UFC 257 was a big success for the promotion and Conor McGregor played a big role. The Irishman returned to action for the first time in just over a year as he faced Dustin Poirier in a rematch in the lightweight headliner last week. Although it didn’t go McGregor’s way as he was knocked out […]
UFC 257 was a big success for the promotion and Conor McGregor played a big role.
The Irishman returned to action for the first time in just over a year as he faced Dustin Poirier in a rematch in the lightweight headliner last week.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter recently touched on how big a number that was (via Bloody Elbow).
“That number would be a figure not including refunds, and while nobody knows the number, there were a significant number of people who asked for and got refunds. The ESPN+ number is legit. The international number is an estimate and an extremely generous one, but even at 1.5 million, the show was a huge success. Only the biggest boxing matches in history have ever topped it, and nothing but boxing and the one UFC fight in the history of PPV have ever even been in the ballpark.
“The U.S. PPV revenue would have been roughly $84 million, so ESPN’s $200 million purchase of the rights for the year looks like a steal now.”
Additionally, Meltzer adds that the UFC received a huge figure to have McGregor feature in Abu Dhabi as opposed to his usual Las Vegas appearances.
“An interesting question, given the nature of the revenue, is if ESPN is kicking any money into McGregor or if it’s all coming from UFC, since the windfall he’s bringing is going to ESPN,” Meltzer added. “UFC got a huge figure from the Abu Dhabi government for its three shows over eight days, largely based on bringing in McGregor.”
The UFC and ESPN are certainly benefiting massively but it begs the question — just how much is McGregor being underpaid considering how huge a draw he has been for the promotion in recent years.
Regarding McGregor's payouts – 1) we know that previous payout reports – those before 2017 – were grossly inflated. Even though people were breathlessly reporting $10m to $25m figures for UFC 196, 202 or 205 we know thanks to the lawsuit he made no more than $7m in each of those https://t.co/vDszqjL5cy
Conor McGregor’s return to the UFC remains unknown. The former featherweight and lightweight champ has been on the bench since his fourth-round submission loss to arch rival Khabib Nurmagomedov at last October’s UFC 229. He’s been cam…
Conor McGregor’s return to the UFC remains unknown. The former featherweight and lightweight champ has been on the bench since his fourth-round submission loss to arch rival Khabib Nurmagomedov at last October’s UFC 229. He’s been campaigning for a rematch with the undefeated “Eagle” ever since. But he won’t be receiving it – at least […]
Interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier is headed for the biggest fight of his career when he battles undisputed champ Khabib Nurmagomedov in the featured bout of September’s UFC 242 from Abu Dhabi. ‘The Diamond’ brings arguab…
Interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier is headed for the biggest fight of his career when he battles undisputed champ Khabib Nurmagomedov in the featured bout of September’s UFC 242 from Abu Dhabi. ‘The Diamond’ brings arguably the most momentum he’s ever had into the fight. Poirier has won four straight fights over top names […]
The removal of Craig vs. Camozzi means that the Abu Dhabi card will only feature eight matches, making it the briefest UFC card since…well look, I’m not going to burn 15 minutes on Wikipedia trying to find the answer to that, but it’s been a while.
The removal of Craig vs. Camozzi means that the Abu Dhabi card will only feature eight matches, making it the briefest UFC card since…well look, I’m not going to burn 15 minutes on Wikipedia trying to find the answer to that, but it’s been a while.
Main Card (Fight Pass, 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT)
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (238) vs. Roy Nelson (255.5) Clay Guida (146) vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri (145)
John Howard (171) vs. Ryan LaFlare (171)
Ramsey Nijem (156) vs. Beneil Dariush (155)
Preliminary Card (Fight Pass, 11:50 a.m. ET/8:50 a.m. PT)
Jared Rosholt (240) vs. Daniel Omielanczuk (248)
Thales Leites (185) vs. Trevor Smith (186)
Alan Omer (146) vs. Jim Alers (145.5)
Rani Yahya (135.5) vs. Johnny Bedford (135)
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing MMA fans that Clay Guida is exciting. He’s known for his energetic entrances, where he bounces up and down like a jackrabbit, lip-syncing to his walkout music, before getting slapped around by his brother prior to entering the cage. Unfortunately, the moment the bell rings that energy doesn’t equate to active, or exciting, fighting, which is a little misleading if you ask me. This Friday, April 11th, Guida takes on Japanese veteran Tatsuya Kawajiri in the UFC’s return to Abu Dhabi at UFC Fight Night 39: Nogueira vs. Nelson, and he’s going to need a lot more than an exciting entrance to escape the cage victorious against his tough foe.
Kawajiri will be making his second UFC appearance and, for some reason, is stuck once again on a Fight Pass card where his name isn’t even on the poster. (Not that he’d want to be associated with this train-wreck.) I’m assuming the promotion is paying him more than their standard entry-level pay, which begs the question, why isn’t the UFC promoting “The Crusher” heavier? Maybe a win against Guida will convince the UFC to finally introduce him to an American audience for his next fight.
To earn the victory, Kawajiri is going to have to keep Guida on the outside, where the American won’t be able to use the cage to slow down the action. The more minutes spent disengaged from any sort of grappling affair — either clinched up against the fence or on the ground — will favor the Japanese fighter. “Crusher” is going to need to circle, and spend some extra energy to fight out of the clinch and away from the cage. But in doing so, he risks overexerting himself and fatiguing those bulbous muscles attached to his small frame, which could be problematic in the later rounds as Kawajiri isn’t particularly known for having iron lungs. Although Guida doesn’t really do much with his famous cardio besides hop around and hug people very tightly, that’s not to say he isn’t capable of pushing the pace if needed — and we rarely see the man sleepy at the end of a fight.
