Tag: UFC on Fox 1

FOX Needs to Let UFC Do Its Own Thing When It Comes to Broadcasting

If you were told the NFL Network’s right to Thursday Night Football had been bought out by, say, the Food Network, and that all production of those games would be done in the style of all other Food Network programming, how would you react? It wo…

If you were told the NFL Network’s right to Thursday Night Football had been bought out by, say, the Food Network, and that all production of those games would be done in the style of all other Food Network programming, how would you react?

It would be the same talking heads and athletes you know, but there would be Food Network personalities horned in wherever they’d fit, Food Network graphics all over the place, Food Network music playing prior to the game. Basically, it would take all that you know and like about the production of the NFL Network, all that they know about how to broadcast their own league, and replace it for no reason other than to say that they did.

Doesn’t sound great, does it?

Well, if you’ve been looking at the early days of the UFC on FOX, that’s basically what you’ve seen.

It was interesting at first to see how FOX Sports married itself to the sport of MMA and how the brand would play with that of the UFC. Since then it’s become less interesting, more clumsy and awkward.

FOX has its plan and it believes it knows sports and how to broadcast them. That’s probably true, as it routinely does excellent work with the NFL and MLB, plus the other sports it covers that don’t get as much attention as they should.

However, MMA is a different beast, and no one does it better than the UFC (especially now that the horrendous Gladiator opening has been retired). The UFC understands how to deliver fights, how to hype them and how to optimize the viewing experience. FOX, on the other hand, does not.

Having a booth above the arena where fighters sit at a desk and discuss fights doesn’t work for MMA—at least not unless the guys are polished in front of the camera. Randy Couture and Stephan Bonnar can get by, a swaggering Jon Jones reading his notes verbatim definitely can’t. The same goes for any combination that involves Dana White, who simply can’t give unbiased analysis and be credible doing so.

Curt Menefee has been a revelation thanks to his natural smoothness, but why not have Jon Anik—a guy who actually knows the sport—in that seat on nights he’s not calling the fights? Or even try Ariel Helwani, who knows the sport and has paid his dues covering it when no one cared. Regardless, if it isn’t Menefee, it surely shouldn’t be Jay Glazer, whose lack of charisma is only matched by his lack of comfort in guiding discussion for the camera.

Make no mistake, some of the FOX additions have been good. A more in-depth pre- and post-fight show is nice, and Anik alongside Kenny Florian is as good as or better than the tired tandem of Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan. They’ve also brought pre-fight interviews into the mix and a more “sporty” (for lack of a better word) feel to the broadcast overall.

It’s still early in the relationship between the FOX family and the UFC, and it will get better. People have absolutely jumped off the deep end at this stage, thinking the sky is falling because things haven’t been fantastic off the hop. That’s not the case, but some things definitely need to be reined in going forward.

Dana White was right to say he’d take the advice of FOX on some production issues, because it knows a lot about doing sports right. However, FOX would be wise to open its doors to the UFC in a similar fashion, because it’s proved in the early going of this relationship that it definitely doesn’t have all the answers.

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UFC: Is FOX Networks Overly Censoring MMA?

We all live in a world with different systems of rules and regulations. In sports, companies and promotions are run in a business-like manner, thus decisions are made on how to best sell or present the product.  The UFC is the premiere product of …

We all live in a world with different systems of rules and regulations. In sports, companies and promotions are run in a business-like manner, thus decisions are made on how to best sell or present the product. 

The UFC is the premiere product of MMA. Dana White, the Fertitta brothers, Marc Ratner and others are all working to sell the UFC and MMA to the world, and most are happily complying. The UFC had a media milestone last year when they signed a deal with FOX Networks. This includes Fuel TV, FX and FOX predominantly. So far, the UFC has put on two FOX shows, one FX show, and prelims on Fuel. The Ultimate Fighter Live is coming soon to FX as well. 

With the new deal in place, FOX Networks and the UFC have hashed out a business plan, and fans are already seeing some of the negotiated actions. 

UFC on FOX 2 was held last Saturday in Chicago, and was the next FOX event after the inaugural Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos. The prelims went underway, and turned out to be the highlight of the night, since the main card was received as rather lackluster. 

However, before the main card started on FOX, and in between fights, personnel ran into the Octagon and started wiping the mat down. This is to remove sweat and any moisture on the mat before the next fight, but it is also to clean up the blood. After wiping it down, three men brought in a machine that had a hose attached to a spray gun. They then proceeded to paint over the blood that was on the canvas. 

