Tag: Fight Pass

NSAC BLOODBATH: Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier Hit With Fines and Community Service, Wanderlei Silva Gets Lifetime Ban at Disciplinary Hearing


(Yes, this is the actual poster image used to promote the stream on Fight Pass, and not the cover of a jazz album. MMA is the greatest circus in the entire world.)

Today was Judgement Day for a trio of misbehaving UFC stars, as the Nevada State Athletic Commission held a disciplinary hearing today to address the infamous Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier media day brawl in August, as well as Wanderlei Silva‘s equally-infamous dodging of a random drug test in May. Let’s get the important stuff out of the way first — the punishments:

– Jon Jones was fined $50,000 for his role in the brawl, which is 10% of his disclosed purse for his upcoming fight against Cormier in January. He will also be required to complete 40 hours of community service in Las Vegas; Jones is not psyched about that part, as he feels it will impact his training for the fight.

– Daniel Cormier was fined $9,000, which is 10% of his disclosed purse for his upcoming fight against Jones. Cormier will be required to complete 20 hours of community service in his hometown of San Jose, CA. The Nevada Commission felt that Cormier had less responsibility in the brawl — despite the fact that Cormier made first contact — and gave DC a smaller community service requirement as a result.

– The newly-retired Wanderlei Silva has received a lifetime ban and a $70,000 fine, which represents 35% of the $200,000 purse he was expected to earn at UFC 175. NSAC board member Anthony Marnell wanted to take the whole thing.

Here’s what else you missed, if you didn’t watch the Fight Pass stream…


(Yes, this is the actual poster image used to promote the stream on Fight Pass, and not the cover of a jazz album. MMA is the greatest circus in the entire world.)

Today was Judgement Day for a trio of misbehaving UFC stars, as the Nevada State Athletic Commission held a disciplinary hearing today to address the infamous Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier media day brawl in August, as well as Wanderlei Silva‘s equally-infamous dodging of a random drug test in May. Let’s get the important stuff out of the way first — the punishments:

– Jon Jones was fined $50,000 for his role in the brawl, which is 10% of his disclosed purse for his upcoming fight against Cormier in January. He will also be required to complete 40 hours of community service in Las Vegas; Jones is not psyched about that part, as he feels it will impact his training for the fight.

– Daniel Cormier was fined $9,000, which is 10% of his disclosed purse for his upcoming fight against Jones. Cormier will be required to complete 20 hours of community service in his hometown of San Jose, CA. The Nevada Commission felt that Cormier had less responsibility in the brawl — despite the fact that Cormier made first contact — and gave DC a smaller community service requirement as a result.

– The newly-retired Wanderlei Silva has received a lifetime ban and a $70,000 fine, which represents 35% of the $200,000 purse he was expected to earn at UFC 175. NSAC board member Anthony Marnell wanted to take the whole thing.

Here’s what else you missed, if you didn’t watch the Fight Pass stream…

Jon Jones claimed that his brawl with Cormier cost him a six-figure sponsorship with Nike, as well as another potential six-figure sponsorship that he and his lawyer wouldn’t name. Cormier said that some of the kids in his wrestling program left because of the brawl. Advantage: Jones.

From the BloodyElbow recap:

Jones apologized to the commission, to the fans and to the sports of wrestling, Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu and boxing as well as the “great sport of MMA.”

Jones told the commission that he had planned to make forehead to forehead contact with Cormier that he had made with other fighters Rashad Evans, Brandon Vera and others. He said that when Cormier touched his throat he felt he had to respond to show he was still champion.

Jones said his howl after the brawl was an instinctive, primal gesture, not a planned action. He said he was feeding off the excitement of the crowd and their enthusiasm for the brawl…

Another commissioner pointed out the absence of Dana White might have played a role and that the UFC learned that “a real presence” is required…


(Underhooks, Sholler! Like we did in practice!)

Commissioner Brady asked for mercy for Jones due to his having already lost one of his fights this year due to injury…

The commissioners said they are “pissed off” at the outcome of “the last time we tried to do something non-traditional” which presumably refers to attempts to use Chael Sonnen as an advisor on drug testing and testosterone replacement issues…

Cormier then appeared before the commission. His attorney said the NSAC was under pressure from the media due to the “non-sporting event actions of athletes” and he pointed out that “this is not a domestic violence situation, not a drunken driving situation and not a brawl between a professional athlete and a non-professional. Rather it was a brawl at an event designed to promote a fight.”

Cormier’s attorney says that he is standing by his filing that the brawl was a self-defense action on Cormier’s part and that his client is not at fault…

One of the commissioners asked Cormier what he could have done differently. Cormier said he could have taken a step back. [Ed. note: Like a punk?? Nah, son.]

Cormier told the commission that he was surprised by the intensity of the stare down because he and Jones had been cordial backstage before the stare down.

Cormier denied that he was thinking that he would benefit from extra-PPV sales due to the brawl.

Also…

Wanderlei Silva’s lawyer called the hearing a “kangaroo court” and promises to appeal.

Kevin Casey got a one-year suspension for his positive steroid test.

“One final note, boxer Luis Bello was just disciplined for having the highest T/E ratio in Nevada history … hold onto your hats. 40:1. Yup.”

In short, a day of ceremonial ass-kickings from the suits in Nevada. Now back to our regularly scheduled broadcasting.

25 Things You Can Do Between Fights on a UFC on FS 1 Broadcast


(26. Stare at this picture of Dana White for 45 minutes. / Photo via Getty)

The gap between fights on FS1 broadcasts is massive. We realized it was senseless to just watch all the commercials. Instead, let’s all be productive with our time. Here’s a list of several (but not all) things you can do during the huge amount of time in between fights.

1. Watch several fights from a previous UFC PPV on Fight Pass.

2. Go get ice cream or pizza.

3. Perform the recommended amount of daily exercise.

4. Read a chapter from the latest trendy YA novel.

5. Try to educate the heathens next to you at Buffalo Wild Wings about the finer points of MMA.

6. Do DDP Yoga.

7. Read a chapter from Matt Hughes‘ autobiography (don’t worry, it’s not exactly War and Peace).


(26. Stare at this picture of Dana White for 45 minutes. / Photo via Getty)

The gap between fights on FS1 broadcasts is massive. We realized it was senseless to just watch all the commercials. Instead, let’s all be productive with our time. Here’s a list of several (but not all) things you can do during the huge amount of time in between fights.

1. Watch several fights from a previous UFC PPV on Fight Pass.

2. Go get ice cream or pizza.

3. Perform the recommended amount of daily exercise.

4. Read a chapter from the latest trendy YA novel.

5. Try to educate the heathens next to you at Buffalo Wild Wings about the finer points of MMA.

6. Do DDP Yoga.

7. Read a chapter from Matt Hughes‘ autobiography (don’t worry, it’s not exactly War and Peace).

8. Calculate how much interest you’ll earn from your savings account this year.

9. Come up with a better tagline for the upcoming TUF than “Easy on the eyes, hard on the face.”

10. Try to explain the concept of _______ to the average MMA fan (there’s a lot of different ways to go with this one).

11. Try to explain “Alpha Male Shit” to a person with a functioning brain.

12. Illegally download the terrible action film they’re hawking on the broadcast that night, watch it in three-minute installments.

13. Or better yet, just watch Haywire again.

14. Play a game of Pitch, Rummy, Kings, etc.

15. Binge watch your favorite Netflix TV show.

16. Fix that leaky faucet your wife’s been complaining about since March.

17. Listen to YYZ in its entirety.

18. Make a souffle from scratch.

19. Step out for a cigarette or 12.

20. Listen to an episode of your favorite podcast (I recommend “How Did This Get Made?“).

21. Two words: Midnight. Golfing.

22. Take a shot every time a Nos, Harley Davidson, or Metro PCS commercial comes on.

23. Obtain a degree in quantum physics.

24. Go rent The Notebook or go to the movies. Dana White doesn’t care.

25. Write this article.

Fight Pass FTW?!: UFC to Begin Broadcasting Invicta FC Events Exclusively on Digital Network


(“Cris Cyborg is a roided-out, Wanderlei Silva in a dress-looking freak…who you can now watch compete for just $9.99 a month!”)

