MMA Universe

Rampage Jackson has signed a three app deal to develop mobile games. His deal with Fountain Valley, California’s MEDL Mobile includes an executive position with the company.

Via MEDL press release:

Jackson, an active gaming enthusiast, has been appointed to the role of Creative Game Development Executive at MEDL and will work closely with its team of creative executives and programmers to develop three games based on his ideas. The first app is slated for launch in Spring 2012.

The three-app deal signifies a continuing trend of celebrities who are marketing their own mobile apps to connect with their fans and extend their brands into the fast-growing mobile apps market. Jackson is known for being exceptionally engaged with his fans, which is partly why his role in creating the apps will be much more in-depth and hands-on than what is typical of a celebrity-branded app. While the apps will bear Jackson’s name, they will not necessarily reflect his UFC or acting endeavors; rather, they will be based on his original ideas as a gamer.

“Rampage is a long-time avid gamer with great ideas that he’s been interested in developing for some time,” said Todd Jacobs of William Morris Endeavor. “This isn’t a case of a celebrity stamping his or her name or brand on a trendy product, but of a serious creative talent who is looking to chart new territory for himself and for his fans who share his passion for gaming.”

“With Rampage’s acting career taking off and his UFC achievements well established, now is a perfect time for him to expand into mobile and connect with his fans in a new way,” said Dave Swartz, MEDL Mobile co-founder and chief creative officer. “In his case, it’s going to not only provide another avenue for his brand, but an opportunity for him to validate yet another one of his talents – creative development.”

Payout Perspective:

Its nice to see UFC fighters expanding their business ventures and the phone app market seems to be a growing industry. We’ve seen from the UFC Countdown shows that Rampage is an avid gamer. We’ll have to wait and see what Rampage develops and at what price point. His name alone should be able to garner his fans to get the app.

One of the UFC’s benefits of partnering with Fox is the unfettered media access to NFL stars. In this video, NFL stars make their picks on this weekend’s UFC 143 the eve before the Super Bowl.

Eli Manning, Michael Strahan, Dhani Jones, Kurt Warner and others make their picks, based on very vague reasons, on the big main event.

Payout Perspective:

Let’s put aside the fact that most of these guys don’t watch the UFC and wouldn’t know who Carlos Condit is if he walked up to them and told them.  Does the fact that the UFC can utilize NFL players to promote its card help promote its product? We saw the Fox synergy last week when Kevin Harvick appeared on UFC on Fox 2 to promote NASCAR. How much credibility did he have to the UFC fan? We shall see if the synergy between Fox sports properties will add value to each property.

Earlier today, Josh Gross from ESPN.com broke the news that the Federal Trade Commission has closed a non-public investigation into the UFC’s purchase of Strikeforce as of last week.

ESPN reports:

Documents published on the FTC website dated January 25, confirm the FTC’s Bureau of Competition conducted an investigation to determine whether the $34 million acquisition of Explosion Entertainment, LLC, by UFC’s parent company, Zuffa LLC, violated Section 7 of the Clayton Act or Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act.
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In closing letters issued to counsel for Zuffa and Explosion Entertainment, FTC secretary Donald S. Clark stated, “Upon further review of this matter, it now appears that no further action is warranted by the Commission at this time. Accordingly, the investigation has been closed.”

The full letter from the FTC is below (H/T: FightOpinion.com):

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20580
Office of the Secretary

January 25, 2012

Stephen Axinn, Esq.
Axinn Veltrop, and Harkrider LLP
1330 Connecticut Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20036

Re: Acquisition of Explosion Entertainment, LLC (Strikeforce) by Zuffa, LLC (UFC)
FTC File No. 111 0136

Dear Mr. Axinn:

The Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition has been conducting a nonpublic investigation to determine whether Zuffa, LLC’s acquisition of Explosion Entertainment, LLC may violate Section 7 of the Clayton Act or Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act.

Upon further review of this matter, it now appears that no further action is warranted by the Commission at this time. Accordingly, the investigation has been closed. This action is not to be construed as a determination that a violation may not have occurred, just as the pendency of an investigation should not be construed as a determination that a violation has occurred. The Commission reserves the right to take such further action as the public interest may require.

By direction of the Commission.

Donald S. Clark
Secretary

Saturday night’s UFC on FOX  2 event from the United Center in Chicago posted a 2.6/5 national rating/share, averaging 4.66M viewers and peaking at just over 6 million according to figures released by Nielsen Media Research today.

Fox Sports Media Group Ratings Press Release:

As expected, FOX dominated the night on the important younger demographics. FOX’s 2.4 among Adults 18-49 nearly beat the combined ratings of ABC, CBS, and NBC (2.5 combined) and FOX’s 2.5 among Adults 18-34 easily beat those three network competitors combined (1.4). The three-bout broadcast on FOX averaged 4.7 million viewers from 8:00 PM – 10:19 PM ET.

