MMA Universe

Brazilian billionaire entrepreneur Eike Batista – who has made a good portion of his wealth from  resource companies – such as mining, energy, petroleum, logistics, real estate and off-shoring – wants to get involved in the Sports & Entertainment industry, seeking to purchase “Brasil1“, the company responsible for bringing the UFC back to Brazil last month.

Batista, who is listed by Forbes as the 8th richest person in the world in 2011, has many companies under his ownership. Batista’s IMX group – which is a partnership of IMG Worldwide inc. and Batista’s EBX Group Co Ltd – is said to be closing the deal to purchase Brasil1, which is a Sports and Entertainment company specializing in consulting, content development, and major event management.

The purchase was first reported by Veja Magazine, a respected media source in Brazil.  UFC Rio was not only a huge success for the UFC, but also for Brasil1 and the city of Rio de Janeiro.  The event drew more than 14,000 fans to the HSBC Arena for a gate which is believed to be in excess of $4M.  Not only was the event a huge success as a live attending event, but it is also speculated that “Nearly 30 million Brazilians” likely watched UFC 134 from their homes.

Due to the UFC’s 13-year absence and the sports boom in the last few years, their return last month caught the attention of many high profiled figures in the country such as soccer legend Ronaldo and MMA pioneer Royce Gracie. Politician’s including Rio de Janeiro’s governor Sergio Cabral, and a cast of other rich and famous socialites were ringside as well. One of those high profiled figures in attendance was Eike Batista.

Due to the success of UFC Rio, the UFC stated shortly after the event concluded that it would return to Brazil with multiple events in 2012.  With Batista’s purchase of Brasil1, it’s no doubt that through IMX and Brasil1, those groups will be involved in future UFC events scheduled for Brazil.

Batista’s IMX group is also getting involved with the upcoming FIFA 2014 World Cup, trying to sell luxury box seats for the event as it negotiates a potential deal with Match Hospitality AG, who has an exclusive contract to sell tickets for FIFA-organized events.

MMAPayout will be taking a look at the storylines heading into UFC 134 Rio: Silva vs. Okami, which will be held at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Jainero, Brazil on Saturday, August 27, 2011.

UFC’s 2012 return to Brazil could be hosted by 100,000-seat venue

On Tuesday, UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta met with local officials to discuss a possible show at the Convention Center of Manaus (one of many “sambadromes” located throughout the country), an outdoor venue that can hold up to 100,000 fans. The city’s metro area includes more than two million residents.

“Our expectation is that Manaus will set a new attendance record with 100,000 people watching the show,” Feritta said. (MMAJunkie)

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UFC 134 prelims to air in Times Square’s “Little Brazil”

Two fights from this weekend’s UFC 134 event in Brazil will air in Times Square in New York City, officials today announced.

The two fights, which are part of Spike TV’s “UFC Prelims” broadcast, will air on the digital sign above The Doubletree Hotel in the “Little Brazil” area of the iconic intersection.
(MMAJunkie)

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Nike, Burger King, Brazil soccer club announce sponsorships with Silva

Sherdog reports that Anderson Silva will be sponsored by Nike and Brazilian soccer club, Corinthians Paulista, at UFC 134 in Rio. The two new sponsors add to the Spider’s total for the big event in Brazil on August 27th. (MMAPayout)

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Sonnen: UFC 134 trip to support Okami canceled due to sponsor intervention, police threat

A source with knowledge of the situation told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that Praetorian, a Brazil-based MMA brand, threatened to pull the Japanese fighter’s sponsorship if Sonnen attended.

“There’s a line of people that want to kick his ass,” the source said…. And that could be the least of problems for the expert trash-talker. Sonnen said friends in the country forwarded him a local-media report in which a police chief threatened to arrest him on sight if he showed. The official cited a law that makes disparaging the national identity a crime.

“You don’t have freedom of speech in Brazil; put it like that,” Sonnen told MMAjunkie.com after a workout at Team Quest Tualatin.  (MMAJunkie)

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Dana White: Anderson Silva wants “big fights,” but FOX headliner not happening

“It’s not true,” he said. “I saw that rumor too. … If he goes out and wins in 13 seconds, he’s not (being) considered for the FOX show.” (MMAJunkie)

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Fertitta talks UFC Rio, Silva vs Henderson on FOX: “Anderson just needs a win”

- No, we underestimated how popular it was here. If we could do it again, we would do it in a big soccer stadium, you know? But when we put the tickets on sale, we really didn’t know. But it’s been amazing the amount of support, it’s unbelievable.

- We’re working on that, we’re really close to get something done. We think it’s gonna be very successful – a Brazilian Ultimate Fighter, all Brazilian fighters. (Tatame)

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White claims ESPN hates the UFC

ESPN always hated us and now they hate us more now that we are on FOX. They canceled my int next week for UFC Rio Fuk ESPN… (MMAPayout)

NOTE: F4WOnline states that ESPN made the decision to cancel sending one of their reporters from MMA Live (Franklin McNeil) to Brazil to cover UFC 134 in response to White’s comments. White has since stated that both parties have resolved their issues.

