Author: MattSaccaro

The UFC Can Learn a Lesson From Bellator: How to Promote Bad Fights


(Photo via Getty)

By Matt Saccaro

The UFC said “Hey, did you hear there’s UFC FIGHTS™ on tonight? The finest athletes in the world are facing off and it’ll be action packed. Watch it!”

So we took their word for it, and watched. The athletes faced off, but they weren’t the finest in the world, and it wasn’t action packed. The athletes were green, regional-caliber competitors and there was more labored breathing and bouts of stalling than action.

Then the next event came. “It’s FIGHT WEEEEEEK! UFC FIGHTS™ are on again. The finest athletes in the world are doing battle in the Octagon™. Be sure to watch!”

We were skeptical, but being loyal MMA fans, we watched again. We were let down again. We voiced our concerns, only to be told we weren’t Real Fans if we didn’t appreciate the fights the UFC gave us. Not wanting to lose our MMA streed cred, we watched the next event that promised the top 1% of fighters battling in the Superbowl of MMA only to be disappointed.

This is what being an MMA fan has been like for the past year or two–especially since the UFC went full “World Fucking Domination” on us.

Fight cards are tougher to sit through because the talent levels are lower. Sometimes there’s two of these regional-level, star-sparse cards on the same day! And I’m not ragging on UFC Fight Night 42 specifically; on paper the card was pretty decent for a free Fight Night Card. I’m referring to the general lowering of the bar in terms of card quality that’s become undeniable as of late. The most insulting part is all these events are, for the most part, marketed the same way: Here’s awesome UFC Fights. They’ll be good. Watch them or you’re not an MMA fan.

And judging by the decline in interest (and PPV buys), lots of viewers decided they weren’t fans. And I’m not going to go on for much longer because I’ve written about the issue of over-saturation extensively on CagePotato, but the UFC can learn an important lesson from Bellator regarding how it promotes less-than-stellar fights: Be honest.


(Photo via Getty)

By Matt Saccaro

The UFC said “Hey, did you hear there’s UFC FIGHTS™ on tonight? The finest athletes in the world are facing off and it’ll be action packed. Watch it!”

So we took their word for it, and watched. The athletes faced off, but they weren’t the finest in the world, and it wasn’t action packed. The athletes were green, regional-caliber competitors and there was more labored breathing and bouts of stalling than action.

Then the next event came. “It’s FIGHT WEEEEEEK! UFC FIGHTS™ are on again. The finest athletes in the world are doing battle in the Octagon™. Be sure to watch!”

We were skeptical, but being loyal MMA fans, we watched again. We were let down again. We voiced our concerns, only to be told we weren’t Real Fans if we didn’t appreciate the fights the UFC gave us. Not wanting to lose our MMA streed cred, we watched the next event that promised the top 1% of fighters battling in the Superbowl of MMA only to be disappointed.

This is what being an MMA fan has been like for the past year or two–especially since the UFC went full “World Fucking Domination” on us.

Fight cards are tougher to sit through because the talent levels are lower. Sometimes there’s two of these regional-level, star-sparse cards on the same day! And I’m not ragging on UFC Fight Night 42 specifically; on paper the card was pretty decent for a free Fight Night Card. I’m referring to the general lowering of the bar in terms of card quality that’s become undeniable as of late. The most insulting part is all these events are, for the most part, marketed the same way: Here’s awesome UFC Fights. They’ll be good. Watch them or you’re not an MMA fan.

And judging by the decline in interest (and PPV buys), lots of viewers decided they weren’t fans. And I’m not going to go on for much longer because I’ve written about the issue of over-saturation extensively on CagePotato, but the UFC can learn an important lesson from Bellator regarding how it promotes less-than-stellar fights: Be honest.

Bellator 121 was easily the worst card (on paper) the Viacom-owned promotion had put together in a while. The best fight it offered was a match between James Thompson and Eric freakin’ Prindle. Fans and media didn’t care about Bellator 121 unless they were mocking it. “Oh, James Thompson is in the so-called #2 promotion in 2014. LOL.”