The two-hour event, the first official network broadcast of FOX’s partnership with UFC, is off slightly (-16%) from the UFC on FOX premiere in November (3.1/5), which was only one hour and featured a highly-anticipated heavyweight championship fight. When comparing similar time periods for the two events, FOX posted a 3.0/5 from 9:00 – 10:15 PM ET, off only a tenth from the November UFC fight.

In several meaningful demographics, the last hour of Saturday’s broadcast rated higher than November’s UFC premiere on FOX with Men 25-49 up +3%, Men 25-54 up +3%, Men 35-54 up +4%.

As anticipation to the night’s main event grew so did the ratings and viewership. The night’s first match between Demian Maia and Chris Weidman scored a 2.2/4 rating/share. The next fight between Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping grew to a 2.7/5. Fans tuned in to see former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans take on undefeated former national champion wrestler Phil Davis with that bout posting a 3.4/6. More than 6 million viewers watched the five-round bout where Evans defeated Davis by unanimous decision

The top five metered markets for Saturday’s UFC on FOX event are: Las Vegas – 4.1/8; Louisville – 4.1/7; Indianapolis – 3.9/7; Greenville – 3.9/6; Tulsa – 3.9/6; and Knoxville – 3.9/6.

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Loretta Hunt of SI.com has more information on the ratings:

The 2-hour and 19-minute broadcast, which started at 8 p.m. EST (5 p.m. PST), peaked with an average 6.080 million viewers (from 10 to 10:19 p.m.) during the five-round main event pitting former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans against Phil Davis.
…
Last November, the first one-hour UFC telecast on FOX garnered an average 5.675 million viewers for a 3.1 household rating. It peaked with 8.802 million viewers during the 64-second heavyweight championship bout between Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos, making it the most watched fight ever (live or taped).

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Ratings by Half-hour Blocks:

- UFC on FOX 2 (8:00 pm-8:30 pm): 3.43 million viewers

-UFC on FOX 2 (8:30 pm-9:00 pm): 3.98 million viewers

-UFC on FOX 2 (9:00 pm-9:30 pm): 4.67 million viewers

-UFC on FOX 2 (9:30 pm-10:00 pm): 5.66 million viewers

- Overall: An average of 4.66M (peak of 6.08M) viewers watched the fight live or via DVR playback within the same day.

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Payout Perspective:

Compared to the first UFC on FOX event (5.67M average viewers with a peak of 8.8M), this show (4.66M average viewers with a peak of 6.08M) fell short of those numbers despite having an extra hour of air time and three total fights, instead of just one with only seconds of actual fight time.  In fact, this event fell in line with previous MMA telecasts that have aired on CBS. The fact that there was over 2 hours of MMA action (11 rounds total) and no exciting back-and-forth’s or finishes to get the fans and crowd involved really hurt the energy of the event.  After casual fans complained that there was plenty of hype for only seconds of fighting, they now got the other extreme.

The top five metered markets for Saturday’s UFC on FOX event were Las Vegas (4.1/8), Louisville (4.1/7), Indianapolis (3.9/7), Greenville (3.9/6), Tulsa (3.9/6), and Knoxville (3.9/6). It’s interesting to point out that best markets in terms of national TV have not always been the best markets for PPV.  The only west coast market here is Las Vegas, but other markets such as Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Houston, and Hawaii have historically been top PPV markets but did not make the list here on free national TV.

Notable to point out the counter-programming efforts here by Spike TV, who averaged 828K viewers for a “UFC Fight Night” replay and “UFC Unleashed” episodes that aired from 7-11 p.m. ET/PT. Those episodes featured fighters that were fighting on the UFC on FOX 2 event, which most likely created some fan confusion, but on the other hand, gave those FOX viewers an option to tune in to another channel to watch the same product and see some exciting finishes and fights.  By looking at the ratings Spike TV has achieved counter-programming UFC on FOX and UFC on FX specials, MMA fans who have become MMA fans by watching Spike TV are still in fact tuning in.

Earlier today, Yahoo producer Dave Doyle announced that this was his last day as MMA/Boxing editor over at Yahoo! Sports.

Doyle stated the following message via social media website Twitter:

Today is my last as MMA/boxing editor at Yahoo! Sports. It’s been an awesome ride working with great folks. Thanks for everything.

Sources tell MMAPayout.com that the cutting back on non-mainstream sports by Yahoo was due to their tumultuous 2011, which saw Yahoo’s stock dip under $17 and saw gross revenues decline by over 20%. Along with Doyle – who had been with Yahoo since 2007 – another key member of Yahoo’s MMA team is long-time MMA and Pro Wrestling reporter Dave Meltzer, who has also been a part of Yahoo since it ramped up it’s MMA coverage in 2007. His contract is also up this week.  At this time, it is unsure whether Meltzer will be able to continue his affiliation with Yahoo Sports, as the struggling company tries to workout it’s budget for the new fiscal year.  Longtime Boxing and MMA reporter Kevin Iole and Cagewrite Blog members Steve Cofield & Maggie Hendricks are reported to be staying with the team.

Yahoo will now shift their coverage to more mainstream sports ( NFL, NBA, and MLB) instead of those that are more niche such as combat sports (MMA/Boxing), Golf, and NASCAR.  Rumors of a possible shakeup within Yahoo! Sports first began around the Summer last year. The dismal fiscal results in 2011 made sure those early rumblings came to fruition.

As for Yahoo’s 2011 fiscal results, Forbes stated the following:

“Even with gross revenues declining by over 20% in 2011, Yahoo’s Q4 2011 results were hardly a surprise, as the company completed a tumultuous year filled with leadership and investor squabbles. For now, CEO Scott Thompson has acknowledged that the company has to deliver more monetization on digital content in 2012, which is a must for Yahoo to stop its shrinking presence in the online ad space.”

Yahoo will now try to focus on it’s core business, which will include selling off foreign assets and letting non-performing Yahoo! properties go, as Yahoo’s CEO Thompson has stressed “effective allocation of capital” is a priority moving forward.

This isn’t the only mainstream sports media shake-up that has impacted MMA recently.  In November of 2011, AOL’sMMAFigthing.com was sold to Vox Media – parent company to SB Nation- as AOL struggled to compete with media giants Google and Facebook in the last few years, a problem Yahoo has also been facing.  A few days later, USA TODAY Sports Media Group (Gannett) made the announcement that they had acquired MMAJunkie.com, one of the biggest MMA media sites in the industry.

The New York District Attorney and Attorney General filed separate motions to dismiss two claims in Zuffa’s lawsuit in New York City. While the lawsuits seek to dismiss only a portion of the UFC complaint, it appears that the defendants are leaving open a motion to dismiss the entire complaint in total at a later date.

Courtesy of the Fight Lawyer, the two motions are below:

Attorney General’s Motion to Dismiss(function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "http://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })();

District Attorney’s Motion to Dismiss(function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "http://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })();

Payout Perspective:

The crux of both arguments appear to be that despite Zuffa’s claims, the fact remains that New York had a rational basis for enacting the ban at the time it was drafted. And based on this, the statute was not vague and overbroad as it relates to the due process and equal protection claims. They cite to case law which supports the theory that despite changes over the years that may, arguably, antiquate a statute’s purpose, under a rational basis review of a law, so long as there was a rational purpose for it at the time of its introduction it is valid.

Both motions argue that the proper forum for Zuffa’s claims is with the legislature and that if Zuffa wanted to enact change, it should direct its efforts to the legislature.

Via the District Attorney’s motion to dismiss:

…as a proper exercise of judicial restraint, federal courts must uphold a statute that was rational when enacted, even when post-enactment developments cast doubt on the wisdom, logic, or providence of prior legislative decisions

It also argues that legislatures are given “substantial latitude” when it comes to enacting laws under a rational basis review of the law as “imperfections and even inequality must be tolerated.”

The defendants’ motions are persuasive and could set the dominoes in line if the court grants the motion to dismiss Zuffa’s claims. As indicated in its motions, both parties contemplate a further motion to dismiss the rest of Zuffa’s claims if it is successful with this motion.

TV By the Numbers reports the overnight ratings for UFC on Fox 2 as it clearly won its timeslot among the networks with a 2.2 rating and a 7 share with an estimated 4.373 million viewer average. The numbers may be adjusted (and likely upward) due to the nature of live programming according to TV By the Numbers.

The timeslot victory may be tempered considering it was the only live original network programming during the timeslot and US Figure Skating Championships – a sport with more of a niche audience (outside of the Olympics) than MMA – was the only other live programming on any of the networks.

UPDATE: FOX releases Ratings

Saturday night’s UFC ON FOX event from the United Center in Chicago, posted a 2.7/5 household overnight rating/share, +42% better than FOX’s Saturday primetime average for the previous four weeks (1.9/4), according to Nielsen Media Research.

FOX Sports Research projects that the network is expected to win the night among Adults 18-49 by a wide margin, and may beat ABC, CBS and NBC combined in the Adults 18-34 demographic when national figures are issued tomorrow.

