According to Ariel Helwani a possible Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather bout has gone from “pipe dream” to “exploratory phase” with “many hurdles to overcome.”
A long rumored, and often denied, bout between UFC champion Conor McGregor and legendary boxer Floyd Mayweather has entered the “exploratory phase” according to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on Twitter.
It is unknown at this point whether this would be under boxing rules or MMA rules. Most assume Mayweather would only consider the bout under pure boxing rules or risk humiliation.
Most would also think that McGregor would be risking a humiliating defeat by stepping into the ring with the undefeated multi-division boxing champ under boxing rules.
However money talks and this bout would be one of the biggest combat sports promotional events of all time regardless of its sporting merits.
There are several billion reasons why the UFC’s new owners, entertainment management firm WME-IMG, would consider allowing this fight to happen. Namely the money they borrowed to fund their acquisition of the company from the Fertitta Brothers’ Zuffa, Inc.
Mayweather simply has nothing left to prove in boxing and no potential opponents who could draw the kind of money and media attention a bout with McGregor would certainly bring.
Here’s Helwani’s tweet:
Mayweather-McGregor has gone from pipe dream phase to exploratory phase. MANY, MANY hurdles to overcome, but not just a PR stunt anymore.
Follow Bloody Elbow for updates on this story as it develops.
According to Ariel Helwani a possible Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather bout has gone from “pipe dream” to “exploratory phase” with “many hurdles to overcome.”
A long rumored, and often denied, bout between UFC champion Conor McGregor and legendary boxer Floyd Mayweather has entered the “exploratory phase” according to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on Twitter.
It is unknown at this point whether this would be under boxing rules or MMA rules. Most assume Mayweather would only consider the bout under pure boxing rules or risk humiliation.
Most would also think that McGregor would be risking a humiliating defeat by stepping into the ring with the undefeated multi-division boxing champ under boxing rules.
However money talks and this bout would be one of the biggest combat sports promotional events of all time regardless of its sporting merits.
There are several billion reasons why the UFC’s new owners, entertainment management firm WME-IMG, would consider allowing this fight to happen. Namely the money they borrowed to fund their acquisition of the company from the Fertitta Brothers’ Zuffa, Inc.
Mayweather simply has nothing left to prove in boxing and no potential opponents who could draw the kind of money and media attention a bout with McGregor would certainly bring.
Here’s Helwani’s tweet:
Mayweather-McGregor has gone from pipe dream phase to exploratory phase. MANY, MANY hurdles to overcome, but not just a PR stunt anymore.
Welcome to If I Did It the show where we solve PR kerfluffles from the world of MMA and beyond. This week we look at the Nevada Athletic Commission settling with Brock Lesnar, Nate Diaz and Jon Jones plus Jennifer Lawrence trashes Hawaii and Barack Obama looks back at Putin-Gate.
You’re WME-IMG. Nate Diaz, Brock Lesnar, and Jon Jones have a December 15th date with destiny before the Nevada Athletic Commission for a “proposed adjudication agreement”. Does your PR prep for each fighter differ? Or do you have specific plans in place?
You’re UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo. Max Holloway’s victory last weekend at UFC 206 solidified your next match up. But he doesn’t seem keen on a February 11th date in Brooklyn at UFC 208 when telling Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour, “We will see what happens, I don’t want to give up Christmas and I don’t want to give up my son’s birthday on January 4th for February 11th and the guy don’t show up.” Is that an opening for playing mind games with Max?
You’re Jennifer Lawrence. Your disrespectful destruction of a sacred Hawaiian site described on The Graham Norton Show resulted in such a kerfuffle, you apologized to “the internet”. And it fell flat. The reason? You came across as fake and you should’ve apologized to Hawaiians. Given your PR image as an activist champion, can you act your way into making amends?
You’re President Barack Obama. According to the Washington Post you were informed by multiple intelligence agencies that Putin was trying to get Trump elected by leaking hacked info. When Mitch McConnell balked at making a bipartisan announcement in the fall you did nothing. Now that President-Elect Trump is your legacy is there anything you can do to make amends?
TEACHABLE MOMENT: You’re the Endicott Fire Department. One of your firefighters blamed Black Lives Matter for burning his home. A family member told WBNG, “Across the back of house on a strip of siding read this message: ‘Lie with pigs, fry like bacon.’” After investigating, authorities claim it was the firefighter who wrote that message…before he burned his own house. Are there steps fire departments can take to prevent their fighters from fanning the flames of discord?
KID NATE’S HEEL TURN
REGULAR FEATURE: EUGENE’S LOST BATTALION
Enjoy!
Welcome to If I Did It the show where we solve PR kerfluffles from the world of MMA and beyond. This week we look at the Nevada Athletic Commission settling with Brock Lesnar, Nate Diaz and Jon Jones plus Jennifer Lawrence trashes Hawaii and Barack Obama looks back at Putin-Gate.
You’re WME-IMG. Nate Diaz, Brock Lesnar, and Jon Jones have a December 15th date with destiny before the Nevada Athletic Commission for a “proposed adjudication agreement”. Does your PR prep for each fighter differ? Or do you have specific plans in place?
You’re UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo. Max Holloway’s victory last weekend at UFC 206 solidified your next match up. But he doesn’t seem keen on a February 11th date in Brooklyn at UFC 208 when telling Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour, “We will see what happens, I don’t want to give up Christmas and I don’t want to give up my son’s birthday on January 4th for February 11th and the guy don’t show up.” Is that an opening for playing mind games with Max?
You’re Jennifer Lawrence. Your disrespectful destruction of a sacred Hawaiian site described on The Graham Norton Show resulted in such a kerfuffle, you apologized to “the internet”. And it fell flat. The reason? You came across as fake and you should’ve apologized to Hawaiians. Given your PR image as an activist champion, can you act your way into making amends?
You’re President Barack Obama. According to the Washington Post you were informed by multiple intelligence agencies that Putin was trying to get Trump elected by leaking hacked info. When Mitch McConnell balked at making a bipartisan announcement in the fall you did nothing. Now that President-Elect Trump is your legacy is there anything you can do to make amends?
TEACHABLE MOMENT: You’re the Endicott Fire Department. One of your firefighters blamed Black Lives Matter for burning his home. A family member told WBNG, “Across the back of house on a strip of siding read this message: ‘Lie with pigs, fry like bacon.’” After investigating, authorities claim it was the firefighter who wrote that message…before he burned his own house. Are there steps fire departments can take to prevent their fighters from fanning the flames of discord?
Welcome to If I Did It the show where we solve PR kerfluffles from the world of MMA and beyond. This week we look at Bjorn Rebney and GSP’s new fighter association, Conor McGregor vs the UFC, Casey Affleck, Reddit and more.
You’re WME-IMG. Yesterday, a cowboy and cabal of CAA repped UFC fighters put you on blast for unfair pay, poor healthcare, and pathetic retirement prep as a preamble to forming the Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association AKA the MMAAA. Explain your PR plan for handling (1) the MMAAA, (2) two of the malcontents appearing at UFC 206 in two weeks, and (3) the shadow of GSP.
You’re former Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney. Your involvement in the MMAAA launch has many within the MMA community, including Invicta President Sharon Knapp as well as fighters, questioning its legitimacy. King Mo posted your photo with the Fab 5 on Instagram above the caption, “U got 5 great fighters standin by 1 big dick rider on the far left. These boys are about to get finessed fuckin wit him. People learn the hard way tho”. He later elaborated, “there is a reason why [Bjorn] got ran out of boxing and mma… Its not about me and him not gettin along. Its about his crookedness”. What are your PR options for defending your brand and the MMAAA’s?
You’re a UFC Fighter. You spent your entire career without anyone giving a damn. After WME-IMG’s 4 billion dollar purchase of the UFC, multiple organizations are popping up to defend you. What is the best way of protecting your brand without alienating WME-IMG?
You’re Conor McGregor. Last weekend, the UFC stripped you of your featherweight championship and claimed it was your choice. “Two-division titleholder Conor McGregor relinquished the 145-pound belt and decided to focus on the title he holds in the 155-pound lightweight division.” You didn’t respond. But your agent did. Indirectly. By telling ESPN last night that you were issued a boxing license by the California State Athletic Commission. The CSAC executive director confirmed. Can you confirm your PR plan?
You’re the producers of Casey Affleck’s Oscar nominated “Manchester by the Sea”. The Daily Beast resuscitated stories of Affleck’s sexual harassment lawsuits in wake of his status as Best Actor Oscar frontrunner. He allegedly “encouraged and participated” in harassment and orchestrated a “campaign of retaliation and verbal abuse”. How can you avoid Affleck’s “Nate Parker PR Ego” undermining your Oscar ascension?