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Fox Sports Radio to simulcast UFC on Fox

The ESPN “car wash” was yanked after the Fox deal was announced, but the issues with ESPN have been resolved. The car wash is the media tour within ESPN where White would have been on multiple ESPN shows in one day to promote UFC 134. White stated that 40 million Brazilian fans will watch UFC 134. (MMAPayout)

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UFC 134: Extra tickets sold in 18 minutes

It took only 18 minutes to UFC 134 ‘Rio’ tickets be sold out. Promotion provided this Tuesday a new charge of 272 extra tickets due to seat configuration changes and after some returned entrances… (Portal Do Vale Tudo)

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Lorenzo Fertitta discussing the impending UFC boom in Brazil

ARIEL HELWANI: “Any kind of ideas as to what kind of economic impact in terms of tourism and all that stuff that [UFC 134] will have on the city of Rio?”

LORENZO FERTITTA: “We think it’s going to be similar to Toronto. Toronto was between a $40-50 million dollar economic impact. I mean, who knows? It may even be more. We’ve got a ton of people traveling from the U.S., from Europe, of course from inside Brazil, the majority of the people coming to Rio are from Sao Paulo. So, we’re filling the hotel rooms, we’re filling the restaurants. You can just kind of feel the buzz around town already.” (Fight Opinion)

Strikeforce signs PPV TV deal with UK’s Primetime Channel 480 on Sky to bring the entire Heavyweight Grand Prix tournament to MMA fans across the pond.

On February 12th Strikeforce, in association with M-1 Global, launch the most eagerly awaited series in world MMA. Strikeforce have assembled eight of the world’s top ranking Heavyweights to compete in the Strikeforce World Grand Prix – Heavyweight Tournament, to once and for all prove who ‘the toughest man on the planet’ is.

Featuring Fedor ‘The Last Emperor’ Emilianenko (31-2, 1NC), Strikeforce World Champion Alistair Overeem(34-11, 1NC) and the only man to tap out Fedor – Fabricio Werdum (14-4-1) the line up is unrivalled by any other promotion. Add to that Andrei Arlovski (15-8), Sergei Kharitonov(16-4), Brett ‘The Grim’ Rogers(11-2), Antonio ‘Big Foot’ Silva(15-2) and the infamous Josh Barnett(29-5), you have a competition that has MMA fans on edge all over the world.

Following on from Primetime’s success with the Super Six boxing tournament, numerous World title boxing cards and various MMA events, we are delighted to announce that we are now the official UK broadcaster for the Strikeforce World Grand Prix.

This magnificent tournament begins on February 12th, live from IZOD Centre, East Rutherford, New Jersey, and the first event is headlined by Fedor Emilianenko vs Antonio Silva. Fedor will be looking to avenge his shock loss to Fabricio Werdum as he sets about reclaiming his crown as MMA’s undisputed Heavyweight number 1. Co-headlining will be Andrei Arlovski vs Sergei Kharitonov, guaranteeing this to be an unbelievable night of MMA action. Details of the upcoming rounds will be released shortly.

This unmissable tournament can only be seen in the UK on Primetime, channel 480 on Sky or at www.primetimelive.co.uk . Each event will be priced at £9.95 or the whole tournament (4 events) will be available for only £24.95. For more information call 0871 200 4444*

Payout Perspective:

Strikeforce is brining the HW GP tournament over to the UK  via PPV, as it was first reported by Robert Joyner over at MMAFA.tv.  Joyner analyzes the move by the promotion, citing obstacles such as the UK’s unwillingness to pay for PPV events, 3AM live start times, and ability to fill the entire PPV block considering the unwillingness to show preliminary fights in the past.

Going the PPV route is almost a necessity at the moment though, considering that Bravo TV, previous Strikeforce TV partner in the UK, no longer exists and getting MMA programming on other channels has proven to be a difficult task. Just a few weeks ago, BAMMA announced a TV deal that places them on the UK’s SyFy network, and others that have been willing like Bravo and NUTS-TV are not longer around.  Strikeforce ratings are not has as mainstream as UFC’s on ESPN in the UK, so making the PPV TV deal was the quickest and most secure way for Strikeforce to allow fans to watch the events.

Since the PPV event was announced, there have been a few fans that have shown their displeasure, as it is not embedded in the UK culture to pay for PPV events, though it will most likely be the end game for the UFC eventually.  However, there were a few hardcore fans that were quite pleased they were getting the events live, and not the typical delayed event that usually gets spoiled for them through the American MMA media and fans.

In order to ease the switch from a free product to a paid product, Strikeforce has packaged the entire HW GP event, 4 events in all, for a packaged price of  £24.95 ($38 USD), which is roughly around £6 ($9 USD) per show. Individual events are £9.99 ($15 USD).

There will also be a good number of promotions for the UK fans, as MMA Hit Pit is doing, who will be giving away free UK passes for each Strikeforce HW event and also free passes to watch all 4.

MMAJunkie reports that Bellator Fighting Championships is expected to announce a multi-year broadcast deal with Fox Entertainment Group in the upcoming weeks.

The deal includes the Bellator product airing live on FX, and on tape delay on FSN and Fuel TV.

