TheKaeptain
Banned
Him and Devo went in on that dude.
hey anyone want to avatar this for me?
http://i.minus.com/ikcGmDzPyVUQg.png
hey anyone want to avatar this for me?
http://i.minus.com/ikcGmDzPyVUQg.png
-
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MMA |OT3| When you lose you're a can, when you win you're unstoppable.
- Thread starter Heel
- Start date
polyh3dron
Banned
TheKaeptain
Banned
Gaf is telling me the image is too large. WTF?!
polyh3dron
Banned
wtf it's 100x120 on the dot
here try this one, jpg instead of png
here try this one, jpg instead of png
TheKaeptain
Banned
It worked! Thanks my friend.
Cecil Peoples scored that 10-7 for the OP.
industrian
will gently cradle you as time slowly ticks away.
We need to compile some of Ninja Scooter's Greatest Hits.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=20297093
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=20297093
Did you have a cellphone in hand to record it?
Nah. You wouldnt understand the language anyway. Gist of the story he mad cause the people he carpools with wont pay his car insurance. Mind you they pay for the gas and the 20 dollar daily bridge toll
parrotbeak
Member
$20 daily bridge toll? Jesus, how much does commuting cost there?
GungHo
Single-handedly caused Exxon-Mobil to sue FOX, start World War 3
Shit. I've never seen someone quit a job in Aramaic.
George washington bridge is 13 bucks, triboro bridge is 6.50. Also while not in aramaic it was still amusing seeing a 5'4 man who looks like a child that has leukemia and at least 50 years of smoking behind him gingerly storm off while wrestling with an 80 pound toolbox. Startin off dat new year.
polyh3dron
Banned
Bendo/Melendez rumored to be UFC on Fox 7 main event.
That sounds great for Fox 7. Too bad the Chicago card got stuck with Mighty Mouse/Dodson.
Anyway, can't wait for Gil the Fraud to get exposed AGAIN and stop pretending to be an elite lightweight.
i was looking for before and after pics of gil and punk in that last fight but my google fu was weak.
bone_and_sinew
breaking down barriers in gratuitous nudity
I think I'm going to intervene myself and stop drinking/smoking/other drugs for a while. I didn't do any dumb shit the past week+ of almost non-stop partying but I think I've had enough for a while. It's also cutting into my MMA viewing!
Also, Bendo 50-45.
Also, Bendo 50-45.
For brother poly and other grape culturalists
TheNatural
My Member!
Been so far out of the loop, didn't even remember that Strikeforce was officially closing Jan 12. So has Dana officially said anything about the number of cards planned for 2013 reducing, or will be still be getting UFC on Fuel 27: Garcia vs. Wineland?
dream
Member
WWE and UFC will open 2013 with what looks to be a strong couple of months after years that had to be considered mixed bags.
WWE has The Rock for far more dates this year than last, as well as a WrestleMania that will feature Rock and Brock Lesnar, the two people who noticeably move business, on the same show. There will also be at least a few TV dates with Undertaker to build his Mania program, expected to be with C.M. Punk. And Ric Flair is likely to make some appearances as well.
Starting this week, Rock returns as a fairly regular character, doing most Raws, a few Smackdowns and three PPV shows starting with TV on 1/7 and the Royal Rumble as his first PPV show. Lesnar is expected to return to TV for multiple appearances in March, likely starting in late February, to build up his Mania program, which at last word would be with HHH.
Rock has a ton going on in the first quarter, including a lot of media since Pain and Gain, G.I. Joe and Fast Six are all coming out early next year and hes filming a reality show that he is putting together.
If they dont change directions and he beats Punk for the title, that would mean hell likely win the Raw chamber match as well if hes in it because usually the titles are up in the Chamber matches on the February show, and defend against Cena or whoever at Mania.
The rest of the big show isnt as clear, although rumors include a Sheamus vs. Randy Orton match with Orton going heel, and Big Show against either Ryback or Alberto Del Rio. That largely covers all the top guys, except The Shield, who could wind up in something with Kane & Daniel Bryan.
As far as 2012 went, WWE overall isnt in much different of a position as it was a year ago. The stock price is down at the same time the market is overall up. The network that was supposed to launch in April, now doesnt even have a date even though they are still sinking millions into starting up the project. With the price decline and the Linda McMahon campaign, it was not a good year financially for the McMahons, but the company really is in about the same shape.
The key factors going forward dont appear to be core business. Core business seems solid. PPV was up this year, a lot of which was due to the most successful financial show the company ever did in WrestleMania, built on The Rock vs. John Cena. Lesnar came in and helped numbers on two other shows. But most of the shows were up from 2011 levels, which on PPV now look to have been the year things hit rock bottom. Attendance is likely to wind up even, or perhaps slightly down from last year, while TV ratings of both Raw and Smackdown will be down year-over-year.
The key factors going forward are the network, if it ever gets launched, and how negotiations for a new contract for Smackdown go. The deal with Syfy expires at the end of September. Rights fees for sports have skyrocketed the last year. It is still questionable if that will continue, but its a good time to be in the sports business with a major league product as opposed to the entertainment business. Whether WWE can, after years of arguing the opposite, change itself to where it benefits from this trend is a major question, because any kind of increase in TV revenue is a cushion in case popularity of the product drops.
Between the top matches and being from the New York market, WrestleMania is expected to break all records this year. Met Life Stadium is larger than any arena that has housed a WrestleMania. The football capacity is 82,566, larger than the Pontiac Silverdome that held the biggest attended Mania to date in 1987. With the stage set up that they usually do, they will not break the attendance record, but with the mark up, they will probably announce a figure in the same realm. The all-time record attendance for any event in the stadium is 93,000, and WWE, whether they sell out or not, and in the New York market, the expectation is they will, they always claim a building attendance record. At worst, they will throw out a number in the high-80s and claim it as No. 2.
PPV is also expected to be big. Its hard to predict whether it can be a record-setter this far out. It will be hard for Undertaker vs. Punk to be as big as Undertaker vs. HHH was last year. It will also be hard for Rock vs. Cena to be any bigger than their first meeting. But on the flip side, being in the New York market will mean more publicity than in the Miami market. PPV numbers are always the strongest in the market the show is taking place in, due to the publicity. So its a huge advantage for PPV to come from New York, swelling that metro area, as compared to Miami, Phoenix, Detroit, Atlanta or anywhere else.
