Tag: Lorenzo Fertitta

Once Again, Lorenzo Fertitta Manages to Sound Completely Reasonable While Responding to Ex-UFC Fighter’s Criticism


(I look at this photo and think, “now there’s a guy who just wants to open up a dialogue and find some common ground.” / Photo by Cindy Schultz for Times Union)

Last week, former UFC middleweight Nate Quarry went on the Underground Forum to discuss the low pay and sponsorship limitations he encountered while fighting for the promotion. As he saw it, the UFC viewed its fighters as “just a product to use and discard.”

Normally, this is the point where UFC president Dana White would find the nearest video-camera and call Quarry a [expletive] loser crybaby who never did anything for the promotion and is lying about how much money he made in the first place. Instead, Yahoo!’s Kevin Iole asked UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta how he felt about Quarry’s remarks. Here’s what the UFC’s less-visible, more level-headed frontman had to say:

“This sport is in its infancy, and I’ll admit that there is so much more to be done, but the media is focusing so much on the negative and there are far more positives out there in terms of what we have done for the sport and the fighters,” Fertitta said. “You come to work every day and you kind of feel beaten down because it’s something new [to complain about] every day…

“I’m not going to argue or counter every specific claim made by Nate Quarry on some website,” Fertitta said. “I’m super proud of what we have done for our athletes, this sport and this company. Our track record is darn good as a whole and we have nothing to be embarrassed about.

“This fight Nate is talking about was so long ago and clearly the business wasn’t where it is today. It was in its infancy and we were coming out of a period where we suffered millions upon millions in losses. It wasn’t an insignificant amount of money. And I’ll tell you this, Nate is a smart guy. Absolutely he is. He knew when he signed his contract exactly what he’d be paid….


(I look at this photo and think, “now there’s a guy who just wants to open up a dialogue and find some common ground.” / Photo by Cindy Schultz for Times Union)

Last week, former UFC middleweight Nate Quarry went on the Underground Forum to discuss the low pay and sponsorship limitations he encountered while fighting for the promotion. As he saw it, the UFC viewed its fighters as “just a product to use and discard.”

Normally, this is the point where UFC president Dana White would find the nearest video-camera and call Quarry a [expletive] loser crybaby who never did anything for the promotion and is lying about how much money he made in the first place. Instead, Yahoo!’s Kevin Iole asked UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta how he felt about Quarry’s remarks. Here’s what the UFC’s less-visible, more level-headed frontman had to say:

“This sport is in its infancy, and I’ll admit that there is so much more to be done, but the media is focusing so much on the negative and there are far more positives out there in terms of what we have done for the sport and the fighters,” Fertitta said. “You come to work every day and you kind of feel beaten down because it’s something new [to complain about] every day…

“I’m not going to argue or counter every specific claim made by Nate Quarry on some website,” Fertitta said. “I’m super proud of what we have done for our athletes, this sport and this company. Our track record is darn good as a whole and we have nothing to be embarrassed about.

“This fight Nate is talking about was so long ago and clearly the business wasn’t where it is today. It was in its infancy and we were coming out of a period where we suffered millions upon millions in losses. It wasn’t an insignificant amount of money. And I’ll tell you this, Nate is a smart guy. Absolutely he is. He knew when he signed his contract exactly what he’d be paid….

“[F]ighter compensation has increased multiples upon multiples since we’ve gotten into the business and built it up to where it is today. We’re very proud of what our athletes make. Granted, back in 2004, 2005, it was a different world. We weren’t getting the revenues back then that we are today. We feel the fighters are getting their fair share, if not more…

“[Fighter payroll] has gone up significantly, and though I don’t have it at the tip of my fingers, I can tell you it’s gone up faster than the percentage of revenue growth.” he said. “Fighter comp is growing at a faster rate than revenues.”

See what Fertitta did there? He responded to sharp criticism and defended his company’s labor practices, but didn’t resort to personal attacks. He didn’t publicly bury a guy who fought his heart out and risked his health while under contract with the UFC. He didn’t get so vein-bulgingly mad that he started dropping F-bombs every fourth word. (Did you notice that Fertitta even said “darn good” instead of “damn good”? Holy shit, you guys.)

Last month, Georges St-Pierre — one of the most successful and well-known UFC champions of all-time — blasted the promotion for not doing enough to address the sport’s PED problem, and even called the UFC a “monopoly.” Fertitta said he was “disappointed” by the comments. (“We’ve always had an open line of communication with him and I’d like to know why he feels that way,” he told Iole.) Again, no rage-fueled theatrics, and no personal attacks aimed at a guy who used to make him money.

Man. Wouldn’t it be nice if this was the public face of the UFC instead of Dana White, a shrieking, sweating WWF manager who insults his own employees for not living up to his unreasonable expectations? White helped lead Zuffa through its first ten rocky years, and he deserves a great deal of credit for that. His street-smart, take-no-crap approach won him respect and admiration among the UFC’s fanbase. But now that the UFC has entered the network television/global expansion phase of its existence, it doesn’t need a tough-guy caricature out front. In fact, Dana’s continued presence — from his angry outbursts at reporters, to his now-constant criticism of his own fighters — has become a distraction.

Dana White is the living embodiment of the old UFC logo: a furious bald white man, pounding down on the world. Personally, I prefer the respectful guy in the suit.

– BG

Why the Current PED Testing Policies in MMA Are Bad for the Sport


(My advice? Put on this song, hold each other tight, and remember why you fell in the love in the first place. / Photo via @lorenzofertitta)

By Jon Mariani

Responding to Georges St-Pierre’s news-making claim that the UFC didn’t support him when he did VADA drug-testing for UFC 167, UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta told Yahoo!, “It was extremely disappointing to hear Georges make those comments because I don’t think any organization has embraced drug testing as we have.”

Fertitta also went on to state in an interview with ESPN, “Maybe Georges didn’t understand the level of drug testing Nevada was doing. They are the ultimate authority that handles drug testing, medicals and everything else — and they are very capable.”

The first problem with Fertitta’s statement is that the UFC didn’t exactly embrace drug-testing when GSP tried to bring VADA into the mix. As UFC President Dana White stated, “It’s a little weird,” that St-Pierre wanted the enhanced testing. White went on to say that “He doesn’t have to do it, but I guess he wants to do it. What are you gonna do? Knock yourself out, Georges. Good luck.”

Clearly, that’s not the kind of “support” St-Pierre was looking for.

The larger problem is that when Fertitta says “they are very capable,” referring to Nevada’s athletic commission and drug-testing standards, it couldn’t be further from the truth. The current testing employed in Nevada is a joke, and here’s why…


(My advice? Put on this song, hold each other tight, and remember why you fell in the love in the first place. / Photo via @lorenzofertitta)

By Jon Mariani

Responding to Georges St-Pierre’s news-making claim that the UFC didn’t support him when he did VADA drug-testing for UFC 167, UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta told Yahoo!, “It was extremely disappointing to hear Georges make those comments because I don’t think any organization has embraced drug testing as we have.”

Fertitta also went on to state in an interview with ESPN, “Maybe Georges didn’t understand the level of drug testing Nevada was doing. They are the ultimate authority that handles drug testing, medicals and everything else — and they are very capable.”

The first problem with Fertitta’s statement is that the UFC didn’t exactly embrace drug-testing when GSP tried to bring VADA into the mix. As UFC President Dana White stated, “It’s a little weird,” that St-Pierre wanted the enhanced testing. White went on to say that “He doesn’t have to do it, but I guess he wants to do it. What are you gonna do? Knock yourself out, Georges. Good luck.”

Clearly, that’s not the kind of “support” St-Pierre was looking for.

The larger problem is that when Fertitta says “they are very capable,” referring to Nevada’s athletic commission and drug-testing standards, it couldn’t be further from the truth. The current testing employed in Nevada is a joke, and here’s why…

The State Of Current Testing In MMA

First off let’s look at the current testing being employed. Fighters are rarely tested before fights. Nevada has a occasionally done some “random” testing of fighters, but for the most part, testing is done either immediately before or after a fight takes place. And that “random” testing Nevada does is mostly performed at press conferences held by promoters. As Fight Opinion’s Zach Arnold stated “That’s not exactly ‘out of competition’ testing by traditional standards.” If you look at it, Nevada isn’t employing truly random testing, which makes you realize just how ridiculous it is that Alistair Overeem was busted in March of 2012, following a UFC 146 press conference.

There is a reason that in 2011 Tyler Tygart, the chief of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, called drug testing in MMA “horrific,” and “inadequate.” Part of the reason for his statement is that testing in combat sports is not random. Balco founder Victor Conte recently said, “I consider in-competition drug tests to be more IQ tests than drug tests because athletes can simply taper off before competitions and easily avoid testing positive. I believe that random out-of-competition tests are a far more effective use of the available resources.”

Why Enhanced Testing is Necessary

Athletic commissions do not currently employ the most sophisticated testing available. Tests such as the Carbon Isotope Ratio test, the most effective deterrent of exogenous testosterone usage, is not currently utilized due to its high cost. There is a reason Vitor Belfort did not get caught when he was illegally using testosterone. In 2012, VADA busted boxer Lamont Peterson for illegally using testosterone. When asked point blank if the NSAC would have caught Lemont Peterson, Keith Kizer admitted, “Probably not from the facts that I know.” Peterson’s T/E Ratio was 3.77 to 1, while the NSAC has a 6 to 1 ratio.

Kizer went on to say, “My understanding is that his level was 3.77 to 1… and I don’t know if that was a purposeful attempt to conceal [his use] by keeping it under 4 to 1 or not. That’s a question for someone else and not for me. But regardless, the CIR was able to catch it without the level being high.”

What he is essentially saying is “I don’t know if the fighter was trying to cheat, but if he was, we wouldn’t have caught him.” If that isn’t a complete indictment of your testing, I don’t know what is.

When Lorenzo Fertitta says, “Hopefully, because the penalties for being caught have gone to the extent they have — monetary, suspensions, revocations of licenses — it’s convincing these guys it’s not worth it,” he is wrong. To beat the current testing, all you need is a large bank account to afford the performance-enhancers like EPO and HGH that the commissions don’t test for, and a little bit of knowledge of when they do the tests. A far more effective deterrent would be to implement random enhanced testing — that is, if the UFC and athletic commissions truly “advocate for the most rigorous drug testing possible.”

Georges St-Pierre Blasts the UFC for Lack of Drug-Testing Support; Lorenzo Fertitta ‘Disappointed’ By Comments


(The UFC’s French-Canadian company-man has officially left the building. / Photo via Getty)

During a media appearance in Montreal yesterday, former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre was uncharacteristically candid about his motivations for stepping away from the sport, and how he felt about the UFC not supporting him when he attempted to arrange enhanced drug-testing prior to his UFC 167 title fight against Johny Hendricks.

“It bothered me enormously,” St-Pierre said (in a translation by MMAFighting.com). “That’s one of the reasons why I stopped fighting. Not really to teach them a lesson, because that would also punish me. I wanted to do something for the sport. I love the sport. I see the direction it’s going, and I don’t think it makes any sense. This is stupid.”

“I tried to do something to change the sport,” St-Pierre continued. “Unfortunately, there were other people, for different reasons, maybe for money, in fear of losing money, because if you canceled the fight because someone tested positive there are millions of dollars [lost]. Also, the sport’s image…If you start testing everyone, how many will get caught? I don’t want to say in public because I don’t want to accuse anyone, but the sport’s image will be hurt. Don’t forget, I have internal information. I’m an athlete. I know what goes on, so that disappointed me greatly.”

Later, St-Pierre described the UFC as a “monopoly,” and suggested that he wouldn’t return to competition until the promotion’s drug-testing policy was improved:


(The UFC’s French-Canadian company-man has officially left the building. / Photo via Getty)

During a media appearance in Montreal yesterday, former UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre was uncharacteristically candid about his motivations for stepping away from the sport, and how he felt about the UFC not supporting him when he attempted to arrange enhanced drug-testing prior to his UFC 167 title fight against Johny Hendricks.

