Your MMA News, My Views 5.25.07
Posted by Larry Csonka on 05.25.2007
What a week to debut. YNMV has invaded the MMA Zone to discuss Ratings, injuries, replacements, loads of trouble with the K-1 Dynamite USA PPV, UFC 71 predictions and much more!
INTRODUCTION~!
The times they are a changing. That is right my friends, with 411 expanding yet again and the full on birth of the MMA zone you had to now that I would be here more and more. This is a zone I have wanted for a while and with the boom of MMA and as I started to do more with the MMA writing, I thought and KNEW that this would be a part of 411 and here it is. Back in January I syndicated one of my mainstay columns, "My Take On" and migrated it to the sports zone, and "My Take on MMA" was born. Well, with the zone all on its own from the rest of the sports, I have once again decided that syndication is the best for business and "Your News, My Views" is now right HERE in the MMA zone. So sit back and relax as I deliver you the debut edition of "Your MMA News, My Views!"
UFC stories, scuttlebutt and rumors:
Your News: Last week's The Ultimate Fighter on SpikeTV did a 1.1 rating.
My Views: It is honestly disappointing that the ratings for this season continue to stay and hover at 1.0-1.3 or so. As opposed to season III, and at times season IV, this season has been very entertaining and for me, a vast improvement. A lot of people speculate that the problem is that UFC is becoming over exposed on SPIKE. Recently this has been a concern for SPIKE TV. They were afraid of this when they made the call not to carry UFC 72 on the network. With UFN X on June 12th, and then the Ultimate Fighter Finale on June 23rd, they felt as if running a 3-hour block on June 16th for UFC 72 would be bad planning, and passed on airing it. The UFC 72 show will be on PPV now. So I think that there is some validity to this. Unfortunately the show is suffering a little in the ratings, but the good news is that thus far it doesn't seem to effect the buy rates, and that is what matters the most.
Your News: Jeff Joslin, previously scheduled to take on Chris Lytle at UFC 73 in Sacramento, California has been forced out of competition due to injury. Taking his place is a familiar face in the UFC, veteran Drew Fickett.
My Views: Jeff Joslin is a 5-3 fighter, all5 wins by TKO and all 3 loses by decision, the last in his UFC debut to Koscheck at UFN 7. This was to be his next chance and the injury couldn't come at a worse time for him. He is being replaced by Drew Fickett; who is a MMA vet with a 29-5 record, 18 wins coming by submission. His last win was in his last UFC appearance at UFN 9 vs. Keita Nakamura via decision. While this is bad for Joslin, this is a great opportunity for Fickett. Lytle is also good at submissions, with 15 of his 22 wins via decision. He is coming off of a loss to Matt Hughes at UFC 68 and is looking to get back on track.
Your News: With talk swirling that UFC star and TUF Season 1 winner Forrest Griffin was off the UFC 72 card, a UFC official has confirmed to 411mania that Forrest is indeed still scheduled to fight. Rumors had started when Griffin was removed from the event listing on UFC.com. He is scheduled to take on Hector Ramirez.
My Views: The good news is that as of now, he is on the card. Forrest Griffin is coming off of the loss to Keith Jardine at UFC 66, a loss that really derailed him, especially after the loss to Ortiz. People took Jardine lightly, and he proved that he was no joke. Hector Ramirez is basically here for Griffin to get a win. He is 6-2-1 with his last fight in UFC, losing to James Irvin at UFC 65 via TKO. Ramirez will not roll over, as we all know these days, so it should be entertaining.
Your News: Dana confirmed that Shogun has been signed to a UFC contract. Dana feels that Chuck Liddell has not defeated all the challengers in the light heavyweight division and that Shogun is one of them. Although he doesn't have details at this time due to his traveling schedule, Dana suggested that Shogun might appear at UFC 71 to challenge the winner of Liddell VS Jackson 2.
My Views: There has been some speculation on this for a while, and UFC just became more stacked with talent. In the grand scheme of things Shogun is considered by many the #2 Light Heavyweight in the world, behind only UFC Champion Chuck Liddell. If he is signed to a deal, and Liddell gets past Rampage this weekend, this could be the next big title fight. I would certainly try and put it on, although if Tito beats Rashad, I would be tempted to pull the trigger on Tito vs. Liddell III and see if I could pop another huge buy rate and then lead to a SHOGUN title bout.
Your News: The Fight Network has reported that UFC 75 will be taking place on September 8th with Michael Bisping as one of the event headliners. Talk is currently placing the event at the O2 arena in London. Jess Liaudin also confirmed that he would be fighting at the event. Opponents for both fighters have yet to be announced.
