Jordan Mein performed as advertised as he beat up Forrest Petz with power strikes to get a quick knockout at 1:29 of Round 1 at SFS 7. Mein didn’t take long to get comfortable and find his range, and then he hurt Petz with a shot to the liver during a …
Jordan Mein performed as advertised as he beat up Forrest Petz with power strikes to get a quick knockout at 1:29 of Round 1 at SFS 7. Mein didn’t take long to get comfortable and find his range, and then he hurt Petz with a shot to the liver during a torrid exchange.
Mein admitted he wasn’t sure if Petz was playing possum, but he had some help from his corner in that regard.
I think it was the liver shot that hurt him, and then I heard my dad in my corner yelling finish him, I didn’t really realize that he was hurt too bad, but they saw it so I jumped on him and I threw a couple to crash his guard and then threw an elbow and that got him in the temple and hurt him pretty bad.
Mein is a long welterweight who can throw his strikes from anywhere at anytime, and Petz didn’t know what was coming next. Mein is very effective with lead elbows and was able load up and hurt Petz before he really had a chance.
I would love to see Mein in the UFC, and I asked him if he thought the finish was enough to impress the UFC. He said, “I think so because I’ve been in lots of wars, I’ve been in lots of three round fights and I’m really glad I got the quick finish here and put him away.”
(See the video for post-fight comments from Mein and his father/trainer Lee.)
Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA and guest blogger for Sportsnet.ca UFC.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship released yesterday that the UFC 154 Preliminary card pulled in the most viewers ever for a prelim card televised on Sportsnet. The action was available on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in English and French Canada and, bol…
The Ultimate Fighting Championship released yesterday that the UFC 154 Preliminary card pulled in the most viewers ever for a prelim card televised on Sportsnet. The action was available on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in English and French Canada and, bolstered by the return of Georges St-Pierre, posted a cumulative reach of more than 1.5 million viewers tuning in to watch all or part of the broadcast.
*In English Canada, the UFC 154preliminary card was the most-watched UFC prelim ever on Sportsnet, attracting an average audience of 319,000 (two-plus). In French Canada, TVA Sports had an average audience of 177,000 (two-plus).
*Overall, the UFC 154prelims was the No. 1 sports show of the evening in both English and French Canada on Nov. 17 with an average of 496,000 Canadians watching the entire two-hour preliminary broadcast on Sportsnet and TVA Sports.
These numbers seem to support Dana White and many others who say that Canada is becoming the Mecca of MMA.
On the surface, the much-anticipated return of GSP can be attributed to the successful numbers, however, a deeper look will show a lot of strategic spade work being done by the UFC and their partners at Rogers Sportsnet.
Director of Canadian operations Tom Wright was hired in May 2010 to run and steer the UFC ship on this side of the border, and his relentless work is cementing a solid foundation for mixed martial arts in this country.
“I think there are three things,” Wright explained. “First and foremost, we need to develop our fighter base. Canadians are no different than Americans or Brazilians; they love to cheer for their own. We did consumer research, and far and away, that’s one of the major drivers toward watching on television, buying pay-per-views or going to events: to be able to cheer for your own homegrown talent.”
“So that’s No. 1, and that speaks to the goal of ‘TUF.’ No. 2 is an educational thing, and that really is about taking our sport to more and more parts of the country. Then, the third is tied to education and that’s in trying to clear up the uncertainty as it relates to the regulatory environment.”
Wright, the former commissioner of The Canadian Football League, has called on various Canadian UFC fighters such as Mark Hominick and Rory MacDonald to help him lobby and educate the government on the merits and integrity of mixed martial arts legislation in Canada.
Along with Wright’s intelligent strategic approach, the UFC has great media exposure north of the border thanks to it’s broadcasting partner, Rogers Sportsnet. Sportsnet has a comprehensive and passionate team of highly knowledgeable MMA analysts, led by pioneer analyst Joe Ferraro and his UFC Central team, as well as Managing Digital Editor James Brydon.
Ferraro and UFC Central ran a two-hour special on GSP‘s return to the cage in the week leading up to UFC 154, and the ratings for the feature were very successful. Sportsnet is the most recognized sports broadcasting brand in Canada, and its commitment and dedication to UFC content on television, radio and in digital media is largely contributing to a growing audience.
Wright announced that things are only going to pick up in the next couple of years.
“This year we’ll have three: Toronto, Calgary and Montreal. Next year we’ll have four, and in 2014 and 2015 we’ll probably have five events.”
It takes a lot of commitment and hard work to build a Mecca.
*Source: BBM Canada (preliminary data); all audiences are two-plus.
The Score Fighting Series presents its seventh show in Ontario this Friday night and will feature up-and-coming Canadian welterweight Jordan Mein making his return to SFS against Forrest Petz.The event is the Score’s fourth fight card fr…
The Score Fighting Series presents its seventh show in Ontario this Friday night and will feature up-and-coming Canadian welterweight Jordan Mein making his return to SFS against Forrest Petz.