Of all the suggestions we made as to how the UFC could improve their Fight Pass programming, one obvious oversight we made was that of Invicta FC events. The UFC’s ties with the all-women’s fight promotion haven’t exactly been kept under wraps over the years, with the UFC recently pillaging Invicta’s strawweight division to fill the roster for The Ultimate Fighter 20. Considering Invicta’s past struggles with their website and iPPV process, it was only a matter of time before they partnered with the best the second best digital subscription-based combat sports (entertainment) website out there, right?

Well I’ll be damned if my fictionalized, rhetorical version of you CP readers isn’t actually right for once. Earlier today, the two promotions announced “an historic multi-year, multi-event deal” (via MMAJunkie) that grants the UFC exclusive broadcast rights to all future Invicta events via their Fight Pass network in addition to the promotion’s entire library being made available in the FP archives.

Said Invicta FC president and co-founder Shannon Knapp about the deal:

This is a great day for my company. Since the start of Invicta, I’ve been committed to providing the biggest and best possible platform for women athletes, and with this distribution deal with UFC Fight Pass, Invicta will reach the most passionate MMA fans, wherever they are in the world. 


(“Cris Cyborg is a roided-out, Wanderlei Silva in a dress-looking freak…who you can now watch compete for just $9.99 a month!”)

Of all the suggestions we made as to how the UFC could improve their Fight Pass programming, one obvious oversight we made was that of Invicta FC events. The UFC’s ties with the all-women’s fight promotion haven’t exactly been kept under wraps over the years, with the UFC recently pillaging Invicta’s strawweight division to fill the roster for The Ultimate Fighter 20. Considering Invicta’s past struggles with their website and iPPV process, it was only a matter of time before they partnered with the best the second best digital subscription-based combat sports (entertainment) website out there, right?

Well I’ll be damned if my fictionalized, rhetorical version of you CP readers isn’t actually right for once. Earlier today, the two promotions announced “an historic multi-year, multi-event deal” (via MMAJunkie) that grants the UFC exclusive broadcast rights to all future Invicta events via their Fight Pass network in addition to the promotion’s entire library being made available in the FP archives.

Said Invicta FC president and co-founder Shannon Knapp about the deal:

This is a great day for my company. Since the start of Invicta, I’ve been committed to providing the biggest and best possible platform for women athletes, and with this distribution deal with UFC Fight Pass, Invicta will reach the most passionate MMA fans, wherever they are in the world. 

I may knock Fight Pass for being a frustrating, malfunctioning, transparent money grab piece of sh*t waste of time as much as the next guy, but even in my bitter cynicism, I simply cannot claim that this is anything but a brilliant move on the UFC’s part. It not only raises the value of a Fight Pass subscription tenfold, but will help expose entirely new legions of MMA fans to the idea that, yes, there *are* other women’s divisions out there than Rouseyweight. Who knew, amiright?

The only complaint that could really be made about Invicta — a promotion that, with just 7 events under their belt, is still largely in its infancy — was its faulty methods of content delivery, but even that could often be attributed to their unexpected popularity/growth in such a short timespan. A mutual relationship with Fight Pass is a win-win for both parties involved but especially Invicta, who is currently “targeting a late-summer event, headlined by a world title fight” for their first Fight Pass card.

“This is an historic event for myself, the company and my athletes,” said Knapp, “and every one of them is going to want to be on this first card.”

The UFC’s chief content officer for Fight Pass, Marshall Zelaznik (who I’m going to assume is literally the man pictured here), was equally elated about the deal, stating:

When we launched UFC Fight Pass last Christmas, we said that we would never rest in bringing the best value to our subscribers. The addition of live and archived Invicta programming is going to be of enormous interest to our existing subscribers and bring in new subscribers, too.