The three-bout, two-hour event, the first official network broadcast of FOX’s partnership with UFC, is off from the UFC on FOX premiere in November (3.5/6), which was only one hour and featured a highly anticipated heavyweight championship fight. When comparing similar time periods for the two events, FOX posted a 3.1/5 from 9:00-10:15 PM ET, compared to the 3.5/6 that the premiere event recorded from 9:00-10:00 PM.

As anticipation to the night’s main event grew so did the ratings. The night’s first match, Jitsu master Demian Maia taking on unbeaten Chris Weidman did a 2.3/4. The next fight between middleweight contender Chael Sonnen battling British star Michael Bisping grew to a 2.9/5. Fans tuned in to see former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans take on undefeated former national champion wrestler Phil Davis with that bout posting a 3.4/6. The fight went all five rounds and Evans defeated Davis by unanimous decision.

The top five metered markets for Saturday’s UFC on FOX event are: Las Vegas – 4.1/8; Louisville – 4.1/7; Indianapolis – 3.9/7; Greenville – 3.9/6; Tulsa – 3.9/6; and Knoxville – 3.9/6.  Other markets of interest: New York – 2.2/4; Los Angeles – 2.3/5; and host city Chicago – 2.8/5.

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Payout Perspective:

The numbers are off from the first Fox event in November when those numbers totaled a 3.1 rating with 5.7 million viewers with a peak of 8.8 million viewers. Its unlikely that we’ll see that high of a peak here. The West Coast tape delay and overrun may help with the final tally for the ratings. UFC on Fox 1 was only 1 hour and was more of a novelty for the casual viewer. We shall see what the final results are for the UFC’s second time on the network. Unfortunately, not a lot of action to cheer for on the network show as the three fights wouldn’t appeal to someone watching MMA for the first time. It will be interesting how the UFC will work to ensure exciting fights next time out.

MMA Weekly reports that tonight’s UFC on Fox 2 drew 17,245 for a gate of $1.2 million. It was the UFC’s first appearance at Chicago’s United Center since UFC 90.

Although the attendance figures were solid, the gate figure pales in comparison to UFC 90 when the gate exceeded $2.8 million. On that night, Anderson Silva defended his title against Patrick Cote.

Via MMA Weekly:

The promotion’s last trip to the Chicago area was the Allstate Arena in the suburb of Rosemont for UFC 90. That event drew a slightly lesser attendance of 15,359, but drew more than double the live gate, totaling $2.85 million.

The gate did beat the first event televised on Fox at the Honda Center in Anaheim. That event drew 11,600 for a gate of slightly over $1 million.

In addition, MMA Junkie reports the bonuses were announced and each received $65,000. All of the prelim fights received the night’s bonuses.

Lavar Johnson: KO of the Night
Charles Oliveira – Sub of the Night
Evan Dunham and Nik Lentz – Fight of the NIght

The UFC was shutout for the 2nd straight year in Bloomberg Businessweek’s Top Power 100 Sports Ranking. Notably, boxers Manny Pacquiao (28) and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (49) were on the list.

Drew Brees edged out Aaron Rodgers for the top spot this year. Brock Lesnar and Fedor made it on the list in 2010. The list is based on an athlete’s performance, popularity and marketability.

Last year’s top spot, Peyton Manning, fell to 51st on the list. Lance Armstrong, No. 8 on the list last year, fell off the list completely as he announced his retirement last February. Despite retiring, Shaquille O’Neal remained No. 7 on the list.

Payout Perspective:

Will there be a UFC fighter on this list next year? Certainly, Jon Jones and Georges St. Pierre would be the two names that would come to mind when it comes to the criteria. Jones would be more likely to make the mainstream jump this year consdering GSP’s injury. A combination of Jones’ personality, his athletic ability and the UFC’s visibility through the Fox deal should help land Jones on this list.

MMA Junkie reports that Dana White’s personal information was revealed online after White challenged hackers that may have hacked UFC.com. The challenge came after the UFC head engaged in a heated twitter exchange with the alleged hackers.

Via MMA Junkie:

A Twitter user claiming to be a member of the same Internet group that over the weekend attacked UFC.com, UGNazi.com, posted a link to a file listing the apparent phone number, social security number and current and past addresses of the UFC boss.

In addition to addressing the issue of the UFC hackers at today’s UFC on Fox 2 press conference, White also addressed the controversial SOPA bill which the UFC supported:

“Is SOPA the perfect bill? No, it’s not,” he said. “The only thing that we’re focused on is piracy. Piracy is stealing. If you walk into a store and you steal a gold watch, it’s the same as stealing a pay-per-view. I don’t care what your twisted, demented idea of stealing is. This kids who grew up on the Internet never had to pay for anything, so they don’t think that you should have to.”