My Views: I think that after the financial success of UFC 70, people assumed that there would be another UFC event in the UK within the next year. I didn't expect it this soon though, but I guess striking while the iron is hot and putting on a show that you can use Bisping on is as smart a choice as it comes. Bisping was rather dominating against ELVIS at 70, but was in trouble at one point, showing vulnerability. But the fact is he finished and finished impressively, and UFC is looking to push him and ride the wave in terms of popularity and possible financial success.
-Jess Liaudin has had only one UFC fight, at UFC 70 where he took out Dennis Siver with an arm bar in round one; the fight was not on the "LIVE" broadcast. The Frenchman will be looking to improve upon his 11-8 record. He is 5-2 in his last 7 fights, and with the quick win at 70, he could be turning the corner in his career. He looked good at 70, and is a fine addition to the card overall.
Your News: Speaking of UFC 75, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic will be returning to action at UFC 75 in London, England. Cro Cop has the option to fight at either UFC 74 or UFC 75 and opted for the later date.
My Views: I think that this is for the best. First of all that was a devastating knockout, and he needs time to get his head back in the game, something which I don't think it was during his UFC run. You could see it in his first fight I thought. Secondly, the way his knee and ankle were all contorted, he should make sure that he is 100% before reentering the ring. I don't want any bullshit if he loses again, like, "I wasn't 100% when I came back, but thought I should." I don't want to hear that shit. Hopefully we'll see a reinvigorated MIRKO and he'll be delivering high kicks of death.
Your News: Rumors are running around that Rodrigo Nogueira might be forced to pull off of UFC 73's card. Also there are rumors that his opponent Heath Herring, his opponent, will be forced to pull off of the card.
My Views: It all depends on who you are hearing the story from. But basically from what I can figure, we will NOT be seeing BIG NOG vs. Heath at UFC 73.
Your News: Update on the PRIDE sale. Things are still moving. PRIDE filed a liquidation on April 20th, and the sides are continuing to hammer out details.
My Views: First of al, what is a liquidation? Well, A corporate liquidation should be considered at two levels, the shareholder level and the corporate level. On the shareholder level, a complete liquidation can be thought of as a sale of all outstanding corporate stock held by the shareholders in exchange for all of the assets in that corporation. Like any sale of stock, the shareholder receives capital gain treatment on the difference between the amount received by the shareholder in the distribution and the cost or other basis of the stock. At the corporate level, the corporation recognizes gain or loss on the liquidation in an amount equal to the difference between the fair market value and the adjusted basis of the assets distributed. The purpose of this chapter is to assist revenue agents in identifying issues related to such liquidation transactions. The following audit techniques are not intended as an exhaustive list, but rather, as guidance to the identification and development of some of the more common issues. Once an issue is identified the examiner should conduct further research. We thank our friends at the IRS for that little tidbit of information. So in the end, things are moving on the sale, slowly, but there seems to be no timetable on the finality of the sale and when UFC takes complete control.
EDIT: Thursday afternoon after the conference call now with more developments. During that call, when asked about the status of the PRIDE purchase, Dana replied, "That company is such a mess and we are still trying to figure it all out. It is gonna happen. We are getting it in order. I always do what I say I am gonna do. I'll get it done, one way or another we'll get this thing in order. No matter what we will see the top guys fighting the top guys. They weren't running a real business. That thing is a mess, it is gonna take a little while to fix it. Still want to get it running on Japanese television as its own entity." There have also been reports running today that the sale is finally finalized. No official word, but if so, judging by the comments from Dana they have a LOT of work ahead of them just to try and get the promotion running on its own, more than any of us probably thought.
Your News:MMAweekly is reporting that multiple PRIDE fighters currently under contract with Dream Stage Entertainment are filing a class action lawsuit against DSE. DSE apparently wanted PRIDE fighters to change their contracts to the new PRIDE FC Worldwide company created in the aftermath of the Fertitta's announcement to purchase PRIDE.
My Views: Well lawsuits are always a fun snag to run into. As far as the whole contract switch over, IF the new PRIDE FC Worldwide company bought the assets, including the contracts and by that I mean that in the deal the contracts are specified. Think WWF buying WCW, they bought "X" number of contracts, and the rest stayed under contract to Time Warner. So if they bought the contracts, the guys actually don't have a choice but to work for the new PRIDE FC Worldwide company. The class action lawsuit has been filed with the intent to release the fighters from their current contracts, allowing them to fight for whatever organization they want, or to be compensated for lost earnings, which include training wages for bouts and events that have been cancelled. Apparently Japanese contracts are wacky thought, because these men apparently have a choice in the matter. DSE actually threatened to keep them under DSE contract officially, which could potentially take over a year to finalize. And THAT is where the lawsuit is coming in I feel. What a week.