Plus, the Invicta/Fight Pass merger will provide us media types umpteen more opportunities to discuss the possibility of Cris Cyborg vs. Ronda Rousey down to the very last detail, and that’s always fun. Yeah, fun…

–J. Jones

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.

Mark Hunt vs. Roy Nelson to Headline September UFC Fight Night Card in Japan (Yes!); Event to Air on Fight Pass (Crap!)


(“Ohhh, look at that. It’s like an ad for a f*ckin’ weight-loss center. Before, and *way* before.” / Photos via MMAJunkie)

After a month of rumors, it’s finally official: Heavyweight sluggers Mark Hunt and Roy Nelson will be trading bombs in the main event of UFC Fight Night 51, which is slated to take place September 20th at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Hunt hasn’t competed since his Fight of the Year-candidate draw against Antonio Silva last December, which followed a TKO loss against Junior Dos Santos at UFC 160. Nelson is coming off his brain-rattling knockout win over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in April, which snapped a two-fight losing streak. Feel free to call this one “The Battle of the Bulge,” as long as you acknowledge that Hunt already made that joke.

The only drawback to this guaranteed slobberknocker is that the event is expected to air on Fight Pass, which means that most of us North American types won’t see it live, and will have to settle for the GIFs that hit the Internet later. Ah well. The Great and Powerful UFC has a plan, and we must always trust in it.

Your predictions, please.


(“Ohhh, look at that. It’s like an ad for a f*ckin’ weight-loss center. Before, and *way* before.” / Photos via MMAJunkie)

After a month of rumors, it’s finally official: Heavyweight sluggers Mark Hunt and Roy Nelson will be trading bombs in the main event of UFC Fight Night 51, which is slated to take place September 20th at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Hunt hasn’t competed since his Fight of the Year-candidate draw against Antonio Silva last December, which followed a TKO loss against Junior Dos Santos at UFC 160. Nelson is coming off his brain-rattling knockout win over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in April, which snapped a two-fight losing streak. Feel free to call this one “The Battle of the Bulge,” as long as you acknowledge that Hunt already made that joke.

The only drawback to this guaranteed slobberknocker is that the event is expected to air on Fight Pass, which means that most of us North American types won’t see it live, and will have to settle for the GIFs that hit the Internet later. Ah well. The Great and Powerful UFC has a plan, and we must always trust in it.

Your predictions, please.

UFC Booking Alert: Michael Bisping to Face Cung Le in August, Hector Lombard vs. Dong Hyun Kim Booked as Well


(We don’t regret choosing this image. / Photo via Getty)

Michael Bisping has been booked to fight Cung Le on August 23rd, in the main event of a Fight Night card that takes place at the Cotai Arena in Macau. This booking was announced at the UFC 173 post-fight presser.

Le won his last match with a sudden, dramatic KO victory over Rich Franklin. Despite such a win, the 42-year-old isn’t exactly a threat to Bisping, who’s coming off a disappointing decision loss to Tim Kennedy. Looks like the UFC wants its British meal ticket back in the win column as soon as possible.

Get the details on the co-main event, and where the fight card will air after the jump.


(We don’t regret choosing this image. / Photo via Getty)

Michael Bisping has been booked to fight Cung Le on August 23rd, in the main event of a Fight Night card that takes place at the Cotai Arena in Macau. This booking was announced at the UFC 173 post-fight presser.

Le won his last match with a sudden, dramatic KO victory over Rich Franklin. Despite such a win, the 42-year-old isn’t exactly a threat to Bisping, who’s coming off a disappointing decision loss to Tim Kennedy. Looks like the UFC wants its British meal ticket back in the win column as soon as possible.

The co-main event of this Fight Night card will feature a bout between Dong Hyun Kim and Hector Lombard. Kim is on  a four-fight winning streak. Most recently, he knocked out John Hathaway with a gorgeous spinning back elbow. Lombard is only on a two-fight win streak but has looked equally if not more impressive. Since dropping to welterweight, he’s smashed Nate Marquardt and sent Jake Shields out of the UFC.

It’s a shame these matches will only air on Fight Pass.