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UFC: The Demise of the Super Bowl Weekend Megacard

“The Super Bowl of MMA” is a term you’ve probably heard before.
It’s one that’s been kicking around for years, a tongue-in-cheek proclamation that people cling to when it’s time to talk about the UFC.
As the biggest name in…

“The Super Bowl of MMA” is a term you’ve probably heard before.

It’s one that’s been kicking around for years, a tongue-in-cheek proclamation that people cling to when it’s time to talk about the UFC.

As the biggest name in the game, the promotion is the only one that comes close to claiming such a title, offering the biggest stars and the biggest events while hauling in the biggest volumes of cash for their work.

The comparison comes from the Super Bowl itself. The real, literal, actual Super Bowl, the one that’s become the biggest television event on Earth and that floats a degree of commerciality totally unmatched in modern times.

It doesn’t get much bigger.

And not that long ago, the UFC was doing its part to make Super Bowl weekend just a little more special. While The Big Game has long staked its claim to Sunday, Saturday night had become a night for The Super Bowl of MMA to shine.

Huge names. Huge fights. Huge events. Huge money. If you were a fan of MMA and a fan of football there wasn’t a better weekend on the calendar.

Note the tense there, though—were. That’s important, because we’re living in a very different time heading into Super Bowl Weekend 2017.

Saturday night will mark a mostly uninspired, free-TV offering from the UFC that’s a far cry from what the promotion offered over the past decade.

Names like Randy Couture, Vitor Belfort, Chuck Liddell, Anderson Silva and Brock Lesnar all appeared on past Super Saturdays, while mega fights like Georges St-Pierre vs. BJ Penn and Carlos Condit vs. Nick Diaz drew considerable attention in their own right.

Even though there was a decline in star power after a 2013 superfight between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar, the events remained relevant and certainly worthy of pay-per-view.

Renan Barao, at the peak of his unbeatability, fought Urijah Faber in Newark, New Jersey, with the Super Bowl happening just down the Turnpike. 2015 gave the world the bewildering, surreal Diaz-Silva middleweight special attraction, one that was later revealed to be fuelled by pot and tainted sexual performance enhancers but was a blast nonetheless.

However, last year, a bizarre series of injuries and pull-outs by planned headliners Cain Velasquez and Fabricio Werdum turned a planned pay-per-view into a show on Fox Sports 1. It drew adequate attention, apparently enough for the promotion to forget its roots in the biggest sports weekend of the year and pivot to a network show once again.

This is not to entirely slag the event happening this weekend, though. As was done with UFC 169, the promotion will show up in the same city as the Super Bowl, which is a stroke of genius, and there are some reasons to be excited about the offering—the beloved Korean Zombie’s return, uber prospect Alexa Grasso’s first big test and Jessica Andrade’s probable coronation as a strawweight title contender chief among them.

Yet as compared to the way things used to be, it’s just not up to snuff.

Super Saturday and the inevitable top-flight UFC event that would happen used to be appointment-viewing. For a good many years, it was more exciting on paper than the uninteresting game/halftime show the NFL was tirelessly pushing for the next night.

No one can make the argument that a Fox Sports 1 show headlined by an action fighter who hasn’t clocked ring time since 2013 tackling a guy in the back half of the top-10 requires anything close to an appointment. It’s perhaps a puzzling decision for WME-IMG, which seems to love selling big names far more than previous UFC ownership did.

Either way the end result is that anyone who remembers how great this weekend once was as an MMA fan has to be underwhelmed by the trajectory it’s been on over the past few years. You can hope it changes back to the way it once was, with superstars fighting for world titles at the highest level of the sport, but no one would blame you for being skeptical.

The Super Bowl of MMA? Not if this weekend is any indication.

Oh well. At least there’s still the Super Bowl of the actual Super Bowl.

Follow me on Twitter @matthewjryder!

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Video: Toney v Couture – The Last Time Elite Boxing and MMA Crossed Paths?

Boxing and MMA crossovers are not as exclusive to Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather; relive the last time both sports went head to head when Toney met Couture.

James Toney was one of the greatest boxers to ever compete in boxing’s middleweight division. When it was announced that he would face UFC legend Randy Couture at UFC 118 in Boston, Massachusetts, many were intrigued. However, it was not a debut to remember for the multi-weight boxing champ.

Those looking for a pertinent frame of reference when it comes to boxing v MMA can use the James Toney v Randy Couture fight as a reasonable argument against the effectiveness of “the sweet science” in the octagon. While a fight between McGregor and Mayweather would more than likely have to be in the ring rather than the octagon, this is the closest we have ever known in terms of elite boxer v elite MMA.

