UFC Fight Night: Mark Hunt vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva is an event just begging to be treated boldly.
With an eclectic mix of slumping veterans and Octagon newcomers—not to mention its unconventional Friday night start time—no one is likely…
UFC Fight Night: Mark Hunt vs. Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva is an event just begging to be treated boldly.
With an eclectic mix of slumping veterans and Octagon newcomers—not to mention its unconventional Friday night start time—no one is likely to emerge from this card riding a bullet train to the top. That decided lack of A-list talent, however, does not prohibit a good time, which this show seems scientifically designed to deliver.
Hunt and Silva both roll in on the heels of losses, their momentum stymied and their feel-good stories dashed. Neither guy makes a habit out of going to decision, though, so if you’re the sort of fight fan who likes a good, old-fashioned donnybrook, allow this event to be your huckleberry.
Possibilities abound, and Bleacher Report MMA lead writers Chad Dundas and Jonathan Snowden are more than happy to peer into the future lives of all involved. Without further pretense, here are their bold predictions…
For a long time now, UFC fans have known a tough decision loomed on the horizon.
As the fight company continued to expand its calendar of live events from one year to the next, we understood that eventually we’d have to make some hard-and-fast ch…
For a long time now, UFC fans have known a tough decision loomed on the horizon.
As the fight company continued to expand its calendar of live events from one year to the next, we understood that eventually we’d have to make some hard-and-fast choices about what to watch and what to miss.
The day was coming that you wouldn’t be able to catch it all, not if you had a family, a job or a life away from your television.
Luckily, it now seems the UFC may have made that decision for us. Last week’s announcement that 2014 could see a near 50 percent increase in the number of events came with a potentially game-saving caveat.
The UFC doesn’t really expect us to watch them all.
Much of the inflated UFC slate will consist of overseas shows that Zuffa CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said may not even air on live TV in the United States. Instead, they’ll be available via a new “digital distribution network” that the UFC is likely to launch early next year.
And yeah—if you’re scoring at home—“digital distribution network” is a fancy way to say website: one you’ll have to pay a subscription fee to use.
Details are scarce so far, so how much the subscription will cost or what it will get you isn’t known. We also don’t know how the UFC will manage the delicate balancing act of integrating this new all-digital content with its current crush of live fight cards, multiple seasons of reality television and frequent promotional specials.
But make no mistake—in relegating a good number of its new events to online streaming, the company is tacitly sending us a message: The important stuff will still air live on TV.
The rest is strictly voluntary.
And you know what? That seems like a great development. If the UFC is intent on expanding its menu of annual offerings to outlandish levels—and it is—then the creation of this “digital network” is the best possible scenario.
After all, the Internet seems like the right place for this new crop of nonessential programming, which, as Dana White explained to MMA Junkie last weekend, isn’t meant to be all things to all people.
“The fights that we do in China are for China,” White said. “The fights we do in Europe are going to be for Europe, but with this new digital network, people who are hardcore fans and want to watch the fights will be able to.”
There you have it. You live in China? Watch the shows that are based in China. You live in Europe? Watch the shows in Europe. Don’t live in either place? Go read a book. Go to a movie. Play with your kids or dog.
That seems like a compromise that some might not have thought this company capable of making. Maybe it didn’t have a choice. At this point, it’s tough to imagine anyone wanting to spend more money or time on the UFC—especially after Wednesday’s news that the price of UFC 168 is going up to $59.95—but those who do will now have an outlet.
Meanwhile, the bulk of the fanbase can keep up with the broad strokes.
In the past, it felt as though UFC fans had a responsibility to keep tabs on the company’s every move. That’s been harder and harder to do in recent years, but now the feeling of obligation to watch every single fight card and know every single fighter could lessen a bit.
Never before has the line between what’s required and what isn’t been so clearly delineated.
In the end, that might end up feeling quite liberating.
The discouraging nosedive that is Ben Askren’s free agency may have reached terminal velocity this week, with rumors that the former Bellator champ will ditch our whole continent to sign with OneFC.
OneFC? I mean, now he’s just messing with…
The discouraging nosedive that is Ben Askren’s free agency may have reached terminal velocity this week, with rumors that the former Bellator champ will ditch our whole continent to sign with OneFC.
OneFC? I mean, now he’s just messing with us.
