Dana White reads the internets.

by ghettoiam on Jun 17, 2008 6:25 PM EDT Comment 6 comments

He has to - it's the only way to explain his bizarre take on reality and counter-programming.

On July 19th we have Affliction: Banned - a star studded event full of top level MMA talent with no proven drawing power in North America, available exclusively on PPV. The backers of the show have very deep pockets and can stomach I financial loss. Whether they're willing to or not , the point is that they can. They have no TV, no mainstream exposure - at this point it's essentially a fight card for hardcore MMA fans.

On July 26th with have EliteXC on CBS. Their last event was watched by millions of people and broke ground in a way no MMA promotion ever has before. They have viable mainstream stars (Kimbo Slive & Carano) and mainstream exposure that in its moment may surpass any signular thing the UFC has achieved. And unlike Affliction, the EliteXC shows are in a much more tenuous position. If they draw poor ratings, it could signal the end of the EliteXC on network TV and in doing so could damage their most significant competitor.

So again, why is Dana White putting so much effort into counter-programming Affliction instead of EliteXC?

It's equivalent to Vince McMahon running a network special WWE show on NBC to counter-program and Ring of Honor PPV.

Dana White has bought into the hype and I think more than anything does not want to see Sylvia, Arlovski or Fedor succeed outside of the UFC.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.

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No, I think this is wrong. He has the chance to financially sink Affliction by giving away a free show when they run on PPV. On the other hand, regardless of what he puts on Spike, he is likely to LOSE a total viewership battle against a promotion on network television, which would be a complete embarrassment.

by Michael Rome on Jun 17, 2008 6:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

That’s the thing, he won’t be able to sink Affliction. UFCs action will have a small affect on it. If the show only does 30,000 buys it’s not because the UFC ran a show opposite of it, it’s because no one knows anyone on the Affliction card and the show hasn’t gotten any exposure.

EliteXC is truly UFC competition. They have television, superstars, and occupy a space in the zeitgeist the UFC would like to. And they can’t afford to have a poorly rated show on CBS. Certainly 2 million of EliteXC’s viewers would rather be watching a UFC.

I see why the UFC is doing it, I just think it’s the wrong front to be battling on.

by ghettoiam on Jun 17, 2008 6:54 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Well...

IMO, it’s a smart move because Affliction has nothing but some names that not many casual fans care about.

I certainly don’t care about Fedor! I’ll enjoy just reading how crappy the show was after I didn’t waste my $50 on it ! Especially now that the UFC is putting on a FREE one.

all you gotta do is...

by imapimp08 on Jun 17, 2008 7:04 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Affliction seems so disorganized. They first had the relationship with Golden Boy, and it fell apart. Then, I thought they were going to hook up with Mark Cuban. Now, they’ve brought in Donald Trump. I don’t think Trump is really going to put a bunch of his own cash behind this unless he sees an almost certain payoff. It just doesn’t seem like they’ve put much together besides a number of notable fighters on a single fight card. That’s great, but it takes a lot more than that. If I didn’t read this and other MMA blogs, I wouldn’t even know there was an Affliction show.

Affliction as a fight promotion looks weak. I think Zuffa is using their show to take Affliction out before they can gain any kind of momentum with hardcore fans. Just because they may have some money to burn doesn’t mean they’re going to continue to burn it if this card is a catastrophic failure.

by Cannon Jacques on Jun 17, 2008 10:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I don’t know, at a bar showing the last England card I heard a bunch of casual fans talking about the Affliction card in July so they are doing something right. They were also the casual fans who rock gawdy Affliction gear and there seems to be a lot of those types of fans out there so who knows.

by Nate414 on Jun 18, 2008 12:27 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I don’t think it’s about Dana wanting Fedor, Sylvia, and Arlovski to fail. It’s more about wanting to crush competition. Many of the rumored match ups, Edgar-Franca and Velasquez-O’Brien for example, are appealing to hardcore fans because they feature top prospects. I’m sure Dana knows he can hurt Affliction’s buy rate by putting on a free card that is attractive to Affliction’s major audience. It’s a purely business decision by the UFC.

As to competing with EliteXC on CBS, it would be better for the UFC to negotiate their own network TV deal, rather than try to run counter programming. EliteXC created more buzz among mainstream media than any UFC Fight Night on Spike that I can remember. Putting on a Fight Night card to compete with CBS simply won’t attract major media attention, and there is no way Dana would let another promotion steal the spotlight from the UFC.

by Andy R on Jun 18, 2008 7:18 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs