Cross Promoting Is Worth It For Dana White

by Michael Rome on Dec 15, 2007 11:03 PM EST in News Comment 7 comments

On tonight's HDNet fights, Randy Couture suggested that he was not retired, and his next fight will be against Fedor Emilianenko. He'll do it in the UFC if Dana is willing to cross promote, or he'll wait out his contract and do it then. Below the fold is my opinion on why Dana White ought to do this, and probably will, if Fedor's management is actually serious about it.

Is there any actual downside to cross promoting with M-1? As far as I can tell now, there is no danger to the UFC in doing it. M-1 has no meaningful television, and as far as we know, is little more than a shell company with the purpose of advertising and playing up Fedor. This is a massive money fight, it's a fight everyone wants to see, and frankly the UFC doesn't have that many "mega fights" on the horizon in early 2008. If Randy wins, he kills M-1, if Randy loses, M-1 probably fades back into the obscurity it's already in, or there is a potential for more money fights with Fedor in the future.

To those saying it'll never happen...I heard Dana on the radio in Sacramento the other day saying it's very possible he can still make that fight in the UFC, and to "never say never." I'm going to hold out hope, because if it happens the fight deserves to be seen by a huge audience, not a small number of hardcore fans. Obviously, I'll definitely take the latter situation over no fight at all, the fight needs to happen.

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Re: Cross Promoting Is Worth It For Dana White

This fight is worth waiting for. I hope Dana will make it happen in the UFC but I doubt he will.

by Kid Nate on Dec 15, 2007 11:51 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Re: Cross Promoting Is Worth It For Dana White

A few reasons for hope:

Dana has made no announcement of Randy being stripped of the title.
The oft-rumored Nogueira/Sylvia title match has not been confirmed or ever mentioned by UFC.
Allowing another company to have this fight and possibly get on ESPN would be far more damaging than doing it in the UFC and having Fedor win.

Gotta be an optimist :)

by Michael Rome on Dec 15, 2007 11:54 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Re: Cross Promoting Is Worth It For Dana White

Excellent post. I wonder if Dana White would be worried that this would set a bad precedent, the so-called slippery slope argument. That it might be a good idea for M1, but what if another UFC champion then wanted to fight another fighter in say a competive organizaiton, such as Elite EXC.

I hope I'm wrong and you're right because this is a fight that all MMA fans want to see happen.

In the end, it should be about putting on the best fights, not on doing what is in the best interets of the individual promoters.

by rollecd on Dec 16, 2007 12:09 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Re: Cross Promoting Is Worth It For Dana White

Dana seems pretty die hard not to cross promote anything with the UFC brand and lending any other promotion any credit.

He could hold the bout as a super fight in the WEC though and get to showcase the WEC talent on the same card.

That could be the first WEC ppv and give them tons of publicity.

A one and done deal with fedor/couture/wec and not give M-1 equal standing with the UFC by doing a cross promotion with them.

by Pontus on Dec 16, 2007 10:15 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Re: Cross Promoting Is Worth It For Dana White

Dana needs to use an old wrestling maxim of contreversey creating cash. The Couture-UFC imbroglio has played out quite publicly, espcially on ESPN. White needs to realize there is still value in a Couture fight and this little spat has lifted to profile of a Fedor vs Couture face-off, making it a bigger fight to the general public and the press than it would have been prior to the split.

If they could sell this as Couture's last fight win or lose that would be another selling point. Making this his last fight would soften a loss by couture in terms of the credibility hit the UFC would take for having one of it's high profile fighters losing. Take the title off Couture and have a title fight between the top two contenders on the same card as Couture vs Fedor.

This would be a huge card that i would set up for the summer, somewhere between early July and Mid-August. That window is the sweet spot for coverage if you are the UFC. The NBA finals are over and the HFL and college football haven't started up yet, you only have baseball in the dog days to compete against. This would allow a full court press on ESPN and the nation's newspapers. Griffin vs Rampage is also ideal for this time period.

by robnashville on Dec 16, 2007 12:30 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Re: Cross Promoting Is Worth It For Dana White

It will happen...it has to. Unfortunately Dana may not reap the benefits as that time has perhaps passed. I guess there is a time limit clause for Couture`s contract so maybe he will be fighting Fedor at an M-1 event. Can`t wait. If Dana was smart he would allow the fight in the UFC and cash in. Who cares if Randy loses. It doesn`t mean that the UFC is weaker or anything. It is one fight and he should be thinking $$$$...nothing else. Give the fans what they want and they will stay loyal for years Mr. White.

I'll be back to add more in the next twenty-four...unless, by some mishap, someone K.O s FEDOR.

by prideUFCfan on Dec 16, 2007 11:35 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Re: Cross Promoting Is Worth It For Dana White

The only way this would happen is if M-1 agrees to lend Fedor to the UFC for 3 to 4 fights. UFC would demand ridiculous terms on the money sharing agreement. Something like the UFC gets 99%, and M-1 gets 1% of the value of the used chewing gum in lying in Dana's garbage can.

IIRC, the UFC had similar multi fight demands for Wanderlei Silva back when he was with Pride.

M-1 may still agree to the deal. They get free advertising, and the event would increase Fedor's star power in the US.

by bloodyelbowReader on Dec 19, 2007 4:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs