MMA Universe

Dana White announced via twitter that Georges St. Pierre will be out for 10 months with a knee injury. As a result, Carlos Condit steps in to face Nick Diaz for the interim Welterweight title for the Super Bowl Weekend card February 4th.

Condit was slated to fight GSP at UFC 137 and then was bumped from the card when GSP went down with an injury. After Diaz defeated BJ Penn, Diaz was awarded the title shot at GSP instead of Condit.

Payout Perspective:

The injury is a tough blow for the UFC as the Super Bowl weekend show is a big draw due to the amount of traffic in Vegas for the weekend. Condit-Diaz is a tough main event to sell as many casual viewers do not know Condit and Diaz is not the best at selling a fight. The rest of the card for UFC 143 is devoid of major names which is a problem. A part of this is due to the second Fox card on January 28th. But, without one of the UFC’s biggest stars (GSP), the UFC will have to scramble to make this card appealing.

In addition, the GSP injury hurts his marketability as the UFC moves to Fox. Certainly GSP is one of the company’s top draws and it looks like he won’t see the Octagon until the fall of 2012. Its definitely disappointing for GSP and puts the UFC in a position to market behind others in the Welterweight division.

The only bright spot here is that Condit gets his shot at the title. Hopefully, the UFC will give him a nice push in front of the February 5th card.

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones will defend his title next against former champ Lyoto Machida at UFC 140 on December 10th. Dana White announced the fight via twitter.

The fight comes as news spread that Rashard Evans injured his hand in training. Once again, Evans is shelved and misses out on another title shot. For his part, Evans understood the decision and took the news with grace despite the likely frustration.UFC 140 will be held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In the co-main event, Frank Mir will face Big Nog in a rematch from 2008 in which Mir won the interim Heavyweight championship. Also, Tito Ortiz will face Little Nog on the same card.

Payout Perspective:

Its a little disappointing that we will not see Jones vs. Evans considering the genuine bad blood and intense staredown in the Octagon at UFC 135. It seems soon for Jones to defend his title again but Jones does not seem worried about it. The UFC needed a big title match-up considering the great fans in Canada. Mir vs. Noguiera just isn’t a top draw main event. Machida was the best opponent available although you may argue that Shogun Rua could have received a rematch after Rua KO’d Forrest Griffin in Rio. It will be interesting to see if Machida is a big enough name for the casual MMA fan. Also, we will see if Jones will improve as a PPV draw.

In a headscratcher, MMA Junkie reports that the UFC has rebooked Nick Diaz to fight against B.J. Penn as the co-main event for UFC 137.

This match was made after Diaz skipped out on his media obligations for UFC 137 and was replaced by Carlos Condit to fight GSP for the title. It was claimed that Diaz had missed several flights to the UFC pressers and could not be found. Diaz’s coach, Cesar Gracie, even added to the drama by calling White at the Vegas press conference stating Diaz was nowhere to be found. The pic of White at the dais on the phone was a nice “photo-op” as well. Gracie expressed dismay at Diaz’s failure to show. Yet, White was not committal on if Diaz was cut from the UFC altogether.

With Diaz’s reappearance in his YouTube video, the UFC promoted the video (via twitter) and murmurs of a shocking opponent for B.J. Penn began to stir. White announced the matchup on his twitter account.

Payout Perspective:

Why?

While Diaz-Penn should be an entertaining fight the booking  for this card does not make sense. Why didn’t the UFC just fine Diaz for no-showing the press conferences instead of retooling the card? There is the issue that perhaps Diaz no-shows the fight and UFC 137 is a failure. Yet, here he is back on the same card with the same concern, and perhaps more, that he no-shows the fight.

If Diaz wins, doesn’t it mean that he should receive a shot at GSP? What happens then? For Diaz, its a career cluster. He had a title shot and now he doesn’t and has a chance of not getting it if he loses. Basically, he’s in an Anthony Pettis situation but Diaz did this to himself.

For the UFC, Nick Diaz has been an additional financial expense it was not planning on considering the $15,000 in plane tickets it spent on Diaz and the probable extra monetary compensation it gave Penn to take the Diaz fight. If you read into Penn’s tweet about being offered a “deal” he couldn’t refuse its likely Penn was given more money to take on Diaz last minute. Also, will Diaz be paid the same for the Penn fight as he would for GSP?

In pro-wrestling speak, this is known as a “work” or “swerve,” as we were sold on one matchup and given another. How soon did the UFC know it was doing this? There were many signs via twitter and internet that something was going to happen even after Diaz-GSP was called off. The disdain for Diaz not attending a press conference and one day later promoting him again seems a little weird.

In a headscratcher, MMA Junkie reports that the UFC has rebooked Nick Diaz to fight against B.J. Penn as the co-main event for UFC 137.

This match was made after Diaz skipped out on his media obligations for UFC 137 and was replaced by Carlos Condit to fight GSP for the title. It was claimed that Diaz had missed several flights to the UFC pressers and could not be found. Diaz’s coach, Cesar Gracie, even added to the drama by calling White at the Vegas press conference stating Diaz was nowhere to be found. The pic of White at the dais on the phone was a nice “photo-op” as well. Gracie expressed dismay at Diaz’s failure to show. Yet, White was not committal on if Diaz was cut from the UFC altogether.

With Diaz’s reappearance in his YouTube video, the UFC promoted the video (via twitter) and murmurs of a shocking opponent for B.J. Penn began to stir. White announced the matchup on his twitter account.

Payout Perspective:

Why?

While Diaz-Penn should be an entertaining fight the booking  for this card does not make sense. Why didn’t the UFC just fine Diaz for no-showing the press conferences instead of retooling the card? There is the issue that perhaps Diaz no-shows the fight and UFC 137 is a failure. Yet, here he is back on the same card with the same concern, and perhaps more, that he no-shows the fight.

If Diaz wins, doesn’t it mean that he should receive a shot at GSP? What happens then? For Diaz, its a career cluster. He had a title shot and now he doesn’t and has a chance of not getting it if he loses. Basically, he’s in an Anthony Pettis situation but Diaz did this to himself.

For the UFC, Nick Diaz has been an additional financial expense it was not planning on considering the $15,000 in plane tickets it spent on Diaz and the probable extra monetary compensation it gave Penn to take the Diaz fight. If you read into Penn’s tweet about being offered a “deal” he couldn’t refuse its likely Penn was given more money to take on Diaz last minute. Also, will Diaz be paid the same for the Penn fight as he would for GSP?

In pro-wrestling speak, this is known as a “work” or “swerve,” as we were sold on one matchup and given another. How soon did the UFC know it was doing this? There were many signs via twitter and internet that something was going to happen even after Diaz-GSP was called off. The disdain for Diaz not attending a press conference and one day later promoting him again seems a little weird.

News came out Monday that Alistair Overeem was removed from Strikeforce’s Heavyweight Grand Prix set to continue in September. Overeem, appearing on the MMA Hour this week, acknowledged that he was scheduled to fight Bigfoot Silva on September 10th, but thought that the date was too soon.