At least one better option was emphatically crossed off the list over the weekend, when Dana White emerged from a meeting with Askren only to reiterate that the UFC had declined to tender him an offer, at least for now.
“The meeting went well,” White told MMA Junkie.com’s John Morgan prior to the TUF 18 finale. “He’s a nice kid, I’ve got nothing against him … (but) we won’t be signing him at this time.
“I think it’s crazy that he’s ranked in the top 10—he hasn’t fought anybody,” White continued. “He has no challenges (in Bellator). The best thing that could happen to that kid is leaving Bellator. Now he’s got the opportunity to go to World Series of Fighting and show what he’s got.”
White and the UFC have offered several rationales for their anti-Askren stance since the fighter extricated himself from Bellator last month, but the above statements were notable for a couple of different reasons.
First, because White calling him “a nice kid” was maybe the most complimentary thing he’s ever said about Askren. Many of their previous interactions haven’t been so cordial.
Second, because the UFC’s continued assertion that Askren still needs to prove himself Octagon-worthy is just plain hard to figure.
Here are the facts as we know them about Askren: He’s a former Olympian, an undefeated professional fighter at 12-0 and the former welterweight champion of America’s second largest MMA promotion.
Surely there are fighters on the organization’s current roster that are less worthy and less accomplished than Askren. If company brass thinks he’s unproven, imagine what they must whisper about UFC welterweights like Neil Magny (8-4) or AmirSadollah (6-4) when nobody’s listening.
If White himself doesn’t believe that Askren is top-10 material, that’s fine, but the very point of the UFC has always been to let fighters prove their own worth. For some reason, this particular guy is being denied that opportunity, and it’s tough to determine why.
If the UFC’s not impressed with his nine straight wins in Bellator, would a few more in WSOF really make Askren a whole new man?
No, the thing keeping him out of the Octagon can’t be his credentials, that just doesn’t compute. Nor really does the notion the UFC would bar him from its ranks simply because it doesn‘t appreciate his wrestle-first, wrestle-often style. As far as we know, it’s never flatly refused to sign someone based purely on their approach, and it doesn‘t make sense that the company would start now.
More likely the two sides couldn’t come together on the financials, or the UFC would rather have Askren make a pit-stop elsewhere in the hopes that the smell of Bellator will wear off him in the process.
If that’s the plan, though, Askrendoesn‘t appear to be buying into it. Perhaps we can take recent rumblings of a move to OneFC as a sign of what he thinks about White’s suggestion that he go “show what he’s got” in WSOF.
Or perhaps not. Perhaps he legitimately feels he’ll get the best deal and the best competition if he relocates to Singapore.
The point is, we might never find out what Askren‘s “got” if he doesn‘t wind up in the UFC, and longtime MMA fans should find that unsettling.
The Octagon has long been a place where the best compete against the best, regardless of fighting style or previous professional baggage. The fact Askren can’t find a home there strikes as significant a blow to that reputation as I can remember.
You just knew this was going to be good—first the fight itself and then the real main event: the post-fight interview.
Mere moments after Nate Diaz turned Gray Maynard into an extra from The Walking Dead on Saturday night at the TUF 18 final…
You just knew this was going to be good—first the fight itself and then the real main event: the post-fight interview.
Mere moments after Nate Diaz turned Gray Maynard into an extra from The Walking Dead on Saturday night at the TUF 18 finale, it was clear we all were in for a treat.
As Maynard staggered off into the spirit world and Diaz took a celebratory strut around the Octagon (flexing, pointing), occasional teammate Ronda Rousey and her excitable crew of coaches celebrated in the front row. There too was big brother Nick at the door to the cage, straining against the arm of perhaps the unluckiest security guy in all the world.
Right then, we could feel the tide rising. It was Diaz time.
Of course, there also was poor Jon Anik—the straightest, most professional straight man we have in this business—charged with the unenviable task of getting Diaz to say words into a microphone on live television.
Who knows what Anik asked; we all forgot the question as soon as Diaz started talking.
“I don’t know what kind of f–king show this is, man,” he said by way of introduction, before pointing at someone or something off camera and adding, “Motherf-ckers be acting silly.”
And we were off.
Admit it: We’ve all kind of missed these regular transmissions from Planet Diaz. With Nick still officially retired and Nate’s first-round TKO of Maynard providing his first win since May, 2012, it had been a while since we were able to get a full, uncensored dispatch out of the 209.
