In a loss that should downgrade the card from a pay-per-view to a free night of fights but undoubtedly won’t, Jose Aldo has been injured and is out of his featherweight title fight rematch with Chad Mendes scheduled for UFC 176.
MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani broke the bad news on last night’s edition of UFC Tonight, and Dana White confirmed that the fight had been cancelled shortly thereafter. Nova Uniao released a statement as to the severity of Aldo’s injury late last night:
Nova Uniao announced on Wednesday night that Aldo has suffered a shoulder and cervical spine injury after being taken down in training on July 1. According to the release, Aldo started physical therapy Wednesday and won’t be able to train for three weeks, when he will be examined again for the cervical spine injury.
The answer is of course, f*ck no. Unless the UFC decides to shuffle in a more worthy main event, or at the very minimum, downgrade the price of the PPV. No, *you* sound crazy.
So, on what side of the 200k benchmark do we see this card landing in terms of PPV buys?
In a loss that should downgrade the card from a pay-per-view to a free night of fights but undoubtedly won’t, Jose Aldo has been injured and is out of his featherweight title fight rematch with Chad Mendes scheduled for UFC 176.
MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani broke the bad news on last night’s edition of UFC Tonight, and Dana White confirmed that the fight had been cancelled shortly thereafter. Nova Uniao released a statement as to the severity of Aldo’s injury late last night:
Nova Uniao announced on Wednesday night that Aldo has suffered a shoulder and cervical spine injury after being taken down in training on July 1. According to the release, Aldo started physical therapy Wednesday and won’t be able to train for three weeks, when he will be examined again for the cervical spine injury.
The answer is of course, f*ck no. Unless the UFC decides to shuffle in a more worthy main event, or at the very minimum, downgrade the price of the PPV. No, *you* sound crazy.
So, on what side of the 200k benchmark do we see this card landing in terms of PPV buys?
As some promoters would have you believe, UFC 168: Silva vs. Weidman 2 is the biggest event in UFC history. It’s so stacked, in fact, that some unnamed executives at Zuffa decided to raise the price of the card $5, in a one-time-only mini-gouge. (Dana White’s explanation for this? “Cuz.” Ladies and gentlemen, your UFC president.)
The price bump carries the implication that UFC 168 is not just a great pay-per-view event, it’s more valuable than every single UFC show that came before it. But is it? Let’s take a quick look at the pay-per-view lineup — i.e., the five fights they’re asking you to pay for:
Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva (for UFC middleweight title) Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate (for women’s bantamweight title) Josh Barnett vs. Travis Browne (HW) Jim Miller vs. Fabricio Camoes (LW) Dustin Poirier vs. Diego Brandao (FW)
To me, we’re talking about three big fights. The shocking ending of Silva vs. Weidman 1 gives their rematch a great narrative (horrible marketing aside), and it’s safe to say that most UFC fans are curious to see how the sequel will turn out. Rousey vs. Tate is compelling simply because allRonda Rousey appearances are compelling, but there’s nothing to suggest that her second meeting with Miesha won’t end in another first-round armbar. And Barnett vs. Browne? Yep, I’m on board for that.
Beyond that, we have two solid contender fights that you could find on any other UFC main card. This kind of arrangement would place UFC 168 in line with past mega-shows like UFC 92 and UFC 100, which also followed the “two huge fights, one really good fight, two pretty decent fights” format. The difference is, the UFC never tried to jack up the prices of those shows, and there’s a reason for that. In 2008-2009, a UFC card with two big-name title fights was a special occasion. These days, it’s a ultra-rare fluke — and this might be the last time you see it.
(Yeah, and…?)
As some promoters would have you believe, UFC 168: Silva vs. Weidman 2 is the biggest event in UFC history. It’s so stacked, in fact, that some unnamed executives at Zuffa decided to raise the price of the card $5, in a one-time-only mini-gouge. (Dana White’s explanation for this? “Cuz.” Ladies and gentlemen, your UFC president.)
