MMA Universe

Welcome to another edition of Payout Perspective. This week we look at the UFC’s return to Toronto as the UFC made a stop at the Air Canada Center as Jon Jones defended his title against Lyoto Machida.

Jones chokes out Machida

Despite losing the first round, Jon Jones showed resolve to come back and defeat “The Dragon”. Jones used his size to complete a standing guillotine which rendered Machida limp.  Up next for Jones will be the winner of Rashad Evans/Phil Davis in January. At this point, Jones looks like he is gaining confidence and looks real comfortable in the Octagon, something to worry about for those in his division.

Mir snaps Big Nog’s shoulder

Frank Mir broke Tim Sylvia’s arm for his black belt and may have earned another stripe for his kimura on Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera. Big Nog had Mir in trouble but Mir was able to gather himself to reverse Noguiera, grabbed his arm and locked in the kimura. The gruesome replay were shown over and over again with the crowd “ooing” each time the arm seemingly snapped.

Zombie surprises Hominick

It took only seconds for the Chang Sung Jung to defeat Canadian favorite Mark Hominick. A disappointing return for Hominick.

Attendance, Gate and Bonuses

As reported earlier in the week 18,303 fans attended for a gate of $3.9 million Canadian ($3.77 million U.S.).According to F4Wonline.com (subscription required), about 15,000 paid although it was not a sell-out. F4WOnline opined that the disappointing turnout may be due to the UFC coming back too fast.

MMA Junkie reported the bonuses for UFC 140 with each receiving $75,000.

KO of the night: The Korean Zombie
Submission of the night: Frank Mir
Fight of the Night: Jones-Machida

Sponsorships

The Octagon included Xyience, Toyo Tires, Dodge, TapouT, Musclepharm, the UFC’s Ultmate DVD Collection, StubHub, Batteflield 3 had the side pads (including graphics) and was on the mat, Bud Light was present on the ring pads and center.

Bony Acai, Harley Davidson and StubHub were presenting sponsors for UFC 140. The U.S. Marines had its usual “mini-fighter”  matchup for Jones-Machida.

UFC.com Store owned the fighter prep point.

Harley Davidson is taking part in the UFC Hometown Throwdown promotion which had been previously promoted at other events as well as 140. Similar to the WEC version, it asks fans to pick a city in which they would want the UFC to hold an event. The promotion asks for fans to provide an email address in order to take part. The UFC will email the fans when the final cities are chosen.

Mark Hominick wore the CFL’s Hamilton TiCats gear once again.

Jon Jones wore his Form Athletics jacket in the back and during the walkout.

Brian Ebersole is now sponsored by TapouT as one witnessed via the logo shaved into his chest. He also was sponsored by BuyMMACards.com, which replaced MiddleEasy.com on his shorts.

Logistics company and fight sponsor Blue Grace made subtle changes to its logo including a visible web address for people to see.

Notably, EBX, which is a Brazilian investment company, sponsored the Nogueira brothers. We might expect more Brazilian and South American companies jumping into sponsorship with the upcoming card this January and with TUF: Brazil.

No Suffer on Mir this time as he sported a simple Jaco Hybrid Training Black t-shirt in his walkout.

The Korean Zombie did not wear his popular shirt but a white shirt with his Korean sponsors.

UFCstore.com had the Fighter prep point

More info on walkout wear here.

Jon Jones and Frank Mir broke out Xenergy drinks immediately after their win before their post-fight interview.

Not a lot of notable new sponsors here. The Octagon seemed UFC heavy. Perhaps this is due to the anticipated holiday shopping season. The UFC had indicated that new sponsors would not occur until the first quarter of next year.

Post-UFC 140 Headline

The only real headline coming out of this event is what’s next for Jon Jones. While some wish for a Jones-Anderson Silva matchup, its more likely that Jones face Rashad Evans provided he gets past Phil Davis and stays healthy enough to make it to the showdown.

Odds and Ends

- Tito Ortiz is now calling himself “The People’s Champ.” I thought the Rock was “The People’s Champ?” Copyright issues? Of course, I thought that Marshawn Lynch would have copyrighted “Beast Mode” too.

- UFC Countdown show aired on the Fox Regional Sports Networks as early as Sunday before the fight (according to the Direct TV guide) but either I was not paying attention or there was a lack of notice, but I missed the Countdown show when it was on my RSN. It appeared on the Audience Network later in the week and was online so I was able to catch it. Not sure if anyone else had a problem finding it on their RSN.

Buy Rate

Early estimations on the buy rate for UFC 140 by the Wrestling Observer have it at 440,000 buys in the US and 480,000 buys worldwide. This is a positive considering the UFC’s string of sub-400 PPV buys.  It also shows that Jones is beginning to grow as a PPV draw. Jones vs. Rampage did 475,000 buys and it has improved if you take the worldwide buy rate.

Authentic Brand Group (ABG) recently sent a cease and desist notice to nonprofit Tap Out Cancer for use of the “TapouT” trademark. As a result, the small nonprofit must rename itself.

According to its web site, Tap out Cancer is a nonprofit which raises awareness through the Brazilian Ji Jitsu community. It raises money “[t]hrough merchandise sales, special events, sponsorships and direct donations.” On its web site it noted that it is in not affiliated with TapouT. But, this was not enough to avoid ABG’s request.

When a vendor expressed concern about the nonprofit’s use of the “Tapout” name, the nonprofit sent an email to ABG requesting it receive its “blessing” to use the “Tapout” name. According to the nonprofit, a month and a half passed before it received a cease and desist email.

Tap Out Cancer’s web site reprinted a portion of ABG’s correspondence:

While we applaud your work with charitable causes, we unfortunately cannot grant permission for this use of our federally registered trademark. In addition to owning a stylized mark which you mention you tried to distinguish yourself from, we also own the word mark.

For your information, this use of our trademark in your business name is, in fact, and infringement of our intellectual property rights, including, without limitation our trademarks. It is not our desire to cause you any undue expense in connection with this matter in light of your organization’s goals. As such, we are willing to settle the matter with you at this stage if you can agree to: immediately cease and desist from the use of the trademark TapouT in any and all domain names, corporate names or otherwise, including by transferring the domain name to us.

(via Tap Out Cancer’s web site)

Payout Perspective:

The web site entry by the nonprofit reflects that they understand the reasons for ABG’s letter. While the timeframe took longer than expected, ABG is in its legal right to protect its trademarks. If not, more infringers would follow as the nonprofit points out. This has potential to be a public relations problem although the nonprofit used the “Tapout” name without permission. ABG’s correspondence is delicate and makes sure it is not impersonal in requesting that the nonprofit cease the use of “Tapout.”

Its a good cause, but the nonprofit should have asked ABG, or an attorney, prior to establishing the name of the nonprofit. Fortunately, it appears that there will be no further legal ramifications from this. While Tap Out Cancer indicated that it will lose money from merchandise it intended to sell, its better to take the loss now than to have to lose more money in legal fees to defend a lawsuit.

The MFC announced a sponsorship deal with Tapout Energy drinks. Terms of the deal were not disclosed although the MFC indicated that Tapout Energy would be prominently displayed during its next event October 7th.

Via Mike Whitman at Sherdog.com:

“The MFC has always taken great pride in being an organization that thrives on the support of its outstanding corporate partners,” said MFC owner Mark Pavelich in the official release. “Tapout Energy coming on board with the MFC is unquestionably one of the proudest moments in the history of this company.”

Payout Perspective:

The UFC is not the only MMA organization tha has corporate sponsors. The signing of Canadian energy drink Tapout Energy is good support for one of the better organizations in Canada. Earlier this year, Good 4 U drinks entered into a sponsorship agreement with the MFC. For Tapout, its a good way to market its product to its likely target demo of young males 18-34. Out of curiosity, if anyone has had a Tapout Energy, let us know what you think of it.

Welcome to another edition of Payout Perspective! This week we look at the much-maligned UFC 133 event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the main event, Rashad Evans took out Tito Ortiz to cement his spot as the number one contender in the Light Heavyweight division.

Evans knees Ortiz for win

Rashad Evans looked phenomenal and displayed no signs of rust after a 14 month layoff. Tito Ortiz looked good too but Evans was too much for Tito and a knee to the chest ended Tito’s night.  This was a fight that no one really lost. Evans secured his title shot and Ortiz spun his loss as “taking one for the team.”

Belfort takes care of Akiyama

Vitor Belfort made quick work of Yoshihiro Akiyama as he knocked out Akiyama in the first round. An impressive showing coming off of being KO’d by Anderson Silva. Interesting the finish came when Akiyama attempted and missed a front kick similar to that of Silva.