Well, we got a copious dose this weekend. Nate fully did his thing, ignoring Anik’s opening salvo to give shoutouts to everyone in his corner, during which Nick literally took a bow (a bow!). Then Nate called out damn near everyone in the lightweight title picture, throwing his arm around Gilbert Melendez to reinforce the notion that when one Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu team member gets a win, they all do.
“Just so everybody knows,” Diaz said, “the No. 1 and No. 2 lightweights in the world are me and my man (Melendez) right here … this is our division. We’re going to beat your asses. That’s what’s up.”
Melendez—far and away one of the NorCal-based team’s most reasonable members—did his best to smile and nod along. At one point during Diaz’s soliloquy, though, Melendez dropped his eyes and seemed to sort of shake his head as if to say, “No, that’s not really true.”
Indeed, there was a lot Diazdidn’t acknowledge in his post-fight speech. He didn’t acknowledge the fact that he came into this bout on a 0-2 skid, or that Melendez is just 1-1 in his first two UFC appearances. He didn’t acknowledge rumors that his brother has turned down a couple of fights in recent months or speculation he would head back to welterweight after this victory.
When the Diaz brothers talk, the truth is relative and facts take a backseat to the show. But at least the show is fantastic. Nick and Nate have long been among the most entertaining fighters in MMA, their performances in the cage almost always paling in comparison to their work on the mic.
This night was no exception.
Diaz got started early, tweeting when the fight was announced back in September that he’d rather attend his high school reunion than take on Maynard for a third time. He kept up with the gag on fight night, reiterating that he still would have rather gone to the reunion and only fought Maynard because, “I was broke, so I had to show up.”
He sure fought like he needed the money. Diaz wasted little time once the UFC actually managed to get him in the cage with Maynard. He stunned the former Michigan State wrestler with a short left hand midway through the first round and then opened up with a barrage of punches that left Maynard out on his feet.
Referee Yves Lavigne’s stoppage felt tardy, a fact underscored when a bloody and oblivious Maynard took a few steps and then fell on his face. Diaz flexed and flashed signs at the camera as he shouted expletives probably best lost to the inaudible depths of history.
He continued flexing—metaphorically, at least—at the post-fight press conference. Once on the dais, Diaz lampooned the rest of the 155-pound division, pointing out they’d all have his less-than-stellar win-loss record (he’s 17-9) if they fought as much as he does.
When somebody asked what was next for him, he said he would take the shortest path to the lightweight title—by waiting for somebody else to pull out with injury.
“I don’t know,” Diaz said. “I’m thinking maybe I’ll sit on the sidelines for a good long minute until somebody gets injured, then fight for a title like everybody else is doing.”
That’s when we knew for sure: It felt good to have these guys back in the fight game and back in the winner’s circle.
Nobody does fight night theater quite like the Diaz brothers and—love them or hate them—the MMA world is a lot more interesting when they are relevant—interesting, and a lot more challenging.
Flash back to the cage, where Anik refused to give up on the idea of a give-and-take interview with Diaz. In closing, he offered up one of the UFC’s most standard questions to a winning fighter:
“Can you talk us quickly through the combinations?” he asked. “Obviously the throw was huge, but the combinations were on point.”
“Yeah, yeah, I won,” Diaz said, his tone suggesting he was dismissing a door-to-door Bible salesman. “That’s what’s up.”
Then he gave some more shoutouts. Chris Diaz, Nick McDermott, Rousey, the homegirl. Ivan Somebody.
“We got to go,” he said. “I’ve got sh– to do. I’m hungry.”
It is the time for solemn reflection and acknowledgment, that special part of the year reserved for counting our blessings and ruminating on the plight of those less fortunate. Also, for gorging ourselves on turkey and then reevaluating our priorities …
It is the time for solemn reflection and acknowledgment, that special part of the year reserved for counting our blessings and ruminating on the plight of those less fortunate. Also, for gorging ourselves on turkey and then reevaluating our priorities as the after-dinner sweats set in; and perhaps later a nice nap.
In any case, it seemed like the perfect time to gather Bleacher Report’s lead MMA writers—Jeremy Botter, Chad Dundas (that’s me) and Jonathan Snowden—and allow each of us to share a couple of fight-related items we are thankful for during this holiday season.
