Sure, reigning UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor is taking a break from fighting because his longtime girlfriend Dee Devlin is giving birth to their first child, but McGregor also made it clear after his historic win at last November’s UFC 205 from New York City that he’d like to have a discussion with the new
Sure, reigning UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor is taking a break from fighting because his longtime girlfriend Dee Devlin is giving birth to their first child, but McGregor also made it clear after his historic win at last November’s UFC 205 from New York City that he’d like to have a discussion with the new UFC owners before he stepped foot back in the Octagon.
As far as what the discussion might consist of, the Irishman recently told GQ Style that he wants to negotiate his ‘worth’, also noting that he wants a ‘fatter check’:
“I want to negotiate what I’m worth. I want to put my analytics forward, man-to-man, and be like, ‘This is what I’m owed now. Pay me.’ And then we can talk,” he added.
“I mean…certainly, hell of a fatter check. Maybe potentially, down the road, an equity interest or something. I’m just letting them know I want something else.”
The “Notorious” one is already the highest paid fighter on the UFC roster, but he’s always in search of more, which is likely why he’s been campaigning for a boxing match with retired former pound-for-pound king Floyd “Money” Mayweather.
It’s unclear if McGregor has had his discussion with WME-IMG yet, but do you expect his next fight to take place in the Octagon.
As I sit here on the rare Sunday afternoon where there isn’t a UFC event to discuss and dissect, I can’t help but look back at how, after the two most wildly successful years in promotion history, the UFC has started off 2017 tepidly, and how that reflects on new ownership during their pivotal formative
As I sit here on the rare Sunday afternoon where there isn’t a UFC event to discuss and dissect, I can’t help but look back at how, after the two most wildly successful years in promotion history, the UFC has started off 2017 tepidly, and how that reflects on new ownership during their pivotal formative months.
Much of that, I suppose, was to be expected given that they had booked their two biggest stars – Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey (obviously) – for two of the final three pay-per-view (PPV) cards of the year, leaving them with little legitimate star power to drive their surging momentum into 2017. With McGregor out to welcome his first child as he teases a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather and Rousey uncertain to ever return, MMA’s biggest promotion’s need for stars has never been more apparent.
With so few high-profile events to start the year, it’s easy to fall into the trap of writing yet another UFC-bashing piece lamenting the efforts of the new owners. While they have made some strange booking decisions early on, the jury is still fully out on them and the rest of 2017 should be much better than the first two months of the year. It has to be.
However, WME-IMG has simply made some strange calls that reek of inexperience in the fight game; something to be expected from the talent management giant. The scenario of UFC 208, which was moved from California to Brooklyn with the haphazard main event of Germaine de Randamie vs. Holly Holm, predictably tanked at the box office. One has to wonder if waiting the extra month or two for Cris “Cyborg” to get her USADA issues cleared up – she already has – would have been worth the wait rather than throwing together a pay card for an uninspired belt in a division with three fighters because the company had to begin paying loans was hasty at best, foolish at worst.
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas of USA Today Sports
And if Joe Rogan’s insistence that WME bigwigs were giving women’s bantamweight champ Amanda Nunes no chance against Ronda Rousey, auspiciously a high-profile WME-IMG client, is true, then their lack of knowledge for MMA shows. This, paired with the overall rut the UFC is in right now, echoes clear contrasts to the UFC’s most recent down year of 204, where profits dropped a lofty 40 percent amidst a series of huge fight cancellations due to injury – and also a transition period from the heydays of former champions Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre to the generation-defining superstardom of McGregor and Rousey.
The difference is, their champions were either hurt or in semi-retirement that year, so WME-IMG doesn’t have that excuse.
The record-setting purchase of the UFC for $4.2 billion last summer was clearly motivated by the record numbers the promotion was earning with McGregor and Rousey’s biggest cards. But that was when both superstars were headlining three huge cards a year, and they all did big numbers, which means things had to be clicking to create a run like that. The cat is out of the bag in terms of the fighter’s money, as they see what the promotion sold for and now understandably want a fair slice.
The new ownership has none of that momentum right now, and maybe there was nothing they could do about it. But they won’t be getting three fights from their infamous Irish champ this year – they’ll be lucky to get one – and Rousey probably won’t fight again. The luster of her thought-to-be invincible aura has long been demolished anyhow.
That’s the fight game, and it’s notoriously unforgiving (pun intended). As it has been for all of combat sports’ history, big names sell, so having a bunch of lower-level cards, even if they deliver hard-hitting action for the hardcore fans as they have been, isn’t enough and never will be. GSP will be back later this year, and potentially Jon Jones if he can get his act together long enough to set foot in the cage. Those are two names the UFC only got one combined fight from in 2014, a number that needs to increase if the silent bosses of the UFC are to avoid a similar valley this year.
