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UFC, Bellator Continue Olympic Fight for Wrestling, Albeit from a Distance

As the September vote for Olympic inclusion nears, all three sports under consideration—baseball/softball, squash and wrestling—are sure to pull out their heavy guns showing how global and progressive they are. Squash has dropped courts in …

Squash has dropped courts in front of some of the world’s greatest tourist attractions to show its portability; softball points toward more global inclusion and baseball mentions large crowds for youth events in Asia; and wrestling has gone back to host events in Ancient Greece, Grand Central Station, Niagara Falls and a massive venue in the American Midwest, all the while playing to its progressive rule changes and ever-growing social media presence.

But the one element baseball may lack—the support of Major League Baseball to suspend its season a la the NHL to let the best players play—is the element of support wrestling has in many ways: the media presence and support of professional Mixed Martial Arts to help propel the message forward.

That many of MMA’s biggest stars come from wrestling backgrounds—wrestlers who competed in the Beijing Games are 36-0 in MMA thus far—is quietly welcomed by wrestling but kept at a distance in most cases. Some members of the International Olympic Committee may feel that MMA, which is a hybrid sport that includes not just wrestling, but other Olympic disciplines like boxing and even tae kwon do in addition to jiu-jitsu, is too violent to be considered for Olympic inclusion.

So wrestling welcomes the support of its former stars on large stages like the UFC and Bellator, but still maintains its neutrality toward overt support from The Octagon.

“It is an interesting mix for wrestling for sure,” said Chris Lencheski, CEO of Comcast-owned Front Row Marketing Services and a longtime Olympic marketer. “Here you have arguably the fastest rising sport that draws a string young male demo in MMA, but it remains a sport that in some cultures is seen as too violent and is not welcomed by many international sport organizations.

“However, if it weren’t for elite wrestling and its stars, MMA may not even exist,” he added. “So wrestling has to enjoy the support that the UFC and Bellator and others have provided but do so quietly and respectfully for all involved, and thus far they seem to be doing it right.”

How fervent has the MMA support for wrestling been? UFC title holder Chris Weidman sports a USA Wrestling tattoo below his shoulder, while many UFC favorites have entered the Octagon wearing “Save Olympic Wrestling” T-shirts. Bellator last week staged a wrestling clinic in New Mexico for hundreds of kids with MMA champion Frank Shamrock leading the way, along with elite wrestlers Joe Warren and Greg Jackson.

Spike TV, longtime supporter and partner in MMA, first with the UFC and now with Bellator, even went so far as to create a compelling TV spot with a call to action in support of wrestling, using not just elite former wrestlers and MMA stars like Rampage Jackson and Randy Couture, but professional wrestling icon Hulk Hogan and even Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, imploring viewers to take to social media and cast a vote for wrestling going back in the Games.

The spot has been so popular that it is running across a host of Viacom properties in addition to Spike’s MMA and TNA programming.

“I come from Pennsylvania so I get how popular wrestling is and how passionate its followers are because of the life lessons learned in the sport,” Lencheski added. “So the support wrestling is getting, without even asking from its loyal supporters is not surprising. It will be interesting to see where it all goes not just with the vote, but how wrestling, if they do get back in, can use this support to help grow its footprint even more as a brand globally, in addition to the States.”

But for now, wrestling will keep its cards close to its vest and, like the other sports, work the back rooms of the IOC to plead its case quietly and respectfully. Quiet is certainly not a tactic that MMA is usually known for, and its loud support is going to be valuable to wrestling after the vote.

Silent respect and quiet gratitude are more the norm as one of the world’s original, and now progressive, Olympic sports preps for its last hurdle—the September vote in Buenos Aires that could return wrestling front and center to the Games it has been a part of for centuries, with some added marketing mojo now prepped and ready to help even more.

Jerry Milani is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless noted.

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Weidman’s UFC Success Gives Wrestling Another Boost

As the sport of wrestling continues to grapple with baseball/softball and squash to return to the Olympic Games in 2020, a former NCAA wrestler took his turn in the limelight this past Saturday, and that unexpected success could be a boon to again rais…

Long Island native and former Hofstra University All-American Chris Weidman has been a rising star in the UFC, but his sudden second round knockout of legendary champion Anderson Silva (33-5 MMA, 16-1 UFC) in Las Vegas Saturday sent the MMA world into a frenzy and gave Weidman’s roots—wrestling—a boost not just in the Octagon but around the world.

How close is Weidman’s tie to wrestling? He sports a “USA Wrestling” tattoo on his arm. That real estate, along with the viral and media frenzy that surrounds the UFC, can help keep wrestling top of mind globally across a hot and crowded summer athletic schedule.