“It bothered me enormously,” St-Pierre said (in a translation by MMAFighting.com). “That’s one of the reasons why I stopped fighting. Not really to teach them a lesson, because that would also punish me. I wanted to do something for the sport. I love the sport. I see the direction it’s going, and I don’t think it makes any sense. This is stupid.”

“I tried to do something to change the sport,” St-Pierre continued. “Unfortunately, there were other people, for different reasons, maybe for money, in fear of losing money, because if you canceled the fight because someone tested positive there are millions of dollars [lost]. Also, the sport’s image…If you start testing everyone, how many will get caught? I don’t want to say in public because I don’t want to accuse anyone, but the sport’s image will be hurt. Don’t forget, I have internal information. I’m an athlete. I know what goes on, so that disappointed me greatly.”

Later, St-Pierre described the UFC as a “monopoly,” and suggested that he wouldn’t return to competition until the promotion’s drug-testing policy was improved:

“This is a relatively new sport. There’s one organization that has a monopoly, so the fighters don’t have much power. They can’t really talk because if one says what he thinks, he will get punished.

“If we want the sport to be accepted worldwide, like baseball, hockey, football, soccer, I believe [drug testing] is the thing to do. I think it’s just a matter of time before it happens, it’s just that I tried to make it happen now. Maybe they didn’t like the idea because if I did it now, it would lead to others doing it and maybe that’s not something they wanted to happen.

“It disappointed me. You know that there are things I can’t say. I’m holding back. I’m a public person…

“No wants to talk about [drugs in MMA], but I think we need to talk about it. It’s a problem. I wanted to remain diplomatic, but unfortunately there were people who weren’t ready to change things. I’m certain it’s a question of time. And maybe if things change one day, I’ll return.”

Understandably, the UFC’s top brass is upset that the formerly reserved and obedient St-Pierre is putting the promotion’s business out on the street — and subtly threatening to drop more bombshells in the future. After St-Pierre’s comments were first published, UFC CEO Lorenzo “The Body” Fertitta immediately went on defense, saying he was “shocked” and “disappointed” by what GSP had said.

“We’ve always had an open line of communication with him and I’d like to know why he feels that way,” Fertitta told Yahoo!’s Kevin Iole.

“It was extremely disappointing to hear Georges make those comments because I don’t think any organization has embraced drug testing as we have,” Fertitta said. “We have not only agreed to pay when the commission has said it wants to do enhanced testing, we’ve encouraged it. We have no problem with testing. When we serve as the commission [in areas out of the country where there is no commission], we test everyone on the card so we are thorough and there can be no claims of bias.

“Whatever a commission would want us to do in terms of testing, we would embrace it. We’ll do as many as they want. I think perhaps Georges’ people didn’t communicate to him in detail everything we’d do as they tried to arrange the testing for the fight with him and Johny.”

“Obviously, we know there are some athletes that do cheat, but we are catching them,” Fertitta added in an interview with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. “Hopefully, because the penalties for being caught have gone to the extent they have — monetary, suspensions, revocations of licenses — it’s convincing these guys it’s not worth it.”

St-Pierre is right about one thing: It’s not in the UFC’s best interest, financially speaking, to have every drug-cheater on its roster caught and exposed. But does the promotion have a responsibility to employ stricter drug-testing than what it has generally relied on through athletic commissions? And has GSP become a permanent enemy of the UFC by publicly suggesting that?

Quote of the Day: Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort Will Throw Down in AMERICA, Thank You Very Much


(And the text from Keith Kizer read: “NOT ON MY WATCH, PLAYBOY.” Photo via Getty.