This was reported to have happened only so far for the first card last year, but now has reappeared at the second FOX event. The idea behind this is that FOX networks want to keep blood appearance to a minimum on their channels, seeing that they are major networks and are during prime hours. FOX has a wide variety of audience, and there are certain things they do not want going on under their banner. 

 

Most recently in MMA news, FOX has instructed that all sponsors associated with firearms will not allowed to be portrayed during their broadcasts of the UFC. Most notably is The Gun Store. The Gun Store has sponsored many fighters in the UFC and their logo has become just as recognizable as TapouT, and their business is one of great interest in Vegas. 

FOX, however, does not seem too thrilled with the business. FOX does not wish to condone firearms being represented and advertised on their channel. The concept is legit and one that is understandable to a degree, but the fighters who are sponsored by these censored companies are the ones getting hurt. 

Fighters may not get paid huge amounts when first starting off, but throughout their careers, sponsors are what help in tremendous ways. Sponsors help grow the sport, and act as a good percentage of a fighter’s livelihood. When FOX says that fighters have to find other sponsors besides the major one that they have always been in business with, it leaves them in a bad spot. This kind of restriction could make or break some fighters jobs or opportunities early on. 

While there is no hard evidence toward it, some wonder about Chael Sonnen’s remarks after his win at UFC on FOX 2. Sonnen is infamously known for creating controversy with his post-fight interviews with Joe Rogan. Either he talks some trash or he calls people out. Bisping is a man that he didn’t particularly like, but even after beating him and putting himself in a position to call out others, he instead went on a narcissistic rant about himself. 

While this could just be Sonnen being his entertaining self in a different way than usual, it could also be under the instruction of the UFC brass and FOX executives to not engage in “disrespectful” or “mean” actions following his fight. Michael Bisping, who was very loudly booed when he gave the crowd the middle finger and mouthed expletives during the weigh-ins, was expected to react similarly when he walked out and into the cage. Both fighters kept their composure and just put on a good fight. 

 

Lastly, the main event and the co-main event were both fights to determine the next challenger for their respective Championships. Typically in this case, a fighter will win, and then they will bring in the champion to shake hands or stand in the Octagon with their next challenger. For Chael Sonnen, Anderson Silva was not in attendance, and for Rashad Evans, Jon Jones did not come into the cage. Jon Jones was there, but was involved with announcing and interviews. 

It is just a situation to wonder if they purposely kept Jones out of the cage, as to not stir up the conflict Jones and Evans have been having. FOX may perceive doing such a thing as risky—especially if they are trying to prevent a reoccurrence of Jake Shields and Jason Miller. That was a rare case, but risk to some companies is something that is treated like a certainty. 

This is completely speculation, but still food for thought. With the blood and sponsor restrictions already rearing their heads, what else are the FOX honchos telling the UFC to do during their broadcasts? Time will tell if there are more censoring clauses to their deal.

What Do You Think of FOX’s Censoring? Leave thoughts below. 

Join the MMA Facebook Page and follow the @FightersCreed on Twitter! 

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Bisping Believes He’ll Knock Sonnen Out Saturday Night… No, There’s No Punch Line [VIDEO]

(Video courtesy of YouTube/FightHubTV)

Our friend Marcos Villegas over at FightHubTV caught up with Michael Bisping ahead of his UFC on Fox 1 middleweight contender match-up this weekend and the brash Brit is not surprisingly confident of his chances Saturday night against Chael Sonnen, who he has been preparing to fight his whole life apparently.

“Well, you know…um… it’s a difficult match-up. There’s no two ways about it. Chael Sonnen is widely regarded as the number one contender and he’s closing in on a match with Anderson Silva. I was training for Demian Maia, who himself is a very, very dangerous opponent. He actually holds a very good win over Chael Sonnen. Demian Maia submitted Chael Sonnen. I’ve been training hard — as hard as humanly possible, to be honest, for my fight with Demian Maia. A fight with Chael Sonnen, there’s a lot of people out there who don’t want to take that fight,” he explained. “I didn’t think about it for a second. I jumped at the opportunity. I’m a fighter. This is what I do and I want to have the title. A lot of people said, ‘Oh, you’ve only got a week to prepare.’ I disagree. I’ve been preparing for this my whole life. I’ve been training in martial arts since I was about nine years old; I’ve been training hard for this fight. It doesn’t mean anything. At the end of the day, I don’t care about the style, we’re gonna get in there and fight and it’s gonna be who’s the better fighter. I believe I’m the better fighter, but we’ll see what happens…I believe this is my destiny to be world champion and Chael Sonnen’s in my way.”


