Tapping Out With TBerg 07.31.09: Episode XLII: Presser Pressure

Posted by Todd Bergman on 07.31.2009

Fedor to the UFC? Ortiz and Belfort causing havoc with the UFC 103 card? The UFC on ESPN? 411’s Todd Bergman breaks down all of these possible options and lets you know what he thinks Dana White will announce on Friday morning in this edition of Tapping out with TBerg.

I'm not going to lie to any of you out there in cyberspace. When I read the headline that Fedor was officially signed with the UFC, I nearly wet myself. Well, that's going to an extreme, but I was pretty excited and impressed to say the very least. However, early Wednesday morning I quickly checked out the 411 homepage on my IPhone and realized that the mythical unicorn, known as Fedor, might not be venturing to the UFC afterall. It's not the fact that Fedor might not join the UFC that bothers me as much as it is Fedor's management team making ridiculous requests that gets to me. There is no fighter out there that would make the UFC want to co-promote a show just to accommodate them. I'm sorry but not even you, Fedor. The UFC has spent way too much time and money on building it's own brand to allow some step-sister company to latch onto a potential giant payday. Even if, for some unknown reason, the UFC did decide to co-promote a show, they would probably use a company with more credibility than M-1 such as Strikeforce.


How many ice cream cones can $5 million a fight buy?

I've always said that the UFC doesn't need Fedor as much as Fedor needs the UFC, and I truly think that statement is coming to fruition in regards to these negotiations. If the contract talks stall this time, I have to believe that the UFC will officially be out of the Fedor-buying business. Who can blame them? Even after hearing about Dana White et al. reportedly offering Fedor nearly $5 million per fight and the contract would still allowing him to fight in Sambo tournaments, he still refuses to join the UFC‘s ranks. All this for a guy who many casual MMA fans don't even know about. Think that last sentence is really hard to believe? I assure you that it's not. I'm not saying that Fedor shouldn‘t be considered one of the best in the world, I am just saying that his potential payday might be worth more than his fight card revenue. If Fedor signs and fights Lesnar, the card will sell more based on Lesnar's fame than Fedor fame. It's probably not right, but Lesnar is a cash cow, and once Fedor realizes the potential payday, he will most certainly be better off.

If Fedor Signs
So if the moons and stars align and Fedor signs there are plenty of match-ups that could possibly break the bank for Zuffa and Fedor. Obviously, the first showdown would be Fedor vs. Brock Lesnar. Above, I broke down the true aspect of the showdown and how Lesnar's popularity with the mainstream media could only help this showdown and Fedor's popularity with the casual fans. To the casual fans, Lesnar is unbeatable, and if Fedor was able to accomplish that those fans would quickly realize what a huge majority of regular fans already know. Outside of the Lesnar showdown there a few other match-ups that should happen involving Fedor.

I would love to see Fedor take on Randy Couture. The match-up doesn't have the same magic that it once had, but it's most certainly still a great match-up. There have even been some small rumors floating around that if Fedor signs, he could step in for Big Nog and take the fight at UFC 102 in Portland, Oregon at the end of August. That would be an extreme case and would probably hurt the overall payday due the fight being rushed, but it's one way that the UFC can encourage Fedor to sign with them. This match-up is also pretty funny when you think about it because Affliction promoted the crap out of this fight when Couture was supposedly gone from the UFC and it ultimately blew up in Affliction's face when Couture returned to the UFC. As I stated above, this could be an option for the UFC 102 card, but it's a stretch at best.

The final match up that I would like to see Fedor possibly partake in would be against Junior dos Santos. I know that a good majority of you are thinking, wow, that fight wouldn't have much intrigue, but when you really take a look at the possible match-up, it's amazing. I'm picking dos Santos to murder Cro Cop in their upcoming fight. I just don't think that Cro Cop has much of anything left in his tank, and that should allow dos Santos to step up and become the new face of the UFC. I'm not sure how the Fedor vs. dos Santos fight will go down, but the simple fact of the matter is that many people won't care about the fight even though it could be one of the best in UFC history. While these UFC dreams might be out of reach, let's have a look at some more logical things that will happen with Fedor.

Fedor's Other Options
Joining Strikeforce might be a possible option, especially since Fedor recently signed onto the EA Sports MMA game, which is going to lack the star power to sell in the long run. That would also be another story for another day, but the meat and potatoes of the story is basically if there aren't UFC guys on the game, or at least the UFC name attached to it, then the general public won't care. However, is Strikeforce ready to give up their own momentum that they have spent millions of dollars on to co-promote a show with a crappy company? Strikeforce still isn't a huge name in MMA, so signing Fedor wouldn't do a whole lot for their company outside of what they are already doing. Sure, Strikeforce has a supposed CBS deal and they might eventually put on a show for the network who‘s logo is an eye. While that might seem great, they will have to spend a good portion of their time and money to obtain the services of the Last Emperor. The potential match-ups for Fedor won't be as attractive as the ones awaiting him in the UFC, but the likes of Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum, and Brett Rogers are just a few that would like a shot at Russia's last chance for relevance. With each passing day, it seems more and more likely that Fedor will go the route of non-exclusive to any promotion and just fight anyone that isn't in the UFC. Defend the actions of Fedor all you want, but don't say that the UFC didn't try at the end of the day because they bent over backwards in payment and obligation to try to accommodate a fighter who may or may not be the best in the world.

