Tag: UFC 183

UFC Raises “Jones vs. Cormier” PPV Price by $5; Higher Price Also in Effect for UFC 183 and UFC 184


(Dana White acts like it’s so easy to “get a couple more friends.” But what if you’re a reclusive MMA blogger who eats peanut butter with a spork?)

Just like the promotion did with UFC 168 in December 2013, the UFC is using the surge of attention around UFC 182: Jones vs. Cormier to raise the price of the pay-per-view broadcast by $5. MMAPayout alerts us that UFC.TV and multiple PPV providers are charging consumers $59.99 HD/$49.99 SD for tonight’s event. Notably, those higher prices will also be in effect for the other two PPV cards the UFC already has scheduled in 2015, UFC 183: Silva vs. Diaz on January 31st and UFC 184: Weidman vs. Belfort on February 28th. As MMAPayout explains:

Last year’s down PPV business forced Standard & Poors to lower Zuffa’s outlook and threatened to lower their credit rating if things didn’t turn around by the end of Q1 2015. Now having said that, it makes sense as to why Q1 2015 has been scheduled with some of UFC’s biggest stars and match-ups. As for the price hike, looking back at UFC 168, it did an estimated 1.025M PPV buys with the hiked PPV price, so it doesn’t appear to have been much of a deterrent. It’s pretty much a safe bet to say that the UFC’s takeaway from the UF 168 experiment was that their customers have no problem paying extra for a major event. In 2015, it looks like they are taking that experiment a bit further by scheduling the first three events of the year with the price hike.


(Dana White acts like it’s so easy to “get a couple more friends.” But what if you’re a reclusive MMA blogger who eats peanut butter with a spork?)

Just like the promotion did with UFC 168 in December 2013, the UFC is using the surge of attention around UFC 182: Jones vs. Cormier to raise the price of the pay-per-view broadcast by $5. MMAPayout alerts us that UFC.TV and multiple PPV providers are charging consumers $59.99 HD/$49.99 SD for tonight’s event. Notably, those higher prices will also be in effect for the other two PPV cards the UFC already has scheduled in 2015, UFC 183: Silva vs. Diaz on January 31st and UFC 184: Weidman vs. Belfort on February 28th. As MMAPayout explains:

Last year’s down PPV business forced Standard & Poors to lower Zuffa’s outlook and threatened to lower their credit rating if things didn’t turn around by the end of Q1 2015. Now having said that, it makes sense as to why Q1 2015 has been scheduled with some of UFC’s biggest stars and match-ups. As for the price hike, looking back at UFC 168, it did an estimated 1.025M PPV buys with the hiked PPV price, so it doesn’t appear to have been much of a deterrent. It’s pretty much a safe bet to say that the UFC’s takeaway from the UF 168 experiment was that their customers have no problem paying extra for a major event. In 2015, it looks like they are taking that experiment a bit further by scheduling the first three events of the year with the price hike.

At this point, we don’t know whether or not the UFC will return to its original prices as soon as there’s a PPV card with a less highly-anticipated main event. $59.99/$49.99 could be the new normal. Ugh. I mean, I know the UFC is experiencing some financially desperate times and they need to build their bankroll while the iron’s hot, but damn, this is how you repay fans who stuck with you last year? By jacking up prices as soon as the cards are good again? Come on, man. Come on.

UFC Utopia: Ranking the 15 Best Fights Between UFC 181 and UFC 184

The UFC is set for a historic run of top-notch fight cards. Ten events will take us through the end of 2014 and to the beginning of 2015.
What are the best fights you’ll have to watch? That’s what we are here to tell you.
The UFC has been criticized as…

The UFC is set for a historic run of top-notch fight cards. Ten events will take us through the end of 2014 and to the beginning of 2015.

What are the best fights you’ll have to watch? That’s what we are here to tell you.

The UFC has been criticized as of late for poor events, but that won’t be the case over the next three months. They have loaded the next 90 days with a fantastic slate of fights for us all.

Exciting stylistic matchups, title tilts and much more help round out the action. This isn’t a scientific list, and you may have your own favorite upcoming fights. Title bouts and interesting storylines helped to elevate some matchups up the list.

This ranking features fights in seven different weight classes.

These are the top 15 fights you’ll see starting Saturday through February’s UFC 184 pay-per-view.

Begin Slideshow

UFC 183 Continues to Improve Exponentially, Adds Joe Lauzon vs. Al Iaquinta


(Great fight banner, or greatest fight banner?)

It appears that the UFC is just going to keep digging in regards to UFC 183 despite already striking oil with the booking of Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz for its main event. In addition to the recently added grudge-ish match between top flyweight contenders Ian McCall and John Lineker, Newsday confirmed earlier today that a sure-to-be barnburner between lightweights Joe Lauzon and Al Iaquinta will now join the already stacked lineup as well.