We often get accused of “hating” on Vitor Belfort — then again, we often get accused of “hating” on many MMA fighters we poke fun at — for noting the often hilarious contradictions he makes regarding his usage of TRT. One day, he needs it to survive. The next, he’s willing to go off the treatment for a title shot. And God forbid you see the guy on Sundays…

It’s not that we haven’t appreciated seeing Belfort transform into Blanka from Street Fighter over the past couple of years, it’s just that his career resurgence has been somewhat marred in our (and many fans) eyes by his usage of what many would consider an unnecessary and unfair advantage. These qualms are somewhat validated by the fact that Belfort has been tucked away in Brazil for his past few highlight reel wins and all but banned from using TRT in Nevada on account of his past steroid usage.

Thankfully, it appears that all our worries regarding the legitimacy of Belfort’s resurgence will be put to rest when he receives the middleweight title shot he was promised after knocking out Dan Henderson. According to Lorenzo Fertitta in an interview with ESPN, Belfort will be facing off with Chris Weidman in Las Vegas, ‘MURICA this summer. His quote is after the jump.


(And the text from Keith Kizer read: “NOT ON MY WATCH, PLAYBOY.” Photo via Getty.

We often get accused of “hating” on Vitor Belfort — then again, we often get accused of “hating” on many MMA fighters we poke fun at — for noting the often hilarious contradictions he makes regarding his usage of TRT. One day, he needs it to survive. The next, he’s willing to go off the treatment for a title shot. And God forbid you see the guy on Sundays…

It’s not that we haven’t appreciated seeing Belfort transform into Blanka from Street Fighter over the past couple of years, it’s just that his career resurgence has been somewhat marred in our (and many fans) eyes by his usage of what many would consider an unnecessary and unfair advantage. These qualms are somewhat validated by the fact that Belfort has been tucked away in Brazil for his past few highlight reel wins and all but banned from using TRT in Nevada on account of his past steroid usage.

Thankfully, it appears that all our worries regarding the legitimacy of Belfort’s resurgence will be put to rest when he receives the middleweight title shot he was promised after knocking out Dan Henderson. According to Lorenzo Fertitta in an interview with ESPN, Belfort will be facing off with Chris Weidman in Las Vegas, ‘MURICA this summer. His quote is after the jump.

“Depending on Chris Weidman,” Fertitta stated, I’d like to do Vegas [in] May or July.”

“Depending on Weidman” is likely referring to the knee injury Weidman hinted at in his post-fight interview at UFC 168, but Lorenzo’s committal to a Vegas showcase has got to please fans hoping to see Belfort fight in the States for the first time since 2011. Then again, if I’m using the comments section of the Youtube video I just linked to as a gauge of where MMA fans stand on Weidman vs. Belfort, I can tell you that Chris Weidman is a “scared” “lucky” “punk” and Belfort is a “bible-thumping juice-monkey with porcupine hair.” Opinionated, strange people, those Youtubers are.

In any case, expect the debate over Belfort’s TRT usage to rage on heading into this fight. Here to throw some gas on the fire is Weidman’s head trainer, Ray Longo:

I know Chris is beating the guy but why give him an advantage? Why does he deserve that? All he did was abuse his body with steroids so that now he needs the exemption. It’s bull—-.

I’d like to imagine that Ray gave that statement with this look in his eyes.

–J. Jones

Lorenzo Fertitta Walks Back Dana White’s Burial of Georges St-Pierre: “GSP Doesn’t Owe Us Anything”


(He’s smart, well-spoken, and he always wipes down his machines. What’s not to like about this guy?)

Watching Lorenzo Fertitta do interviews is like getting a glimpse into a utopian alternate-universe in which the president of the UFC wasn’t a petulant spaz whose first response to any criticism is to call you a pussy. Fertitta is an adult, and as such, he occasionally has to clean up the messes left behind by his minority partner. Here’s what the Zuffa Chairman/CEO had to say yesterday to Ariel Helwani, regarding Dana White’s now-infamous rant about what Georges St-Pierre “owes” the UFC following last weekend’s fight against Johny Hendricks:

“I think Dana was misunderstood and hopefully he’s trying to clarify that. GSP doesn’t owe us anything. If he chooses to retire, then so be it, he’ll retire and become someone that people will always look up to as one of the great champions in the UFC. If he decides to fight again, then great. I think where the confusion was, Georges never communicated anything to us prior to the fight relative to that he may be making an announcement. In fact, I think Dana said that he had talked to him and he said ‘no no no, everything’s fine.’

“And then after the fight, the announcement he made was very vague. And I think what Dana was trying to say was that either you’re retired or you’re not, right? We can’t just put the UFC belt on the shelf for an undefined period, basically put it in limbo forever, because that’s not fair to the contenders that have been working their whole lifetime to get the opportunity to get the belt. It’s not fair to the fans to have the title sit on the side for too long. And it’s not fair to us as a company because we wouldn’t be able to plan. I think that’s what the message was meant to be, but I think unfortunately the press took it in a different way.


(He’s smart, well-spoken, and he always wipes down his machines. What’s not to like about this guy?)

Watching Lorenzo Fertitta do interviews is like getting a glimpse into a utopian alternate-universe in which the president of the UFC wasn’t a petulant spaz whose first response to any criticism is to call you a pussy. Fertitta is an adult, and as such, he occasionally has to clean up the messes left behind by his minority partner. Here’s what the Zuffa Chairman/CEO had to say yesterday to Ariel Helwani, regarding Dana White’s now-infamous rant about what Georges St-Pierre “owes” the UFC following last weekend’s fight against Johny Hendricks:

“I think Dana was misunderstood and hopefully he’s trying to clarify that. GSP doesn’t owe us anything. If he chooses to retire, then so be it, he’ll retire and become someone that people will always look up to as one of the great champions in the UFC. If he decides to fight again, then great. I think where the confusion was, Georges never communicated anything to us prior to the fight relative to that he may be making an announcement. In fact, I think Dana said that he had talked to him and he said ‘no no no, everything’s fine.’

“And then after the fight, the announcement he made was very vague. And I think what Dana was trying to say was that either you’re retired or you’re not, right? We can’t just put the UFC belt on the shelf for an undefined period, basically put it in limbo forever, because that’s not fair to the contenders that have been working their whole lifetime to get the opportunity to get the belt. It’s not fair to the fans to have the title sit on the side for too long. And it’s not fair to us as a company because we wouldn’t be able to plan. I think that’s what the message was meant to be, but I think unfortunately the press took it in a different way.

“Georges doesn’t owe us anything. Just, what I think he does owe us is — clarify what you’re doing, right? Just let us know so we can plan…

“There is a sense of celebrity that is now involved, and along with that celebrity, particularly when you carry a country, there’s pressure that’s associated with it. I think it’s tough to be Georges St-Pierre some days. You know what I mean? There’s a lot of pressure that goes along with it, but he’s a consummate professional and he handles it great. He always lives up to anything we’ve ever asked him to do and he always performs in the octagon in the bright lights. So I think it’s just a moment in time, and I think he’s going to be fine.”

See? Now doesn’t that make a lot more sense? Obviously, the stuff about Dana White being “misunderstood” is absolute bullshit — he was understood just fine, unfortunately, and he was still defending his comments four days after he first made them — but when Lorenzo explains his case in rational, non-abusive terms, you can almost sympathize with their position. GSP doesn’t owe the UFC an immediate rematch with Johny Hendricks, but he should be able to explain to his employers what he’s doing, and for how long, so that everyone can move forward from there.

St-Pierre has always been a very private, guarded person, sometimes to his own detriment. Still, he certainly didn’t deserve the verbal carpet-bombing he received directly after the toughest fight of his life. But hey, that’s our Dana, always calling like he sees it, and that’s why love him, right? I mean, that’s totally preferable to an executive who’s respectful, thinks before he speaks, and can go five words without saying “fuck,” right? RIGHT???

You Can Calm Down, The UFC Is Not Holding 54 Events Next Year


(Subtle.)

By Matt Saccaro

Earlier today, Ariel Helwani tweeted that there was going to be 54 UFC events in 2014, or at least that was the plan.

But there won’t be as many as 54 events, and it’s possible that many of the extra events won’t even be on television. Lorenzo Fertitta elucidated the UFC’s plans for 2014 in an interview with Ariel Helwani. Predictably, the UFC is focusing on international growth in 2014.

