Now that we’re all in agreement about the undeniable awesomeness that is the Bellator 138 main event, SpikeTV has released their full, unedited documentary on the grudge match 7 years in the making between 51 year-old Ken Shamrock and 41-year-old Kimbo Slice. In what’s basically being billed as “Father Time vs. Spring Chicken”, Spike takes an in depth-look at the now infamous night that Shamrock vs. Slice were originally supposed to throw down back in 2008, as well as what each guy has been up to since. For Shamrock, it’s living in a van Winnebago down by the river tire store, and for Slice, it’s balancing an ever-growing family with an ever-baller-as-f*ck lifestyle.
“Finally: Kimbo vs. Shamrock” debuts tonight on Spike TV at 11 p.m. ET/PT.
Now that we’re all in agreement about the undeniable awesomeness that is the Bellator 138 main event, SpikeTV has released their full, unedited documentary on the grudge match 7 years in the making between 51 year-old Ken Shamrock and 41-year-old Kimbo Slice. In what’s basically being billed as “Father Time vs. Spring Chicken”, Spike takes an in depth-look at the now infamous night that Shamrock vs. Slice were originally supposed to throw down back in 2008, as well as what each guy has been up to since. For Shamrock, it’s living in a van Winnebago down by the river tire store, and for Slice, it’s balancing an ever-growing family with an ever-baller-as-f*ck lifestyle.
“Finally: Kimbo vs. Shamrock” debuts tonight on Spike TV at 11 p.m. ET/PT.
On Jan. 17, 2005, Spike TV aired a new show titled The Ultimate Fighter, which featured 16 combat sports athletes living under one roof in Las Vegas, competing for a six-figure contract with the UFC. What we didn’t know, however, was this exhaustive program was going to last over 20 seasons, complete with the FOX treatment, and plenty of drunken debauchery in between.
Long story short, the Zuffa brass was in serious trouble since their big gamble to buy the struggling Ultimate Fighting Championship wasn’t paying off. Simply put, that Fertitta money was being blown fast, with no real profit or indication of improvement. Spike TV founder Albie Hecht wanted a program that brought in a lot of viewers from all over, presumably because there are only so many reruns of the hyper masculine shows a person could watch.
On Jan. 17, 2005, Spike TV aired a new show titled The Ultimate Fighter, which featured 16 combat sports athletes living under one roof in Las Vegas, competing for a six-figure contract with the UFC. What we didn’t know, however, was this exhaustive program was going to last over 20 seasons, complete with the FOX treatment, and plenty of drunken debauchery in between.
Long story short, the Zuffa brass was in serious trouble since their big gamble to buy the struggling Ultimate Fighting Championship wasn’t paying off. Simply put, that Fertitta money was being blown fast, with no real profit or indication of improvement. Spike TV founder Albie Hecht wanted a program that brought in a lot of viewers from all over, presumably because there are only so many reruns of the hyper masculine shows a person could watch.
With one last ditch to bring this beautiful but often-problematic sport into the mainstream, both Fertitta brothers (Lorenzo and Frank III) were dealt an ace when Hecht flew over to Japan and insulted a gangster running K-1. It resulted in talks falling through with the officials running the kickboxing promotion, and TUF had a home. The show would air directly after WWE Raw (and they say MMA and pro wrestling are only distant cousins).
Anyhow, the show actually ended up being pretty damn good. Today marks the 10th anniversary of the very first episode, led by coaches Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture (who would fight in a rematch for the light heavyweight strap later on that year at UFC 52), Willa Ford, and 16 fighters that became major stars as the sport progressed (most of them, anyway).
The season finale pretty much saved the purchase, as Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar engaged in warfare for three rounds, in a bout widely perceived as the greatest fight of all-time (it got its fair share of competition over the years, for what it’s worth).
More importantly, people started to tune in by the hundred thousands, and the first-ever live MMA event on free television amassed approximately 1,900,000 viewers. The fight was so epic that Spike TV renewed the show for another season, and UFC President Dana White gave both men six-figure contracts for their efforts. Or, maybe he was onto something, seeing how judging would become atrocious in Nevada, and thought maybe Bonnar won (it’s not the boldest of claims if you rewatch the fight).
Sure, 2005 had a lot of big stars throughout the full year, including Liddell, Couture, Rich Franklin, Tito Ortiz, and Andrei Arlovski, but the sport was still pretty freaking niche for it to generate widespread appeal. To be honest, TUF really did save the UFC, and introduces many new fans to the sport known as “TUF Noobs.” If it weren’t for TUF, who knows … maybe Pride would still be around and putting on the best events fight fans would ever see.
