ANAHEIM — UFC president Dana White showed up to the post-fight press conference after his organization’s network debut on FOX looking more relieved than elated.
“I feel great,” he insisted almost defensively, before the question was even finished. “It’s behind me. I’ve been waiting for this.”
In fairness, this was the end of an incredibly stressful period in White’s life. The Cain Velasquez–Junior dos Santos bout he’d hyped as “the biggest fight in UFC history” had ended in just one minute and four seconds after a hard right hand from dos Santos sent Velasquez on the path toward defeat. As many viewers of the post-fight show on FOX noted, White’s commentary about Velasquez’s performance didn’t make him sound terribly pleased about the effort he’d gotten from his champion on the big night.
But as White told reporters inside the Honda Center on Saturday night, he knew the risks of putting two heavyweights in the cage from the very beginning.
“I said it in the first press conference: this thing could go 30 seconds or this thing could go 25 minutes. We’ll see. Either way it’ll be a great fight and it was. That’s what happens when you put two heavyweights in there who bang. Anything can happen. …As soon as those fights start, whatever happens happens. There’s nothing you can do about that. We can’t control the fights.”
As for his remarks about Velasquez’s game plan, questioning why he didn’t try harder to use his wrestling skills and get dos Santos to the mat, White painted himself as just another observer with his own take on the proceedings.
“I wouldn’t say that I was critical,” said White. “I had an opinion. When we went back to the post[-fight] show, I said, you know, I don’t understand why Cain wouldn’t have shot, gone in for the shot, try to work, pressure him, and not stay in his range and try to bang with Junior in the early rounds. But what the hell am I? I’m not anybody’s coach or trainer. It was just my impression about the fight.”
A soft-spoken Velasquez admitted he’d strayed from his own strategy, brief though the fight was, saying his original goal had been to establish his striking game and “if the takedown is there, take it.”
“It was my fault,” said the former champion. “I didn’t pressure him enough. The game plan was to go in there and pressure.”
Even though the fight ended with a definitive TKO, White didn’t seem particularly thrilled with how quickly it was over, and with good reason. A 64-second fight leaves little opportunity for ratings to build from the pre-fight show, and might make a poor impression on first-time viewers who haven’t seen the sport before.
Meanwhile, the undercard bout between lightweights Ben Henderson and Clay Guida was a three-round thriller that streamed on Facebook and FoxSports.com rather than airing on the network broadcast. Had FOX opted to air that fight as well, it might have helped ratings reach a greater peak for the main event, though don’t tell that to White, who pointed out that this was a special introduction show — not a part of the UFC-FOX deal.
“For anybody to bitch about this fight and how they didn’t get to see that fight — shut up,” he said. “You should have bought tickets if you wanted to see all the fights and you don’t like to watch it on Facebook. Seriously, shut up. I don’t even want to hear it.”
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Regardless of what the ratings turn out to be in the U.S., White claimed that dos Santos’ home country tuned in to the fast and furious fight en masse, with an estimated viewing audience of 60 million.
“60 million people,” White repeated. “There’s 200 million people in the country. That’s pretty crazy.”
Upon hearing this, a grin spread across dos Santos’ face. “I’m famous,” said the new UFC heavyweight champion.
And regardless of how longtime MMA fans might criticize the UFC’s presentation in its network debut, White termed it “the perfect night” from a production standpoint, and cautioned that broadcasting on FOX isn’t as simple as some might think.
“What you guys have to understand is tonight we were talking to people who had never seen the UFC before. We weren’t talking to the hardcore fans. We weren’t talking to the people who’d been watching for years. We were talking to and trying to educate people who’d never seen it before. Now that we’re on a mainstream platform, many of you don’t realize all the battles we fight behind the scenes. It’s crazy. Every freaking weirdo comes out from everywhere. You know, ‘fighting is on TV!’ We’ve been on TV for six years, coalition of ‘I have nothing better to do.’ We have to ease into this thing.”
ANAHEIM — UFC president Dana White showed up to the post-fight press conference after his organization’s network debut on FOX looking more relieved than elated.
“I feel great,” he insisted almost defensively, before the question was even finished. “It’s behind me. I’ve been waiting for this.”
In fairness, this was the end of an incredibly stressful period in White’s life. The Cain Velasquez–Junior dos Santos bout he’d hyped as “the biggest fight in UFC history” had ended in just one minute and four seconds after a hard right hand from dos Santos sent Velasquez on the path toward defeat. As many viewers of the post-fight show on FOX noted, White’s commentary about Velasquez’s performance didn’t make him sound terribly pleased about the effort he’d gotten from his champion on the big night.
But as White told reporters inside the Honda Center on Saturday night, he knew the risks of putting two heavyweights in the cage from the very beginning.
“I said it in the first press conference: this thing could go 30 seconds or this thing could go 25 minutes. We’ll see. Either way it’ll be a great fight and it was. That’s what happens when you put two heavyweights in there who bang. Anything can happen. …As soon as those fights start, whatever happens happens. There’s nothing you can do about that. We can’t control the fights.”
As for his remarks about Velasquez’s game plan, questioning why he didn’t try harder to use his wrestling skills and get dos Santos to the mat, White painted himself as just another observer with his own take on the proceedings.
“I wouldn’t say that I was critical,” said White. “I had an opinion. When we went back to the post[-fight] show, I said, you know, I don’t understand why Cain wouldn’t have shot, gone in for the shot, try to work, pressure him, and not stay in his range and try to bang with Junior in the early rounds. But what the hell am I? I’m not anybody’s coach or trainer. It was just my impression about the fight.”
A soft-spoken Velasquez admitted he’d strayed from his own strategy, brief though the fight was, saying his original goal had been to establish his striking game and “if the takedown is there, take it.”
“It was my fault,” said the former champion. “I didn’t pressure him enough. The game plan was to go in there and pressure.”
Even though the fight ended with a definitive TKO, White didn’t seem particularly thrilled with how quickly it was over, and with good reason. A 64-second fight leaves little opportunity for ratings to build from the pre-fight show, and might make a poor impression on first-time viewers who haven’t seen the sport before.
Meanwhile, the undercard bout between lightweights Ben Henderson and Clay Guida was a three-round thriller that streamed on Facebook and FoxSports.com rather than airing on the network broadcast. Had FOX opted to air that fight as well, it might have helped ratings reach a greater peak for the main event, though don’t tell that to White, who pointed out that this was a special introduction show — not a part of the UFC-FOX deal.
“For anybody to bitch about this fight and how they didn’t get to see that fight — shut up,” he said. “You should have bought tickets if you wanted to see all the fights and you don’t like to watch it on Facebook. Seriously, shut up. I don’t even want to hear it.”
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Regardless of what the ratings turn out to be in the U.S., White claimed that dos Santos’ home country tuned in to the fast and furious fight en masse, with an estimated viewing audience of 60 million.
“60 million people,” White repeated. “There’s 200 million people in the country. That’s pretty crazy.”
Upon hearing this, a grin spread across dos Santos’ face. “I’m famous,” said the new UFC heavyweight champion.
And regardless of how longtime MMA fans might criticize the UFC’s presentation in its network debut, White termed it “the perfect night” from a production standpoint, and cautioned that broadcasting on FOX isn’t as simple as some might think.
“What you guys have to understand is tonight we were talking to people who had never seen the UFC before. We weren’t talking to the hardcore fans. We weren’t talking to the people who’d been watching for years. We were talking to and trying to educate people who’d never seen it before. Now that we’re on a mainstream platform, many of you don’t realize all the battles we fight behind the scenes. It’s crazy. Every freaking weirdo comes out from everywhere. You know, ‘fighting is on TV!’ We’ve been on TV for six years, coalition of ‘I have nothing better to do.’ We have to ease into this thing.”
ANAHEIM, Calif. — This is the UFC on FOX live blog for Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos, the UFC heavyweight championship bout on tonight’s UFC on FOX special from the Honda Center.
Velasquez (9-0) will be defending his title for the first time since winning it against Brock Lesnar at UFC 121 in October 2010. Velasquez then underwent surgery due to a right shoulder injury suffered during the fight. Dos Santos (13-1) has been victorious in all seven of his UFC fights. In his most recent fight, Dos Santos defeated Shane Carwin by unanimous decision at UFC 131 in June.
Round 1: Big John McCarthy beckons the fighters to the center of the Octagon, and they carefully oblige. JDS lands a nice straight right off a Velasquez leg kick. Velasquez keeps pressing forward, but dos Santos tags him again. Velasquez tries for a takedown off a dos Santos kick, but he doesn’t even really come close. A right hand from dos Santos catches Velasquez behind the ear and he goes down hard. JDS pounces with a series of lefts, then bombs Velasquez with more blows as he attempts to roll over. Velasquez is out, and McCarthy has to step in. Velasquez seemed to come to just after the stoppage, but he was still out of it for several seconds afterward. JDS, meanwhile, went to the center of the Octagon and collapsed with joy. We have a new UFC heavyweight champion.
Junior dos Santos def. Cain Velasquez via TKO (punches) at 1:04 of round one
ANAHEIM, Calif. — This is the UFC on FOX live blog for Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos, the UFC heavyweight championship bout on tonight’s UFC on FOX special from the Honda Center.
Velasquez (9-0) will be defending his title for the first time since winning it against Brock Lesnar at UFC 121 in October 2010. Velasquez then underwent surgery due to a right shoulder injury suffered during the fight. Dos Santos (13-1) has been victorious in all seven of his UFC fights. In his most recent fight, Dos Santos defeated Shane Carwin by unanimous decision at UFC 131 in June.
Round 1: Big John McCarthy beckons the fighters to the center of the Octagon, and they carefully oblige. JDS lands a nice straight right off a Velasquez leg kick. Velasquez keeps pressing forward, but dos Santos tags him again. Velasquez tries for a takedown off a dos Santos kick, but he doesn’t even really come close. A right hand from dos Santos catches Velasquez behind the ear and he goes down hard. JDS pounces with a series of lefts, then bombs Velasquez with more blows as he attempts to roll over. Velasquez is out, and McCarthy has to step in. Velasquez seemed to come to just after the stoppage, but he was still out of it for several seconds afterward. JDS, meanwhile, went to the center of the Octagon and collapsed with joy. We have a new UFC heavyweight champion.
Junior dos Santos def. Cain Velasquez via TKO (punches) at 1:04 of round one
ANAHEIM, Calif. — This is the UFC on FOX live blog for Clay Guida vs. Ben Henderson, a lightweight bout on the undercard of tonight’s UFC on FOX event from the Honda Center.
The winner of this fight will challenge Frankie Edgar for the UFC lightweight strap. Former WEC champ Henderson (14-2) has won both his UFC fights against Mark Bocek and Jim Miller by unanimous decision. Guida (29-11) has won his last four fights and is coming off a win over Anthony Pettis.
Round 1: Herb Dean is our referee for this bout. He gives them the signal to start, and right away Guida comes bouncing out to the center of the cage, hair flying everywhere. They square off and swing away, and Guida goes down. He recovers quickly and reaches for Henderson’s legs even as Henderson keeps peppering him with short punches. Guida keeps digging for the takedown and Henderson is forced to put all his energy into defending for the moment. A chant of “Guida!” erupts in the crowd. Henderson manages to turn Guida and put his back against the fence in the clinch. Guida distracts Henderson with a short hook and then nearly gets the takedown, but they settle for disengaging and moving back towards the center. Jumping knee attempt from Guida, then a hard right that hurts Henderson. Guida tries to lock up a guillotine as Henderson tries for the takedown to let himself recover. They separate in the final ten seconds and Henderson goes to work with kicks before the horn. The crowd roars its approval. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Henderson.
Round 2: Henderson catches Guida leaning in and hammers him with a knee. Guida shoots and gets the takedown, but can’t keep Henderson down. Henderson turns it around with a takedown of his own, but Guida works up to his feet. Henderson works short punches and knees in the clinch, and Guida fires off a hook before getting another takedown. There is an awful lot of hair flying around in this cage. Henderson works back up and they continue battling in the clinch before working their way out. Spinning backfist from Guida surprises Henderson, but Guida loses his balance and tumbles to the mat. Henderson follows, looking to keep him down, and Guida nearly locks up a guillotine. Henderson gets off to the side and then takes Guida’s back in the scramble, but there’s not enough time for him to capitalize. MMA Fighting scores it 10-10.
ANAHEIM, Calif. — This is the UFC on FOX live blog for Clay Guida vs. Ben Henderson, a lightweight bout on the undercard of tonight’s UFC on FOX event from the Honda Center.