But then this trailer came out:

Yes, it’s a little cheesy at times but in some ways it’s unabashedly honest. There’s never been a better trailer for a worse fight.

Am I saying the UFC should promote all their Fight Night cards as “OMG BACON AND PIZZA FIGHTS AMAZEBALLS”? No. What I’m saying is that the UFC’s current method of promoting low-level fights is factually bankrupt and without substance.

Remember the Strikeforce: Challengers series? It was Strikeforce’s low-level show devoted to their lesser-known fighters and prospects. Perhaps the UFC should start promoting their Fight Night cards as something similar rather than a generic night of UFC action. Saying a barista is a world-beater when he clearly isn’t makes your word meaningless. Saying the pound-for-pound best fighter alive is whoever’s headlining the next card makes your word meaningless. Strikeforce never tried to pass off a Challengers as one of it’s A-level events. The UFC does the opposite. All of its shows are presented as equal in quality because they all have the UFC brand attached. This is a mistake because it teaches the viewer to associate the brand with an inferior product (poor fighters and poor fights). Sometimes a jobber is just a jobber. The UFC would do well to remember that.

Bellator 121 Results: Sokoudjou and James Thompson Emerge Victorious, Thompson Gives Rambling, Incoherent Promo About Testicles


(Oh yeah, and this happened. / via Zombie Prophet).

Bellator held it’s first extremely lackluster summer series fight card tonight with Bellator 121. We take a lot of heat for being negative, but this card warrants the hate. It was easily the worst card (on-paper) Bellator has put on in ages.

Let’s talk about the two fights you probably care about most: James Thompson vs. Eric Prindle and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Professional Jobber Terry Davinney


(Oh yeah, and this happened. / via Zombie Prophet).

Bellator held it’s first extremely lackluster summer series fight card tonight with Bellator 121. We take a lot of heat for being negative, but this card warrants the hate. It was easily the weakest card (on-paper) Bellator has put on in ages.

Let’s talk about the two fights you probably care about most: James Thompson vs. Eric Prindle and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Professional Jobber Terry Davinney

Sokoudjou controlled the fight against the doughy Davinney. He was taken down at one point, but managed to sweep Davinney after a minute or two and then finish him with a rear-naked choke (GIF via Zombie Prophet). Not a ton to say about this. It was a textbook squash match but it lacked highlight reel splendor.

Now, Eric Prindle vs. James Thompson. That fight was marketed as King Kong vs. Godzilla and bacon vs. chocolate. It wasn’t. Thompson took Prindle down with comical ease. A few soft ground-and-pound punches (GIF via Zombie Prophet) later and it was over. Nothing special or exciting–save for Thompson’s incomprehensible (but incredible) post fight interview. He talked about a guy having only one testicle. No joke. Watch it for yourself, it was without a doubt the highlight of the night.

In case you’re interested, here are the complete results for the card:

Main Card

Philipe Lins def. Austen Heidlage via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:45
James Thompson def. Eric Prindle via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:55
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou def. Terry Davinney via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:16
Egidijus Valavicius def. Carlos Eduardo via split-decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) – Round 3, 5:00

Preliminary Card

Joe Vedepo def. Cortez Coleman via majority decision (28-28, 29-27, 29-27) – Round 3, 5:00
Kelly Anundson def. Rodney Wallace via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) – Round 3, 5:00
Ray Sloan def. Jamelle Jones via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 0:48
Robert McDaniel def. Matt Jones via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27) – Round 3, 5:00
Steve Garcia def. Cody Walker via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:39
William Florentino def. Guillermo Martinez Ayme via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28) – Round 3, 5:00

Watch a Bellator Cameraman Perv Out on a Female Fan [GIF]

We’ve seen lots of stuff in MMA. Some good. Some bad. Some disgusting.

This GIF is a combination of all three, perhaps. During the Bellator 121 prelims, a cameraman zoomed in on a woman’s upper torso in a way that made their not-so-honorable intentions clear. Check it out after the jump (and h/t to Zombie Prophet):


(It gets worse. / Via screencap)

We’ve seen lots of stuff in MMA. Some good. Some bad. Some disgusting.

This GIF is a combination of all three, perhaps. During the Bellator 121 prelims, a cameraman zoomed in on a woman’s upper torso in a way that made their not-so-honorable intentions clear. Check it out (and h/t to Zombie Prophet):

Pretty sordid if you ask us. Stay classy, MMA.

23 Things That Should Be Broadcast on UFC Fight Pass


(We’d include “The Dana White 24/7 feed — all Dana White, all the time,” but that’s kind of what the UFC is already. / Photo via Getty.)

If the UFC expects us to shell out $10 every month to watch local talent and foreign-language reality shows on the Internet, they’ve got another thing coming. Here are some suggestions for new Fight Pass content that would actually make the digital streaming service worth our time and money…

1. Live footage of fighter weight cuts (i.e., “sauna-cam”/”salt bath-cam”). Who wouldn’t want to see how brutal these things can get?

2. The complete library of TUF audition tapes.

3. Dana White bench pressing and doing pull ups.

4. Any existing video of Dana’s old boxercise classes.

5. Nicco Fertitta’s football highlights.

6. Random drug tests.

7. The first season of Keeping Up With the Koschecks.


(We’d include “The Dana White 24/7 feed — all Dana White, all the time,” but that’s kind of what the UFC is already. / Photo via Getty.)

If the UFC expects us to shell out $10 every month to watch local talent and foreign-language reality shows on the Internet, they’ve got another thing coming. Here are some suggestions for new Fight Pass content that would actually make the digital streaming service worth our time and money…

1. Live footage of fighter weight cuts (i.e., “sauna-cam”/”salt bath-cam”). Who wouldn’t want to see how brutal these things can get?

2. The complete library of TUF audition tapes.

3. Dana White bench pressing and doing pull ups.

4. Any existing video of Dana’s old boxercise classes.

5. Nicco Fertitta’s football highlights.

6. Random drug tests.

7. The first season of Keeping Up With the Koschecks.

8. All of the “Ultimate Knockouts” DVDs.

9. Weekly installments of Don Frye’s “Predator’s Predictions.”

10. “The World of Elliot”: A new video blog series starring that Elliot guy who shoots Dana White’s video blogs. (You know, the dude who’s always lurking in the background of staredowns? Yeah, that guy.)

11. Live-stream of the janitors cleaning up the arena after each event.

12. Live-stream of the media buffet.

13. Matt Brown’s Legit Man Shit, but as a TV show.

14. All the fighter interview footage that was left on the cutting room floor while creating the PPV intro packages, extended event trailers, UFC Primetime, and the rest of the UFC’s promotional offerings.

15. All Strikeforce: Challengers events.

16. All PRIDE events.

17. All Best of Pride episodes.

18. NSAC licensing hearings.

19. Contract negotiations.

20. Bout agreement signings.

21. Live-stream of the UFC fighter summit.

22. Live-stream of Dana White gambling at whatever casinos haven’t banned him yet.

23. Live-stream of all church services attended by Vitor Belfort.

Got any other suggestions? Throw ‘em in the comments section or tweet ‘em to us @CagePotatoMMA.

Watch the Pilot Episode of Luke Cummo’s Web Series “Dino & Digger”

Luke Cummo, former UFC fighter and passionate advocate against MMA, has returned to YouTube.

You might recall that last Cummo was in the MMA headlines, he was making crazy videos of himself chanting “Uh huh, Optimus. Uh huh, Optimus” over and over again as if he were trying to summon the Autobot into this world. Then the videos took a darker turn as the police started pursuing him for allegedly ditching court and sending his wife threatening emails.