As for the first episode titled “The Quest Begins,” this approach seemed refreshing. Later on, we also witnessed Dana White’s epic “Do You Want To Be A F*cking Fighter” rant, Chris Leben extremely drunk and pissing in people’s beds, Josh Koscheck and Bobby Southworth hosing “The Crippler” and calling him “a fatherless bastard,” Southworth killing himself cutting weight and almost getting killed by White when he mouthed off to him, a thief in the house, Bonnar and Diego Sanchez arguing over spilled bathwater, and some pretty good scraps.
Then, it all sort of went downhill from there.
Barring seasons two to four, which were all mildly entertaining, everything from season five onwards felt a little forced. We definitely appreciated the influx of lightweights that emerged from the fifth installment, yet did we really need a season six?
It all came full circle by season seven, and it was then made official that TUF was simply a reality show devoted to drunken mayhem and drama, just like the rest of them. Junie Browning cemented his status as the throne holder of TUF douchbaggery, starting fights with everyone and their mother. Season eight and nine were both snorefests, minus the fact that the Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping-led season was the United States vs. England. The show returned with a vengeance in season 10, due to the bitter quarrel between Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans, and the presence of Internet sensation Kimbo Slice. The brawler, who was mocked by White and then chosen as a participant, was matched up against jiu-jitsu black belt Roy Nelson, which turned out to be his demise. Still, it seemed like the first few episodes were good, and it became boring towards the end.
TUF moved to FX a year later after the relationship between UFC and Spike TV turned sour, implementing a live format. It ran simultaneously with TUF: Brazil, and we’ve been depressed ever since. The show is so stale, they’ve ventured off to places like China and Latin America, turning it into a proving ground for fighters with a two-fight record. With that said, we even got seasons like TUF: Smashes (U.K. vs. Australia), TUF: Canada vs. Australia, and they’ve had multiple seasons in Brazil that only South Americans care about.
I guess that’s the point, since it’s not really designed for us to watch; yet, there’s a reason why good things must come to an end before the plot becomes lost. Can you imagine if Touched By An Angel was still running?
For the past few seasons, the brass teases how the show will be different, and how it’s going to blow you away, and so on. TUF 18 was the first co-ed season, and everyone tuned in because they thought they were getting Big Brother-style sex scenes. Instead, Jessamyn Duke vs. Raquel Pennington and Edmund Tarverdyan vs. Dennis Hallman was the best part of that garbage.
When White said TUF 19 was the worst season ever, you’d think he’d get a clue, however, they salvaged some interest with an all-womens TUF 20, with the inaugural women’s strawweight championship on the line. The problem is the promos were so sexist, and we got more shots of backsides than anything else. The rivalries were okay, however, nothing stood out to convince anyone to continue this putrid offering.
We’re now being told that TUF 21: ATT vs. The Blackzilians is going to be completely different, even though we’re going to ditch it midway into episode two. On the flipside, a string of TUF winners have gone on to claim gold in the Octagon, including Griffin, Evans, Matt Serra, and Carla Esparza, with many blooming prospects like Dodson, Kelvin Gastelum, and Tony Ferguson breaking out as fighters to watch.
On the contrary, some TUF winners aren’t even employed by the UFC anymore, including Jonathan Brookins and Colton Smith, and before his third UFC stint, Efrain Escudero was given the boot, too. With the influx of signees overpopulating the roster, does winning the reality show mean anything anymore? Or, is it about promoting bouts involving the coaches, more than anything?
So, all this to say TUF has been pretty central to the UFC’s growth. Nevertheless, it’s hard to believe MMA fans still watch the damn thing, considering how boring and drawn out it is. Yes, there have been hilarious moments and superb fights (like Matt Riddle vs. Tim Credeur on season seven, Damarques Johnson vs. Nick Osipczak on season 9, among others), but the volume of unworthy footage doesn’t add up in the end.
Less than a month removed from the Monday Night War that pitted Fight Night 50 against Bellator 123 (and saw the former emerge victorious by razor thin split-decision), the UFC and Bellator are set to go at it again. Sort of.
After finally being granted a release from his much-maligned former promotion thanks to the generous nature of Scott Coker, Eddie Alvarez was almost immediately signed by the UFC and booked to face Donald Cerrone at UFC 178 this weekend. But being that kindness is usually considered a sign of weakness in the fight game, the folks over at Viacom weren’t just going to let Alvarez slip away without *some* form of punishment, which in this case equates to counter-programming his UFC 178 co-main event fight with a 90-minute tribute to Alvarez on Spike TV.