The questions come after Mania. Four of the expected big six headliners at Mania, Rock, Lesnar, Undertaker and HHH, will not be appearing much if at all after the show. Rock would likely be gone, perhaps for good, or perhaps not until Mania. If this isnt Undertakers last match coming up, he almost certainly wont be wrestling again until the next Mania. Up until a few weeks ago, there was a lot of talk that due to all his injuries, he would not be on this years show and his career would be over. Lesnars contract expires with Mania. His deal is for millions and only three PPV dates. At some point, the novelty of Lesnar being on the card isnt going to mean 90,000 extra North
American buys like at SummerSlam this year. At that point, the deal stops being worth it. Still, its hard to believe he wont get a similar deal for another year because Mania will likely be a success and hell likely come out of it looking strong. But even so, hes still only going to do limited duty.
The rest of the year will have to rely on the current crew. But even so, the crew has a solid mix of established stars like Cena, Orton and Show. Punk has been around a long time but hasnt been a true main eventer a long time. Ziggler has also been around a long time, but is just now starting to get his chance at being a true headliner. There are guys who are newer at the top like Sheamus, The Shield, Ryback, Del Rio and others. Of those, Sheamus is popular but Smackdown house show numbers also show even with his mega push this year, he is not a difference maker. Nor is Del Rio, who based on push to results, as much as he fits into a lot of nice categories, good looking, real athlete, great presentation and sidekick, decent enough worker, tall enough, and Hispanic, all that they want, probably has the worst ratio of anyone in the company. Ryback was absolutely a difference maker in October, but there are questions regarding him long-term and until The Shield guys are put in a position to fend on their own, its impossible to predict if they can and cant be real difference makers.
While Rock, Cena and Lesnar are clearly the biggest stars, Punk also clearly surpassed Orton as the No. 2 full-timer this year. Ryback moved past Orton in late September. Ziggler is now being pushed ahead of Orton, but in reality, he hasnt gotten to his level yet with the public. Orton has faded and Big Show is actually right at his level now, but Orton also hasnt been pushed hard in a while and has potential to be higher.
Like with UFC, there is going to be no competition in the genre for WWE. The only danger to WWE is really bad booking and the three hours on Monday burning out the audience. On the former, as people want to complain, that has not been the case in the big picture this past year, although certain aspects it is the case.
The three hours of Raw is a different issue and its way too soon to say what its affect is. Nitro went to three hours in January, 1998. The next year was the most successful, by far, in the history of the company. The real fade, which in that case was a falling off a cliff, started to hit around March of 1999, and six months later they were so far up shit creek that it would have been difficult to ever get back. Then they chose the worst captain possible to take them back and four months later, they were dead, even if the funeral was a year later. The beginning of the fall can be blamed on the residual effect on the Goldberg streak ending, the one finger touch title change (happened a week later) and atrocious booking, which had really been the case in the big picture for almost a year. Exactly what percentage value each had is impossible to say.
The point is, for people to say that after five months, while ratings are down, the other aspects of WWE business havent collapsed is a sign the three hours wont hurt, based on the WCW example, there is a time lag of 15 months of bad programming before it does. But the key is bad programming, and also a different environment. Its one thing to collapse due to better competition. Collapsing is harder, but not impossible, with no competition. Throughout history, there are plenty of promotions with no competition that collapsed, even within a year or two of peak business periods.
The biggest overexposure lesson in the history of TV is Who Wants to be a Millionaire. It peaked with three nights a week, which was likely too many, but still averaged almost 29 million viewers for a full year at that time, easily the biggest thing on television. It went to five nights the next year, started strong and faded. Two seasons after its peak, ratings fell so big that the show was canceled. Nitro, which was terrible, hit the wall at 15 months. Millionaire, which was not terrible, just overexposed, hit the wall at 24 or so months. So if Raw is going to be hurt going three hours, the ratings, which have already declined somewhat, its not likely to show in business for close to another year. And perhaps, as the only game in town, the situation is different here.
Overexposure is an issue with UFC. UFC didnt do as many buys overall, but did average higher numbers this year on PPV. The listing we had last week was based on December to November.
There were two shows held in 2011 that counted on 2012 (Jones vs. Machida and Lesnar vs. Overeem).
For the 2011 calender year they ran 16 PPV shows that did an estimated 6,480,000 buys or 405,000 per show.
For 2012, not including this weekends show, they did 5,210,000 on 12 shows or 434,000 per show, and will probably wind up between 5.6 and 5.8 million for the year. Even if they had done 14 shows (March was canceled with no main event available, Septembers first show was canceled with the Jon Jones fiasco), theyd have been most likely slightly down in total buys.
That depends on what they could have put on top in March, but I think Henderson vs. Jones would have beaten out Jones vs. Belfort (and with Chael Sonnen, would have been even bigger, but in the long run theyll do better with that fight in 2013 with more time to build it) but the 9/22 show without Jones and headlined by Joseph Benavidez vs. Demetrious Johnson would have done poorly.
Its still 500,000 and 200,000 for 700,000 total as opposed to 450,000.
In theory, they should be better off since they may be down 700,000 buys or about $15.75 million in revenue, they are probably up $50 million in TV revenue and did have a video game out this year and didnt in 2011. Of course, with running more shows, expenses were undoubtedly higher.
It looks like there are plans for at least two mega-shows this year along with whatever stadium show may or may not happen regarding getting Anderson Silva in with Jon Jones or GSP.
The idea is to build July 4th weekend into their version of WrestleMania every year with a fan fest and loaded card, and they have a second idea with a November show that would be the 20th anniversary (first UFC card was November 12, 1993).
If MMA is legalized in New York, which is a big if, since it hasnt happened yet, they already have a date booked in that month in Madison Square Garden, as well as the idea of a card for that show.
But the main reason why the legislation gets stalled every year are still in place. Its a political game. New York is a strong union state. The Culinary Workers Union in Las Vegas has worked to keep UFC out of New York as part of its campaign against Station Casinos, owned by Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, which are non-union casinos. As part of pressure to get Station Casinos unionized, they are doing whatever they can to hurt the Fertittas other major business interest.
That includes blocking New York. It also included things like trying to pressure FOX to drop its UFC contract, using stupid things fighters have said on twitter or at when cutting promos, arrests of fighters, things White has said, in sending in material but they havent gotten any traction on that one.
However, the New York Daily News ran a story noting its going to be more difficult this year.
Last year, speaker Sheldon Silver wouldnt even allow the bill to be put up for a vote, even though there were assembly members who believed the bill would have passed if it was put to a vote. The article said it would be more difficult this year for Silver to block it. Silver in the article even admitted that the support for allowing MMA in the state has grown in the last year, particularly among younger members of the assembly.
UFCs most outspoken opponent, Assemblyman Bob Reilly of Albany, retires as of this week. Reilly has been against it as a cause that he had become almost a media point man for, long before the Culinary Workers Union became an issue.