“We’re super excited about our next evolution on TV,” Rebney said. “We’re always trying to produce the most exciting and captivating MMA for our fans. Our next step is a significant move in that direction. But at this time, I can’t elaborate on what those alliances would be.”

Sources, though, said Bellator likely will keep its Thursday-night live timeslots with the move to FX. The FSN and Fuel TV broadcasts likely will include “highlights” packages from those events.

MMAPayout was in the process of confirming a potential TV deal with FX and Fuel TV several weeks ago before MMAJunkie broke the story, but the deal was not finalized and the parties were not able to comment at the time.  MMAPayout’s Robert Joyner reported on FX looking for a sports franchise back in July of 2009, making the argument that Bellator would be a good fit for the network.

Bellator has been aiming for a ESPN tie-in, but this would be a good fallback position for the company. Bellator would be attractive in that they offer a strip of programming. They air could offer 12 to 13 week strips of programming back to back, either live or on a one day delay. That constancy would be attractive for FX looking to build a brand. Bellator would be the best option for FX in my estimation.

Some MMA insiders speculated that the UFC was in line to sign a deal with FOX, FX, or Fuel TV, either for a network or cable TV slot, since they already broadcast UFC events on Fuel TV in Australia and Fuel TV recently stated on the SportsBusiness Journal that they were very interested in adding MMA content to their programming in the upcoming months.

Fox Sports’ action sports channel won’t be limited to surf, skate and snow programming anymore.

Fuel TV plans to add lifestyle programming and sports programming from motorsports and mixed martial arts to its lineup over the next month and a half. The moves are designed to expand the channel’s target demo from 12- to 24-year-old males to 12-35 and enlarge its audience.

Fuel TV general manager C.J. Olivares, who’s channel is said to reach around 31 million homes,  stated that Fuel TV was expanding beyond action sports, looking to make the channel a sports and entertainment network inspired by the new generations of sports.  The move is not a surprising one, as Fuel TV was almost sold to MTV last year before the deal fell through in the closing stages and is currently making changes to better position themselves for re-negotiation next fall, when their deal with DirecTV, one of it’s biggest affiliates, is set to expire. FOX Sports and C.J have since agreed not to sell Fuel TV, claiming that big plans are in the works for the niche network, hoping these moves help Fuel TV become a rated network in the future. Simply put, “To survive and thrive in the competitive landscape of cable television, we need to move to a rated environment,” Olivares said.

On the other hand, with the addition of FX, Bellator has now increased its reach to 96 million homes considering that the channel can be found in most basic-cable packages in the U.S.  FX is the home of several hit TV programs such as “Rescue Me”, “Sons of Anarchy”, and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”, with Bellator becoming the sole sports programming property on the network.

Bellator Signs TV Deal In India With Big CBS Prime

Bellator Fighting Championships has signed a TV deal in India with recently launched BIG CBS Prime, a joint venture between Reliance Broadcast Network and CBS Studios International, which launched the network across 20 million homes in India on November 29th this year.  Bellator is scheduled to make its debut on Friday, December 3rd, at 10:00 PM, with two hour episodes, which will be a first-of-it’s-kind mixed martial arts initiative in India.

Aparnaa Pande, the business head at BIG CBS Prime, commented of the deal: “Cricket and sports programs are known to draw huge audiences in India. Our audience entertainment preferences and consumption mapping pointed at an excellent opportunity to bring to India, this world acclaimed and unique form of martial arts that has never been seen in Indian this far. The Bellator Fighting Championship promise to revolutionize the way fighting championships have been consumed this far.”

CBS Prime will also make other popular U.S. programming available, including hits such as NCIS, movies from NBC Universal and Sony, and is in talks with other international studies to acquire other Hollywood films.  Par of the networks strategy will be to localize international shows, such as Indian versions of Entertainment Tonight. BroadcastingCable reports the details on the U.S. breaking into the TV market in India.

“The launch of Big CBS Prime is the first step towards addressing the current need gaps of Indian viewers for internationally acclaimed quality programming,” noted Tarun Katial, CEO of Reliance Broadcast Network, in a statement regarding the channel’s strategy and programming.

Adding that Indian viewers have traditionally waited nine months or more for new U.S. fare to reach India, Katial noted that these delays and the lack of content exclusivity had mean that “English programming as a category is highly under-developed. With our exclusive range of programming mix, Big CBS is uniquely posed to grow the size of this market.”

Big CBS is planning to air some U.S. shows within 24 hours after their appearance in the U.S.

As part of its ad sales strategy the network is planning to target luxury brands, which have increased their ad spend by about 43% in the last four years in India.

Payout Perspective:

This is a great deal for Bellator, finally giving MMA fans what they have been coveting since season one, live Bellator events showing on an easily accessible network, which the combination of FX, Fuel TV, and FSN provides for the promotion.  We will have to wait on the details of the deal, but it appears to be a good one for Bellator at the moment.

It increases their distribution a great deal, rivaling the UFC in terms of homes reached for a promotion in North American and creates big opportunities for next season.  The question for Bellator now is if they can capitalize on the reach they have with sponsors and other means to generate revenue.  You also have to wonder if they will enter the PPV market this year, since they promised their investors a turn-around this year, originally claiming that they would hold multiple PPV events by the third year of operation, which is where they will stand next year.  It is possible that they could switch over to a non-PPV model similar to Strikeforce, but without knowing what type of licensing fees Bellator is receiving from FOX, it’s still to early to speculate on that.  Either way, this move is a huge step up for Bellator, which has improved their TV reach and distribution deals each of it’s first three seasons.

Strikeforce has officially announced several international television distribution deals with companies in the UK, Italy, Ukraine, Australia, and Latin America.

STRIKEFORCE GOES GLOBAL

 

Shine International Closes Deals across Europe, Australia and Latin America

 

LOS ANGELES, February 2, 2010 – Shine International has expanded the STRIKEFORCE brand internationally, selling more than 70 hours of STRIKEFORCE’s mixed martial arts (MMA) programming in six markets across Europe, Australia and Latin America. Virgin Media Television’s Bravo in the UK, Turner in Latin America, FX in Portugal, Ukraine’s Megasport, Seven Network Australia and Dahlia TV in Italy have all purchased STRIKEFORCE’s library of TV programming.

 

“STRIKEFORCE is the leader in mixed martial arts content as proven by the huge demand for their programming around the world. They have the world’s best fighters, the world’s best events and they know how to translate that into fast-paced programming that captures what will soon be the most popular sport in the world,” said Chris Grant, President of Shine International.

 

This includes 30 episodes and 56 hours of fights that have aired on NBC and SHOWTIME®, respectively. Internationally distributed content includes upcoming live fights through February 2012 as well as STRIKEFORCE Challengers fights, pitting STRIKEFORCE up-and-comers against each other. After signing a landmark deal to air live events on SHOWTIME last year, STRIKEFORCE earned the premium network its highest MMA rating ever on August 15, 2009 with “Carano vs. Cyborg.”

Payout Perspective:

We first heard about this deal last week when Shine International – the agency that brokered the deals – announced the agreement through its own press release. Strikeforce, obviously bogged down with Miami, chose to wait until this week.

These aren’t huge deals, but they do help to spread the Strikeforce brand beyond the United States. Fedor and M-1 are promoting some Strikeforce content, but only the co-promoted events and those are labelled as M-1 events at the international level.

The UFC has partnered with Chinese web portal Sohu.com, as mentioned in yesterday’s MMAterial Facts, to provide viewing of UFC events online starting with UFC 109: Relentless.

Sohu.com, Inc., (SOHU), is a leading online brand in China. Services provided by the company include news, search, e-mail, games and wireless messaging. Sohu.com was the official web partner for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and is also the official partner of the NBA, ESPN, Adidas and Sports Illustrated in China.

 

UFC programming debuted in China last summer on Inner Mongolia Television (NMTV), a network broadcast station available in 60 million households, with the potential to reach 240 million viewers throughout all the provinces.

Payout Perspective:

The deal is another stepping stone towards getting the UFC on a major network in China. They started with Inner Mongolia Television last year and will now look to increase their exposure to a wider audience online. It’s really going to be a game of patience for the UFC in many of these foreign markets; slowly pushing the product and increasing its visibility so that the consumer can grow comfortable and isn’t bombarded (that’s especially important in a nation where government censorship is notoriously strong).

The use of the internet as a medium does two things: it targets a naturally younger, tech savvy audience (which fits more closely with the traditional UFC audience) and it serves as a trial for the online streaming business model that is being bandied about in the sports world (and covered by us to a fair extent).

It’s difficult to speculate as to whether this deal was helped along by Flash Entertainment, but they’ve been working with the UFC since the end of October so it’s quite plausible they had a hand in the deal. Certainly, the connections that Abu Dhabi and Flash have in China didn’t hurt.

Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports has the official confirmation from Dana White that UFC 112 will in fact take place in Abu Dhabi on April 10th in an outdoor venue.

The card, which will be held at the Concert Arena in Ferrari World on Yas Island, will feature two championship bouts. Anderson Silva will defend his middleweight title against Vitor Belfort and B.J. Penn will put his lightweight belt on the line against Frankie Edgar.

 

The UFC confirmed that veteran mixed martial artist Renzo Gracie will make his UFC debut on the card when he meets former welterweight champion Matt Hughes.

 

“This is one of the biggest and most significant nights in the history of the UFC,” UFC president Dana White said. “UFC 112 is our first ever outdoor event and it is taking place in the hometown of our brand new partners, Flash Entertainment. We are very happy we could deliver what fans around the world will recognize as a stacked card featuring the sport’s biggest stars.”

Payout Perspective:

There are a host of UFC officials and fighters currently in Abu Dhabi for the press conference that is expected to come Wednesday, so you can expect an update to this post tomorrow. I think the most interesting thing to come out of Dana is that the venue is the Concert Arena at Ferrari World on Yas Island – not the site which Flash and the UFC plan to build an arena on in the future.

Brett Clarkson of the Toronto Sun features a discussion with Marc Ratner in his latest piece, which focuses on the growing popularity of MMA and the UFC in the province.

According to Ratner, there isn’t a place on earth that boasts more of an interest in UFC than Ontario.