The relationship between elite MMA promotions like the UFC and Bellator is strong but not over the top, per se. While several disciplines included in MMA are part of the Olympic program, MMA itself is not a recognized sport by the International Olympic Committee, and many members of the IOC have been public about their concerns of the violence associated with MMA, despite its ever-growing global popularity.

Therefore, wrestling officials have welcomed the halo effect that MMA, from leaders like the UFC’s Dana White and Bellator’s Bjorn Rebney, has brought to the Olympic wrestling cause without publicly acknowledging the ties between the sports.

What does that halo effect mean for the Olympic cause? “It is support and credibility you can’t buy,” said Chris Lencheski, CEO of Front Row Marketing, one of the leading brand marketing and sales companies in the global sports and entertainment space.

“While you never want to upset the IOC by officially aligning with a sport or a person that may be seen as controversial, that passionate support is a nice boost for wrestling,” he added. “It’s a type of support you really don’t see from baseball players and that sport’s Olympic push, and you can’t downplay the value of promotions like the UFC in keeping the wrestling cause front and center.”

Weidman was one of several elite former wrestlers who has shown support for wrestling in and around the Octagon in recent weeks. Champion Frankie Edgar, who has spent time coaching wrestling at Rutgers University, also sported a “Save Olympic Wrestling” T-shirt during Saturday’s pay-per-view, and former wrestling All-American Mark Munoz also posted a win in the Octagon Saturday.

Some of the other biggest stars of the UFC and Bellator have also done so on their own, with more support expected as the vote nears in September.

For Weidman, what has his new-found success been like?

“It’s been a little bit of a blur, but it’s been good,” he said. “It’s been a bit surreal. It still hasn’t sunk in all the way, but it feels good.”

His win was also a nice boost for Hofstra, the Long Island school that has had a history of steady success in wrestling. Others like Bryan Vetell and Jay Hieron have had success in transitioning to MMA—but none at the level of Weidman’s win Saturday.

“If you are a wrestling official or a fan, you have to be rooting for these guys to be successful,” Lencheski added. “It is exposure you can’t buy, and it certainly doesn’t hurt the cause. They are great stories and great examples of the success that wrestling can bring to athletes once their careers are over.

“Whether it is in the Octagon or in the boardroom, the discipline has provided a great base for life success, and that, more than anything is what wrestling’s real value is to its participants and to the Olympic programme.”

For Weidman, wrestling success has led to an avalanche of support and business opportunities in and out of the Octagon, and that success for the long and short term should make wrestling officials around the globe smile, even if they have to cheer from a distance for now.

Jerry Milani is a featured writer at Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless noted.

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GSP, Silva Crack Top Athlete List

If you are an MMA fan in the Northeast, you have been having a good week. First came the statement by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo that he is moving closer to legalizing the sport in the state. This will open up opportunities for events not just in places like Madison Square Garden and the Barclays Center, but in casinos and smaller venues in places like Syracuse and Buffalo.

Then came more mainstream acceptance when two of the UFC’s top names—middleweight champion Anderson Silva and welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre—cracked the Bloomberg/Horrow Sports Ventures “Power 100” of the most powerful athletes on-and-off-the-field. St-Pierre, now fully recovered from an injury which sidelined him for almost a year and facing Nick Diaz this weekend, came in at No. 62, while Silva cracked the list for the first time at No. 97. St-Pierre’s debut on the list has him ahead of rising stars like Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels, Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots and Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves, and not far behind the Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony who is at No. 57. St-Pierre is one of the highest ranked non-Olympians on the list for the first time.

“There is no doubt that the drawing power of MMA athletes is tremendous, and I would expect in the coming years to see more and more of the top guys, and even a female, push higher on the list,” said Chris Lencheski, CEO of Philadelphia based Front Row Marketing, one of the nation’s leading and fastest growing sports marketing and branding firms. “The MMA athlete of today has so many pieces that are attractive to marketers—they still have that everyman story—and I believe that will continue to grow. While the younger demo is well aware of the sport, it is obvious that a more mature fan base is also growing and that is where the sport will make its next jump.”

The Power 100 rankings are based 50 percent on these on “off-field” measurements, and 50 percent on “on-field” performance using a variety of industry statistics. CSE used proprietary analytic measurements to create a true comprehensive analysis of the athletes, exploring data that is both psychographic and endemic to the various sports. Along with athletic performance, the methodology took into account endorsements, social media, and fan touch points including trustworthiness, likability, and awareness.