He had argued about the violence in the sport, but also argued when a state strapped for money was turning down a business event that would generate local revenue by saying that he didnt buy that argument, because most of the money goes to promoters from Las Vegas. And that may be true with the ticket money, but a major event brings in people from out of state who spend money on hotels, food and other things while in town. Plus, to be consistent, he would then have to oppose virtually every entertainment event in the state that would have business headquarters outside the state.
The article quoted an unnamed assemblyman as saying if put to a vote in the Assembly, it would almost certainly pass, but noted Silver and his political allies, naming Manhattan Democrats Deborah Glick and Daniel ODonnell, still pose a significant battle to overcome. When the subject came up this weekend and White was asked what fans can do to help support the bill, he said nothing noting the hurdle didnt have to do with showing public support.
UFC also filed a lawsuit against the state in November, 2011, saying the ban is unconstitutional because it violates first amendment rights. The strategy may have been that forcing the state to pile up legal fees to defend itself may be deemed not worthy and thus it would pressure legislators into moving on the bill. But that didnt happen, and the bill stalled again last year, and will no doubt be introduced again this year.
From someone not affiliated with UFC who has connections in the legislature, they believe the tide has turned due to some powerful lobbying work from the UFC side as well as younger members of the legislature thinking the ban is silly.
Besides the planned big shows, UFC goes into 2013 with far more potential than what 2012 realized. But there are caveats. The first is, how many planned fights are going to fall through due to injuries and drug suspensions. The second is, for reasons of overexposure, television ratings for UFC appear to have declined greatly. Its hard to ascertain because this year was so different its almost an apples to oranges comparison. But next year the trends will be more obvious because there will be direct comparisons.
But even if TV ratings continue to fall, if they have big fights, people will buy them. Its the rank and file baseline fights that have fallen and will likely continue to fall provided the main events are weak. If they can go a year with most main events involving people with significant pull, they wont baseline out. The average on PPV may go up this year. Id go so far as to say its a lock it will unless the injury/drug suspension rate of main eventers is similar.
Last year was an experiment with lessons learned. The first is that being on FOX probably doesnt help PPV. In theory it should, but it doesnt. There is even an argument it hurts it slightly as people used to getting a product for free are less likely to buy it. Thus, while the super big fights they dont get free will still do well, if they can see lighter weight title fights on FOX, they are probably less likely to pay for them. There is a theory that you can make stars on FOX, be viewed by millions, and become PPV draws. That should work, but the next PPV title defense of Benson Henderson will tell that tale, because he could not have looked better than in his last fight on TV, and previously, he was not a PPV draw nor that famous.
Ultimate Fighter, moved to Tuesdays, has to draw ratings now. The good part of Friday is as bad as the numbers were this past season, it was Friday and there was a crutch. This coming season will be way up, with Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen. But it has to be way up.
With Strikeforce ending, there is an influx of new talent headed to UFC. While Ronda Rousey is the only superstar to the public on the roster, Gilbert Melendez is expected to walk in and get a lightweight title shot. Nate Marquardt (welterweight champion) and Luke Rockhold (middleweight champion) will come in and probably debut against name fighters but will likely need a few wins to get into the title picture.
Marquardt was announced as coming in this past weekend, even though he was fired by UFC on bad terms for his testosterone levels being off the charts while getting testosterone replacement therapy, causing him to be pulled from a TV main event in 2011. White was throwing around the number of fighters on the roster as 475.
To start the year, here is a scouting report on each weight class:
WWE has The Rock for far more dates this year than last, as well as a WrestleMania that will feature Rock and Brock Lesnar, the two people who noticeably move business, on the same show. There will also be at least a few TV dates with Undertaker to build his Mania program, expected to be with C.M. Punk. And Ric Flair is likely to make some appearances as well.
Starting this week, Rock returns as a fairly regular character, doing most Raws, a few Smackdowns and three PPV shows starting with TV on 1/7 and the Royal Rumble as his first PPV show. Lesnar is expected to return to TV for multiple appearances in March, likely starting in late February, to build up his Mania program, which at last word would be with HHH.
Rock has a ton going on in the first quarter, including a lot of media since Pain and Gain, G.I. Joe and Fast Six are all coming out early next year and hes filming a reality show that he is putting together.
If they dont change directions and he beats Punk for the title, that would mean hell likely win the Raw chamber match as well if hes in it because usually the titles are up in the Chamber matches on the February show, and defend against Cena or whoever at Mania.
The rest of the big show isnt as clear, although rumors include a Sheamus vs. Randy Orton match with Orton going heel, and Big Show against either Ryback or Alberto Del Rio. That largely covers all the top guys, except The Shield, who could wind up in something with Kane & Daniel Bryan.
As far as 2012 went, WWE overall isnt in much different of a position as it was a year ago. The stock price is down at the same time the market is overall up. The network that was supposed to launch in April, now doesnt even have a date even though they are still sinking millions into starting up the project. With the price decline and the Linda McMahon campaign, it was not a good year financially for the McMahons, but the company really is in about the same shape.
The key factors going forward dont appear to be core business. Core business seems solid. PPV was up this year, a lot of which was due to the most successful financial show the company ever did in WrestleMania, built on The Rock vs. John Cena. Lesnar came in and helped numbers on two other shows. But most of the shows were up from 2011 levels, which on PPV now look to have been the year things hit rock bottom. Attendance is likely to wind up even, or perhaps slightly down from last year, while TV ratings of both Raw and Smackdown will be down year-over-year.
The key factors going forward are the network, if it ever gets launched, and how negotiations for a new contract for Smackdown go. The deal with Syfy expires at the end of September. Rights fees for sports have skyrocketed the last year. It is still questionable if that will continue, but its a good time to be in the sports business with a major league product as opposed to the entertainment business. Whether WWE can, after years of arguing the opposite, change itself to where it benefits from this trend is a major question, because any kind of increase in TV revenue is a cushion in case popularity of the product drops.
Between the top matches and being from the New York market, WrestleMania is expected to break all records this year. Met Life Stadium is larger than any arena that has housed a WrestleMania. The football capacity is 82,566, larger than the Pontiac Silverdome that held the biggest attended Mania to date in 1987. With the stage set up that they usually do, they will not break the attendance record, but with the mark up, they will probably announce a figure in the same realm. The all-time record attendance for any event in the stadium is 93,000, and WWE, whether they sell out or not, and in the New York market, the expectation is they will, they always claim a building attendance record. At worst, they will throw out a number in the high-80s and claim it as No. 2.
PPV is also expected to be big. Its hard to predict whether it can be a record-setter this far out. It will be hard for Undertaker vs. Punk to be as big as Undertaker vs. HHH was last year. It will also be hard for Rock vs. Cena to be any bigger than their first meeting. But on the flip side, being in the New York market will mean more publicity than in the Miami market. PPV numbers are always the strongest in the market the show is taking place in, due to the publicity. So its a huge advantage for PPV to come from New York, swelling that metro area, as compared to Miami, Phoenix, Detroit, Atlanta or anywhere else.
