MMA Live 3-11-10

Arum extends the olive branch to UFC

Top Rank boxing chief Bob Arum has plenty of people in his crosshairs this week so he doesn't need to unload on prior enemies like UFC president Dana White and owner Lorenzo Fertitta. The Las Vegas Sun reports that both of the UFC head honchos will be amongst the 45,000 to take in the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey fight in Dallas at Cowboys Stadium on Saturday.

Arum even said the boys are actually pitching the fight to the MMA fans.

Top Rank chief Bob Arum made note of a pair of startling names on the guest list for Saturday’s fight card: UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta and the organization’s president, Dana White. As Arum said, the two are encouraging UFC fans to buy into the fight’s pay-per-view package.

The Sun's John Katsilometes pointed out accurately that Arum has been a big proponent of mixed martial arts.

An impressive diplomatic move considering Arum once compared UFC fights to gay erotica (as a means of criticism, not praise, mind you).

"We want to thank Dana and Lorenzo for crossing sports to help promote this fight," Arum said, as [Cowboys owner Jerry] Jones, the guy who helped make that unlikely visit happen, nodded from the dais.

Have things cooled with Arum vs. UFC or is he just preoccupied with everyone else he hates? During Wednesday's prefight press conference, he did manage to slam Las Vegas, casinos and Golden Boy Promotions, saying "[expletive] Golden Boy."

On the anniversary of his death, fighters honor Tapout’s Mask

A year ago today, Charles "Mask" Lewis, one of Tapout's founders, was killed in a car accident. Fighters have taken to Twitter and their personal websites to remember the man who helped them with their careers. Kenny Florian remembered Mask on Twitter, and Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone did a post filled with pictures on his site. 

Members of the fight world still remember the contribution he and Tapout made to the growth of MMA. Dan "Punkass" Caldwell, a member of the Tapout crew said: 

"I feel like I learned so much in that period of time with him. I just want to use that experience and use that knowledge to go out there and affect people like he would have wanted. ... That's what his intentions were when he dealt with people. It was always about affecting that person and leaving them with a positive feeling. Even if you only met someone for a minute." 

In the year since his death, Lewis has been remembered by the WEC, which has "Mask" written on their cages, and the UFC, who inducted Mask into the Hall of Fame in the summer of 2009.

Silver Star Official Partner of Top Rank

Silver Star Casting Co. has announced a new partnership with boxing’s Top Rank to become the promotion’s official t-shirt partner. The deal comes a few months after Silver Star signed Top Rank’s Manny Pacquiao to a sponsorship deal.

(IRVINE, CA) – Silver Star Casting Co. has signed a deal with popular fight promotions company, Top Rank Inc., making the edgy lifestyle apparel-maker the exclusive premium event tee partner for multiple upcoming Top Rank fights, including the Manny Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey fight at Cowboy’s Stadium in Dallas, Texas on March 13, 2010.

 

Top Rank Inc., the boxing promotions company behind boxing champion Manny Pacquiao and Silver Star, Manny Pacquiao’s clothing sponsor, have joined forces to provide the best in event apparel at Top Rank events.

 

“Silver Star is very happy to be working with Top Rank’s president, Todd duBoef and his team,” says Silver Star president and CEO, Luke Burrett. “We wanted to get more involved in the boxing arena, and Top Rank is the perfect partner.”

 

Silver Star has produced three top-of-the-line premium shirts for men and women, commemorating the Top Rank Paquiao vs. Clottey event which will be for sale at the event, as well as online at www.silverstarnow.com

M-1 Disappointed with Media Coverage

Dave Meltzer of Yahoo! Sports gives us an update on the fight status of Fedor Emelianenko and talks about the on-going renegotiations that are taking place between his M-1 management team and Strikeforce.

Kogan allowed that M-1 Global was disappointed in what happened with the promotion of the last fight, but was quick to say the problem wasn’t with Strikeforce. He said he was disappointed in media coverage of the event because the M-1 Global name in stories on the show wasn’t featured more visibly.

 

“The way the show was promoted, that was an issue to us, but we don’t have an issue with Strikeforce over it,” Kogan said. “M-1 isn’t a management company for Fedor Emelianenko. We are a fight promotion. We have done matches all over the world, U.S., Asia, Europe, Japan. But the media didn’t feature the M-1 name [in coverage of the November show]. Specifically, it wasn’t Strikeforce’s fault. They honored their agreement. The way the media perceived the event was it was Strikeforce. M-1 wasn’t promoted that much. That was an issue with us.”

Payout Perspective:

The media perceived the event to be Strikeforce because it was Strikeforce. There might be a signed contract sitting in a filing cabinet somewhere that says otherwise, but let’s look at the probable truth: Strikeforce was likely the company that booked the arena, dealt with the commission, operated the event, made the matches, paid the fighters, negotiated the North American television distribution deal, and invited the press.

What exactly did M-1 contribute?

Even if that’s not the case – say M-1 was an equal partner with regard to responsibility – can anyone blame the fighters, the fans, or the media for still perceiving this as a Strikeforce event? We’re talking about a company that has been in operation for nearly 20 years; and, in the last five, has promoted countless of MMA shows under the Strikeforce banner. Now, all of a sudden, it promotes one single event that looks, feels, and tastes exactly as it used to, only it’s called something slightly different – a “co-promotion”. Is it still Strikeforce?

Absolutely.

Therein lies the problem with M-1’s plan to leverage Fedor into building its own promotional brand: the infrequency, not to mention inadequacy, of simply slapping its brand onto a Strikeforce product isn’t fooling anyone. Not to mention the fact that Strikeforce is already having a tough enough time communicating its own brand message.

It’s bad enough for Strikeforce that many casual fans still refer to the sport as “UFC” – making it almost impossible to deliver a simple and concise message of differentiation in the first place – but now they’ve also got to decipher the meaning of “Strikeforce and M-1 Global present…”

What exactly does that mean? Why should it matter to the consumer?

….

I also find it interesting that, in the last two weeks, we’ve seen three different people from M-1 speak on the topic of Fedor – each one of them with a slightly more ambiguous and different answer than the last. Kogan’s “premature” comment is even less clear than Vadim Finkelstein’s “likely May” which is different than a loosely translated “probabl April” from Apy Echteld (whom, I’m told, may not even have anything to do with Fedor anymore).

Jiu-jitsu helps Mass. kids deal with cancer, bullying

Two brothers in Massachusetts brought home medals from the New England North American Grappling Association tournament. In itself, that's not noteworthy, until you learn that one of the brothers is a cancer survivor, and the other has dealt with bullying.

“The medals were a great thrill for all of us,” said their mother, Rhonda Callum-King. She said that training in jiu-jitsu and Brazilian wrestling/grappling with Master Doug MacDonald “has made the boys stronger and tougher.”

Callum-King said wrestling is helping both of her boys overcome challenges: Rory with his leukemia, and Connor with bullying.

Rory was diagnosed with cancer when he just 2 years old. A bone marrow transplant from his brother Connor was successful, but Rory still faces health problems that stem from his bout with cancer. Connor faced bullies at school.

But both have found a haven in jiu-jitsu and grappling, and found strength to get through their problems.

Master Doug MacDonald, who has been teaching martial arts in Hudson for 30 years, said he is very pleased with both boys’ performance. “Classes are definitely helping them to build strength, while teaching them self-discipline and perseverance,” he said. 

Any fighter will tell you about the importance of Brazilian jiu-jitsu in their fight game. But in focusing on the top flight fighters and only how their jiu-jitsu helps them win, we forget all that jiu-jitsu teaches the children who are learning it every day.

Thanks to the Underground

UFC 110 Buyrate Trending Low

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer is reporting that buyrates for the latest UFC PPV in Sydney, Australia are trending very low.

Updated trending data and other PPV info we’ve been able to get for UFC 110 isn’t looking good. It looks to have finished well behind UFC 108 and UFC 109. I don’t have a number of buys, but based on trending data which has historically been pretty accurate, it could be in the 215,000 to 240,000 range, basically along the lines of the tape-delayed foreign shows. This was foreign, but wasn’t tape delayed. One cable industry source gave an estimate of 215,000. 

Payout Perspective:

We’ve talked a lot about the role that momentum plays in motivating purchasing behavior, and three lacklustre PPVs in a row have clearly  hurt the UFC’s base. Should anyone be worried? Yes and no.

This is really the last lingering effect from the cursed back-half of 2009 when just about every major UFC star had some sort of injury; and, with a line-up in the next three months that’s going to feature four title fights, the UFC should be able to gather some momentum heading into the summer.

However, who’s to say what sort of impact this latest trend of poor PPV showings will have on UFC 111. The UFC isn’t necessarily out of the woods yet, especially considering the potential impact a strong or poor showing at UFC 111 could have for the rest of the summer. That’s why creating a Primetime show and spending a more than usual on advertising for this event is so important.

Note: Meltzer doesn’t have hard numbers, yet. These are just trending estimates that usually increase by10-15% over time. We’ve been loathe to post them in the past just because they do change. Readers are starving for this information and this is the best we’ve got right now, but we will update if/when official numbers come along.

MMAterial Facts (03/10/10): WEC 47 Ratings

• WEC 47 ratings dip to 373,000 viewers, second-smallest audience in two years
• WEC’s poor ratings show that Strikeforce should not waste their time going after them
• UFC press conference today in Japan
• TV Deals Help Mixed Martial Arts Maintain Growth Curve
• Mixed Martial Arts Supporters Rally For Round 2

WEC 47 ratings dip to 373,000 viewers, second-smallest audience in two years

This past weekend’s WEC 47 event on Versus scored a 0.46 household rating and 373,000 viewers, MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today confirmed.

The ratings were down sharply – 42 percent in all – compared to World Extreme Cagefighting’s prior show, WEC 46 (640,000 viewers), which took place in January and benefited from proven draw Urijah Faber and a main-event title-unification bout between Benson Henderson and Jamie Varner.

WEC 45, which took place this past December, drew 330,000 viewers.

WEC 47 took place March 6 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, and featured a bantamweight title fight between ex-champ Brian Bowles and new title-holder Dominick Cruz. Joseph Benavidez beat former champ Miguel Torres in the co-headliner, and Jens Pulver likely fought for the final time with his submission loss to Javier Vazquez.

It was a solid night of fights to mark the WEC’s Ohio debut, and the WEC 47 attendance (8,345) was the fifth-largest in WEC history.   (MMAJunkie) … (MMA Payout Perspective)

WEC’s poor ratings show that Strikeforce should not waste their time going after them

The news coming out regarding WEC 47 drawing a 0.46 cable rating on Versus is bad news for Zuffa and informational news for CBS & Strikeforce.

First, the piss-poor rating should be cause for concern with UFC’s upcoming March 21st rally with Brandon Vera vs. Jon Jones. America is all about branding and despite years and years of Comcast trying to push Versus as a major network, American viewers simply aren’t buying into it. ESPN and its family of networks continue its dominance and Spike TV had long track records and programming that built those brands over many years. Versus has tried desperately with WEC and the NHL to try to boost ratings, but it simply hasn’t worked. UFC is a strong brand but it’s unlikely that they are going to build up Versus long-term like WWE helped build up Spike TV in the late 90s and early 00’s.

Second, WEC’s poor ratings not only indicate that the company is in a slide, but it also shows that Strikeforce has won a small battle amongst the hardcore fans. When Strikeforce on Showtime, a pay channel, is outdrawing Zuffa’s child on a semi-non-premium cable channel. So, the idea that Strikeforce should move their 4/17 Nashville event to 4/24 to try to screw with the buyrate for the WEC debut PPV would be a reactionary one and one that wouldn’t be productive for Scott Coker. Strikeforce needs to worry about expanding their base instead of fighting with Zuffa’s Jr. company over hardcore fans. Running on 4/17 instead of 4/24 also avoids competition against the Super Six boxing series on Showtime.   (Fight Opinion)

UFC press conference today in Japan

The promotion held a presser today in Tokyo with Jamie Pollack (photo), counsel for Zuffa, leading the announcement of the fight card for their 3/31 event at Bojangles Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. Pollack’s last time in Japan wasn’t so great — he was sent by Zuffa to try to head-up the shinsei (newborn) PRIDE resurrection attempt after the asset sale with Nobuyuki Sakakibara.

At today’s press conference at Wald 9 in Shinjuku (Tokyo), it was announced that the UFC Charlotte event would air on TV Tokyo, the smallest of the free-to-air broadcast networks in Japan. In other words, UFC will not make much of a dent in the Japanese marketplace. TV Tokyo is a pay-for-play station. You bring the sponsors and pay for the time, you get it. The 3/31 show will air on TV Tokyo on 4/8 in a one-hour slot from 10 PM to 10:54 PM JST.

Pollack at today’s presser (photo) said that UFC was aiming to expand into Japan and that signing “big names” like Gomi, Okami, and Uno were part of the marketing plan. OK. In usual grandstanding bluster, the TV Tokyo sports executive at the presser said he hopes the UFC show will draw a double-digit rating. (A realistic rating would be in the 4-to-6 % range.)

A taped video by Dana White was played at the press conference, saying that the three Japanese fighters (Gomi, Okami, and Uno) are “Japanese legend fighters.”  (Fight Opinion)

TV Deals Help Mixed Martial Arts Maintain Growth Curve

Someone within the ranks of Zuffa LLC, parent outfit for the UFC and sister company WEC really paid attention in their Marketing 101 class.

Men – and some women – ages 18-35 can’t get enough of mixed martial arts, the sport that’s continued rise in popularity stems from the cash being thrown around to keep it in your face.

Specifically, for the UFC and WEC whose multi-year partnerships with cable networks Spike TV and Versus, MMA captivates thousands because the fights are quality, the personalities become addicting – but the best part is that it’s free.

“When we took over the UFC [in 2001] our vision was to expand this sport into as many markets as possible, said UFC president Dana White, talking about his partners in Zuffa owners and Vegas honchos Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta. We’re worldwide man, fans can’t get enough of this (bleep); we can’t crank out good fights fast enough.”

…

“I love it and now she loves it,” said Jim Cooper of Berwyn, Pa. who noted the obsession with all things UFC amongst him and his wife Lauren. “It’s great because it’s always on and we really get hooked on following some of these guys’ careers.”  (All Headline News)

Mixed Martial Arts Supporters Rally For Round 2

A law to allow mixed martial arts (MMA) fighting in West Virginia was knocked out in this legislative session, but supporters are getting ready for round two.

The author of that bill is Geoff Varney, a student at West Virginia University’s Law School, and while the bill didn’t make it out of committee, he and other supporters want to spread the word about MMA and what they think the sport can do for the state.

The state’s Athletic Commission raised concerns about the sport’s safety and the economic impact it will have on boxing, a legal contact sport.

A medical expert on the panel said the mixed martial arts are actually safer than boxing, because it uses lighter gloves, causing fewer traumatic head injuries.

MMA is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States, and West Virginia is one of only two states where it’s illegal to hold a match, meaning that money goes elsewhere.

“Studies show that it has less a risk of brain injury (than boxing),” said Varney, “and that it could bring millions of dollars into the economy of West Virginia. And with a 10 percent unemployment rate, we need the money, and restaurants and hotels around here would benefit from mixed martial arts in the end.”  (WTRF, Channel 7)

IMAGE OF THE DAY

QUICK HITS

• 9 Fights Greenlit for UFC 113 (Sherdog)
• Dana White: UFC 111 in New Jersey a sellout (MMAJunkie)
• Coker “honored” by Walker’s fight, plans meeting to discuss second Strikeforce scrap (MMAJunkie)
• “UFC Primetime” returns to Spike TV tonight, UFC 111’s St-Pierre and Hardy featured (MMAJunkie)
• UFC 111’s Dan Hardy says “visual stimulus” to blame for poster’s tattoo removal (MMAJunkie)
• Britt Eyeing Strikeforce Bout vs. Feijao (MMAFighting)
• Strikeforce Adds Holscher-Trevino to March 26 ‘Challengers’ (Sherdog)
• WEC Ratings Are Weak Without Faber (MMAFighting)
• Leah Returns as Octagon Girl for UFC 111 (MMAFighting)
• EA SPORTS MMA GAMEPLAY DETAILS REVEALED (MMAWeekly)
• THE NEXT BIG THING: VERA VS. JONES VS. THE HYPE (MMAWeekly)
• The world according to Hardy hits U.S. shores (Cage Writer)
• Stephan Bonnar loses UFC 110 appeal (FiveOuncesOfPain)

TV LISTINGS

• UFC Prime Time GSP vs Hardy at 10 PM ET/PT on Spike (03/10/10)
• HDNet Fights Presents K-1 Classics (2008 K-1 Max) at 8 PM ET on HDNet (03/12/10)
• InsideMMA (James Toney, Ray Mercer, KJ Noons) at 9 PM ET on HDNet (03/12/10)
• HDNet Fights: Sengoku Raiden Championship 12 at 10 PM ET on HDNet (03/12/10)
• Best of Pride FC at 10 PM ET/PT on Spike (03/12/10)
  

UPCOMING EVENTS

• HDNet Fights: Sengoku Raiden Championship 12 at 10 PM ET on HDNet (03/12/10)
• 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)
• 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)

UFC 111: Sold Out

The UFC has officially announced a sell out for UFC 111: St-Pierre vs. Hardy on March 27th at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – As the Ultimate Fighting Championship® heads back to the East Coast, the fans have responded once again, and welcomed the UFC® back with open arms. Tickets are officially sold out for UFC 111: ST-PIERRE vs. HARDY, which is presented by TapouT and is taking place Saturday, March 27th from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

“I love every time we go to the East Coast,” UFC President Dana White said. “The fans always come out and show their support. We’re coming there with a stacked card and two championship fights. This time New Jersey – New York is next.”

In featured bouts, one of the best fighters in the game today, UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, looks to extend his reign and his six fight winning streak against British bomber Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy, and former heavyweight champion Frank Mir looks to become only the second man in UFC history to win the championship three times when he takes on number one contender Shane Carwin for the interim UFC heavyweight title.

UFC 111 will be available live on pay-per-view on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, BellTV, Shaw Communications and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $44.95 ($49.95/Canada) for standard definition or high-definition broadcasts (where available). 

Payout Perspective:

Despite some of the bad news currently floating around regarding the WEC’s ratings and UFC’s previous buyrates, the fact that UFC 111 has officially sold out bodes well for the company’s Spring campaign.

UFC 111 is really the launch point for a period of six weeks that will feature four title fights – five if you count Aldo-Faber – and the lead-in to the summer campaign that will see Evans-Rampage, the UFC 2010 video game, and the probable return of Brock Lesnar in July. A strong showing in Newark and the UFC should be able to build the momentum necessary to match the types of buyrates it saw last year at this time.

TUF Fighter Escudero Expects War From Dan Lauzon

Even fighters featured on The Ultimate Fighter reality TV show don’t have a slack when it comes to losses and poor performances in the UFC.  Just one loss drastically increases pressure on the fighters to put together a good fight or run the risk of possibly being dropped into MMA obscurity.

Efrain Escudero looks to bounce back from a submission loss (armbar) to Evan Dunham at UFC Fight Night 20 in January.  The Mexican-American fighter will next fight Dan Lauzon at UFC 114 in Las Vegas in May.

Some fighters bounce back from losses very well, while others mentally break under the added pressure.  Escudero continues to reflect on the fight – and hopes to earn a rematch – and has learned from the fight.

“Really that I am human and prone to mistakes.  My training camp could have been better, my focus could have been better.  I am regrouping and hoping to come back as a better fighter. Evan is a tough, unknown prospect and I think time will show us all how good he is.  I hope to get another shot at him.”

Despite a very tight arm bar that appeared to seriously injure him, Escudero said his arm feels good two months from fight time.

“Good, I am rehabbing the arm but still training hard.  I was just in Big Bear helping Shannon Gugerty and Brandon Vera prepare for their (upcoming) fights.  Overall I feel great and I am hungry to get back into the cage.”

The relatively new superstar continues to train with Ben Henderson, Edgar Garcia and other strong fighters.  “Still helping them and a whole lot of great people supporting me through Team MTX.  I also plan on traveling some more and training with a lot of great camps around the country.”

His training has been “busy” in Big Bear, with Escudero following thee fight schedules of Henderson and other fighters who have bouts sooner.  Escudero is working diligently to prepare for Lauzon, who trained with him in Arizona for  a few months about three years ago.

“I know Danny well,” Escudero explained.  “I  expect a brawl.  He is a game fighter and knows how to bring it.  Look for fireworks (made in Mexico),” he joked.

The UFC is an extremely difficult organization to stay in, especially after consecutive losses, and Escudero has such a bright future he doesn’t want to see snuffed out for Lauzon’s sake in the lightweight division.

Win or lose his upcoming fight, Escudero plans to uphold a promise to his parents that he would graduate from college and get his degree.  He is still able to train full-time, and slips cram sessions in whenever he can.

If all goes according to plan, expect Escudero to have an extremely bright future in MMA.

Efrain wanted to thank the fans and the following sponsors for their support:  Dethrone Royalty, Bud Light and MTX Audio.

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