Dana White: Brazil yes; Philippines, not yet
by klown on Aug 30, 2009 4:53 PM EDT
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At the post-UFC 102 press conference, Dana White reveals the UFC's intention to put on a show in Brazil at an undetermined date. MMA Junkie reports:
"I don't know what date yet (for an event), but what we're starting to do is ramp up down in Brazil right now... We just hired this big PR firm. We got a television deal down there. The ratings are kicking ass. We're going to start getting a lot of these guys that deserve to be seen and known by the Brazilian fans... That's what we're working on now. That's our footprint. We go in there, we start on free television, and then we bring a live event down."
Unfortunately, due to the state of the economy and despite signs of the sport's popularity in the Philippines, fans of Brandon Vera and Mark Munoz are going to have to sit tight - for now:
"We were going to go to the Philippines... We had a deal done to go to the Philippines, and then when the world collapsed, the sponsors that were going to help us get down there, everything fell apart. Nobody has any money anymore. It's a lot trickier to figure out how to navigate throughout the world without money."
Here's hoping it happens soon, in both countries and more to come.
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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Weo is a sad panda right now.
Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.
by ufc4 on Aug 30, 2009 6:59 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
C’mon weo, we need some investigative reporting!
A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.
what's there to look at?
they said they’d come here summer 09.. Dana just announced it now, but it has obviously been postponed/canceled a while back..
by Anton Tabuena on Aug 31, 2009 10:43 AM EDT up reply actions
Find the sponsors, possible venue locations, beat some info out of people!
A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.
only venue location was at the Araneta Coliseum..
Philippine Sponsors are probably the same ones that i see during the UFC broadcasts here.. I want to know though, if the sponsors that fell threw were from the US side or from the Philippines’ side..
by Anton Tabuena on Aug 31, 2009 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Yep...
That’s their line.
http://oglobo.globo.com/fotos/2008/02/19/19_MVG_rio_bope.jpg
You gotta have balls to get into those Rio slums…
I say do the Super Bowl weekend show with Anderson Silva vs. Nate/Hendo winner and Nog vs.. Brock/Carwin winner
by SouthAlaBamaRampage on Aug 30, 2009 8:17 PM EDT reply actions
That’d be a pretty quick turnaround for the HW champ.
Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.
by ufc4 on Aug 30, 2009 8:21 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
You are very correct sir. Replace that with Machida vs. Couture :) ( Yes, even after his loss)
by SouthAlaBamaRampage on Aug 30, 2009 9:00 PM EDT up reply actions
Replace it with Machida vs. anybody and I’ll be happy.
Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.
by ufc4 on Aug 30, 2009 9:21 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
it’s a good move that Dana White decided not to pursue having an event here because MMA is not as big yet as it is in other countries, i remember when an international MMA event took place in Araneta Coliseum (where Thrilla in Manila took place) it was Ring of Fire, which is like a IFL team event, it compose several matches, as far as i can remember, Babalu Sobra, Jeff and Ricco Rodriguez fought and won their matches, there’s also Ken Shamrock who is one of the coaches of the team.The fight card was good but it didn’t do well on the attendance, it’s only around 40-45% of the seats were taken,
So I guess fans here would have to wait I think a couple of more years before holding an UFC event here but it would be nice again to send one of their Major Star here for promotional job, and we will give them an awesome welcome, just ask Chuck Liddell.
"I' Always Look Tired, I Play Possum" - Mark "The Hammer" Coleman
dude, nobody knows Ring of Fire.. they know the UFC..
it’s much like how Ring of Fire wont sell in Montreal where people go gaga for the UFC.. It’s like judging how Filipinos love the NBA by giving out stats of how many people came to see a US collegiate team play..
45% of 20,000+ seats is good for a small time promotion like Ring of Fire which hardly had any advertising..
Also, you have to consider the fact that, the event happened before the UFC TV deal which brought tons of new fans into the sport..
Vera’s public workout got 10k fans in an event that was organized in less than 10 days… Liddell got a bit more..
by Anton Tabuena on Aug 30, 2009 11:48 PM EDT up reply actions
Seriously? The UFC needs sponsors to do a show there?
Come on now, Dana. Spend a penny.
http://www.vancouversun.com/mma
A. The production costs are going to be huge, just getting all the fighters, employees, and equipment there is probably six figures.
B. They aren’t going to be able to charge as much for tickets as they do here.
C. If it’s on PPV it won’t get nearly as many buys as s good US card would.
Sponsors are probably the difference between making and losing money on an event like this, I can totally understand why it’s important to him.
Walla walla walla I'm an idiot.
by ufc4 on Aug 31, 2009 9:07 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
So you line up three in the region.
PPV in Phillipines, Fight Night in Tokyo, long undercard in China, and come out of it as Asia’s new favourite toy. Money spent, sure, but well spent.
http://www.vancouversun.com/mma
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