He tells MMA Fighting that he was promised a date in October or November and planned his training accordingly. Then, he was told September.  He also stated that he was threatened with being cut from the tournament if he didn’t agree to the September fight date with Bigfoot Silva. Zuffa later announced Overeem’s removal from the card and announced Daniel Cormier as his replacement.

Payout Perspective:

The latest lineup change may be the final nail in the coffin for the Strikeforce HW Grand Prix. While the initial buzz for a HW Grand Prix was positive, the execution behind the tournament has been a disaster. Strikeforce intended this to begin and end in 2011 and include the top HW in its division. But, logistics with attempting to hold a show in Japan, the trouble in licensing Josh Barnett, the purchase of Strikeforce and the delay between cards have prevented any positive momentum for the tournament. Bigfoot Silva’s upset of Fedor and now Overeem’s removal makes the grand prix less appealing to fight fans. One might have speculated that the tourney was set so we would see a Fedor-Overeem final.

It appears that with the purchase of Zuffa, the tournament has less appeal. The only thing that would regain fan interest would be if the winner would receive a shot at the UFC champion. However, its unlikely that this would happen. Its too bad for Overeem. He could be a big star for Zuffa. However, his first fight with Fabricio Werdum was disappointing.

The UFC abruptly fired Nate Marquardt the day before he was to fight in the main event of UFC on Versus 4 on Sunday night. The reason for the dismissal is unknown although a definitive word should be released prior to the event.

Via MMA Fighting:

“Not only is he out of this fight and out of the main event on Versus, he will no longer be with the UFC,” White said.

Rick Story, a late fill-in, will now fight Charles Brenneman. And the fight has been demoted with the Pat Barry-Cheick Kongo fight being elevated to the main event. This is disappointing for Story since he was hoping that a win over Marquardt would build his resume with hopes of facing the GSP-Diaz winner.  A win over Brenneman is not the win Story wanted.

Payout Perspective:

The firing of Marquardt comes with many questions but little answers. Issues with making weight were dismissed as a reason which leads one to believe there are bigger reasons. A longtime vet of the UFC (and former contender) usually receives a better farewell. Was it a quick trigger considering White’s disappointment with Marquardt after his loss to Yushin Okami? One might recall that Marquardt’s performance lead to White’s criticism of Greg Jackson fighters.

From a PR perspective, it would help if the reason for the dismissal was made known. The fact that no reason was given allows the media to go wild with speculation. While the UFC is one of the top organizations in social media, something of this magnitude should have been addressed immediately before (or after) the weigh-ins via press conference. A simple tweet does not help.

The news makes the ratings between the Nate Marquardt marathon on Spike TV and the UFC on Versus 4 live event much closer. The Barry-Kongo feature bout is not that intriguing a fight considering its between two mid-card fighters nowhere close to fighting for the title.

It will also be interesting to see how fans react to the news. The Marquardt firing may hurt attendance as well as television ratings for the event.

MMA Weekly reports that a Champion versus Champion match is in the works featuring Georges St. Pierre vs. Nick Diaz. The match-up may be announced as soon as next week.

The fight was rumored as soon as GSP dispatched Jake Shields at UFC 129. Talks likely accelerated when Jeff Lacy announced that he had signed on to fight Nick Diaz later this year. In order to appease Diaz, the UFC likely had to set up this fight so that Diaz would not go through with the boxing match.

Via MMA Weekly:

Nick Diaz is likely to face St-Pierre for his next UFC welterweight title defense in 2011, with all signs pointing towards a December showdown in Montreal.

Payout Perspective:

This potential match-up has huge implications in and out of the Octagon. Even without knowing the rest of the card, the event would do great business in Montreal. With the potential of fighting in front of his hometown crowd for the second year in a row, Diaz will be another heel to oppose GSP. Unlike Josh Koscheck, Diaz poses more of a danger with his BJJ skills. Of course, this could have been said of Jake Shields. Yet, it is still a compelling match-up.

If this fight happens, will this equate to a unification of the titles? Does a cross-promotional fight open the door for more fights featuring UFC vs. Strikeforce. Moreover, does this mean the beginning of the end for Strikeforce?

USA Today reports that Yushin Okami will get his title shot against UFC middleweight Anderson Silva in Rio. The title fight will main event the much-anticipated event in Brazil in August.

Via USA Today:

Oddsmakers will favor Silva, but Okami employs a wrestling-based grinder’s approach, which has been the champion’s achilles heel in the past. Chael Sonnen came within two minutes of beating the middleweight champion last year by peppering him from the top after takedowns each round. Dan Henderson used the same approach to win the first round of his March 2008 bout with Silva before succumbing in the second.

Payout Perspective:

This was the best spot for this matchup as the UFC follows up on giving Okami his long-awaited title shot. The UFC does not have to worry about the draw (or lack thereof) of this matchup as it comes secondary to the fact that the UFC is returning to Rio. Not only will Silva draw fans, the anticipated return of Royce Gracie to the Octagon should be an attraction.

The UFC could leverage the fact that Okami trained with Chael Sonnen at Team Quest as potential fodder for publicity leading up to the August matchup. Certainly Sonnen will be a willing volunteer to talk about the matchup and even be a part of a UFC Primetime or Countdown show.

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Welcome to another addition of Payout Perspective. Today we look at UFC 126 held in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Super Bowl weekend show featured a trio of fights: the much-anticipated Anderson Silva facing Vito Belfort, Forrest Griffin taking on Rich Franklin and Jon “Bones” Jones faced Ryan Bader.

Silva KOs Belfort

After an intense weigh-in face off where both fighters had to be restrained, the fight ended abruptly as Silva’s front kick to Belfort’s chin stunned “The Phenom.” A couple shots on the ground by Silva ended the evening in the first round. Although he credits Steven Seagal for teaching him the kick, the Spider is still pretty good.

Next up for Silva is a potential superfight with GSP. Certainly everyone, except Yushin Okami, would like to see it next. As we’ve talked about, a GSP-Silva fight could surpass 1.6 million PPV buys. The anticipated fight should have an international appeal and it will be interesting where the UFC will have the fight. Look for this fight to happen in December.

Griffin beats Franklin

In a fight between fan favorites, Forrest Griffin fought off the Octagon rust to beat Rich Franklin. In the post-fight interview,  Joe Rogan helped Griffin “push product” as Griffin put it, by plugging Griffin’s two books. Unfortunately for Griffin, MMA Junkie reports that he is out until August with a foot injury unless he is cleared by a doctor. It will be interesting what Franklin will do next. He is still a quality fighter but his future may not be in the Light Heavyweight division. If Anderson Silva decides to leave the middleweight division, I could see Franklin moving back in.

 Jones submits Bader, earns title shot

Jon Jones submitted Ryan Bader in the second round and leapfrogged into a title match versus Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. With Rashard Evans out with a knee injury, and Rampage Jackson not ready for the shot, the UFC decided to give it to Jones. The announcement came via Rogan in the post-match interview. A good ploy by the UFC as you got to see Jones’ reaction as he first heard he was getting the shot. Even though Jones is getting the shot on relative short notice, Rua cannot be happy with the matchup especially since he will be facing a Pro-Jones crowd in New Jersey. Only Matt Serra had it worse for a title defense.

The Rua-Jones fight should bolster ticket sales and PPV buys. Not only is Jones’ popularity at a high, the native New Yorker will get home field advantage in Newark, New Jersey.  Obviously, the UFC is playing up the local ties and hopes that the event shows the folks in New York what its missing.

 Fighter Payouts

Via MMA Junkie:

Champ Anderson Silva: $200,000 (includes no win bonus)
def. Vitor Belfort: $275,000

Forrest Griffin: $275,000 ($150,000 win bonus)
def. Rich Franklin: $75,000

Jon Jones: $140,000 ($70,000 win bonus)
def. Ryan Bader: $20,000

Jake Ellenberger: $32,000 ($16,000 win bonus)
def. Carlos Eduardo Rocha: $8,000

Miguel Torres: $56,000 ($28,000 win bonus)
def. Antonio Banuelos: $9,000

Donald Cerrone: $36,000 ($18,000 win bonus)
def. Paul Kelly: $19,000

Chad Mendes: $19,000 ($9,500 win bonus)
def. Michihiro Omigawa: $8,000

Demetrious Johnson: $10,000 ($5,000 win bonus)
def. Norifumi Yamamoto: $15,000

Paul Taylor: $36,000 ($18,000 win bonus)
def. Gabe Ruediger: $8,000

Kyle Kingsbury: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus)
def. Ricardo Romero: $10,000

Mike Pierce: $28,000 ($14,000 win bonus)
def. Kenny Robertson: $6,000

As always, the payouts are not inclusive as certain fighters receive “locker room bonuses” from the UFC and paid from their individual sponsors.

It’s interesting to see that Jon Jones gets paid like a top star. His base was only $5K less than the more-established Rich Franklin. It looks like the base salaries has increased from a $3,000 minimum to $6,000 minimum.

Bonuses – each fighter received a $75K bonus

Paul Kelly versus Donald Cerrone – Fight of the Night

Jon Jones – Submission of the Night

Anderson Silva – Knockout of the Night

No complaints on any of the fighter bonuses. I have been a proponent of giving the benefit of the doubt to a lower-tier fighter for Sub or KO of the night but both Jones and Silva deserved their bonuses.

Attendance and Gate

Saturday’s “UFC 126: Silva vs. Belfort” event drew a reported 10,893 attendees and generated a live gate of $3.6 million. This did not include an additional $45,100 in revenue generated by the 1,046 attendees who viewed the fight via closed-circuit broadcast. (h/t MMA Junkie)

Sponsorship Watch

Xbox 360 – Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson was sponsored by the Microsoft video game console maker. Johnson’s gym in Kirkland (recently featured on Inside MMA) is 15 minutes from the Microsoft campus in Washington. Not sure if this was the tie-in to get him sponsored, but it’s a theory. Not only did Johnson use his twitter to ask his followers to demand that his fight be televised, he used it to promote Xbox 360′s  Twitter and Facebook page.

Xyience – The energy drink of the UFC was in full force with signage on the mat and on every bottle of water used by the fighters. It also sponsored an Ultimate Access Sweepstakes where two fans could win the VIP treatment at UFC 129 in Toronto which includes meeting Jon Jones. A great form of brand activation.

Tapout – A new fashion statement coming to the ring replacing the regular fight shirt – the track suit top. Not a lot of design and it looked great.

Form Athletics /K-Swiss – Jon Jones signed a multi-year deal with K-Swiss which promised a Jon Jones shoe. Jones wore the K-Swiss tubes at the weigh-ins. Also, Jones will have a signature line of clothing with Form Athletics. It probably includes this hoodie.

MusclePharm – Despite its past troubles, it sponsored three fighters (two in one fight – Ellenberger v. Rocha) including Anderson Silva.

Speaking of Silva, he reportedly made $100K from Brazilian brand Bonanno for wearing it during the fight. In addition, Silva signed with Brazilian sports marketing agency, 9ine. Although relatively new, the agency is owned by WPP, an established, worldwide advertising firm.

Facebook and Twitter

The UFC utilized its Facebook page to live stream another fight. It first used its page at UFC Fight for the Troops 2. This time, Demetrious Johnson faced Kid Yamamoto. Johnson had campaigned, via his twitter, to have his fight televised. And behold, he gets the opportunity to have fans see his fight via Facebook. Johnson also forged a nice sponsorship deal with Xbox 360.

The UFC also introduced a fight game on Facebook: UFC Fight Nation.

Vitor Belfort and Anderson Silva made waves on Twitter as both were trending prior to weigh-ins. The fight was especially popular in Brazil. After his big KO, Silva remained trending in twitterverse hours after the fight.

UFC 126 Prelims: 2 million viewers

MMA Junkie reports that Saturday night’s UFC 126 prelims hit 2 million viewers. It earned a 1.2 household rating including a 1.7 for M18-49. It was the highest-rated program in its timeslot among M18-49 and 18-34. It was an all-time high for “UFC Prelims” broadcasts.

HD Net at the UFC Weigh-Ins

HD Net’s Inside the MMA held its weekly show at the UFC weigh-ins. Bas Rutten and Kenny Rice were joined by Mike Goldberg. The show provided insight and did a good job in hyping the fights as the fighters got on the scales. It was surreal to see Joe Rogan host the UFC weigh-ins on one channel and then flip to Inside the MMA and see his PPV broadcast partner on HD Net. I think the HD Net broadcast adds value to the weigh-ins but it cannot go up against the live feed hosted by Joe Rogan. It will be interesting to see what the UFC decides to do.

UFC offers new experience via UFC.tv

The UFC introduced a new technology on UFC.tv which includes control of audio and video, multiple camera angles and interaction with other fans. No news yet on how many people took advantage of it but we will keep you updated.

Storylines Post-UFC 126

“Superfight in the making” – Silva v. GSP: Jake Shields is the only man to stop this from happening.

“Next big thing” – Jones gets title shot on 6 weeks notice: At 23, is he ready to hold down the Light Heavyweight Division?

“Rashad Evans moving?” If Jon Jones wins, Evans stated that he will never fight his teammate and move divisions.

Odds and ends

Look for the UFC to do something more with 3-D. With its new technology initiatives, it’s coming soon.

In its pre-main event fight analysis, the UFC used mini-Belfort and Silva to go over the keys to victory. Pretty interesting.

Aaron Rodgers thanked Dana White via tweet for the Championship belt he had on the podium after the Super Bowl.

If you were wondering where Silva got the mask at the weigh-ins, Sherdog has the info. Before Silva donned the mask, there was Shaq.