Both Lauzon and Iaquinta will be riding two-fight win streaks into the hotly-anticipated contest, with the former most recently battering Michael Chiesa — aka the man who defeated Iaquinta to claim the TUF 15 title — en route to a doctor’s stoppage TKO at Fight Night 50. The Massachusetts native was expected to face Diego Sanchez at UFC 180 after original opponent Norman Parke went down with injury, but was struck by the injury bug himself shortly thereafter. In an apparent show of respect, Sanchez would later withdraw from the event with an injury that *definitely* wasn’t cartwheel related.

The training/endorsement partner of Chris Weidman, on the other hand, is fresh off a massive upset victory over Ross Pearson earlier in the month that he was a tad bit pissed to not earn a post-fight bonus for. The win improved Iaquinta’s UFC record to a solid 5-2.

Predictions, please.

–J. Jones


(Great fight banner, or greatest fight banner?)

It appears that the UFC is just going to keep digging in regards to UFC 183 despite already striking oil with the booking of Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz for its main event. In addition to the recently added grudge-ish match between top flyweight contenders Ian McCall and John Lineker, Newsday confirmed earlier today that a sure-to-be barnburner between lightweights Joe Lauzon and Al Iaquinta will now join the already stacked lineup as well.

Both Lauzon and Iaquinta will be riding two-fight win streaks into the hotly-anticipated contest, with the former most recently battering Michael Chiesa — aka the man who defeated Iaquinta to claim the TUF 15 title — en route to a doctor’s stoppage TKO at Fight Night 50. The Massachusetts native was expected to face Diego Sanchez at UFC 180 after original opponent Norman Parke went down with injury, but was struck by the injury bug himself shortly thereafter. In an apparent show of respect, Sanchez would later withdraw from the event with an injury that *definitely* wasn’t cartwheel related.

The training/endorsement partner of Chris Weidman, on the other hand, is fresh off a massive upset victory over Ross Pearson earlier in the month that he was a tad bit pissed to not earn a post-fight bonus for. The win improved Iaquinta’s UFC record to a solid 5-2.

Predictions, please.

–J. Jones

John Lineker vs. Ian McCall Rescheduled for UFC 183 in January


(“The jokes on you, asshole. I poisoned your coconut water.”)

When John Lineker failed to make weight for the 1,500th time prior to his Fight Night 56 co-main event scrap against Ian McCall, “Uncle Creepy” responded with quite possibly the most epic weigh-in trolljob this side of Roy Nelson’s fat suit. Less than 24 hours later, however, it was McCall who found himself physically unable to compete due to a last-minute illness, and the fight was scrapped.

Thankfully, UFC.com announced earlier this evening that the battle of top flyweight contenders is back on. McCall and Lineker has been rescheduled for the main card of UFC 183: Silva vs. Diaz on January 31st in Las Vegas.

“Looks like fat boy finally said yes,” McCall posted to Sqor just hours ago, which seems like a real dick thing to say about a guy who already forgave you for being a loud-mouthed pecker that pulled out just moments before you were supposed to bang. God, that’s gotta be some kind of record for sex puns in a single sentence. Weiner.

One thing’s for sure, there’s no way that McCall vs. Lineker ever lives up to likes of Martinez vs. Zimmer, which set the gold standard for fat guy vs. obnoxious a-hole fights.

–J. Jones


(“The jokes on you, asshole. I poisoned your coconut water.”)

When John Lineker failed to make weight for the 1,500th time prior to his Fight Night 56 co-main event scrap against Ian McCall, “Uncle Creepy” responded with quite possibly the most epic weigh-in trolljob this side of Roy Nelson’s fat suit. Less than 24 hours later, however, it was McCall who found himself physically unable to compete due to a last-minute illness, and the fight was scrapped.

Thankfully, UFC.com announced earlier this evening that the battle of top flyweight contenders is back on. McCall and Lineker has been rescheduled for the main card of UFC 183: Silva vs. Diaz on January 31st in Las Vegas.

“Looks like fat boy finally said yes,” McCall posted to Sqor just hours ago, which seems like a real dick thing to say about a guy who already forgave you for being a loud-mouthed pecker that pulled out just moments before you were supposed to bang. God, that’s gotta be some kind of record for sex puns in a single sentence. Weiner.

One thing’s for sure, there’s no way that McCall vs. Lineker ever lives up to likes of Martinez vs. Zimmer, which set the gold standard for fat guy vs. obnoxious a-hole fights.