“We are looking at expanding our Fight Night product,” said Fertitta. “We have the bottom tier, we have the Ultimate Fighter which we’re taking around the world now. We have obviously the series on FOX Sports 1. We just got done filming The Ultimate Fighter: China which will air in January in China. We’ve got The Ultimate Fighter: Canada and Australia in production right now. We’re in pre-production for series in other various countries around the world. That’s our base,” he said. But TUF is only one piece of the global MMA puzzle. The more important piece, at least according to Fertitta, are the mid-level Fight Night cards.

“In the middle of the pyramid we have our UFC Fight Night brand,” he said. “We’re gonna take that Fight Night product and expand it into Europe and into Asia next year…We’re gonna add fights in those regions so when you add them on to the 33 we’d do this year, it gets into that 40-ish type number.”

Regarding the highly controversial number of 54, Fertitta claimed that he misspoke. He also teased about where the events would be televised (if anywhere).

“Is that what I said? 54? It won’t be quite that. I think I misspoke. It’ll be in the 40’s. Right now, we’ll have some news coming up on where they’re gonna air. I think we’re gonna have some ground-breaking ideas as far as where that’s gonna be available.”


(Subtle.)

By Matt Saccaro

Earlier today, Ariel Helwani tweeted that there was going to be 54 UFC events in 2014, or at least that was the plan.

But there won’t be as many as 54 events, and it’s possible that many of the extra events won’t even be on television. Lorenzo Fertitta elucidated the UFC’s plans for 2014 in an interview with Ariel Helwani. Predictably, the UFC is focusing on international growth in 2014.

“We are looking at expanding our Fight Night product,” said Fertitta. “We have the bottom tier, we have the Ultimate Fighter which we’re taking around the world now. We have obviously the series on FOX Sports 1. We just got done filming The Ultimate Fighter: China which will air in January in China. We’ve got The Ultimate Fighter: Canada and Australia in production right now. We’re in pre-production for series in other various countries around the world. That’s our base,” he said. But TUF is only one piece of the global MMA puzzle. The more important piece, at least according to Fertitta, are the mid-level Fight Night cards.

“In the middle of the pyramid we have our UFC Fight Night brand,” he said. “We’re gonna take that Fight Night product and expand it into Europe and into Asia next year…We’re gonna add fights in those regions so when you add them on to the 33 we’d do this year, it gets into that 40-ish type number.”

Regarding the highly controversial number of 54, Fertitta claimed that he misspoke. He also teased about where the events would be televised (if anywhere).

“Is that what I said? 54? It won’t be quite that. I think I misspoke. It’ll be in the 40′s. Right now, we’ll have some news coming up on where they’re gonna air. I think we’re gonna have some ground-breaking ideas as far as where that’s gonna be available.”

It’s fortunate that the cool-headed Lorenzo took on this issue. Had Dana White been breaking this news he’d have been cursing out everyone for questioning holding more events per year, calling them butt-hurt pussies and dickheads. Lorenzo manages to professional while being real and actually providing useful, non-PR bullshit.

The biggest takeaway from this interview, obviously, is that the UFC is gearing up for further international expansion and is holding even more events next year. Initially, my gut reaction was that this was disastrous; the UFC’s efforts overseas have already damaged the sport’s popularity in the US. What will diluting the schedule with even more Fight Night events headlined by fighters without Wikipedia pages like Ilir Latifi do?

Fortunately, it seems like this problem won’t be exacerbated in 2014. (It  won’t be solved either, but that’s an issue for another article.) Many of the newly added events are going to be overseas and may not make it to the eyeballs of your average FS1/FS2 viewers, which is a positive thing. The UFC won’t risk further poisoning the US market with horrific fight cards. Yes, the hardcore fans love free fights, but it has become painfully clear that the strength of the UFC brand alone can’t entice the casuals. They need Brock Lesnar and Kimbo Slice, not Cezar Ferreira and Paulo Thiago. Putting a mid-carder in a main event doesn’t make them a main-eventer in anything but a literal sense.