Author: Matthew Saccaro

Dana White’s Twitter: "ESPN Always Hated Us…[Expletive] ESPN"

UFC president Dana White has recently set his sights on sports media giant ESPN via his (in)famous Twitter account.White tweeted (sic):”ESPN always hated us and now they hate us more now that we are on FOX. They canceled my int next week for UFC Rio Fu…

UFC president Dana White has recently set his sights on sports media giant ESPN via his (in)famous Twitter account.

White tweeted (sic):

“ESPN always hated us and now they hate us more now that we are on FOX. They canceled my int next week for UFC Rio Fuk ESPN”

Cursing varying entities out via Twitter is nothing new for the outspoken White, but this may be the first time he has gone against such a large force in sports.

ESPN is the most widely known and watched sports network in the world, and it’s likely that their coverage of UFC events and MMA as a whole will drop from the incident.  If what White said was true, then ESPN already began to cover the UFC less because of the deal with Fox.

ESPN is owned by the Walt Disney Corporation, who also owns ABC, one of Fox’s rivals.  It is clear that the UFC’s move to Fox was taken as an aggressive move by the people at the helm; why would they promote a competitor’s venture into MMA via covering UFC events on ESPN if they don’t have to?

What will this mean for the sport?

It’s difficult to tell now, but the more distinct possibility is that the whole incident doesn’t negatively impact the sport at all.  The UFC brand has made it to a deal with Fox without extensive ESPN coverage, and fanfare and will continue to grow without it.

In the future, it will be the UFC that is accepting ESPN’s apology.

 

Matt Saccaro is a Bleacher Report featured columnist and avid fan of MMA. For more articles like this and for 140-character insights into MMA, follow @mattsaccaro.

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MMA: Is Now the Best Time to Be a Fan of Mixed Martial Arts?

The sport of mixed martial arts has come a long way from the days of belching commentators, fighters carrying the crucifix and “human cockfighting.” Fans who began to watch the sport within the last year or so are fortunate; now is perhaps the best tim…

The sport of mixed martial arts has come a long way from the days of belching commentators, fighters carrying the crucifix and “human cockfighting.” Fans who began to watch the sport within the last year or so are fortunate; now is perhaps the best time to be a fan of mixed martial arts.

Fans of the modern incarnation of mixed martial arts enjoy a newer, better form of the sport that has better athletes, better fights and is more popular.

While the fans of the old days certainly got to enjoy the amazing characters and “freakshow” type quality of the early events, the level of skill wasn’t extraordinary and there weren’t as many cards.

The sport eventually evolved from that low point and included athletes who cross-trained in several disciplines but were only masters of one aspect of fighting. Even with better competition and slightly more events, the sport was still on the fringes of society.

The sport underwent another change after this era with the rise of The Ultimate Fighter reality show. The UFC’s targeted demographic was enamored with the show and it helped to make the UFC a household name, not for negative reasons, but for positive ones.

As the show went on, the next generation of legends began to rise.

The sport continually evolved and grew more popular and that finally led us to the modern day. The UFC is a global company that has just signed a deal with the Fox network.

The stars have aligned for the sport of mixed martial arts, the UFC, and the fans; people who became fans within the last year or two don’t know how fortunate they were to have joined at this crucial juncture.

First, fans who have been watching recent events (and either just started watching MMA recently or have been watching all along) got to see the current generation of legends such as UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva perform at their peaks; they will remember them as the greats that they are.

Second, fans will not be forced to bear the weight of ideological baggage from the Pride vs. UFC debates of old. With only one clearly superior organization, debates such as that are over.

Third, fans have seen and will continue to see the rise of the next generation of fighters such as UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and UFC welterweight prospect Rory MacDonald.

Fourth, the fans will see the sport they love grow to unparalleled heights due to the recent deal with Fox.

Thus, if there was any time in the history of mixed martial arts to become a fan of the sport, it is unquestionably now. The sport is becoming not only a major sport, but something more…something that may shake the very foundations of the international sports world.

 

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Jon Jones, Brock Lesnar and the 13 Most Hated Fighters in MMA History

Even though the history of mixed martial arts is relatively short compared to other sports, it is now without its share of legendary characters that rub fans the wrong way for one reason or another.These fighters, despite being hated by fans, develop…

Even though the history of mixed martial arts is relatively short compared to other sports, it is now without its share of legendary characters that rub fans the wrong way for one reason or another.

These fighters, despite being hated by fans, develop a large amount of star power and become huge draws due to the fact that fans will pay for the possibility to see them get what they deserve in the Octagon.

Who are some of these fighters and why are they so hated? Read and find out, but keep in mind it’s difficult to definitively rank exactly how hated someone is. Thus, the list isn’t ranked per se, but generally goes from least hated amongst hated fighters to most hated.

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MMA: The 10 Most Overused Words and Phrases in MMA

Every sport across the world has a unique set of words to it and even if the words themselves aren’t truly unique, they have a connotation that isn’t found anywhere else.The sport of mixed martial arts is no exception to this rule since. As the sport h…

Every sport across the world has a unique set of words to it and even if the words themselves aren’t truly unique, they have a connotation that isn’t found anywhere else.

The sport of mixed martial arts is no exception to this rule since. As the sport has grown leaps and bounds, a vocabulary of words and phrases has evolved.

Unfortunately, these words and phrases have become so overused that some fans loath them and feel they need to be replaced or retired outright. What are these overused words and phrases? Read to find out!

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UFC on Versus 5 Fight Card: Which Fighters Have the Most To Gain?

UFC on Versus 5 is set to take place Sunday, August 14th, 2011 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.The card is headlined by a duel between strikers Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy and Chris “Lights Out” Lytle. The co-main event is Jim Miller vs. Ben H…

UFC on Versus 5 is set to take place Sunday, August 14th, 2011 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The card is headlined by a duel between strikers Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy and Chris “Lights Out” Lytle. The co-main event is Jim Miller vs. Ben Henderson.

Ironically, the co-main event is actually more important to its respective division (lightweight) than the main event is to its division (welterweight). That is to say, the two fighters have more to gain, specifically Miller.

There are other fighters who have a lot more to gain than others. Who are they? Read and find out, but keep in mind that obviously every fighter has something to gain by winning, but some have more to gain than just a win bonus or keeping their job.

Don’t expect to see all 24 fighters on the card here.

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UFC: The 7 UFC Champions and the Fighter That Could Most Likely Beat Them

There are a multitude of fighters in the UFC but there are so many who are viewed as truly great. However, there is a dividing line event among those those lucky enough to be considered great; the greatest of the great are considered nigh unbeatable.Ho…

There are a multitude of fighters in the UFC but there are so many who are viewed as truly great. However, there is a dividing line event among those those lucky enough to be considered great; the greatest of the great are considered nigh unbeatable.

However, MMA history has demonstrated that even the fiercest of fighters can be beat by the right person; every fighter has an Achilles’ heel, after all.

Of the best fighters in each weight class in the UFC, there is at least one competitor who stands a pretty decent shot of victory. Who are these fighters and who are the fighters who could most likely beat them? Read and find out!

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