–J. Jones

UFC: Kelvin Gastelum Is Very Much Ready for a Test Like Tyron Woodley

You’re in a building. Big one, lots of floors.
You’re on the ground floor, and you have to get to the top. There are stairs, but you’re lazy and you don’t want to take them. Luckily, there are two elevators: One that goes up, and the other that comes d…

You’re in a building. Big one, lots of floors.

You’re on the ground floor, and you have to get to the top. There are stairs, but you’re lazy and you don’t want to take them. Luckily, there are two elevators: One that goes up, and the other that comes down.

Press the button for the ‘up’ elevator and you’re on your way to the top, just as you’d planned when you came in the door.

For all intents and purposes, this elevator setup is what you’re fixing to see at UFC 183 in a couple of months when suddenly-pretty-legitimate prospect Kelvin Gastelum will take on potentially-worrisome-contender Tyron Woodley.

Gastelum is doing nothing but going up, and with one misstep, Woodley will be on his way down. Elevators passing in the shafts on a giant UFC building, if you will.

Gastleum had been largely dismissed by many since he broke out of The Ultimate Fighter as an undersized middleweight and started trucking irrelevant warm bodies at 170 pounds. He was young and showed interesting flashes, but years of TUF producing forgettable talent stacked the deck against him in terms of gaining attention.

Woodley, after winning some fights and losing some fights in the UFC, rode a Carlos Condit knee injury to the No. 3 ranking in the welterweight division. He was badly outworked by Rory MacDonald when they met but rebounded with a vicious knockout of Dong Hyun Kim to keep his place in line.

Given how he rocketed up the charts on a win over Josh Koscheck, an injured opponent and a one-minute knockout, though, anyone who isn’t wary of his credibility as a top contender isn’t doing the situation justice.

And so it is that these two men come to meet at a most perfect time in their MMA journeys. After romping Jake Ellenberger at UFC 180, Gastelum is ready to stake his claim as a contender. Woodley has been inconsistent in the UFC and is beatable, and he comes with a pretty appealing number next to his name in the rankings. He’s also powerful and dangerous, so taking his spot will be no walk in the park.

Rest assured, though, that Gastelum is up to the challenge. It’s time for him to be taken seriously because he’s already good and is one of the few guys in the UFC who’s visibly improved every time you see him. The guy who beat the tar out of Ellenberger won’t be the guy who shows up looking to do the same to Woodley, and in a sport so clearly influenced by the evolution of its athletes, that’s half the battle right there.

Woodley won’t be an easy task for Gastelum, and it’s no guarantee he’ll win. You can be certain, though, he’s going to show up and prove that he’s ready to swim with the sharks of the division now and in the years ahead.

For a guy who just turned 23 years old and made himself famous as champion of an afterthought reality show, that’s already pretty impressive.

 

Follow me on Twitter @matthewjryder!

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Nick Diaz on DUI Arrest: I Guess I’m Not Lodi Police’s ‘Favorite’

Former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz isn’t overly concerned about his pending DUI case stemming from an arrest in September, calling the situation a “big misunderstanding” between him and a notoriously tough police department. 
After…

Former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz isn’t overly concerned about his pending DUI case stemming from an arrest in September, calling the situation a “big misunderstanding” between him and a notoriously tough police department. 

After the UFC’s Time is Now press conference on Monday, Diaz briefly addressed his encounter with Lodi, California’s finest, per Marc Raimondi of Fox Sports. 

Where I live, everybody knows how it is in Lodi. You can’t even drive through town at the wrong hours without getting stopped. I was just having a real bad night. I wasn’t really getting along with the officer very well. There’s a lot to that story that people don’t understand. I haven’t really been having a lot to say about it. It’s not a big deal to me. It is a big deal, of course, but there’s a lot to the story that people don’t understand. … I’m not their favorite, I guess.

As the Lodi News-Sentinel originally reported in September, Diaz was arrested by Lodi police on September 6 on suspicion of DUI, obstructing a police officer and driving with a suspended license. 

Diaz was described as being polite during the ordeal though he allegedly made himself vomit in the bathroom of the Lodi City Jail, netting him the obstruction charge, according to the report. 

“The Stockton Bad Boy” was hit with similar charges in a November 2013 arrest in Lodi, where he was charged with DUI, DUI with an alcohol or drug level above .08 and unsafe speed for prevailing conditions, also per Fox Sports. 

The Cesar Gracie Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt retired from mixed martial arts after a failed title bid against Georges St-Pierre at UFC 158 in March 2013 though finally signed a three-fight deal with the UFC in July, per MMA Junkie. 

Shortly afterwards, it was announced that Diaz would fight former longtime UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva at UFC 183 on January 31. 

The matchup, Diaz’s first bout at 185 pounds, will headline the pay-per-view event, which takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

 

John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com