Welcome to another edition of Payout Perspective! This week we’re taking a look at UFC 121: Lesnar vs Velasquez which was held at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California on Saturday, October 23rd. The event featured a heavyweight title clash between Brock Lesnar and Cain Velasquez, but also featured the debut of Jake Shields in the Octagon as well as the return of Tito Ortiz.

Velasquez punishes Lesnar, vaults UFC into new territory

Cain Velasquez was able to negate Brock Lesnar’s tremendous size and athleticism with his combination of wrestling prowess and stand-up acumen. He then displayed a great deal of patience and poise in picking Lesnar a part on the ground to finish the fight. Velasquez is the real deal. He may not be the best pure wrestler or pure striker in the division, but he’s the most well-rounded. Perhaps even scarier is the fact that he’s only 28 and still got room to improve just about everything.

The business implications of this fight are several and involve a bit of a trade-off between the short and long term. Lesnar is the sport’s top draw and best mainstream enabler, but he’s likely to lose a bit of his appeal without the belt. Certainly the 1 million buy guarantee is probably gone unless he fights Mir in a rubber match or lands another title shot. However, it is my belief that we’ve witnessed the birth of the next big draw in the UFC in the form of Velasquez. He may not be the most stirring interview or imposing physical specimen, but he finishes fights and that is ultimately what the fans care about most.

Velasquez also happens to bring a new demographic to the table. Say what you want about the UFC’s marketing tactics for this fight, but it knew it had to hedge its bets when promoting this fight. Velasquez may not sell 1 million PPV buys every fight, but he will prove to be a solid draw for the company on the merit of his 89% stoppage rate and the fact that he gives them a somewhat credible entry point into the Hispanic market both North and South of the border.

I also like this new heavyweight reality from the perspective of asset management. Velasquez is likely to fight more often than Lesnar, which means a quicker turnaround for lucrative heavyweight title fights for the UFC. Lesnar is also now unquestionably the biggest non-title draw in the UFC and someone that can anchor a successful PPV card without title fight support. This single fight has just given Joe Silva a host of new options to play around with when booking fights over the next 6-12 months.

Shields earns win, not fans

Jake Shields did what he does best on Saturday and that’s smother his opponent. It wasn’t an endearing performance and it seems reasonable to assume the UFC was looking for a little more from him last night. However, he did get the job done and remains the front runner to challenge the winner of GSP-Koscheck II, according to Dana White. The choice between Shields and Fitch – both of whom have similar styles – has likely come down to providing the welterweight division with a fresh-faced contender. Shields has been hyped for so long as the best welterweight outside the UFC that he’ll likely generate more interest than a guy like Fitch.

Note: Keep a close eye on the payouts this week. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of guaranteed money Shields received from the UFC to defect from Strikeforce.

Ortiz classy in defeat, but that may not help him

Tito Ortiz may have been all class on Saturday night, but I’m not sure that’s going to help him stay in the UFC. He’s now lost four of his last five bouts and is no longer a relevant player within his division – not even as a gate keeper. Furthermore he isn’t the PPV or live gate draw that he used to be which calls the nature of his sizable contract into question.

The new relationship between Ortiz and the UFC was founded upon mutual benefit, but I can’t see it lasting if Ortiz no longer brings something to the agreement. This is simply the nature of the business.

UFC 121 draws the smallest gate of Brock Lesnar’s career

The UFC drew 14,856 to the Honda Center on Saturday night for UFC 121, which generated $2.15 million at the gate. Here’s the paradox: UFC 121 has come in as the lowest gate of Brock Lesnar’s career but on an event that will likely become the second or third highest-grossing PPV card of his career.

It’s difficult to reconcile the above, but I think it’s largely reflective of ticket pricing. The range for this fight was $75, $125, $200, $300, $400 and $500. While the demand for this fight may have been there at lower ticket levels or on PPV, the $300+ tickets may have exceeded the Anaheim MMA area reservation price.

I’d be very interested to learn whether the UFC is experimenting with any sort of ticket pricing sensitivity models, because from what we’ve seen over the last few years it appears as though the company is leaving money on the table with some of these inflated prices. Sure, the UFC comps a couple thousand tickets every night and that’s great from an exposure perspective, but at some point you want to maximize ticket revenue. I’d also argue that there are benefits to making the consumer purchase a product that go well beyond short-term revenue: the consumer is far more engaged with a product when they’ve had to sacrifice something to get it and it’s certainly difficult to get someone to pay for something after they’ve been consuming it for free.

Sponsorship watch

UFC 121 marked the official debut of Boost Mobile as an official UFC sponsor. They had a host of cage and mat signage, cut graphics through the telecast, and a presence on the UFC promotional material in the weeks leading up to the fight. It’ll be interesting to see what they drum up in terms of activation. The company has already initiated a nationwide sweepstakes entitled Your Town, Our Fighter, which offers a UFC viewing party with the fighter of your choice. Interestingly, the promotional partner for this activation is Samsung. I’ve said for a while now that the consumer electronics industry ought to seriously look at a partnership with the UFC, and Samsung might be able to use this promotion with Boost as a way to test the waters.

Welcome to another edition of Payout Perspective! This week we’ll be taking a look at UFC 119: Mir vs. Cro Cop which was held at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana on September 25th. The event was headlined by a heavyweight tilt between former UFC Champ Frank Mir and Pride OWGP Champ Mirko Cro Cop.

Mir finishes Cro Cop in otherwise uneventful main event

Frank Mir ended a fairly lackluster main event with a bang when he delivered a crushing knee to the chin of Mirko Cro Cop. To that point neither fighter had managed to do much damage. The crowd booed consistently throughout the match, seemingly to break with applause only when referee Herb Dean intervened to separate the numerous stalls in the clinch along the cage.

If you subscribe to consumer psychology and believe in the recency effect, this event may be remembered for the dramatic knockout in the main event. However, given the volume of discontent currently visible on many blogs and MMA forum boards, it’s more likely to be remembered as an average event at best.

The win over Cro Cop won’t be enough to immediately establish Mir as the next in line after dos Santos, but it does provide the UFC with a solid fighter for a contenders bout in the future. He’ll also be available for a rubber match with Lesnar should Lesnar be defeated by Velasquez next month; an event that would provide the UFC with an extremely lucrative non-title PPV event.

TUF winner Bader takes next step, defeats Nogueira

The Ultimate Fighter has had a difficult time developing top-tier talent over the last few seasons, but Ryan Bader appears to be an outlier. Bader is 12-0 (5-0 UFC), an excellent wrestler with solid ground and pound, and an evolving stand-up game with decent power. His victory over Rogerio Nogueira wasn’t overwhelming, but he showed that he definitely belongs in the UFC’s top ten.

Prior to UFC 119, it was largely speculated that Jon Jones would face the winner of Nogueira-Bader. However, I’m not sure that makes a lot of sense at this point in time. Jones is not only at another level than Bader, but a win over Bader wouldn’t advance Jones’ career as much as a fight with someone like Forrest Griffin or even Thiago Silva. Plus, if you look at this from the perspective of continuing to develop Bader, it might be in the UFC’s best interest for him to fight someone else (perhaps also a Griffin or T. Silva).

