Today on MMA Nation on 106.7 WJFK: Josh Gross, Robert Drysdale
by Luke Thomas on Mar 7, 2009 7:12 PM EST
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Today on "MMA Nation" we'll be joined by Sports Illustrated's Josh Gross to talk about Gross's article on the problems in MMA broadcasting. We'll also catch up with Robert Drysdale, 2007 ADCC Absolute Champion and TUF assistant coach for Frank Mir, to talk his future in MMA.
We'll also be giving a 30-day pass to train MMA at Evolve Academy.
NEW TIME SLOT: "MMA Nation" airs every Saturday 7:00pm EST to 9:00pm EST on 106.7 WJFK. To listen live over the Internet, go to WJFK's website and click "Listen Live".
"MMA Nation" is also available by podcast on iTunes.
Number to call: 800-636-1067
Email here.
Talk to you then.
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is there a reason...
beyond the thing with spoiling TUF? Just out of curiosity
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Mar 7, 2009 8:41 PM EST up reply actions
What exactly happened there? I’ve heard about the story several times, but never actually heard what went down.
"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito on Belfort at Affliction:DOR
On Beatdown Radio
he spoiled the finals (or maybe the semi-finals…but can’t remember for sure putting me in the same boat as Luke on his show a few hours ago) of TUF 4. I don’t know if there are more dirty details than that..but ruining something of that size on the biggest mma news site on the web is pretty bad
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Mar 7, 2009 9:00 PM EST up reply actions
He posted the entire results before the first episode ever aired.
Gross has intelligence but his agenda makes him look stupid.
He wrote an open letter about steroids to the president of the only org who makes it a point to Test… but then he goes off and covers MMA events where they dont do any testing and ranks fighters based on fights which haven’t been tested. a complete hypocrite.
If you’re saying UFC makes a point to test (despite not doing pre-testing for their shows abroad), and orgs like Strikeforce and Affliction don’t, you’re full of it.
And Brent, the pissing match started with UFC making a big scene and booting the Sherdog crew from filming the weigh-ins, which they had always done in the past. Basically, as the UFC finally started to do well, they decided to push out online sources like Sherdog.
Of course, I’m not saying disclosing the TUF results as a retaliation was smart, but both organizations showed a distinct lack of tact and professionalism in that whole episode.
See...
I couldn’t remember if the UFC push out started before or after. I remember the big mess when the UFC started pulling online media source (blogs mostly) credentials but I was in a chicken/egg debate with myself on the exact timeline
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Mar 7, 2009 9:26 PM EST up reply actions
Strikeforce and Affliction does test…
But who worked on getting sanctioning so they test? Who continues to work on sanctioning?
In New Jersey and Las Vegas? SEG.
UFC trying to open up Wyoming or whatever is nice, but it doesn’t afford them some special placement when it comes to taking drug-testing seriously.
What is your opinion of UFC playing it loose and lazy with the UK testing? They can’t be bothered to do pre-fight screening? Because if they were doing that, Chris Leben would have never been allowed to fight.
They were told twice to turn the camera off…
The content was sold exclusively to a provider so how do you think it would look if it was streamed on sherdog???
These are fanboys who don’t know shit.
Fanboys who have been covering the sport longer than most people have known it exists. lol, what does that make the people who write for Bloodyelbow?
Tone down the Dana talk a bit.
Bloody Elbow is probably the most sophisticated not only because of the writers but because of the dialogue in the comments… yours included.
You think I come here to deliver propaganda but that would be a huge waste of money if it were true :)
There is a high level of discussion here from different sides of which cant be found anywhere else.
Ok then, but its still ridiculous to write off people like Greg Savage, Jordan Breen and Loretta Hunt as “fanboys who don’t know shit”.
Sherdog is a respected source of MMA news. One could argue that UFC might have died off without them, really.
Obviously...
Loretta would be a fanGIRL…duh
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Mar 8, 2009 1:13 AM EST up reply actions
The fact that Zuffa is able to largely bypass large scale network TV and still earn large profits makes inducing change in the realm of broadcast journalism and coverage quite difficult.
Wasn’t that black announcer (i forget his name) on CBS supposed to be a real or objective “voice” on the broadcast team?
Did you listen to what he was saying about Kimbo Slice? What self respected journalist says that shit?
Rogan has never said anything as ludicrous.
What Josh Gross doesn’t realize is he and his agenda will not dictate what Zuffa does… Has this idiot ever had to make payroll? The only reason he can make a living doing what he does is DIRECTLY BECAUSE of Zuffa’s success and HOW Zuffa does business.
Everyone has a right to voice their opinion… but the MMA “journalists” need to realize when they criticize how Zuffa does business they are critisizing the hand that has fed and continues to feed them.
Zuffa will continue to focus on what matters and that is building the sport, the bottom line and the fans… Gross should just say “Thank You” because that’s what ensures guys like him will continue to make money doing what they do.
He was dying for free agency… look at the fruits of free agency: Sylvia vs Mercer.
Want to know how free agency will look like in MMA, look at Frank Shamrocks career post Zuffa. You’ll hardly never see big competitive fights. The sport would be dead.
Gross doesn’t know shit about the business of MMA.
Zuffa is a blessing for the sport.
by mmalogic on Mar 7, 2009 9:00 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Gus Johnson
had no idea what he was talking about. For what it’s worth, I do believe he had every intention of being a professional voice in the booth, but he simply didn’t know enough about the sport by the time EliteXC went to air and wound up regurgitating everything he’d learned from Mauro and Shamrock in the weeks before the show. If you heard interviews with him from around the time of that first CBS show, you’d think Mauro Renallo was the greatest announcer and fight sport analyst in the history of mankind.
Contributor Emeritus - BloodyElbow.com
Gus Johnson...
is very good at sports announcing but he doesn’t have the knowledge in MMA to really understand that Kimbo was the entire foundation of a promotion but that he wasn’t really…you know…good.
But that’s beside the point. While I appreciate what Zuffa has done for the sport they control media in a way that is not done in any other sport. To say that criticizing them makes you worthy of not having access is insane in the area of sports media coverage.
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Mar 7, 2009 9:05 PM EST up reply actions
Come on bro… Gus Johnson knew kimbo wasnt anything near what he was touting him to be.
Regarding media coverage… it’s not based on who criticizes and who’s nice. I posted before the media strategy.
I agree...
that Johnson knew that Kimbo wasn’t 100% there…but he also didn’t understand exactly how far.
But to your point…I have heard Rogan sell Koscheck’s striking as fast approaching world class…etc. Announcers do the hard sell sometimes.
The media coverage thing I’ll have to track down I suppose but I misread your post as being “you can’t criticize if you haven’t been involved in running an MMA organization and if you do you should accept that you won’t be credentialed.”
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Mar 7, 2009 9:28 PM EST up reply actions
Actually no, you can criticize… I outlined the media strategy – has nothing to do with that.
Saying Koschek’s striking is approaching world class is a far cry of what Johnson was saying of Kimbo.
But at the end of the day the Market will dictate how the fights are called… even if the announcers are independent.
The announcing will be whatever the market likes. If the market likes UFC’s style of announcing better – CBS or whoever will copy that. At the end of the day they want viewers not a pulitzer for announcing.
honest answer: I like the HBO format where the discussion is more high level.
But MMA is not there yet. Eventually it will get there…. the market will decide when.
The market doesnt care if they are employed by Zuffa or by someone else – they care about their experience and as their experience desire changes so will the delivery.
Fun note on the experience thing..
I was doing the start of some research on a Sakuraba feature I’m writing and forgot about how long Goldie has been doing the UFC shows when I was watching Ultimate Japan
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Mar 8, 2009 1:14 AM EST up reply actions
If you’ve read anything I’ve written in the comments of the Gross article post on this site, you know that I felt like the relationship between CBS and EliteXC was close – a part ownership, in fact. I don’t blame Johnson, because he was very much learning on the job. Ranallo is a different story. I thought he was talking his book.
My point wasn’t to criticize Zuffa. It was to say that changing the way they do the broadcasting will be difficult, because the company hasn’t had to utilize “journalists” from major networks to make their product profitable. I do wish they would update injuries better as in the case with Galvao.
by Cannon Jacques on Mar 7, 2009 9:11 PM EST up reply actions
Cannon, my entire post wasn’t a a counter to your argument… I actually agree with your point. The bottom line and the fans is what matters… not Josh Gross.
I was too lazy to create a seperate post.
That's fine.
I just didn’t want you to misunderstand my point. I’ve been known to be unclear at times.
by Cannon Jacques on Mar 7, 2009 9:17 PM EST up reply actions
"Everyone has a right to voice their opinion… but the MMA "journalists" need to realize when they criticize how Zuffa does business they are critisizing the hand that has fed and continues to feed them.
Zuffa will continue to focus on what matters and that is building the sport, the bottom line and the fans… Gross should just say "Thank You" because that’s what ensures guys like him will continue to make money doing what they do."
lol, so you’re advocating a lobotomized relationship between the UFC and the media that covers it, and saying its out of line for them to report things objectively instead of just saying “thank you” and grabbing a set of pom-poms like the people who are handed access, e.g. Kevin Iole and Franklin McNeil.
New flash: This is not pro wrestling. Journalism is about gathering and reporting facts, not parroting Dana White talking points (like you’re doing right now) in an attempt to do what is best for the biggest player in the industry. Zuffa already has lap dogs like you spreading this kind of bullshit propoganda, so I hope Gross continues to pursue angles that other MMA writers are afraid to. We need a little variety, not just a chorus of mmalogic-style cheerleaders.
There are guys at the press conference who are 10 times more critical then what Gross would be… they dont understand the sport.
I described what the media strategy is a while ago… Getting credentialed has nothing to do with how critical one is.
Sure getting a scoop from Dana or more access to him is based on who is liked… gee the nerve of Zuffa
The real shame...
is that you see guys like Iole and McNeil who are no doubt well below the level of knowledge and ability to objectively report on the sport that writers on this site (not saying myself necessarily, just some writers on this sport), and most of the other “major MMA blogs” do. And these are the guys that get the golden access…and I understand the association with Yahoo and ESPN is a big part of it…but it’s still irritating.
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Mar 7, 2009 9:52 PM EST up reply actions
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