Somebody needs to send Eric Shanks a few links to some mixed martial arts website comment sections and message boards where the topic of Gus Johnson’s MMA commentary skills are being discussed. If they did, the FOX Sports Media Group President and Co-COO might think long and hard about having captain eyeshadow do the UFC’s pre and post-fight shows like he told MMA H.E.A.T’s Karyn Bryant he’s looking into doing.
This could call for a petition.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/MMAHeat)
Somebody needs to send Eric Shanks a few links to some mixed martial arts website comment sections and message boards where the topic of Gus Johnson’s MMA commentary skills are being discussed. If they did, the FOX Sports Media Group President and Co-COO might think long and hard about having captain eyeshadow do the UFC’s pre and post-fight shows like he told MMA H.E.A.T’s Karyn Bryant he’s looking into doing.
This could call for a petition.
We’re not saying that Gus is a shitty commentator. He does a decent job excitedly screaming about how football players have “getting away from the cops speed” and how college basketball players are “rising and firing buckets.” It’s just that, in spite of his claims that he’s a BJJ blue belt under Renzo Gracie, he doesn’t seem to know much about MMA, which is a problem when your job is to talk about the intricacies of the sport. Am I right, Franklin McNeil?
Hopefully Dana puts his foot down on the matter so we can sleep easy knowing that our MMA coverage won’t be sponsored by Cover Girl.
Do yourself a favor and watch the whole interview with Lorenzo Fertitta. He gives a level-headed and articulate breakdown of the deal.
(“Maybe he was born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline.”)
One overlooked scenario from today’s blockbuster announcement that Fox Networks has signed a seven year broadcast deal with the UFC is that Gus Johnson may somehow be involved in its UFC coverage.
Fox recently inked the sometimes MMA commentator to a multi-year commentary deal that will see the veteran football and basketball play-by-play man call a variety of Pacific-12 football and basketball games, the Cotton Bowl and football games on the Big Ten Network, which is also partly owned by Fox. He will also call about 30 BTN basketball games as well as some yet-to-be-determined college basketball games on either Fox or FX.
Hopefully for the sake of the majority of MMA fans who came to loathe the much-maligned Renzo Gracie BJJ blue belt’s oblivious Strikeforce commentary, his other duties will keep his made-up mug off of the UFC-related broadcasts, that are said to include pre and post-fight shows and a weekly or daily UFC magazine-type series.
(“Maybe he was born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline.”)
One overlooked scenario from today’s blockbuster announcement that Fox Networks has signed a seven year broadcast deal with the UFC is that Gus Johnson may somehow be involved in its UFC coverage.
Fox recently inked the sometimes MMA commentator to a multi-year commentary deal that will see the veteran football and basketball play-by-play man call a variety of Pacific-12 football and basketball games, the Cotton Bowl and football games on the Big Ten Network, which is also partly owned by Fox. He will also call about 30 BTN basketball games as well as some yet-to-be-determined college basketball games on either Fox or FX.
Hopefully for the sake of the majority of MMA fans who came to loathe the much-maligned Renzo Gracie BJJ blue belt’s oblivious Strikeforce commentary, his other duties will keep his made-up mug off of the UFC-related broadcasts, that are said to include pre and post-fight shows and a weekly or daily UFC magazine-type series.
If UFC president Dana White has his way, Johnson, who he called “bush league” for the way he handled the brawl in Nashville last year, won’t be allowed near any of his shows.
Here’s what White had to say about Johnson’s “Sometimes these things happen in MMA” remarks in an interview with Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole:
“When have you seen anything remotely close to that happen at a UFC event?” White asked. “What kind of ridiculous commentary was that? That was an idiotic thing to say. And then he was yelling at them to stop, telling them they are on national television. That was just another example of how bush league they are.”
UFC color analyst Joe Rogan is also not a fan of GuJo.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/Romain1212)
I’d rather see Mauro Ranallo get the gig than Gus and I’d much rather see Chael Sonnen host his own UFC show. Maybe he could do double-duty as a political analyst on Fox News.
As UFC and FOX announce their new multi-year partnership, details have confirmed that a revamped The Ultimate Fighter series will begin airing on FX Network this spring. A UFC press release stated: In spring 2012,.
As UFC and FOX announce their new multi-year partnership, details have confirmed that a revamped The Ultimate Fighter series will begin airing on FX Network this spring. A UFC press release stated:
In spring 2012, THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER, UFC’s signature weekly reality show moves to FX, FOX’s general entertainment cable network now in more than 99 million homes. With the move to FX, the show will feature a newly-designed format. FX is also set to televise another four-to six-live UFC events annually, with a mixture of additional events and programs heading to FSMG cable networks including FUEL TV.
Changes to the TUF show include a two-hour live season premiere to showcase 16 ‘all-or-nothing’ fights among 32 fighters and audience participation as viewers vote on who will fight who once coaches select their teams. TUF episodes will be edited in real time and live fights will follow each episode over a 12 week period leading up to the 13th episode which will be an all live event crowning the champion.
Changes to UFC pay-per-view events are also in the works and Fox’s first UFC Live event will air November 12th.
(Also, Glenn Beck’s old spot will be permanently replaced by BJ Penn tackling people.)
As reported earlier this week, the UFC and FOX have been finalizing a new broadcast deal that will place up to four annual fight events on the network and move weekly programming (like The Ultimate Fighter) to cable subsidiary FX. The partnership will be made public today at a press conference in Los Angeles, scheduled for 10 a.m. local time. (Or at least that’s what we think will happen. I mean, what else would they announce? Their mutual love of It’s Always Sunny?)
Expected for the press conference are Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta, Georges St. Pierre, Frankie Edgar, Rashad Evans, as well as FOX Sports Media Group Chairman and CEO David Hill, Co-Presidents and COO’s Randy Freer and Eric Shanks, and FX President John Landgraf.
(Also, Glenn Beck’s old spot will be permanently replaced by BJ Penn tackling people.)
As reported earlier this week, the UFC and FOX have been finalizing a new broadcast deal that will place up to four annual fight events on the network and move weekly programming (like The Ultimate Fighter) to cable subsidiary FX. The partnership will be made public today at a press conference in Los Angeles, scheduled for 10 a.m. local time. (Or at least that’s what we think will happen. I mean, what else would they announce? Their mutual love of It’s Always Sunny?)
Expected for the press conference are Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta, Georges St. Pierre, Frankie Edgar, Rashad Evans, as well as FOX Sports Media Group Chairman and CEO David Hill, Co-Presidents and COO’s Randy Freer and Eric Shanks, and FX President John Landgraf.
Sports Business Daily and Heavy MMA are reporting that Fox Network has or is very close to inking a multi-year broadcast deal with the UFC which includes airing about 4 UFC events per year and.
Sports Business Daily and Heavy MMA are reporting that Fox Network has or is very close to inking a multi-year broadcast deal with the UFC which includes airing about 4 UFC events per year and make Fox the new home of The Ultimate Fighter reality competition series. The deal which has not been confirmed by Dana White or any reps at Zuffa (but has been allegedly leaked anonymously by someone at Fox) is said to be negotiated at or up to 90 million dollars.
White addressed the rumored deal at the UFC 136 press conference by saying: “I didn’t comment when The Wall Street Journal said we bought G4 either. When you’re in these negotiations, rumors start flying and everything else.”
Both the UFC’s contracts with Spike and Versus Networks expire at the end of this year and neither Network is expected to renew deals with the UFC.
