The Final Chapter

by Michael Rome on May 16, 2008 8:06 PM EDT

Dave Meltzer has a piece up on the final chapter of the Tito-Dana feud:

"This guy went on Howard Stern and said he was getting $200,000 a fight,” White said. “That was such a lie. Tito made $5.8 million in 2006. He only fought once in 2007. He made $710,000 for that fight (with Rashad Evans) and that was the third match from the top (on the card). He goes around saying we made $231 million last year. He’s a moron. This guy talks about what a businessman he is, and he was on ‘The Apprentice’ and he doesn’t know the difference between revenue and profit."

“There’s not going to be any bidding war,” White said. “Gary Shaw (promoter at Elite XC) should offer him $30 a fight, because we’re not going to match it.”

So I think it's safe to say there will be no reconciliation...

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I’ve got $30 in my pocket…

by pud333 on May 16, 2008 8:11 PM EDT 0 recs

These were definitely some classic dana quotes.

by Michael Rome on May 16, 2008 8:13 PM EDT 0 recs

He would totally match it. If given the opportunity Dana would put his business sense first and get Tito back to sell PPVs

by Yasnian on May 16, 2008 8:36 PM EDT 0 recs

I disagree Yasnian…what dana speaks is the truth…Tito’s isn’t in the top ten anymore…nor has he beat anyone since Belfort….so why pay him what he’s asking?

As far as Tito going to ElitexC…I’m sure Dana has more inside info about them than the casual MMA fan…he knows their livelyhood depends on that CBS show and that Elite can’t pay Tito was the UFC was paying him…

As far as Affliction goes…lol…they’ll be done after 3 cards MAX.

by Tha Realness on May 16, 2008 9:48 PM EDT 0 recs

Are you suggesting that simply because someone isn’t in the top 10 that they have no drawing power? Because Tito is still very much a known commodity amongst casual fans, and that fact makes him valuable. Look at the numbers his fights with Chuck did, that wasn’t all due to Chuck’s drawing power—it was because the UFC had two of their largest draws facing one another.

Moreover, Kimbo’s not in the top 10 nor is Brock Lesnar, yet both of them seem to be able to generate a good bit of interest before a fight.

All large-scale MMA organizations are desperately trying to woo casual fans (as well as make new ones). Tito has plenty of name recognition from his long history with the UFC, his “feud” with Shamrock (another known commodity amongst many casual fans) which culminated in the highest viewed event in UFC’s history on cable television, and his appearance on the Celebrity Apprentice.

This isn’t to say that he necessarily deserves how much he’s asking for, however Tito will be able to draw a good number of fans (I’d say he’s easily a bigger draw than anyone on Affliction’s first card) and that alone gives him a lot of bargaining power (and he knows this, which is why he has rather lofty demands).

by Estrada on May 17, 2008 7:57 AM EDT up 0 recs

No where in my post did I reference Ortiz’s drawing power….however, in the Liddell/Ortiz II fight….I’d attribute the majority of those buys to Liddell…simply because in Ortiz’s next fight (Evans)at UFC 73…that card did 425,000 buys….In Evan’s next fight against Bisbing headlining UFC 78…that card did 400,000 buys…so Ortiz is simply not the draw that he used to be.

by Tha Realness on May 17, 2008 9:36 AM EDT up 0 recs

The affliction card looks pretty solid to me.
They may loose a few bucks early on, but they are gonna get on their feet.
I think that the TUF lovers are going to find a new cult thing to look tough to their friends.
And the guys that really like the MMA game are going to pay less to watch LESNAR/COLLEMAN and more for FEDOR/SYLVIA.

by bigcherry on May 17, 2008 2:32 AM EDT 0 recs

I’d seriously bet a lot of money that Lesnar/Coleman does 10 times the buys Fedor/Sylvia does. I saw the first Affliction ad today, and it was terrible.

If they announce a TV deal that is a whole different story, but as of now just running random shows with names hardcore fans know is a terrible strategy.

by Michael Rome on May 17, 2008 2:44 AM EDT 0 recs

I agree. Affliction will go down after this one show. a) this one show is costing them a fortune. If the rumored fighter purse amounts are true, then the number of PPV buys they need just to not lose their shirts is steep to say the least. I mean c’mon, Fedor to get 2 million alone? b) no such TV deal yet. c) no one outside of the hardcore fan knows who Fedor is.

by pud333 on May 17, 2008 3:37 AM EDT up 0 recs

most casual fans don’t even know that Affliction is starting a company. I told some friends Sylvia is fighting Fedor in July. they asked in the UFC? I told them no and i said its for Affliction. They think of them still as a shirt company and nothing else. Most casual fans don’t know what Dream, Affliction, Adrenaline or even Strikeforce is. Some know EliteXC and thats just because of Kimbo and the fight previews on CBS.

Bring Back BA

by marco054 on May 17, 2008 11:36 AM EDT 0 recs