Payout Perspective:

Most would agree that the unauthorized posting of personal information, including White’s alleged social security number, is not acceptable. It has now drawn the attention of White and the UFC. If White had made the statement about SOPA on the day of the SOPA blackout, or if this was communicated in Sunday’s Las Vegas Journal editorial, we may not have seen such a militant response from the hackers. Certainly, most people would understand the UFC’s stance if it was communicated in a timely manner.

There’s no guarantee that hackers would have stayed away from the UFC.com web site even if White and the UFC came out with its statement. But, at least stating its position, instead of pretending not to care about it, would have satisfied most.

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[UPDATE]: Las Vegas FOX affiliate says hackers’ attack on White sees innocent woman harassed [MMAJunkie]

“Breeler claims to have received more than 500 phone calls since her information was released in place of White’s actual data.
…
In the report, FOX 5 reporter Matt Delucia suggests the UFC boss’ name became associated with Breeler’s address thanks to a past resident of the house who owned a white cat named “Dana,” and used the pseudonym as a way to detect junk mail.”

The UFC issued a formal statement via MMA Fighting regarding Sunday’s security breach of the UFC.com web site. The response comes two days after the hacking of the web site.

Via MMA Fighting:

On Sunday, January 22nd, the UFC.com website was redirected by a criminal hacker to another website. The UFC website was quickly restored to the control of the UFC, and there is no evidence suggesting that any confidential information belonging to the company or its customers was compromised by the re-direction of the website. UFC representatives are continuing to investigate the matter and are working with law enforcement agents to prosecute those involved.

Payout Perspective:

While there is nothing wrong with the statement, the tardiness of the assurance that all is well with the site is a concern. As MMA Fighting points out, the recent Zappos.com security breach saw a swifter response from the online shoe retailer. Still, the online shoe retailer is facing at least one lawsuit related to the breach. In addition, White’s twitter response that he basically did not care is of concern since UFC.com also acts as a storefront for its fans. Its a place where the UFC sells product and asks for buyer’s credit card and personal information.

USA Today reported that UFC.com was hacked yesterday as a result of its position on SOPA. However, Dana White did not seem to be concerned with the web site’s security breach.

MMA Mania reports that the group that hacked the site did this in part as retaliation for the shutdown of file sharing web site Megaupload.What may have stirred some controversy is White’s reaction to the web site hacking. White usually responds to UFC issues on twitter with some sort of opinion.. Most recently, he addressed the controversy over Friday night’s Fight of the Night. He’s also wrote in opposition to ESPN’s story on fighter pay. Yet, he did not seemed concerned about the issue Sunday night.

As we wrote previously, the UFC is in the unenviable position of supporting an unpopular law for its target audience. While SOPA and PIPA would help the UFC in its fight against the piracy of its PPVs, its broad reach has many of its fans opposing the legislation.

Payout Perspective:

The hacking of UFC.com should have been addressed by White or the UFC with more concern. To make light, or not care about a security breach on its web site shows a disregard for its property – a property that would be protected by the legislation its been supporting. From a PR perspective, one need not acknowledge the perpetrators of the hacking, but the UFC should ensure its followers that the breach has been addressed. After all, as people have noted, how safe would you feel to make a purchase on UFC.com if you knew that the site had been hacked. We’ll see if there will be additional hackings of the site and/or if the UFC will address the issue.

The UFC’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence Epstein wrote an op-ed in Sunday’s Las Vegas Review Journal in defense of the UFC’s position in favor of SOPA. On the same day, the UFC web site was hacked in what is believed to be a response to the UFC’s position on the bill.

In addition to its support of the controversial SOPA bill, Epstein’s editorial argues in favor of the Protect IP Act (PIPA). A bill supported by Nevada Senator Harry Reid – a friend of the UFC.

Overall, Epstein’s piece attempts to find common themes that the reader would agree with (stealing is bad, it hurts the economy and hurts American businesses) before coming to his point  that the UFC is against piracy of its PPVs. The piece uses the UFC as an example of a U.S. success story.

Via the Las Vegas Review Journal:

The UFC itself is an example of American innovation. The Fertitta brothers, who are Las Vegas natives, along with their friend, Dana White, co-founded today’s UFC by rescuing a dying company from bankruptcy. They cleaned up the sport by inviting clear, enforceable regulation of fighting events, put their own livelihoods on the line and created a new market (with thousands of jobs) where none existed prior. That is exactly the kind of entrepreneurial engine that our country needs, especially now.

The op-ed also indicates that the UFC “contributes more than $300 million” to the economy. It also argues that there must be a rule of law to regulate online sites from stealing from businesses like the UFC.