The price bump carries the implication that UFC 168 is not just a great pay-per-view event, it’s more valuable than every single UFC show that came before it. But is it? Let’s take a quick look at the pay-per-view lineup — i.e., the five fights they’re asking you to pay for:
Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva (for UFC middleweight title) Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate (for women’s bantamweight title) Josh Barnett vs. Travis Browne (HW) Jim Miller vs. Fabricio Camoes (LW) Dustin Poirier vs. Diego Brandao (FW)
To me, we’re talking about three big fights. The shocking ending of Silva vs. Weidman 1 gives their rematch a great narrative (horrible marketing aside), and it’s safe to say that most UFC fans are curious to see how the sequel will turn out. Rousey vs. Tate is compelling simply because allRonda Rousey appearances are compelling, but there’s nothing to suggest that her second meeting with Miesha won’t end in another first-round armbar. And Barnett vs. Browne? Yep, I’m on board for that.
Beyond that, we have two solid contender fights that you could find on any other UFC main card. This kind of arrangement would place UFC 168 in line with past mega-shows like UFC 92 and UFC 100, which also followed the “two huge fights, one really good fight, two pretty decent fights” format. The difference is, the UFC never tried to jack up the prices of those shows, and there’s a reason for that. In 2008-2009, a UFC card with two big-name title fights was a special occasion. These days, it’s a ultra-rare fluke — and this might be the last time you see it.
My interpretation of UFC 168′s five-dollar price-bump is simple: The UFC has no idea when it will be able to put on another blockbuster event, and the promotion is trying to cash in while it can. Next year will be marked by the absences of former PPV king Georges St. Pierre as well as currently-injured champions Cain Velasquez and Anthony Pettis. But despite the reduced star power on its roster, the UFC will have even more main event spots to fill on its ever-growingbroadcast schedule. The idea of stacking two title fights on one card is a luxury that Zuffa can no longer afford.
When the UFC announced Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler for UFC 171, Dana White originally stated that the welterweight title fight would be on the same card as Jon Jones vs. Glover Teixeira. But plans changed (again!), and the date and venue of Jones/Teixeira are TBA once more. Clearly, the UFC realized that putting on two PPV events that do 300k buys each is better than one that does 500k — especially as the promotion struggles to find strong headliners for its pay-per-view shows, which will be a bigger challenge than ever in 2014.
(Semi-related rant: On this week’s episode of the CME, Ben Fowlkes floated the idea of having the UFC’s vacant welterweight title be decided by a four-man single-night tournament. Would any UFC fan in the world argue with that idea? The UFC may have buried multi-fight tournaments in the interest of turning MMA into a modern sport, but if it wants to regain some of the fading interest among its fans, the promotion should start giving people more of what hooked them on MMA in the first place. Namely, crazy shit.)
So, is UFC 168 a great lineup? Sure it is. (I guess now I can break kayfabe and admit that I was half-trolling with this article’s headline.) Is UFC 168 the greatest lineup in UFC history? Of course it isn’t — and if you were a UFC fan five years ago, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before. But hey, you might as well enjoy it while you still can.
(Wake up, man! You paid $39.95 for access to these premo events!)
A quick show of hands: How many of you taters would wake up at 6:30 on a Saturday to catch Fight Night 34: Saffiedine vs. Ellenberger Lim? Of those of you who raised your hands, how many of you would be willing to *pay* for the right to view said card?
These are just two of the most baffling questions being posed by the UFC, who earlier today (sort of) unveiled a new, subscription-based digital network dedicated to streaming all of the international “Fight Night” cards too low-level to even merit a spot on the FS2 schedule. Said Lorenzo Fertitta:
The UFC has always been ahead of the game in the digital world. The UFC was the first major sporting organization to embrace social media and the first to offer live pay-per-view events across multiple digital platforms. The new digital network continues that tradition of innovation, bringing unrivaled choice to UFC fans.