You’re Republican politician Mike Yenni. A month after admitting to exchanging “improper texts” with a boy who was seventeen, you told Fox8, “To simply say it, I’m not gay.” Mansplain the strategy behind your declaration.
TEACHABLE MOMENT: You’re Reddit CEO Steve Huffman. According to Gizmodo, you were so upset over “being a constant source of abuse” from the Donald Trump subredditors, you “snapped, and decided to edit the posts of users…without their knowledge or consent.” You eventually apologized, “I honestly thought I might find some common ground with that community by meeting them on their level. It did not go as planned. I restored the original comments after less than an hour.” What can we learn from your “attempt to troll the trolls,” and compromising the trust we all have in places where we can be our true selves, and empower our community to flourish?
KID NATE’S HEEL TURN Washington Post runs a blacklist of “Putin Pawns”
EUGENE’S LOST BATTALION
Enjoy!
Welcome to If I Did It the show where we solve PR kerfluffles from the world of MMA and beyond. This week we look at Bjorn Rebney and GSP’s new fighter association, Conor McGregor vs the UFC, Casey Affleck, Reddit and more.
You’re WME-IMG. Yesterday, a cowboy and cabal of CAA repped UFC fighters put you on blast for unfair pay, poor healthcare, and pathetic retirement prep as a preamble to forming the Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association AKA the MMAAA. Explain your PR plan for handling (1) the MMAAA, (2) two of the malcontents appearing at UFC 206 in two weeks, and (3) the shadow of GSP.
You’re former Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney. Your involvement in the MMAAA launch has many within the MMA community, including Invicta President Sharon Knapp as well as fighters, questioning its legitimacy. King Mo posted your photo with the Fab 5 on Instagram above the caption, “U got 5 great fighters standin by 1 big dick rider on the far left. These boys are about to get finessed fuckin wit him. People learn the hard way tho”. He later elaborated, “there is a reason why [Bjorn] got ran out of boxing and mma… Its not about me and him not gettin along. Its about his crookedness”. What are your PR options for defending your brand and the MMAAA’s?
You’re a UFC Fighter. You spent your entire career without anyone giving a damn. After WME-IMG’s 4 billion dollar purchase of the UFC, multiple organizations are popping up to defend you. What is the best way of protecting your brand without alienating WME-IMG?
You’re Conor McGregor. Last weekend, the UFC stripped you of your featherweight championship and claimed it was your choice. “Two-division titleholder Conor McGregor relinquished the 145-pound belt and decided to focus on the title he holds in the 155-pound lightweight division.” You didn’t respond. But your agent did. Indirectly. By telling ESPN last night that you were issued a boxing license by the California State Athletic Commission. The CSAC executive director confirmed. Can you confirm your PR plan?
You’re the producers of Casey Affleck’s Oscar nominated “Manchester by the Sea”. The Daily Beast resuscitated stories of Affleck’s sexual harassment lawsuits in wake of his status as Best Actor Oscar frontrunner. He allegedly “encouraged and participated” in harassment and orchestrated a “campaign of retaliation and verbal abuse”. How can you avoid Affleck’s “Nate Parker PR Ego” undermining your Oscar ascension?
You’re Republican politician Mike Yenni. A month after admitting to exchanging “improper texts” with a boy who was seventeen, you told Fox8, “To simply say it, I’m not gay.” Mansplain the strategy behind your declaration.
TEACHABLE MOMENT: You’re Reddit CEO Steve Huffman. According to Gizmodo, you were so upset over “being a constant source of abuse” from the Donald Trump subredditors, you “snapped, and decided to edit the posts of users…without their knowledge or consent.” You eventually apologized, “I honestly thought I might find some common ground with that community by meeting them on their level. It did not go as planned. I restored the original comments after less than an hour.” What can we learn from your “attempt to troll the trolls,” and compromising the trust we all have in places where we can be our true selves, and empower our community to flourish?
KID NATE’S HEEL TURN Washington Post runs a blacklist of “Putin Pawns”
New owners WME-IMG may hand over production of UFC television programming to their network TV partner upon completion of a new deal.
The UFC’s current TV broadcasting deal with Fox Sports ends in 2018. The new ownership team, headed up by Ari Emmanuel of William Morris Endeavor, is already sending signals about what they’re looking for in a new deal.
Sports Business Journal has a major feature detailing some of the things WME-IMG is believed to be looking for from its next deal. The article reveals that WME is seeking an increase from its current average of $115 miilion per year to $450 million.