Payout Perspective:

The timing of the op-ed piece is interesting considering the SOPA boycott occurred earlier this  past week. As a result, a scheduled vote on SOPA this week has been put off. The UFC’s position on SOPA is of no surprise as Lorenzo Fertitta sent a letter of support to the bill’s sponsor last November. The WWE was another company in favor of the legislation.

Still, the placement of the editorial is interesting considering the timing. But the actual intent of the piece lacks persuasiveness. A better use of the editorial would be to acknowledge the strong opposition but assert the reasons why SOPA protects intellectual property rights of many companies including the UFC. It does get into its position a little. But mostly we get a broad American values editorial which carries no weight. While there are certain political lines that the UFC is trying to straddle with its position, it could have asserted its support of the controversial legislation while carving out its reasons. Since a big portion of the UFC’s target audience are those that would support a protest of SOPA, it would make sense for the UFC to explain itself in better detail.

As some believe, Sunday’s “hacking” of UFC.com could have been a result of the UFC’s position. While the UFC will be concerned from an online security perspective, it should also look at it from a PR perspective. For the UFC, this may not be as easy as it seems. The UFC has been aggressive in its stance against illegal streaming and distribution of its fights. In supporting SOPA and PIPA, it sees legislation that can assist in its fight against online piracy. But, opposition to the laws, which include many young, internet savvy individuals – the same people that likely follow Dana White and many other UFC fighters on twitter, utilize social media and embrace the online community oppose the restrictions that would come with the proposed laws. We will see how SOPA and PIPA will evolve and if the UFC will continue to support it.

The UFC announced that it will be showing UFC 143 in 3D in movie theaters. Tickets for the in theater PPV will go for $25 and can be purchased in advance.The main event Super Bowl Weekend has Nick Diaz battling Carlos Condit for the interim welterweight title.

Via UFC press release:

Las Vegas, Nevada – The Ultimate Fighting Championship^®, in conjunction with Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. (NASDAQ: CIDM)  and NCM Fathom, announced that tickets for the first-ever live, 3-D broadcast of a UFC^® Pay-Per-View event on the Big Screen are on sale now. The championship fight card,UFC^® 143: DIAZ vs. CONDIT, airs live and in 3-D in more than 100 theatres nationwide on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT from Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

The night’s main event pits the fiery and unpredictable Nick Diaz against hard-hitting knockout artist Carlos Condit for the interim UFC welterweight title. An exciting co-main event features heavyweight Roy “Big Country” Nelson battling submission ace Fabricio Werdum.

Tickets for UFC^® 143: DIAZ vs. CONDIT are available for purchase now at www.ufc.com/3D, as well as at theatre box offices across the country. Fans can visit the website for information on which theatres will be carrying the event in their respective regions.

“I know the fans love 3-D, so I’m happy to give them this championship fight live and in 3-D in theaters across the country,” UFC President Dana White said. “I cannot wait for this fight between Diaz and Condit to determine the interim UFC welterweight champion!”

UPDATE: The above press release web site takes you to Fandango where you can purchase advance tickets. The cost is $25 per ticket in the Seattle, WA area although I’m not sure if this is region specific.

Payout Perspective:

This will be an interesting experiment to see if the 3D concept will catch on with MMA. Last year, the UFC and Cindegim announced this partnership. The UFC first tried 3D with UFC on Versus 3. Depending on the price of the tickets, this could be a successful experiment and another option from having to pay $50 plus to order a PPV at home. But, I don’t recall past attempts for movie theatre live events doing well.  It would have been nice to have had bigger names on top of the card as this could draw more interested fans to this event.

MMA Junkie reports that UFC Tonight on Fuel TV drew an average of 61,000 viewers on Tuesday night. It triples the viewership of the show from last week.

UFC Tonight, the UFC’s news magazine show, debuted January 3rd with a  39,000 viewer average. Last week’s edition scored a low of 20,000 viewers.

Via MMA Junkie:

In 2011, FUEL TV was cable’s lowest-rated channel. However, thanks largely to the UFC’s new partnership with the channel, which airs live fights and an array of other UFC programming, FUEL TV has expanded from a meager 30 million U.S. homes to approximately 36 million in just a matter of months. (By comparison, the UFC’s former longtime home, Spike TV, is available in approximately 100 million.)

While the growth process has proved problematic for some hardcore UFC fans who don’t have FUEL TV in their programming lineup, the cable channel has seen an immediate impact in its viewership. According to FUEL TV officials, the channel has seen a 56 percent gain in total viewers over the first two weeks of 2011 and a 75 percent increase in viewers in the coveted male 18-49 demographic.

Payout Perspective:

The spike (no pun intended) in ratings is a good sign that fans are finding the show. As we’ve indicated here before, there will be some growing pains with the new Fox platforms as fans get used to the new channel. It will be interesting to see if the ratings continue to rise, remain steady, or fluctuate depending on the events and subjects covered by the show.

MMA Junkie reports that UFC Tonight on Fuel TV drew an average of 61,000 viewers on Tuesday night. It triples the viewership of the show from last week.

UFC Tonight, the UFC’s news magazine show, debuted January 3rd with a  39,000 viewer average. Last week’s edition scored a low of 20,000 viewers.

Via MMA Junkie:

In 2011, FUEL TV was cable’s lowest-rated channel. However, thanks largely to the UFC’s new partnership with the channel, which airs live fights and an array of other UFC programming, FUEL TV has expanded from a meager 30 million U.S. homes to approximately 36 million in just a matter of months. (By comparison, the UFC’s former longtime home, Spike TV, is available in approximately 100 million.)

While the growth process has proved problematic for some hardcore UFC fans who don’t have FUEL TV in their programming lineup, the cable channel has seen an immediate impact in its viewership. According to FUEL TV officials, the channel has seen a 56 percent gain in total viewers over the first two weeks of 2011 and a 75 percent increase in viewers in the coveted male 18-49 demographic.

Payout Perspective:

The spike (no pun intended) in ratings is a good sign that fans are finding the show. As we’ve indicated here before, there will be some growing pains with the new Fox platforms as fans get used to the new channel. It will be interesting to see if the ratings continue to rise, remain steady, or fluctuate depending on the events and subjects covered by the show.

Welcome to another edition of Payout Perspective. This week we look at the UFC’s return to Brazil in which Jose Aldo defended his featherweight title against Chad Mendes.

Aldo finishes Mendes and celebrates in crowd

Jose Aldo’s explosive power was on display as a knee coming out of a clench ended Chad Mendes’ title shot. After the fight, Aldo ran into the crowd which provided a great moment albeit a gasp for UFC security.

Realistically, Aldo’s security breach is much ado about nothing. He knew that he had the crowd behind him and he wanted to celebrate with his fans. Sure, someone could have done harm to him, but as I stated, he knew his audience. If someone wanted to do harm to him, they could have done so on the walkout. While the trampling of fans may have occurred, it seems as risky as when fans storm the court or field as they do in football or basketball. Do fans feel concerned when a Green Bay Packer does a “Lambeau Leap” after a touchdown? Yet, this was a “teachable moment” for UFC security for next time. It was awkward seeing Aldo trying to shake UFC security as he was trying to celebrate. Even Reed Harris tried to step in to direct Aldo back to the cage.

For Aldo, he’s cleaned out the Featherweight division. It will be interesting to see what he’ll do next. A possible superfight with Frankie Edgar (or Ben Henderson) would be a great matchup and something that could be promoted as a battle of current division champs.

Belfort chokes out Johnson

What a bad trip for Anthony Johnson. A failed weight-cut, losing a portion of his show purse, a first round submission and Johnson returns to the United States without a job. Johnson weighed in on Friday at 197 pounds for his middleweight fight. That means he was 11 pounds over (considering the 1 pound allowance). Belfort, understandably would agree to take the fight if Johnson weighed no more than 205 pounds on Saturday. If Johnson didn’t make it, it certainly would have killed the top end of the PPV. Fortunately, he made weight Saturday.

Still, making Dana White sweat the night before whether one of his fighters would make weight was the likely nail in the coffin for Johnson’s UFC career.

Johnson has had past problems with cutting weight. He definitely is a chiseled athlete, but an athlete that should fight at 205.

For Belfort, its another step back toward Anderson Silva’s title.

Attendance and Gate

According to the Wrestling Observer (subscription required), the attendance at the HSBC Arena garnered 10,605 paid fans for a gate of $2.8 million. The arena is said to hold 14,000 so we may extrapolate the number of comps assuming the arena was at capacity.

In Brazil, UFC 142 was seen on Globo, its top-rated network. Although the three live fights were shown between 12:45am to 2:00am, it garnered 23 million viewers (Wrestling Observer).

Bonuses

MMA Junkie reports that the bonuses were worth $65,000 each. Edson Barboza won KO of the night for his spectacular spinning heel kick of Terry Etim. Barboza and Etim also won Fight of the Night. The leg lock machine, Rousimar Palhares won for submission of the night.

UFC Prelims on FX

This was the first time that the UFC Prelims appeared on FX and it received an 880,000 viewer average. The ratings were lower compared to its regular showings on Spike TV. We will try to update you with the UFC 142 Countdown rating  on Fuel.

Sponsorships

The Octagon included MetroPCS, Xyience, Burger King, Bony Acai, Manguinhos Refinaria, and IntegraMedica with Bud Light in the center of the Octagon. In addition to these sponsors, the UFC advertised its upcoming video game UFC Undisputed in the Octagon.