The winner of this fight will challenge Frankie Edgar for the UFC lightweight strap. Former WEC champ Henderson (14-2) has won both his UFC fights against Mark Bocek and Jim Miller by unanimous decision. Guida (29-11) has won his last four fights and is coming off a win over Anthony Pettis.
Round 1: Herb Dean is our referee for this bout. He gives them the signal to start, and right away Guida comes bouncing out to the center of the cage, hair flying everywhere. They square off and swing away, and Guida goes down. He recovers quickly and reaches for Henderson’s legs even as Henderson keeps peppering him with short punches. Guida keeps digging for the takedown and Henderson is forced to put all his energy into defending for the moment. A chant of “Guida!” erupts in the crowd. Henderson manages to turn Guida and put his back against the fence in the clinch. Guida distracts Henderson with a short hook and then nearly gets the takedown, but they settle for disengaging and moving back towards the center. Jumping knee attempt from Guida, then a hard right that hurts Henderson. Guida tries to lock up a guillotine as Henderson tries for the takedown to let himself recover. They separate in the final ten seconds and Henderson goes to work with kicks before the horn. The crowd roars its approval. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Henderson.
Round 2: Henderson catches Guida leaning in and hammers him with a knee. Guida shoots and gets the takedown, but can’t keep Henderson down. Henderson turns it around with a takedown of his own, but Guida works up to his feet. Henderson works short punches and knees in the clinch, and Guida fires off a hook before getting another takedown. There is an awful lot of hair flying around in this cage. Henderson works back up and they continue battling in the clinch before working their way out. Spinning backfist from Guida surprises Henderson, but Guida loses his balance and tumbles to the mat. Henderson follows, looking to keep him down, and Guida nearly locks up a guillotine. Henderson gets off to the side and then takes Guida’s back in the scramble, but there’s not enough time for him to capitalize. MMA Fighting scores it 10-10.
ANAHEIM, Calif. — This is the UFC on FOX live blog for the preliminary bouts on tonight’s UFC on FOX event from the Honda Center.
For tonight’s special, Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos will air on FOX at 9 p.m. ET, while the remaining nine bouts will not be televised, but streamed instead on Facebook and FoxSports.com.
Round 1: Referee Larry Landless, sporting a bleached mohawk, get us started. Bradley appears to be the slightly quicker fighter right off the bat. He’s bouncing around, firing off combos and Pierce is struggling to keep up. Bradley comes forward behind a quick combo and forces Pierce back. Pierce starts to settle into his striking, and Bradley disrupts him by dropping down and looking for the takedown. He can’t quite finish it, but he does briefly take Pierce’s back in the ensuing scramble. Good left hook by Bradley after they separate, and there’s less than a minute to go. Bradley lands a nice knee to the body in the clinch, and it’s Pierce who’s looking the worse for wear after one. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 Bradley.
Round 2: Bradley starts the second with a quick combo that jacks Pierce’s jaw to the side. Pierce comes forward behind a right hand and looks for the takedown, but Bradley stops him and fires off a couple good knees in the clinch. They separate and again Pierce looks for the takedown, but he’s not even getting close. Bradley’s takedown defense looks solid. Two straight jabs from Pierce force Bradley’s chin dangerously high, but he again looks for the takedown and gets stuck in the clinch. Pierce clams a big right hand into Bradley’s jaw, but instead of following up with more strikes his instinct seems to be to lunge right into the clinch, halting his own momentum. Bradley nearly gets a takedown of his own, and they’re back to the clinch, leaning on one another in the final minute and looking for a breather. Bradley attempts to get some offense started in the final ten seconds, but it’s Pierce who lands more effectively. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Pierce.
Round 3: Both men start the final round firing off combos and looking full of life all of a sudden, but before long they’re back to the clinch. Bradley’s corner is screaming at him to “work the full five minutes,” and if he could do it he might take this fight on the basis of that alone. Bradley gets busy with a combo, then shoots for a takedown that comes up short. They’re mired in the clinch again, and Bradley is taking some deep breaths before Landless moves in to restart them. Pierce lands a good right hand and this time resists the urge to clinch immediately afterward. Bradley times a takedown just right and gets Pierce to the mat, but can’t ever fully get control of him and has to let him up. Bradley’s corner is imploring him to get to work in the final minute, but Pierce is doing a good job of countering him right up until the final bell. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Pierce.