UFC 119 meets mixed reviews

The jury is still out on UFC 119. I’ve heard and read everything from it was the worst UFC event of all-time to it was a solid card given the names and caliber of fighters involved.

I, myself, don’t think it was even close to the worst UFC show of all-time — I still think that’s UFC 72 — but I do see where some people are coming from. The card featured a host of decisions and a few grappling matches towards the end of the night that probably tainted how the entire show was perceived by most.

In fact, I’d argue the card was probably at a disadvantage to begin with. I’m inclined to believe that most people wrote the night off before it even began due to its lackluster main event and the absence of any truly compelling match-ups. Sometimes that’s a good thing, because it takes the pressure off the fighters and removes some of the expectation placed on an event. UFC 108 and 109 come to mind as events without great main events or compelling match-ups that ended up delivering entertaining fights. UFC 119 just wasn’t on that level.

However, I don’t think the performance of UFC 119 — the value it provided for fans or PPV buys it generated for the company — is an issue or cause for concern. The UFC is going to have bad, good, and great events just like any other sports property. The fans will continue to return so long as the UFC can consistently deliver a compelling reason to purchase the events. For example, this show certainly won’t prevent anyone from watching UFC 121 next month or dissuade them from UFC 124 in December.

This is interesting to me, because I think it underscores the continued development and growing sophistication of MMA fans. The hardcore fan is obviously quite well educated about the sport, but we’re now seeing similar levels of awareness from the average and casual fans (i.e., they are able to discern fights with good potential from fights with bad potential).

There’s definitely both a glass half-full and glass half-empty view to this trend for the UFC. If you’re an optimist, you see growth and a deeper level of awareness which should translate to an eventual expansion of the dedicated/hardcore fan base (your bread and butter). If you’re a pessimist, you’re perhaps disappointed that the influence of the UFC brand is slowly waining – people are no longer buying just because it’s a UFC fight.

Strong Prelim Show May Boost PPV Buys

The UFC 119 buyrate is expected to be relatively weak compared to the last eight events that have all done over 500k buys, but the stellar set of preliminary fights broadcast on Spike might help to boost the show’s bottom line. The Mitrione-Beltran slug fest went all three rounds and likely gained pretty well on viewership; and, despite the rather short nature of the Dolloway fight, his submission of Joe Doerksen was also impressive.

If you combine theose two bouts, it’s more than possible that the UFC did enough to convince additional households to purchase the fight card. It’s very tough to quantify any of the Prelim’s potential impact, but we’ll at least have an idea if it might have helped when we get the quarterly ratings this week.

Sponsorship Watch

This is often my favorite segment, but today I’m going to keep it short.

The one thing I really wanted to mention was the addition of Boost Mobile as a sponsor on the mat and cage padding. Boost has been slowly increasing it’s investment in MMA over the last year; most notably with it’s sponsorship of Rampage Jackson back at UFC 114. It appears the brand will be the presenting sponsor for UFC 120, so look for plenty of signage that evening. I’d also expect, seeing as it’s a Spike TV broadcast, that Boost will purchase some additional ad inventory to further activate it’s new found relationship with the UFC.

I’ll be watching this with a keen eye over the next couple of months to see where this relationship goes. The UFC is a potentially incredible platform for a mobile phone operator to advance on that coveted 18-34 demographic; especially one such as Boost that doesn’t require users to sign contracts.

Dana White announced on ESPN’s “Jim Rome is Burning” that Anderson Silva’s next opponent will be UFC middleweight and former WEC middleweight champion Chael Sonnen.

“He’s got a real tough fight coming up. His next fight’s going to be against Chael Sonnen, and Chael Sonnen’s one of these guys who’s not going to lay back, not do what these other guys (did),” White told Rome.

 

He believes that Sonnen’s style will not allow for any showboating or avoidance, as Silva showed in his last fight with Demian Maia.

 

“When he’s been in this position when these types of fights have happened, it’s been against real good jiu-jitsu guys, guys that want to get the fight to the ground. Well, Chael Sonnen’s going to want to take this fight to the ground, but he’s going to double leg him and bring him down,” said White.

Payout Perspective:

I think I’m having a slight change of heart where Anderson Silva at 185lbs. is concerned. In this week’s UFC 112: Payout Perspective I stated that I didn’t believe there was much interest left in Anderson at middleweight, and while I still believe that’s the case today, I could see that changing in the next couple of months.

Yesterday’s announcement that Silva will defend against Sonnen over the summer likely gave fans an ugly flashback to last Saturday’s performance – it’s too soon! – but Sonnen’s comments immediately after the announcement have given me hope. This main event could sell very well on the combination of Sonnen’s hyping prowess, the UFC’s fan bases growing disdain for Anderson Silva, and the fact that UFC will likely throw a ton of money into promoting this bout.

The UFC has a very obvious play here and that’s to remind everyone just how much Silva pissed them off – he’s this uber talented enigma that just refuses to fight sometimes – and here’s their chance to see him get what he’s got coming to him. Sonnen obviously plays a role in that.

I’ve talked previously about how guys like Dan Hardy and Chael Sonnen are pioneering the trash talking PR strategy for fight hype, but there’s a distinct difference between Sonnen and Hardy: attitude and demeanor. Dan Hardy is a prankster with a quick whit – somewhat of a cheeky Brit – but he doesn’t quite have that believability about him. Sonnen, though, has this straight-faced, cut-to-the-chase, and conservative attitude that is absolutely convincing; if he tells someone they’re an idiot and he wants to whoop their ass, he means it.

That’s effective in and of itself, but even more so now that people are naturally more inclined to believe him, simply because they really want to see someone take the fight to Anderson after his performance at UFC 112.

Mike Chiappetta of MMAFighting.com discusses the latest news regarding a possible UFC on Spike event for April 17th, designed to counter-program the Strikeforce on CBS card on the same day.

The UFC is in the process of laying the groundwork for an April 17 show to counter the Strikeforce on CBS offering, MMA Fighting has learned.

 

Though the company has not officially announced the event and it should not be considered a done deal, two separate sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed that the promotion has begun to ramp up its efforts over the last several hours and that Spike TV — the likely broadcast outlet for the show — has been informed of the decision.

 

…

 

Strikeforce’s show is planned for the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, and will feature three title bouts, including a middleweight championship main event pitting current titleholder Jake Shields against former UFC star Dan Henderson. The show could reportedly be moved back a week to April 24 — which would result in a head-to-head battle with WEC’s first pay-per-view offering — but tickets sales for the Strikeforce event have already begun, and a change would also require a shift in the CBS programming schedule.

Payout Perspective:

Event scheduling in the month of April is quickly becoming a chess match of epic proportions as the UFC looks to make life difficult for Strikeforce on CBS, while Strikeforce considers the possibility of switching dates to avoid going head-to-head with Kimbo Slice (and do some counter-programming of its own; nixing the WEC’s debut PPV a week later).