Overall, the Power 100 is topped by the Miami Heat’s LeBron James (No. 1), golfer Tiger Woods (No. 2) and Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (No. 3). Social media also plays an increasing role in defining an athlete’s brand and marketability, giving a measurable boost to such athletes as James (No. 1), Kobe Bryant (No. 7) and Rory McIlroy (No. 14).

With more women on the list this year, many officials would not be surprised to have Ronda Rousey crack through next year based on the massive start she had in the last few months. Although some followers of MMA, especially the UFC, may balk at the fact that there aren’t more stars on the list, it is still a clear sign that the sport is growing in the mainstream.

That the Octagon’s biggest stars are gaining more and more space with “traditional” athletes is also heartening to the sport’s followers. This list and the coming announcement from New York are two more positive steps for both fans and those in the business of MMA.

Jerry Milani is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained first-hand.

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Bellator, Spike Look to Re-Engage the MMA Playbook

This coming weekend in Las Vegas is one of the UFC’s annual big events—its year-ending pay per view event from MGM Grand, featuring a 12-bout mega-card with some of its more popular fighters present and future. In addition to helping fill the gaming tables, the weekend serves notice for the brand that Vegas is home despite the continued push to all corners of the world with merchandise, video, games, and the ever-present Octagon.

The year-end card was always preceded by a mega-promotional push on Spike TV, which for years helped the UFC build its brand through the co-creation of “The Ultimate Fighter” and all the promotional muscle Viacom could bring to the table. Both companies thrived off the other.

But all that ended when the UFC took its broadcast TV partnership to Fox in 2011, bringing MMA consistently, albeit with mixed ratings results, to broadcast TV while making FUEL and FX the new cable homes of the UFC.

The departure of the UFC left Spike with a programming hole, but with years of lessons learned on how to properly and effectively grow an MMA brand. With other promotions like WEC and Strikeforce purchased and then mothballed by the UFC, could a brand come along to fill the broadcast slot, the marketing potential and the demographic hole that Spike now had?

The answer appears to be yes.

The promotion that was growing, albeit with its own unique format, was the Bellator Fighting Championships. Developed by longtime fight sport promoter Bjorn Rebney, Bellator launched in 2008 looking to find a smart, cost-efficient way to quench the thirst of a growing audience of MMA fans who enjoyed the UFC but were looking for more engagement in other markets. Rebney, who had grown up on boxing, also saw an opportunity to give casual fans a chance to better understand the sport by creating a tournament format by weight class that rewarded the best fighters, not the matchmakers.

“It creates great transparency; there are no questions as to who is the champion. He fought his way there,” Rebney said recently in New York. “The result is that the one guy left standing is the champion, and everyone understands how he got there.”

With casino and venue partners looking for quality programming and a large talent pool of emerging fighters to choose from who were not under contract to the UFC, Rebney built a growing and sustainable business model. Broadcasts were high quality and filled the hours of regional sports cable looking to draw viewers through MMA. The business proved itself and started to establish itself as the number two promotion, at least in the US, after the UFC.

It was similar but not “UFC-light.”

“We said from day one we had to have a clear format and great fights, and that the business would grow if we ran it right,” Rebney added. “There is no taking away of anything from the UFC, they are a strong brand and have been at it for the longest time. We felt that we had created something distinctive, and the market and our business partners are proving that what we have built is strong.”

The biggest step for Bellator came with the departure of the UFC from Spike. Viacom officials had been watching Rebney‘s growth and saw the opportunity to avoid having to “reinvent the wheel” to get deep into the MMA Business again. In 2011 they purchased Bellator, and with Rebney still running the company, began a ramp up, first with MTV2, to re-engage the loyal MMA fans who had become accustomed to watching the sport on Spike.

The next big step in the relationship will take place starting January 17, when Bellator and its programming moves fully to Spike on a weekly basis.

“It is a true partnership, one where we can learn from everything Spike knows about engaging the male demo and promoting the sport they helped build,” Rebney added. “We can now take our great fighters with amazing stories and bring them to the consumer on a channel that they know for quality fights and production. That brings us great credibility and lets us take Bellator to a new level.”

Viacom has spent months researching and developing the right time frame, venues and promotional and marketing vehicles to work with Rebney and his Bellator team. Bellator in turn has been hard at work continuing to refine its matchups and support staff to make sure they can deliver with the best possible matchups for their business partner.

“We know it all has to fit together well, and when I say ‘we’ I mean Spike and Bellator together,” Rebney added. “If something isn’t working and the fans aren’t getting their value or the venues are unhappy or the fighters aren’t matched properly we will find a way to fix it. We are in a consumer business with fans who know what quality is, and quality is what we will deliver.”

