Tag: UFC on Fox Sports 1 1

Does the Pairing of Joe Rogan and Jon Anik for ‘UFC on FOX Sports 1:1? Signify a Lack of Confidence in Mike Goldberg?

(To be fair, “smelling the opening” is still an incredibly popular phrase on the set of blind pornos.)

We would like to preface this article by stating that we in no way have anything against Mike Goldberg the broadcaster. Sure, he falls back on some cliche phrases every now and again and fumbles through the occasional fighter nickname, but how many of us can claim to be batting a thousand at our respective occupations? Rarely a day goes by where I don’t fumble a fact or treat the English language like an experimental concept, and I usually have the benefit of giving my work a once-over (well, a half-over) before publishing it. In short, Goldberg may not be the best in the business, but the fact that he still seems generally enthused to be at any UFC event after all these years — he first started working with the promotion in 1997 — more than compensates for his sporadic (and often hilarious) cluelessness.

However, the NY Post’s Marc Raimondi broke the news yesterday that the announcing team for the UFC’s Fox Sports 1:1 debut in August would not feature Goldberg at all:


(To be fair, “smelling the opening” is still an incredibly popular phrase on the set of blind pornos.)

We would like to preface this article by stating that we in no way have anything against Mike Goldberg the broadcaster. Sure, he falls back on some cliche phrases every now and again and fumbles through the occasional fighter nickname, but how many of us can claim to be batting a thousand at our respective occupations? Rarely a day goes by where I don’t fumble a fact or treat the English language like an experimental concept, and I usually have the benefit of giving my work a once-over (well, a half-over) before publishing it. In short, Goldberg may not be the best in the business, but the fact that he still seems generally enthused to be at any UFC event after all these years — he first started working with the promotion in 1997 — more than compensates for his sporadic (and often hilarious) cluelessness.

However, the NY Post’s Marc Raimondi broke the news yesterday that the announcing team for the UFC’s Fox Sports 1:1 debut in August would not feature Goldberg at all:

Now, while this pairing could be largely based on the fact that both Rogan and Anik have a long history with Massachusetts (Anik was born in Boston, where Rogan also grew up), it could also represent the UFC pulling out all the stops to ensure that their first event on the new FOX Sports 1 channel goes as smoothly as possible. The fact that Rogan and Goldberg were booked as the announcing duo for the UFC’s initial debut on FOX — an arguably bigger deal for the promotion — back in November of 2011 should detract from this theory, but on the other hand, Anik had only joined the UFC’s broadcast team a couple weeks prior to that event.

Anik and Kenny Florian have been holding down the UFC’s FUEL and FX cards ever since, and it appears that the UFC has been more than impressed with his abilities to grant him this opportunity. With Goldberg nearing the big 5-0, perhaps the UFC just wants to mix things up with a couple of fresh faces. You know, to appeal to us yoots.

In addition, Anik’s FUEL broadcast partner and Boston College alumni, Kenny Florian, has been confirmed for a studio role on the evening of the Boston card. Florian will be holding things down alongside UFC Tonight co-host Chael Sonnen, so we can pretty much put to rest any rumors that Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva will be meeting at that event now.

What do you guys think? Is the Rogan/Anik pairing a simple matter of locals getting preference, or is the UFC sending a bigger message here?

One thing’s for sure, Anik better learn to handle Rogan’s “Purple Power Pregame Bud” a little better this time around. Shit nearly killed him in their last outing…

–J. Jones

Ben Henderson vs. T.J. Grant Possible for UFC on FOX Sports 1:1, “Smooth” Still Trying to Figure Out Who Exactly Grant Is


(“Wake up. Wake up. Wake up, sleepies. We must go, yeeees, we must go at once.” Photo courtesy of Getty Images.)

As I so eloquently predicted, the unstoppable lightweight force that is T.J. Grant was able to successfully upset the heavily-favored Gray Maynard via a hellstorm of punches and knees at UFC 160 last weekend (conversely, I would like to apologize to George Roop, who shed his “puffed up crow’s cock” moniker with an impressive TKO of Brian Bowles earlier in the evening). It was so impressive a performance that Dana White actually made good on his promise to grant T.J. the next lightweight title shot, despite the fact that next to no one — including Ben Henderson himself — really knows who Grant is.

During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, “Smooth” admitted that, prior to Grant’s victory over Maynard, he had no idea who the Canadian was and in fact was already preparing for a future fight with Maynard:

I am a little bit surprised. I think most people had Gray winning. Most people picked Gray to win and not only did T.J. prove everyone wrong, but in the manner and in the fashion that he did it, pretty impressive performance for him. I did (think Maynard was going to win). I thought Gray was going to be the next guy I faced. I was already kind of preparing for that and now I got a new guy to prepare for. I don’t know a whole lot about T.J. to be honest.


(“Wake up. Wake up. Wake up, sleepies. We must go, yeeees, we must go at once.” Photo courtesy of Getty Images.)

As I so eloquently predicted, the unstoppable lightweight force that is T.J. Grant was able to successfully upset the heavily-favored Gray Maynard via a hellstorm of punches and knees at UFC 160 last weekend (conversely, I would like to apologize to George Roop, who shed his “puffed up crow’s cock” moniker with an impressive TKO of Brian Bowles earlier in the evening). It was so impressive a performance that Dana White actually made good on his promise to grant T.J. the next lightweight title shot, despite the fact that next to no one — including Ben Henderson himself — really knows who Grant is.

During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, “Smooth” admitted that, prior to Grant’s victory over Maynard, he had no idea who the Canadian was and in fact was already preparing for a future fight with Maynard:

I am a little bit surprised. I think most people had Gray winning. Most people picked Gray to win and not only did T.J. prove everyone wrong, but in the manner and in the fashion that he did it, pretty impressive performance for him. I did (think Maynard was going to win). I thought Gray was going to be the next guy I faced. I was already kind of preparing for that and now I got a new guy to prepare for. I don’t know a whole lot about T.J. to be honest.

I know he’s 5-0 at 155 now, he used to be a 170 pounder. From what I’ve seen of him, from the promos and highlights and stuff, he doesn’t seem too flashy. He’s one of those guys, a grinder, good fundamentals and solid. It is going to be my job to learn about him the next month or so to get ready for him. 

As for the event that could possibly hold this sure-to-be slugfest? White suggested at the UFC 160 post-fight press conference that the organization was looking to book Henderson vs. Grant for the highly-anticipated UFC on Fox Sports 1:1 card, which goes down from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts on August 17th.

Already featuring a trio of barnburners in Alistair Overeem vs. Travis Browne, Joe Lauzon vs. Michael Johnson, and Matt Brown vs. Thiago Alves, UFC on Fox Sports 1 1 is well on its way to becoming the best television card the UFC has ever done. So start crossing your fingers, ritualistically sacrificing teenagers, or doing whatever you can to ensure that the injury gods are appeased for the next few months.

–J. Jones

Alistair Overeem vs. Travis Browne Booked for ‘UFC on FOX Sports 1 1? Non-Headliner


(Why do I get the feeling that I’m about to have sand kicked in my face? / Photo via MediaTakeOut.com)

MMAJunkie breaks the news that Alistair Overeem will make his Octagon return at UFC on FOX Sports 1 1 — which takes place August 17th in Boston — where he’ll face dangerous heavyweight Travis Browne. (Sorry, Milwaukee-area Reem-fans. You’ve been duped.) According to the Junkie, the Overeem vs. Browne match will not be the show’s main event, which gives some credence to Dana White’s bold claim that UFC on FOX Sports 1 1 will be “the best television card we’ve ever done.”

Overeem and Browne have some shared history, in that they were both flattened in recent fights against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, despite coming in as heavy favorites against the Brazilian future champion. Since then, Browne has rebounded with a quick-knockout of Gabriel Gonzaga at the TUF 17 Finale — aided by some controversial elbows — while Overeem has been inactive due to injury.

A year ago, I would have predicted “Reem by murder.” But now…I’m not so sure. Who would you put your money on for this one?


(Why do I get the feeling that I’m about to have sand kicked in my face? / Photo via MediaTakeOut.com)

MMAJunkie breaks the news that Alistair Overeem will make his Octagon return at UFC on FOX Sports 1 1 — which takes place August 17th in Boston — where he’ll face dangerous heavyweight Travis Browne. (Sorry, Milwaukee-area Reem-fans. You’ve been duped.) According to the Junkie, the Overeem vs. Browne match will not be the show’s main event, which gives some credence to Dana White’s bold claim that UFC on FOX Sports 1 1 will be “the best television card we’ve ever done.”

Overeem and Browne have some shared history, in that they were both flattened in recent fights against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, despite coming in as heavy favorites against the Brazilian future champion. Since then, Browne has rebounded with a quick-knockout of Gabriel Gonzaga at the TUF 17 Finale — aided by some controversial elbows — while Overeem has been inactive due to injury.

A year ago, I would have predicted “Reem by murder.” But now…I’m not so sure. Who would you put your money on for this one?

UFC Plans Return to Boston for ‘UFC on Fox Sports 1 1? (Seriously)


(And there was much celebrating.)

The UFC has announced an official date for its long-awaited return to Boston. Earlier today, UFC president Dana White took to his Twitter account to release the following statement:

For those uninitiated, Speed TV is set to be relaunched as Fox Sports 1 on August 17. Fox Sports 1 will be available in 90 million homes, and will not only feature its own daily news programs, but also live college football and basketball, soccer, NASCAR and UFC events, with plans of hosting Major League Baseball games starting in 2014. The network also plans to relaunch Fuel TV as Fox Sports 2 on the same day.


(And there was much celebrating.)

The UFC has announced an official date for its long-awaited return to Boston. Earlier today, UFC president Dana White took to his Twitter account to release the following statement:

For those uninitiated, Speed TV is set to be relaunched as Fox Sports 1 on August 17. Fox Sports 1 will be available in 90 million homes, and will not only feature its own daily news programs, but also live college football and basketball, soccer, NASCAR and UFC events, with plans of hosting Major League Baseball games starting in 2014. The network also plans to relaunch Fuel TV as Fox Sports 2 on the same day.

The UFC has only been to Boston one other time: UFC 118 on August 28, 2010. Headlined by a rematch between then-lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and BJ Penn, the main card also featured the American freakshow classic Randy Couture vs. James Toney, as well as Nate Diaz vs. Marcus Davis. Also noteworthy, the last time that the UFC was in Boston, the city hosted the only fan expo that matters.

Currently, there haven’t been any bouts announced for the debut of Fox Sports 1. We’ll keep you up-to-date as the card begins to fill out.

@SethFalvo