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Are Events Like UFC Fight Night 32 Why the UFC’s Popularity is Suffering?

(It’s almost 2014. Dan Henderson and Vitor Belfort are still main-eventing UFC cards. / photo via Getty)

By Matt Saccaro

Cards like UFC Fight Night 32 are contributing to the death of MMA’s popularity in the US.

In case you haven’t noticed, the UFC’s numbers have been atrocious lately. UFC 165, a card headlined by the light heavyweight champion of the world and future of the company Jon Jones, drew a paltry 325,000 buys. Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos III—the finale to the greatest trilogy in UFC heavyweight history—drew a slightly higher number at UFC 166.

The UFC has had woes on free television too. TUF is regularly breaking the wrong kinds of records. And the ratings on FOX Sports 1 have been inconsistent at best. They started strong with a tremendous 1.7 million (back to 2011 Spike TV levels) for UFC Fight Night 26, dropped 54% to 824,000 viewers for UFN 27, fell a further 35% to 539,000 for UFN 28, rose to 638,000 for 29, and stayed at that level for the next fight night card on FOX Sports 1, UFC Fight Night 31 (a.k.a. UFC Fight for the Troops 3).

(It’s almost 2014. Dan Henderson and Vitor Belfort are still main-eventing UFC cards. / photo via Getty)

By Matt Saccaro

Cards like UFC Fight Night 32 are contributing to the death of MMA’s popularity in the US.

Not counting UFC Fight Night 32 (the ratings aren’t out at the time of writing), the average viewership for UFC Fight Night cards on FS1 is 884,400. The average viewership for the last five “Fight Night” events the UFC held on Spike TV is over twice that number at a little over two million (1.8 million for UFN 25, 2.2 million for UFN 24, 2.5 million for UFN 23, 1.6 million for UFN 22, and 2 million for UFN 21).

UFC Fight Night 30, the lone Fight Night that’s been featured on FOX Sports 2, only drew 122,000 viewers and was outdrawn by World Series of Fighting 6, which scored 161,000 viewers.

Something—nay, many things, are amiss. Even the king of hyperbole Dana White admitted that the UFC is not mainstream. And with cards like UFC Fight Night 32, it never will be.

What about that event stood out? What about that event made people say, “I need to keep watching the UFC”?

The card was stacked with middling Brazilian fighters and prospects only the hardcore fans and journalists knew or cared about. Fans will say that the card was great because there were finishes, but that’s a short-sighted and extremely myopic view. Yes, four of the six bouts on the main card were finishes, but what’s a finish worth when nobody is watching?

The casual fan, the group on which the UFC’s growth and popularity in the United States is dependent, doesn’t care about finishes. The casual fan cares about names, about stars. The guy who wears tapout and does bicep curls in the squat rack talks about Kimbo Slice and Brock Lesnar, not about the intricacies of a setup for an armbar or a triangle.

Ask yourself this: What did UFC Fight Night 32 do to regain the swaths of casual fans who have tuned out of MMA since 2013?

Obviously, the UFC can’t put all the good stuff on free television because they make money on their PPVs. Still, that brings up another question. What “good stuff” do they have left to put on free TV that’ll draw what they were drawing on Spike?

Their stars are fading. Instead of creating new ones, they’re vomiting a stream of generic, EA sports create-a-fighters onto television screens across America. They’re expecting the casual fan to watch because it’s the UFC and the UFC is a good brand and they’re fights and fights are exciting. Everyone loves fights, right? It’s in our blood to love fighting. Or so the tired MMA-triumphalist rhetoric goes.

But it’s become apparent that that logic isn’t true. People aren’t tuning in for the novelty of “this UFC thing” anymore. They’ve moved on either because they’re waiting for Chuck Liddell’s or Kimbo Slice’s or Brock Lesnar’s next fight, or because the sport is too hard to follow, or because they never see it on TV because they don’t watch FS1, or because they see cards like UFC Fight Night 32 and just don’t care anymore.

This issue becomes even more complicated when you consider the question of overseas expansion. UFC Fight Night 32 was, obviously, a Brazil-centric card. The UFC is also eyeing expansion in many other countries. But is the UFC pursuing this goal because the US market is drying up, or is the US market drying up because of the UFC’s obsession with international growth?

The answer, for now, is elusive. When we see how the UFC closes out the year, we’ll know the bubble has burst if we see the UFC’s popularity in the US continue to wither.