UFC 103 Wait and See
The collective thud that you heard when it was announced that Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin would duke it out again in Dallas for UFC 103 has been relieved, well sort of. Word is slowly starting to come out about some apparent changes to the main event portion of this card. Thank God!! It's not that I'm against Franklin fighting the sudden media darling, Dan Henderson, again because the first fight was razor-close and could've gone to either fighter. However, at what weight would the fight take place? Hendo has suddenly become a contender once again in the 185lbs division while Franklin has made it known that he wants to fight at 205. The interjection of Tito Ortiz against Franklin in the main slot would be perfect for the UFC. Ortiz, is a Pay-Per view darling and with the location being in the state of Texas, Ortiz's Latino heritage could play a factor in the overall attendance for the evening. Add on the fact that the fight would be a big fight for the Light-Heavyweight division and you're cooking with gas. Certainly no title shots will be handed out after this fight, but if Franklin were to win he could move into an eliminator fight with someone like Luiz Cane or Jon Jones. A win for Ortiz would put him back on the map when it comes to UFC LHW fighters. This, of course, is heavily rumored, but with White and Ortiz playing nice via the pointless Twitter, it seems like a forgone conclusion and another nice addition to the already stacked 205lbs division.

The other possible announcement could be that the UFC has resigned Vitor Belfort and will have him take on Dan Henderson in a Middleweight eliminator fight. This fight doesn't intrigue me as much as a potential Ortiz/Franklin fight does. Hendo has two wins inside the UFC at 185lbs while Belfort would be making his return to the UFC after a nearly four-year absence. Most fans also wouldn't recognize this fight to be a rematch from PRIDE 32 as well. I really enjoy the resurgence of Vitor, but since leaving the UFC, he hasn't fought the best of talent and I don't think that he would beat Hendo in this fight. Dan hopefully wouldn't be dumb enough to stand in front of Vitor like Matt Lindland did, and the fight would likely be another boring decision like the previous match-up. I know that if Dana announces one of these match-ups for the card then the other match up-will follow closely behind.

ESPN 8: The Ocho
Pardon the Dodgeball reference, but being an American writer, I have very little interest in the UFC signing a deal with ESPN to broadcast their events in the UK and Ireland. I'm glad that the fans over there now have a chance to watch these events as their previous carrier Setanta Sports went belly up. I think that the real reason that the UFC agreed to this contract is because it opens the door to a future contract, or at least a prime time show, on ABC. As many of you know, ESPN and ABC belong to the same family of networks. In my eyes, this contract was really more about getting the product on the Worldwide Leader and seeing how it does and then doing a trial at some point in the future for the major network. It really would be nice to see the UFC on a major network as it would do wonders for the sport. However, I don't want the UFC to put on a show and sell their souls to accommodate network executives. The UFC has done just fine without a major network and will continue to do so. While it was EliteXC, their shows were horribly done and some of the outcomes were actually effected by the network. I think that a marriage between the UFC and ABC could work quite nicely just as long as the major network doesn't influence or effect any sort of outcome or major changes in how the sport should be represented.

And the Major Announcement is…?
Dana White's tweets will magically appear on the mat during each and every UFC event!! Maybe that's a stretch, but I'm sure at some point, Twitter will probably become a sponsor for the UFC even though Rogan and Goldberg give them free publicity every time the UFC is on the air. However, my money's on the changes in the UFC 103 card and the announcement that the UFC will air a special in October or November on ABC. It's not as exciting as a doughy Russian guy, but it's a step in the positive direction for the UFC.



This part of the column has been sitting on the shelf for the previous two weeks, but I felt that the comments were strong enough to warrant some feedback. Let's have a look at what some of you said last week.

Wyatt "Not Sexton" Beogher states: Jeez, dude, you think Diego "Handed a Gift Decision Against Gatekeeper Guida" Sanchez has a better chance at beating Penn than KenFlo? That's just crazy. Also, you fail to point out that the "Declaration" subtitle for UFC 101 is very likely due to the location, being as the City of Brotherly Love is where our own Declaration of Independence was drafted and signed. Other than that, good insight into what is looking to be a jam-packed month. While I'll be that Bren and Samer both wish they could have their most anticipated fight choice back from FoF, mine remains the same: Torres v Bowles, followed closely by Griffin v Silva and Penn v Florian.

