Bad Management and Promotional Follies Limit Fighters

by Kid Nate on Apr 5, 2008 1:27 PM EDT in News Comment 14 comments

There's dumb and there's too clever by half, this is just dumb:

The program CBS is offering in May (with Robbie Lawler defending his version of the middleweight championship against Scott Smith) is being assembled by ProElite's EliteXC fight division.

According to Dion, Noons (6-1) tentatively was scheduled to appear on this card, but before EliteXC would offer him a contract, it wanted him to commit to three additional matches under its stewardship. Dion would not commit.

"They're trying to slam-dunk guys into long-term contracts in order to be on CBS," Dion said.

K.J., it's time for new management. That CBS exposure will make entire careers. Missing the chance to appear on the network television MMA debut as the 160lb EliteXC champion will not come again.

And Sam Caplan's most excellent Fight Critic analysis of last nights IFL card points out the dead end that the top fighters in that promotion find themselves in:

Matyushenko and Fabiano are two prime examples of why it is a shame more promotions don't work together. I'd love to see Fabiano take on some of the WEC's featherweights and I'd love to see Matyushenko get a shot at some of the talented UFC light heavyweights. But if the UFC and IFL couldn't come to an agreement to allow Jim Miller compete at UFC Fight Night 13, then there's no chance we'll ever see a kind of crossover where champions are involved. That said, I'd love to see some talent exchanges between EliteXC, Strikeforce, and the IFL. Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Matyushenko and Wilson Reis vs. Fabiano would be good fights.

The whole feud to the death between the UFC and IFL is hella stupid. Its not like the IFL is any kind of threat to Dana's dominance both sides should stop getting in the way of fighters getting the best fights.

Update [2008-4-5 14:28:34 by Kid Nate]:

We get mail, reader D S writes:

How can you make the judgment Noons is dumb not to sign when you don't know the nature of the contracts Elite XC is offering? For all you know they could be just as one-sided as a UFC contract or worse.

This is why no one outside the hardcore fans take blogs seriously. For as much self back-patting you guys do about how you know more than the mainstream, you make pronouncements on subjects like this without even attempting to find out all the facts in a situation.

I don't really care how one sided the deal was -- if it gets Noons on CBS during primetime defending his belt, then he should be prepared to give up anything up to 18 months, his first child and his left testicle to make the deal. Thanks for writing though and if you have something to say, please post a comment, cause if you email me, I'll post it anyway.

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Re: Bad Management and Promotional Follies Limit F

Eh.

While I'd love to see Mutyeshenko against some of the UFC's top guys it's not at the top of my MMA christmas list. The UFC had a lot to lose and nothing to gain with those fights. Most casual fans (the majority of the paying audience) has no idea who he is so with a UFC name beating him, it doesn't do much for the company whereas a potential loss which has a good chance of happening is bad for any UFC contracted fighter.

A Fedor-Couture fight is probably one of the only if not the only fight that the UFC should have done with an outside fighter as it simply would have been financially lucrative for the company. Any other fight just doesn't make sense. The UFC is the major leagues. When Vlad beats another guy or two in the IFL he's going to get hungrier to test himself and I wouldn't be surprised to see him on a UFC PPV before the end of the year.

by dropkick101 on Apr 5, 2008 1:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: Bad Management and Promotional Follies Limit F

I don't think I explained myself well -- I was more bitching about the IFL blocking Jim Miller from fighting at UFN 13 and also from blocking the capoeria guy from signing with UFC last year.
The UFC is definitely the major leagues and I think the IFL needs to get over itself and admit that its a good thing for the IFL when one of their fighters makes "the majors".

by Kid Nate on Apr 5, 2008 2:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Bad Management and Promotional Follies Limit F

Exactly, seeing a guy like Boetsch fling his opponent into the octagon, only made people more interested in the IFL.

Their shows and new format are awesome and last nights card was as good as any I have seen in quite a while.

While I don't think they should let Miller "go" to the UFC, getting him a fight there should not have been a problem.

And complete agreement about Noons, that CBS exposure is priceless and will only make him more money in the long run.

by BJJDenver on Apr 5, 2008 2:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: Bad Management and Promotional Follies Limit F

"While I don't think they should let Miller "go" to the UFC, getting him a fight there should not have been a problem."

What were the particulars on that? Was Dana gonna put the guy in on the UFN card and then let him go back to the IFL? Doesn't sound like the Dana I know and love....he likes to lock folks up to 3 fight exclusive contracts usually. I'm with you on the not letting miller "go" to the UFC, letting the UFC poach your contractually bound talent without compensation doesn't sound like a solid business plan to me.

by robnashville on Apr 5, 2008 3:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Bad Management and Promotional Follies Limit F

I believe he was just being brought in as a late replacement, so it wasn't the typical signing by the UFC. Miller is under contract to the IFL, so the UFC couldn't just sign him to a full contract. The IFL would have to have given him the OK to take the one fight, which they did not.

by BJJDenver on Apr 6, 2008 2:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Bad Management and Promotional Follies Limit F

Which IMO is a bad idea for them. I think they should even have let Gusmao go and sign a long term UFC deal with the condition that the UFC announcers mention his success in the IFL each time he appears. The IFL is, at best, a feeder league to the bigger promotions. They need to get over themselves and stop thinking that they're competing with the UFC. And Dana needs to stop treating them like they're Moby Dick, come to sink his ship and bite off his leg.

by Kid Nate on Apr 6, 2008 3:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Bad Management and Promotional Follies Limit F

I'm with caplan on the talent sharing thing.... IFL has Fabiano under contract while Imanari has a CageRage/EliteXC contract, both are arguably Top 5 145'ers...work a deal to send Imanari over for a fight with Fabiano if the IFL will send over say Jay Hieron to a Elite card to face Jake Shields. None of these guys have such huge contracts that the $$$ couldn't be workable.

by robnashville on Apr 5, 2008 3:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: Bad Management and Promotional Follies Limit F

Noons should have signed the deal. If they paid a $1 to actually fight and told him he'd be locked up for a year and a half, the money he would make in sponsors would more than make up for it.

by dropkick101 on Apr 5, 2008 4:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: Bad Management and Promotional Follies Limit F

Right. The main point is that fighters seriously have terrible management right now. The big agencies haven't really got into MMA yet, so fighters have dumbass coaches and friends managing them and making bad decisions.

by Michael Rome on Apr 5, 2008 5:10 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: Bad Management and Promotional Follies Limit F

For the uninitiated, the Dion in the article is Mark Dion.... the guy that handled the Brandon Vera negotiations with UFC that went so well.....

by robnashville on Apr 5, 2008 5:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: Bad Management and Promotional Follies Limit F

Go read about the whole situation re: Vera and Dion before you form an opinion.

Sorry, I can't find the link - but Dion goes a LOOOONG way to proving he was discharging his duties as Vera's agent to the best of his abilities - maybe too well it seems. It looks like Vera had either a 3rd party or someone in the UFC whispering in his ear how Dion was screwing him over and it just created a real clusterf*ck.

Obviously it's Dion's side of the story, so take it with a grain of salt. But he just had a suit tossed out against him proving he didn't do anything wrong iirc.

by The Gaijin on Apr 5, 2008 7:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Re: Bad Management and Promotional Follies Limit F

Oh that stuff pretty thoroughly established that Dion acted in good faith and represented Vera to the best of his abilities. But it didn't establish that Dion gave Vera good advice or had a shrewd business sense about building a fighter's career.

by Kid Nate on Apr 5, 2008 7:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Bad Management and Promotional Follies Limit F

emailer is right...noons shouldn't give up his left ball to be on cbs...these 3-fight contracts are bad for the sport...the Ali Act needs to be applied to MMA soon...if I were Noons I would definitely agree to a deal - just keep his balls, maybe give them a pinkie or two

by corndoggie on Apr 5, 2008 11:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs