Bellator and Everlast Form Partnership

Bellator Fighting Championship has announced the signing of a strategic partnership with Everlast that will see the equipment manufacturer become the official supplier of all fight gear for the promotion. Bellator and Everlast will also produce a line of co-branded equipment for sale at retail stores.

CHICAGO, Ill. (March 16, 2010) — Bellator Fighting Championships, the nationally televised mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion, today announced a new partnership with Everlast, the world’s leading manufacturer, marketer and licensor of fight sports equipment, apparel and footwear.

 

Everlast will become the exclusive equipment provider for Bellator, including fight gloves, cages and training equipment. Additionally, Everlast will produce a line of co-branded MMA equipment that will be available nationwide through catalog, online and retail.

 

Everlast will also be a category-exclusive promotional sponsor of all Bellator events and the two companies will both strategically market, promote, publicize and advertise their partnership through a wide variety of channels.

Payout Perspective:

This partnership looks to be a solid deal for the promotion. Not only does it link Bellator to a proven fight brand like Everlast, but it’s a step in the right direction in terms of establishing merchandising revenues that will a.) help to diversify revenues away from live events, and b.) increase Bellator’s visibility outside of its television appearances.

With little over three weeks away until the start of its new season, Bellator is slowly ramping up its press machine to generate some hype for its shows. They’ve got my interest.

GSP’s trip the barbershop: ‘I can be a bad boy, too’

In Wednesday night's edition of UFC Primetime, the welterweight champ tries on the haircut of his opponent on Mar. 27, Dan Hardy. Skip to about 1:15 to see how a mohawk fits Georges St. Pierre. 

In an instance of life imitating art, GSP said that he needs a cane to complete his "pimp" look. 

WEC 47 Gate: $401,000

MMAJunkie is reporting that last week’s WEC 47 card, which featured a bantamweight title bout between Brian Bowles and Dominick Cruz, did $401,000 at the gate.

This month’s WEC 47 event at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, drew an official live gate of $401,000.

 

Ohio Athletic Commission Executive Director Bernie Profato today confirmed the total with MMAjunkie.com.

Payout Perspective:

While the gate didn’t break the $500k mark, $401k is still a strong showing for the WEC which also enjoyed the fifth largest attendance figure in company history.

This news is certainly more positive than the ratings for the event on Versus (373,000). However, with the return of 18 million DirecTV subscribers to Versus and the WEC about to make some noise on PPV  in April, the organization’s next card should fare better on television.

Note: if you factor in the new sponsorship deals with AMP and Musclepharm – and existing Zuffa deals with Tapout, Bud Light, and Harley Davidson – against the payouts and other costs to run the event, it’s likely the WEC came out well ahead on this event.

Finances are sort of taken for granted in this business; but the truth is there aren’t exactly a lot of promotions out there making money. The WEC has done a good job of it over the past few years, but even its PPV debut isn’t a guarantee. It’s not easy.

MMAterial Facts (03/17/10): Details On Huerta’s Contract Demands

• Details on Roger Huerta’s Contract Demands, A Conflict Of Interest?
• LA Times Acknowledges NHL and Cycling for Pushing DirecTV/Versus Resolution, Not UFC/WEC
• Baldacci Cancellation Leads to Questions Regarding California Amateur Bouts
• Douglas De Luca Joins the Board of Directors of ProElite, Stratus Slowly Assembling Old Regime
• Station Casinos workers seek refuge with Culinary Union

Details on Roger Huerta’s Contract Demands, A Conflict of Interest?

For several months, Huerta was believed to be bound for Strikeforce, the Showtime- and CBS-aligned promotion that has attempted over the last year to establish itself as a major competitor to the UFC. Strikeforce and Huerta “did the dance like everyone else,” said the organization’s CEO, Scott Coker. That is until the fighter’s monetary demands apparently quelled its interest. Huerta, too, seemed unsure about Strikeforce’s ability to deliver bouts on a regular basis, which is exactly what he didn’t want from a promotional partner.

Mere rumors of Huerta’s asking price — which, according to sources outside the fighter’s camp familiar with the negotiations, included a $250,000 signing bonus — was enough to keep Dream, Japan’s top promoter, from making an offer, said its U.S. representative, Mike Kogan.  (Sports Illustrated)

***

Huerta, the first fighter ever to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated following his emphatic UFC 69 win over Leonard Garcia  in 2007, was heavily promoted by the UFC in 2007 and 2008. When the popular 26-year-old fighter opted not to re-sign with the promotion, Bellator and Strikeforce both courted Huerta, who is of Salvadoran and Mexican decent. Sherdog.com has learned that the bilingual Huerta was offered additional undisclosed incentives to join the fledging Bellator’s ranks, which caters to both English- and Spanish-speaking demographics.    (Sherdog)

***

MMAPayout Note: Conflict of Interest? Roger Huerta’s manager, Jeff Clark, also serves as a consultant for Bellator Fighting Championships.

LA Times Acknowledges NHL and Cycling for Pushing DirecTV/Versus Resolution, Not UFC/WEC

According to three sources who had information about the negotiations but who could not speak publicly, the high profile of hockey after the Olympics as well as anticipation for the upcoming cycling season where Versus will televise both the Tour of California and Tour de France where Lance Armstrong is expected to race, played a part in a contract agreement being reached.  (LA Times)

Baldacci Cancellation Leads to Questions Regarding California Amateur Bouts

A CAMO official told Baldacci that, in order to resolve the situation, he would have to get the promoters of his previous bouts to send a legal document stating that Baldacci’s previous bouts were considered amateur fights and that he was not paid for competing. Baldacci says that such a task would be impossible. “I couldn’t even get those promoters to return my calls so that I could get a video of my fights, let alone putting together a legal document stating that my fights were amateur bouts when there wasn’t even a definition of amateur at the time,” Baldacci says.   (Heavy)

Douglas De Luca Joins the Board of Directors of ProElite, Stratus Slowly Assembling Old Regime

“Having Doug De Luca on the board will help solidify our plans for success,” stated Paul Feller, President and CEO of Stratus. “His extensive experience and knowledge of the MMA and television worlds combined with his skills in developing strategic relationships and generating revenue will be essential for the growth of ProElite.”

During his tenure at ProElite, Mr. DeLuca negotiated and closed deals for ProElite with a number of media entities including Showtime Networks, CBS Television, Mark Burnett Productions, IMG, and Fox Sports Net. These deals propelled ProElite from a concept to the only Mixed Martial Arts organization to be broadcast live on network television in primetime.  (MarketWatch)

Station Casinos workers seek refuge with Culinary Union

After months of legal wrangling, Station announced last month that it had reached a deal with key lenders that could clear the way out of bankruptcy this summer. The announcement came on the same day the Culinary went public with its organizing campaign, led by hundreds of Station employees companywide.

Under the deal, Station Chairman and CEO Frank Fertitta III and his brother Lorenzo Fertitta, would make a substantial but undisclosed equity investment, and the current management team would continue to lead the company.
…

The Culinary hopes to capitalize on public outrage over the bank bailouts, pitching its organizing campaign in populist terms. Taylor said company insiders, led by the Fertitta family, nearly tripled Station’s long-term debt to take the company private, netting more than $660 million in the process.

“It’s exactly why people are angry in this country,” Taylor said. “The very few ran off with a ton of money and we’re all having to pay for it. Now, the people who made off with the money are saying they shouldn’t have to pay it back. Station went into bankruptcy and the creditors and the workers have been left with the bag. Workers are fighting back.” (Las Vegas Sun)

VIDEO OF THE DAY

• WEC 48: Faber vs Aldo Promo: In the most explosive World Extreme Cagefighting® event ever, featherweight champion and Brazilian phenom Jose Aldo makes the first defense of his title when he takes on former world champion “The California Kid” Urijah Faber… If one title fight wasn’t enough, lightweight champion Ben Henderson takes on Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in a rematch of their 2009 Fight of the Year… Plus, former featherweight champion Mike Brown battles judo ace Manny Gamburyan. WEC: ALDO vs. FABER – Saturday, April 24, live on Pay-Per-View from Sacramento, CA.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We would have to really look at how things are developing and we’d probably have to borrow some manpower from somewhere,” Mullen said of the commission’s ability to handle both events. “It would be way bigger than anything we’ve ever done, but I don’t think it’s something we couldn’t do, we’d just have to make some unusual arrangements to make it work.”  (Tennessee State Athletic Commission Addressing Two Potential MMA Events on 4/17, Sports Illustrated)

