MMA Business Week: 10/26 – 10/30

It wasn’t really a huge week in MMA business, but here are some of the bigger news items of the last few days.

 - Machida needs surgery, out of 108

The bad luck continues for the UFC as they won’t be able to capitalize on the heated controversy that was Machida-Rua I, with an immediate rematch.

- Anticipation building for Fedor vs. Rogers on November 7th

CBS/Strikeforce have released a series of promo commercials in the past week in order to help build the fight.

- Legalization moving forward; Rhode Island ready, Massachussets soon

It’s expected that Massachussets will get the final seal of approval from the governor by the end of November.

- Lesnar out of UFC 106

The bout has tentatively been rescheduled for UFC 108, but who’s to say when he’ll be back at 100%. Carwin also divulged that he’d been suffering from H1N1 early in the training camp.

- UFC 104 Predicted Buyrate: 398,000

Using regression analysis across two variables, MMAPayout.com has predicted a buyrate of 398,000 for the event.

- ProElite purchased for $2 million

Stratus Media Group, looking to diversify their holdings, acquired the organization. Time will tell whether they can effectively leverage their own experience to make the organization successful.

Will a Miguel Torres mullet get this young man a prom date?

Remember the young man who wants UFC octagon girl Arianny Celeste to go to prom with him? He will stop at nothing to convince her, and that includes drafting former WEC champion Miguel Torres to help him out. Not only does Torres make the pitch, he gives Conner Cordova a mullet to make him more attractive.*

Celeste said via Twitter that she is still not sure, but I can't help but cheer for Cordova. Give him a chance, Arianny. 

*I don't think a mullet makes someone more attractive, but Torres has a beautiful wife, so it must work for him.

Former UFC star making the transition to adult films

After threatening the President, "terrorizing" chicks, escaping felony assault charges for a San Diego streetfight, getting fired by the UFC and Bellator and brawling at Las Vegas gay nightclub, what else could shock us about Jon Koppenhaver? The former UFC fighter who officially changed his name to War Machine says on his MySpace page that he's making the transition to adult films.

You don't think he's serious? He also posted a video this morning featuring a derriere waxing. Now that's dedication!

Machine was a cast member on sixth season of "The Ultimate Fighter." 

Now we know who’s No. 1 pound-for-pound: Fedor has a song

You gotta love Julia Lillis. Let's hope Fedor Emelianenko does after he sees this tribute. Julia may be the "Sarah Silverman" of MMA with references to getting rear-naked choked, full mounted, grounded and pounded and having junk in her face.  

Depleted Talent Pool: The TUF 10 Story

It’s simple mathematics, really. If there’s a finite amount of talent in a specific weight class, and that talent has been scooped up by organizations hoping to secure the best fighters they possibly can, what’s left over is the detritus, the debris and the bottom-of-the-barrel. Thus far, this season of the Ultimate Fighter – meant to showcase the heavyweights and Kimbo Slice – has seen seven match-ups realized, each one a dismal exercise in failure and lack of preparation. None have been competitive like a contest between two skilled fighters is competitive, none has provided a moment of “Wow, what a fight!” Did the powers-that-be at SpikeTV choose the TUF 10’s contestants poorly, overlooking those with ability for those who simply looked like they’d provide “good TV”? Not at all. With the rosters of the UFC and Strikeforce stocked with nearly every “name” fighter out there, and the heavyweights traditionally a shallow division as it is, the latest Ultimate Fighter offering is just a case of a seriously depleted talent pool.

That’s not to say that viewers should just grin and bear it, because they shouldn’t. This season has been a virtual embarrassment once the cage door shuts at the tail-end of each episode. A contest between HIT Squad member Jon Madsen and part-time fighter Abe Wagner brought us back to the UFC’s early lay-and-pray wrestler days, an undersized James McSweeney just barely squeaked by the severely gassed Wes Shivers, ex-NFLer Matt Mitrione versus the veteran Scott Junk was awful, and in the pairings of Brendan Schaub and Demico Rogers, Justin Wren and Wes Sims, and Darrill Schoonover and Zak Jensen, the degree of mismatch bordered on the disgusting. Not listed here is Kimbo’s bout against IFL champ Roy Nelson; of course the relatively inexperienced Kimbo would lose to the ultra-experienced, ultra-accomplished Nelson. That much is a given. But why must we be subjected to bouts that stink? These are MMA fights on national television, not heavy-breathing competitions. Fans, both new ones and those who’ve been around forever, deserve better.