Bellator 107 Recap: Cheick Kongo Wins in Typical Cheick Kongo Fashion, Joe Warren Scores TKO Over Travis Marx

(Photo via Bellator MMA)

Bellator 107 was a crucial show for Bellator. Over one million people were exposed to their product last week. Did they wow anyone who decided to tune in for a second week in a row?

Yes and no.

They made a poor decision in starting the card with a fight between virtually unknown fighter Derek Campos and disappointing British prospect Martin Stapleton. Any converts from the previous event likely switched channels after this fight started; it was that bad. The only notable part of this contest was when Stapleton’s knee almost went out (or at least that’s what it looked like) during a spinning backfist attempt, resulting in a crazy jig. Campos won via unanimous decision.

Fortunately, the second fight of the night picked up the pace a little bit. After a lackluster first round, the middleweight tournament final between Mikkel Parlo and Brennan Ward ended in fireworks. In what can only be described as “beast mode,” Ward battered Parlo’s body with sledgehammer-like punches (GIF via @ZProphet_MMA), and then started teeing off on Parlo’s head. Ward battered Parlo so badly that the fight was stopped while Parlo was still standing. It was one of the best displays of the pure violence inherent in MMA in recent memory.

Get the run down of the co-main and main event after the jump.

(Photo via Bellator MMA)

Bellator 107 was a crucial show for Bellator. Over one million people were exposed to their product last week. Did they wow anyone who decided to tune in for a second week in a row?

Yes and no.

The bantamweight tournament final was the night’s co-main event. Joe Warren faced off against Travis Marx. After a first round that saw more grinding than a senior prom, Warren dropped Marx with a perfectly-timed knee and finished him off with punches.

Bellator 107′s main event and heavyweight tournament final pitted Cheick Kongo against Vinicius “Spartan” Queiroz’s replacement, Peter Graham. Kongo added a smattering of aggression into his usual “clinch against the cage indefinitely” strategy, but the fight still left a lot to be desired. Kongo won a unanimous decision victory.

Overall, the event was barely okay. The two poor fights bookended the two good fights. This meant viewers started off with a bad taste in their figurative mouths, and then left the card with the same taste. A card that left viewers feeling unsatisfied was the last thing Bellator needed the week after the biggest event in their history, and the week before their biggest star—Rampage Jackson—is fighting.

Here are the complete results for Bellator 107:

Main Card

Cheick Kongo def. Peter Graham via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Joe Warren def. Travis Marx via TKO (knee and punches), 1:54 of Round 2
Brennan Ward def. Mikkel Parlo via TKO (punches), 1:39 of Round 2
Derek Campos def. Martin Stapleton via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Preliminary Card

Patricky Freire def. Edson Berto via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Jonas Billstein def. Cortez Coleman via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Mike Mucitelli def. Ryan McCurdy via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Raphael Butler def. Josh Burns via verbal submission (punches), 2:14 of Round 1
Linton Vassell def. Matt Jones via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)

Luke Cummo Wanted by Police for Threatening Ex-Wife, Releases New Vlogs While in Hiding [WTF, DUDE]

(Man, even Luke’s selfies are weird. / Photo via Luke’s Instagram.)

Former UFC fighter/current schizophrenic video-blogger Luke Cummo is wanted by the police, reports the New York Post.

Their report claims that Cummo sent threatening emails to his ex-wife, which prompted the police to visit Cummo’s home in Valley Stream, NY.

However, videos on Luke Cummo’s YouTube channel tell a slightly different story, specifically a video he posted yesterday. First of all, he seems to believe that his ex-wife was threatened by his videos rather than any email he sent her. He made this claim on a phone call with a friend, after the New York Post broke the news. (Cummo asked his friend what the headline said, presumably referring to the Post article.) He also referenced the amount of cops that showed up to his house. In this same video, he offered to sell medicinal pot.

On November 4th, Cummo posted a more depressing video. He telephoned a deputy sheriff who informed Cummo that a warrant was out for his arrest and that he missed a court date (judging from his other videos, this wasn’t the first time he missed court). The video took a heart-wrenching turn when Cummo called his father, who tried to talk some sense into his son but to no avail.

(Man, even Luke’s selfies are weird. / Photo via Luke’s Instagram.)

Former UFC fighter/current schizophrenic video-blogger Luke Cummo is wanted by the police, reports the New York Post.

Their report claims that Cummo sent threatening emails to his ex-wife, which prompted the police to visit Cummo’s home in Valley Stream, NY.

Of course, it’s understandable that Cummo is upset; his children were taken away from him. But, by the same token, he could have just gone to court. From the video where he calls the sheriff, as well as several of his other videos, it can be inferred that he refused to go through the local legal system because the courts don’t view vaccinating his children and feeding his children processed foods as criminal acts.