QUICK HITS

• Massachusetts Commission: Double Weigh-Ins at Fighters’ Discretion (Sherdog)
• WEC 47 draws $401,000 live gate (MMAJunkie)
• Bellator CEO says Roger Huerta at top of 155-pound tourney, not opposed to UFC signings (MMAJunkie)
• UFC 111 fighters talk Pacquiao vs. Clottey, fan apathy and boxing’s struggles (MMAJunkie)
• Lyle Beerbohm vs. Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro targeted for May 15 Strikeforce event (MMAJunkie)
• Marquardt: Hardy in Over His Head at UFC 111(MMAFighting)
• Strikeforce’s Consideration of Canseco a Flirtation in Need of an End (MMAFighting)
• Mir Buying in Bulk Against Carwin (Sherdog)
• HUERTA SAYS NO HARD FEELINGS WITH THE UFC  (MMAWeekly)
• BELLATOR COULD TAKE HUERTA TO MEXICO (MMAWeekly)
• Vera suggests the UFC did him a favor with Jones matchup (Cage Writer)
• WEC 47 suffers setback with $401,000 live gate (FiveOuncesOfPain)
• UFC 111 Media Conference Call Quotes (Heavy)

TV LISTINGS

• UFC Primetime  St-Pierre vs. Hardy at 10 PM ET/PT on Spike (03/17/10)
• UFC 111 Countdown: Mir vs. Carwin at 10:30 PM ET/PT on Spike (03/17/10)
• HDNet Fights Presents K-1 Classics (Masato, Drago, & Andre Dida) at 8 PM ET on HDNet (03/19/10)
• InsideMMA (Dan Henderson, Mike Straka & Donovan Craig) at 9 PM ET on HDNet (03/19/10)
• HDNet Fights: XFC X-Night of Champions at 10 PM ET on HDNet (03/19/10)
• UFC on Versus: Vera vs Jones at 10 PM ET on Versus (3/21/10)

UPCOMING EVENTS

• HDNet Fights: XFC X-Night of Champions at 10 PM ET on HDNet (03/19/10)
• UFC on Versus: Vera vs Jones at 10 PM ET on Versus (3/21/10)
• HDNet Fights: King of the Cage – Legacy at 10 PM ET on HDNet (03/26/10)
• Strikeforce Challengers: Johnson vs Mahe at 11 PM ET/PT on Showtime (03/26/10)
• UFC 111: GSP vs Hardy at 10 PM ET on PPV (03/27/10)
• UFN 21 : Florian vs Gomi at 10 PM ET on Spike (03/31/10)
• The Ultimate Fighter 11 Debut after UFN 21 on Spike (03/31/10)

Let the Boxing Invasion Begin

After months of badgering and pressuring UFC president Dana White, professional boxer James Toney finally received what he wanted: A UFC contract. The signing has set both the mixed martial arts and boxing worlds ablaze, and all the talk is about who Toney may face and how well he would do against any of the UFC heavyweights.

Other than the money that can be brought in by a James Toney fight, White has one of two intentions. The first would be to, of course, make Toney into a complete mixed martial artist. If this is the case we will likely see Toney take on a good striker who is at the low end of UFC Heavyweights. Perhaps a fight with Pat Barry, Antoni Hardonk, or even Cheick Kongo could be in Toney’s future.

There is however another option. As many in the boxing world have speculated, perhaps White has signed Toney to a mixed martial arts fight in an attempt to prove that mixed martial arts is superior to professional boxing. If this is the case, this is a rather lame and useless attempt at doing so.

If White is attempting to make a mockery of Toney and the boxing world, it is likely that he will put Toney in with a top tier wrestling or jiu-jitsu fighter. Randy Couture, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira or perhaps even Brock Lesnar would certainly put Toney in his place on the mat. The announcement of Toney’s opponent will tell us everything we need to know about White’s intentions in signing Toney.

Perhaps the more telling fight will be on the May 15th Shine Fights event. Mixed martial arts veteran and submission master Din Thomas will take on former WBC Super Middleweight and Middleweight Champion Ricardo Mayorga. The fight is slightly more interesting due to the fact that Mayorga is still in fighting shape and has been a relevant boxer throughout the last decade. Due to his lack of mixed martial arts experience, it is unlikely that Mayorga, even with his athleticism and skill, will be able to keep the fight standing and will more than likely fall to a first round submission.

Either way, it is clear that the boxing invasion into mixed martial arts has begun. Although the purses available still cannot touch the top levels in boxing, they have steadily grown throughout the last 10 years and are now a viable option for boxers who are not fighting at the elite levels.

Time will tell what effect this has on mixed martial arts. The injection of top level boxers into mixed martial arts will likely force the striking level to finally catch up with that of wrestlers and jiu-jitsu practitioners. For many years, NCAA and Olympic level wrestlers as well as World Champion Jiu-Jitsu grapplers made the transition to mixed martial arts as a way to pay their bills. Now with the improved pay that fighters are receiving it is likely that the next evolution of the sport will contain even more high level boxers and as a result, the striking game will improve rapidly.

Breaking Down Tate vs. Frausto

On March 26, Zoila “Warrior Princess” Frausto (5-0) will be fighting Miesha “Takedown” Tate (8-2). Although Frausto won her last fight by armbar, the rest of her wins were by decision. Tate has three KO/TKO wins, three submission victories and two decision wins. Rumor has it that the winner of this match will be the next challenger for Sarah Kaufman’s title. Tate has already fought Kaufman and was possibly her toughest opponent to date. Although Kaufman dominated the 1st and 3rd round, Tate got a picture perfect takedown and some nice ground and pound in the 2nd round.

Although Frausto is a lot of fun to watch, her biggest strengths seem to be her explosive kicks and Superman punches. I happened to talk to a couple of fighters about their own usage of the Superman punch a long time ago, and both talked about the need to set it up properly. Pro fighter Tara LaRosa sets hers up with a jab-cross-hook-right kick combo. “I’ll do that maybe one or two times for my oponent to catch the rhythm of it and then instead of adding the kick on the last time, I’ll do jab-cross-hook and sell the kick, make them think I’m going to kick using the same combination I’ve been using and that’s when I’ll use the Superman punch,” LaRosa told me.

Pete Sell, who successfully used the Superman punch against both Nate Quarry and Josh Burkman, also advocatessetting up the punch with a good leg kick. “If you land, and hurt the guy’s leg pretty good, he’s gonna take it and that’s when you take the right hand and set him up. Even if you don’t hurt him that bad with a leg kick, just by doing the leg kick in general sets it up. As long as he didn’t check it, he’s definitely gonna feel it and then you can use a setup for that as long as it lands on the leg,” Sell said.

Frausto’s flashy leg kicks, however, are probably a bad idea against a wrestler like Tate, because it really sets up a takedown. Frausto’s Superman punches “haven’t proven to be very effective,” according to Tate, and her kicks may not be a good idea either. “I suggest she keep both feet planted on the ground but hey, I won’t complain if she doesn’t!” Tate added.

Both Burkman and LaRosa both pointed out that the punch doesn’t work if someone’s expecting it. “If you don’t set it up, you can see it coming. And if you use it repeatedly without setting it up, it’s pretty much obsolete, it’s not gonna work for you,” LaRosa said. Pete Sell echoed the sentiment. “You’re not going to keep using it. You use it once in a while. You are not going to get much effectiveness out of it unless you use it sparingly.”

If Frausto’s whole game is Superman punches and leg kicks, this kind of begs the question… how could she win this fight? Although anything can happen, Tate is coming into the fight quite confident–and rightly so. “I’ve been training specifically for her,” she pointed out. “I feel like its a bad style match up for her and she doesn’t have enough time to correct her habits and it’s going to make it that much easier for me to capitalize and win the fight!”  Tate has been training with Bill Jackson, who has a flashy style of kickboxing similar to Zoila’s. Frausto did not respond to requests for comment, but we’ll see both girls in the cage less than two weeks from today.

Vera suggests the UFC did him a favor with Jones matchup

The UFC is treating Versus well with its debut card on the network. With any luck, all the fighters will make it through the week in one piece so they can fight on Sunday night. It sets up some dynamite matchups at the top of the card with potential fireworks in store. The main event pits 22-year-old phenom Jon Jones against former phenom Brandon Vera. Vera, 32, has said all along that Jones hasn't faced this level of competion. During his training camp in Big Bear, Ca., Vera went a step further.

"The UFC did me right on this one. I'm very excited to be fighting Jon Jones. He's a great fighter, but he's never been hit. Things change once that happens," told MMA photographer/blogger Tracy Lee.

In her Versus blog, Lee does a nice job of capturing a day of training with Vera and his camp. The Filipino-American took things to a new level by moving part of his camp out of San Diego into the mountains.

"It was a necessity because of the altitude that we are fighting at and, Jon [Jones] is training in Albuquerque which is at a high elevation. Not all of the guys were here the whole time though, and tell you the truth, the weather was really bad at the beginning of my camp so I really thought I wasn't going to have anyone up here. There was snow everywhere and I needed chains on my truck for weeks. I took care of the house and all the food; I feel fortunate to have had as many guys up here as I have."

Vera was joined by fellow UFC fighters Phil Davis, Joey Beltran and Shannon Gugerty (also fighting this weekend on the UFC on Versus card) along with trainer Eric Del Fierro. 

Create-a-Caption: How many fighters can you fit on a boat?

Before UFC 110 in Australia, the fighters took a spin around the Sydney Harbor in what had to have been one of the most awkward boat rides of all time. "Hey, I know we're going to punch each other in the face tomorrow, but that powerboating was AWESOME!" Take a shot at a caption in the comments and read on for winners of our previous create-a-caption.

First place: Don and Shonie contemplate Dana's offer to remake Blazing Saddles.  -- Allen

Second place: Shonie Carter and the mustache have words. Don Frye just tries to stay out of it. -- AdamG

Third place: UFC decides to change fighter match-ups from weight classes to age classes. Shonie Carter and Don Frye square off to meet in a battle of the 37 year olds. Frye had to work hard in order to make the cut to 37.  -- Clint

Look out Jersey, here comes Georges St. ‘Pimp’

He's no Tiger Woods or Alex Rodriguez. No, Georges St. Pierre is smart like Derek Jeter. They're all ladies men but it's about how you do it. If you're a reckless jackass, then you're smeared and labeled a slime bucket. Georges St. "Pimp" knows what he's doing.

You want proof? This video has an unreal collection of GSP video and photo moments. Cagewriter's top three favorites during the video -- Michael Landsberg's fixation on GSP's tight shorts (2:11 mark), a woman saying she just met God (3:32 mark) and his take on how to control UFC Octagon girl Arianny Celeste.

"She's a very beautiful girl. I'm sure she's used to having guys on their knees for her. You haver to be the opposite. If you're on the knees for her, she's gonna make you beg her," said St. Pierre (7:00 mark). "So you have to the man. You have to be very alpha male. Show her who's the boss!"

UFC 111 is less than two weeks away. GSP better turn it up a notch. Who cares about his fight against Dan Hardy. After hearing about how he controls his women, Snooki and JWoww are all fired up.

Kudos to Lookoutawhale. At the 8:50 mark, they even found an old photo of an Las Vegas appearance by GSP back in 2006. 

Tip via Fightlinker

UFC 112 Set to Battle with Tiger’s Return

Bob Harig of ESPN is reporting that Tiger Woods will make his return to golf, and what is likely to be the biggest sports story of the year, on April 8th just two days before UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi.

Tiger Woods will make his highly anticipated return to competitive golf at the Masters, ending a four-month hiatus brought on by a sex scandal.

 

The world’s No. 1-ranked player, who has never missed the year’s first major as a professional, announced in a statement Tuesday that Augusta National Golf Club will be the site of his comeback.

Payout Perspective:

The UFC has faced tremendous challenges in selling its foreign events within North America; whether they’re held in the UK, Ireland, Germany, or Australia the domestic PPV response has been poor relative to domestic events. UFC 112 is looking to change that, but will now face a little more adversity.

Just about every media outlet in the world is going to be focused on the Master’s from April 8th to 11th, which means that the UFC’s first event in Abu Dhabi and first ever outdoor event will be fighting for casual sports press table scraps. Tiger is also likely to dominate the news in the days leading up to his event, which happens to be the crucial promotional period of fight week for the UFC.

How harmful might this competition be? There are two things to consider:

1.) The core demographics of golf and MMA don’t exactly overlap a great deal, but it’s when the UFC is looking to traverse that 700k mark that it starts to enter the casual fan territory, and that’s likely where its message is going to have some difficulty getting through come April 10th.

2.) This is the new reality for the UFC: it’s reached the point in its popularity where it’s drawing from the casual sports pool, and thus it’s going to be competing with one event or another virtually every weekend (e.g., March Madness, Tiger Woods, World Series, NHL Playoffs, etc.). The ability of the UFC to withstand this type of competition is one of its key success factors moving forward.

« Previous Page — Next Page »