TheNatural
My Member!
That's weird. On the MMA Hour just two days ago he was talking with Ariel like he would be interested in it.
Ninja Scooter
Member
Winner gets to retire. Loser gets a title shot at Jose Aldo. DAT DANA LOGIC.
Unidentified
Member
This has been brought up to Dana White multiple times and its one thing he's been adamant about not changing and I would have to agree with that. The people complaining just don't seem to care to watch much MMA regardless (as year over year the number of cards are the same and most events are free), so why cater to that group?
You already have fighters wanting to fight more than they do. Cutting own the cards would put most people on something like a 1 fight per year schedule and you couldn't really advance a division much or have any new fighter build enough momentum to become popular.
PRIDE NEVER DIE!
While that would be great, you can almost guarantee that the opposite will happen.
Get ready for 'UFC on FOX Sports' cards and regional leagues.
Host Samurai
Member
When is Dana going to book Cerrone vs Pettis in a Brittney on a pole match?
Then once Uncle Dana successfully kills all interest in MMA, we can turn this into a real McKayla-GAF thread.
All according to plan.
.jpg){kind=icon}
TheNatural
My Member!
Uh no, it's not about any of what you said at all. It's about building future champions.
Who's going to watch a fighter more - being on the undercard of a huge super fight - or being in the main event of some random weekday Fuel TV card?
That's why no one gives a shit about Chris Weidman. He fought in the main event of a weekday Fuel TV card and no one watched. The problem isn't people not watching much MMA, the problem is when you need to build a contender or get him some face time, instead of being on the undercard of a big pay per view and having millions watch, or even on the prelims of a PPV card - they're now in some shitty midweek Fuel TV or FX card that no one cares about.
People go to watch a big fight, then learn about the next big contenders on the undercard. Not watch them on some FuelTV main event. Stacking the cards is how fighters are build, not making every one watered down.
TheKaeptain
Banned
Maia wants Diaz when he comes back. $20 bucks Nate ducks him.
Host Samurai
Member
With all due respect to Weideman as a fellow NY'er. Fuck everyone wanting him to fight Anderson with only 9 pro fights. Come on now. Build the dude up a bit more, maybe have him fight Bisping, Belfort or even Pal Harris first. When Anderson mauls him than nobody will even remember the guy.
Similar threads
- Poll