After the TUF 2 debacle, when Rashad Evans won the competition as a heavyweight then promptly moved down to light-heavyweight, Dana White vowed no more seasons of heavyweights. He amended that when blasting EliteXC’s star player Kimbo, saying that if the YouTube sensation wanted into the Octagon, he’d have to go the TUF route. True to his word, after Kimbo signed on the dotted line, White put together a season of out-of-shape, under-talented aspirants to welcome him to the fold, and the series has remained a ratings monster throughout the season because everyone wants to see Kimbo.

How much better would it have been if some of the UFC’s current roster had taken part? Competitors like Mostapha Al-Turk, Paul Buentello, Todd Duffee, Tim Hague and Chris Tuchscherer could’ve spiced things up nicely, and their absences from the organization’s normal rotation would’ve had little to no impact whatsoever on who does or does not face champ Brock Lesnar next. But instead, we’re given football players, failed UFC vets and big men with no business getting into the cage – slim pickings that redefine the term “slim pickings”.

Hopefully, if there is ever another TUF season with heavyweights, we’ll have better. But that’s doubtful. Any capable heavyweight out there would likely already be under contract – with the UFC, with Strikeforce, with one of the promotions in Japan – and the resulting depleted talent pool is so shallow you could dive into it and never get wet. Oh well. At least there are only a few more episodes of TUF 10 left.

Holy injuries, Batman! Bad luck or bad timing for MMA?

This week, the UFC lost its main event from UFC 106, as Brock Lesnar had to postpone the fight with Shane Carwin due to a prolonged illness. Though a fight between Anthony Johnson and Josh Koscheck was added to 106, the event lost some star power when they lost Lesnar.

But the run of injuries and illnesses didn't end there:

-- The Thiago Alves/Jon Fitch bout for UFC 107 is off due to Alves' knee injury.

-- Erin Toughill had to pull out of her Nov. 7 Strikeforce fight with Marloes Coenen, a bout that was likely going to decide who would challenge Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos. Coenen will now face Roxanne Modafferi.

-- Kurt Pellegrino is out of "The Ultimate Fighter" finale bout with Frankie Edgar.

What happened? Did Dana White and Scott Coker have dinner under a ladder while staring into a broken mirror with a black cat criss crossing their path?

Nah. This is the consequence of having so many MMA events squeezed into a short time. In the next two months, the UFC, Strikeforce and WEC have ten events. With that many events, injuries to fighters are bound to happen.

Still, just to be sure, every MMA fighter with an upcoming bout may want to sprinkle some salt over their shoulder. 

McNeil: UFC 104 Called As Seen

Franklin McNeil over at ESPN makes the case for UFC 104 judges Peoples, Rosales, and Hamilton:

Each judge has scored hundreds of MMA bouts, professional and amateur. They have met every requirement set forth by this country’s most influential athletic commissions, and each attends judging seminars regularly. Hamilton, Rosales and Peoples are more than qualified to score fights.

 

On Saturday night, they had a very difficult one to score. Machida-Rua was a strategic, carefully contested bout. Several rounds could have gone either way.

 

When the fight was over, all three judges scored it 48-47 for Machida (ESPN.com had Rua winning 48-47). The judges, however, weren’t totally in sync. They didn’t agree on how the champ won.

 

Peoples and Rosales gave the first three rounds to Machida. However, Hamilton had the champ taking the middle rounds. Round 5 was the only one in which all three judges favored Rua.

 

While most observers disagreed with the judges’ scorecards, they also didn’t see eye-to-eye on which rounds to give Rua.

 

“I noticed that a lot of people on the Internet gave the first, second and third rounds to Machida,” Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer told ESPN.com. “Almost everybody gave the fourth and fifth rounds to Rua.