According to SBJ, the package will include the four annual broadcast shows FOX now airs, six annual cable events, the weekly programming now carried by FS1 and Fight Pass but will not include the UFC’s pay-per-view shows.
Most interesting, SBJ reports that “could include the significant change of having the networks produce the events, sources said. The UFC now pays all production costs, so that change would increase costs for the media partner.”
Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing points out that the “mind-blowing 291% increase” WME is seeking is “much, much greater than any of the other leagues have received in their new rights deals in recent years.”
SBJ runs through some possible competitors that WME will likely seek to draw into a bidding war against Fox, but points out that Fox will have an exclusive window to negotiate a new deal before WME can hear competing bids starting in late 2017. ESPN is the obvious alternative to Fox.
ESPN is a logical alternative for the UFC, and sources said network executives will sit down with the company if it allows Fox’s exclusive window to lapse.
But ESPN executives believe a big rights deal for the UFC will have little, if any, effect on its affiliate deals with pay-TV distributors — deals that account for most of ESPN’s revenue. Most of ESPN’s affiliate deals run for several years. Plus, ESPN’s parent company, Disney, could be squeamish about the sport’s violent nature.
Zach Arnold at Fight Opinion points out that UFC programming is the only thing on FS1 that consistently draws over 100,000 viewers. “Which means UFC is *the* cornerstone for Fox Sports 1 and will remain the cornerstone. Fox needs UFC for its survival to remain on cable & satellite packages if it wants any shot of getting carriage fees. Deals are coming up soon for both Fox and UFC. They need each other badly right now,” Arnold concludes.
He also points out that ESPN is in a financial death spiral.
“According to Nielsen, ESPN lost over 450,000 TV households in the last month. ESPN still is in 89 million US TV households but the trajectory of their household numbers is declining. Losing 450,000 households in a month is not simply a decline — it’s a five-alarm fire. …
“ESPN’s financial model is based entirely on rights fees from cable subscribers regardless of how good or bad their ratings are. They make at least $6 a month from each cable subscriber. $72 a year. Losing a million households in a year equals a loss of more than $70 million USD. If ESPN loses more than a million households in a year, the long-term financial prospects are brutal. If ESPN lost three million households a year, the losses would be over $210 million USD yearly. There is no amount of production cutting that Bristol could do to save costs. They’ve already done their blood letting. They’ve created a preposterous imbalance of paying “talent” like Stephen A. Smith $3 million a year while paying interns on the cheap. At some point, something has to give.”
SBJ runs through several other possible contenders:
“Turner Sports is an intriguing option for the UFC, especially given that AT&T is buying Turner owner Time Warner, and the UFC could be leveraged across all the assets. Turner executives like the idea of putting UFC on truTV, which skews younger than Turner’s other channels; operating the UFC’s over-the-top service; and having the AT&T-owned DirecTV closely involved with the UFC’s pay-per-view business.
“The timing, though, is tricky, and nobody knows whether AT&T’s purchase will win federal approval.
“NBC Sports Group also is likely to kick the tires. Through its investment in SB Nation parent Vox Media, NBC Sports has seen the power of MMA as a media property, because the sport is the subject of some of SB Nation’s most popular sites.
“Sports rights holders still are holding out hope that a digital media company will make a big investment in live sports. Amazon, Facebook, Google and Twitter continue talking with leagues about sports rights packages, and the UFC’s younger demos closely match their audiences. So far, those companies have invested in niche sports or smaller streaming packages. It’s still too early to know whether any of those companies will make a serious run at the UFC rights.”
Note that Bloody Elbow is one of those MMA properties owned by Vox Media.
All of this takes place in the context of the recent purchase of the UFC by WME-IMG which puts significant pressure on the new ownership team to dramatically increase revenue while cutting costs to the bone.
New owners WME-IMG may hand over production of UFC television programming to their network TV partner upon completion of a new deal.
The UFC’s current TV broadcasting deal with Fox Sports ends in 2018. The new ownership team, headed up by Ari Emmanuel of William Morris Endeavor, is already sending signals about what they’re looking for in a new deal.
Sports Business Journal has a major feature detailing some of the things WME-IMG is believed to be looking for from its next deal. The article reveals that WME is seeking an increase from its current average of $115 miilion per year to $450 million.
According to SBJ, the package will include the four annual broadcast shows FOX now airs, six annual cable events, the weekly programming now carried by FS1 and Fight Pass but will not include the UFC’s pay-per-view shows.