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing MMA fans that Clay Guida is exciting. He’s known for his energetic entrances, where he bounces up and down like a jackrabbit, lip-syncing to his walkout music, before getting slapped around by his brother prior to entering the cage. Unfortunately, the moment the bell rings that energy doesn’t equate to active, or exciting, fighting, which is a little misleading if you ask me. This Friday, April 11th, Guida takes on Japanese veteran Tatsuya Kawajiri in the UFC’s return to Abu Dhabi at UFC Fight Night 39: Nogueira vs. Nelson, and he’s going to need a lot more than an exciting entrance to escape the cage victorious against his tough foe.
Kawajiri will be making his second UFC appearance and, for some reason, is stuck once again on a Fight Pass card where his name isn’t even on the poster. (Not that he’d want to be associated with this train-wreck.) I’m assuming the promotion is paying him more than their standard entry-level pay, which begs the question, why isn’t the UFC promoting “The Crusher” heavier? Maybe a win against Guida will convince the UFC to finally introduce him to an American audience for his next fight.
To earn the victory, Kawajiri is going to have to keep Guida on the outside, where the American won’t be able to use the cage to slow down the action. The more minutes spent disengaged from any sort of grappling affair — either clinched up against the fence or on the ground — will favor the Japanese fighter. “Crusher” is going to need to circle, and spend some extra energy to fight out of the clinch and away from the cage. But in doing so, he risks overexerting himself and fatiguing those bulbous muscles attached to his small frame, which could be problematic in the later rounds as Kawajiri isn’t particularly known for having iron lungs. Although Guida doesn’t really do much with his famous cardio besides hop around and hug people very tightly, that’s not to say he isn’t capable of pushing the pace if needed — and we rarely see the man sleepy at the end of a fight.
If I knew a lick of Japanese, and was in “Crusher’s” corner before the fight and in between rounds I would tell him to use his feints and level changes to get Guida to shoot and try to time his upper-cut to Guida’s large head. Then, with a horrible accent, I would politely explain the next step: Fight hard to stay off the fence and wriggle away from the clinch at all costs. In order to conserve his energy, he should take his time after the grappling exchanges to move away from Guida, dance around the cage, and get oxygen back into his muscles so he can rinse and repeat.
As for Guida, he’s coming off of a loss to Chad Mendes, who is well on his way to another title shot in the near future, pending he doesn’t slip on a banana peel in aisle seven of Ralph’s grocery store. Guida hasn’t looked spectacular in his recent outings, but that could very well be more due to the elite level of competition he’s faced lately rather than his own performances. A loss here could really put him in line for being cut from the UFC roster based on their recent slashing of fighters, and would make him 1-4 in his last five outings. The good news: he has a winnable fight in front of him.
As mentioned earlier, the most exciting thing about a Guida fight is his entrance, but that is certainly due to his fighting style as opposed to his fighting ability. He tries to “win” fights, not finish fights. But, if he wants to see another number on the only column that counts, he better put that gas tank to use and keep the scrambles coming again and again. Guida has an underrated ground game and is great in transitions, where he regularly finds his way in top position when the dust settles, scoring him points. The problem he usually faces there is that he’s not known to take advantage of those top positions and inflict significant damage.
If he intends to beat Kawajiri, he’d better make the Japanese fighter pay whenever he finds himself on top. But taking down Kawajiri is not an easy task. If Guida is hoping to drag the fight to the mat, as I’m assuming will be his game plan — unless he plans on failing at life by trying to mimic his performance against Gray Maynard — he’s going to need to use a lot of level changes and feints to get Kawajiri off balance and guessing. If he can get Kawajiri off balance before initiating a committed takedown and scrambling incessantly after the first attempt is stuffed, he may be able to wear the Japanese fighter down and out-position him.
At the end of the day it’s going to come down to whether Kawajiri can keep enough separation to out strike Guida on the feet, or put the caveman on his back and ground and pound. Or will Guida be able to adequately move his hair in a frantic manner and pressure Kawajiri enough for the judges to be convinced he’s exciting and deserving of the win? Related question: Considering how badly things turned out in Abu Dhabi four years ago, is it wise to book a potential snore-fest for this card’s co-main event?
You can stop reading this article right now. No one would blame you. But if you’d like to know a little more about the UFC’s deal with Flash Entertainment, join us after the jump.
(Nelson, seen here donning the most elaborate Big Nog Halloween costume of all time. Photo via Nelson’s twitter.)
You can stop reading this article right now. No one would blame you.
The April card will serve as the first in a two-year, five-event minimum deal the UFC has reached with Flash Entertainment that also includes broadcasting rights to that Ultimate Fighter show I hear is so popular these days. Flash Entertainment is of course, the organization that purchased a 10% stake of Zuffa LLC back in 2010 prior to UFC 112. So if you’re a wealthy oil tycoon who just so happens to be a fight fan looking to purchase a home away from the three homes you already have, this is probably huge news for you.
Executive Vice President and Managing Director of UFC, Gary Cook, spoke on the recently reached agreement and you stop reading when you saw “Fight Pass” didn’t you?
This agreement is a major step in our strategic expansion across EMEA and, in particular, will see our audience grow dramatically across the region. There is a huge market for the UFC in the Middle East. The fans want live events and can now look forward to local tailored content in the region.
Well, that was a series of words alright. Here’s another: infinitesimal, trapdoor, gator, concubine, didgeridoo, Grape Ape, merengue.