 

“There were also a lot of people who gave the first, second and third rounds to Rua. You could have went 50-45 for Rua or 48-47 for Machida and not have been wrong.

 

“Some fans are under the impression that if two judges scored it the same, then the third judge must be wrong. Not necessarily. It depends on the angles from which the judges saw the fight.”

 

Where a judge is seated at a particular time during the action must be taken into account. Judges have the best seats in the house, but they don’t always have a clear line of vision.

Payout Perspective:

The MMA community – perhaps more accurately, the MMA media – have in the last week done what they do best: sensationalize. Machida-Rua was a close fight, and different view points were bound to lead to different opinions and perceived outcomes.

The MMA community needs to come to terms with the fact that mistakes are going to happen, controversy is going to ensue, and there just isn’t always going to be a right answer. All the promoters, fighters, and fans can do is continue to support the sport – whether MMA reaches the pinnacle of mainstream acceptance is in some respects very much out of their control.

—-

Regardless of your opinion on sensationalism within the MMA community, the issue of judging in MMA has yet again been raised. Should they change the scoring system? Is it a judge quality issue? Or might this simply be a part of the subjectivity inherent within the fight game?

MMAPayout.com has advocated before that a new scoring system is probably in order – one that involves greater usage of 10-10 and 10-8 rounds - but that’s a very large undertaking.

If MMA makes any alterations to the way matches are judged or officiated, they must be for the better, and they musn’t be done on a whim because a few fights stirred up some controversy.

Cagewriter chat today with Jake Rosholt, noon ET

Join us for lunch or breakfast as we break down what might be the most anger-filled week in mixed martial arts history. It started the Lyoto Machida-Mauricio Rua decision. Then the fans went ballistic after Brock Lesnar pulled out of UFC 106.

Three-time NCAA wrestling champ and UFC middleweight prospect Jake Rosholt (6-1, 2-1 UFC) will be online to talk about the week, the controversies in the sport and his fight at UFC 106 against Kendall Grove.

And a treat for the venomous viewers of UFC 104, Adam Hill will be with us from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He was the only writer we could find on press row who scored the UFC 104 main event for Machida.  

Cecil Peoples, you win the Cagewriter facepalm of the week!

Ah, MMA judge Cecil Peoples. Your name is already synonymous with questionable decisions. After the close, disputed decision for Lyoto Machida, you said that "good fans" would have agreed with you. Then, you said that leg kicks just can't win fights. Those who don't agree? Go to hell. Despite the fact that leg kicks can win fights, and have done so on many occasions, you don't win this award for your judging prowess. No, you get it because you can't stop running your mouth.

Something that comes along with the job of the judge is the fact that quite often, people won't agree with your decisions. If you feel the need to justify your decisions to multiple media outlets, and then get so angry at the people who disagree with you that you swear at them, then don't be a judge. Criticism comes along with the job. Deal with it, or move along. 

Brandon Vera is not underestimating Randy Couture going into their UFC 105 fight

In a recent interview with MMA Fanhouse (m m a . f a n h o u s e . c o m), Brandon “The Truth” Vera talked about his upcoming fight with Randy Couture at UFC 105 (November 14th in Manchester, United Kingdom). The fight will air on Spike TV on a delay. Here is a transcript of the Vera interview with Fanhouse:

START

INTERVIEWER: “I don’t think a lot of people are expecting you are to face Randy Couture, Randy to drop down. When you got the call that you are going to be fighting Randy Couture on free television on Spike TV, what were the thoughts going through your mind?”

BRANDON VERA: “I was thinking like, hell yeah, we have to fight Randy, I can’t say no. Um, but they didn’t tell me Randy at first, my management group called me and said, hey you’re going to fight November 14th and I was like, no I’m not, that’s 9 weeks from now and then they were like, we’ll you’re going to be fighting in the UK and I was like I don’t care, I’m not fighting man, but you’re going to be main event, I said I don’t give a damn, I’m not… I’m not fighting in 8 or 9 weeks. Oh, but you’re going to fight Randy! All right, all right, all right, so I mean, you know I’m been telling [my wife] about it, it’s like your dream come true and your nightmare come true at the same time.”