 

“When we look at our TV ratings and our pay-per-view buys, on a per-capita basis, Toronto and Ontario are the No. 1 places in the world,” he said.

 

“It’s unbelievably popular in the province of Ontario and especially Toronto,” said Ratner, the former boss of the powerful Nevada Athletic Commission, which governs boxing and MMA in the state.

 

But despite the rabid enthusiasm for ultimate fighting here, Ratner and his colleagues at the Vegas-based UFC have so far been unsuccessful in terms of getting Ontario to follow the lead of 43 U.S. states and eight provinces in allowing mixed martial arts (MMA).

 

Though it’s not for lack of trying. In the past two years Ratner and his UFC colleagues have been here three times in an effort to sell the McGuinty government. They’ve also paid a visit to Ottawa to meet with members of the federal government. They’ve hired former premier David Peterson and the law firm he works at, Cassels Brock, to help in their lobbying efforts in Ontario.

 

For Ottawa, where the federal government has the power to amend Sec. 83 of the Criminal Code, which pertains to prizefighting laws, UFC has enlisted The Capital Hill Group.

 

Perhaps all the elbow grease is working. In an end-of-year TV interview, McGuinty said he’s “got an open mind” about UFC and so far it’s been the strongest signal yet that the province’s historic resistance to MMA fighting might be coming to an end.

 

Looking to capitalize on what they hope to be a turning tide, Ratner told the Sun he and several other UFC colleagues will likely be travelling back to Toronto at the end of February or March to shake the right hands in an effort to fulfil UFC president Dana White’s goal of bringing ultimate fighting to Toronto in 2010.

 

“We’re very bullish on Toronto, on Ontario, and we’ll just keep on endeavouring to educate and show the value of the sport, the health and safety of it, the economic impact of it,” Ratner says. “I hope the day comes when we’ll be able to bring it there.”

 

Ratner said in addition to Toronto, UFC is also looking at Hamilton and Ottawa as potential host cities.

 

But this week the ministry in charge of the issue wasn’t tipping its hat either way.

 

A spokesman for the provincial Consumer Services Ministry, which oversees the Ontario Athletic Commission and its governing legislation, was tight-lipped on whether or not the provincial government is set to make the necessary changes in law to allow for competitive mixed martial arts events.

 

“The government would have to make amendments to the regulations under the Athletics Control Act before professional MMA could be allowed in Ontario,” said Consumer Services Ministry spokesman Sue Carroll.

Payout Perspective:

Dave Meltzer usually gives a round-up of the strongest UFC PPV markets in North America and the likes of Toronto and Hamilton are almost always at the top of the list in addition to other Canadian cities like Halifax, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, and Winnipeg. Most of the American markets on the list are in the Southwest: usually Vegas, San Diego, Sacramento, etc.

All the Canadian hype is legitimate – MMA is becoming incredibly popular in Canada. Not everyone likes the sport, but almost everyone has heard about it and knows someone that either fights, trains, or at the very least is an avid fan. The size of the market opportunity for the UFC – even at just the UFN level – is quite large; to give an idea of the potential, the UFN in Faifax last week did $730,000 at the gate, but a similar event in Edmonton, Calgary, or Winnipeg would do $1 million plus. The demand exists that they could fill the 16,000 MTS Center or the 18,000 Rexall with a headline like Florian-Gomi or Jones-Vera .

The last I heard, the UFC was investigating opportunities for a Spike event in Canada; possibly as early as this summer. Stay tuned.

Steve Cofield of Yahoo! Sports Cagewriter hosts the UFC’s Managing Direct of International Development to discuss the international side of mixed martial arts and the UFC.

Payout Perspective:

Many raised an eyebrow when Dana White revealed last week that Abu Dhabi was planning on building an arena ostensibly for the UFC. Zelaznik clarifies that it won’t be an arena in the traditional sense – one with a roof over its head – but it will be an outdoor facility with raised seating and built in a “coliseum-style” set-up.

I would be a little surprised if this facility were being built solely for the UFC. It’s probably more the case that Abu Dhabi had been looking to do this for a while and the UFC has provided the final impetus to actually get moving on the project. The likelihood that the arena being built is the one and the same that houses UFC 112 seems remote at this point, but I wouldn’t exactly underestimate the resolve of the Abu Dhabi government, either.

Some have also questioned the wisdom behind the idea of having an outdoor event in the smoldering heat of Abu Dhabi, but it’s not unlike most sub-tropical climates: very, very hot in the summer but mild in the winter; and at night time it cools off considerably. You can expect that if the UFC is going to do an annual show in Abu Dhabi it’ll be probably be around April (to avoid the rainy season of January-March but beat the heat of June-September).

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Zelaznik said he plans on marketing the event to a host of European and Asian countries, because he feels the flight is manageable and isn’t yet sure how much internal demand the fight will generate (cited Australia as an example of people traveling from all over to see the fight). The only issue here is whether or not some of that targeted fan base will be able to travel to the UAE without a large hassle.

A quick glance at UAE immigration reveals that members of the Arab Gulf Countries Council or 39 other countries – including key European MMA footholds like the UK, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy – do not need a tourist visa to gain entry. However, citizens of China and India must seek a travel visa prior to entry, which could turn some people off. Then again, the thought process is likely that those with the wherewithal to fly to UAE for a weekend UFC event likely have the means to get/wait for a visa.