Ebersole KO’s Hallman and speedo

While most thought that Brian Ebersole’s “harrow” would be the quirky story of this match, it was Dennis Hallman wearing a speedo that convinced Dana White to award Ebersol a special KO bonus as well as banning all speedos from UFC competition. When I saw Hallman’s short shorts I immediately thought of what boxer Bernard Hopkins was thinking. As some may know, BHop used to hate MMA until the pubicity came to Philadelphia. He did get off one of the best takes about the sport on the Jim Rome show when he said he would lose to any MMA guy since he had notfought like that since “he was in prison or a kid.”

Ebersole received a “special” bonus as a result of his KO. For better or worse, the short shorts received mainstream notoriety from Deadspin and ESPN’s Page 2 created a list of “Worst Looks in Sports History” in honor of Hallman’s shorts.

Attendance and gate

11,583 were in attendance for a gate of $1.5 million according to MMA Junkie. The number of complimentary tickets were not provided. In comparison, 2009’s UFC 101 was a sellout with 17,411 in attendance for a gate of $3.55 million. The event, held in the same building as UFC 133, featured Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin.

Bonuses

MMA Junkie reports the following bonuses for UFC 133. There were no submissions, so no submissions of the night were awarded. However, White awarded Ebersole a $70,000 bonus for getting Hallman’s speedos off of PPV. Other $70,000 award winners included:

Fight of the Night – Evans vs. Ortiz

KO of the Night – Vito Belfort

PR for UFC 133

Rashad Evans workouts were featured on Yahoo! Sports. Evans and NFLers Maurice Jones-Drew and Larry Fitzgerald were featured in a weekly series on elite athlete workouts.

Many Philadelphia celebrities were in attendance including Charles Barkley and Bernard Hopkins. Interesting that Hopkins was in attendance considering that he had bad mouthed MMA for some time.

White and Ortiz appeared on the Jim Rome Show. Similar to NASCAR, the Rome show has embraced  the sport by having UFC fighters on as well as talking about it on his show.

White gave away tickets for UFC 133 through its #Hunt4UFC twitter contest where White sent out tweets to locations of where to go if fans wanted free tickets.

Sponsorships

SafeAuto Insurance sponsored its usual band of UFC fighters as well as a  contest, “VIP at the UFC.” The brand activation integrated social media into its fan contest. When fans “liked” the SafeAuto Facebook page and filled out a contest form they had the opportunity to win a trip to UFC 133.

Tapout had a similar contest for UFC 133 in which followers either liked the Tapout Facebook page and tweet out “#TapoutTickets” in order to qualify. The winner was announced during the appearance of Skyscrape and Punkass on The MMA Hour last Monday.

According to Bloody Elbow, Rory MacDonald’s fight banner never made it behind him before introductions. A faux pas if you want to keep sponsors. Here it is:

Training Mask made a big splash with the sponsorship of many of the fighters on the card including Rashad Evans. And, it also sponsored the front of Hallman’s shorts. Training Mask put out what seemed to be a tongue in cheek tweet about its sponsorship of Hallman stating that it has no control of what its fighters wear.

Middle Easy sponsored Brian Ebersole. It was interesting to note that at the end of the fight, Joe Rogan referred to Ebersole’s “Bloody Elbow” after pummeling Dennis Hallman. Coincidence?

The fighter fashions are detailed in this post. Notably, Evans sported a white Jaco track suit top with a subtle Jaco logo. Yet, he wore a Tapout shirt post-fight. Nam Phan wore a gi that he took off in the entryway so that his t-shirt sponsor, Throwdown, got the visibility during the walkout.

Conan 3D had the fighter checkpoint sponsorship. Fortunately, no interview with its star this time around.

Harley Davidson, Dodge, Gamefly.com, Xyience, Edge, Boost Mobile and Bud Light had the center of the ring.

Post-UFC 133 Headlines

Evans vs. Jones/Rampage Super Bowl Weekend 2012.  Book it. Nobody get hurt.

Rory MacDonald. Probably the most impressive young fighter out there. It will be interesting to see what fights are ahead of the Canadian.

Tito Ortiz. Although he lost, he put on a good fight and it didn’t look like he was mailing it in. He’s regained respect with the UFC and will likely have a fight or two left with the company.

Despite many alterations to the card, UFC 133 had some entertaining, albeit short fights. If you wanted to see knockouts, UFC 133 gave it to you.

Odds and ends:

Did Shane Victorino help promote UFC 133 by starting a bench-clearing brawl Friday night?

Does everyone have Beats by Dre headphones that Evans wore at weigh-ins and walkout?

Joe Rogan mentioned Diamond MMA, a company specializing in compression shorts that hold cups in place to prevent groin shots, during the fights giving the company some good publicity.

The main card fights ended with almost an hour to spare. This happens when there are 4 KOs during the PPV. This was a night with lots of filler fights. It was a good chance to show the Facebook fights live.

MMA Mania reports that NFL star Chad Ochocinco has signed a deal with Tapout to sport its mouthguards and wristbands. The deal is a part of Tapout’s expansion outside MMA.

Via Tapout press release (h/t MMA Mania):

“Ochocinco is the perfect athlete to represent the TapouT brand and its energy and intensity,” said Chris Circo, CEO of Battle Sports Science. “Fans absolutely adore Chad’s rule-breaking enthusiasm and passionate devotion to sports. This is evident in the relationship he maintains with his over 2 million Twitter followers.”

Produced by Battle Sports Science, in partnership with Authentic Brands Group, the TapouT Mouthguard is an innovative mouth protection system so advanced that it rivals the safety and performance of custom-molded
mouthguards that cost hundreds of dollars – yet the TapouT Mouthguard is available for a fraction of the cost.

Not only will Ochocinco be protecting his mouth in style with the mouthguard, he’ll also be sporting the new
TapouT RealG Bands and the TapouT RealG Sweatbands. The bands provide unmatched durability and style
with real magnetic technology embedded in a dual layer medical grade silicone.

The mouthguard will be based on the former Chad Johnson’s gold grill.

Payout Perspective:

It will be interesting to see how successful Tapout’s venture outside of MMA will be. As SB Nation reports, it has produced a documentary on the late Evan Tanner which will make its premiere this weekend at the LA Film Festival. A return to television could be next. Ochocinco becomes the first “big name” sports star outside of MMA to represent TapouT. This can only help the brand seek inroads into the NFL and other professional sports. With a huge twitter following, Ochocinco can reach more people than TapouT could with an ad. A positive mention of TapouT to his fans on Twitter would reach more people than if TapouT stayed within its core MMA audience.

For Ochocinco, the deal fits within his own brand and image. He is one of the more outspoken personalities in the NFL. And if a strike is avoided, he will be sporting a gold TapouT mouthpiece  that will be captured by a national audience each Sunday.

NEW YORK, May 18th, 2011 – New York based intellectual property company Authentic Brands Group has named Mike Straka senior vice president of media and entertainment to head up strategic content initiatives for brands including TapouT, TapouT MPS, Silver Star, Iron Star, Sinister, Hitman Fight Gear and Marilyn Monroe.

“Straka’s expertise in multimedia will help grow our content offerings and distribution across all of our brands on multiple platforms,” said Jamie Salter, chairman and CEO, ABG. “His demonstrated body of work in MMA has made him one of the most respected broadcast journalists in mixed martial arts today. We are looking forward to having Mike Straka represent our brands in all forms of media and entertainment.”

“Mike has been a huge supporter of MMA and TapouT throughout the years,” said Dan “Punkass” Caldwell, president and co-founder of TapouT. “We are excited to have him on our team and look forward to collaborating with him as we continue to be the leading MMA apparel and lifestyle brand.”

A former vice president and executive producer at FOX News Digital, Straka brings nearly twenty years of major media experience to ABG and will be responsible for building strategic media partner- ships for ABG brands, and head up content channels that will serve to make Tapout.com, TapouT Radio and ABG’s partners the premier destinations for mixed martial arts news and entertainment coverage.

“This is a dream job for me,” said Straka. “MMA is my passion and TapouT is the leading brand in MMA lifestyle and entertainment. To be a part of the vision set upon by the late Mask and his partners Punkass and Skyskrape more than ten years ago is an honor. Authentic Brands Group is a company that cultivates the type of entrepreneurial spirit and environment that I thrive in, and I’m up for the challenge.”

In addition, Straka will represent ABG and TapouT on all forms of media, analyzing fight cards, break- ing UFC® news and interviewing the fighters.

While at FOX Straka was responsible for video operations, vendor relations and online programming, and he was the host and executive producer of “Fox Fight Game,” one of the first weekly MMA pro- grams dating back to UFC 32.

Most recently, Straka was the host of “Fighting Words with Mike Straka” on HDNet, a one-on-one interview program featuring the biggest names in MMA, including UFC president Dana White and a rare interview with UFC chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, as well as dozens of sit-downs with the world’s greatest MMA fighters.

Welcome to another edition of Payout Perspective. This time we look at UFC 128 held at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The show was topped by Jon Jones stopping Mauricio Rua to win the UFC Light Heavyweight title.