According to MMAJunkie, “Eddie Alvarez: Free on Spike” will air at 10 p.m. ET/PT, a.k.a the same time Saturday’s UFC 178 main card kicks off on pay-per-view. (Ed note: The amount of evil finger-twiddling Coker must be doing in his secret underground lair right now…)
Less than a month removed from the Monday Night War that pitted Fight Night 50 against Bellator 123 (and saw the former emerge victorious by razor thin split-decision), the UFC and Bellator are set to go at it again. Sort of.
After finally being granted a release from his much-maligned former promotion thanks to the generous nature of Scott Coker, Eddie Alvarez was almost immediately signed by the UFC and booked to face Donald Cerrone at UFC 178 this weekend. But being that kindness is usually considered a sign of weakness in the fight game, the folks over at Viacom weren’t just going to let Alvarez slip away without *some* form of punishment, which in this case equates to counter-programming his UFC 178 co-main event fight with a 90-minute tribute to Alvarez on Spike TV.
According to MMAJunkie, “Eddie Alvarez: Free on Spike” will air at 10 p.m. ET/PT, a.k.a the same time Saturday’s UFC 178 main card kicks off on pay-per-view. (Ed note: The amount of evil finger-twiddling Coker must be doing in his secret underground lair right now…)
Considering the record numbers Alvarez-Chandler II pulled the first time around, it’s safe to assume that a replay on Spike TV has the potential to draw some significant numbers away from UFC 178. As we mentioned when discussing the abysmal ratings of the TUF 20 premiere, FS1 will likely never be comparable to Spike TV in terms of delivering MMA content to the widest possible audience, and it has been proven in the past that casual fans will turn into *any* MMA event, regardless of whether it is live or being replayed, based solely on the convenience of being able to find said event.
Then again, UFC 178 is one of those rare UFC events these days that actually seems worth the price of admission. Between the slick, handsome Irish kid that takes no shit, the return of Dominick Cruz and Cat Zingano, and the guaranteed barnburner that Alvarez-Cerrone will be (and oh yeah, that flyweight title fight or whatever), UFC 178 has a little something for everybody. So maybe, just this one time, can we all agree to actually pony up the $60 instead of illegally streaming it? I know, marking out so hard right now.
Spike TV’s newest reality series, ‘Gym Rescue‘, is set to debut this Sunday, August 10th, at 10 p.m. ET. Last week, Craig Marks — the glasses-tossing gym owner featured in the episode 1 sneak-preview — reached out to CagePotato.com to discuss how the new series inaccurately portrayed what went down when Randy Couture and Frank Shamrock “rescued” his gym. Marks claims that the show wound up destroying his business, but ‘Gym Rescue’ host Frank Shamrock maintains that he offered Craig valuable assistance, and that Craig’s lack of business expertise is what really sunk his operation. Join us as we present both Craig and Frank’s versions of the experience.
“The entire ordeal was supposed to be fun and beneficial. It was to the production company. To us, it was a disaster and we have had to start our business over from scratch.”
This isn’t what Craig Marks — former owner of T3 Health & Fitness in Cooper City, Florida — thought he’d be writing about his experience when he allowed his struggling gym to be “rescued” as part of Spike TV’s newest reality series. He also didn’t anticipate thousands of dollars worth of fines, a nasty mold infestation that forced him to relocate to nearby Davie, and the loss of several longstanding clients in the process. When Marks reached out to me last week, his ensuing diatribe placed the blame for these and other struggles that his business has endured solely on Gym Rescue.
Needless to say, Gym Rescue host Frank Shamrock does not agree that the show has ruined T3 Health & Fitness. Rather, Shamrock painted Marks as a good-hearted person who is unfortunately trying to blame the reality series for his own shortcomings as a businessman. “Craig was a unique individual who reminds me a lot of what you see in the martial arts,” Shamrock said. “A guy who has a passion for helping other people, but doesn’t really have good business sense.”
What’s indisputable throughout all of this is that Craig Marks has recently filed for bankruptcy. While he’s looking to rebuild Xcelerate Training — the new name for his gym — he’s facing an uphill battle.
Spike TV’s newest reality series, ‘Gym Rescue‘, is set to debut this Sunday, August 10th, at 10 p.m. ET. Last week, Craig Marks — the glasses-tossing gym owner featured in the episode 1 sneak-preview — reached out to CagePotato.com to discuss how the new series inaccurately portrayed what went down when Randy Couture and Frank Shamrock “rescued” his gym. Marks claims that the show wound up destroying his business, but ‘Gym Rescue’ host Frank Shamrock maintains that he offered Craig valuable assistance, and that Craig’s lack of business expertise is what really sunk his operation. Join us as we present both Craig and Frank’s versions of the experience.
“The entire ordeal was supposed to be fun and beneficial. It was to the production company. To us, it was a disaster and we have had to start our business over from scratch.”
This isn’t what Craig Marks — former owner of T3 Health & Fitness in Cooper City, Florida — thought he’d be writing about his experience when he allowed his struggling gym to be “rescued” as part of Spike TV’s newest reality series. He also didn’t anticipate thousands of dollars worth of fines, a nasty mold infestation that forced him to relocate to nearby Davie, and the loss of several longstanding clients in the process. When Marks reached out to me last week, his ensuing diatribe placed the blame for these and other struggles that his business has endured solely on Gym Rescue.
Needless to say, Gym Rescue host Frank Shamrock does not agree that the show has ruined T3 Health & Fitness. Rather, Shamrock painted Marks as a good-hearted person who is unfortunately trying to blame the reality series for his own shortcomings as a businessman. “Craig was a unique individual who reminds me a lot of what you see in the martial arts,” Shamrock said. “A guy who has a passion for helping other people, but doesn’t really have good business sense.”
What’s indisputable throughout all of this is that Craig Marks has recently filed for bankruptcy. While he’s looking to rebuild Xcelerate Training — the new name for his gym — he’s facing an uphill battle.
So how exactly was T3 Health & Fitness chosen to be featured on Gym Rescue in the first place? That would turn out to be a very good question. Craig Marks never gave me an answer. Frank Shamrock didn’t know, and I was told through Spike TV representative David Schwarz that Spike declined to comment on my story.
Marks never denied that his gym was in rough shape, though perhaps “rough shape” is putting things too lightly. While speaking about T3 Health & Fitness before Gym Rescue, Shamrock referred to the establishment as a “homemade deathtrap.” The facility suffered from shoddy design and dangerous equipment to the point where Shamrock recalled that an object actually fell from the ceiling and hit co-host Randy Couture as they first arrived; Couture was also unavailable for comment.
The Rescue
It’s at this point where Craig Marks swears that the series became more about making him look like a pushover and less about actually helping his struggling gym. Marks claims that nearly everything you’ll see when the episode premieres was scripted. “We were told how to dress, what to wear, what to say,” he remarked. “I was even told not to shave my hair, as I usually do every two days, because it would make me look ‘more vulnerable’ on camera.”
Interestingly enough, Marks insisted that the moment that the CagePotato.com staff thought was most likely to have been staged was actually the only non-scripted segment that made the episode — the moment where Marks shoves Frank Shamrock out of frustration. Marks claimed that the tension between himself and Shamrock was very real. “He was a narcissistic asshole from the get-go and [he] kept flirting with my wife,” said Marks, “even texting her after one night of shooting to come join him in the jacuzzi at his hotel.”
While Shamrock vehemently denied that he was ever flirting with Craig’s wife, he was not surprised that Marks had made unflattering comments about him. “My role was to go in there and call him on his craziness,” he told me, “and he didn’t take that very well.”
Shamrock also denied that the exposed piece of metal at the foot of the stairway shown during the episode preview was staged in any way by the producers. That something so potentially dangerous could be “either completely forgotten or overlooked” provoked Shamrock’s reaction.
The renovations made were supposed to save the facility. According to Marks, they did anything but. “All renovations made to the fitness studio were done without one single permit being pulled from the City of Cooper City,” he wrote. “Fines issued were in the thousands and left to the responsibility of the unknowing owners.”
“The owners had supplies and equipment stolen and thrown away. According to the chief building inspector, the renovation work was ‘unlike anything I’ve witnessed in 30 years on the job, horrible.’ The relocated stairway was not up to code and extremely dangerous. They converted the upstairs loft into an office and yoga area even though that space was zoned for storage only. The drywall removed and then put back was coated with mold.”
When all was said and done, Marks speculated that the fines he had to pay the City of Cooper City have financially set him back over one year. He cited ongoing issues with permitting and mold as the reason the gym was forced from its old location to a spot in nearby Davie, Florida in March.
The Chief Building Official Responds
Shortly after Marks wrote to me describing the renovations that Gym Rescue had made, I asked Mr. Ted Fowler if he would like to comment. Mr. Fowler is listed as the Chief Building Official of Cooper City on the city’s official website, and had been directly quoted by Marks when he wrote about the allegedly reckless repairs that the Gym Rescue crew had made to his facility. However, Mr. Fowler did not have any recollection in having made the comments attributed to him by Marks. He also wrote the following:
“A building permit was applied for and issued after the fact, all required inspections were obtained and the permit was closed.”
As of Today
As mentioned earlier, Craig Marks now runs his gym — Xcelerate Training — out of Davie, Florida. Marks claims that most of his clients have remained loyal to the gym throughout the ordeal, but several clients have stopped attending due to the rude treatment they received from the show’s producers. Marks also expressed disappointment over the fact that no one from Gym Rescue has checked in on the gym since filming ended.
When I mentioned this to Frank Shamrock, he replied that he doesn’t keep in contact with the gym owners featured on the show in order to maintain a level of professionalism and distance between himself and his clients. “At the end of the day,” he said, “we’re just helping other people help their communities.”
What the Future Holds for Gym Rescue
Frank Shamrock is optimistic that Spike TV will bring Gym Rescue back for another season. “Gyms are the second place besides the bar where people go to socialize,” he said. “Unfortunately, a lot of gym owners are wonderful people with great intentions, but clueless with how to run a business. That’s why the average gym owner is struggling.”
In the meantime, Shamrock did offer some valuable advice to prospective gym owners — the most important stages of opening a gym are preparation and planning. “Study your market. Does your community really want this? Do your potential clients really want this?” Since everyone has their own expectations of what a workout should be and what a gym should include, it is important to make sure that you’re offering something for any trainee who may attend your gym.
Also, despite the negative comments that Marks made about the show, Shamrock still considers working with struggling gym owners to be rewarding.
“Seeing a gym go from near failure to ‘they have a shot if they keep going’ — that’s why I’m doing this. Just for that payoff. If we make the gym a better place for the two hundred, three hundred members there, their lives are going to be better, they’re going to feel better and the community is going to be better.”
“Before that, I’m beating the heck out of people.”
The inevitable has finally occurred: TMZ is reporting that Spike TV has cancelled TNA Impact Wrestling after nine less than spectacular years. It is unclear when the final edition of Impact will air, but TMZ says that TNA’s deal with Spike runs through October. Neither Spike TV nor TNA have released official statements at this time.
So why are we covering the death of a minor-league professional wrestling outfit that did everything it possibly could to run itself out of business on CagePotato.com? Because this is the same promotion that partnered with Bellator to bring us King Mo’s (unintentionally hilarious) wrestling career and Tito Ortiz slugging Rampage Jackson with a hammer. It goes without saying that the Bellator/TNA partnership is about to dissolve, but what can we expect Spike TV to replace TNA Impact with? Will this bring more MMA to Spike TV, or will Spike just find another indie wrestling organization to fill in TNA’s shoes? Your guess is as good as anyone’s at this point, so let’s recklessly speculate for a while.
Isn’t it a little premature to write that TNA Impact Wrestling has been cancelled, considering that TNA could still renew with Spike TV/find a different network?
Sure, Spike TV could still renew TNA Impact, just like someone hypothetically could hold the UFC flyweight and heavyweight titles simultaneously. Not that it matters, but rumor has it that Spike TV executives cancelled Impact because they learned that TNA president Dixie Carter hired Vince Russo as a consultant, even though Spike specifically told her not to give him a job. If that’s true, that’s an oddly appropriate note for a company so hellbent on running itself into the ground to go out on.
As for another network picking up TNA Impact? Take it away, Razor…
The inevitable has finally occurred: TMZ is reporting that Spike TV has cancelled TNA Impact Wrestling after nine less than spectacular years. It is unclear when the final edition of Impact will air, but TMZ says that TNA’s deal with Spike runs through October. Neither Spike TV nor TNA have released official statements at this time.
So why are we covering the death of a minor-league professional wrestling outfit that did everything it possibly could to run itself out of business on CagePotato.com? Because this is the same promotion that partnered with Bellator to bring us King Mo’s (unintentionally hilarious) wrestling career and Tito Ortiz slugging Rampage Jackson with a hammer. It goes without saying that the Bellator/TNA partnership is about to dissolve, but what can we expect Spike TV to replace TNA Impact with? Will this bring more MMA to Spike TV, or will Spike just find another indie wrestling organization to fill in TNA’s shoes? Your guess is as good as anyone’s at this point, so let’s recklessly speculate for a while.