First on CNBC sat down with Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta to talk about the latest financial news concerning Zuffa: the sale of 10% of the company to Abu Dhabi-based Flash Entertainment.

Payout Perspective:

The 10% share in Zuffa wasn’t directly sold, but rather the existing positions of the Fertitta brothers and White were diluted by the issuance of new common stock. In the interview, Lorenzo states they have the option of reinvesting the new capital into the company or distributing it, but the latter is likely the case.

Zuffa took out a $100 million loan last summer , which was used to pay down its $25 million credit facility and issue a $75 million dividend to the ownership. Under the terms of the loan covenants its possible that the $75 million capped the amount of money the company was able to distribute, and therefore selling this stake provided the Fertittas with the next best option to securing further cash for Station Casinos’ bankruptcy battle.

Make sure to check tonight’s MMAterial Facts for a slew of good reading on the new Zuffa stock issuance and more!

In an interview with the Canadian Press, Lorenzo Fertitta confirms that he, his brother Frank, and Dana White have sold a 10% stake in Zuffa to Flash Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi government.

LAS VEGAS — An Abu Dhabi-owned entertainment promotion company has bought a 10 per cent stake in the Ultimate Fighting Championship for an undisclosed sum.

UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta told The Associated Press that the deal with Flash Entertainment, a subsidiary owned by the emirate’s government, was done to create increased value for UFC and help the mixed martial arts league expand in the Middle East and Asia.

Neither Fertitta nor Ossama Khoreibi, chairman of Flash, would estimate UFC’s worth or say what Flash paid for the newly issued shares in Zuffa LLC, its parent company. Fertitta says terms of the deal are confidential.

A Forbes story in May 2008 estimated the privately held company was worth perhaps US$1 billion. Fertitta said then that several investors have offered more than that for the league.

Fertitta told the AP that those offers have come from many private equity funds, as well as several media companies and hedge funds.

“We made the decision early on that if we were to bring on a partner, it wasn’t for financial reasons,” Fertitta said. “We didn’t need to raise any money, that wasn’t the purpose. If we were going to bring somebody it was going to be with someone that could really be a true strategic partner and could help create an increased value for the company long term.”

Fertitta said he believes Flash — a promoter known for bringing high-profile concerts and other events to the Middle East — can accelerate UFC’s growth there and in China, India and other countries.

Flash’s new shares mean Fertitta’s 45 per cent stake in Zuffa dropped to 40.5 per cent. His brother, Frank Fertitta III, owns the same amount.

Dana White, president of UFC, saw his stake go from 10 per cent to 9 per cent after the deal.

Payout Perspective:

FiveOuncesOfPain broke the story, but MMAPayout.com was the first to report the actual details and reasoning behind the 10% sale of Zuffa to the Abu Dhabi government.

The split of the ownership now gives the Fertitta brothers an influx of cash to continue their fight for Station Casinos, while the 1% that goes to White serves as a nice bonus for his tremendous services over the last 9 years.

Flash Entertainment won’t have a role in Zuffa’s day-to-day operations, but the company – and indirectly Sheikh Tahnoon – will help to push the UFC brand abroad. Not only is Abu Dhabi a burgeoning market for MMA (BJJ especially), but the Emirate’s ties with the Eastern world will prove invaluable as the UFC continues to expand its brand towards one of the world’s primary population centers.

Interesting: anyone remember this interview featuring Dana White on Bloomberg that was filmed last October?

On the heels of the Vancouver City Council’s announcement to regulate MMA for a trial period of two years, the Canadian Press gives an update on MMA’s quest for legalization in Canada on both the provincial and federal levels:

TORONTO – Having succeeded in helping re-open Vancouver to mixed martial arts, the UFC continues the fight to get the sport sanctioned in Ontario.

 

That involves a two-pronged approach, with lobbyists working on both the Ontario and federal governments. Having expected sellouts shows in May in Montreal and June in Vancouver should help the UFC cause in Toronto, although privately the UFC acknowledges Ontario has proved to be more difficult than expected.

 

That’s frustrating to an organization that knows a burgeoning mixed martial arts audience awaits it in Toronto.

 

“We know the interest is there,” said Marc Ratner, the UFC’s vice-president of regulatory and government affairs.

 

“Toronto, on a per-capita basis, is our best market — pay-per-view buys, of television viewers, of bars that are buying it. It’s very much a hotbed.”

 

The UFC also saw the Toronto effect in the number of fans that came from Ontario to see UFC 83 and UFC 97 in Montreal in April 2008 and 2009.

 

Canada has proved to be an ace in the hole for the UFC, whose top officials admit they never expected the sport to be such a hit north of the border. The UFC is extremely keen to harvest that interest in Ontario.

 

The MMA juggernaut has engaged former Ontario premier David Peterson and his Cassells Brock & Blackwell law firm to help lobby the Ontario government. Meanwhile on the federal front, the UFC is using the services of the Capital Hill Group, a lobbyist that specializes “in building constructive, mutually beneficial partnerships between business and government,” according to its website.