Jones fights crime, beats Rua

To top off being a favorite , fighting close to his hometown and having his own Spike TV special prior to challenging for the Light Heavyweight crown, Jon Jones helped stop a burglar just hours before the fight.  Although he looked nervous and Rua looked calm, Jones destroyed Rua  to win the belt. Rua looked slow and out of shape, but perhaps that was a testament to the speed and skill of Jones.

For Jones, a matchup with Rashad Evans is next although it may happen late 2011 as it is reported that Jones may have broken a bone in his hand. Thus, Evans will not have fought in the UFC since May 2010.

Faber kisses Rosie, survives to win in UFC debut

Urijah Faber defeated Eddie Wineland and will face Dominick Cruz next. Wineland did well for himself as he stuffed several takedown attempts at the outset, but Faber eventually solved Wineland. After the fight, Faber gave a rather mechanic call out to Cruz.  Perhaps the venom will step up if they become opposing TUF coaches. Whenever the fight happens, it should be a great fight.

I think that the UFC should have Faber-Cruz coach TUF as this can help gain more exposure to the lighter divisions. Plus, it should elevate Faber’s presence to the mainstream. I think Faber (and Jose Aldo) are the two fighters that can give the lighter weight divisions a boost in giving them respect and more visibility on UFC cards.

Not able boos for “The California Kid” coming out to 2Pac/Dre. I guess the East Coast-West Coast rap battle is still alive. And yes, that was Rosie O’Donnell that he kissed walking to the ring. I liked Rosie better when she was a VH1 DJ.

Bonuses

MMA Junkie reports the bonuses for 128.

Brendan Schaub and Erik Koch earned $75K apiece for their KOs and Edson Barboza and Anthony Njokuani earned $75K each for their Fight of the Night on Spike TV. There were no fights ending in submissions so that can explain the double KO bonus.

Attendance and Gate

MMA Junkie reports that 12,619 fans attended UFC 128 for a gate of $2.14 million. The numbers were not as good as GSP-Hardy and did not draw as many fans as Bisping-Evans. In fact, UFC 128 had a slightly better gate than UFC 78. It is likely that Jones will draw much better in the future.

Via MMA Junkie:

UFC 111 (St-Pierre vs. Hardy): $4,000,000 gate (17,000 attendance)* UFC 128 (Jones vs. Rua): $2,140,000 (12,619)* UFC 78 (Bisping vs. Evans): $2,100,000 (14,071)* UFC 53 (Arlovski vs. Eilers): $1,100,000 (12,000)*

Ratings

UPDATED 3/22/11 – MMAPayout confirmed today with SpikeTV the ratings for the UFC Prelims. UFC 128 Prelims earned a .85 household rating, a .92 in Men 18-49, a 1.03 in Men 18-34, and an average audience of 1.3 million viewers. According to MMA Junkie, the ratings show a strong increase from the UFC 127 Prelims on ION.

The lead-up shows for UFC 128 included the usual Countdown show and a special for Jon Jones, “In the Moment.” The Jones pre-event show did better than the Countdown show. It did very well considering it went up against NCAA Tournament games. It will be interesting to see how he GSP-Shields Primetime series will do in comparison.

Sponsorship Watch

MMAPayout Emiritus Kelsey Philpott was on hand and tweeted about the scene outside the arena pre-UFC 128 where the UFC held a Tailgate Party. This was a great way for sponsors to get out in front of its audience. Tapout and Xyience were among the sponsors outside interacting with fans.  The newest product out there for the MMA fan:  Tapout energy bands.

Sponsors in the Octagon included Harley Davidson, BSN, BoostMobile, Xyience, Affliction, Tapout , Toyo Tires and Bud Light had the center of the Octagon.

The UFCStore.com was actively involved in the PPV as it sponsored the tale of the tape and also ran an ad during the first round of the Jones/Rua fight which I thought was a little annoying.

Jon Jones had Iron Bridge Tools as a fight sponsor on the back of his shorts. According to my count, this is the second time that a challenger has won the UFC title with a tool sponsor on the back of his shorts as Cain Velasquez wore a Milwaukee Tools logo when he beat Brock Lesnar. I don’t think Gray Maynard or Vito Belfort had a tool sponsor on the back of their shorts. Are you listening Jake Shields?

Big night for sponsor Form Athletics as Jon Jones and Urijah Faber won their fights.

Public Relations for 128

The UFC was all over the NY/NJ area promoting UFC 128. Details on some of its appearances are here. Aside from promoting 128, the UFC made an effort to promote the legalization of the sport in New York. Notably, Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta appeared on a NY public affairs program to discuss the fight for legalization.

Aside from local media, notable print media stories included Jon Jones in WSJ which asked whether Jones would be the breakthrough star the UFC (and MMA) needs.

Jones appeared on a local morning show in NY where he was asked to display what he does in the Octagon.

UFC Fighter Jon ‘Bones’ Jones: MyFoxNY.com

I think Middle Easy explains my sentiments.

Via Middle Easy:

Hopefully in 2012, we can collectively agree that any form of media asking a fighter to place them in a rear-naked choke needs to come to an end. Actually, that’s not entirely fair. Let’s make a rule that if you ask a fighter to place you in a rear-naked choke, you can’t tap out. The blood running through your neck will have to come to a complete halt and your unconscious body will need to collapse to the floor in order to realize how much of an idiot you were for asking someone to choke you out.

Trending during 128

Twitter was abuzz Saturday night as #ufc128 #Crocop #Schaub #Miller and #Faber were all trending. I’m sure Jones was trending as well although I did not check after the fights.

Odds and Ends

MMA is great because it’s the only sport where one of its champs seconds a fighter as Frankie Edgar did at the weigh-ins for Ricardo Almeida The Miller Brothers fought back to back and went 1 and 1. Jon Jones gave a shout out to his after-party during his post-fight interview, a taboo in the UFC. But, Jones quickly amended his announcement to say it was for charity. Perhaps the champ was taking liberties with his newfound position. While there are many MMA fans that loathe the comparisons to pro wrestling, “USA, USA” chants broke out during the main event. The last time I heard that I think The Iron Shiek was wrestling Sargent Slaughter. If Herb Dean did not stop the Jones-Rua fight, Rua was tapping. Faber received his Brown Belt in BJJ after the Wineland match. Not as dramatic as when Randy Couture received his Black Belt for choking out James Toney or when Frank Mir received his after breaking Tim Sylvia’s arm.

MMA clothing brand TapouT unveiled its sponsored race car at NASCAR’s Nationwide Series on Saturday. The TapouT Chevrolet placed 12^th in its first ever race.

Via MMA Junkie:

In February, MMA clothing manufacturer TapouT announced it was branching out from its core audience with a multi-year partnership with racing team Kevin Harvick Inc.

“I expect NASCAR and MMA fans to be in a bit of shock – in a good way,” TapouT exec Tim “Skyskrape” Katz stated in the original announcement. “TapouT has never ventured outside of MMA like this, but seeing how the fans love both sports, I think they will be the real winners here.

Payout Perspective:

An interesting partnership considering the TapouT merger last year as well as the sponsors choice to diversify with sponsorship in another sport. Similar to MMA, NASCAR has shown the potential for long-term growth. It would be interesting to see the research performed in deciding this sponsorship. Based on TapouT’s investment in NASCAR, it tells us that MMA fans are big into NASCAR as well.

Following up on my earlier post, Former TapouT Employee’s Wrongful Termination Lawsuit Set for Trial in January – Claims Against Kreiner Dismissed, according to the Beverley Hills Courier, the former employee, Michelle Thomas “was today awarded $2.4 million in punitive damages by a Los Angeles Superior Court jury.”

According to the article, “[t]he panel deliberated for about a half-hour before finding in favor of Michelle Thomas in her wrongful termination case. The same panel on Monday awarded her $840,000 in compensatory damages, bringing her total award to more than $3.2 million.”

Consistent with the allegations in the complaint, the article provides that Thomas testified “that employees were told to pay out of their own pocket for any television subscriptions needed to view the company’s show on the Versus cable network, called ‘TapouT,’ as well as pay-per-view Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts.”

Justin Klein is an attorney at Satterlee Stephens Burke & Burke LLP in New York City where he concentrates his practice in commercial litigation and represents clients in the fight industry.  He regularly addresses current legal issues that pertain to combat sports, including efforts to legalize MMA in New York, at his Fight Lawyer website.  He is a licensed boxing manager with the New York State Athletic Commission as well as the founder and Chairman of the Board of the New York Mixed Martial Arts Initiative, a non-profit organization that gives inner city youth the opportunity to experience the emotional and physical benefits of martial arts training.  Justin lives in New York City where he trains in jiu jitsu and boxing.

DISCLAIMER

The information in this post and on my site consists of my opinion only, i.e., it is not the opinion of my employer or anybody else. In addition, and because this is my opinion, it is not intended to be (and is not) legal advice or an advertisement for legal services. This post provides general information only. Although I encourage interested parties to contact me on the subjects discussed in the articles, the reader should not consider information on this site to be an invitation for an attorney-client relationship.  I disclaim all liability in respect to actions taken or not taken based on any contents of this post. Any e-mail sent to me will not create an attorney-client relationship, and you should not use this site or my site to send me e-mail containing confidential or sensitive information.

In December, nutritional supplement company, MusclePharm, raised $1.4 million through convertible promissory notes and a registration agreement with accredited investors.

“We are very pleased with the successful completion of the agreement with the investor and believe this capital will support our capital requirements for growth,” commented Brad Pyatt, MusclePharm’s Chief Executive Officer. “We appreciate our investor’s confidence in MusclePharm as we continue to execute our long-term growth strategy.”

 

This capital raise, combined with the previously released fulfillment agreement with IVitals, further enhances the Company’s overall financial strength for future long-term profitable growth. Management will continue to focus on the development, sales & marketing of MusclePharm’s growing portfolio of nutritional supplement products.

Payout Perspective:

It was announced last month that nutritional supplement company, MusclePharm, owed Zuffa approximately $375,000 in over-due sponsorship fees accrued over the course of a year-long agreement between the two companies starting in January. This outstanding debt was subsequently sold by Zuffa to a collection agency in the Fall.

Many were surprised to see the brand return to the Octagon in January. The WEC deal had expired and Zuffa didn’t appear to have any outstanding obligations to the company. Why would it do business with a company that had already failed to pay its debts? The answer is ostensibly because MusclePharm was able to raise new capital in December to fund new marketing efforts and recommit to sponsoring UFC fighters (including the payment of the UFC “sponsor tax”).

MusclPharm’s new apparel partnership with Tapout is encouraging. It’s a textbook case of two brands working together to better leverage the sponsorship of a property and increase value. This is something that’s going to hit across multiple sponsorship objectives such as awareness, interest, intent to purchase, favorable attitudes towards the brand, and increased sales.

However, I remain skeptical that the company can turn things around.  The company sponsors a lot of fighters and that’s a good thing, but if it blows through its working capital again, then it’s likely to leave a lot of people in the lurch. Here’s a glimpse of its liquidity and capital resources as of November 15th’s Q10 (emphasis mine):

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

Our primary source of operating cash has been through the sale of equity and through the issuance of convertible secured promissory notes and other short term debt as discussed below.

 

At September 30, 2010, the Company had cash of $10,657 and a working capital deficit of $2,578,866, compared to overdrawn bank accounts of $17,841 and a working capital deficit of $1,223,074 at December 31, 2009. The working capital deficit increase of $1,355,792 is primarily attributed to the operating losses incurred for the nine months ended September 30, 2010.

 

Cash used in operating activities was $2.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2010, as compared to cash used in operating activities of $0.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2009. The increase in cash used in operating activities for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2009 was primarily the result of the net operating loss net of non-cash expenses, for the current nine month period.

 

Cash used in investing activities was $30,395 for the nine months ended September 30, 2010, as compared to cash used in investing activities of $5,510 for the nine months ended September 30, 2009. The increase in cash used in investing activities represents purchases of various fixed assets. We also maintain a website http://www.musclepharm.com), designed for customers and investors. Future investments in equipment and other fixed assets, as well as further development of our Internet presence will largely depend on available capital resources.

Note: I pointed out last week that Tapout has been much less consistent on the activation front in the last six months (due, in part, to what I believe to be the ABG acquisition and likely marketing strategy reformulation). However, the partnership is something I also believe needs to be recognized; more sponsoring brands need to co-promote, because its an innovative way of pooling resources, leveraging a sponsorship, and creating value that might not always be present with stand alone activation strategies. Kudos.

• UFC launches personal fitness business: UFC Gym
• Q&A with Brian Diamond (Spike TV Executive)
• Bellator’s Plan: Talent, Efficiency & YouTube
• Bellator CEO hoping for another ‘magical’ season

UFC launches personal fitness business: UFC Gym

With more than 3,500 people signed up, the company’s first UFC Gym will open for business Saturday in Concord, Calif., and a 40,000-square-foot facility will open in June in Rosemead, with enrollment starting next month.

“We plan to shake up the fitness industry,” UFC President Dana White said.

White, former UFC champion Chuck Liddell and fighters Anthony Johnson, Jon Fitch and Cain Velasquez are expected to attend Saturday’s 10 a.m. opening in Concord.

The fitness center is intended to be a family-oriented operation, including a kid’s gym, that will provide introductory MMA training to members, with a fitness regimen employed in the world of MMA: Muay Thai kickboxing, jiu jitsu and self-defense

A company spokeswoman said there are plans to have as many as 10 UFC gyms opened in 2010. (LA Times)

Q&A with Brian Diamond (Spike TV Executive)

SI.com: The cards scheduled for Versus in 2010, what is your take on that?

Diamond: It’s always been common knowledge for us and for them that they had the ability to do this. For us, it only makes the sport bigger by being out in a different universe. It was kind of interesting because our universe is a little bit bigger, but you know what, the more people seeing the sport the better.

SI.com: That Versus card is very well put together. By it being on Versus, Spike doesn’t have access to Jon Jones versus Brandon Vera. That doesn’t concern you in any way?

Diamond: No. No. We’ve got plenty of fights to show on the air between what we’re doing, what we’ve done. It’s all good.

SI.com: Is the audience still the same?

Diamond: It’s still young men, but you know what’s really interesting is it’s hard to believe we’ve been doing this for five years. The guys that were 18-34 are now 23-39, so they’re growing and there’s a new audience coming in behind them. I think that’s adding to the volume. And you’ve got new people coming in because they see Kimbo, Chuck or Tito. And then you’ve got The Ultimate Fighter with guys like Kenny Florian who were starting out on TUF 1 and he’s a veteran fighter in the UFC now. There’s all these different streams of consciousness and things happening at the same time that are just lifting the sport up, and up and up. As a sports fan I was introduced to mixed martial arts doing this, and I just think it’s a tremendous sport. The other level of success you see is in local communities with gyms and training centers and camps opening up. I live in New Jersey and you’ve got the Millers up north and (Kurt) Pellegrino and (Frankie) Edgar down south. It’s just going from strength to strength.  (Sports Illustrated)

Bellator’s Plan: Talent, Efficiency & YouTube

“We put our money into two areas of our business. One of them is our fighters and the other is production,” Rebney said of the long-term financial viability of Bellator.

He isn’t afraid to point out where others have failed.

“All of the superfluous expenses that the EliteXCs and the IFLs spent millions upon millions of dollars on, and they’re public record, is something we’re just not doing,” Rebney said. “The reality is that the expenditures of those organizations were foolhardy at best, and we’re keeping it cheap where it needs to be cheap.”

The commitment to fiscal responsibility in Bellator is so great that, according to Rebney, Bellator’s offices cost a 10th of what EliteXC’s offices cost and even executive employees fly coach to save a few extra bucks on the bottom line.

Throw in the trio of television deals that Bellator has secured with Fox Sports Net, Telemundo and NBC, and you have to start wondering if a few years from now we’ll all be talking about the stranglehold Bellator has on young talent in the sport. (Sherdog)

Bellator CEO hoping for another ‘magical’ season

“Overall, I’m most excited that there will be an awful lot of competitive fights. We’re going to have an awful lot of that,” Rebney told Cagewriter. “Every guy that we’ve announced so far are guys that I think, I would actually stay home from dinner out with friends because I wouldn’t want to miss the fight. That’s what we were shooting for. It wasn’t about getting names that people recognized, but bringing world-class fighters into the game that would be magical to watch and would make great fights and would could conceivably become big-time names.”

The other big move that Bellator made in their off-season was signing a deal with Fox Sports, NBC and Telemundo, which guarantees that Bellator fights will be available to 12 times the viewers than with their previous deal with ESPN Deportes.

“When we finalized that 12-show run with ESPN, I had to ask, how do we go from being a very cool promotion that reaches a Spanish-language audience only to a promotion that you can see every week on multiple distribution platforms that reach a bigger audience? How could we make it so that I would never go on a blog or message board again and read, ‘Bellator’s cool but I can’t see it.’ This will ensure that we’ll be around for the long haul and ensure that a lot of people will see us, week in and week out.”