All that nastiness seems to be over now, however. Cummo is back to making head-scratching videos. A perfect example: The above video, a pilot episode of a series seemingly invented by Cummo. It stars a dinosaur named “Mega” and a bulldozer/transformer named “Z-tech.” The duo protects future world leaders kind of like how the Terminator protects John Connor on Terminator 2.

Check out another episode of the show and another wild video after the jump.

Luke Cummo, former UFC fighter and passionate advocate against MMA, has returned to YouTube.

You might recall that we heard of Cummo, he was making crazy videos of himself chanting “Uh huh, Optimus. Uh huh, Optimus” over and over again as if he were trying to summon the famed Autobot into our world. Then the videos took a darker turn as the police started pursuing him for allegedly sending his wife threatening emails.

All that nastiness seems to be over now, however. Cummo is back to making head-scratching videos. A perfect example: The above video, a pilot episode of a series seemingly invented by Cummo. It stars a dinosaur named “Mega” and a bulldozer/transformer named “Z-tech.” The duo protects future world leaders kind of like how the Terminator protects John Connor on Terminator 2.

Here’s another episode of the show:

Clearly, the best part about these videos is Cummo’s garb: Golden football shoulder pads and an Optimus prime mask.

He’s uploaded hundreds of videos since he went off YouTube late last year. He’s still continuing with his League of Champions promotion–a league that’s based on “sparring” as opposed to “fighting,” according to his numerous videos about it. To be honest, that’s not a terrible idea in an age where society is growing more conscious of brain damaged sustained by athletes. Unfortunately, Cummo’s execution of his ideas seem a little, well, too Luke Cummo. Also: he calls himself “Master Lukey Optimus Red Owl Cummo” now. Quite a nickname.

We’ll leave you with a video that perhaps has the most epic intro of any on his channel (which you suggest you check out, by the way, some of his rants make good points):


(Fast forward to 1:30 for his incredible entrance; and yes he’s still calling out Joe Rogan and even called out GSP.)

Monday Night Wars Alert: UFC and Bellator to Go Head-to-Head in September


(Photo via Getty)

The UFC will be heading to Connecticut on September 5th. The card will air on FS1. Normally we wouldn’t cover such a banal, uninteresting announcement, but something makes it very special: September 5th also marks the date of Bellator’s season 11 debut, and it’s also being held in Connecticut to boot—a mere 10 miles away.

To say this is a big deal is an understatement. Perhaps Bellator’s rumored 100k PPV buys for Bellator 120 turned the UFC’s head, and now they view the promotion as a threat? And what about ratings? Will Bellator and SpikeTV be able to out-draw the UFC and FOX Sports 1?


(Photo via Getty)

The UFC will be heading to Connecticut on September 5th. The card will air on FS1. Normally we wouldn’t cover such a banal, uninteresting announcement, but something makes it very special: September 5th also marks the date of Bellator’s season 11 debut, and it’s also being held in Connecticut to boot—a mere 10 miles away.

To say this is a big deal is an understatement. Perhaps Bellator’s rumored 100k PPV buys for Bellator 120 turned the UFC’s head, and now they view the promotion as a threat? And what about ratings? Will Bellator and SpikeTV be able to out-draw the UFC and FOX Sports 1?

It’s difficult to answer any of these questions at the current moment, especially since neither the UFC nor Bellator has announced a main event. The only fight announced for Bellator 123 is Brennan Ward vs. James Irvin, which isn’t super-appealing in all honesty.

It seems that the only way Bellator can hope to compete with the UFC is if they—forgive the use of this cliche—stack Bellator 123. They’ll have to put Rampage Jackson on the card, and perhaps even Tito Ortiz as well. But if Bellator puts its top draws on the card for free, it’ll cost quite a bit. The UFC is going head-to-head in order to force Bellator into a pace its roster can’t sustain, it would appear.

These are just musings, of course. We have very little information right now. We’ll be sure to update you when we get more.