Most interesting, SBJ reports that “could include the significant change of having the networks produce the events, sources said. The UFC now pays all production costs, so that change would increase costs for the media partner.”
Matt Yoder at Awful Announcing points out that the “mind-blowing 291% increase” WME is seeking is “much, much greater than any of the other leagues have received in their new rights deals in recent years.”
SBJ runs through some possible competitors that WME will likely seek to draw into a bidding war against Fox, but points out that Fox will have an exclusive window to negotiate a new deal before WME can hear competing bids starting in late 2017. ESPN is the obvious alternative to Fox.
ESPN is a logical alternative for the UFC, and sources said network executives will sit down with the company if it allows Fox’s exclusive window to lapse.
But ESPN executives believe a big rights deal for the UFC will have little, if any, effect on its affiliate deals with pay-TV distributors — deals that account for most of ESPN’s revenue. Most of ESPN’s affiliate deals run for several years. Plus, ESPN’s parent company, Disney, could be squeamish about the sport’s violent nature.
Zach Arnold at Fight Opinion points out that UFC programming is the only thing on FS1 that consistently draws over 100,000 viewers. “Which means UFC is *the* cornerstone for Fox Sports 1 and will remain the cornerstone. Fox needs UFC for its survival to remain on cable & satellite packages if it wants any shot of getting carriage fees. Deals are coming up soon for both Fox and UFC. They need each other badly right now,” Arnold concludes.
He also points out that ESPN is in a financial death spiral.
“According to Nielsen, ESPN lost over 450,000 TV households in the last month. ESPN still is in 89 million US TV households but the trajectory of their household numbers is declining. Losing 450,000 households in a month is not simply a decline — it’s a five-alarm fire. …
“ESPN’s financial model is based entirely on rights fees from cable subscribers regardless of how good or bad their ratings are. They make at least $6 a month from each cable subscriber. $72 a year. Losing a million households in a year equals a loss of more than $70 million USD. If ESPN loses more than a million households in a year, the long-term financial prospects are brutal. If ESPN lost three million households a year, the losses would be over $210 million USD yearly. There is no amount of production cutting that Bristol could do to save costs. They’ve already done their blood letting. They’ve created a preposterous imbalance of paying “talent” like Stephen A. Smith $3 million a year while paying interns on the cheap. At some point, something has to give.”
SBJ runs through several other possible contenders:
“Turner Sports is an intriguing option for the UFC, especially given that AT&T is buying Turner owner Time Warner, and the UFC could be leveraged across all the assets. Turner executives like the idea of putting UFC on truTV, which skews younger than Turner’s other channels; operating the UFC’s over-the-top service; and having the AT&T-owned DirecTV closely involved with the UFC’s pay-per-view business.
“The timing, though, is tricky, and nobody knows whether AT&T’s purchase will win federal approval.
“NBC Sports Group also is likely to kick the tires. Through its investment in SB Nation parent Vox Media, NBC Sports has seen the power of MMA as a media property, because the sport is the subject of some of SB Nation’s most popular sites.
“Sports rights holders still are holding out hope that a digital media company will make a big investment in live sports. Amazon, Facebook, Google and Twitter continue talking with leagues about sports rights packages, and the UFC’s younger demos closely match their audiences. So far, those companies have invested in niche sports or smaller streaming packages. It’s still too early to know whether any of those companies will make a serious run at the UFC rights.”
Note that Bloody Elbow is one of those MMA properties owned by Vox Media.
All of this takes place in the context of the recent purchase of the UFC by WME-IMG which puts significant pressure on the new ownership team to dramatically increase revenue while cutting costs to the bone.
Welcome to Welcome to IF I DID IT where we analyze and solve PR kerfuffles from the MMA world and beyond. This week we look at Conor McGregor’s campaign of world conquest, Eddie Alvarez’ explanation, Wanda Sykes melt down, Michael Moore’s call for …
Welcome to Welcome to IF I DID IT where we analyze and solve PR kerfuffles from the MMA world and beyond. This week we look at Conor McGregor’s campaign of world conquest, Eddie Alvarez’ explanation, Wanda Sykes melt down, Michael Moore’s call for celebrity engagement, more.
Welcome to If I Did It where we solve PR kerfuffles from the world of MMA and beyond. This week we look at the UFC layoffs, a feud within the Gracie family and the long shadow of CTE.
Welcome to If I Did It where we solve PR kerfuffles from the world of MMA and beyond. This week we look at the UFC layoffs, a feud within the Gracie family and the long shadow of CTE.