I can kind of understand the desire of the UFC to crush its competition: monopolies can be beneficial in certain contexts. Moreover, the production quality and matchmaking at Strikeforce has been suspect at times, which might leave the UFC in the position of feeling like it has to be the sole flag bearer for the sport.

However, I’m also inclined to think that it’s currently to the UFC’s advantage to have MMA on network television – regardless of whom is producing it – because it generates interest and awareness for the sport. The Strikeforce production isn’t so awful that it’s a detriment to MMA; especially with match-ups like Henderson-Shields, Mousasi-Lawal, and Melendez-Aoki.

If I were the UFC, I’d develop a sneaky little ambush marketing campaign, and buy up $1,000,000 worth of ad space on CBS to promote the UFC brand. The UFC could advertise the WEC 48 PPV scheduled for April 24th and UFC 113 on May 8th; both of which would help confound the Strikeforce branding message on that night.

Sound crazy? It’s becoming a popular trend in the sports world; especially during the latest Winter Olympics. Further consider the fact that Mauro Renallo and Gus Johnson mention the UFC name on CBS more than they do Strikeforce. The UFC could really position itself to steal a number of those impressions on April 17th. The only roadblock to this plan might be CBS’s outright refusal to sell the ad space, but even at that, I have to think they’d sell if they knew they weren’t being counter-programmed.

Besides, the idea of counter-programming seems so inefficient. The cynic in me is inclined to believe that Fedor and M-1 may very well tear down Strikeforce regardless of what the UFC does. If not, big events that only garner $8,000 in merchandise sales or $350,000 in gate revenues, while paying out that much in fighter salaries (not to mention production costs), likely will.

Why spend all this time and money to counter-programming something that hasn’t proven to be sustainable in its newest form?

….

The current speculation is that the UFC has lined up Kimbo Slice to headline this April 17th card, possibly against Matt Mitrione of TUF 10.

The short-term benefit of a Kimbo headline is obvious, but I wonder how much damage it might do to the UFC’s long-term credibility. Kimbo sells for reasons other than his fighting ability; in fact, we saw over the course of TUF 10 and its finale that interest had declined somewhat – the cat was out of the bag regarding his skills. So, what does it say that the UFC would put him in a headlining position?

The UFC has worked very hard to cultivate its existing credibility with the mainstream media and fan base – of which, admittedly, there still isn’t as much as we’d all like. Why jeopardize that? Why put non-MMA fighters in a headlining position on an MMA card?

If Strikeforce wanted to promote Herschel Walker vs. James Toney, the UFC should have let them. No successful, long-term mixed martial arts endeavor will ever be built upon the backs of non-MMA fighters – this is a guarantee.

Now the UFC has been sucked into this high risk, high reward game that might end up backfiring on them and the entire industry.

Mike Chiappetta of MMAFighting.com asks the question, who might get the first shot at the UFC’s newest light heavyweight signee – and former boxing champion – James Toney.

There is a set of assumptions we can make about a prospective opponent. First, rather than risk a promising young fighter losing to Toney and losing momentum, it’s safe to assume the UFC will try to match him with a veteran. So guys like Cain Velasquez and Todd Duffee are probably out. Second, the promotion will pair him with a name fighter. At 41 years old, Toney’s days in MMA are limited, and the UFC knows they need to cash in immediately. Third, Toney won’t get a gimme in his first time out; he wants a big payday, and he knows there are only a few opponents who will bring it. Finally, weight class doesn’t matter. I have a feeling Toney’s first time out may well be a catch weight.

Payout Perspective:

Chiappetta goes on to list a handful of names that he thinks might fit the bill according to his criteria above: Liddell, Couture, Slice, A. Silva, Rampage Jackson, etc. Those are all good picks. However, I have to disagree with the notion that the UFC shouldn’t throw a young buck in there with Toney.

If the fight were at heavyweight – which now seems unlikely – my first choice would be Cain Velasquez, because he’d take Toney to the ground and immediately pound him into submission. It would be the perfect set-up for the next contender to the winner of Lesnar-Mir/Carwin and add a lot of fuel to the momentum of the UFC’s growing heavyweight division.

If the fight happens at light heavyweight, I’d love to see the UFC select Jon Jones. He’s got the perfect set of tools to dismantle someone like Toney; long reach, good kicks, and superb greco-roman. He’d ragdoll Toney. In the process, the UFC would again be helping to put over another one of its young and most promising stars.

Jones has a fight on March 21st, but should he win that bout it would make a lot of business sense to slot a Jones-Toney bout in behind Lesnar’s return in early July to create what would undoubtedly be the UFC’s top grossing PPV of all time.

And the reason I favor Jones/Velasquez moves beyond just hyping young stars. There’s also something to be said for the amount of risk the UFC is exposing itself to by matching up legendary fighters like Couture or Liddell – whom are over the hill – against a guy like Toney with a punchers chance. If Couture or Liddell were to lose, it would resonate far more with the casual sports viewing public. If Jones or Velasquez were to lose it would have much less of an impact on the reputation of the sport. Yes, the UFC might be down a future star, but if either of those guys lose to Toney, they might not be what we think they are anyways.

Note: You may be thinking, “Jeez, it’s risky no matter the direction the UFC takes,” and I happen to agree.

Make no bones about it, this is a risky play on the UFC’s behalf; calculated, but risky. They could reap significant rewards, or it could backfire and really rip a hole in the organization’s – and by virtue of that, the sport’s – credibility.

Is it a risk the UFC needs to take right now? I’m undecided.

Keith Greinke of TopMMANews is reporting that World Extreme Cagefighting has officially booked June 20th for a show in Calgary, Alberta.

 As reported in January, Zuffa was planning to bring the WEC to Calgary this summer. At the time, WEC Vice-President Peter Dropick said, “It looks like we’re going to Calgary.” Now, Top MMA News has confirmed that the WEC has booked June 20th for their Canadian debut in Calgary in the Stampede Corral.

 

Calgary Combative Sports Commission chairperson Shirley Stunzi confirmed this to Top MMA News saying, “I can advise you now that WEC has officially booked June 20 in Calgary for their event.”

Payout Perspective:

In most Canadian markets – Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, etc. – mixed martial arts is quickly becoming the second most popular sport behind the country’s national religion of hockey. The WEC in Calgary will be an absolute boom for the promotion. Moreover, it’ll likely open Zuffa’s eyes to the potential of the Great White North for hosting future events; Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Halifax are all ripe markets for WEC or even UFN shows.

However, it’s important to note that promotions often book many different dates and venues just to cover their bases. Until the WEC officially announces this event, nothing is guaranteed.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has officially announced the signing of former heavyweight boxing champion James “Lights Out” Toney to a multi-fight contract.

“LIGHTS OUT” IN THE OCTAGON™ – UFC® SIGNS TONEY

 

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – He’s one of the premier boxers of the last 25 years, a future Hall of Famer who has won world titles in three weight classes while taking on a Who’s Who of the sport, including fellow champions Evander Holyfield, John Ruiz, Hasim Rahman, Vassiliy Jirov, Roy Jones Jr., Mike McCallum, Iran Barkley, and Michael Nunn. But there is one more mountain left to climb for James “Lights Out” Toney, and that’s to show if he can defeat the mixed martial arts warriors of the UFC®.

 

So later this year, UFC President Dana White is prepared to give Toney his shot, signing the boxing superstar to a multi-fight contract this week to compete in the UFC.

 

“A lot of pro boxers have made a lot of noise about how they would do in mixed martial arts, but nobody on the level of a James Toney has been willing to back up his talk,” said White. “He’s a legend whose boxing record speaks for itself, and he’s a guy who I’ve got a lot of respect for. Now he’s got every intention of matching that success in MMA, and I think he’s got the right attitude – let’s see if he can do it.”

 

Owner of an amazing 72-6-3 (2 no contests) record that includes 44 wins by knockout, 41-year old James Toney is respected throughout the boxing world for his old-school approach to the fight game. For him, that means fighting anyone at anytime, and doing so by emphasizing all aspects of the sweet science.

 

31-2 as an amateur, Toney soon turned his sights to the pro game in 1988, and in 1991 he won his first world title at middleweight by knocking out unbeaten champion Michael Nunn in the 11th round. After six successful defenses, he moved up to 168 pounds and defeated Iran Barkley for the super middleweight championship in 1993, but he wasn’t done yet. After a stay at light heavyweight, Toney won the cruiserweight world title by defeating Vassiliy Jirov in 2003’s Fight of The Year, and his success continued at heavyweight, where he defeated Evander Holyfield, Dominick Guinn, and Fres Oquendo. In his most recent bout, on September 12, 2009, Toney – a two-time winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America’s Fighter of the Year award – halted Matthew Greer in two rounds.

 

Current UFC fighters Marcus Davis, Chris Lytle and Alessio Sakara have competed as professional boxers in the past, but with today’s announcement, Toney becomes the most accomplished boxing veteran to ever compete in the Octagon™.

 

An opponent and date for Toney’s UFC debut has not been determined, and will be announced at a later date.

Payout Perspective:

What are the prospects of this deal?

The upside: The UFC is going to make big bank on this fight and it’s going to draw a lot of attention to the sport of MMA. It may give the UFC a shot to demonstrate it’s legitimacy; throwing Toney into the cage with someone, like Cain Velasquez, that will destroy him could send a significant message to the sports world. Moreover, the amount of interest his fight(s) will draw provides a great opportunity to showcase some of the UFC’s other talent.

The downside: Toney has a punchers chance and could win his first fight; at which point MMA would be universally dismissed by many people. It could also be a lose-lose situation for the UFC on the legitimacy front: even if Toney loses, most will chalk it up to him being a 41 year-old over-the-hill former champion that was run out of boxing. Lastly, one should question whether the UFC really needs Toney. They’ve done very well without this type of freak show fight. So, why start now?

Damon Martin of MMAWeekly reports that Strikeforce has finally settled on a date and three title bouts to headline its April event on CBS. The show will take place on April 17th and feature Dan Henderson vs. Jake Shields for 185lbs belt, in addition to Gegard Mousasi vs. King Mo Lawal for the 205lbs title and Gilbert Melendez vs. Shinya Aoki for the 155lbs title.

Charismatic fighter Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal has signed on to fight for the Strikeforce light heavyweight title when he faces champion Gegard Mousasi on April 17 at the promotion’s next major CBS card.

 

The fight was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the situation on Monday.

 

…

 

The bout between Mousasi and Lawal will serve as co-main event for the upcoming Strikeforce show in April, headlined by middleweight champ Jake Shields defending his title against Dan Henderson. MMAWeekly.com will have more news on this event in the coming days.

Additionally, it was also announced that Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion, Alistair Overeem, will take on Brett Rogers in a bout that will likely headline a Strikeforce on Showtime card in May.

It has been nearly two and a half years since Alistair Overeem won the inaugural Strikeforce heavyweight title. It now appears that he will finally return to the United States and fight for the promotion that minted his belt.

 

Overeem on Monday tweeted that he is likely to return at an as yet unannounced Strikeforce event on May 15 to face Brett Rogers.

 

He later told MMAJunkie.com that the fight would likely not be a title defense since Rogers lost to Fedor Emelianenko in his most recent outing. Still, it will serve as his return to mixed martial arts after a year where he focused heavily on K-1 kickboxing bouts.

 

“It’s been too long. Last year was a good year in K-1, but this year, I want to fight in MMA,” he told MMAJunkie. He added that a highly anticipated fight with Fedor wasn’t likely to happen anytime soon because he didn’t think Fedor wanted to fight him and that the top heavyweight might be looking to leave Strikeforce.

 

MMAWeekly.com sources confirmed that the bout between Overeem and Rogers is likely to happen and that a return to St. Louis and Showtime on May 15 is the expected target.

 

A split with the Russian powerhouse, however, doesn’t appear to be on the table; at least, not yet. As of the time of publication, our sources indicated that Fedor is still expected to face Fabricio Werdum on an undetermined future fight card.

Payout Perspective:

There have been rumors circulating in the last few weeks that Strikeforce and its co-promotional partner M-1 are having some difficulties in arranging the next Fedor fight, which had originally been planned for April on CBS. It’s really unfair to comment on those rumors at this time, but suffice it to say something hasn’t gone according to plan and Strikeforce has been forced to switch things up a little.

I’m not yet convinced that Strikeforce going with the triple title fight on CBS is necessarily a bad thing. In giving the spotlight to the six very talented fighters in Henderson, Shields, Mousasi, Lawal, Melendez, and Aoki, Strikeforce is hoping to put on a great event, build some brand recognition, and promote some of its other talented fighters.

Plus, there’s a risk to having Fedor headline every major event; something like what we saw EliteXC do in betting the farm on Kimbo Slice.  If they’re looking to build their brand only through Fedor, they’re making a terrible mistake.

…

However, there’s still some talk of Fedor fighting on the Showtime card in May, which might plan into the promotion’s hands given that Overeem will be facing Rogers on that same card. The feeling is that having both on the same card is the perfect set-up to a title showdown later in the year; possibly even on PPV.

Then again, what if Rogers wipes the floor with Overeem? It’s a non-title bout, and Strikeforce’s Heavyweight Champion now has a loss to the guy that Fedor floored last year. How will they sell that to anyone beyond the hardcore fan base?

What do fighters like BJ Penn, Dan Hardy, Chael Sonnen, and Frank Mir have in common? A critical understanding of just how important fight hype is to the drawing ability of a fight event. Each man in the past year has stepped up his smack talk game, but with each radio clip or vlog the comments seemingly become more outlandish by the day.

It all begs the question: where should the line be drawn between healthy smack talk versus fight hype that becomes a detriment to the event for one reason or another? Unfortunately, the answer to this question isn’t an obvious one.