INTERVIEWER: “Well, so, if it was any other opponent, would you maybe not have accepted it? Because we know you fought in August, in late August, at UFC 102.”

BRANDON VERA: “Uh, honestly I can’t say yes or no, it depends on who you threw at me you know like… I don’t know, it just depends on who or what name they pull out but I definitely couldn’t say no to Randy. He’s the man, you know, I have to fight him, have to find out what you’re made of.”

INTERVIEWER: He’s in an interesting spot in his career right now because he lost his last two in a row and he’s dropping back down to Light Heavyweight, he just signed a pretty long extension with the UFC but you know if you lose 3 fights in a row it’s tough to really justify having him in big events. Do you view yourself as maybe the man who could end Randy Couture’s career?”

BRANDON VERA: “I’ve never thought about it that way until you said it right now but… I don’t think Randy’s done fighting, I think Randy’s going to be fighting until he’s 52 so in the UFC, no matter what Randy’s the man, he’s going to be putting on good shows, he comes to fight and he tries to grind you out, wear you out, I don’t see win, lose, or draw them getting rid of Randy or Randy retiring. I just don’t see it, he’s still looks hungry and he still looks good, man. He still looks good.”

INTERVIEWER: “Yeah, he is a freak of nature, 46 years old and still hanging in there with guys who are 10 years younger than him. But at some point, especially in combat sports, guys hit a wall and you see their skills just drastically decline. Have you noticed that in Randy or do you think he’s just the same guy as maybe 5 or 6 years ago?”

BRANDON VERA: “I think maybe he’s still the same guy, you know, Randy’s biggest weakness has been on his back against bigger guys and that’s what happened with him against Nogueira who’s probably one of the best guys on the ground top or bottom, so you really can’t judge too much from that last fight. Randy was on his back a lot with Rodrigo on top of him and that’s how Rodrigo’s going to win that fight and you know, and it’s hard to say whether or not he’s hit a wall because on his feet he was still pressing the action even though he was getting tagged he was still pressing that action and coming forward and staying in Rodrigo’s face so I don’t know I can’t say he’s on a decline.”

INTERVIEWER: “But still though were you impressed with that performance? Because he did lose unanimously and he also picked up his 10th defeat. Everyone was you know giving him praise saying that it was unbelievable that he had him in trouble a few times, he was able to escape some, some sticky situations, were you impressed with his performance at UFC 102?”

BRANDON VERA: “I was super-impressed with his performance at UFC 102 like I train with Rodrigo man and those submissions, it’s not an easy thing to get out of you know what I mean like I really thought Randy was going to tap on the first one, he didn’t, he got out um and then he got out of another submission attempt head on and he was mounted twice, man he just kept going and going and going, I was super-impressed no matter what Rodrigo gave to him Randy wouldn’t break mentally or physically you know and you can’t ever count out a fighter who won’t break mentally or physically, that’s Randy Couture.”

INTERVIEWER: “How about yourself? You picked up your second victory in a row, you beat Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 102, first time you won at least two fights in a row since 2006. Do you feel different? Obviously now you look a lot more comfortable at 205, but is there something different maybe mentally, physically in your life that’s getting you back on the winning track now?”

BRANDON VERA: “Um, a lot different. I feel a lot different, more uh more so mental I think. The physical part, too, I guess, but I guess it took the mental part to get my physical where it needs to be. I needed to understand, hey you need to be doing certain things for you to get where you want to go and uh I do, I understood now, I understood I’m supposed to be doing certain things, this is not just a job, this is not a sport to me anymore, this is my life, this is what I do, this is who I am, this is what defines me as a man so I need to get on top of them and make sure I’m doing the right things.”

INTERVIEWER: “What was the turning point for you?”

BRANDON VERA: “Um, my longest running sponsor Randy Hetrick from TRX, we’re having breakfast I think it was breakfast and he told me that it’s good to see me becoming more mature and I was thinking, what the hell? You mean like I’m getting old? And he was like, no, nobody’s ever questioning whether or not you were good enough or if you had the skills or the talent to become a world champion, he said but everybody always worried about your mental, you were always like a big kid just running around playing and hanging out, um, but now you seem older and you’re more focused now you understand what you need to be doing, but I didn’t realize that until that day that he told me that, when he told me that I was like, damn, he’s right man, I guess I do need to be doing certain things.”

INTERVIEWER: “But you’ve been pretty vocal about the fact that you want to hold one day the UFC Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight title and maybe you know the Heavyweight division is a little different now, you got guys who are cutting weight to make 265, you’re now fighting at 205 obviously you did fight at Heavyweight at some point, is that still really on your radar?”

BRANDON VERA: “Yeah, it is, it is for sure.”

INTERVIEWER: “Do you think it’s an approachable goal, something that’s realistic? because I know you said recently, 5 years is all that you want to fight. You think that’s reachable in 5 years to pick up both titles?’

BRANDON VERA: “Yeah, hell yeah. Yeah.”

INTERVIEWER: “No, no, I’m not doubting, I’m just asking you know, it’s just no one’s ever done it before.”

BRANDON VERA: “Yeah, nobody’s ever done it before but I would like to be the first guy to do it. Um, GSP fought BJ and did his thing but why not? I mean, why not reach for that goal? If you can’t, if you’re not shooting for the stars you might as well sit in a hole in the dirt and you know… I’m reaching for the stars, let’s see what happens.”

INTERVIEWER: “And November is a very interesting month for the Vera family. Six days later, your wife is facing Kim Couture on the Strikeforce card. What did you think when Strikeforce put that together because obviously I think it’s safe to say that it was no coincidence.”

BRANDON VERA: “Um, I was actually talking to Sherdog came and did an interview with us and said that uh I don’t know, the writer said that Strikeforce is putting together first but the UFC got our fight, Randy’s and mine together before the Strikeforce fight but they offered the Kim fight before so I don’t know what the hell is going or what happened, it’s just I know I have a fight that’s really big and Kerry has a fight that’s really big. It doesn’t matter too much about the last name, we just got some we have a full plate come November, both of us do and we’re training really hard and man, we’re training really hard and we’re always tired so it’s cool, it’s cool to see us both training at the same time especially the way we are, I just feel bad for our dogs.”

INTERVIEWER: “And it must be great because you’re able to train at the time, peak at the same time and kind of go through everything together, right?”

BRANDON VERA: “it is, except for the house is one hell like, I was telling her about it earlier man like floors are dirty and the dishes are dirty, laundry barely gets done and it’s just hard man when both people of the house are getting on it like this and neither one of us had the energy to be mad about the house or clean the house, so we just had to hire a friend and come clean the house for us, man.”

INTERVIEWER: “You know when I found out that you were fighting Randy Couture on November 14th, the first thing that came to mind was wow what an opportunity for Brandon Vera. The second ting that came to mind though was, that’s the same night that Manny Pacquiao is fighting. I know you are a proud Filipino fighter, what do you think about that? You’re probably not going to get to see him fight. Maybe because of the time difference you’ll be able to stay up late in England.”

BRANDON VERA: “”I’m hoping that I get to stay up late and watch the fight later on and hopefully in the Philippines there’s a huge party, hehehe, for both victories, knock on wood.”

INTERVIEWER: “Yeah, that’s a huge day for the Filipino fight community, I mean two of their most famous fighters of all time fighting on the day.”

BRANDON VERA: “That’s pretty cool actually. I am stoked about that man, I’m really excited. I watched Pacquiao fight and I’m excited to fight too so hopefully we get the W’s on both sides and I hope the Philippines have a party.”

INTERVIEWER: “How’s it going to end on November 14th for you?”

BRANDON VERA: “Uh, I don’t like making predictions just because whenever… man, you can research this too, and from now, pay attention, whoever says ‘I’m going to knock that bastard out’ usually that bastard that came out of his mouth, that’s the guy that goes to sleep that night.”

INTERVIEWER: “Shane Carwin just told us he’s going to knock out Brock Lesnar. What are you trying to say?”

BRANDON VERA: “Dammit Shane, Dammit Shane! Except for Shane, except for Shane, except for Shane.”

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