So fill up a mug of grog and feast your eyes along with the rest of your body. We promise to keep this short enough that you can finish before the Tryptophan sets in.
Depending on your point of view, your heart either leapt or stopped cold last week, as Lorenzo Fertitta stood at a podium in New York and announced that the UFC planned to do 54 events during 2014.
Fifty-four.
It was a breathtaking number, a staggering…
Depending on your point of view, your heart either leapt or stopped cold last week, as Lorenzo Fertitta stood at a podium in New York and announced that the UFC planned to do 54 events during 2014.
Fifty-four.
It was a breathtaking number, a staggering increase from the 33 the UFC will have done by the end of 2013 and one that obviously meant the fight company would average more than an event per week during the next calendar turn.
Later, Fertitta said he misspoke.
The UFC CEO corrected himself in an interview with MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani, saying his organization’s fight cards would number “in the 40s” next year. Most of the upsurge, he added, would happen at overseas Fight Night shows that might not even air in the U.S.
If accurate, Fertitta’s recalibrated number simply represents the next step in the UFC’s ongoing international expansion plans. The faint whooshing sound you heard in response was American MMA fans sighing in unison—half of them with relief, half with disappointment.
No matter how you look at it though, 2014 will see yet another increase in the number of overall events from a promotion that at times appears hell bent on testing the limits of its own popularity.
Even it you’re one of those people who “can’t get enough” UFC, it occasionally feels like the fight company is on a mission to find out how much is too much.
Since its popularity exploded with the debut of “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2005, the UFC has steadily increased its annual crush of events—from five each year during 2003-04 to the 40-plus it forecasts for 2014. Simultaneously, it’s also drastically boosted the sheer volume of its programming hours, making nearly every fight it holds available to fans on television or Online.
Its fledgling broadcast deal with Fox now means the UFC has four separate tiers of live televised events, from pay-per-view broadcasts all the way down to occasional shows on Fox Sports 2. For each of those cards, fans—if they so desire—can watch somewhere in the neighborhood of six hours worth of content on a variety of channels and devices.
For hardcore fans, it has created a pugilistic wonderland where—even if you eschew off-brand products like Bellator, World Series of Fighting, Invicta and the weekly Friday broadcasts on AXS TV—there’s hardly ever a dull moment.
It also means the UFC continues to demand more and more of its fans, if not in PPV dollars then simply in the time it asks them to commit to following its many machinations.
At this point you couldn’t blame casual fans—the ones who might zone in and zone out at will—if they feel like keeping up with the UFC is like following a season of The Wire.
Miss an episode or two, and you end up feeling totally lost.
Take for example the case of Ricardo Lamas, who will fight Jose Aldo for the featherweight title at UFC 169 in February after appearing on exactly one previous UFC main card broadcast.
Hardcores are all over Lamas, who’s been stellar while going 4-0 in the Octagon since June 2011. There’s no doubt in their minds that he’s earned a shot at the championship after crafting a trio of impressive stoppages during those outings.
Casual fans, however, might not even know who Lamas is, considering that the bulk of his UFC bouts have aired on preliminary cards.
Not only will the Aldo fight be Lamas’ first appearance on a UFC pay-per-view, it will be his just his third showing on UFC TV, period. He fought in the first bout of a Fox broadcast back in January, but previous to that, his only televised UFC fight was on the now-defunct Fuel TV network.
His other pair of bouts were both Facebook prelims and so casual spectators would have to be following the thread pretty closely to remember him.
That doesn’t seem like a great situation for anyone—not Lamas, not Aldo and certainly not fans.
Now, imagine if he wins. As the UFC continues to add events to its schedule, cases like Lamas’ are only going to become more common. Great fighters will get put in big spots with little to no build.
Long story short, as the number of shows, the fighters on the payroll and the expectations on fans all continue to increase it gets more and more difficult to keep track of what the UFC is doing. At some point, a ceiling will be reached, a levy will break and fans will be forced to say no mas.
Perhaps the UFC will bump against that ceiling three years from now, or five.
Or perhaps it’s already there, now that not even the guy who owns the company seems to know exactly how many events are on tap for next year.
For a long time now, UFC fans have known a tough decision loomed on the horizon.