Mike Pierce def. Paul Bradley via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
Round 1: Lucas lunges forward with a couple lefts to start us off, then works his way into the clinch before flinging Rosa to the mat for a brief scramble. Rosa tries a headkick that’s blocked, then walks right into a decent left from Lucas. Lucas clinches again and then punches his way out. Lucas lands another left and thinks about dropping for a takedown, but abandons the idea and settles for a clinch. Rosa lands a nice knee, his best strike of the fight so far. Referee Big John McCarthy pauses the bout to replace Lucas’ mouthpiece. On the replay it sure looks like he spit it out on purpose. Hard left from Lucas after the restart, and then it’s back to the clinch. Rosa lands a knee to the body, and I’m starting to wonder why Lucas insists on clinching so much when he’s doing well enough when he strikes from a distance. Lucas seems obsessed with getting a takedown before the round ends. Rosa isn’t having it, and he batters Lucas with kicks to the body before the round ends. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Lucas.
Round 2: After nearly eating a kick to the face, Lucas successfully times a Rosa right hand and drops under it for a takedown. His corner is pretty pumped about it, but again Rosa is back up in a hurry. Lucas continues to pursue the same strategy, however, going straight into the clinch and looking for the single-leg that he’s been unable to complete thus far. His corner shouts at him to “get active” as Rosa is elbowing him about the head and body, but Lucas can’t oblige them. Rosa breaks the clinch with a standing kimura, and almost right away Lucas stuns him with a right hook. Rosa clinches up and lands a knee to the body with a minute left in the round. Lucas seems to be waiting for an opening to shoot the double-leg, and McCarth again stops the bout to replace Lucas’ mouthpiece. This time McCarthy is hip to Lucas’ game and deducts a point from him. That’s costly, but also justified. Lucas gets a takedown before the round ends, but can’t do anything with it and Rosa is back up before the round ends. With the point deduction, MMA Fighting scores the round 9-9.
Round 3: They come out guns a-blazing to start the final round. Rosa stings Lucas with straight punch right on the nose, then Lucas is back to the clinch and looking for that elusive takedown again. Rosa lands a couple sharp elbows in close and Lucas is starting to look worn just as his corner is starting to look frustrated. Good knee by Rosa, and Lucas’ cornerman throws his water bottle down in disgust. Lucas continues looking for that takedown, but Rosa is doing all the damage now. He turns Lucas’ back to the cage and peppers him with short strikes. Rosa follows up another good knee with a two-punch combo. There goes that mouthpiece again. This time there’s no point deduction, but McCarthy restarts them in the clinch after Lucas’ corner sends him off with the instruction to “swing away, Matt!” It’s Rosa who’s doing most of the swinging in the final minute, and the fight ends with another unsuccessful takedown attempt by Lucas. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Rosa.
Aaron Rosa def. Matt Lucas via majority decision (28-28, 30-26, 30-26)
ANAHEIM, Calif. — This is the UFC on FOX live blog for the preliminary bouts on tonight’s UFC on FOX event from the Honda Center.
For tonight’s special, Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos will air on FOX at 9 p.m. ET, while the remaining nine bouts will not be televised, but streamed instead on Facebook and FoxSports.com.
Round 1: Referee Larry Landless, sporting a bleached mohawk, get us started. Bradley appears to be the slightly quicker fighter right off the bat. He’s bouncing around, firing off combos and Pierce is struggling to keep up. Bradley comes forward behind a quick combo and forces Pierce back. Pierce starts to settle into his striking, and Bradley disrupts him by dropping down and looking for the takedown. He can’t quite finish it, but he does briefly take Pierce’s back in the ensuing scramble. Good left hook by Bradley after they separate, and there’s less than a minute to go. Bradley lands a nice knee to the body in the clinch, and it’s Pierce who’s looking the worse for wear after one. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 Bradley.