Whatever makes you think that Guida beat Sanchez is beyond logical thought. Clay did nothing but lay on Sanchez for the entire 2nd round and then tried to do the same to Diego, but Diego won the round with his aggression from the bottom. That decision victory gave me hope for the way that MMA is judged and how it could possibly turn around. I also didn't think that I needed to point out the significance of the name "Declaration" with the show happening in Philly. It's like the very intelligent T-Bag said below in the comments. Thanks for the comment on the insight, but I'm still not sure who these Bren and Samer fellows are that you speak of.

RJC loves the PB&J: Sanchez' relative lack of defense and tendency to run straight forward in the stand up would basically make him an instant victim for BJ Penn, whose a damn good boxer. Kenny Florian does need to control his emotions, but I'm sure there'll be a lot of gameplanning and work done off his back in preparation for this thing. I think it'll be more competitive than anyone's thinking, for both guys. Funny how polarizing a fighter BJ Penn is.. As for Forrest/Silva, I'm praying for Griffin to tough it out and win it. We'll see!

Penn is a tremendous boxer with a great jab, but Diego is extremely explosive in his strikes and that could cause BJ some problems. Florian can gameplan everything off his back, but it's still a new place for Florian. Granted, he spent the better part of 5 rounds there against Sean Sherk, but this would be the place for Penn to take the fight. Bullying around Florian would be the best thing to do in my eyes. I'm not going as far as to ask the good Lord above for anyone to win an MMA fight, but I do think that Griffin will at least be competitive in the fight.

Brad is disappointed: Damn it Todd we usually agree on everything but I cant believe you think Forrest Griffin has a chance. The man is nothing more than "well rounded" monkey who has been looked after since the first Ultimate Fighter.
Anderson Silva will murder him.... Hopefully!

I'm sorry to hear that we didn't agree on Griffin. However, I appreciate the feedback from the article. I think the comment that was after yours basically summed up how Griffin has fought a great list of fighters since his The Ultimate Fighter days. I do, however, understand why people wouldn't like Forrest. I hated his post-fight comments after beating Rampage and had that fight had the coverage that Lesnar vs. Mir II had, the media and casual MMA fans would've crapped all over the "unprofessional WWE-style" comments that Griffin made also.

guest guest wants to dance dance: Nice column. I am looking forward to the women's title fight the most of all, but you make a good point in "what happens next" for these ladies. It would be a shame to simply milk rematches and not focus on building new stars and legitimate contenders. On the subject of the middleweight title, a lot of ppl r confused about Henderson not getting a shot immediately. Well as you pointed out, the winner of Maia and Marquardt deserves the shot as or more than Hendo; Henderson's only wins at 185 (read again: AT 185) in the UFC have been a against a newbie with no standup in Palhares and an over rated Brit in Michael Bisping.

The way that I see it, after the Carano vs. Cyborg fight, there would only be two logical contenders left. Take it for what it's worth, but those fighters would be Sarah Kaufman and Erin Toughill. Obviously, both of these women don't have the name appeal that Gina does but booking either one of those women against Gina could build instant credibility towards their names. Good callout with the Hendo case as well! People really do over-hype Hendo, but it could go a long way towards a Middleweight title shot if Hendo is able to beat someone like Vitor Belfort, if that fight happens at UFC 103.

wtf? Has a cool name: Sanchez clearly beat Guida in an excellent match so I don't know what your talking about there. Sanchez has beaten Kenflo before, easily and could do so again. Sanchez struggles with wrestlers (E.g Fitch and Kos) and niether BJ or Kenflo are wrestlers so I think he would do well. People are overlooking Forrest and when that happens he usually wins. He has wins over 2 of the best 3 LHWs in the world. He will be bigger than Silva and better conditioned. Its an intresting fight that could depend on what A Silva turns up. Also Im confident Nate can beat Maia, who has only shown a brilliant ground game and little standup. Nate will keep it standing and finish Maia.

I think that you make a tremendous point when it comes to thinking out the Sanchez vs. Florian or Penn fight. You are also correct in people saying that Forrest has no chance in the Silva fight. Forrest is light years ahead of James Irvin and will do things in the fight to keep Anderson off balance. I think that for Anderson to win, he will have to, as you said, turn up the heat in the fight. More specifically, in the 1st round since it appears that Forrest takes a little while to get into a fight. Silva could finish Forrest in the first if Griffin's skills and mental state show up late.

That does it for this week's edition of Tapping out with TBerg. I'm curious to know what everyone thinks of the Fedor situation and if he and his team were smart to turn down the UFC's rumored contract. Also, is UFC 103 better off not changing the card? State your opinion below. Remember to support your local MMA and keep your tapping hand strong.