The UFC’s expansion into international markets, and the extended calendar of events, is certainly part of the reason it makes sense to launch the digital network in 2014. UFC fans are the most passionate fans in the world, and we want to ensure they can see every fight and every event no matter where in the world the octagon may be.
That’s right, kids! For the low, low price of money, you can access garbage-ass international cards featuring sub-UFC level fighters, instead of, you know, just continuing to stream those fights illegally! HOW CAN THIS STRATEGY POSSIBLY FAIL?
(Wake up, man! You paid $39.95 for access to these premo events!)
A quick show of hands: How many of you taters would wake up at 6:30 on a Saturday to catch Fight Night 34: Saffiedine vs. Ellenberger Lim? Of those of you who raised your hands, how many of you would be willing to *pay* for the right to view said card?
These are just two of the most baffling questions being posed by the UFC, who earlier today (sort of) unveiled a new, subscription-based digital network dedicated to streaming all of the international “Fight Night” cards too low-level to even merit a spot on the FS2 schedule. Said Lorenzo Fertitta:
The UFC has always been ahead of the game in the digital world. The UFC was the first major sporting organization to embrace social media and the first to offer live pay-per-view events across multiple digital platforms. The new digital network continues that tradition of innovation, bringing unrivaled choice to UFC fans.
The UFC’s expansion into international markets, and the extended calendar of events, is certainly part of the reason it makes sense to launch the digital network in 2014. UFC fans are the most passionate fans in the world, and we want to ensure they can see every fight and every event no matter where in the world the octagon may be.
That’s right, kids! For the low, low price of money, you can access garbage-ass international cards featuring sub-UFC level fighters, instead of, you know, just continuing to stream those fights illegally! HOW CAN THIS STRATEGY POSSIBLY FAIL?
Look, I am as hardcore an MMA fan as it gets when it comes to watching fights (at least, I was). I’ve never met a set of Facebook prelims I couldn’t joyfully drunkblog my way through, and I firmly believe that a fight card cannot be solely judged by the name power of the fighters competing on it. But if last weekend’s TUF 18 Finale proved anything, it’s that throwing a bunch of sub-UFC level fighters on a card and praying for the best is a recipe for disaster. So what did I do midway through those abysmal FS1 prelims (which were jerked between FS channels on account of an Iowa State football game, FYI)? I tuned out, waited to hear which fights — or in this case, fight – were worth watching and streamed them the next day. How many of you did the same, and will continue to do the same when faced with these run of the mill cards?
Simply put, it isn’t a coincidence that the TUF 16 and TUF 17 finales provided far more memorable moments and exciting finishes than the TUF 18 finale did. Both of the former cards featured a handful of fighters who had actually proven themselves to be UFC-worthy, fighters who delivered results that were expected of them. Us MMA fans are a passionate bunch; that much Lorenzo has right. Which is why I find it all the more insulting that he thinks we will fork over our hard-earned cash to view fight cards packed to the brim with the Royston Wee’s of the world (no offense).
Take a look over the Fight Night 34 card; you will find that just 8 fighters competing on it are notable enough to have a Wikipedia page. That’s one less than the TUF 18 Finale. Is there a possibility that this card churns out more exciting finishes than any other card this year? Sure, but its highly more likely that Fight Night 34 ends up as just another subpar UFC card that is all but forgotten about the moment it is over. We’ll have the completely-untested-yet-somehow-UFC-level fighters to thank when it does.
If the UFC is so insistent on putting out Strikeforce Challengers-level cards to “expand their international brand,” that’s fine (although one would think that actually delivering PPV-level cards to those areas would accomplish this in a more timely fashion). But expecting fans, American or otherwise, to pay for these sheep cards audaciously masquerading in wolf’s clothing is a more laughably misguided business venture than asking them to pay $45 for a card headlined by Tito Ortiz vs. Rampage Jackson.
Ever since Al Gore invented the internet, print media has slowly walked The Green Mile towards obscurity. Major publications have gone belly up and my kids will probably miss out on cracking open the Sports page while drinking a nice cup of coffee in the morning because newspapers are fading quick. Many magazines have had to resort to gimmicky publicity stunts to keep their heads above water, sling a few more issues, and make payroll for the next month. Whether it is the first photo of some garbage-ass (yeah, I’m bringing it back) reality star’s child or coaxing a pseudo-celebrity with a possible substance abuse problem to get naked, print publications are truly scraping the bottom of the barrel. [Ed. note:Good thing we’re above stuff like that.]
Potentially proving this point is the picture above which surfaced on The UG yesterday showing a photo-shoot of everyone’s favorite transgender MMA fighter Fallon Fox with the caption:
GQ Magazine photoshoot today with a true Pioneer of Women’s Mixed Martial Arts.. Fallon Fox – Future UFC and Invicta FC Champion
Look for huge spread feature story in GQ Mag, October 2013!! Jen Wenk comes on board now Nike backing, GQ magazine.
Ever since Al Gore invented the internet, print media has slowly walked The Green Mile towards obscurity. Major publications have gone belly up and my kids will probably miss out on cracking open the Sports page while drinking a nice cup of coffee in the morning because newspapers are fading quick. Many magazines have had to resort to gimmicky publicity stunts to keep their heads above water, sling a few more issues, and make payroll for the next month. Whether it is the first photo of some garbage-ass (yeah, I’m bringing it back) reality star’s child or coaxing a pseudo-celebrity with a possible substance abuse problem to get naked, print publications are truly scraping the bottom of the barrel. [Ed. note:Good thing we’re above stuff like that.]
Potentially proving this point is the picture above which surfaced on The UG yesterday showing a photo-shoot of everyone’s favorite transgender MMA fighter Fallon Fox with the caption:
GQ Magazine photoshoot today with a true Pioneer of Women’s Mixed Martial Arts.. Fallon Fox – Future UFC and Invicta FC Champion
Look for huge spread feature story in GQ Mag, October 2013!! Jen Wenk comes on board now Nike backing, GQ magazine.
Do not let that creepy-ass crying baby fool you. I am not a bigot, or a racist or a sexist or an extremist and I think the left as well as the right wing political factions are both blinded by their own arrogance. I just HATE people in general. White, black, brown, yellow, purple, bi, gay, straight, democrat, republican, gentile or Jew [Ed. note: You forgot greasers] — I am an equal opportunity hater of all things that are idiotic regardless of race, sexual orientation, political affiliation, or creed. I HATE all of you (except ALF – donate, you deadbeats). That being said, IF the alleged photo is indeed for GQ, the caption that accompanies that picture is the stupidest thing I have ever read. So, excuse me while I write this out and I guess I’ll start at the beginning.
For starters, there is zero evidence (other than the pic and caption) of a GQ feature story and photo spread of Fallon Fox set to appear in a future issue. Most of the time when photos are leaked for an upcoming/anticipated magazine issue, they may surface initially on an underground forum post (like the aforementioned) but they don’t stay there for long before big name media outlets (like CagePotato.com) poach the story. Secondly, the backdrop and the overall photo quality appear to be fairly inexpensive, if not damn cheap for a publication of GQ’s notoriety. Seriously, is that a high school drama club stage? Strike 1.
Finally, when it comes to former UFC PR Director Jen Wenk’s involvement in this ordeal, I have very little to stand on. The only thing I can say is she left the UFC to start her own PR agency and the last I heard, she was affiliated with the Blackzilians but I’m too tired to do any more research at this semi-lucid moment. Now, IF Nike is on board, my Spider senses are telling me that Fox’s involvement in this could be a possible publicity grab for the company’s new #BeTrue line which is in support of the Lesbian and Gay community. (See here for more photo evidence.) The apparel giant recently brought on NBA player Jason Collins, who recently came out to promote the #BeTrue fashion line, and Nike could also be trying to capitalize on the unique story of Fox. Regardless, there is just too much speculation to grant any of this as gospel. Strike 3.