Round 2: Bradley starts the second with a quick combo that jacks Pierce’s jaw to the side. Pierce comes forward behind a right hand and looks for the takedown, but Bradley stops him and fires off a couple good knees in the clinch. They separate and again Pierce looks for the takedown, but he’s not even getting close. Bradley’s takedown defense looks solid. Two straight jabs from Pierce force Bradley’s chin dangerously high, but he again looks for the takedown and gets stuck in the clinch. Pierce clams a big right hand into Bradley’s jaw, but instead of following up with more strikes his instinct seems to be to lunge right into the clinch, halting his own momentum. Bradley nearly gets a takedown of his own, and they’re back to the clinch, leaning on one another in the final minute and looking for a breather. Bradley attempts to get some offense started in the final ten seconds, but it’s Pierce who lands more effectively. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Pierce.
Round 3: Both men start the final round firing off combos and looking full of life all of a sudden, but before long they’re back to the clinch. Bradley’s corner is screaming at him to “work the full five minutes,” and if he could do it he might take this fight on the basis of that alone. Bradley gets busy with a combo, then shoots for a takedown that comes up short. They’re mired in the clinch again, and Bradley is taking some deep breaths before Landless moves in to restart them. Pierce lands a good right hand and this time resists the urge to clinch immediately afterward. Bradley times a takedown just right and gets Pierce to the mat, but can’t ever fully get control of him and has to let him up. Bradley’s corner is imploring him to get to work in the final minute, but Pierce is doing a good job of countering him right up until the final bell. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Pierce.
Mike Pierce def. Paul Bradley via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
Round 1: Lucas lunges forward with a couple lefts to start us off, then works his way into the clinch before flinging Rosa to the mat for a brief scramble. Rosa tries a headkick that’s blocked, then walks right into a decent left from Lucas. Lucas clinches again and then punches his way out. Lucas lands another left and thinks about dropping for a takedown, but abandons the idea and settles for a clinch. Rosa lands a nice knee, his best strike of the fight so far. Referee Big John McCarthy pauses the bout to replace Lucas’ mouthpiece. On the replay it sure looks like he spit it out on purpose. Hard left from Lucas after the restart, and then it’s back to the clinch. Rosa lands a knee to the body, and I’m starting to wonder why Lucas insists on clinching so much when he’s doing well enough when he strikes from a distance. Lucas seems obsessed with getting a takedown before the round ends. Rosa isn’t having it, and he batters Lucas with kicks to the body before the round ends. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Lucas.
Round 2: After nearly eating a kick to the face, Lucas successfully times a Rosa right hand and drops under it for a takedown. His corner is pretty pumped about it, but again Rosa is back up in a hurry. Lucas continues to pursue the same strategy, however, going straight into the clinch and looking for the single-leg that he’s been unable to complete thus far. His corner shouts at him to “get active” as Rosa is elbowing him about the head and body, but Lucas can’t oblige them. Rosa breaks the clinch with a standing kimura, and almost right away Lucas stuns him with a right hook. Rosa clinches up and lands a knee to the body with a minute left in the round. Lucas seems to be waiting for an opening to shoot the double-leg, and McCarth again stops the bout to replace Lucas’ mouthpiece. This time McCarthy is hip to Lucas’ game and deducts a point from him. That’s costly, but also justified. Lucas gets a takedown before the round ends, but can’t do anything with it and Rosa is back up before the round ends. With the point deduction, MMA Fighting scores the round 9-9.
Round 3: They come out guns a-blazing to start the final round. Rosa stings Lucas with straight punch right on the nose, then Lucas is back to the clinch and looking for that elusive takedown again. Rosa lands a couple sharp elbows in close and Lucas is starting to look worn just as his corner is starting to look frustrated. Good knee by Rosa, and Lucas’ cornerman throws his water bottle down in disgust. Lucas continues looking for that takedown, but Rosa is doing all the damage now. He turns Lucas’ back to the cage and peppers him with short strikes. Rosa follows up another good knee with a two-punch combo. There goes that mouthpiece again. This time there’s no point deduction, but McCarthy restarts them in the clinch after Lucas’ corner sends him off with the instruction to “swing away, Matt!” It’s Rosa who’s doing most of the swinging in the final minute, and the fight ends with another unsuccessful takedown attempt by Lucas. MMA Fighting scores it 10-9 for Rosa.
Aaron Rosa def. Matt Lucas via majority decision (28-28, 30-26, 30-26)
Filed under: UFC, UFC on FOXThe UFC’s debut on FOX is almost here and the talking is (thankfully) almost done. Before we all grab our popcorn and settle in for the big night, some thoughts, questions, predictions, and meandering musings for a Saturday …
The UFC’s debut on FOX is almost here and the talking is (thankfully) almost done. Before we all grab our popcorn and settle in for the big night, some thoughts, questions, predictions, and meandering musings for a Saturday afternoon.
I. Best-case scenario for the UFC on Saturday night?Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos go back and forth in a seesaw bout that lasts at least three rounds, giving viewers the chance to freak out over Twitter and in emails/text messages/barely coherent phone calls to friends, thus driving up the ratings with each round. Worst-case scenario? The fight ends via questionable stoppage/injury/accidental foul 30 seconds in, and everybody goes to bed angry. Hey, this is MMA. Anything can happen.
II. But imagine the worst-case scenario does happen. What then? FOX executives probably won’t tear up their contract with the UFC and leave it in tiny pieces in the parking lot of the Honda Center. Fight fans will recognize that sometimes this stuff just happens, and they won’t stay mad for long. Maybe these “millions of new viewers” we keep hearing about will smirk to one another as they change the channel. Maybe it will take a while to convince those people to give this another go, but it won’t be impossible. My point is, while the stakes are certainly high here, this isn’t make-or-break for the UFC. It’s more like make-or-bummer. Even if the fight goes as badly as it can possibly go, the sport and the UFC will survive. It’s not that first impressions don’t matter — they do. But then again, we’ve all heard stories where couples had disastrous first dates before eventually finding themselves in long, happy marriages.
III. There’s a lot of talk about what kind of ratings this show needs to do in order to be considered a true success. Odds are we’ll still be arguing over the numbers and what they mean for weeks to come, but the way I see it there’s really only one true benchmark this show: you’ve got to beat Kimbo. EliteXC: Primetime averaged a little over 4 million viewers and peaked with about 6.5 million. Just for the sake of self-respect, not to mention bragging rights, the UFC has to beat the internet brawler and his off-brand employers.
IV. Just getting to fight day with both combatants healthy has to feel like a victory in itself. After all the plugs for the “heavyweight championship of the world” during every quarter of every NFL game on FOX, can you imagine if one of these guys had pulled out with an injury last week? That would have been disastrous, and we can probably assume that the UFC took the time to impress that point upon both fighters. Now there are rumors that Velasquez suffered some injuries in training camp and you have to wonder if he might be soldiering through them even when it isn’t a good idea, all just to please his boss. If that results in a diminished performance against dos Santos, neither Velasquez’s nor the UFC’s interests will be served by it.
V. The response from the weigh-in crowd yesterday suggests that plenty of fans are aware of and interested in the Clay Guida–Ben Henderson bout on this card, but what about the rest of the fights? If you’re Dustin Poirier or DaMarques Johnson, is anyone but your friends and family thinking about you on Saturday night? Honestly, probably not. While the undercard is decent, there sure isn’t much star power there. That, combined with the 1:45 p.m. local start time could mean a lot of empty seats for guys who are still fighting their hearts out, regardless of whether anyone is watching.
VI. While we’re on the subject of collateral damage from this unique fight night situation, how about the poor souls on UFC 139 next weekend? Sure, the hardcores are looking forward to Dan Henderson and “Shogun” Rua going at it, but for the most part it’s been drowned out by the big media push for the FOX debut. UFC officials just haven’t had the time or energy to do much promotional work on it lately, and who can blame them? This event has understandably gotten the full-court press from the UFC’s PR staff, but that leaves next weekend’s pay-per-view standing in the shadows.
VII. On Thursday the UFC sent out a list of red carpet attendees who will lend their air of celebrity to this event by smiling and waving on their way into the arena. The list contained the names of a bunch of actors, most of whom I’d never heard of, and in parenthesis next to their names were the FOX TV shows that they’re on. Again, most of which I’d never heard of. One familiar name did make the list, however: Gina Carano. And in parenthesis next to the former “face of women’s MMA”? Haywire. As in, the upcoming Steven Soderbergh flick that has kept her away from the sport ever since her loss to “Cyborg” Santos. Sure, that’s what we all know Carano from. That movie none of us have seen yet.
VIII. Henderson and Guida are dealing with their network TV snub in the exact right way. Every time it’s come up in interviews this week — and it’s come up a lot — they’ve both insisted that they aren’t disappointed by the lack of major TV exposure for their fight. That’s the kind of team player the UFC likes to see. But lest they be too easy-going and end up as doormats, they’ve both indicated that they want to hold the UFC president to his promise to get their fight on TV as soon as possible. Guida praised his boss as a “a magician” who will find a way to make it happen. Henderson put the responsibility on himself, saying that, “Some way, some how, this fight’s going to make it to air. …Dana White’s going to want to put this one on primetime television.” In other words, we won’t scream and cry about being slightly overlooked, but we won’t be ignored either.
IX. If you’re expecting to wake up to a brave new world of MMA awareness and appreciation on Sunday morning, don’t. Even if this event is as huge as White has repeatedly promised, the impact probably won’t be immediately apparent beyond the insulated walls of the MMA community. Why? Frankly, there’s kind of a lot going on across the sports news landscape right now. The Penn State child abuse scandal has dominated headlines this week, the NFL gets back to work on Sunday, and the Pacquiao-Marquez fight could potentially upstage the UFC by going last and closing out this fight night with a bang. That’s not to say that a great fight won’t bring MMA a few new converts, but the benefit with this FOX deal is long-term mainstream exposure. As White said, it’s about “investing in the future” and indoctrinating new fans. It’s bigger than one night or one fight. Let’s not forget that.
Filed under: UFCSANTA MONICA, Calif. — As long as the media spotlight is on the UFC ahead of the network debut on FOX this Saturday night, the organization figured it might as well make the most of the attention by getting Alistair Overeem and Brock L…
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — As long as the media spotlight is on the UFC ahead of the network debut on FOX this Saturday night, the organization figured it might as well make the most of the attention by getting Alistair Overeem and Brock Lesnar to sit down for a minute to promote their heavyweight showdown at UFC 141 on December 30.
And promote it they did, with former UFC heavyweight champ Lesnar flexing and smirking through much of the brief but memorable press conference and former Strikeforce champ Alistair Overeem promising to “tear this guy apart, piece by piece.”
Lesnar, who had 12 inches of his colon removed back in May after a second bout of diverticulitis, said it took “about six hours” for him to recover from surgery, and responded to questions about whether he’d slimmed down as a result by flexing his biceps and estimating his current weight at around 278 pounds.
“I avoided the surgery for as long as I could,” he said. “I made the decision. When you have to go under the knife and have some of your intestines removed, it’s a big deal.”
Though the bout will mark his UFC debut, Overeem certainly didn’t appear to be in awe of the bigger stage or his big opponent. When it was pointed out to him that he had a significant experience advantage over Lesnar, the Dutch fighter calmly replied that in fact he had “about ten times as much” experience as his American counterpart.
As he told reporters afterward, that experience might manifest itself when he attempts to test Lesnar’s ability to take a punch.
“It took me like 50 or 60 fights to get used to that,” Overeem said. “Now I don’t care if I get hit. If I get hit I’m going to give two back. But that took a while to get there. He’s not there yet, but still, don’t underestimate anybody.”
It was the first time Overeem had come face to face with Lesnar, he said, and he assessed the former champ as a “big guy, like me. I thought he was taller, from the UFC poster, but he’s actually shorter than me.”
Overeem called the Lesnar fight “a dream match-up,” and praised his new training home at Las Vegas’ Xtreme Couture gym as the perfect environment to prepare for a former NCAA champion wrestler like Lesnar.
“I’m ready for anything. Brock is a great wrestler. He’s a big wrestler, he’s a strong wrestler, but I’m a big guy myself. I’m not worried.”
ANAHEIM — UFC president Dana White showed up to the post-fight press conference after his organization’s network debut on FOX looking more relieved than elated. 
ANAHEIM, Calif. — This is the 
ANAHEIM, Calif. — This is the 
ANAHEIM, Calif. — This is the 
The UFC’s debut on FOX is almost here and the talking is (thankfully) almost done. Before we all grab our popcorn and settle in for the big night, some thoughts, questions, predictions, and meandering musings for a Saturday afternoon.
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — As long as the media spotlight is on the