The questions come after Mania. Four of the expected big six headliners at Mania, Rock, Lesnar, Undertaker and HHH, will not be appearing much if at all after the show. Rock would likely be gone, perhaps for good, or perhaps not until Mania. If this isnt Undertakers last match coming up, he almost certainly wont be wrestling again until the next Mania. Up until a few weeks ago, there was a lot of talk that due to all his injuries, he would not be on this years show and his career would be over. Lesnars contract expires with Mania. His deal is for millions and only three PPV dates. At some point, the novelty of Lesnar being on the card isnt going to mean 90,000 extra North
American buys like at SummerSlam this year. At that point, the deal stops being worth it. Still, its hard to believe he wont get a similar deal for another year because Mania will likely be a success and hell likely come out of it looking strong. But even so, hes still only going to do limited duty.
The rest of the year will have to rely on the current crew. But even so, the crew has a solid mix of established stars like Cena, Orton and Show. Punk has been around a long time but hasnt been a true main eventer a long time. Ziggler has also been around a long time, but is just now starting to get his chance at being a true headliner. There are guys who are newer at the top like Sheamus, The Shield, Ryback, Del Rio and others. Of those, Sheamus is popular but Smackdown house show numbers also show even with his mega push this year, he is not a difference maker. Nor is Del Rio, who based on push to results, as much as he fits into a lot of nice categories, good looking, real athlete, great presentation and sidekick, decent enough worker, tall enough, and Hispanic, all that they want, probably has the worst ratio of anyone in the company. Ryback was absolutely a difference maker in October, but there are questions regarding him long-term and until The Shield guys are put in a position to fend on their own, its impossible to predict if they can and cant be real difference makers.
While Rock, Cena and Lesnar are clearly the biggest stars, Punk also clearly surpassed Orton as the No. 2 full-timer this year. Ryback moved past Orton in late September. Ziggler is now being pushed ahead of Orton, but in reality, he hasnt gotten to his level yet with the public. Orton has faded and Big Show is actually right at his level now, but Orton also hasnt been pushed hard in a while and has potential to be higher.
Like with UFC, there is going to be no competition in the genre for WWE. The only danger to WWE is really bad booking and the three hours on Monday burning out the audience. On the former, as people want to complain, that has not been the case in the big picture this past year, although certain aspects it is the case.
The three hours of Raw is a different issue and its way too soon to say what its affect is. Nitro went to three hours in January, 1998. The next year was the most successful, by far, in the history of the company. The real fade, which in that case was a falling off a cliff, started to hit around March of 1999, and six months later they were so far up shit creek that it would have been difficult to ever get back. Then they chose the worst captain possible to take them back and four months later, they were dead, even if the funeral was a year later. The beginning of the fall can be blamed on the residual effect on the Goldberg streak ending, the one finger touch title change (happened a week later) and atrocious booking, which had really been the case in the big picture for almost a year. Exactly what percentage value each had is impossible to say.
The point is, for people to say that after five months, while ratings are down, the other aspects of WWE business havent collapsed is a sign the three hours wont hurt, based on the WCW example, there is a time lag of 15 months of bad programming before it does. But the key is bad programming, and also a different environment. Its one thing to collapse due to better competition. Collapsing is harder, but not impossible, with no competition. Throughout history, there are plenty of promotions with no competition that collapsed, even within a year or two of peak business periods.
The biggest overexposure lesson in the history of TV is Who Wants to be a Millionaire. It peaked with three nights a week, which was likely too many, but still averaged almost 29 million viewers for a full year at that time, easily the biggest thing on television. It went to five nights the next year, started strong and faded. Two seasons after its peak, ratings fell so big that the show was canceled. Nitro, which was terrible, hit the wall at 15 months. Millionaire, which was not terrible, just overexposed, hit the wall at 24 or so months. So if Raw is going to be hurt going three hours, the ratings, which have already declined somewhat, its not likely to show in business for close to another year. And perhaps, as the only game in town, the situation is different here.
Overexposure is an issue with UFC. UFC didnt do as many buys overall, but did average higher numbers this year on PPV. The listing we had last week was based on December to November.
There were two shows held in 2011 that counted on 2012 (Jones vs. Machida and Lesnar vs. Overeem).
For the 2011 calender year they ran 16 PPV shows that did an estimated 6,480,000 buys or 405,000 per show.
For 2012, not including this weekends show, they did 5,210,000 on 12 shows or 434,000 per show, and will probably wind up between 5.6 and 5.8 million for the year. Even if they had done 14 shows (March was canceled with no main event available, Septembers first show was canceled with the Jon Jones fiasco), theyd have been most likely slightly down in total buys.
That depends on what they could have put on top in March, but I think Henderson vs. Jones would have beaten out Jones vs. Belfort (and with Chael Sonnen, would have been even bigger, but in the long run theyll do better with that fight in 2013 with more time to build it) but the 9/22 show without Jones and headlined by Joseph Benavidez vs. Demetrious Johnson would have done poorly.
Its still 500,000 and 200,000 for 700,000 total as opposed to 450,000.
In theory, they should be better off since they may be down 700,000 buys or about $15.75 million in revenue, they are probably up $50 million in TV revenue and did have a video game out this year and didnt in 2011. Of course, with running more shows, expenses were undoubtedly higher.
It looks like there are plans for at least two mega-shows this year along with whatever stadium show may or may not happen regarding getting Anderson Silva in with Jon Jones or GSP.
The idea is to build July 4th weekend into their version of WrestleMania every year with a fan fest and loaded card, and they have a second idea with a November show that would be the 20th anniversary (first UFC card was November 12, 1993).
If MMA is legalized in New York, which is a big if, since it hasnt happened yet, they already have a date booked in that month in Madison Square Garden, as well as the idea of a card for that show.
But the main reason why the legislation gets stalled every year are still in place. Its a political game. New York is a strong union state. The Culinary Workers Union in Las Vegas has worked to keep UFC out of New York as part of its campaign against Station Casinos, owned by Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, which are non-union casinos. As part of pressure to get Station Casinos unionized, they are doing whatever they can to hurt the Fertittas other major business interest.
That includes blocking New York. It also included things like trying to pressure FOX to drop its UFC contract, using stupid things fighters have said on twitter or at when cutting promos, arrests of fighters, things White has said, in sending in material but they havent gotten any traction on that one.
However, the New York Daily News ran a story noting its going to be more difficult this year.
