*Photo props to Clinch Gear on Facebook. A good friend once told me, “where there is no beauty, create it yourself.” Many folks who have yet to subscribe to our Mixed Martial Arts sport may.
A good friend once told me, “where there is no beauty, create it yourself.”
Many folks who have yet to subscribe to our Mixed Martial Arts sport may tell you MMA is violent and ugly. And if they saw this picture above, they might use it as evidence to back up their claim. But all I see when I look at this candid shot is the beauty of the sport. These are two great warriors who pridefully created each other’s battle wounds and humbly give each other respect. Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua were not even fighting for a belt last night. They were fighting for honor. And in that regard, they both won.
Fans and media have repeatedly rejoiced that this UFC 139 five round headlining bout was “epic” but I call it, defining. It’s the fight we should expect to see every time two fighters enter a cage. It’s the fight we MMA fans will talk about to recruit new fans. It’s the fight we needed to prove that UFC is ready for its spotlight broadcast role.
Thank you, Hendo and Shogun for setting the standard and taking us to a whole new level of awe.
Exercising their constitutional rights, Zuffa filed a lawsuit along with several MMA fans and fighters including Jon Jones, Frankie Edgar, Gina Carano and Matt Hamill on Tuesday U.S. District Court in the Southern District of.
Exercising their constitutional rights, Zuffa filed a lawsuit along with several MMA fans and fighters including Jon Jones, Frankie Edgar, Gina Carano and Matt Hamill on Tuesday U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York against state attorney general Eric Schneiderman and Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.
Zuffa attorney, Barry Friedman explained to Yahoo! Sports that the reasons given for banning MMA events in New York are a violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendmants. Friedman stated:
“They banned it because they thought MMA conveyed a message of violence. We don’t think that is the message that MMA conveys. I just spent the last few days with a lot of fighters and I spent a lot of time with them over the last few months. They will, as you can see in the complaint, talk about a lot of other values that are present [in MMA] like discipline, courage and respect for an opponent…. But even if violence was the message, New York still can’t ban MMA because it doesn’t like that message.”
“On safety, what they’re saying is, ‘You can’t do this because it’s not safe. Any time the government says you can’t do something that involves your liberty, that is a 14th Amendment claim because it is denying people of their life or liberty without due process. And it’s also a discrimination claim… Why ban mixed martial arts as unsafe when the data shows it’s at least as safe, or safer than a lot of other sports, like boxing, football, ice hockey, Alpine skiing, equestrian sports? It turns out the most dangerous thing you can do is be a flyer in cheerleading. So you ask, what parts of the Constitution cover that, and it’s the equal protection clause.”
UFC on Fox 1 made its debut on Saturday night and as the ratings reportedly reflect, it was a well observed affair. The event was said to pull in 5.7 million viewers of the key.
UFC on Fox 1 made its debut on Saturday night and as the ratings reportedly reflect, it was a well observed affair. The event was said to pull in 5.7 million viewers of the key target 18-34 and 18-49 male demographic. And it won over the female demo with 1.7 million women viewers over 18. By all measures, it seems congratulations are in order. Yet, for the UFC to achieve any of this mainstream success, they were going to have to piss off a few die hard MMA fans.
As expected, several MMA fans voiced their complaints, having felt cheated to lose a televised Main Card in lieu of documentary style footage profiling Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos. Dana White told critics to “shut up” in a post fight presser, but further explained it was a necessary touch to give some back story on the Heavyweights, as a method to educate new viewers on the sport and the two men they were about to watch battle. As a pre-existing fan, I appreciated the insertion of biographical portions to the show. And maybe Dana’s right about needing to catch the rest of the mainstream world up to the sport. The reports indicate, the show pulled in record-breaking numbers for a televised MMA event. But, I wonder where the new fans came from. I can’t imagine we converted any avid American Idol or Glee fans. And I’m pretty sure we already own the Sons of Anarchy and Cops fans. Maybe it’s those tricky, on-the-fence House fans we attained.
The Heavyweight title fight lasted all of 1 minute and four seconds, and honestly it probably should have been stopped a few seconds earlier. But, I understand the pressure on Big John McCarthy to have to be really super sure the [former] Champ was unable to defend himself before he jumped in on the UFC’s only fight to air on their huge network debut. Fortunately, Velasquez looked virtually unscathed after the fight.
The biggest complaint before (and after) the Fox event was that the Fight of the Night, Clay Guida vs. Benson Henderson did not air on live television. I don’t care to join in the criticism. What for, at this point? But it did kind of suck to cram around our friend’s lap top for 15 minutes. A less obvious but still relevant complaint was that nobody got to see the return of Brittney Palmer. What the hell? She lives in LA. Why wasn’t she there? But we can’t really whine about not seeing her, when we weren’t able to see much of the ring girls, anyway with that short bout.
So in the weeks and months to come, we will hear about the huge success that was UFC on Fox 1, because of the necessary format changes original fight fans were forced to acclimate to. Let’s try to remember there were some positive changes too, like the production value, which was quite similar to Fox’s NFL coverage. Then of course, there was the change of the Heavyweight guard as dos Santos became the new Champion. And last, there was my favorite change of all…not having to pay for the pay-per-view! Hell, let Pepsi and Coke and Doritos pay for us to watch fights, instead! I’m looking forward to Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen II. Can we get that on Fox, please?
If you have followed Mixed Martial Arts for any amount of time leading up to this very proud moment of the UFC debut on network television with UFC on Fox 1: Cain Velasquez vs. Junior.
If you have followed Mixed Martial Arts for any amount of time leading up to this very proud moment of the UFC debut on network television with UFC on Fox 1: Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos then watch the promo video below and give yourself a pat on the back. It’s the fans that have brought the UFC to Fox. Know you were here when it essentially began, because now there will be so many more of us. Welcome our sport to the mainstream.
Georges St. Pierre told a french press outlet: Agence France-Presse that he makes between 4 and 5 million for a UFC pay-per-view event. When asked if he is the highest paid fighter, GSP replied ”.
Georges St. Pierre told a french press outlet: Agence France-Presse that he makes between 4 and 5 million for a UFC pay-per-view event. When asked if he is the highest paid fighter, GSP replied ” I do not know, but I learned that the UFC makes the most money on Pay Per View when I am fighting. That made me smile!”
GSP also went on to explain the financial coo to the city which hosts one of his fights. “For me, a fight is [worth] $4 to $5 million. And in the city where the UFC holds its events, they are economic benefits [to the city] of between $15 to $20 million. It’s huge!”
In recent years, the majority of St. Pierre’s fights have been held in either a Canadian province or in the city of Las Vegas. Maybe Nick Diaz should have lobbied to get their fight in Stockton, and get that city a little cash flow.
Nick Diaz appeared on Inside MMA in what was dubbed a “rare television appearance” and he once again came across well-spoken and clear headed, further dispelling the myth that he’s a hard headed bad boy..
Nick Diaz appeared on Inside MMA in what was dubbed a “rare television appearance” and he once again came across well-spoken and clear headed, further dispelling the myth that he’s a hard headed bad boy. Diaz went on to explain how on paper he is the guy, Georges St. Pierre should be facing, even though he had to be a “villain” to get the fight. Diaz humbly adds:
I’m the one that’s in this division that’s mouthing off and talking the most. Uh, so if anybody’s…you know, in for you know, a good-whupping, or it’s time for a good-whupping, it’s probably I’m that guy.
I don’t know, Nick… for some, “that guy” will always be Josh Koscheck. Watch Diaz’s interview below.