Isn’t it a little premature to write that TNA Impact Wrestling has been cancelled, considering that TNA could still renew with Spike TV/find a different network?
Sure, Spike TV could still renew TNA Impact, just like someone hypothetically could hold the UFC flyweight and heavyweight titles simultaneously. Not that it matters, but rumor has it that Spike TV executives cancelled Impact because they learned that TNA president Dixie Carter hired Vince Russo as a consultant, even though Spike specifically told her not to give him a job. If that’s true, that’s an oddly appropriate note for a company so hellbent on running itself into the ground to go out on.
As for another network picking up TNA Impact? Take it away, Razor…
What are the odds that Vince McMahon buys TNA Wrestling?
This may sound crazy, but I doubt Vince McMahon wants to acquire TNA; frankly, he’s far more interested in what the UFC is doing than anything TNA has ever done. TNA has never been any sort of legitimate threat to his business, and without a television contract, buying them out just means buying a few wrestler contracts and a video library filled mostly with guys he doesn’t want in the first place. As awesome as early AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, and Samoa Joe matches were, there’s no point in making them a part of the WWE video library when none of those guys are ever going to be relevant WWE wrestlers.
Enough wrasslin’ talk, what does this mean for Bellator?
At the very least, it means no more awkward plugs for TNA Impact during Bellator events, and no more Bellator fighters stumbling through cheesy professional wrestling storylines in crossover appearances. That alone is a gigantic plus in my book.
Unfortunately for Bellator, I’m tempted to say not much else. There’s no way that an MMA promotion could pump out enough events to fill in for a professional wrestling show, so let’s not even entertain the idea of Bellator getting a weekly segment on Spike. Even if they could, MMA simply wouldn’t bring in the ratings that professional wrestling brings in; despite being on its deathbed, TNA Impact is averaging more viewers than Bellator’s most-watched event brought in, period. Professional wrestling is cheap content that can bring in decent ratings, even when it’s complete garbage.
So Viacom is going to bring in Ring of Honor/Chikara/Some other indie wrestling promotion, then?
Not necessarily — I wouldn’t be surprised if Viacom was refusing to renew the television deal in order to outright purchase TNA Wrestling. Right now, the Spike TV deal is TNA’s primary source of income. Without that, they’re worth next to nothing (both ECW and WCW were bought out for peanuts when they lost their television deals). As for why Viacom would want to buy the promotion, it’s because the problem with TNA isn’t a lack of talent on the roster, it’s how completely clueless everyone running the company is. In other words, Viacom recognizes that a new, more competent regime would easily lead to better ratings.
The UFC will be heading to Connecticut on September 5th. The card will air on FS1. Normally we wouldn’t cover such a banal, uninteresting announcement, but something makes it very special: September 5th also marks the date of Bellator’s season 11 debut, and it’s also being held in Connecticut to boot—a mere 10 miles away.
To say this is a big deal is an understatement. Perhaps Bellator’s rumored 100k PPV buys for Bellator 120 turned the UFC’s head, and now they view the promotion as a threat? And what about ratings? Will Bellator and SpikeTV be able to out-draw the UFC and FOX Sports 1?
(Photo via Getty)
The UFC will be heading to Connecticut on September 5th. The card will air on FS1. Normally we wouldn’t cover such a banal, uninteresting announcement, but something makes it very special: September 5th also marks the date of Bellator’s season 11 debut, and it’s also being held in Connecticut to boot—a mere 10 miles away.
To say this is a big deal is an understatement. Perhaps Bellator’s rumored 100k PPV buys for Bellator 120 turned the UFC’s head, and now they view the promotion as a threat? And what about ratings? Will Bellator and SpikeTV be able to out-draw the UFC and FOX Sports 1?
It’s difficult to answer any of these questions at the current moment, especially since neither the UFC nor Bellator has announced a main event. The only fight announced for Bellator 123 is Brennan Ward vs. James Irvin, which isn’t super-appealing in all honesty.
It seems that the only way Bellator can hope to compete with the UFC is if they—forgive the use of this cliche—stack Bellator 123. They’ll have to put Rampage Jackson on the card, and perhaps even Tito Ortiz as well. But if Bellator puts its top draws on the card for free, it’ll cost quite a bit. The UFC is going head-to-head in order to force Bellator into a pace its roster can’t sustain, it would appear.
These are just musings, of course. We have very little information right now. We’ll be sure to update you when we get more.