Last year, speaker Sheldon Silver wouldnt even allow the bill to be put up for a vote, even though there were assembly members who believed the bill would have passed if it was put to a vote. The article said it would be more difficult this year for Silver to block it. Silver in the article even admitted that the support for allowing MMA in the state has grown in the last year, particularly among younger members of the assembly.
UFCs most outspoken opponent, Assemblyman Bob Reilly of Albany, retires as of this week. Reilly has been against it as a cause that he had become almost a media point man for, long before the Culinary Workers Union became an issue.
He had argued about the violence in the sport, but also argued when a state strapped for money was turning down a business event that would generate local revenue by saying that he didnt buy that argument, because most of the money goes to promoters from Las Vegas. And that may be true with the ticket money, but a major event brings in people from out of state who spend money on hotels, food and other things while in town. Plus, to be consistent, he would then have to oppose virtually every entertainment event in the state that would have business headquarters outside the state.
The article quoted an unnamed assemblyman as saying if put to a vote in the Assembly, it would almost certainly pass, but noted Silver and his political allies, naming Manhattan Democrats Deborah Glick and Daniel ODonnell, still pose a significant battle to overcome. When the subject came up this weekend and White was asked what fans can do to help support the bill, he said nothing noting the hurdle didnt have to do with showing public support.
UFC also filed a lawsuit against the state in November, 2011, saying the ban is unconstitutional because it violates first amendment rights. The strategy may have been that forcing the state to pile up legal fees to defend itself may be deemed not worthy and thus it would pressure legislators into moving on the bill. But that didnt happen, and the bill stalled again last year, and will no doubt be introduced again this year.
From someone not affiliated with UFC who has connections in the legislature, they believe the tide has turned due to some powerful lobbying work from the UFC side as well as younger members of the legislature thinking the ban is silly.
Besides the planned big shows, UFC goes into 2013 with far more potential than what 2012 realized. But there are caveats. The first is, how many planned fights are going to fall through due to injuries and drug suspensions. The second is, for reasons of overexposure, television ratings for UFC appear to have declined greatly. Its hard to ascertain because this year was so different its almost an apples to oranges comparison. But next year the trends will be more obvious because there will be direct comparisons.
But even if TV ratings continue to fall, if they have big fights, people will buy them. Its the rank and file baseline fights that have fallen and will likely continue to fall provided the main events are weak. If they can go a year with most main events involving people with significant pull, they wont baseline out. The average on PPV may go up this year. Id go so far as to say its a lock it will unless the injury/drug suspension rate of main eventers is similar.
Last year was an experiment with lessons learned. The first is that being on FOX probably doesnt help PPV. In theory it should, but it doesnt. There is even an argument it hurts it slightly as people used to getting a product for free are less likely to buy it. Thus, while the super big fights they dont get free will still do well, if they can see lighter weight title fights on FOX, they are probably less likely to pay for them. There is a theory that you can make stars on FOX, be viewed by millions, and become PPV draws. That should work, but the next PPV title defense of Benson Henderson will tell that tale, because he could not have looked better than in his last fight on TV, and previously, he was not a PPV draw nor that famous.
Ultimate Fighter, moved to Tuesdays, has to draw ratings now. The good part of Friday is as bad as the numbers were this past season, it was Friday and there was a crutch. This coming season will be way up, with Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen. But it has to be way up.
With Strikeforce ending, there is an influx of new talent headed to UFC. While Ronda Rousey is the only superstar to the public on the roster, Gilbert Melendez is expected to walk in and get a lightweight title shot. Nate Marquardt (welterweight champion) and Luke Rockhold (middleweight champion) will come in and probably debut against name fighters but will likely need a few wins to get into the title picture.
Marquardt was announced as coming in this past weekend, even though he was fired by UFC on bad terms for his testosterone levels being off the charts while getting testosterone replacement therapy, causing him to be pulled from a TV main event in 2011. White was throwing around the number of fighters on the roster as 475.
To start the year, here is a scouting report on each weight class:
dream
Member
HEAVYWEIGHT: New champion Cain Velasquez is likely to defend the title next against Alistair Overeem, provided Overeem gets licensed and beats Antonio Silva. If Silva wins, then the most likely next title shot would be Junior Dos Santos. The one Strikeforce star the jury is out on is Josh Barnett. White wouldnt answer the question about Barnett coming in, saying he didnt know. Indications we were given is that, for a number of reasons having to do with business, it is less than 50%, and maybe way less, but White can always change his mind. If he thinks Barnett is needed for something they want, hell be in. If not, there is a mentality of letting him go to Bellator because hell win their title, make demands, and in the end, Bellator will be weaker because of it. Time will tell how this plays out. If Stefan Struve beats Mark Hunt in Japan, and Fabricio Werdum beats Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in June in Brazil, one or the other could wind up next in line. While Daniel Cormier figured to come in maybe one fight from a title shot, the belief is with Velasquez as champion, hell drop to 205. Velasquez outright said he would never fight Cormier, who was in his corner at the fight and is his main wrestling coach. Cormier told me months ago that if Velasquez wins the title, he would likely drop to 205. White said that Cormier could move to 205 and get the shot at the Jon Jones vs. Chael Sonnen winner. Cormier over the weekend when asked the question of whether hell now move down, just said that some things are better left with a cliffhanger ending.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT: Jones vs. Sonnen is set for 4/27 in Newark, NJ, as the next title match. White said Cormier could very well face the winner. Others in line would be Glover Teixeira, if he beats Rampage Jackson on 1/28 in Chicago, and the winner of the Dan Henderson vs. Lyoto Machida fight on 2/23 in Anaheim. Because of how the Jones vs. Rashad Evans fight last year went, hed need a few wins and hed best be served moving to middleweight where he could be a force because he has drawn some big gates which helps you get main events having that record. Also potentially in the mix would be Gegard Mousasi, who has a strong 32-3-2 record, provided he beats Mike Kyle on 1/12. For Kyle, a loss in that bout and he may be out of a job.
MIDDLEWEIGHT: Anderson Silva will defend against Michael Bisping, provided Bisping beats Vitor Belfort on 1/19 in Sao Paulo. Even though Silva is 37 and has talked retirement, he just this past week signed a new 10-fight contract. Bisping winning is a big if, since Silva has said he thinks Belfort is winning. Dana White told me over the weekend that if Belfort wins, he doesnt see making that match, at least not now, because of how the first fight went down and is belief Silva wont want to face Belfort again. At that point, Chris Weidman would be the likely contender unless Evans moves down. The feeling is Weidman has the best chance to beat Silva in the class, but people dont know him yet and it would be better if he wins a few more fights and makes a name. Hes coming off shoulder surgery and wont be able to fight for several months. Hector Lombard, having shown his first fight with Tim Boetsch was a fluke, along with Rockhold, coming in as Strikeforce champion, may be on a collision course with whoever emerges being a contender later in the year. Yushin Okami isnt getting another shot as long as Silva is champion. Other dark horses are Costa Philippou and Ronaldo Jacare Souza.
WELTERWEIGHTS: GSP faces Nick Diaz on 3/16 in Montreal. If Diaz screws up in any form, then Johny Hendricks is right there on the show and will be moved into the title match. If GSP gets hurt, Hendricks vs. Diaz would likely headline. Right now, Hendricks faces Jake Ellenberger, who makes an interesting match-up. Both are wrestlers that like to strike. Ellenberger has knockout power and faster hands. Hendricks has even more knockout power, but not nearly the footwork or speed in his hands. Whoever gets the first big punch can win early so its almost a coinflip early. Hendricks does have the stamina edge if nobody ends it in the first round. The GSP vs. Diaz winner is likely to face the Hendricks vs. Ellenberger winner. Another fight, Demian Maia vs. Jon Fitch on 2/2, should create another contender. If Diaz, Hendricks or Ellenberger end up as champion, that opens the door back to the winner of the Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald match on 3/16. Condit isnt going to get a shot at GSP without several wins. MacDonald and GSP have both said they wont fight the other. Dark horses are the returning Nate Marquardt, and Siyar Bahadurzada, who faces Dong Hyun Kim on 3/3 in Saitama.
LIGHTWEIGHTS: The deepest division in the sport is likely to have champion Benson Henderson face Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez next. Theres been talk over the past few days its being targeted for 4/20 or thereabouts, possibly on FOX. The winner of the Donald Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis fight on 1/26 in Chicago is almost surely next in line. The situation with Eddie Alvarez is uncertain, as its up to Bellator to match his offer. The impression we have is UFC did not make that big an offer to Alvarez. Others in the mix, although all would need at least one more impressive win, are Gray Maynard, currently recovering form major knee surgery, Rafael Dos Anjos, T.J. Grant, Jim Miller, Jamie Varner and Khabib Nurmagomedov. Josh Thomson, who many thought beat Melendez in one of this years best fights, and has a win over him in the past, also joins UFC in the new year.
FEATHERWEIGHTS: Jose Aldo Jr. vs. Frankie Edgar is the title match on 2/2 in Las Vegas. Because Erik Koch had been slated for the title shot before Edgar, but got hurt, the Koch vs. Ricardo Lamas fight on FOX on 1/26 is likely to determine the next contender. The winner of Dennis Siver vs. Cub Swanson on 2/16 in London would also be in line. Chad Mendes may be the second best guy in the division, but because of how Aldo handled him, he may need a few wins before getting a shot. But if Edgar wins, and Mendes beats Manny Gamburyan on 2/23 in Anaheim, Mendes would be a strong contender. If Nik Lentz beats Diego Nunes on 1/19 in Sao Paulo, he has to be considered. If Clay Guida goes back to having exciting fights and beats Hatsu Hioki on 1/26, hell likely need one more win against a winner of one of the above winners. On the injured list right now is Chan Sung Jung, who may be the most popular guy in the division after his win over Dustin Poirier, a solid win in a match of the year candidate that he largely controlled.
BANTAMWEIGHTS: Dominick Cruz is out at least until the end of the year. But he faces the interim champion likely the end of this year or early 2014. For this year, weve got interim champion Renan Barao vs. Michael McDonald on 2/16 in London as a Fuel main event. Eddie Wineland, after beating Brad Pickett, puts himself in line for the next shot. If Ivan Menjivar beats Urijah Faber on 2/23, by basis of being a bigger win, he could get the next shot. Faber, because hes had so many shots, is going to need a few wins in a row to get back. Raphael Assuncao beat Mike Easton, a good win, but the fight was boring and he broke his arm. But if Faber wins, Assuncao would be the only choice besides Wineland at this point. Funny thing is Faber beat both Assuncao and Wineland but is right now blocked from a shot for a while.
FLYWEIGHTS: This isnt a deep field. Champion Demetrious Johnson defends against John Dodson on 1/26 in Chicago. The top contenders match is Joseph Benavidez vs. Ian McCall on 2/2 in Las Vegas. The problem is that if Johnson wins, hes already faced McCall twice (a draw and a win) and beaten Benavidez on 9/21 so that would be awfully quick for a rematch even though most consider Benavidez No. 2. If Dodson wins, hell no doubt face the Benavidez vs. McCall winner. But if the winners are Johnson and Benavidez, there may be no choice. The other contenders are John Moraga, Darren Uyenoyama and John Lineker, all of who need more wins and exposure to be considered genuine contenders. Kid Yamamoto joins this weight class later in the year, but hes looked terrible ever since he came to UFC.
WOMEN: Ronda Rousey faces Liz Carmouche on 2/23 in Anaheim to kick the division off. Cris Cyborg is close to being signed, and is likely to get a title shot in her first match back. If not, Sara McMann or Miesha Tate would likely get the next shot. Sarah Kaufman would also be in line at some point, but would probably be kept away from McMann or Tate because of the risk/reward factor.
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT: Jones vs. Sonnen is set for 4/27 in Newark, NJ, as the next title match. White said Cormier could very well face the winner. Others in line would be Glover Teixeira, if he beats Rampage Jackson on 1/28 in Chicago, and the winner of the Dan Henderson vs. Lyoto Machida fight on 2/23 in Anaheim. Because of how the Jones vs. Rashad Evans fight last year went, hed need a few wins and hed best be served moving to middleweight where he could be a force because he has drawn some big gates which helps you get main events having that record. Also potentially in the mix would be Gegard Mousasi, who has a strong 32-3-2 record, provided he beats Mike Kyle on 1/12. For Kyle, a loss in that bout and he may be out of a job.
MIDDLEWEIGHT: Anderson Silva will defend against Michael Bisping, provided Bisping beats Vitor Belfort on 1/19 in Sao Paulo. Even though Silva is 37 and has talked retirement, he just this past week signed a new 10-fight contract. Bisping winning is a big if, since Silva has said he thinks Belfort is winning. Dana White told me over the weekend that if Belfort wins, he doesnt see making that match, at least not now, because of how the first fight went down and is belief Silva wont want to face Belfort again. At that point, Chris Weidman would be the likely contender unless Evans moves down. The feeling is Weidman has the best chance to beat Silva in the class, but people dont know him yet and it would be better if he wins a few more fights and makes a name. Hes coming off shoulder surgery and wont be able to fight for several months. Hector Lombard, having shown his first fight with Tim Boetsch was a fluke, along with Rockhold, coming in as Strikeforce champion, may be on a collision course with whoever emerges being a contender later in the year. Yushin Okami isnt getting another shot as long as Silva is champion. Other dark horses are Costa Philippou and Ronaldo Jacare Souza.
WELTERWEIGHTS: GSP faces Nick Diaz on 3/16 in Montreal. If Diaz screws up in any form, then Johny Hendricks is right there on the show and will be moved into the title match. If GSP gets hurt, Hendricks vs. Diaz would likely headline. Right now, Hendricks faces Jake Ellenberger, who makes an interesting match-up. Both are wrestlers that like to strike. Ellenberger has knockout power and faster hands. Hendricks has even more knockout power, but not nearly the footwork or speed in his hands. Whoever gets the first big punch can win early so its almost a coinflip early. Hendricks does have the stamina edge if nobody ends it in the first round. The GSP vs. Diaz winner is likely to face the Hendricks vs. Ellenberger winner. Another fight, Demian Maia vs. Jon Fitch on 2/2, should create another contender. If Diaz, Hendricks or Ellenberger end up as champion, that opens the door back to the winner of the Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald match on 3/16. Condit isnt going to get a shot at GSP without several wins. MacDonald and GSP have both said they wont fight the other. Dark horses are the returning Nate Marquardt, and Siyar Bahadurzada, who faces Dong Hyun Kim on 3/3 in Saitama.
LIGHTWEIGHTS: The deepest division in the sport is likely to have champion Benson Henderson face Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez next. Theres been talk over the past few days its being targeted for 4/20 or thereabouts, possibly on FOX. The winner of the Donald Cerrone vs. Anthony Pettis fight on 1/26 in Chicago is almost surely next in line. The situation with Eddie Alvarez is uncertain, as its up to Bellator to match his offer. The impression we have is UFC did not make that big an offer to Alvarez. Others in the mix, although all would need at least one more impressive win, are Gray Maynard, currently recovering form major knee surgery, Rafael Dos Anjos, T.J. Grant, Jim Miller, Jamie Varner and Khabib Nurmagomedov. Josh Thomson, who many thought beat Melendez in one of this years best fights, and has a win over him in the past, also joins UFC in the new year.
FEATHERWEIGHTS: Jose Aldo Jr. vs. Frankie Edgar is the title match on 2/2 in Las Vegas. Because Erik Koch had been slated for the title shot before Edgar, but got hurt, the Koch vs. Ricardo Lamas fight on FOX on 1/26 is likely to determine the next contender. The winner of Dennis Siver vs. Cub Swanson on 2/16 in London would also be in line. Chad Mendes may be the second best guy in the division, but because of how Aldo handled him, he may need a few wins before getting a shot. But if Edgar wins, and Mendes beats Manny Gamburyan on 2/23 in Anaheim, Mendes would be a strong contender. If Nik Lentz beats Diego Nunes on 1/19 in Sao Paulo, he has to be considered. If Clay Guida goes back to having exciting fights and beats Hatsu Hioki on 1/26, hell likely need one more win against a winner of one of the above winners. On the injured list right now is Chan Sung Jung, who may be the most popular guy in the division after his win over Dustin Poirier, a solid win in a match of the year candidate that he largely controlled.
BANTAMWEIGHTS: Dominick Cruz is out at least until the end of the year. But he faces the interim champion likely the end of this year or early 2014. For this year, weve got interim champion Renan Barao vs. Michael McDonald on 2/16 in London as a Fuel main event. Eddie Wineland, after beating Brad Pickett, puts himself in line for the next shot. If Ivan Menjivar beats Urijah Faber on 2/23, by basis of being a bigger win, he could get the next shot. Faber, because hes had so many shots, is going to need a few wins in a row to get back. Raphael Assuncao beat Mike Easton, a good win, but the fight was boring and he broke his arm. But if Faber wins, Assuncao would be the only choice besides Wineland at this point. Funny thing is Faber beat both Assuncao and Wineland but is right now blocked from a shot for a while.
FLYWEIGHTS: This isnt a deep field. Champion Demetrious Johnson defends against John Dodson on 1/26 in Chicago. The top contenders match is Joseph Benavidez vs. Ian McCall on 2/2 in Las Vegas. The problem is that if Johnson wins, hes already faced McCall twice (a draw and a win) and beaten Benavidez on 9/21 so that would be awfully quick for a rematch even though most consider Benavidez No. 2. If Dodson wins, hell no doubt face the Benavidez vs. McCall winner. But if the winners are Johnson and Benavidez, there may be no choice. The other contenders are John Moraga, Darren Uyenoyama and John Lineker, all of who need more wins and exposure to be considered genuine contenders. Kid Yamamoto joins this weight class later in the year, but hes looked terrible ever since he came to UFC.
WOMEN: Ronda Rousey faces Liz Carmouche on 2/23 in Anaheim to kick the division off. Cris Cyborg is close to being signed, and is likely to get a title shot in her first match back. If not, Sara McMann or Miesha Tate would likely get the next shot. Sarah Kaufman would also be in line at some point, but would probably be kept away from McMann or Tate because of the risk/reward factor.
dream
Member
Here is the situation as it stands for women fighters in UFC. Right now there are ten under contract, the obvious ones being Rousey, Miesha Tate, Sarah Kaufman, Sara McMann and Carmouche. They are said to be close to a deal with Cris Cyborg to come in at 135 (all the women under contract will be only fighting at 135). Tito Ortiz is her manager and that could make things entertaining. Cyborg, if she signs, would likely go for the title in her first match. While this doesnt always happen, the idea is that they try and give everyone under contract three fights, which means over the course of the year, about 15 womens fights or maybe one every other show. Its not just going to be Rousey defends and nothing else. Its a full division, probably along the lines of the flyweights.
The new season of Ultimate Fighter starts on 1/22. Taping ended several weeks back. This is what Ive heard about the show from multiple sources. The Jones vs. Sonnen stuff never heats up to the level near what one would expect. Sonnen comes across as being there to help coach his charges as opposed to being there to play pro wrestler and hype up a fight and the belief is he comes across great. But those expecting a Jackson vs. Evans, GSP vs. Koscheck, Shamrock vs. Ortiz or even a Bisping vs. Miller like dynamic with the coaches will be disappointed. The fights are apparently great, and this comes from a number of people, and not just Dana Whites hyping of the show. White has talked about one guy on the show that everyone is afraid of. There is apparently one guy who will be the star of the season and one person told me that this person will come right out of the show and be an instant star. Others didnt go quite that far in saying instant star, and the guy would still have to win the season since the finals wont be until April. I just keep thinking back to when White hyped a season around a fighter walking in and being the next Anderson Silva, and the guy ended up being the first and only Philippe Nover, who ended up losing in the finals and being out of the UFC quickly and is completely forgotten today.
Conor Heun, a Strikeforce fighter who is expecting to be cut when Strikeforce holds, kind of got the royal screwing. He underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in both of his hips after his 3/5 fight with Ryan Couture, which he lost via third round stoppage. Given that fighters are insured for not only injuries in fights, but training injuries, he submitted the bill for $40,000 to insurance, but they denied it, claiming the hip injury was a pre-existing condition. Its the first time weve heard a fighter being denied payment on an insurance claim since UFC got the policy. There is a campaign going to help him raise money for pay for his medical costs. The surgeon said after examination that the hip injury was caused by a congenital hip dysplasia, which was the reasoning used to deny his claim. The surgeon could have just repaired the tears, and insurance would have covered it. But he performed a more complicated surgery with the idea of preventing future tears. The torn labrum was from the fight. However, the major part of the surgery was to repair the hip problem he was born with the idea he would risk getting tears as long as he had that problem, so the insurance company did have the legitimate technicality. Heun was recently asked by Sean Shelby if he could face Pat Healy on the final Strikeforce show on 1/12 and that if he won, hed get a UFC contract. He told Shelby he would take the fight, but then said it would be hard to get cleared given he doesnt even get off crutches until 1/3. Shelby told him that he was probably going to not be brought in due to the injury, and suggested he cut to 145 (where there is more open roster space), get one win and theyll look at bringing him in. A guy at Heuns level was someone who I wasnt figuring would be brought in.
The new season of Ultimate Fighter starts on 1/22. Taping ended several weeks back. This is what Ive heard about the show from multiple sources. The Jones vs. Sonnen stuff never heats up to the level near what one would expect. Sonnen comes across as being there to help coach his charges as opposed to being there to play pro wrestler and hype up a fight and the belief is he comes across great. But those expecting a Jackson vs. Evans, GSP vs. Koscheck, Shamrock vs. Ortiz or even a Bisping vs. Miller like dynamic with the coaches will be disappointed. The fights are apparently great, and this comes from a number of people, and not just Dana Whites hyping of the show. White has talked about one guy on the show that everyone is afraid of. There is apparently one guy who will be the star of the season and one person told me that this person will come right out of the show and be an instant star. Others didnt go quite that far in saying instant star, and the guy would still have to win the season since the finals wont be until April. I just keep thinking back to when White hyped a season around a fighter walking in and being the next Anderson Silva, and the guy ended up being the first and only Philippe Nover, who ended up losing in the finals and being out of the UFC quickly and is completely forgotten today.
Conor Heun, a Strikeforce fighter who is expecting to be cut when Strikeforce holds, kind of got the royal screwing. He underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in both of his hips after his 3/5 fight with Ryan Couture, which he lost via third round stoppage. Given that fighters are insured for not only injuries in fights, but training injuries, he submitted the bill for $40,000 to insurance, but they denied it, claiming the hip injury was a pre-existing condition. Its the first time weve heard a fighter being denied payment on an insurance claim since UFC got the policy. There is a campaign going to help him raise money for pay for his medical costs. The surgeon said after examination that the hip injury was caused by a congenital hip dysplasia, which was the reasoning used to deny his claim. The surgeon could have just repaired the tears, and insurance would have covered it. But he performed a more complicated surgery with the idea of preventing future tears. The torn labrum was from the fight. However, the major part of the surgery was to repair the hip problem he was born with the idea he would risk getting tears as long as he had that problem, so the insurance company did have the legitimate technicality. Heun was recently asked by Sean Shelby if he could face Pat Healy on the final Strikeforce show on 1/12 and that if he won, hed get a UFC contract. He told Shelby he would take the fight, but then said it would be hard to get cleared given he doesnt even get off crutches until 1/3. Shelby told him that he was probably going to not be brought in due to the injury, and suggested he cut to 145 (where there is more open roster space), get one win and theyll look at bringing him in. A guy at Heuns level was someone who I wasnt figuring would be brought in.
Thanks, friend.
Horrible time to be cheap. They must be gun-shy after sponsoring Lombard and giving him a big contract.
Also, pretty solid analysis of the title picture in each weight class. The only things I disagree with are including Nik Lentz at featherweight and not mentioning Hacran Dias at bantamweight.
Horrible time to be cheap. They must be gun-shy after sponsoring Lombard and giving him a big contract.
Also, pretty solid analysis of the title picture in each weight class. The only things I disagree with are including Nik Lentz at featherweight and not mentioning Hacran Dias at bantamweight.
TheKaeptain
Banned
The first is going to happen.
Both are confirmed. Nog/Werdum are coaching TUF Brazil.
I'm drooling over that tea cup.
TheKaeptain
Banned
Bros please tell me you were watching the Sugar Bowl. L-O-L
polyh3dron
Banned
Thanks for the essay, drm, but why don't you give Markuu Hunto a chance vs Glass Joe Struve?
And yes both of those fights are confirmed.
And yes both of those fights are confirmed.
bone_and_sinew
breaking down barriers in gratuitous nudity
God damn, that number really puts things in perspective.essay said:
The day this fight actually happens is the days the Mayans were right. And god damn either make a tourney at 205 or something because it feels like EVERYONE is "in the mix".essay said:
I feel like this fight should be happening in Bellator or other Bad MMA, not the UFC.
And man, BW is an awful division.
parrotbeak
Member
Amusing Jim Wendler q&a on fighting today.
Also Dana said Goldie is "taking a break" and not sure when he'll be back. Sounds like he's fired.
Also Dana said Goldie is "taking a break" and not sure when he'll be back. Sounds like he's fired.
parrotbeak
Member
I was going to say why did that "by the numbers" need charts for both finishes by team and decisions by team, but a bunch of teams are missing 4-6%. What else is there? That many DQs and draws?
After this past weekend, the last fight I would want to see is Cain/Hunto. Cain can't finish him and Hunt won't stop his td. It would be the worst fight in the ever.
Also I have nothing against small guys but with that fight as the "big fight" of flyweight, they-- just thinking about it bored me too much to finish this sentence.
I don't know how they could convince anyone that Gegard has a chance against JJ. Jacare and Silver would be dumb too.
After this past weekend, the last fight I would want to see is Cain/Hunto. Cain can't finish him and Hunt won't stop his td. It would be the worst fight in the ever.
Also I have nothing against small guys but with that fight as the "big fight" of flyweight, they-- just thinking about it bored me too much to finish this sentence.
polyh3dron
Banned
So glad I decided against buying a UFC 156 ticket. Vegas shows are cursed. That is a massive downgrade and could end up being one of the worst fights ever.
I predicted on Bloody Elbow that he'd pull out due to injury because he didn't want to face a wrestler coming off a loss, people laughed at me.
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