Your News: Kermit Cintron, the IBF World Welterweight Champion, stepped up and offered to fight Sean Sherk since Floyd Mayweather announced last week that he had no interest in going into MMA. Dana White, when asked, said, "Who?"
My Views: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That's great, and I can see Dana like, "Who is this little fucker?" As far as Cintron actually answering the challenge, he has a fight coming up soon and is looking for publicity. Nothing wrong with trying to promote yourself. Apparently Tommy Morrison is also looking to get into MMA and is training to fight on a small card in Texas I believe. If he does well, I could see Dana trying to work something out because people know who he is. Mayweather would have been a true coup, but that was just never to be. That crazy bastard would have wanted WAY too much money I bet, but the PPV buzz and possible buys would have been intriguing.
Your News: UFC's Dana White was interviewed today by the Daily Star in Great Britain. In the interview, White said that he has a conference call with Kurt Angle today to discuss Angle fighting for UFC. He also commented that Brock Lesnar is interested in coming to UFC. It's interesting to see that Angle is actually in talks to work a fight since most have started to believe that he would never really fight and just kept talking about it as a way of keeping his name in the media. White added that he thinks it would be difficult for a pro-wrestler to make the transition to MMA.
My Views: I will believe Kurt Angle will do a shoot fight when I see him in the ring/octagon. Which will be never (as long as he is wrestling) because he will either fail the drug test or the fact that no doctor will pass him to fight. The constant stories are good pub for Angle and whoever else talks about it, namely UFC and any publicity is good publicity, right? Bottom line, MMA as a whole and specifically UFC are fighting this negative stigma here in the US. "Human Cockfighting," so on and so forth. But they do have the one big thing going for them, and that is that no one has ever died or been severely injured in their Octagon. Now we may be getting a little dramatic here, but Angle is falling apart. No mater what he says he still has major issues, atrophied arms and a brittle neck that he constantly goes back and gets "small grindings done" on so that he can feel his arms and legs better. I do not see any legit athletic commission approving him to do any real fighting in the US anytime soon and I do not think that Dana White would actually take that chance. I think that he likes talking about it because in particular it gets the Internet talking as well as some sports guys. Maybe he would do it if he could get Angle cleared, drug test is a big problem to fight Brock because that's money. In the end though, I just really doubt that this will EVER happen.
Your News: The most recent SI Cover Story was on MMA. Chuck Liddell has been doing a ton of mainstream media appearances, including the Jim Rome show on ESPN.
My Views: From all accounts Chuck came off very well in this appearance. Also, the SI Story is a HUGE one along with the SI Coverage, because for the few uneducated asses writing about how the sport is evil, more big outlets have opened up and delivered the true word on it. With the momentum UFC has had, along with the SI Cover, Chuck could be headed towards another BIG buy rate for one of his fights.
Reason #1 Why You NEVER Run in Fight:
Other MMA News…
Your News: The K-1 Dynamite USA PPV event scheduled for Los Angeles on 6/2 has apparently run into some issues. With only ten days left to complete weigh-ins, Brock Lesnar is currently the only fighter on the card who has been cleared to compete by the California State Athletic Commission. In addition to that, show promoters Fight Entertainment Group (FEG) have yet to be granted a license or put up a bond guaranteeing the fighters' purses. The California State Athletic Commission is claiming that they have not even gotten preliminary paperwork on 19 of the 22 scheduled fighters. The three EliteXC bouts on the card have gotten clearance, but it is unlikely the show would go on if the FEG fighters aren't cleared.
My Views: First of all, after this was reported there was a counter report saying that the promoters had turned in the necessary paper work. But then it came out that it was not the paper work the athletic commission wanted. The other fact that is that Brock Lesnar is currently the only fighter on the card who has been cleared to compete by the California State Athletic Commission, that is a scary thought because there is something like 19-22 fighters on the show. Some people also think it is odd that the commission wants to guarantee the purses, but I think that's a cool because as wrestling fans know, guys get screwed of pay all the time. But I have to say, that as of right now, this is disastrous sounding. The show is June 2nd, and if things are not put in motion very soon, this show could be doomed.
EDIT: Wednesday evening as I continue with this. The California State Athletic Commission has given FEG, which is the parent company of promoters K-1 from Japan until Friday to get the necessary financial information to get licensed as a deadline. It is not a HARD deadline. K-1 has supplied some information and has every intention of doing the show. So as things stand, K1 is aiming to have the work done, and keep the show going; but a new problem has arisen.
As stated already, Brock Lesnar is currently the only fighter on the card who has been cleared to compete by the California State Athletic Commission. His opponent; the man main eventing the show with him Hong Man Choi has been turned DOWN for his license by the first doctor he has seen for a medical condition that has not been disclosed. As of now the Athletic Commission has official position on the matter. Choi has been to see another doctor as he is looking for a second opinion. If he receives a favorable ruling he is hoping for the commission to reconsider, but there is no guarantee that they will.
EDIT: Thursday Morning now and according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer, an announcement is expected imminently regarding the medical condition discovered in Hong Man Choi's pre-fight physical. It is serious enough that it requires immediate attention that would make it nearly impossible for the commission to allow him to fight ten days. Apparently he has been diagnosed with a tumor near the pituitary gland. With Hong Man Choi unlikely to get clearance to fight Brock Lesnar, show promoters are already considering other potential opponents for Lesnar. Four names being considered are Tank Abbott, Butterbean, Ruben Villareal, and James Thompson. James Thompson is highly doubtful due to his contract situation with PRIDE. Ruben Villareal is 11-12-3 and is the man that lost to BAS at the WFA show, and would probably be the man picked I feel. While Tank Abbott and Butterbean have the name and freak show value, Brock's camp has to approve the fight and with those two there is too much of a chance for Brock to lose the fight. Ruben Villareal won't be a walk in the park for the inexperienced Lesnar either, but would probably be his best chance at the win. Tank is just too unpredictable and even thought he has been losing a lot, he has the puncher's chance; but I think Brock could take him if he could get it to the ground. Tank is 9-13 I believe overall, and coming off of three losses. The Butterbean fight, and this will sound crazy, but I wouldn't want any part of that. Sure he is gigantically fat, but he hits hard and has apparently been learning as he finished his last fight with a keylock. Butterbean is sporting a 10-3 MMA record, nothing to sneeze at. Overall there is going to be no walk in the park for young Brock, just lots of drama until fight day.
Your News: There is the possibility that Gabe Ruediger could fight on the show, if there is a show, versus Katsuhiko Nagata.
My Views: The reason he may get on this show is because UFC completely axed him from his contract this past week, terminating him early. They normally wait until the season of TUF that a person competes on is finished, but since he got kicked off the show it doesn't matter and they wanted to be done with him. No explanations why they didn't try to sign the rematch against the wild German, Chocolate Cake. Although at this rate, Gabe vs. someone in a giant cake suit could help save this show.
Your News: Wanderlei Silva told his hometown newspaper that he had not spoken to Dana White about a contract yet, and so his plan was to likely take the rest of the year off to train light, recover, and learn some new techniques. He said his target date for a return would be sometime in 2008, though he would be open to fighting in a Superbowl of MMA type even if something were arranged this year.
My Views: Oh that Wandy, he's playing the game and playing the game well. He tells everyone that he wants time off to rest and train lightly, maybe learn some new techniques. BUT…he is quick to say that, "If there's a big ass show and the money gets tossed my way, I'd be down for that." He's playing the game smartly, and bless him for that. I am sure Dana will toss him an offer that they both like so that they can put on a big fight and both make a lot of money.
Your News: The June 30th Art of War PPV has been moved to August.
My Views: In my latest column I had some "harsh" words regarding the Art of War company and their plan to run PPV in June. Basically it is this. The Art of War promotion, which drew a reported 2,854 fans on May 11th with no confirmation how paid attendance, is the most recent promotion waning to go out with a bang. They are going to run a PPV on June 30th. Yes a promotion that no one outside of Texas knows about is going to jump to PPV, in a month when there are 2 WWE PPV's, 1 TNA PPV, 1 UFC PPV, 1 Elite/K1 PPV, a free Elite XC Show I believe along with 2 free fight nights as well as at least one boxing PPV I know of. They are stupid beyond all belief. The money is not in PPV right now with how saturated the PPV market is. They should be working on building live attendance first. Come on, 2,854 fans and NO ONE can find out if that is all paid, which I doubt it is. Unless they have some HUGE money backer to help them with this, you will not be hearing much about this company. This show will sell no buys, I mean, lucky to get 1,000 in all reality. Some fighting junkies may order it, if the price is right, but if King of the Cage cannot do well with fighters and a name people know, Art of War is finished, and thusly stupid. Thankfully they have decided to move this show, and I think that is the best thing for business. I don't think them running PPV is a bad thing as some may have gotten from what I wrote, on the contrary I think they could do well in a market where fight fans love watching fighting. But to try and run in June was insane, and they have apparently realized this and that is a good thing. I didn't want to see a young company throw a lot of money away and go belly up because they didn't think things through.