Burger King also ran a promotion with Anderson Silva in which he would have lunch with a fan that won a contest for what the Spider should do to celebrate 1 million twitter followers. The Burger King sponsorship has only been in Brazil but we shall see if the relationship will extend to the United States.

KMart is back with the UFC as it placed a voiceover at the beginning of the first round of each fight for its new promotion offering $10 off for UFC 143. It was a nice form of brand activation as its logo and the promotion reminded viewers at the beginning of each first round on the PPV.

MMA Junkie reported on soccer clubs getting into the sponsorship of UFC fighters in Brazil. The UFC was said to be cautious about the newfound sponsor money due to the intense rivalries between the clubs.

Along with his normal pre-fight sponsor banner, Belfort had another banner in honor of his kidnapped sister. He also spoke about the rash of kidnappings in Brazil at the post-fight press conference.

Silva also participated in the UFC’s #Hunt4UFC promo where he gave out tickets to lucky fans.

It will be interesting to see how much value the Brazilian sponsors such as IntegraMedica and Manguinhos will bring to the UFC and vice versa.

Odds and ends

-Another set of fights which ended with first round stoppages. UFC 134’s main events all ended in the first round and the same occurred for UFC 142.

-Aldo’s crowd surf and Barboza’s heel kick were featured on Deadspin right after the fights. Barboza’s heel kick made number 3 on ESPN’s top plays of Saturday night.

-No word whether there were any glitches with the XBox Live platform as many of those shut out of UFC 141 were given 142 for free.

-For you pro wrestling fans, Aldo’s run in the crowd, reminded me of DDP of WCW fame heading into the crowd after a match.

-Mike Pyle embraced the “heel” role in his victory over Brazilian Ricardo Funch as he egged on the crowd after his victory.

Conclusion

UFC 142 was a success from the perspective of its further ties with its Brazilian fan base. There were many PR events during the week including UFC fighters taking surf lessons and open workouts. No doubt the UFC has reengaged with the fans and it bodes well for local viewership of the first international Ultimate Fighter held in the country this year. But, the U.S. buy rate will not reflect the same as it ran opposite the NFL Playoffs. In addition to the playoffs, the fact that this card catered to Brazilian fans meant less known names to the U.S. fan base which will affect the final buy rate results. We also have the factor that a lighter weight division was at the top of the card which has meant (in recent history) a lower buy rate.

MMA Junkie reports that FX’s first prelim show for UFC 142 scored 880,000 viewers. According to MMA Junkie, the viewership number is smaller than any of the “UFC Prelims” on Spike TV but beats out all three specials aired on ION Television.

As MMA Supremacy points out, “UFC Prelims” never dipped under 1 million viewers when it aired on Spike TV.

Payout Perspective:

While the numbers may seem disappointing, there appears to be room to grow. The NFL Playoffs probably didn’t help with the rating either as the prelims competed with Tebowmania. Despite the New England blowout, the NFL (and Tebow) held a huge audience – 34.2 million viewers. We will have to wait to see how the Prelims would do without such stiff opposition.

MMA Junkie reports that FX’s first prelim show for UFC 142 scored 880,000 viewers. According to MMA Junkie, the viewership number is smaller than any of the “UFC Prelims” on Spike TV but beats out all three specials aired on ION Television.

As MMA Supremacy points out, “UFC Prelims” never dipped under 1 million viewers when it aired on Spike TV.

Payout Perspective:

While the numbers may seem disappointing, there appears to be room to grow. The NFL Playoffs probably didn’t help with the rating either as the prelims competed with Tebowmania. Despite the New England blowout, the NFL (and Tebow) held a huge audience – 34.2 million viewers. We will have to wait to see how the Prelims would do without such stiff opposition.

MMA Junkie reports that Mark Munoz is out of the UFC on Fox 2 co-main event with Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping will step in. ESPN’s Josh Gross tweeted that Munoz injured his elbow and will require surgery.

Originally, Bisping was set to face Demian Maia on the same card. Maia will now face Chris Weidman. The undefeated Weidman gets a shot on network television thanks to the opening.

Payout Perspective:

Another injury hampers a UFC card. But this time, in might not hurt ratings. The new matchup should be more of a draw because of the two “personalities” and the trash talk that should help sell the fight leading up to UFC on Fox 2. Disappointing for Munoz as he is one of the nicest fighters in MMA and hopefully he will be back soon. Bisping, a direct opposite to Munoz, is willing to talk trash about Sonnen. And Sonnen, who has been relatively muted due to the respect he had for Munoz has no qualms about speaking out against The Count. Its a definite help to the card and there will be a sufficient amount of talking (without overkill) up to next Saturday night.