(Video courtesy of YouTube/FightHubTV)

Our friend Marcos Villegas over at FightHubTV caught up with Michael Bisping ahead of his UFC on Fox 1 middleweight contender match-up this weekend and the brash Brit is not surprisingly confident of his chances Saturday night against Chael Sonnen, who he has been preparing to fight his whole life apparently.

“Well, you know…um… it’s a difficult match-up. There’s no two ways about it. Chael Sonnen is widely regarded as the number one contender and he’s closing in on a match with Anderson Silva. I was training for Demian Maia, who himself is a very, very dangerous opponent. He actually holds a very good win over Chael Sonnen. Demian Maia submitted Chael Sonnen. I’ve been training hard — as hard as humanly possible, to be honest, for my fight with Demian Maia. A fight with Chael Sonnen, there’s a lot of people out there who don’t want to take that fight,” he explained. “I didn’t think about it for a second. I jumped at the opportunity. I’m a fighter. This is what I do and I want to have the title. A lot of people said, ‘Oh, you’ve only got a week to prepare.’ I disagree. I’ve been preparing for this my whole life. I’ve been training in martial arts since I was about nine years old; I’ve been training hard for this fight. It doesn’t mean anything. At the end of the day, I don’t care about the style, we’re gonna get in there and fight and it’s gonna be who’s the better fighter. I believe I’m the better fighter, but we’ll see what happens…I believe this is my destiny to be world champion and Chael Sonnen’s in my way.”

I’m not sure if this next quote was a jab at Sonnen, considering Bisping has been taking shots at his hypogonadism all week, but if it wasn’t it’s one of the best unintentional barbs by an MMA fighter.

“There’s a lot of people out there who wouldn’t have taken this fight, but that’s precisely why I’m gonna win, because I did take this fight because I’ve got the balls and I’m gonna back it up,” Bisping says. “Ultimately it doesn’t matter [who the fans like or hate]. I couldn’t care less who’s the hero, who’s the heel, who’s liked, who’s not. There’s a lot on the line this fight. A world title shot is on the line. I couldn’t give a shit who the fans are cheering for. All I care about is winning.”

As for how he sees the fight playing out, “The Count” seems to think his, er… superior striking will decide the match, in spite of the fact that he has yet to knock out a UFC opponent.

“Chael Sonnen is an outstanding wrestler. There’s no two ways about it. I’ve fought a lot of good wrestlers in my UFC career and this fight will be just like al the others. I’m gonna go out there and look to keep it on the feet and I’ll look to knock him out — as simple as that. He’s gonna be a tough test. I’m under no false illusions about that. He’s an amazing wrestler, but like I said, I think I’m a better fighter. I want it more. Nobody wants this as bad as me. I believe I can stop his takedowns,” he predicts. “If he does take me down, I believe I can submit him on the ground. If I can’t get the submission, I’ll get back to my feet. Nobody gets back to their feet as well as me in the UFC and I’ll show that [Saturday].Of course he’s probably going to get takedowns. Like I said, I’ll get back up, but for the most part I’ll shrug off most of his takedowns, he’ll wear, I’ll start landing punches and soon he’ll fall to the floor. Chael Sonnen is probably going to look to control me on the floor and ground-and-pound me, which he’s very good at. I’m not gonna let that happen. I’m gonna work back to my feet, I’m gonna turn the tables, I’m gonna look for the knockout.”

He may be looking for a while since Sonnen has never been knocked out in his MMA career. But this is MMA and there’s always a first for anything, right. Ah, who the hell are we kidding. It ain’t happening Mike, so you should probably come up with a “Plan B.” And FYI, you can just say “Chael,” or “Sonnen” or even “he,” instead of saying his full name every time you mention him. We know who you’re referring to. You’re welcome.

UFC on Fox: Why Dana White and Co. Are Making a Huge Mistake

After a strong debut on network television in November, Dana White and the UFC a gearing up for their deal with Fox to more fully play out. Dozens of events are in the works for next year across several networks in the Fox family.It looks lik…

After a strong debut on network television in November, Dana White and the UFC a gearing up for their deal with Fox to more fully play out. Dozens of events are in the works for next year across several networks in the Fox family.