The event is the Score’s fourth fight card from the Hamilton Place Theatre in Hamilton, Ontario, and it’s stacked with elite-level, local talent from top to bottom. The Score has quickly become the “go to” show in Ontario and has delivered high-quality mixed martial arts every single time out.
This one will be no different. Here are five reasons to tune in to the show this Friday night.
The Score Fighting Series presents its seventh show in Ontario this Friday night and will feature up-and-coming Canadian welterweight Jordan Mein making his return to SFS against Forrest Petz.The event is the Score’s fourth fight card fr…
The Score Fighting Series presents its seventh show in Ontario this Friday night and will feature up-and-coming Canadian welterweight Jordan Mein making his return to SFS against Forrest Petz.
The event is the Score’s fourth fight card from the Hamilton Place Theatre in Hamilton, Ontario, and it’s stacked with elite-level, local talent from top to bottom. The Score has quickly become the “go to” show in Ontario and has delivered high-quality mixed martial arts every single time out.
This one will be no different. Here are five reasons to tune in to the show this Friday night.
One of the best things about being around UFC event week is that you never know who you’ll run into from the mixed martial arts world.Ray Sefo, K-1 kickboxing legend and now president of new MMA promotion World Series of Fighting, was in…
One of the best things about being around UFC event week is that you never know who you’ll run into from the mixed martial arts world.
Ray Sefo, K-1 kickboxing legend and now president of new MMA promotion World Series of Fighting, was in Montreal to help in the corner of UFC 154 competitor and top welterweight Martin Kampmann.
Sefo is a class act and was gracious enough to chat with me about a few things in the MMA world.
Sefo and WSOF are coming off a successful debut show, held on November 3rd in Las Vegas, and I wondered what he thought of the fighters’ performances in that show.
Oh, I couldn’t praise my fighters enough because they all came and delivered. That night it became a reality. In other words, we had knockouts, we had submissions, we had fights that went the distance, we had controversial decisions. You know it just made it all real, you know what I mean, so I was really pleased with my fighters. I have a lot of respect for them and I thank them for bringing everything on that night.
I wondered if his fighting history gives Sefo an advantage in attracting fighters to fight for his promotion, because they may feel more comfortable and respected compared to a promotion run by a businessman.
That’s what I’ve been told and that’s what I’m hearing which is great, because my biggest job is to make sure the fighters are looked after ,and not saying that some of these other guys who never fought haven’t done that, but you don’t understand the experience or the pressure unless you’ve done it.
All I can say is that I will do the best I can that the fighters in the WSOF, their needs will be met. Obviously it works both ways just like any other relationship, we’ll scratch your back if you scratch ours, you know.
The first WSOF event was a pretty good one, and as Sefo said, it produced a bit of everything for the MMA fan. Was the president able to sit and enjoy it or was he running around dealing with issues when the lights came on?
I was enjoying the show. The great thing about it was, again, I can’t thank my team enough because from PR to publishing to the team in the office to production, everybody did their job, and when everybody does their job, I don’t have to run around like a crazy maniac.
He laughed, and then added:
We were all really pleased with the outcome of the night.
One of my favorite Canadian fighters, The Score Fighting Series featherweight Chris Horodecki cites Sefo as his favorite fighter of all time. I asked Sefo about the future of a young fighter like Horodecki, who has come under tough times outside the cage and is looking to climb his way back to the top of the sport.
I love Chris. Chris is a great kid. He is a great talent. I think sometimes you gotta take a step back to take ten steps forward. As long as he understands that a little setback is a blessing in disguise, and he’s still young, like, so young, yet he has so much experience and I think it’s just a matter of time until he bounces back to that top level.
I wish him all the best. Like I said, he’s a great kid.
Talking with a fighting legend and class act like Ray Sefo was certainly the highlight of my week.
Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA and guest blogger for Sportsnet.ca UFC. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first hand.
UFC 154 is in the books and was a stellar night for Georges St-Pierre and his legions of fans across the country and globe.The week was an undisputed success and Montreal once again cemented itself as one of the top fight cities in the world all week, …
UFC 154 is in the books and was a stellar night for Georges St-Pierre and his legions of fans across the country and globe.
The week was an undisputed success and Montreal once again cemented itself as one of the top fight cities in the world all week, culminating in an electric atmosphere during the GSP fight.
Here is a look at the good, the bad and the ugly of one week covering the UFC
Jordan Mein performed as advertised as he beat up Forrest Petz with power strikes to get a quick knockout at 1:29 of Round 1 at SFS 7. Mein didn’t take long to get comfortable and find his range, and then he hurt Petz with a shot to the liver during a torrid exchange.