…

“Right now, we’re finalizing agreements for the almost three-quarters of the venues for the entire 24-show run. So, you’ll see fighter announcements for the next week and a half, and then you’ll start seeing venue announcements after that. We want to be out there three, four months in advance. We’re going to some really cool places, too. We’ll be in a lot of different locations, too, which is cool because a lot of different people will get a chance to be a part of the Bellator experience.” (CageWriter)

QUICK HITS

• TUF 11 Goes Into Production in Vegas (MMAWeekly)
• UFC on Versus 1 Fight Card (MMAFighting)
• Strikeforce headliner Marius Zaromskis ready for Nick Diaz now, Jay Hieron later (MMAJunkie)
• Strikeforce’s Coker not shying away from Pride comparisons (USA Today)
• Tonight’s ‘Inside MMA’ on HDNet Brings Together Some of MMA’s Heaviest Hitters (PRNewswire)
• “Strikeforce Challengers VI” tickets on sale today, start at $30 (MMAJunkie)
• Cristiane Santos: I only train with men. I usually hurt the women (5OzsOfPain)
• Bobby Lashley vs. Wes Sims Officially Booked for Strikeforce: Miami (MMAFighting)
• Herschel Walker’s effort at mixed martial arts is no joke (USA Today)
• Rolles Gracie: Keeping The Family Legacy Alive At UFC 109 (Heavy)
• Spike TV features Brock Lesnar in “UFC Unleashed” episodes tonight (MMAJunkie)
• Titles Aside, Jay Hieron Focused on Joe Riggs (MMAWeekly)
• Strikeforce signs middleweight Joey Villasenor to four-fight deal (MMAJunkie)
• UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva at heavyweight? Manager says it’s possible (MMAJunkie)
• Anderson Would Welcome St. Pierre (Sherdog)
• Quinton “Rampage” Jacson Rear Ended In OC Car Accident (TMZ)
• Buffer, Sherdog at LA Fit Expo This Weekend (Sherdog)
• Seven opponents turn down bout with Erin Toughill, January 30 FCF bout scratched (5OzsOfPain)

VIDEO OF THE DAY

• MMA Live (01/21/10) – It’s all about Brock Lesnar. MMA Live analyzes Lesnar’s SportsCenter exclusive. Also, why is there a new date for UFC 113? And Strikeforce welterweight contender Jay Hieron stops by to discuss his upcoming bout with Joe Riggs.

TV LISTINGS

• HDNet Fights Presents K-1 Classics (Asian GP 2008) at 8 PM ET on HDNet (01/22/10)
• InsideMMA (Ed Soares, Jose Aldo, Jon Fitch, & Randy Couture) at 9 PM ET on HDNet (01/22/10)
• HDNet Fights Presents Best of 2009 K-1 World MAX at 10 PM ET on HDNet (01/22/10)
• Best of Pride FC  (Frye vs Thompson, Pulver vs Sakurai) at 10 PM ET/PT on Spike (01/22/10)

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Strikeforce Miami: Diaz vs Zaromskis at 10 PM ET/PT on Showtime (01/30/10)
• FCF 39: Women’s 135 lbs Grand Prix: Opening Round on TBD (01/30/10)
• KOTC: Toryumon from Okinawa, Japan on PPV (01/30/10)

• Manitoba defending health care after bashing by UFC champ Brock Lesnar
• EA to Promote EA Sports MMA at Madden Bowl XVI During Superbowl Week
• Zelaznik interview: Gravel area soon to be UFC 112 ‘arena’
• ED GRANEY: For better or worse, Lesnar key to UFC
• GetFugu Signs Agreement with TapouT

Manitoba defending health care after bashing by UFC champ Brock Lesnar

Manitoba does not provide “Third World” medical care, provincial health officials said following a public bashing from UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.

Health Minister Theresa Oswald said she’s willing to listen – and act on – criticism of the provincial health-care system. But she said she’s a little more skeptical about comments from a self-proclaimed “conservative Republican” speaking out against the socialization of American health care.

“I will listen to critics and learn from critics but also evaluate the point of view from which they’re coming,” she said Thursday. “This is more about partisan American politics and bashing American health-care reform, and I’m not particularly interested in getting engaged in that. Canada has lots to be proud of in terms of providing health care for everyone. (Winnipeg Free Press)

EA to Promote EA Sports MMA at Madden Bowl XVI During Superbowl Week

NFL players will walk the red carpet to compete for a title in the popular Madden NFL 10 video game Feb. 4 at the Clevelander Hotel in Miami Beach…

EA Sports, which developed the Madden game, will promote its mixed martial arts game at the event, so professional MMA fighters will be attending.

Last year, Sports Illustrated said the Madden Bowl got the “prize for best party of the week.” And even bigger things are expected this time around, considering the locale.

“When people think of over the top and parties, they think of South Beach,” said Rob Semsey, a spokesman for EA. (Sun Sentinel)

Zelaznik interview: Gravel area soon to be UFC 112 ‘arena’

The UFC really hits the road this year with an aggressive international expansion that include shows in Sydney, Australia and Abu Dhabi. The Aussies are ready for UFC 110. Boy, are they ever. The Acer Arena, configured for 17,300, is already sold out. The UFC’s U.K. president told Cagewriter the promotion will be adding a closed circuit seating venue adjacent to the arena. The event in Abu Dhabi is a little more tricky. The “arena” is far from sold out. That’s because there is no arena and yet the event is tentatively scheduled for April 10. What gives?

Zelaznik scouted the area last week and said the plan is moving forward. The UAE is experienced at holding big events.

“The majority of the events are held outdoors. The opportunity for us would include the building of an outdoor arena.”

He said it’ll be similar to Las Vegas superfight venues of the ’70s and ’80s.

“You’d have some sort of covering on it. You’d have a pretty intimate live setting. In our current planning, we’d look to have 10,000 seats or more depending on the configuration we go with.”

Zelaznik said the thought that Flash Entertainment and the UAE would have a standard 20,000 seat arena finished by April is far-fetched.

“Make no bones about it, the area we’re looking at is gravel currently. It will be built for a UFC event. It will be dressed in a way that it will feel very special. With the exception of walls and a roof, it will be an arena with raised seating, coliseum-style seating where you have people very close to the action.” (Cage Writer)  … [MMAPayout Perspective]

ED GRANEY: For better or worse, Lesnar key to UFC

In a weird, twisted way, this is part of why he is the sport’s biggest draw. He is Notre Dame football to the mixed martial arts fan. Love him. Hate him. People pay to watch Lesnar.

You can’t discount the power of an entertaining heavyweight champion, whether you support his beliefs or are the out-of-work family man hoarding pennies to cover medical insurance premiums and would like nothing more than for Lesnar’s next opponent go all Rocky Balboa on the champ’s face.

Lesnar won the heavyweight title with a second-round knockout of Frank Mir at UFC 100 in July and promptly addressed the Mandalay Bay crowd with both middle fingers. The heat began to rise that evening as to the lengths he could be marketed. Then he fell seriously ill.

However he healed, from the time spent at a Canadian hospital that he fled like Usain Bolt from a starting block, to a facility in North Dakota and then the Mayo Clinic, to losing 40 pounds, to the antibiotics and holistic measures and more disciplined eating habits he insists saved him from major surgery and wearing a colostomy bag, to what he and UFC president Dana White were terming a miracle Wednesday, Lesnar is prepared to fight again.

That will probably happen in July against the winner or Mir-Shane Carwin, scheduled for March 27 in Newark, N.J.

“I know one thing,” Lesnar said. “All those guys are (bleeping) their pants right now. Brock Lesnar is back.” (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

GetFugu Signs Agreement with TapouT

GetFugu, Inc., the next generation mobile search tool, reportedly has entered into an agreement with TapouT, LLC, a mixed-martial arts apparel, gear and lifestyle brand, to provide GetFugu’s “See It, Say It, Get It” technology to enhance MMA fans’ interactive experience on their iPhone, Android and BlackBerry through TapouT’s new MMA “mobile center” exclusively available on GetFugu.com.

According to GetFugu officials, TapouT’s MMA mobile center will showcase a seamless way to purchase TapouT clothing, accessories and gear in real time using the company’s vision, voice and location recognition software.

The company officials said that users can also access MMA content on the fly including fighter profiles/stats/bios/news and videos. GetFugu will also be offeringFacebook ( News – Alert) widgets and other social networking integration in the near future.

“This is an opportunity for TapouT to provide a mobile interactive experience reaching MMA fans, old and new, across the globe,” said Dan Caldwell, CEO, co-founder, TapouT, in a statement.  (TMCnet)

QUICK HITS

• UFC 108 Draws 13,318 for Near $2 Million Gate (MMAWeekly)
• UFC Fight Night 20 scores record $753,962 live gate with 8,078 attendees (MMAJunkie)
• Lesnar shouldn’t rush into mega-fight (Fox Sports)
• Bravo TV to Televise Strikeforce Miami on Jan. 31st at 10 PM (UK TV Guide)
• MMA: Corvin Signs with UFC (The News Enterprise)
• Carano’s ‘Knockout’ film to start shooting Feb. 2 in Ireland (USA Today)
• Frank Trigg ’still kind of desperate’ about making a living from MMA (USA Today)
• MMA Fighters Come Out In Support Of Haiti (FightLine)
• Roxanne Modafferi returns in ‘King of the Cage: Toryumon’ (MMAMania)
• Y! exclusive: UFC to announce Abu Dhabi card (Yahoo! Sports)
• Strikeforce’s Nick Diaz: Marius Zaromskis fight isn’t about ducking Jay Hieron (MMAJunkie)
• Kaufman Confirms Hashi Title Fight In February (MMARising)
• Women’s MMA: That’s How Strikeforce Can Compete With The UFC (MMA for Real)
• UFC’s Abu Dhabi debut nearly official (ESPN)
• MMA added to New York state budget (ESPN)
• Spider, Cain, Arianny, more in new UFC Magazine (UFC)
• Florian-Gomi Targeted as UFN 21 Headliner (Sherdog)

IMAGE OF THE DAY

TV LISTINGS

• HDNet Fights Presents K-1 Classics (Asian GP 2008) at 8 PM ET on HDNet (01/22/10)
• InsideMMA (Ed Soares, Jose Aldo, Jon Fitch, & Randy Couture) at 9 PM ET on HDNet (01/22/10)
• HDNet Fights Presents Best of 2009 K-1 World MAX at 10 PM ET on HDNet (01/22/10)
• Best of Pride FC  at 10 PM ET/PT on Spike (01/22/10)

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Strikeforce Miami: Diaz vs Zaromskis at 10 PM ET/PT on Showtime (01/30/10)
• FCF 39: Women’s 135 lbs Grand Prix: Opening Round on TBD (01/30/10)
• KOTC: Toryumon from Okinawa, Japan on PPV (01/30/10)

CNNMoney.com reports that Tapout has expanded its line of training facilities by opening two new fitness centers away from the Las Vegas area; one in Gatineau, Quebec and the other in Boston, Massachusetts.

Truesport Alliances, Ltd. has cultivated an unparalleled client base consisting of the top MMA brands, including TapouT, the premier mixed martial arts apparel, gear and lifestyle brand. With the MMA culture quickly becoming a standard in sports excellence, TapouT Training Centers will offer a full complement of MMA training and classes open to the public.

 

The TapouT Training Centers will be the third and fourth stand alone fitness facilities of its kind to be built by the company, whose brand has become synonymous with the attitude and prominence of mixed martial arts. TapouT’s distinctive, authentic logo graces everything from clothing, accessories, and gear, to nutrition products and a magazine, as it does within the training center.

 

Designed for everyone at all fitness levels, the TapouT Training Center is predominately a class based fitness facility with a full schedule that features a spectrum of MMA themed training. In addition to a broad spectrum of martial arts instruction, the majority of the cardio/fitness classes are non-contact.

Payout Perspective:

The time to get into the MMA fitness facility business would appear to be now. The statistics point to something near 26,000 martial arts facilities in the United States, which is a number that grows every month along with new memberships and participation. Much like the UFC, Tapout sees an opportunity to license their brand in order to build it.

The only risk I see is that of any licensing venture: the commitment has to be there on the licensee side, because the threat of brand damage to the licensor is very real if expectations are not met. New members looking to enroll at a Tapout will come in with a certain set of expectations given the brand name. It looks like Tapout goes through a pretty rigorous screening process - as any potential licensor should – but nonetheless this isn’t a risk-free cash grab for Tapout.

• Lesnar’s likely return tops busy UFC agenda
• Truesport Alliances, Ltd. Opens TapouT Training Centers in Gatineau, Quebec and Boston, Mass.
• Martial arts athletes to visit area in fight against drug usage
• MotoUSA Heads to Big Apple for New York IMS
• NY Governor Introduces MMA Bill with State Budget Proposal

Lesnar’s likely return tops busy UFC agenda

Lesnar is scheduled to appear on ESPN on Wednesday morning to discuss his situation with diverticulitis, which forced him to cancel a Nov. 21 title defense, hospitalized him for two weeks, and has kept him on the sidelines ever since.

Lesnar will likely announce his return, possibly with a time frame. In the past week, two of Lesnar’s coaches – Greg Nelson and Marty Morgan – have said Lesnar would be returning, hinting it would be soon but saying they couldn’t confirm when. Others close to the situation have noted it has not been an easy decision for Lesnar to make; without having major surgery, there is a risk of another painful attack.

…The issue was whether he would need, or it would be advisable, to get surgery on his intestine, which would keep him out of action for more than a year. Such a lengthy absence would force him to vacate the heavyweight championship.

Another change made is in arguably UFC’s biggest fight on the books at this point: the Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Rashad Evans match built on the last season of “The Ultimate Fighter” with the two as rival coaches. The match will likely take place at UFC 114 on May 29 in Las Vegas instead of the originally announced UFC 113 show on May 1 in Montreal. UFC president Dana White said in a text message Tuesday morning that Jackson vs. Evans will most likely take place in Vegas… (Yahoo! Sports)

Truesport Alliances, Ltd. Opens TapouT Training Centers in Gatineau, Quebec and Boston, Massachusetts

Truesport Alliances, Ltd. (OTCBB: SEWE) is officially opening the doors of the new TapouT Training Center in Gatineau, Quebec and Boston, Massachusetts.

Truesport Alliances, Ltd. has cultivated an unparalleled client base consisting of the top MMA brands, including TapouT, the premier mixed martial arts apparel, gear and lifestyle brand. With the MMA culture quickly becoming a standard in sports excellence, TapouT Training Centers will offer a full complement of MMA training and classes open to the public.

The TapouT Training Centers will be the third and fourth stand alone fitness facilities of its kind to be built by the company, whose brand has become synonymous with the attitude and prominence of mixed martial arts. TapouT’s distinctive, authentic logo graces everything from clothing, accessories, and gear, to nutrition products and a magazine, as it does within the training center…(CNN Money)

Martial arts athletes to visit area in fight against drug usage

Three professional mixed martial arts athletes will be in the area today and Thursday to encourage young adults to stay away from drugs, establish goals in life and continue their education so they can become productive citizens and successful professionals.

The athletes were brought to the area through the efforts of Magisterial District Judge John Gembic III and his cousin, Mark Gross, a Coal Township native who now lives in North Carolina, “Crazy Bob” Cook, a former undefeated Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter who also serves as a trainer, coach and fight team manager at the renowned American Kick Boxing Academy in San Jose, Calif.

Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck, UFC competitors from Fort Wayne, Ind., and Josh Koscheck of Waynesburg, respectively, will be appearing at 9 p.m. today at Sees’ M.A.T.S., located at the former Magic River Skateland on Route 15 , Danville.

The athletes also will address students at Shamokin Area Middle/High School at 1 p.m. Thursday, and will participate in a special ceremony that will honor them as “honorary police officers” at the Coal Township Board of Commissioners meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday. After the meeting, the trio will head to Brewser’s SportsGrille to continue spreading their message of eradicating drugs through education, hard work and setting an example for others… (Newsitem)

MotoUSA Heads to Big Apple for New York IMS

From the cruiser domain, Harley-Davidson is scheduled to make an announcement, Victory will be unveiling a limited edition motorcycle, and Star Motorcycles is breaking wraps on a Performance Machine Star Raider. For custom motorcycle fans, the Bikes & Beats Ultimate Builder Competition presented by TapouT will attract plenty of East Coast talent to the show, and Hardcore Choppers is set to debut its Datasol Speedster “iBike.” Hardcore will also have other customs on hand like its ‘P-40 Warhawk’ Special Edition Speedster and the ‘Bat Bike.’ Just look for the ‘Hardcore Hotties’ and you’ll know you’re in the right place.

To add to the show’s entertainment value, UFC fighters Roy Nelson, Jens Pulver and Rolles Gracie will be on hand to meet fans at the TapouT Champions Area this Friday night. If racing is more your cup of tea, Marlboro Ducati rider and former MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden will be at the Ducati display Friday at 7 p.m., and AMA Drag Racing champion Rickey Gadson is scheduled to be at the Kawasaki booth… (Motorcycle USA)

NY Governor Introduces MMA Bill with State Budget Proposal

Jake Encarnacao of Sherdog.com reports that New York Governor David Paterson has unveiled his state budget proposal for the up-coming fiscal calendar and it includes a bill that would effectively re-instate MMA in New York…

The gate tax is really quite high, which suggests this push to legalize the sport is more of a money grab than a recognition of MMA’s legitimacy. Moreover, the difference in tax levels between New York and neighboring states may provide smaller promoters – those which do not benefit from the status appeal of hosting a show in the Big Apple, for example – with the incentive to take their shows to states like Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, or even Rhode Island… (MMAPayout Perspective)

