Author: Mike Russell

Is the UFC’s Fox Deal Hurting Business?

(Video courtesy of YouTube/StudioMMA)

An interesting quote from the interview above by our friends at StudioMMA got me thinking today whether or not the landmark TV deal the UFC struck with Fox is helping or hindering Zuffa’s bottom line.

According to UFC president Dana White, every day he deals with fans who say they had no idea that the UFC is broadcasting events on Fox and it’s affiliates like FX and Fuel TV.

“Our deal with Fox is seven years. Over the next two years we’re working our asses off to get this Fox deal dialed in… Fuel, FX and big Fox — as far as the production goes, as far as the type of programming we’re going to continue to put together, fine-tuning the Ultimate Fighter that’s live and reaching out and letting not only the hardcore fans, the sometimes fans and people who aren’t yet fans know that we’re on Fox. That’s a bigger job than people could imagine. How many people that I still talk to on Twitter that have no idea we are on FOX, FX or FUEL; oh, it’s crazy man. It’s crazy. So that’s what we’re going to be doing in the next two years.”


(Video courtesy of YouTube/StudioMMA)

An interesting quote from the interview above by our friends at StudioMMA got me thinking today whether or not the landmark TV deal the UFC struck with Fox is helping or hindering Zuffa’s bottom line.

According to UFC president Dana White, every day he deals with fans who say they had no idea that the UFC is broadcasting events on Fox and it’s affiliates like FX and Fuel TV.

“Our deal with Fox is seven years. Over the next two years we’re working our asses off to get this Fox deal dialed in… Fuel, FX and big Fox — as far as the production goes, as far as the type of programming we’re going to continue to put together, fine-tuning the Ultimate Fighter that’s live and reaching out and letting not only the hardcore fans, the sometimes fans and people who aren’t yet fans know that we’re on Fox. That’s a bigger job than people could imagine. How many people that I still talk to on Twitter that have no idea we are on FOX, FX or FUEL; oh, it’s crazy man. It’s crazy. So that’s what we’re going to be doing in the next two years.”

Add to the fact that FX and Fuel aren’t available in Canada (unless you count FX Canada, which shows past seasons of its popular original shows making it about as appealing as a Netflix membership), the only affiliate in the country that is licensed to air UFC events (Sportsnet) doesn’t broadcast The Ultimate Fighter Live! live. Instead, it’s aired two hours after FX shows it.

Early ratings numbers for the show illustrate a definite decline in viewership from the SPIKE TV-helmed shows, but that’s because SPIKE is available in most cable and satellite packages in North America.

White expressed his disappointment in the turn in viewership in a recent interview with MMAJunkie, but admitted that he expected some transitional speed bumps when he signed the deal with Fox. He also said that Zuffa and it’s Fox cohorts are optimistic that things will turn around.

“There’s so many things that are involved in those numbers,” White said. “I didn’t expect to jump on FX and do 3.5 million viewers right out of the gate. But here’s the thing: The format is awesome. It’s perfect. We’ve got a great season, and we’re going to build this thing. Believe me, the way that FX deals with their programming and how they handle it, they’re so analytical. These guys are like fucking rocket scientists how they break this stuff down and look at it. Trust me, everything is positive over there.”

What are your thoughts on the good, the bad and the ugly of the first three months of the Fox era of the UFC?

Heads Up: Parisyan, McCorkle, Beerbohm, Fickett, Buentello, Schoonover and Denny Are Fighting This Weekend in Texas

(Video courtesy of YouTube/WMMASPORTS1)

If you’re looking for an MMA fix to get you through until UFC 145, Worldwide Mixed Martial Arts is holding its inaugural show on Saturday in El Paso, Texas.

The promotion put together the pretty slick looking promo above for its McCorkle vs. Heden: Fighting For A Better World event that will see a portion of the proceeds from the show donated to the Wounded Warriors project.

In the main and co-main event of the evening, former UFC heavyweight Sean McCorkle will take on a somewhat unknown fighter by the name of Brian Heden and onetime UFC welterweight contender Karo Parisyan will face King of the Cage, EliteXC and MFC vet Thomas “Wildman” Denny. The event will be available for rent via pay-per-view.

During the promo, clips were shown of Parisyan’s first fight — a bare-knuckle scrap he had in Mexico when he was 14 against a 20-something local champion.

Check out the entire impressive fight by young Karo and the complete WMMA fight card after the jump.


(Video courtesy of YouTube/WMMASPORTS1)

If you’re looking for an MMA fix to get you through until UFC 145, Worldwide Mixed Martial Arts is holding its inaugural show on Saturday in El Paso, Texas.