 

Ratner and the UFC already have the Rogers Center and the Air Canada Centre on side. A senior Rogers executive even reached out to local media earlier this year to add his voice to those who want the sport sanctioned in Ontario.

 

In addition to working on the province, Ratner and his team are trying to get the federal government to amend the Criminal Code to expand the section that permits boxing to include mixed martial arts.

 

The existing wording has not stopped shows from being staged from B.C. to Nova Scotia. Still, there is currently a confusing patchwork quilt of regulation governing MMA in Canada, with the sport approved in some jurisdictions, but not in others.

 

Ratner has been to Ottawa once already and is planning a second visit to Ontario in the next two months. He talks weekly to his provincial and federal lobbyists here and is also looking west.

 

“I’ve been talking to Edmonton, I’ve been talking to Calgary,” he said.

 

“I think Alberta definitely is a possibility … We’re absolutely looking at it,” he added. “We had a wonderful letter from the mayor of Edmonton inviting us to bring a show there. So there’s a lot of positives.”

Payout Perspective:

MMAPayout.com received word about a month ago that the case for regulation on the federal front had hit a snag. It was being argued that changing Section 83 of the criminal code — the section that could be interpreted to outlaw MMA events — would require opening the the entire code, and that would open a whole new can of worms that parliament did not want to deal with.

However, we’re now getting word that progress is being made on both fronts. The UFC hired a new lobbyist group in November – Capital Hill – that now allows them to push the issue at both levels: federal and provincial. The timeline for the bill to pass is still very much up in the air, but the hope remains that we’ll see a decision in 2010 (which would at the very least open the doors for a 2011 UFC event in the province).

The Score, a sports television network in Canada, has reached an agreement to televise seven World Extreme Cagefighting events next year:

TORONTO, Dec. 17 /CNW/ – Score Media Inc. (TSX: SCR) today announced that it has inked an exclusive Canadian multi-platform partnership agreement with World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC(R)), one of the world’s leading mixed martial arts (MMA) sports organizations. The deal, which kicks off in January 2010, brings seven live WEC fights, online content and exclusive features to The Score.

 

“WEC has attracted millions of fans around the world, and in Canada specifically. By adding this franchise to our existing line up of comprehensive MMA content, The Score strengthens its reputation as a destination for hardcore MMA fans,” says Benjie Levy, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Score Media Inc.

 

Adding the WEC to The Score’s mix of in-depth, multi-platform, original MMA content – headed up by Mauro Ranallo, one of North America’s renowned MMA authorities – showcases The Score’s commitment to continued investment in building a superior destination for MMA content.

 

“We are excited to have The Score as the official partner of World Extreme Cagefighting in Canada,” says WEC Vice President, Peter Dropick. “As a dedicated supporter of MMA, The Score is the perfect choice to help us build the WEC franchise in the Canadian market.”

 

On December 18th at 10pm ET, The Score will be kicking off its exciting WEC line up with WEC Best of 2009, a look back at WEC’s most exciting fights of the past year.

 

And to catch the first live WEC fight of 2010, tune in on January 10th at 9pm ET.

Payout Perspective:

The WEC had previously partnered with TSN in Canada, but that agreement expires at the end of the year. This new agreement with The Score looks to be the replacement.

How does it stack up? It depends on how you look at it. The Score has promised to provide a host of additional support for the WEC, including live broadcasts and internet content (something TSN didn’t do). However, the organization is taking a significant step down in network quality, reach, and reputation by moving from TSN to The Score. TSN is Canada’s most respected sports network – the ESPN of Canada. The Score, on the other hand, is more or less only known as a 24 hrs. sports highlights and infomercial channel.

The Canwest News Service is reporting that the Vancouver City Council will address the issue of MMA Regulation with a “yea or nay” vote this Thursday:

Vancouver City Council will finally put the issue of mixed martial arts regulation to a yea or nay vote Thursday, when city staff table a report on how the sport can be run profitably and safely on a local level.

 

Ultimate Fighting Championship Assistant General Counsel Mike Mersch and Executive VP and General Counsel Lawrence Esptein will be at the meeting, which will be open to the public and receive submissions from Vancouver police and Honour Combat Championships, one of the promotions that held a successful sold- out amateur ‘test event’ on November 27.

 

Councillors Heather Deal and Kerry Jang attended the HCC event and came away suitably impressed with the professionalism, fighter safety, officiating and – surprisingly – the action in the ring.

 

“I’m actually having a lot more fun then I thought I would,” said Jang on the night.

 

NPA Councillor Suzanne Anton was an early adopter of MMA regulation in the city, despite being part of the Sam Sullivan-led council that backed away from the sport in September 2007, citing liability concerns.

 

“I want to be on this bandwagon,” said Anton. “Bandwagons come and go. If you wait too long and they’ll be over and its a very popular sport right now. I want the UFC to come! Bring it on!”

 

….

 

 
The UFC has tentatively booked GM Place for a June 2010 pay-per-view event. UFC VP of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner told The Sun recently that as soon as Vancouver gives the go-ahead, it would take around “20 or 30 days for us to confirm a date for next year.”

 

Officials in Montreal have pegged the economic impact of a UFC event at around $20m in increased tourism, production, commission fees and associated revenue.

 

MMA is big business on Vancouver Island and in the interior, with regions such as Prince George, Vernon, Pemberton, Nanaimo and Victoria having hosted local sold out events. Montreal has hosted two UFC events without incident and will likely see a third in early 2010, while Calgary and Edmonton host regional promotion events on a weekly basis.

 

Medical studies out of the UK have indicated the sport is far safer than many other pro sports, such as football and boxing, due to the lack of concentrated, prolonged attacks on the head.

 

Critics complain, however, that the spectacle of two individuals fighting in a cage is barbaric and likely to inspire associated violence outside the arena.

 

Actual evidence of spectator violence is hard to come by however, and 41 states in the US have now regulated the sport, with Massachusetts, Maine and Indiana joining the throng in November.

Payout Perspective:

The idea that MMA perpetuates non-sport violence isn’t such a leap when every bit of information that an individual has about the sport is a false stereotype based upon what the UFC used to be in the early 90s. But the sport has changed, so has the audience, and there is no evidence to suggest that the incidence of mixed martial arts is at all correlated with crime or acts of violence.

Moreover, you could also further state the case that MMA provides an outlet for troubled individuals (youth or adults) to channel their aggression, benefit from the discipline that martial arts demands, and gain from the new, positive social environment they’ve surrounded themselves with.

Every indication that we’ve heard so far points towards a yea vote, but there are no guarantees in this business. Stay tuned.

Tickets for UFC 110 – to be held in Sydney, Australia – sold out on the first day of general public sales according to the ticket website.

MMAJunkie has more:

After UFC Fight Club members and UFC.com newsletter subscribers snatched up a reported 10,000 tickets for UFC 110 during a four-day pre-sale, the Australian public quickly followed suit.

 

Despite the lack of even one officially announced bout, UFC 110 sold out on the first day tickets were available to the general public.

 

UFC 110 takes place Sunday, Feb. 21 at Acer Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With the time difference, the show will air on pay-per-view in the U.S. live on Saturday, Feb. 20.

 

Formerly known as the Sydney Superdome, Acer Arena is the largest indoor venue in Australia. Situated in Olympic Park, Acer Arena officially opened in 1999 and was one of the major venues of the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

 

UFC president Dana White had planned on traveling to Australia to promote the event, but on Thursday he told a small group of reporters that he had canceled his plans after the encouraging pre-sale numbers.

 

While official word of the sell-out has yet to come from the UFC, a quick review of UFC 110’s listing on Ticketek.com indicates an “Allocation Exhausted” alert for the event.

 

Tickets for the show were priced between AU$50 and AU$450.

Payout Perspective:

The ticket sales are obviously a great sign for the UFC and MMA in Australia. The sport has faced a great deal of criticism from certain press pockets, but this level of fan support helps to to reinforce the decision that was made to hold an event in the country.

Yet the biggest upside to holding an event in Sydney is still unquestionably the ability to avoid using tape delay in the United States PPV market. The UFC may lose out on some of the American media coverage, but the UFC won’t have afternoon spoilers eating a great deal of its buyrate (as is the case for events held in the UK).

—–

Just to offer some additional perspective on the ticket sales: it should be noted that the ticket prices for the event are relatively low compared to that of the typical US event. Ticket pricing can be tricky – and we’ve seen this year that the UFC has gotten it wrong sometimes – but in the case of a new market it’s probably best to leave a little bit of money on the table and fill the venue. Then in a year or two, when the company returns, it will have a better feel for the market and likely be able to maximize their profit potential.

Greg Savage of Sherdog has the latest on a potential fight between Matt Hughes and Renzo Gracie at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi in April:

When Dana White was asked Thursday if the Hughes-Gracie bout would he held in Abu Dhabi –- a location White recently scouted himself –- the UFC President answered cryptically.

“Sounds good to me,” he said, smiling broadly.

Asked about making that match, White noted that he respects a lot of fighters in the sport and implied that not every UFC fight has to have title implications.

“There’s this whole beef over Renzo choking out Pat Miletich (Hughes’ mentor) and sometimes it’s more than just; sometimes guys just want to fight and Renzo’s been training, he wants to fight Matt Hughes and Matt Hughes wants to fight him,” said White.

The fact that Sheik Tahnoon, of the Abu Dhabi Royal Family, is a Renzo Gracie black belt, along with White’s own statements on the promotion’s desire to hold an event in the United Arab Emirate’s capital, all point to the UFC’s Middle Eastern debut with this headlining bout.

Payout Perspective:

The match-up itself isn’t as intriguing as where the fight might be held. The UAE is very much intent on becoming a prominent tourist and financial destination in the world. The latter has been called into question as of late in Dubai, but it stands to reason that if Sheik Tahoon has a significant interest in the sport of MMA, the UFC could benefit from his support. These types of events are proven tourist attractions and Abu Dhabi definitely has the motivation to throw some serious marketing dollars behind the event.

With all the bad or unlucky things that have transpired over the last few months within the sport – and particularly within MMA – the news that the UFC may be heading to Abu Dhabi is something to look forward to.