via www.yorkblog.com

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That's the obvious question to ponder, after Dave Meltzer reported in the March 15, 2010 Wrestling Observer Newsletter that early trending data for UFC 110 suggests that only 215,000-240,000 homes bought the show.  This isn't a particularly low number for an overseas show, but the show wasn't tape-delayed and on paper had a stronger line up than most previous overseas PPV shows.  Overexposure may be the answer, as UFC 110 came just two weeks after their last PPV event.  It doesn't help that UFC may have conditioned their more casual PPV buying audience to believe that all overseas PPV events are skippable after a series of lackluster line-ups.  Ironically, UFC 100 might not have helped either, raising the expectations of casual fans for PPV line-ups after seeing Brock Lesnar and George St Pierre defend their titles on the same show as the blow off to a big Ultimate Fighter captains grudge match.

Zach Arnold of www.fightopinion.com ponders the related question: "Why did UFC 110 reportedly not draw big on PPV?" with similar answers.  In particular, he wonders whether this is a sign that UFC's core PPV buying audience has shrunk significantly.

Dana White in the past has always scoffed about the potential perils of overexposure, thinking MMA, unlike other combat sports, would be immune to its effects, citing the unrelated examples of team based sports like football and basketball, which maintain their popularity despite so many matches being televised for free.  He may learn to regret the day that he didn't learn the lessons of boxing's and WWE's pasts, and conned himself into believing that MMA could be the biggest sport in the whole wide world.

If it wasn't obvious before, it is now: Dana White idolizes Vince McMahon and loves to borrow from his playbook.  According to Sherdog, he's about to lift one of the classics, as the planned UFC Ultimate Fight Night card on Spike TV that will oppose Strike Force's CBS special from Nashville on April 17th may take place in...Nashville.

Back in the late '80s and early '80s, running against major shows from Jim Crockett Promotions and then (after JCP was bought by Turner Broadcasting) World Championship Wrestling was something that McMahon had down to a science.  The WWF would get prime tenant status for wrestling in major arenas, forcing JCP/WCW to run in a smaller or less desirable building.

For example:

• In the Chicago area, the WWF would get the Rosemont Horizon while JCP would get the UIC Pavillion.
• In Philadelphia, the WWF would get the Spectrum (where they had been running for a long time) and JCP would get the Civic Center.
• In the New York metro area, the WWF had an exclusive with Madison Square Garden, so JCP and WCW were stuck either going to the Meadowlands or Nassau Coliseum in the suburbs or getting creative and running the 5,000 seat theater in the MSG complex.

This would often lead to both promotions running the same city in the same day/night, though sometimes, especially in Philly, both would draw great crowds.

As PPV events became more important, McMahon got more creative.  The night before a WCW PPV event, the WWF would run a house show in the same city.  If it was possible, they'd use the same arena.  These shows would run incredibly long so as to hurt the walk-up ticket sales and keep the fans from getting lively at the PPV event, giving the impression of a dead show.  If the shows were in the same building, then the WCW crew would be delayed in setting up the building.

What're the odds that Dana's next big move is to demand a higher percentage of PPV revenue from In Demand, TVN, DirecTV, and Dish Network?

via urdirt.com

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Yes, after giving the contract seeking, controversial, veteran boxer James Toney the cold shoulder at UFC 108, Dana White impulsively signed him yesterday.  Zach Arnold has already covered this story in much better detail than I could, with a piece entitled Marks of Desperation: The marriage between UFC and James Toney.  So what made Dana change his mind?  Unsurprisingly the answer, courtesy of Dave Meltzer, turns out to be to screw over their opposition Strikeforce, who were apparently negotiating with Toney to face Herschel Walker in a freak show match designed to draw ratings for their next CBS show. 

So what happens from here?  Expect the promotional war to heat up between UFC and Strikeforce, as UFC is already making plans to run a live show on April 17th, the current date for Strikeforce's next CBS show.  Expect James Toney to be pushed as a major outsider heel to the UFC fanbase, similar to how Brock Lesnar was pushed before his UFC debut.  But will lightning strike twice and the same push work for an aging, washed up, boxer?  We'll see.

I'm not really sure where this came from.  It's the uploader's only video and he/she has the world's most generic internet handle: toxmondo33.  I heard someone suggest that it might be a viral video to promote the shoes that they're wearing, but that sounds unlikely.  If it's an intentional leak, it's probably to give whatever Northcott's career is a boost.  If it's not (and the video does sound kinda...breathy), then...umm...I don't even know.  Being YouTube, the naughty bits are censored.  If this is a real stalker/paparazzi/whatever video, then I would guess that it will show up elsewhere uncensored.  At any rate, it's...interesting, and it's after the jump.

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01. Joey Beltran TKO Rolles Gracie (R2)
02. Chris Tuchscherer defeated Tim Hague by unanimous decision
03. Phil Davis defeated Brian Stann by unanimous decision
04. Rob Emerson defeated Phillipe Nover by unanimous decision
05. Melvin Guillard defeated Ronny Torres by unanimous decision
06. Mac Danzig defeated Justin Buchholz by unanimous decision
07. Matt Serra KO Frank Trigg (R1)
08. Demian Maia defeated Dan Miller by unanimous decision
09. Paulo Thiago choked out Mike Swick (R2)
10. Chael Sonnen defeated Nate Marquardt by unanimous decision to win a shot at the UFC Middleweight Title
11. Randy Couture choked out Mark Coleman (R2)

1. T.J. Grant TKO Kevin Burns (R1 4:57)    
2. DaMarques Johnson submitted Edgar Garcia with a triangle (R1 4:03)
3. Rousimar Palhares submitted Lucio Linhares with a heel hook (R2 3:21)
4. Johny Hendricks won a unanimous decision over Ricardo Funch
5. Matt Wiman won a unanimous decision over Shane Nelson
6. Alan Belcher TKO Wilson Gouveia (R1 3:03)
7. Stefan Struve won a majority decision over Paul Buentello
8. Kenny Florian submitted Clay Guida with a rear-naked Choke (R2 2:19)
9. Jon Fitch won a unanimous decision over Mike Pierce
10. Frank Mir choked out Cheick Kongo with a guillotine (R1 1:12)
11. B.J. Penn defeated Diego Sanchez due to a doctor stoppage for a cut to retain the lightweight title (R5 2:37)

via www.minnesotascore.com

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Dana White has stated that UFC world heavyweight champion and supernova buyrate machine Brock Lesnar has been sick with a flu he has been unable to shake for nearly a month.  His scheduled main event against Shane Carwin for the title at UFC 106 on November 21 has been subsequently postponed and will now take place January 2 in Las Vegas.

Bad news for UFC as this cancellation leaves UFC 106 without a title fight that was sure to draw huge numbers, but will now instead probably draw the usual UFC buyrate of like ten times the average WWE PPV.  Luckily, the co-main event was the somewhat thrown-together matchup of the returning Tito Ortiz against Forrest Griffin, which is still endlessly intriguing.

Get well soon, Brock.  America wants to see you wallop fools!