The promotion put together the pretty slick looking promo above for its McCorkle vs. Heden: Fighting For A Better World event that will see a portion of the proceeds from the show donated to the Wounded Warriors project.

In the main and co-main event of the evening, former UFC heavyweight Sean McCorkle will take on a somewhat unknown fighter by the name of Brian Heden and onetime UFC welterweight contender Karo Parisyan will face King of the Cage, EliteXC and MFC vet Thomas “Wildman” Denny. The event will be available for rent via pay-per-view.

During the promo, clips were shown of Parisyan’s first fight — a bare-knuckle scrap he had in Mexico when he was 14 against a 20-something local champion.

Check out the entire impressive fight by young Karo and the complete WMMA fight card below.


(Video courtesy of YouTube/MXARMO)


(Video courtesy of YouTube/MXARMO)
———-

WMMA 1- McCorkle vs. Hedin: Fighting For A Better World
Saturday, March 30, 2012
Don Haskins Center, El Paso, TX

Main Card
Sean McCorkle vs. Brian Heden (Super Heavyweight)
Thomas Denny vs. Karo Parisyan (170lbs)
Lyle Beerbohm vs. Derrick Noble (170lbs)
Drew Fickett vs. Kevin Knabjian (155lbs)
Jamaine Facey vs. Willie Parks (170lbs)
Rodney Wallace vs. Derrick Mehmen (205lbs)

Under Card
Darrill “Titties” Schoonover vs. Paul Buentello (265lbs)
Frank Gomez vs. Chris Gruetzemacher (145lbs)
Deutsch Pu’u vs. Esteves Jones (265lbs)
Lionel Lanham vs. Brad Peterson (185lbs)

UFC 145 Video Hype: Rashad Evans is Ready for Some Payback


(“Is this angry enough for you?”)

Zuffa has been killing it lately with the professional quality of its promos like the one they put out for the Rousey-Tate bout and the “Believe Your Eyes” recap of Jon Jones’ win over Lyoto Machida.

The most recent addition to the list is this pre-UFC 145 spot featuring Rashad Evans, titled “The Payback.” Clips like these remind me of the top-tier promos boxing fans have been spoiled with the past few years. Hopefully they keep making them to keep fans interested when there’s a lull in action like we’ve experienced the past month.

Now we know how fans of sports like hockey, baseball, football and basketball feel.

Check out the short after the jump.


(“Is this angry enough for you?”)

Zuffa has been killing it lately with the professional quality of its promos like the one they put out for the Rousey-Tate bout and the “Believe Your Eyes” recap of Jon Jones’ win over Lyoto Machida.

The most recent addition to the list is this pre-UFC 145 spot featuring Rashad Evans, titled “The Payback.” Clips like these remind me of the top-tier promos boxing fans have been spoiled with the past few years. Hopefully they keep making them to keep fans interested when there’s a lull in action like we’ve experienced the past month.

Now we know how fans of sports like hockey, baseball, football and basketball feel.

Check out the short below.

MMA Fighter and Iraq War Vet Foils Robbery With Rear Naked Choke [VIDEO]


(This despicable human cockfighting needs to stop.)

A schizophrenic man walks into a party store and tells the clerk he has a gun in his pocket and that he’ll use it if he doesn’t give him the money out of the register.

No, this isn’t the set-up to a corny joke, it’s what went down last Thursday in Grand Rapids, Michigan but that isn’t the remarkable part of the story; it’s what happened next that makes the robbery attempt much more interesting.

“I look at the cashier — I kind of know him, I come in there every day — I whispered to him, I mouthed to him, ‘Are you getting robbed right now?’ He said, ‘Yeah,’ like really scared,” recalls customer Zack Thome, an Army vet and current college student who also happened to be a trained MMA fighter.


(This despicable human cockfighting needs to stop.)

A schizophrenic man walks into a party store and tells the clerk he has a gun in his pocket and that he’ll use it if he doesn’t give him the money out of the register.

No, this isn’t the set-up to a corny joke, it’s what went down last Thursday in Grand Rapids, Michigan but that isn’t the remarkable part of the story; it’s what happened next that makes the robbery attempt much more interesting.

“I look at the cashier — I kind of know him, I come in there every day — I whispered to him, I mouthed to him, ‘Are you getting robbed right now?’ He said, ‘Yeah,’ like really scared,” recalls customer Zack Thome, an Army vet and current college student who also happened to be a trained MMA fighter.


(Video courtesy of TinyPic Fox17)

Without hesitating, Thorne lunged at the robber, slapping on a rear-naked choke and taking him to the ground, where he held him until police arrived and arrested the 38-year-old who was recently released from jail.

“It’s kind of my hometown.  I live right next to the place, you know, I’m in there everyday.  I think if it was the other way around, if I worked there and the guy at the register was there, he would have done the same thing,” said Thome,

It’s ironic that a sport deemed by vehement opponents like Bob Reilly as being a terrible spectacle that civilized society could do without, has contributed to the thwarting of a handful of robberies and at least one homicidal rampage in the last couple years.

 

Friday Afternoon Link Dump

(Video courtesy of YouTube/HDNet)

– 10 Ways to Gain Muscle (Men’s Fitness)

– PEDs in MMA: Amid TRT Controversy, A Hidden Danger (MMA Fighting)

– Ultimate Treadmills Fail Compilation (Worldwide Interweb)

– Infographoc: The Cost of Don Draper’s Life Today (Made Man)

– Indonesian 8-Year-Old Smokes a Pack a Day (Turd Ferguson Blog)

– An Incomplete Guide to Michael Bay’s Ridiculousness (Screen Junkies)

– Nick Offerman’s Amazing Workshop (BREAK)

– Lindsay Lohan’s Lawyer Plagiarized Her Dumb Lawsuit (Film Drunk)

– Who Said It, Don Draper or Tupac Shakur? (Clutch MTV)

– Fedor Likely Headed to Super Fight League Next (Fighters Only)

– Wand: I’m From the Streets and Vitor Lives In Disneyland (Bleacher Report)

– A Cure For Baldness, Man Boobs, And Other Dude Problems (Holy Taco)

– Five Questions Stemming From the Broncos’ Signing of Peyton Manning (Scores Report)


(Video courtesy of YouTube/HDNet)

– 10 Ways to Gain Muscle (Men’s Fitness)

– PEDs in MMA: Amid TRT Controversy, A Hidden Danger (MMA Fighting)

– Ultimate Treadmills Fail Compilation (Worldwide Interweb)

– Infographoc: The Cost of Don Draper’s Life Today (Made Man)

– Indonesian 8-Year-Old Smokes a Pack a Day (Turd Ferguson Blog)

– An Incomplete Guide to Michael Bay’s Ridiculousness (Screen Junkies)

– Nick Offerman’s Amazing Workshop (BREAK)

– Lindsay Lohan’s Lawyer Plagiarized Her Dumb Lawsuit (Film Drunk)

– Who Said It, Don Draper or Tupac Shakur? (Clutch MTV)

– Fedor Likely Headed to Super Fight League Next (Fighters Only)

– Wand: I’m From the Streets and Vitor Lives In Disneyland (Bleacher Report)

– A Cure For Baldness, Man Boobs, And Other Dude Problems (Holy Taco)

– Five Questions Stemming From the Broncos’ Signing of Peyton Manning (Scores Report)

Placed In Medically-Induced Coma, Blagoi Ivanov Remains On Life Support Six Weeks After Stabbing

Bellator vet Blagoi Ivanov has been placed in a medically induced coma in the intensive care unit of the Bulgarian hospital he has been recovering in since being stabbed more than six weeks ago in his homeland.

This according to a press release by the hospital, sent out today.

Doctors are planning to start hemodialysis on Ivanov soon in an attempt to save his kidneys from further damage. His breathing is being assisted by a respirator and he is being pumped full of a steady supply of antibiotics to ward off infection.

There’s no word on whether or not his physicians expect him to fully recover from the attack.

Bellator vet Blagoi Ivanov has been placed in a medically induced coma in the intensive care unit of the Bulgarian hospital he has been recovering in since being stabbed more than six weeks ago in his homeland.

This according to a press release by the hospital, sent out today.

Doctors are planning to start hemodialysis on Ivanov soon in an attempt to save his kidneys from further damage. His breathing is being assisted by a respirator and he is being pumped full of a steady supply of antibiotics to ward off infection.

There’s no word on whether or not his physicians expect him to fully recover from the attack.

Meanwhile, Blagoi’s 23-year-old assailant, who is believed to have been part of a large group of thugs armed with bats and knives that attacked Ivanov and his two companions without provocation, is being held indefinitely, charged with attempted murder.

His defense team is claiming self-defense as they say it was Blagoi provoked and slapped him, but friends of the gravely injured fighter insist Ivanov was attacked while breaking up a fight.

We’ll have more on Ivanov’s condition as we receive updates.