Officials insist that the marketplace for MMA can and will support at least two high level promotions in the United States, and globally the market for television and digital content is endless. Bellator is concentrating right now on just the U.S. market but will look elsewhere as the opportunities arise.

Is the UFC in for a fight?

There have been arguments over the years about the MMA Version of the chicken or the egg—did the UFC build Spike or did Spike save the UFC?

The answer is probably somewhere in the middle, which is a good thing for Bellator. They have a full-time, engaged partner that, starting in January, will look to re-invent a very successful wheel, one that happens to also be in a cage.

Jerry Milani is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand.

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Actor, MMA ‘Convert’ Joel Edgerton Talks ‘Warrior’ Movie

The new feature film “Warrior” hit theaters nationwide on Friday to glowing reviews and a strong box office showing.Australian actor Joel Edgerton, who stars as Brendan Conlon, one of two estranged brothers (Tom Hardy) and an alcoholic father (Nick Nol…

The new feature film “Warrior” hit theaters nationwide on Friday to glowing reviews and a strong box office showing.

Australian actor Joel Edgerton, who stars as Brendan Conlon, one of two estranged brothers (Tom Hardy) and an alcoholic father (Nick Nolte) whose lives reconnect through MMA and a “Grand Prix” style, winner-take-all event, took a few minutes this week to discuss the film and his role.

BR: First, congratulations on an outstanding performance. I really enjoyed the film. Did you expect this kind of positive response to it?
JE: It’s hard to be objective about movies that you are in, but once I saw the [completed] film, I realized that [director] Gavin [O’Connor] had kind of pulled this whole thing together, and I knew it was going to be well-received.

BR: What was your experience or knowledge of MMA before you got involved with this project? Do you follow the UFC and other MMA organizations now?
JE: Definitely. I’m a convert. I wasn’t even a fan before. I knew it existed, but I was not a fan. But through the experience, I became one. If I’m in L.A., I get together with the guys from the film to watch the UFC. I’ve been to a couple. I went to Montreal to watch [Lyoto] Machida fight. I follow the sport, I’m interested in the new fighters. I love the whole world of the sport, and I definitely classify myself as a convert.

BR: Can you describe the training regimen you did to prepare for the movie?
JE: Before the film, about 10 weeks out, Tom Hardy and I went to Pittsburgh, to the Pittsburgh Fight Club with Eric Hibler. We turned up at 7 a.m., out in the afternoon. During the six or seven hours we mixed a lot of stretching, strength and conditioning, muay thai—my character, that is a big part of his game—jiu jitsu, wrestling, ground work, lift a lot of weights and then ate a truckload of food. We were surrounded by great info from many guys with such a solid foundation in fighting.

BR: Many fans and moviegoers probably realize that the key fighting action is choreographed, but was there any free fighting that you did on camera that made it into the film, maybe some moves you learned that you incorporated into the scenes?
JE: It was pretty much choreographed—J.J. Perry and Fernando Chien did an amazing job—but what I found interesting, within the moves, there was a lot of room for free form. Gavin would see the fights, and make sure that we did everything we could to make sure it didn’t look choreographed, so if one character punched and the other punched back, he wanted to see them vie for positioning, messing it up as much as possible so it felt like it wasn’t just in a movie—the moves between the moves, so to speak.

BR: A big thing for MMA fans, like fans of any sport, is that the action is realistic in a movie—it’s been a sticking point for some earlier MMA dramas. How much did you worry about that as you were doing the scenes?
JE: That was the general feeling, some of the stuff in the early choreography, where we were doing certain moves that were too big, too much of a movie moment. To his credit, Gavin wanted the action to be more realistic. We have a couple of body slams in there that have come under some criticism, but you will find that all those moves are from actual fights, and that’s how the fights were built. But we’re making a movie, so if you’re looking at a fight like [Anderson] Silva [against] [Chael] Sonnen, where the whole time it was on the ground, before that last minute when Silva threw his leg over, it’s like they aren’t going to go for that; he needed to spice it up a bit, enough to satisfy the movie audience and the well-schooled audience.

BR: Is this your most challenging role to date? How does it compare to what you had to do in the “Star Wars” films? Or “King Arthur”?
JE: It definitely was up there. I love film roles that involve physical training, especially a new skill. In King Arthur, there was a lot of archery and horse riding, almost like summer camp. This felt a little more serious and more edgy, definitely since I’m a bit older it was pushing the envelope for me physically. But as sore as I was, I tore an MCL, got busted up a lot, I didn’t want to be the one moaning that I was sore since these guys are doing this all the time.

BR: What do you see as the key message in the film?
JE: I think, to me, it’s what are you willing to fight for, and finding the strength in yourself. Personally, it is how much family is willing to fight for, how important family is. There is so much love in Brendon’s family.

BR: Do you think you’ll do another MMA movie any time soon?
JE: Not that I would necessarily do another MMA movie, but if we can come back around and people love this story enough, then if I would do another MMA film, I think “Warrior 2“, or whatever they would call it, would be the one.

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Producer/Writer O’Connor Talks Up ‘Warrior’ with Nick Nolte, Tom Hardy

“Warrior,” the new feature film from Lionsgate, starring Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte, Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Morrison, opens in theaters nationwide on Sept. 9. Gavin O’Connor, director and screenwriter, recently took some time in between screenings to…

BR: There have been a few MMA movies, but there isn’t really a “signature” MMA film. How can “Warrior” fit that definition?
GO: My hope is that it is because the story works. I never envisioned it as an “MMA movie.” MMA is the backdrop. Like “Rocky” uses boxing as a character study. I had these two brothers who grew up communicating through violence, whose lives come together in the cage. One had to surrender to be reborn. That’s what I aimed for in making the movie. I love the sport of MMA so much and thought it hasn’t been utilized that way in cinema. I wanted to be the first to do it in a way that introduces the sport to an audience that doesn’t necessarily know it. In many ways, it’s a love letter to the sport.

BR: You produced “The Smashing Machine,” the documentary on fighter Mark Kerr. Was that how you became interested in MMA?
GO: It was. I knew nothing about MMA, just peripherally. When I became involved with “The Smashing Machine,” it had already been shot but not cut. We had hundreds of hours of footage. It was kind of an introduction to the sport for me. I got hooked. And, after that, I followed the sport.

BR: Do you see parallels between “Miracle,” which you also directed, and “Warrior?”

GO: What we tried to do in “Warrior” is you know who you are rooting for throughout the film. There are two different entities, then the challenge is to ask the viewer who you are rooting for at the end [among the two]. That’s unusual in cinema. In “Miracle” we had the added challenge that everyone knew the outcome.

BR: The MMA crowd is tough to please when it comes to representing their sport—but in this case, reaction has been overwhelmingly positive? What aspects of the film do you think appeal most to those die-hard fans?
GO: I’m just speculating here, but I think it probably has to do with being a big fan of the sport and surrounding myself with people who are involved in the sport. Everyone loved the sport so much we were rigorous about capturing the true essence. We didn’t want fighting to seem forced. People feel the reality of the way we staged the fighting, making it hopefully seem authentic. We took great care in making it authentic.

BR: Who are some of the MMA people who you consulted in putting the film together?
GO: The technical adviser, Greg Jackson, to begin with. Greg was instrumental in forming not only fighting, but also the corner with “Frank.” Everything Frank said in the corner, we ran by Greg, asking, “What would you say now?” He was always signing off on whatever we did. And Greg is into classical music, that’s how I got the idea to include that in the film. Greg uses music in his own training. He was big. All the fight coordinators are MMA guys. And Sam Sheridan, as the announcer, is so knowledgeable. We had people that love the sport.

BR: What would you say to movie-goers who are not MMA fans? Can this movie still be for them?
GO: The lesson that we keep learning at screenings is that people, women especially, are saying that although they have no interest in MMA, they are not fans of the sport, now that they’ve seen the movie they will not only recommend it, but they will go watch UFC fights. They had a preconception of the sport, and we’ve dismissed that, which makes me really happy.

BR: Were there any MMA fighters that you had in mind when creating the characters in the movie?
GO: No, not at all. The only one in mind was Fedor, a little bit. But there is no one else they are based on.

BR: Did you have any cooperation or were you interested in working with the UFC or any other organizations?
GO: No. I give a nod to them because I have respect for the UFC, but I wanted this to be very different from the UFC, not to take them on. A Grand Prix tournament is a one-weekend affair, and the way I lit it and staged the tournament, down to the girls with beach balls, everything is different from what the UFC does. I didn’t in any way want to step on their toes or compete with them. And I didn’t want their help and didn’t know if they’d even be interested.

BR: Will there be a “Warrior 2?” Three? Seventeen?
GO: I talked to the studio before we made the film and said I think there’s a trilogy in the story. If people like it and we have the time to do it correctly, maybe it will happen. I wouldn’t want it to become like “Rocky,” where after “Rocky 2,” they just started to become exploitative. I never want to do that.

See the trailer and learn more about “Warrior” at WarriorFilm.com.

Jerry Milani is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained first-hand.

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