Your News: Quick notes from the latest IFL financial filing:
-They lost $7 million in the last quarter off revenues of $1.6 million.
-They made $960,000 off TV, $514,000 at the gate (all shows added together), and $67,000 in sponsorships.
-They spent $750,000 on distribution fees (paying for TV), $5.6 million on live events, and $33,000 on sponsorships.
-Talent costs were $1.7 million for the quarter, travel was $1.1 million, TV production was $2.2 million and advertising was $600,000.
My Views: Jesus, IFL is the TNA of MMA. These are just crazy numbers. Making 1.6 million to lose 7? Also, this is more proof of how they have had to paper events to make it look good. They only made $514,000 at the gate, for ALL EVENTS COMBINED! So just looking at gate, they made $514,000 at the gate while spending $5.6 MILLION on the live shows. So spend $514,000 at the gate to lose $5-million. That is the biggest deal eight there. The made less than a million off of TV deals, but then spent $750,000 to be on other TV outlets. I do not understand how companies exist when they work everything this way. What is even scarier than these numbers, is the forward-looking statement in the report. The scary statement was: "If the Company is not able to generate sufficient cash and reduce expenses, the Company's cash resources may not be sufficient to last through the end of the third quarter of 2007. If the Company is unable to secure sufficient debt or equity financing for operations, the Company will experience a cash shortage, the effect of which could result in the discontinuance of operations". So in essence they have enough money to get into the last quarter, but not to get THROUGH it right now on projections. Wow. I hope you all sold that UIFL stock, because you've already taken a bath and if you do not get something back now, all you've got is some fancy toilet paper.
UFC 71 PICKZ~!
I didn't get around to the round table this week due to work and other things, but lets hit some predictions for tomorrow's event! You may mock me next week.
PRELIM CARD:
Carmelo Marrero vs. Wilson Gouveia - Wilson Gouveia via 1st Round TKO
Jeremy Stephens vs. Din Thomas – Stephens via 1st Round submission
Sean Salmon vs. Alan Belcher – Sean Salmon via decision
Thiago Silva vs. James Irvin - Thiago Silva via decision
MAIN CARD:
Chris Leben vs. Kalib Starnes – Chris Leben via decision
Houston Alexander vs. Keith Jardine – Keith Jardine via 2nd Round TKO
Josh Burkman vs. Karo Parisyan - Karo Parisyan via Round 3 TKO
Terry Martin vs. Ivan Salaverry – Ivan Salaverry via decision
LHW Title: Chuck Liddell vs. Rampage Jackson – Rampage via 3rd Round TKO: Chuck has had problems with people that take the fight to him, and I just have a feeling rampage will do that, throw him off his game and take the title.
READER FEEDBACK~!
From Chuck who disagrees with my Angle assessment -
Any who, you said about Angle in MMA will never happen (strong possibility) and that no doctor would clear Angle to fight. I am sorry, my friend, but you are DEAD wrong. Many doctors in the south and mid-west (or, more correctly, the state athletic commissions) will let just about anyone fight. I am, more or less, talking about boxing, but MMA (and even wrestling, especially in states where the athletic commission over rules pro wrestling) is in the same league. The standards in southern and mid-west states is much lower than in states in the northeast, California and Nevada. I am not saying shit about the states themselves, this is about the shitty state and Indian reservation athletic commissions. Hell, earlier this year, the state athletic commission of West Virginia and its ringside doctor passed former heavyweight title challenger Tommy Morrison, who hasn't fought in over ten years, and was in Rocky V, to fight. And here was the kicker. Over ten years ago, he was tested HIV POSITIVE for fuck's sake. He had to retire because of it. So Larry, don't be so naive about fight doctors being saints and all that. Many of them aren't. Most of them are good guys, but still. The state of Nevada and the state of California may turn him down, but if UFC ever has events in Michigan, West Virginia, the Carolina's, etc. you know what's going to happen. Take care man!
For more interesting information on wrestling and MMA, check out Bryan Alvarez and Figure Four Weekly Online!