It looks like it’s going to be a great partnership.

There is one stumbling block, though—Fuel TV.

Fuel TV is set to be the home of all things UFC. From UFC unleashed, to prelims and even full events, Fuel is set to make more than a quarter of their programming UFC-related.

The problem is most people don’t get the channel.

A quick search of any article relating to Fuel on Bleacher Report will show the same thing. People don’t get Fuel TV. It’s understandable because few television providers even offer it.

As of today, Fuel is only available in about 26 million homes across America. That number is paltry compared to Fox and FX. It’s small even compared to the UFC’s old home, Spike TV.

The decision to hold so much of their content on Fuel means that many fans are going to be left out of the loop. Prelims that were once easily and readily accessible to anyone on Facebook are moving to a niche channel. Full fight cards will be lost to many fans.

If the UFC really wants to grow its business, the only way to do it is to make as many fights available to as many people as possible. Moving so much content to Fuel is hindering that goal.

Give as an alternative online or push to get Fuel TV in more homes.

It’s your move, Mr. White.

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UFC News: Mackens Semerzier vs. Roberto Peralta Ruled a No Contest by CSAC

On Tuesday afternoon, the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) ruled the bout between Mackens Semerzier and Robert Peralta, which took place 12 Nov. at UFC on FOX 1, a no-contest.After meeting with the CSAC, Semerzier’s manager, Brian Butler-Au …

On Tuesday afternoon, the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) ruled the bout between Mackens Semerzier and Robert Peralta, which took place 12 Nov. at UFC on FOX 1, a no-contest.

After meeting with the CSAC, Semerzier’s manager, Brian Butler-Au of SuckerPunch Entertainment, tweeted, “Very happy with the CSAC, they got it right! Time to go home.”

Semerzier responded by tweeting “Justice is blind but I know that ***** aint deaf. The ppl have spoken. #Rematch.”

The bout was initially ruled a TKO victory for Peralta after Semerzier was dropped by what appeared to be legal strikes. However, review of the footage later revealed that the knockdown was a result of an inadvertent headbutt.

Bleacher Report was able to get in contact with “Mack Da Menace” to get his thoughts about the situation.

When asked how he felt, he said, “good, but it’s kind of weird. It’s one of those things I wanted to get corrected, but at the same time, I’m not happy about it because I’m still not happy about the result.”

Semerzier is also looking to get back into the Octagon with Peralta quickly as well.

“Hopefully, me and Robert will get to fight again. I’m hoping March. March will be good for me, and I’m pretty sure it will be good for him.”

This was not Semerzier’s first time dealing with controversy, as he lost his WEC 52 bout vs. Cub Swanson via split-decision in a fight many felt Semerzier was overwhelmingly dominant.

But that doesn’t bother Semerzier, and he holds no ill will towards his fellow featherweight fighter. When asked about a rematch with Swanon, he simply replied “I like Cub, and I’ll make money with Cub too. But I don’t think now is a good time (for a rematch).”

With Swanson coming off a loss, Semerzier feels now is not the best time. Besides, he’s got his sights set on dealing with the current problem at hand, or in his own words, “(Robert) is on my radar right now.”

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Follow Justin Fuller on Twitter @JustinFullerMMA or like him on Facebook for the latest and greatest in…well…whatever, that’s what. Just do it, he’s hilarious.

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UFC: Analysis of the Miguel Torres ‘Rape Van’ Tweet and Firing by Dana White

Let me preface this by letting everyone know I do not condone rape. I do not condone pedophilia. I do not condone domestic violence or violence against women of any kind. No man should force himself upon any other person, nor should a woman. With that…

Let me preface this by letting everyone know I do not condone rape. I do not condone pedophilia. I do not condone domestic violence or violence against women of any kind. No man should force himself upon any other person, nor should a woman.

With that said, let us delve into the Miguel Torres “rape van” issue.

“If a rape van was called a surprise van, more women wouldn’t mind going for rides in them. Everyone likes surprises.” This is the tweet made by Torres that has UFC brass, namely Dana White, so up in arms.

This tweet was enough to force Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, to cut bantamweight contender and former WEC titlist Miguel Torres from the roster immediately.

“Miguel Torres has been cut from the UFC and his career with us now is over,” White stated in an interview with SI.com.

This all comes in the wake of two very similar and equally politically incorrect statements made by former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin and former light heavyweight champ Rashad Evans. Both are winners of The Ultimate Fighter.

On Nov. 8, Griffin tweeted, “rape is the new missionary.”

The tweet, of course, came with it’s due backlash, causing Forrest Griffin to put himself on “Twitter restriction” as well as going to the Rape Crisis Center in the area to explain himself and make up for his comment.

In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Dana White talks about Griffin’s explanation that, while flipping through channels, all he saw on television were different stories of rape occurrences, prompting Forrest to make the comment.

This, for me, is easy to live with. It was a poorly constructed attempt at satirizing the fact that far more rapes are being exposed and/or exploited by television and news outlets than ever before.

The intent was not to offend, but to be more of a social commentary; however, a clear failure of the task.

What makes this entire issue dumbfounding is Rashad Evans’ comments directed at Phil Davis during a press conference for their upcoming main-event bout on “UFC on Fox 2.”

At the presser for the January 28 event, Davis made a comment about current light heavyweight title holder, and former Evans training partner, Jon Jones’ statement that Rashad Evans “doesn’t have a chin.” This was Rashad’s response;

“You’re going to have to find out for yourself. I bet you won’t be able to put your hands on me, though. I bet you’ll be the first one to take a shot. I guarantee you’ll be the first one to take a shot, ‘cause I’m going to put those hands on you worse than that dude did to them other kids at Penn State.”

This statement is in reference to the alleged pedophilia perpetrated by Jerry Sandusky, former assistant football coach at Penn State, where Phil Davis attended and was a champion wrestler.

According to Dana White, Evans’s explanation was that it was “in the heat of the moment” and that Evans was trying to get under the skin of Phil Davis by knocking Davis and his school at the same time.

In the interview with SI.com, White said, “…so we talked on the phone, he gave me his explanation, he said, ‘I’ll do whatever it takes, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend anybody. In the heat of the moment, that’s what I said to him because he’s from Penn State.’”

This holds absolutely no credence. Evans is sitting at a crucial press event promoting a main event on a card to be aired live on Fox and is basically saying “I’m going to do things worse than Jerry Sandusky.”

How is there any way to justify any part of Rashad Evans comments? How does Rashad’s realization that he was wrong bar him from ANY consequence for a comment as tasteless, insensitive and downright stupid as the comment made towards Phil Davis?

Apparently, Miguel Torres’s real mistake was explaining that it was just a joke. A joke that came from Season 4, Episode 2 “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” which is a staple show on FX, a company parented by Fox.

That is correct, the Fox network that just inked a huge seven year deal with the UFC. FX, being the daughter company of Fox, will be, going forward, airing The Ultimate Fighter.

This was tweeted by Matt Erickson of MMAfighting.com, “Just spoke to @MiguelTorresMMA via text. He assures me he was quoting from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and was watching it at time.”

            After his firing, Torres released this statement on his website;

“I have a lot to be thankful for in my life, I have my beautiful wife and daughter, my family, my health, my gym, and in terms of my career, I succeeded to the biggest stage in the sport of mixed martial arts, the Ultimate Fighting Championship. 

“I am very sorry for upsetting my bosses at the UFC, and also to my fans and everyone else who was upset by the language in my tweets.  I understand it was wrong, and I meant no harm or disrespect.  Given the chance, I will do whatever it takes to make things right. I am going to learn from this.

“I think life throws you opportunities that can make you a better person, and so that’s what I’m going to do here. That is how I am going to react. I am going to use this to improve myself, and I hope that my fans will continue to support me.”

So, at a press conference, Rashad Evans can threaten to touch a man in a way that is worse than an alleged pedophile, but Miguel Torres cannot reference a show on a network that has a large contract with the company he works for? Excuse me, worked for.

Let us ignore the blatant hypocrisy in all this.

Dana White says that he handles everyone on a “case-by-case” basis. Well, those cases are full of money, and Rashad’s case has a lot more vested in it than that of Miguel Torres.

Rashad Evans is the headliner for the first UFC on Fox event officially within the new deal. Rashad Evans is a TUF winner. Rashad Evans is a big draw and polarizing figure that everyone wants to see finally face Jon Jones, so long as they both win their upcoming bouts.

Of course, Rashad Evans is not getting fired. And to fine him and make a big deal about it publicly will hurt numbers; it would hurt the bottom line.

In fiscal comparison, who is Miguel Torres?

Miguel Torres is expendable, that’s who. And I think that is b@!%$#!t…at least, the man apologized!!

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