Cageside Seats: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Pro Quality. Fan Perspective.
Login-facebook
New Blog: Voodoo Five for South Florida Bulls Fans!

UFC

Is UFC finally feeling the effects of overexposure through running too many major shows?

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.

3 comments  |  0 recs |

April 17th: UFC and Strike Force specials on the same night...and in the same city?

Danawhiteclown_medium

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?

2 comments  |  0 recs |

Dana White signs his stalker James Toney to screw with Strikeforce

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.

2 comments  |  0 recs |

Video of Chuck Liddell and girlfriend Heidi Northcott working out in the nude hits YouTube

Liddelltrain_medium

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.

Continue reading this post »

0 comments  |  0 recs |

Quick UFC 109 results: Randy Couture chokes out Mark Coleman

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)

2 comments  |  0 recs |

Quick UFC results: Frank Mir chokes out Cheick Kongo and B.J. Penn defeats Diego Sanchez

Frankmirflexes_medium

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)

1 comment  |  0 recs |

My Totally Fearless (and Clueless) UFC 106 Predictions

 

Titoforrest_medium

 

What was at one point a very interesting card headlined by a title match and a fun under card is now a show featuring a main event rematch that the world hasn't really been begging for and a fun under card. Either way you slice it, UFC 106 has the potential to be a good show.

TITO ORTIZ VS FORREST GRIFFIN

Tito Ortiz makes his return to competition against Forrest Griffin in the rematch of their 2006 brawl that saw Ortiz win by split decision. Griffin is coming off of his monumentally poor performance against Anderson Silva which saw Forrest get completely and totally outclassed before running away from the octagon after the fight. While Forrest is hardly the first guy to look like crap against Silva, this fight will go a long way in telling us where his career is headed. A convincing win against Tito and Forrest likely remains near the top of the card. A loss could send him tumbling. While I'm convinced we'll never see Forrest fighting anywhere other than the UFC, there is going to come a time where his skills will start to erode and he'll have to come to grips with not being what he once was. Has that time already come? I don't believe it has, but coming off back to back loses is a position no fighter likes to find himself in. A win here for Forrest and he silences the doubters for a while. A loss and the murmurs will start getting louder. Tito is in a no-lose situation. Having squashed his beef with Dana, Tito is now in line to get the Chuck Liddell treatment from here on out. The future hall of famer already has a win over Griffin, and a narrow defeat here sets up a rubber match. He's supposedly healthy now following back surgery, and a return to form could have a huge impact on the division. Even a devastating KO isn't the end of the world for Tito, as he'll likely wind up spending the rest of his career fighting cans or fellow members of the light heavyweight over the hill club. Forrest needs this one badly, and it'll be interesting to see how he responds. MY PREDICTION: FORREST BY TKO R2

 

ANTHONY JOHNSON VS JOSH KOSCHECK

Johnson comes in after horribly missing weight in his fight last month against the much smaller Yoshiuki Yoshida. Koscheck himself is coming off of his first round demolition against former contender Frank Trigg. If this fight stays standing up Koscheck will get destroyed. If Kos gets it to the ground it'll be his fight to lose. Johnson is bigger and stronger, so I don't see this one going Koscheck's way. MY PREDICTION: JOHNSON BY DECISION

PHIL BARONI VS AMIR SADOLLAH

MMA journeyman Phil Baroni makes his UFC return against The Ultimate Fighter Season 7 winner Amir Sadollah. Sadollah's last fight saw him lose in 29 seconds to Johny Hendricks back in August in a fight that a lot of people think was stopped too early. Early stoppage or not, Amir found himself in a bad position really early in the fight and has a lot of work to do if he wants to stay in the UFC. A loss here and he'll have a seat reserved right next to Mac Danzig on the bus ride to Prelimville. The signing of Baroni was sort of perplexing in that he's not a very good fighter. He hasn't had a big win in almost 4 years, and win here doesn't prove very much other than he was able to beat a guy in his third pro bout. He's about as middle of the road as one can get in MMA. Still, he stands up and throws his hands which always makes him dangerous. This is a make or break moment for Amir. MY PREDICTION: BARONI BY TKO R1

LUIZ CANE VS ANTONIO ROGERIO NOGUEIRA

Cane is currently on a 3 fight winning streak, most recently beating Steve Cantwell by decision back in April. The Brazilian knock out artist will face stiff competition in the form of Little Nog, who is making his UFC debut and has a 5 fight winning streak of his own. The only way Cane wins this is by knocking Minotouro out, something that has happened all of one time in his career. I don't think we're going to be seeing number 2 Saturday night. MY PREDICITION: LITTLE NOG BY SUBMISSION R2

PAULO THIAGO VS JACOB VOLKMAN

The reason this fight is on the main card is due to Karo Parisyan and his ongoing failure to be a normal person, thus robbing the world of another Judo vs BJJ match up. Thanks for nothing, Karo. Thiago is coming off the first loss of his career, a unanimous decision to Jon Fitch back in February. Volkman is making his UFC debut with a perfect 9-0 record. Both men a BJJ aces, and this one figures to be a great ground battle. Still, I'm saddened that I won't be able to see Karo and Hazelett. MY PREDICTION: THIAGO BY TKO R1.

MARCUS DAVIS VS BEN SAUNDERS

Ben Saunders was TKOed by Mike Swick back in June and is guaranteed to have a brawl on his hands with Davis who is also coming off of a June loss. Saunders is much bigger than Davis and if he gets his Thai clinch working Davis is screwed. MY PREDICTION: SAUNDERS BY DECISION

KENDALL GROVE VS JAKE ROSHOLT

Ever since winning The Ultimate Fighter Season Three Kendall Grove has been unable to win a big fight. After dropping a unanimous decision to Ricardo Almeida in August he now finds himself in a similar "must win" position as the one facing Amir Sadollah. He has all the tools and quite frankly should be much better than he is yet, for whatever reason, he can't put it together. He faces former Division I wrestler Jake Rosholt who defeated Chris Leben by arm triangle back in August. Take downs are his specialty and Grove's take down defense is highly suspect after being taken down at will by Almeida. I see another loss for Grove. MY PREDICTION: ROSHOLT BY BORING DECISION

I don't really care enough about the untelevised prelims to make predictions. Sue me.

0 comments  |  1 recs |

Brock Out of UFC 106, PPV to Suck Now


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!

0 comments  |  0 recs |


User Tools

Cageside Seats provides daily coverage of mixed martial arts, pro wrestling, boxing, and everything in between. Looking for in-depth and provocative commentary on the fight industry? Look no further!
Start posting on Cageside Seats »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

Connect_with_facebook

SBNation.com Recent Stories

Photo

Rumor: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Hidehiko Yoshida At ASTRA

Photo

Bobby Lashley Planned For April Strikeforce: Nashville Event

Photo

Pat Curran Announced As Final Participant In Bellator's Season Two Lightweight Tournament

More from SBNation.com >


Managers

Small Bix

Editors

Th_alkredblack_bigger_small SundownMotel

New_orleans_0408_170_small isaacduke

Small Cox813

Small D.W.

Small kjh

Small DylanWaco