QUICK HITS

• UFC Primetime: GSP vs. Hardy (MMAPayout Perspective)
• Werdum vs. Fedor “99% confirmed” in April (Tatame Magazine)
• Ambriz out as Lashley opponent, officials at “square one” on replacement (MMAJunkie)
• Overlooked and Overshadowed, Greg Nagy Ready for Herschel Walker (MMAFighting)
• AKA Teammates Insist Herschel Walker Is Ready for MMA Debut (MMAFighting)
• UFC: Exclusive Paul Daley earns new six-fight deal and faces US wrestler Koscheck (Telegraph)
• Coenen: I can go strike-for-strike with women’s champ ‘Cyborg’ Santos (USA Today)
• WEC fighter urges fans to aid Haiti survivors (Las Vegas Sun)
• Remembering Bob Shamrock (ESPN)
• After title loss, Diego Sanchez returning to UFC’s welterweight division (MMAJunkie)
• UFC signs Rick Story to new four-fight deal (MMAJunkie)
• MMA fighters teach Marines skills for combat (Marine Corps times)
• Source: Ninja Rua fighting for DREAM in March (Fighters Only Magazine)
• Nam Phan in Title Fight, Eyeing Return to Japan (MMAWeekly)

VIDEO OF THE DAY

• HDNet Fights Video Vault: Michihiro Omigawa vs. Hiroyuki Takaya at “Dynamite!! 2009″

TV LISTINGS

• HDNet Fights Presents K-1 Classics (Asian GP 2008) at 8 PM ET on HDNet (01/22/10)
• InsideMMA (Ed Soares, Jose Aldo, Jon Fitch, & Randy Couture) at 9 PM ET on HDNet (01/22/10)
• HDNet Fights Presents Best of 2009 K-1 World MAX at 10 PM ET on HDNet (01/22/10)
• Best of Pride FC  at 10 PM ET/PT on Spike (01/22/10)

UPCOMING EVENTS

• Strikeforce Miami: Diaz vs Zaromskis at 10 PM ET/PT on Showtime (01/30/10)
• FCF 39: Women’s 135 lbs Grand Prix: Opening Round on TBD (01/30/10)
• KOTC: Toryumon from Okinawa, Japan on PPV (01/30/10)

FIGHTER OF THE YEAR – GEORGES ST-PIERRE

St-Pierre had an incredible 2009 both in and outside of the Octagon. The UFC’s welterweight champion improved his record to 19-2 and established himself as a top sporting attraction with convincing victories over BJ Penn and Thiago Alves at UFC 94 and UFC 100, respectively. He also broke barriers for the sport of mixed martial arts by signing ground-breaking endorsement deals with the likes of Gatorade and Under Armour.

The native of Saint-Isidore, Quebec was again voted Rogers Sportsnet’s Canadian Athlete of the Year, in addition to placing second behind Sidney Crosby in the Canadian Press version of the poll.

PROMOTER OF THE YEAR – ZUFFA

Another year, another record broken. Zuffa’s Ultimate Fighting Championship smashed its previous mark for PPV sales in 2009 with nearly 8 million units sold. The organization also broke its record for live gate revenue with over $42 million generated from 20 events.

It was a year in which the company encountered immense success with its first champion vs. champion bout at UFC 94 between Georges St-Pierre and BJ Penn. Zuffa then continued to build momentum with the release of its UFC Undisputed video game in May and UFC magazine in July. However, the key to the year was the success of the UFC 100 weekend: a potent combination of unprecedented media coverage, a fan expo held parallel to the fight, and, of course, the title defenses of the UFC’s two most prominent fighters in Brock Lesnar and Georges St-Pierre.

The year may not have been without its challenges, but in the face of adversity Zuffa emerged from the year in a great position to repeat its success with not just the UFC but also the WEC. Indeed, with the UFC staring at a star-studded line-up of fights and a WEC PPV featuring Urijah Faber and Jose Aldo in Spring 2010, Zuffa will likely find itself right back here next year.

MANAGER OF THE YEAR – Shari Spencer

Last year Spencer made headlines with her less-is-more philosophy to MMA that saw her build the St-Pierre brand image with careful sponsorship selection that painted St-Pierre as a clean, strong, and reliable entity to which sponsors could associate their own brands. In 2009, her approach paid off as St-Pierre has become a top draw and marketable commodity for the UFC - evidenced by the major endorsement deals he inked with Gatorade and Under Armour.

Spencer will now look to do the same for Frankie Edgar in 2010 as the young lightweight from New Jersey is set to challenge for BJ Penn’s title in April.

INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL OF THE YEAR – MARC RATNER

Marc Ratner serves as the UFC’s VP of Government and Regulatory Affairs, and is the driving force behind the UFC’s effort to get MMA regulated in all 50 states. In 2009 alone he helped to open up Massachusetts, Tennessee, Michigan, and the City of Vancouver for MMA.

Ratner is easily one of the most well-respected individuals in the sport because of the way he chooses to do business on a daily basis. With a gentle disposition and calm demeanor, Ratner is engaging to all. However, he has also become one of the sport’s greatest proponents and defenders.

In 2010, you can expect New York and Ontario to be his two major priorities, but with a well of experience under his belt it’s only a matter of time before he locks down MSG and the ACC as viable venues for the UFC and the rest of MMA. 

HONORABLE MENTIONS

BJ Penn:

Penn rebounded extremely well following his loss to Georges St-Pierre in their blockbuster fight that began the year. The UFC lightweight champion defended his belt twice – both in convincing fashion – against Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez at UFC 101 and UFC 107, respectively.

The Prodigy earned every bit of his nickname not just with his performances, but also in the way he has slowly developed into the draw that everyone in MMA hoped he’d become. He currently leads the MMAPayout.com Power Rankings with money generated for his three outstanding headline performances in 2009.

Strikeforce:

Scott Coker’s vision is quickly becoming a reality as the veteran promoter landed his organization a network television deal, signed the best heavyweight fighter on the planet, agreed to a fighter-sharing alliance with Japanese promotion Dream, and formed a collaborative agreement with Electronic Arts that will showcase Strikeforce fighters in EA’s up-coming MMA game. Not bad.

Expect more from Strikeforce in 2010 as the promotion is planning to hold some 20 events and a very important return to CBS in April. Coker has also signed sports marketing guru Matt Levine to help develop a marketing strategy that will elevate the brand in the New Year.

Ed Soares:

The manager’s stable of fighters includes Anderson Silva, Lyoto Machida, Jose Aldo, Antonio Rodrigo, Antonio Rogerio, and Junior dos Santos – it’s quite possible that by the end of the year Soares fighters will own 50% of Zuffa’s divisional hardware. Impressive.

Soares isn’t on the honorable mention list just because of the success of his fighters – he also happens to be one of the hardest working professionals in the sport. He signed his clients to numerous sponsorship deals in 2009 including a slew of agreements with breakout clothing company Silver Star. Soares also runs his own clothing company, Sinister.

Charles “Mask” Lewis:

The co-founder of clothing company TapouT regrettably passed away earlier this year, only having seen half of his life-long dream realized: MMA’s ascension as a legitimate and popular sport. While his brand has risen to the top of the MMA clothing ladder – generating an estimated $180-200 million in 2009 – Lewis’ spirit and determination will remain with the entire MMA industry as it pursues worldwide acceptance and popularity.

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote that “there are no second acts in American life.”  Marc Kreiner has proved him wrong – about 7 or 8 times (he’s lost count).  A serial entrepreneur, the Brooklyn-born Kreiner began his career in the music industry, launching some of the biggest names of the disco era, including Chic, and racking up over 200 gold and platinum records. Since then, he’s built and sold companies in industries ranging from telemarketing to cellular phones.  But it was his music career that helped forge a special bond with Charles “Mask” Lewis and Dan “Punkass” Caldwell, leading to what is arguably his biggest success yet – TapouT.  In a recent interview with MMA Payout, the TapouT President recounted how their partnership began and why he believes the sky is the limit for what he refers to as the “Nike of MMA.”

“It was about three and a half years ago,” said Kreiner. “I was getting ready to sell my infomercial company.  We were running the first MMA infomercial with TJ Thompson, selling MMA videos.  He knew these guys who were wacky and crazy and fun and they had a hot company and I agreed to meet with them.  So these two guys came to my office, and in came this guy with face makeup.  He’s yelling, ‘Hey! Yo! Hey! Yo! Marco Polo!’  And he’s with Punkass, who literally didn’t say a word.  I just instantly fell in love with them.  It was magical.”

Their initial meeting lasted five hours.  As Kreiner learned, Mask was inspired by music.  He spent over an hour examining every one of the gold and platinum records on Kreiner’s wall, peppering him with questions along the way.  When the discussion finally turned to business, the group quickly agreed to a deal.  Kreiner would add a TapouT beanie to his infomercial product.  But he needed about 10,000 right away.  “Little did I know,” he said, “that these guys didn’t have a pot to piss in.”  But they somehow provided the product, and the rest is history.  “To this day,” said Kreiner, “I have no idea how they did it.”

About a month later, Charles invited Kreiner to visit TapouT’s “headquarters”, which was all of about 1,200 square feet.  Inside were seven girls in bikini bottoms, packing t-shirts in 100 plus degree weather.  “It looked more like a strip club than a clothing company,” he said.

Mask and Punkass asked Kreiner to join them as an equal partner.  “They told me that whatever they’d make I’d make,” said Kreiner.  “So I asked them how much.  They told me two thousand a month, which at the time wouldn’t have paid for my gas.”

