UFC on Fox 4 featured a pair of light heavyweight contests between Mauricio Rua and Brandon Vera, and Lyoto Machida and Ryan Bader.From an entertainment standpoint the night was a glowing success, showcasing no shortage of solid action and even produci…
UFC on Fox 4 featured a pair of light heavyweight contests between Mauricio Rua and Brandon Vera, and Lyoto Machida and Ryan Bader.
From an entertainment standpoint the night was a glowing success, showcasing no shortage of solid action and even producing a title contender.
Now that it is in the books, let’s take a look at how the card stacks up against its network television predecessors.
To establish an order of best to worst, the undercard, main card and main event of each Fox installment will be ranked. A first-place rank will earn the event one point, second gets two points, third get one point and fourth gets zero.
Because UFC on Fox 1 had no main card (it was just a main event), I’ve taken the liberty of classifying the Ricardo Lamas vs. Cub Swanson, Dustin Poirier vs. Pablo Garza and Benson Henderson vs. Clay Guida fights as the event’s main card. The rest of the preliminary action will make up the undercard for the purpose of this ranking.
The rankings will be based on the entertainment value of each event, as well as the importance of the fights that comprised it.
Something has to be done.The first UFC on FOX event was set off with a huge main event of Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos for the UFC Heavyweight Championship and became the most watched MMA event in U.S. history with 5.7 million average viewers. …
Something has to be done.
The first UFC on FOX event was set off with a huge main event of Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos for the UFC Heavyweight Championship and became the most watched MMA event in U.S. history with 5.7 million average viewers.
Fast forward to January, with the main event of Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis, and ratings take a slight dip, bringing in 4.7 million average viewers with a main event that doesn’t necessarily grab the attention of the casual fan.
Then there was the big fall.
UFC on FOX 3 with the main event of Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller tanked in viewership, only doing 2.42 million average viewers, half of what UFC on FOX 2 did just a couple of months earlier.
What’s interesting about it is that viewership is exactly opposite of the quality of the main event. Hands down, Diaz vs. Miller was the best main event out of the three, followed by Evans dominating Phil Davis for five rounds.
The Heavyweight Championship bout was over before it ever got started, mostly due to the massive hype that the match received, and the 64-second knockout that left the casual fan wondering just what MMA truly was all about.
So how do you fix viewership issues? Put the big names on free TV.
Zuffa is hoping that just seeing the UFC logo will draw. It won’t. There are fans like me who’ll watch every UFC event regardless of who’s fighting just because they’re fight fans. Then there are the channel flippers and the occasional viewers who want to see the big names fight. They vastly outweigh the hardcore fans.
With that being said, UFC on FOX started out perfectly with a one-fight card with the UFC Heavyweight Championship on the line. What more could you ask for? A Heavyweight Championship on free TV? It’s unheard of.
Then they failed to capitalize. The main objective for the UFC should have been to put on some of the best fights on free TV for at least three or four events to make UFC on FOX a must-see event. By doing that, they not only would have grown their fanbase among casual fans, but they would also potentially see a spike in pay-per-view buys.
There are actually fewer FOX events than PPV events, so it should be treated like a must-see event with some of the biggest names out there.
To show how names truly drive views, look no further than Kimbo Slice vs. Josh Thompson in the now-defunct EliteXC promotion. Once the most watched MMA event on network TV, CBS drew 4.9 million viewers that wanted to see Kimbo fight. Fighters sell fights.
Now, I’m not saying that UFC on FOX should be the home of the Heavyweight Championship fights, but they should do more in putting the big names on display.
Believe it or not, MMA still has not surpassed boxing in the mainstream. The most talked-about fighters in the world are still Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. Not Jon Jones and Anderson Silva.
UFC has the biggest platform in all of combat sports to put mixed martial arts on the map. But to do so, you have to put the big fights in front of a free TV audience. The more big fights on free TV, the more eyeballs on the product and the more potential it is to launch MMA into mainstream.
Diaz vs. Miller and the 2.4 million viewers was not a blip. If Zuffa continues to put on fights that wouldn’t headline pay-per-views, this will become a trend.
UFC on FOX 3 is now in the books and the UFC brand continues to grow with every appearance on the network television station.The most recent event featured an excellent fight card with a main event between lightweights Nate Diaz and Jim Miller. While i…
UFC on FOX 3 is now in the books and the UFC brand continues to grow with every appearance on the network television station.
The most recent event featured an excellent fight card with a main event between lightweights Nate Diaz and Jim Miller. While it did not contain the star power that the previous two events did, many are already saying that UFC on FOX 3 might have been the most exciting of the bunch so far.
But are exciting fights alone enough to make these cards a success?
Let’s delve deeper as we grade each of the first three UFC on FOX events.
(John Einemo, the only man to ever truly smell what The Rock was cookin’.)
Norwegian news site VG.no is reporting that former UFC heavyweight John Olav Einemo has decided to call it a career after being cut from the promotion following his loss to Mike Russow at UFC on Fox 2.
Although Einemo told reporters that the UFC had left the proverbial door open for his return if he was able to put a couple wins together in smaller promotions, Einemo felt that the time he had to spend away from his family during the training process was simply too much to handle. Apparently his wife and kids didn’t drive him crazy. For those of you who are suddenly overwhelmed with panic as to when you’ll see J.O.E again, fret not, for he plans to help build upon Norway’s ever-growing MMA scene as a coach somewhere down the line.
(John Einemo, the only man to ever truly smell what The Rock was cookin’.)
Norwegian news site VG.no is reporting that former UFC heavyweight John Olav Einemo has decided to call it a career after being cut from the promotion following his loss to Mike Russow at UFC on Fox 2.
Although Einemo told reporters that the UFC had left the proverbial door open for his return if he was able to put a couple wins together in smaller promotions, Einemo felt that the time he had to spend away from his family during the training process was simply too much to handle. Apparently his wife and kids didn’t drive him crazy. For those of you who are suddenly overwhelmed with panic as to when you’ll see J.O.E again, fret not, for he plans to help build upon Norway’s ever-growing MMA scene as a coach somewhere down the line.
“The Viking” started off his MMA career in October of 2000, amassing five straight wins under the Shooto, Finnfight, and Focus Fight banners, with none of those wins making it out of the first round. In 2003, Einemo became the first and last man to defeat Roger Gracie in ADCC competition at the finals of the ADCC trials (88-98 kg weight class). He also holds notable grappling victories over Alexandre Ferreira, Bellator vet Vitor Vianna, and Rolles Gracie.
Einemo would suffer his first professional defeat to Farbicio Werdum at Pride 31 in 2006, which was quickly overshadowed by an in ring riot between the Chute Box camp, Mark Coleman, and Phil Baroni in which Wanderlei Silva had his head stepped on. Ah, the good old days. After claiming his place alongside the approximately 200 men to have beaten James Thompson later that year, Einemo would take a five year hiatus from the sport, likely to help hunt the aforementioned trolls that plague Norway’s mountainous regions.
Einemo emerged from hiding in 2011 when he signed with the UFC and put in a Fight of the Night earning performance against Dave Herman at UFC 131. Despite Einemo’s extensive BJJ background, the fight was contested mostly on the feet, with both men rocking the other on more than one occasion. Herman would have the last laugh, however, finishing Einemo off midway through the second round. Shortly thereafter, Einemo was axed along with several other fighters signed under Golden Glory management due to ongoing contract disputes.
It wasn’t long until an agreement was reached between the two and Einemo, along with Alistair and Valentijn Overeem, were allowed to come back to their Zuffa-financed jobs. Marloes Coenen, on the other hand, was shipped off to a deserted island and forced to feed on Dutch celebrities whilst searching for buried treasure. And they say chivalry is dead in the world.
Einemo would try to bounce back at UFC on FOX 2, where he faced off against the deceivingly talented Mike Russow, who was riding a ten fight win streak at the time. Things would not go Einemo’s way, as he would find himself trapped beneath Russow’s amorphous figure for three rounds en route to a unanimous decision loss.
We here at CP would just like to wish John (can we call you John?) the best of luck in all of his future endeavors. Do the same in the comments section, Potato Nation.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is set to make history at the Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia with a UFC on FX 2 fight card that features the UFC debut of the flyweight division.The card is headlined by a welterweight showdown between Thiago “T…
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is set to make history at the Allphones Arena in Sydney, Australia with a UFC on FX 2 fight card that features the UFC debut of the flyweight division.
The card is headlined by a welterweight showdown between Thiago “The Pitbull” Alves and Martin “Hitman” Kampmann.
These two 170-pound fighters have the ability to put on a fireworks display that would make a New Year’s Day celebration look like sparklers at a Little League Baseball game.
Despite being forgotten by most fans, Alves and Kampmann are still very much in the title picture. A victory could easily put either fighter another win or two away from a shot at UFC gold.
Before the welterweights do battle, the UFC kicks off its inaugural flyweight tournament to crown the first-ever UFC flyweight champion.
Fans get to see a pair of exciting semifinal bouts that feature former UFC title contender Demetrious Johnson against Tachi Palace flyweight champ Ian McCall and former WEC title contender Joseph Benavidez vs. Shooto bantamweight champion Yasuhiro Urushitani.
These predictions include Bleacher Report Featured Columnists John Heinis, Dale De Souza, Dan Hiergesell, Nedu Obi and myself, Jordy McElroy.
The time has come once again for you to feast on some manly induced knowledge in preparation for the upcoming fights. Snatch a cold beverage out the fridge and get comfortable. It’s prediction time.
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.
Something has to be done.