There are, of course, ethical issues to consider here; is MMA truly about hurting someone? Yet, the MMA community also needs to determine what impact this smack talk might have on MMA’s chances for further regulation. Likewise, where the future growth and success of the sport is concerned, what might be the impact of hyping a fight so much that it then becomes impossible to deliver upon that new set of expectations?

Death is taboo

The place to start is probably with the extreme and work backwards from there. Thus, it needs to be said: any talk of death or killing someone in the ring/cage is simply unacceptable.

But to be fair, it’s not just the fighters that bear this responsibility – so should the promoters. Frank Mir should not have talked about Lesnar being the first death in the UFC, but nor should Dana White have referred to Herschel Walker’s potential participation in the same light. Why? There’s simply too much on the line to risk the potential regulatory or legal implications of what might happen if someone takes a comment the wrong way or someone actually dies in a fight.

Who cares if they did or didn’t literally mean what they said – that’s not the point. Everyone in the MMA community understands that Frank Mir doesn’t actually want to kill Brock Lesnar, but the MMA community isn’t the concern here.

Yes, MMA is far from politically correct. I’d even argue there’s considerable risk in MMA trying to become too PC and appeal to everyone; MMA must stay narrow and go deeper with its audience (which is different than saying it should not expand internationally). But MMA still needs to survive and operate within the current legal, cultural, and environmental business norms that any other legitimate business has to endure.

MMA is already skirting around a large societal comfort zone because of the physical nature of the sport; taunting the greater public with threats of death is a fool’s gamble.

This isn’t MMA

More importantly, all this talk of death and hurting people isn’t MMA – it’s not what the sport is about.

MMA is about demonstrating athleticism, skill, technique, discipline, and determination in a competitive setting against both one’s self and an opponent. There is physical contact and people do get beat up – no one is hiding this fact – but I’d argue there’s a clear difference between beating someone up and trying to hurt them; one that has nothing to do with semantics.

If a fighter intends to outclass his opponent by a fair margin, there are hundreds of ways to say so without talking about murdering the guy or breaking his neck.

Drawing the line

So, where does MMA draw the line?

In addition to eliminating talk of death, there are really two other concerns:

1.) Respect. The sport and its participants deserve to be treated professionally. Nobody minds good trash talk – it helps to motivate the fighters and interest the fans – but the personal, non-MMA stuff is something the sport would be better off without. It makes the sport look cheap and petty, which isn’t going to help its push for mainstream acceptance. Moreover, any man that has the guts to step into the cage and have that steel door slam behind him deserves respect for his courage.

2.) Believability. The mantra in business is never over-promise and under-deliver, but that’s precisely what a lot of hyped fights manage to do; Koscheck-Sanchez and Hughes-Serra are just two of many examples. Sometimes it’s unavoidable, but the danger in guys like Chael Sonnen making these outlandish claims is that not only will they likely not be able to back them up, but it will also encourage more of the same from other fighters that have seen what it can get them (i.e., a title shot). MMA can do without the pro wrestling-like circus drama: if you don’t mean it or can’t back it up, don’t say it.

Just because MMA should emphasize respect and believability in promoting its fights doesn’t mean that it must lose that raw, edgy appeal that is at the very core of what attracts many fans. There are ways to hype fights that retain the essence of the sport without crossing the line into a place that MMA need not go.

Join MMAPayout.com on Toronto’s Fan 590 radio as we discuss the business of mixed martial arts with Showdown Joe Ferraro.

Topics include:

• Smack talk in MMA (Sonnen & Hardy)
• What motivates people to watch MMA
• Current trends in sponsorship
• The WEC’s April PPV
• The exciting months ahead

The UFC has issued an official press release to confirm some of the speculation that Demian Maia would be taking Vitor Belfort’s place at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi. This match will co-headline the event alongside BJ Penn’s title defense against Frankie Edgar.

UFC® ANNOUNCES ANDERSON SILVA vs. DEMIAN MAIA
FOR UFC 112 MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT

 

SATURDAY, APRIL 10, LIVE FROM FERRARI WORLD
YAS ISLAND, ABU DHABI

 

Belfort Injured; Maia Steps up to Face Silva for Title Shot

 

Las Vegas, NV (USA) – Following a hard-fought three round win over Dan Miller at UFC 109 that showed him to be more than just a submission expert, Demian Maia will jump right back into training camp for the biggest fight of his career – an April 10th meeting with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in the main event of UFC 112 at Ferrari World on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

 

Maia replaces countryman Vitor Belfort, who underwent emergency surgery on his left shoulder earlier this week to fix a chronic injury that got worse in his training camp for Silva.

 

“It’s always tough when a top fighter like Vitor Belfort has to pull out of a big title fight, but we have found a high quality replacement,” said UFC President Dana White. “Top contender Chael Sonnen was not available due to injuries sustained in his fight with Nate Marquardt, so top six middleweight Demian Maia will step in to fight for the title. Maia is an Abu Dhabi grappling champion, a five-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion, and he is 12-1 in MMA and coming off a win over Dan Miller at UFC 109. Anderson Silva vs. Demian Maia will be a matchup between MMA’s best striker and MMA’s best grappler.”

 

A 32-year old native of Sao Paulo, Brazil who, like Silva, owns a black belt in jiu-jitsu, Maia (12-1) has won six of his seven UFC bouts, including five by submission, with four of those victories earning him Submission of the Night honors. He also holds a 2009 submission win over number one middleweight contender Chael Sonnen. In his most recent bout, at UFC 109 on February 6th, Maia went three rounds with talented New Jersey native Dan Miller and earned a near shutout unanimous decision. Now he will face the pound for pound king in Silva, who is unbeaten in ten UFC bouts and looking to add to his middleweight title defense record when he puts his belt on the line for the sixth time.

 

In the co-main event of UFC 112, lightweight champion BJ Penn looks to continue his dominant reign when he takes on Frankie Edgar. Also, two legends meet for the first time when future UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes battles groundfighting master Renzo Gracie.

Payout Perspective:

The move is surprising, but makes sense when you look at the entire situation from the perspective of the UFC’s desire to keep Anderson Silva on the 112 card. That constraint removes a number of alternatives for the organization and really only gave them Maia at 185 or Randy Couture at 205.

This is MMA, you can’t discount anyone; but, Anderson is likely to beat both Maia and Couture quite handily. If Silva and Couture fought at 112, it would have likely sold gangbusters but also ruined Couture’s future drawing power – perhaps forever. In fighting Maia, the UFC loses much less; it gets its Silva title defense and keeps the Couture ace in its pocket for another few events (the rumored UFC 115 headline against Franklin and possibly even a title shot at 205 should Couture win his next fight).

I would have been inclined to move Silva off the card entirely, but this card is very important to Zuffa. The quality of the card is not only a show of good faith and reward to Zuffa’s new partners, but a statement to the world sports community with respect to Zuffa’s international expansion goals. Thus, it’s understandable that Zuffa wanted to keep Silva on the Abu Dhabi show.