But Kreiner saw the potential.  He knew that his passion for business and his partner’s insights and vision gave them a great chance at success.  “I’ll admit,” said Kreiner, “That when I told my wife I was going into business with two guys named Mask and Punkass, she thought that maybe I was on drugs again.”

Today, Kreiner marvels at his partners’ vision.  “All those dreams they told me about, ‘We’re going to have our own TV show, we’re going to be a $100 million company, MMA is going to be legalized’, all those things have come true.”

The Grand Terrace, California-based company now has about 145 employees, a 65,000 square foot headquarters facility and 2009 revenues that Kreiner estimates reached $200 million.  He describes TapouT’s growth as “non-stop,” adding that his company “has chosen not to participate” in the recession.  “Everybody’s cutting and we’re spending,” he says.

Kreiner says the key to his success is his team, which consists of a group of hard core employees, many of whom, he points out, sport “Believe” tattoos.  As the company’s reputation and profile have increased, Kreiner says he’s inundated with calls from wannabe employees, which makes recruiting pretty straightforward. “We’re going out and finding the best in the area we’re looking for and hiring them.” Recently, for example, he strengthened the junior apparel division – which he believes can be a $100 million dollar business – with hires from Roxy and Quicksilver.

He’s also stepping up the marketing spend, including a $3.5 million dollar campaign in 2010 that will “change the whole look and feel of the brand.”  Not surprisingly, Kreiner has big ambitions for the launch.  “Don’t be surprised,” he said, “if you see a couple of TapouT ads during the Super Bowl.”  He plans to aggressively target the international market this year, calling it a “huge” opportunity for the company that “could be three times as big as domestic.”

One thing Kreiner will not do, however, is worry about potential competition.  “We’re the leader and we’re just riding the horse wherever it’s going,” he said. “Besides, if you have time to look at other companies or follow other companies, you’re not doing your job.”

He’s amused, rather than threatened, by the new entrants in the MMA market.  “You’re seeing all kinds of companies that can’t succeed in the business that they’re in spending all kinds of crazy money and doing all these stupid things.  And now they’re saying they’re the biggest MMA company.  You know what?  God bless ‘em because we just keep doing what we do.  You’re going to see a lot of flameouts in the next six months.”

We asked Kreiner how TapouT could keep growing without alienating its core audience.  He believes the answer lies in brand consistency.  “Here’s what we know about the consumer,” he said.  “They want the real thing, and [TapouT] is the real thing.  We’re staying focused on the brand.”  He cites the fact that the company is approached for licensing opportunities ranging “from toothpicks to trucks,” but turns down a majority of the offers.  “We’re looking only at areas that really complement us.”

While many big name apparel companies have approached his team, Kreiner doesn’t appear to be in any hurry to cash out.  “I have a passion for the sport,” he says, “and getting a big lump check is not going to do it for me.”  Nevertheless, he does leave the door open for a potential IPO.  “If there is a time in the future where we might be able to have a potentially nice payday for our employees, we’d consider it.  But it’s all about the company.”

The Fighters Only 2009 MMA Awards were held last night in Las Vegas, Nevada, and not surprisingly Georges St-Pierre, the UFC, and Tapout came away as the big winners.

Here’s the entire list of winners on the evening:

• Fighter of the Year: Georges St-Pierre
• Fight of the Year: Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida (TUF 9 Finale)
• KO of the Year: Dan Henderson over Michael Bisping (UFC 100)
• Submission of the Year: Toby Imada’s inverted triangle over Jorge Masvidal (Bellator 4)
• Special Achievement Award: Charles “Mask” Lewis
• Best Promotion: UFC
• European Fighter of the Year: Gegard Mousasi
• Breakthrough Fighter of the Year: Brock Lesnar
• Female Fighter of the Year: Cristine “Cyborg” Santos
• Leading Man of the Year: Dana White
• Coach of the Year: Greg Jackson
• Ring Girl of the Year: Arianny Celeste
• Best MMA Media Coverage: MMAJunkie.com
• Best MMA Gym: Jackson Submission Fighting
• Best MMA brand: TapouT
• Best MMA Clothing: TapouT
• Best MMA Shorts: TapouT
• Best Gloves: UFC
• Best Journalist: John Morgan (MMAJunkie)

MMA HQ will be running two new giveaway contest’s during Saturday night’s The Ultimate Fighter Season 10 Finale fight card.

Namco/Bandai has just recently released the latest version of the most popular fighting game of all time, Tekken 6. For the release Tapout has teamed up with Tekken and released a custom Tekken 6 Tapout shirt.

MMA HQ will be giving away one shirt and a copy of Tekken six to two lucky winners.

To participate, you must be a member of the MMA HQ Fight Camp on MMAPlayground.com. If you aren’t already a member, just visit the fight camp homepage and request an invitation.

Whoever scores the most overall points for the TUF 10 finale on MMAPlayground will have their choice of one shirt or one copy of the video game (XBox360 or PS3 version, your choice).

Whoever picks the most correct fight winners will win either a shirt or copy of Tekken 6 depending on which prize the overall points winner selected.

Tiebreakers for either contest will be determined by who correctly predicted the highest number of fight finishes.

It was announced today that Fighter’s Only magazine has entered into a partnership with Tapout Clothing to launch a specialty line of Fighters Only apparel.

Here’s a snippet of the press release, and it’s followed by some Payout Perspective:

 FIGHTERS ONLY TEAMS WITH TAPOUT TO LAUNCH CLOTHING LINE

 

Premier Mixed Martial Arts Apparel Company to Produce Apparel for Men and Women

 

GRAND TERRACE, Calif., (November 4, 2009) Fighters Only, the world’s leading Mixed Martial Arts lifestyle magazine, struck a landmark deal with MMA’s premiere lifestyle brand, TapouT, to launch a line of specialty Fighters Only apparel. A selection of men’s and women’s t-shirts and hoodies will hit online and high street stores in November with additional items, including shorts and accessories, to follow in 2010.

 

Rob Hewitt, President and CEO of Fighters Only said: “At Fighters Only we strive to achieve the highest levels of production quality and creativity in everything we do, whether its producing a magazine, staging an awards show or designing a clothing range. TapouT is the biggest MMA apparel company in the world and the perfect partner for the Fighters Only brand and we’re delighted that they are partnering us in this exciting venture.”

 

“TapouT is thrilled to team with Fighters Only to provide mixed-martial arts fans another extension to express their passion for the sport,” said Marc Kreiner, TapouT Chairman and President. “Their reputation within the industry, matched with our connection to fans and unprecedented distribution, will aid TapouT’s global expansion.”

 

“TapouT and Fighters Only share a vision to continue the rapid growth of mixed martial arts worldwide,” said Dan Caldwell, TapouT Founder and CEO. “This partnership is a testament to our commitment and enthusiasm for the sport.”

 

To buy Fighters Only clothing online visit www.fightersonlymagazine.co.uk/shop or www.tapout.com.

 

About TapouT

 

TapouT is the world`s leading mixed-martial arts apparel, gear and lifestyle brand on the market today. TapouT started as a vision by Co-Founder Charles “Mask” Lewis Jr., and has since become a pioneer of the MMA movement and a $100 million empire. Representing some of the biggest MMA superstars including Chuck Liddell, Frank Shamrock, Thiago Alves and Anthony Johnson, TapouT produces the hottest apparel for men, women and children. Their distinctive, authentic logo graces everything from clothing, accessories, and gear, to nutrition products and a magazine. TapouT is also the exclusive apparel sponsor for Spike TV`s “The Ultimate Fighter” through 2011.

 

For millions of fans worldwide, the TapouT lifestyle inspires those to reach their goals and know that anything is possible if they “Simply Believe.”

 

About Fighters Only

 

• Fighters Only was the world’s first monthly Mixed Martial Arts and lifestyle magazine launching in the UK in 2005.
• By 2008 the magazine was on sale in 13 countries world wide
• Dedicated US and Canadian editions were launched in February 2009 featuring content specifically generated for the market. A German edition launched in April 2009.
• In 2008 Fighters Only launched the World Mixed Martial Arts Awards. The 2009 Awards Ceremony will be held at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and broadcast live on Versus.

Payout Perspective:

Normally I’m not a fan of brand extensions, but this type of unity within the MMA community is something that needs to continue. The greatest asset that companies have in this business is each other; finding ways to leverage strengths, achieve marketing synergies, and broaden market reach is vital to the continued growth and success of the business.

Under this agreement, Fighters Only will be able to diversify and expand its revenue stream by providing a tailored line of clothing apparel for its readership. While Tapout should be able to further expand its reach through partnering with the magazine.

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I’m sure many of you are already aware, but Fighters Only is currently accepting votes for its 2009 MMA Awards. It’s a chance to voice your opinion and get involved in the MMA community. Here’s the address: http://www.onlineawards.co.uk/fightersonly/home.asp