Regardless, it’s upsetting to see someone in this situation. He’s gone from a quirky, harmless weird to a desperate, scared weird. Hopefully things won’t go too badly for him but he seems intent on making his legal problems worse by evading the police and continuing to document his various refusals to cooperate with the law.

His most recent video, uploaded around 9:30 p.m. EST, is a short one depicting a man playing an acoustic guitar which then pans back to Cummo looking ominous. We’ll keep you updated on any developments.

27 Ways to Know You’re Part of the MMA Media

(The MMA media in a nutshell, except replace Jade Bryce with Dana White and Eric Holden with any credentialed “journalist” in the business. / Photo via Examiner.com)

By the CagePotato.com staff

The MMA media is a diverse bunch, ranging from actual professionals to despicable bottom-feeders like us. However, there are trials and tribulations that we can all relate to, and which ultimately unite us. For example…

1. You’ve been called a Zuffa shill whenever you say something positive about the UFC.

2. You’ve been called an anti-Zuffa hack whenever you say anything negative about the UFC.

3. You complain about all the free UFC events you have to watch on cable.

(The MMA media in a nutshell, except replace Jade Bryce with Dana White and Eric Holden with any credentialed “journalist” in the business. / Photo via Examiner.com)

By the CagePotato.com staff

1. You’ve been called a Zuffa shill whenever you say something positive about the UFC.

2. You’ve been called an anti-Zuffa hack whenever you say anything negative about the UFC.

3. You complain about all the free UFC events you have to watch on cable.

4. You abide by the list of topics to not talk about.

5. A fighter had threatened to slap your or otherwise cause you bodily harm.

6. A fighter has motorboated you.

7. A fighter has humped you.

8. You’ve seen the word “exclusive” used so many times that it has lost all meaning.

9. You never leave home without your tape recorder, notepad, fake nose, and shock pen.

Post-Bellator 106 News Roundup: Bjorn Rebney Plans Another PPV, Alvarez Tweets Picture of F*cked Up Eye, and More

(The purple hue really brings out the chestnut color of Alvarez’s eyebrows. / via twitter)

The best Sundays are post-event Sundays. There’s tons of great articles to read about the valiant, violent displays of physical fortitude that occurred the night before.

Usually, there’s not enough interest in a Bellator card to warrant a slew of interesting sound bites and pictures. But Bellator 106 was different. Bellator 106 was the canceled PPV that became one of the most important free, non-UFC televised cards in MMA history. Let’s look at some of the fallout, the crucial and the just plain cool.

Dana White, predictably, had nothing positive to say about Bellator 106 (but that’s not just because he’s a jerk; the show really wasn’t that great). Bjorn Rebney responded to Dana’s comments about karmic justice like a shady Winnebago salesman, saying “If karma is that we just put on the best mixed martial arts fight I’ve ever seen, that’s karma I’ll take big boatloads of.”

Rebney had some other important statements. He pessimistically dismissed the future of Bellator’s “Ultimate Fighter” knockoff “Fight Master.” Typical of post-Viacom buyout Bellator, Rebney didn’t do this without taking a shot at the UFC.

“Reality fight TV is having its difficulties now. You can see it in the UFC’s ratings, they’re having the lowerst-rated TUF they’ve had in the history of the show,” he said (he was right, by the way).

Read about Bellator’s next PPV, King Mo’s surprising salary, and more after the jump.

(The purple hue really brings out the chestnut color of Alvarez’s eyebrows. / via twitter)

The best Sundays are post-event Sundays. There’s tons of great articles to read about the valiant, violent displays of physical fortitude that occurred the night before.

But Rebney couldn’t continue his streak of smart post-fight quotes—he all but flat-out said that he’s planning another PPV for Bellator…because it went so well the first time. He said he wouldn’t put Chandler-Alvarez III on free TV unless he had his brains removed, which is funny because your brain (or at least part of it) would have to be removed to think putting Tito Ortiz vs. Rampage Jackson on a PPV in 2013 was a good idea.

Presumably, Chandler-Alvarez III would serve as this hypothetical PPV’s main event. That’s great because Bellator would be promoting it’s own stars rather than UFC castoffs, which is what a lot of fans and writers want. But if Bellator 106 showed anything, it was that Bellator doesn’t have the supporting cast to make a PPV worth $45, no matter how exciting the main event promises to be.

On the lighter side of things (and it’s interesting commentary on MMA that a fighter tweeting a picture of his injured face is the lighter side), Eddie Alvarez shared a picture of his stitched-up, swollen eye. The shiner was probably worth the $160,000 Alvarez earned though; he was the highest paid fighter of the night.

Interestingly (and sadly), King Mo only made $10,000 despite being one of the most well-known fighters on the card. For reference, low-level journeyman Hector “Sick Dog” Ramirez (the very same Hector Ramirez that Forrest Griffin won a boring decision over way back at UFC 72) made $7,000 to lose on the prelims. Guess it’s not so good to be the king—unless you count meeting former WCW champ Diamond Dallas Page after the fight as part of Mo’s kingly benefits (which is pretty cool).

That’s all for now. Soak it up, because there might not be another Bellator news roundup until their next PPV.

Bellator 106 Recap: Alvarez Edges Chandler, Newton Picks Apart King Mo, Riggs Becomes The “Fight Master”

(Photo via Tracy Lee/CombatLifestyle.com)

Bellator should be thankful that this card never made it to PPV; the main event was incredible but paying $45 for the rest of the card would’ve turned people off to Bellator for life.

The night started off promising. Mike “The Marine” Richman met Akop Stepanyan and won via TKO in the first round. The match was well fought and exciting.

The same couldn’t be said for the next fight on the card: Joe Riggs vs. Mike Bronzoulis. The two men fought for the honor of being Bellator’s first “Fight Master” winner, a title as dubious as being the first XFL champion. Riggs won a wrestling-heavy decision that sedated the crowd and likely had television audience flipping channels.

Pat Curran vs. Daniel Straus, the first of three title fights on the card, followed Riggs-Bronzoulis. This fight didn’t wow viewers either. There were a few spurts of action — as well as a point-deduction for an illegal knee that essentially KO’d Straus in the third round — but it was a generally lackluster affair that saw Straus take Curran’s featherweight title and in doing so avenge his 2009 loss to Curran.

(Photo via Tracy Lee/CombatLifestyle.com)

Bellator should be thankful that this card never made it to PPV; the main event was incredible but paying $45 for the rest of the card would’ve turned people off to Bellator for life.

The night started off promising. Mike “The Marine” Richman met Akop Stepanyan and won via TKO in the first round. The match was well fought and exciting.

But Straus wasn’t the only fighter looking to avenge a loss at Bellator 106. Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal sought victory over Emanuel Newton, who humiliated Lawal with a spinning backfist knockout back at Bellator 90. Lawal failed in this task. He looked impressive with his takedowns and pressure early on, but faded fast, and began looking at the clock and taking deep breaths more than he was blocking punches. As the contest stumbled into the championship rounds, Newton gassed too. The latter half of the fight wasn’t Houston Alexander-Kimbo Slice bad but it was getting to that point. Newton won via unanimous decision and earned a shady, gimmick interim title.

The main event saved the night. Eddie Alvarez and Michael Chandler attempted to rip one another apart for our entertainment (and for money, of course). Their fight rivaled Diego Sanchez-Gilbert Melendez in terms of excitement; it was equally action-packed but far more competitive. Chandler had the upper hand at some points, but it was Alvarez who was just a little quicker, landed a little more, and was a little more aware. The judges awarded Alvarez with a split-decision victory — to Bjorn Rebney’s apparent dismay — but the match took a lot out of both fighters.

The aftermath? Let’s just say Bellator really lucked out that this wasn’t put on PPV. The fights, on the whole, weren’t entertaining enough to warrant a price tag. Even worse, cherished “star” King Mo lost to a fighter many deemed beneath his level in Emanuel Newton for the second time. The positive fallout is that with an Alvarez victory, Bellator has at least one title fight to book that people actually want to see now: A rubber match between Alvarez and Chandler.

Here are the complete results for Bellator 106:

Main Card

Eddie Alvarez def. Michael Chandler via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
Emanuel Newton def. Muhammed Lawal via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
Daniel Straus def Pat Curran via unanimous decision (49-45, 48-46, 48-46)
Joe Riggs def. Mike Bronzoulis via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Mike Richman def. Akop Stepanyan via TKO, 4:05 of round 1

Preliminary Card

Cristiano Souza def. Alejandro Garcia via submission (rear naked choke), 3:06 of round 3
Brandon Halsey def. Hector Ramirez via TKO, 0:52 of round 1
Mike Guymon def. Aaron Miller via submission (triangle choke), 4:20 of round 2
Cleber Luciano def. Joe Camacho via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Josh Smith def. Darren Smith via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)