UFC have announced that all 500+ active fighters are invited to attend a two-day UFC ‘Athlete Retreat’ organised by WME/IMG, in Las Vegas this May. Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell are the joint-CEOs of WME/IMG, who now operate the UFC following a $4 billion takeover last year. Emanuel and Whitesell clearly aim to impress their employees […]
UFC have announced that all 500+ active fighters are invited to attend a two-day UFC ‘Athlete Retreat’ organised by WME/IMG, in Las Vegas this May. Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell are the joint-CEOs of WME/IMG, who now operate the UFC following a $4 billion takeover last year. Emanuel and Whitesell clearly aim to impress their employees […]
Mixed martial arts (MMA) icon Anderson Silva has seen a lot of people come and go in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), but he’s never seen changes within the organization of this magnitude. When WME-IMG purchased the UFC, a change of scenery was to be expected.
One of the big changes was the exit of long-time play-by-play commentator Mike Goldberg. An influx of interim title bouts and even a new women’s featherweight division have also been the result of new ownership.
Speaking with Combate (via MMAFighting.com), “The Spider” is wary of the things he is seeing with the new owners:
“It’s a company that is worried about entertainment. It’s not a company with a history in martial arts, the philosophy of the fight. That’s one of the reasons why ‘Jacare’ is not fighting for the title because, for them, it’s not something profitable, that will bring the entertainment they need.”
Silva knows that WME-IMG is not expected to have vast MMA knowledge overnight. He admits some of the things they have done are hit and miss.
“This is what they did their entire lives, work with entertainment. We have to understand that. It’s hard because we think about the martial arts, what is correct. For the show, some fights make sense and others don’t. They end up losing some fans but gain some.”
All in all, the once dominant 185-pound king hopes for the best. He said despite WME-IMG’s lack of a good understanding of the sport, he will try to push negativity to the side.
“I think they just took a big risk because the face of the UFC was always Dana (White) and Lorenzo. When you don’t have Dana and Lorenzo, the good cop and the bad cop, it’s kind of up in the air. But let’s be positive. I believe everything will be alright.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1a15tRWzRo
Mixed martial arts (MMA) icon Anderson Silva has seen a lot of people come and go in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), but he’s never seen changes within the organization of this magnitude. When WME-IMG purchased the UFC, a change of scenery was to be expected.
One of the big changes was the exit of long-time play-by-play commentator Mike Goldberg. An influx of interim title bouts and even a new women’s featherweight division have also been the result of new ownership.
Speaking with Combate (via MMAFighting.com), “The Spider” is wary of the things he is seeing with the new owners:
“It’s a company that is worried about entertainment. It’s not a company with a history in martial arts, the philosophy of the fight. That’s one of the reasons why ‘Jacare’ is not fighting for the title because, for them, it’s not something profitable, that will bring the entertainment they need.”
Silva knows that WME-IMG is not expected to have vast MMA knowledge overnight. He admits some of the things they have done are hit and miss.
“This is what they did their entire lives, work with entertainment. We have to understand that. It’s hard because we think about the martial arts, what is correct. For the show, some fights make sense and others don’t. They end up losing some fans but gain some.”
All in all, the once dominant 185-pound king hopes for the best. He said despite WME-IMG’s lack of a good understanding of the sport, he will try to push negativity to the side.
“I think they just took a big risk because the face of the UFC was always Dana (White) and Lorenzo. When you don’t have Dana and Lorenzo, the good cop and the bad cop, it’s kind of up in the air. But let’s be positive. I believe everything will be alright.”
According to a report from MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani, the UFC has canceled a UFC Fight Pass card that was set to take place on March 3, 2016 from Las Vegas Nevada, just one day prior to March 4’s UFC 209. The promotion didn’t give a reason for scrapping the event, although the card had yet
According to a report from MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani, the UFC has canceled a UFC Fight Pass card that was set to take place on March 3, 2016 from Las Vegas Nevada, just one day prior to March 4’s UFC 209.
The promotion didn’t give a reason for scrapping the event, although the card had yet to be filled out with fights.
This isn’t the first time the UFC has cancelled an event this year, as the promotion announced late last year that it would be cancelling UFC 208, which was scheduled for Jan. 21, 2016 in Anaheim, California. The event has since been moved to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York and will take place on Feb 11, 2016. An inaugural women’s featherweight title fight between Holly Holm and Germain de Randamie will headline that card.
The UFC cancelling multiple events less than a month into the new year is certainly an interesting topic especially given the fact that the promotion is currently lacking big stars. It is expected that new owners WME-IMG will look to cut down on the number of events held per year and perhaps this is the first step in doing so.
The UFC was sold for a record-setting $4.2 billion to WME-IMG last year, and the new owners are understandably trying relieve the debt of the massive purchase to make a profit on the blockbuster deal. However, they may have a tough time doing so in 2017 due to the fact that the promotion is currently lacking
The UFC was sold for a record-setting $4.2 billion to WME-IMG last year, and the new owners are understandably trying relieve the debt of the massive purchase to make a profit on the blockbuster deal.
However, they may have a tough time doing so in 2017 due to the fact that the promotion is currently lacking legitimate stars to headline pay-per-view (PPV) shows in the immediate months. Given the fact that PPV has and likely always will be the UFC’s main platform, WME-IMG could have a serious issue on its hands.
For instance, let’s take a look at the status of just a few of the UFC’s biggest PPV draws from the last few years: Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey, Brock Lesnar, Georges St-Pierre, and Anderson Silva.
McGregor, the reigning UFC lightweight champion, is in a league of his own in terms of PPV stars, as he’s headlined four of the top five best-selling events of all-time: UFC 194, UFC 196, UFC 202 and UFC 205, and incredibly enough all within a calendar year.
The brash and outspoken Irishman may end up spending the majority of 2017 on the sidelines, however, as he awaits the birth of his first child with longtime girlfriend Dee Devlin.
Rousey’s fighting future is even more uncertain than McGregor’s, as the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion spent most of 2016 inactive after suffering a brutal knockout loss to Holly Holm in Nov. 2015. She returned at last week’s (Dec. 30, 2016) UFC 207, an event that ranks. No. 6 all-time in terms of pay-per-view buys according to Tapology, only to get stopped in 48 seconds. Not only would it be unsurprising to see Rousey not fight in 2017, but it also wouldn’t be too surprising to see the “Rowdy” one never grace the Octagon again.
Lesnar, a former UFC heavyweight champion, is also a legitimate draw, as he’s headlined four cards that have brought in over one million buys. “The Beast” made his return this past summer in the co-main event of UFC 200, an event that brought in over one million buys as well, but he’s now suspended due to multiple failed drug tests. While his suspension will be up in July, he too may never fight again.
St-Pierre, the former welterweight champion, hasn’t competed since 2013, although he was in negotiations to return late last year. The negotiations took a turn south, however, and his return is now up in the air as well.
Silva, on the other hand, will likely fight again, although he is a mere shell of the star he once was. The former longtime middleweight champion hasn’t won a fight since 2012 and at age 41, his best days are clearly behind him. Yet while that’s certainly the general consensus among a rapidly evolving MMA fanbase where many fans may not remember “The Spider’s” dominant days, it also could be noted that he impressively rocked both the light heavyweight and middleweight champions in his only two fights of 2016 only to lose to a decision.
Mandatory Credit: Joshua Dahl-USA TODAY Sports
Now that I’ve rambled on about the biggest draws in the UFC, you may be asking yourself what the only major one who wasn’t named – former light heavyweight champ Jon Jones – has to do with the UFC’s current lack of stars. Well, aside from McGregor, Jones may be the only other (potential) star and pay-per-view (PPV) draw left on the UFC roster that is certain to fight again. And to be fair, Jones is certainly not the star “Notorious” is.
“Bones,” the longtime pound-for-pound king, is currently serving out a yearlong suspension due to a failed drug test surrounding his scheduled UFC 200 rematch with current champion Daniel Cormier.
Jones’ two best selling pay-per-views (PPV) are UFC 182: Jones vs. Cormier, which brought in 800,000 buys, and UFC 145: Jones vs. Evans, which brought in 700,000 buys. He also headlined UFC 135 and UFC 159, two cards that sold north of 500,000 pay-per-views. While the ex-champion may not be a McGregor or Rousey type of star, his events have typically brought in solid numbers and certainly respectable numbers in today’s UFC landscape.
Because of this, I’d have to assume that the UFC is eagerly awaiting his return, which will hopefully take place in July when his suspension is up. He’ll of course have to face the increased watch of USADA and the legal authorities of Bernalillo County, Ne Mexico, where he was jailed on a probation violation for receiving some highly questionable traffic citations last year.
To count on him to return to the Octagon without issue is an order perhaps even taller than the six-foot-four Jones, who was once the fastest-rising name in MMA before transcendent stars McGregor and Rousey came along. Not only has “Bones” typically sold well, but there will be a few intriguing match-ups awaiting him in the light heavyweight division, which is another reason that his return is vital.
The 205-pound class was once the UFC’s marquee division, but it has since become scarce and stagnant. Cormier hasn’t defended the title since October 2015 and aside from him and top contenders Anthony Johnson and Alexander Gustafsson, there simply aren’t too many big names in the division. However, rematches between Jones and Cormier or Jones and Gustafsson, as well as a possible showdown between “Bones” and “Rumble” would likely draw interest.
To wrap things up, it’s clear that the UFC is in need of big names, and although Jones has had a troubled past, he represents just that: a well-known name who happens to be arguably the best fighter of all-time. With that being said, his return is needed by the UFC now more than it ever has been. Jones has the ability to add another star to the UFC’s roster and the ability to revive a weight class that appears to be on its last legs.
Also, fight fans seem to love a comeback story.
Here’s to hoping that Jones not only returns to fighting, but that he returns to consistency and to the straight and narrow not only for the UFC, but for fight fans as well. Is that impossible at this point? Time will tell, but somehow “Bones” always seems to get one more “second chance.” His new employer is probably hoping he finally capitalizes on one right when the promotion needs stars.