Should memory of the marquee fight fail most, mmanews.com has the video for you to enjoy below. For those who can remember the fight, who were you backing?

https://streamable.com/cjc0t

Boxing and MMA crossovers are not as exclusive to Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather; relive the last time both sports went head to head when Toney met Couture.

Should memory of the marquee fight fail most, mmanews.com has the video for you to enjoy below. For those who can remember the fight, who were you backing?

Chuck Liddell & Randy Couture Join WSOF For New York Event

The post Chuck Liddell & Randy Couture Join WSOF For New York Event appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

UFC legends Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture have a lot in common. During their illustrious hall of fame careers, the two former champions collided in a trilogy of classic wars. Eventually ‘The Iceman’ would come out on top of the trilogy, but ‘Captain America’ left his mark too. At UFC 43, in their first bout, Couture handed Liddell his first loss in five years. Winning the interim light-heavyweight belt, the American wrestler set in motion their classic rivalry, and they’d again meet at UFC 52.

After coaching the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, Liddell and Couture fought in 2005. This time ‘The Iceman’ got revenge, knocking out his fellow fighting icon in one round. Just one year later they were at it again, and Liddell wrapped up their rivalry with a second round knockout at UFC 57. Heading up to heavyweight, Couture would win the title at the ripe old age of 43 years 255 days. That record of oldest fighter to ever win a title still stands.

Post-UFC

Although a five-time champion and one-time tournament winner, Randy Couture’s differences with the UFC became apparent after he retired. Having been through pay and contract disputes with the UFC in 2007, ‘Captain America’ was later banned from UFC events for his comments and association with Bellator MMA. Liddell, on the other hand, was given a job with the UFC post-retirement.

Last week we reported that ‘The Iceman’ had been axed by the new UFC owners. WME-IMG took over the UFC with a $4.2 billion price tag earlier this year, and Liddell along with fellow legend Matt Hughes were sent packing. It seems ‘The Iceman’ and his old rival Randy Couture are once again on the same path, only this time they won’t have blood on their hands, rather pens to sign autographs. Both hall of famers will be appearing under the World Series of Fighting banner this coming New Years Eve at MSG, as per WSOF.com:

Together Again

World Series of Fighting fans attending the historic New Year’s Eve event will get an extra treat. In addition to the eleven-bout card, highlighted by four championship fights, fans will have an opportunity to meet two legends of the sport. UFC Hall of Famers Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture will host a signing from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the lobby of the Theatre at Madison Square Garden.

“We are excited to have two of the sport’s most beloved and accomplished fighters on hand to meet our fans after WSOFNYC,” said World Series of Fighting President Ray Sefo. “It will be a great honor to have them there following our historic event.”

WSOFNYC will be headlined by lightweight champ Justin Gaethje vs. Joao Zeferino. Here’s the full fight card for the Madison Square Garden WSOF extravaganza:

Main Card (NBC, 4 PM ET – 6 PM ET, Dec 31)

Lightweight Title Fight: Justin Gaethje (16-0) vs. Joao Zeferino (20-8)
Welterweight Title Fight: Jon Fitch (28-7) vs. Jake Shields (31-8)
Welterweight: Yushin “Thunder” Okami (32-10) vs. Paul Bradley (23-6)
Bantamweight Title Fight: Marlon Moraes (16-4) vs. Josenaldo Silva (25-4)

NBCSN Card (NBCSN, 3 PM ET – 4 PM ET, Dec. 31)

Middleweight Title Fight: David Branch (19-3) vs. Louis Taylor (13-1)
Heavyweight: Jared Rosholt (14-3) vs. Caio Alencar (9-1)

Prelim Card (WSOF.com, 1 PM ET – 3 PM ET, Dec. 31)

“Who’s The Toughest?” Catchweight Fight: Shane Kruchten (11-4) vs. Jeremy Mahon (5-4)
Light Heavyweight: Smealinho “The Prince” Rama (9-2) vs. Jake “The Honey Bear” Heun (9-4)
Middleweight: Vagab Vagabov (20-0) vs. Bruno Santos (14-2)
Featherweight: Andre Harrison (14-0) vs. Bruce Boyington (14-9)
Final Fight: TBD

The post Chuck Liddell & Randy Couture Join WSOF For New York Event appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

WATCH: ‘Mixed Martial Arts: Issues and Perspectives’ Congressional Hearing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVKBEkTci7Q

Today’s Congressional hearing on MMA conducted by the Energy and Commerce Committee can now be viewed on demand. In addition to the above YouTube embed, you can watch in HD on C-SPAN’s website. The committee’s own YouTube channel streamed an alternate version live, but as of this writing, the archive is not working due to what appears to be user error.

The panel of witnesses for the hearing consisted of:

UFC Hall of Famer and dormer two division champion Randy Couture.
Neuropathologist Dr. Anne McKee.
UFC Vice President, Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitsky.
Lydia Robertson, who serves as the Treasurer of the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports.

Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma), a former pro MMA fighter who’s attempting to get the sport added to the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act (commonly known as the “Ali Act”) was one of the Congressmen present at the hearing. It lasted about 80 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVKBEkTci7Q

The panel of witnesses for the hearing consisted of:

UFC Hall of Famer and dormer two division champion Randy Couture.
Neuropathologist Dr. Anne McKee.
UFC Vice President, Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitsky.
Lydia Robertson, who serves as the Treasurer of the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports.

UFC Reportedly Attempted to Prevent Randy Couture from Speaking at Hearing

Oklahoma congressman and former mixed martial artist fighter Markwayne Mullin is sponsoring the Muhammad Ali Expansion Act. Amy Dash of SB Nation’s Bloody Elbow reported Tuesday the UFC attempted to prevent former champion Randy Couture from speaking a…

“They have threatened to walk because they didn’t want us to have Randy Couture on the panel,” Mullin said, per Dash. “We want them to participate, buy they can’t be dictating who we can and cannot have on the panel.”

Dash noted Mullin was critical in organizing Thursday’s hearing before the subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade so that the members of the House who will eventually vote on the Muhammad Ali Expansion Act will be more educated on the subject.

According to Dash, the act would expand protections from boxing to all combat sports if passed, “thereby outlawing coercive contracts lasting more than a year, returning promotional rights back to fighters after a year, providing avenues for fighters to sue promoters and creating an independent rank and title system.”

Tim Bissell of Bloody Elbow reported in November the UFC has spent in the six figures lobbying against the Muhammad Ali Expansion Act.

While the UFC initially fought the idea of Couture speaking at the hearing, Mullin said it eventually relented. Dash said Couture is the lone fighter scheduled to speak at this point.

Dash pointed out Couture has previously publicly fought with UFC President Dana White and had other legal battles over contract disputes. Perhaps with that in mind, the former UFC champion didn’t sound surprised when told the UFC didn’t want him at the hearing, per Dash:

Obviously there’s no love lost from me, certainly with regard to the president of the company and obviously the landscape for the entire sport would change if we are successful. They’ve been trying to derail this hearing and not have it happen at all. So I’m not surprised that they are gonna pull out all the stops.

Dave Doyle of MMA Fighting reported in 2013 that White said he didn’t respect Couture after the fighter moved from UFC to Spike TV and Bellator. White did not like the way Couture left the company and said he received a letter from the fighter’s lawyer notifying him of the decision.

Doyle said it wasn’t the first time the two had issues. He pointed to a “famous dustup” in 2007 when Couture came out of retirement and tried to break his contract and fight Fedor Emelianenko after beating Tim Sylvia.

As for the hearing Thursday, it is just one of a number of steps the Muhammad Ali Expansion Act will need to go through before it could be expanded to UFC. Dash said it would need to go through a committee process and review before eventually going to the House for a vote.

A passed vote there would move it to the Senate and then ultimately to the president to sign into a law if it continues to pass.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Congressman: UFC Threatened to No-Show Hearing Because Couture Will Be There

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgPbfJbcK1w

The issue of this coming Thurday’s (December 8th) Congressional hearing on mixed martial arts just got a lot more interesting. According to Congressman Markwayne Mullin in an interview with Bloody Elbow’s Amy Dardashian, the UFC’s representation threatened to no-show the hearing upon learning that Randy Couture would be there as part of the panel discussing the sport. While the UFC would not respond to Bloody Elbow’s request for comment on the record, a company source told Dardashian on background that Mullin’s story was not true. The hearing, which is designed to educate Energy and Commerce Committee members about MMA, will be broadcast live on C-SPAN and streamed on the committee website.

According to the web page for the hearing, the other witnesses will be:

Neuropathologist Dr. Anne McKee.
UFC Vice President, Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitsky.
Lydia Robertson, who serves as the Treasurer of the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports.

Couture has had numerous business disputes with the UFC under both of its previous ownership regimes, but the seemingly permanent fracture came in January 2013. Couture, who had been working as an analyst for Fox cards on a per-show basis, signed a deal with Bellator to be a coach on Fight Master, their own twist on The Ultimate Fighter. It even got to the point where the UFC attempted to ban him from cornering his son Ryan, who was under contract at the time, but athletic commissions overseeing corner licenses put the kibosh on that panning out until Ryan was cut anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgPbfJbcK1w

According to the web page for the hearing, the other witnesses will be:

Neuropathologist Dr. Anne McKee.
UFC Vice President, Athlete Health and Performance Jeff Novitsky.
Lydia Robertson, who serves as the Treasurer of the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports.