MMA's Shrinking Pond Leaves the UFC as the Biggest Fish
by Kid Nate on Apr 30, 2010 1:17 PM EDT
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Dave Meltzer wrote yesterday about the aftermath of April, one of the busiest months in MMA history. In particular he focused on the meaning of Strikeforce's flop CBS show from Nashville:
It's still uncertain how the April 17 show will affect the Strikeforce/CBS relationship, with its ugly post-fight brawl, disappointing matches and a lackluster prime-time rating. In a business that is all about creating superstars, which at its best is a difficult process based on luck, timing and exposure, it can't be emphasized how important having CBS exposure is for Strikeforce.
The company's ultimate goal - to compete with the industry-leading UFC - is based on being able to produce successful pay-per-view shows. With Showtime, Strikeforce's main carrier, only available in a small percentage of the U.S. homes, it's questionable if that's a strong enough platform to build a successful pay-per-view event.
In a separate piece Meltzer diagnoses just how bad the outcome was for Strikeforce on CBS in April:
The April 17 show in Nashville proved, once again, that without a major superstar to anchor a broadcast, you can't pull major network-level prime time ratings. In the past, Kimbo Slice, Gina Carano and Emelianenko have proven to all be superstars who can draw an audience past the base audience of hardcore fight fans.
Former UFC star Dan Henderson, who the show was built around, proved not to be a network-level superstar as the show ended up doing a 1.8 rating and 2.86 million viewers, the second-lowest of the five CBS specials to date.
But even more important, since the event was pushed to advertisers as a way to target hard-to-reach males 18-34 bracket, the show only did a 1.3 in that demographic, down from a 2.3 in November when Emelianenko headlined against Brett Rogers. Worse, from a ratings standpoint, the show was beaten in its target demo (although drawing a much larger audience overall) head-to-head by Spike airing a replay of the February UFC 110 pay-per-view.
While it's entirely possible that CBS might go for one more bite at the MMA apple, I don't expect them to. MMA has proven to be a difficult and inconsistent proposition.
So if Strikeforce is coming out of April weakened and perhaps mortally wounded as a long-term competitor to the UFC, what about their ally across the Pacific, DREAM? Zach Arnold breaks down the implications of the collapse of DREAM's Light Heavyweight Grand Prix due to a lack of support from their network TV partner:
Tokyo Broadcasting System not ponying up the cash to pay for a Light Heavyweight GP tournament featuring Gegard Mousasi and Renato Babalu is not surprising. TBS wants Japanese stars and ratings. DREAM features neither of those qualities. To top it off, the 5/29 Saitama event is headlined by Nick Diaz vs. Hayato Sakurai in a Strikeforce vs. DREAM interpromotional feud that has zero juice to it. Any juice that could have been obtained was squashed when Gilbert Melendez destroyed Shin'ya Aoki in Nashville on April 17th.
The purpose of DREAM for K-1 was largely as a television property to keep any possible MMA competitors off of over-the-air Japanese television. Since cable and satellite television is not a viable option for a Japanese fight promotion to generate much cash flow with, OTA is the only way to survive as a major league property in that country. Without TBS cooperating, DREAM as an entity is largely dead and everyone knows it.
D.W. at Head Kick Legend diagnoses the cause of the failure of DREAM -- a failure to produce Japanese stars:
The fall of KID Yamamoto, Kazushi Sakuraba, retirement of Genki Sudo and the passing of fads like Bob Sapp and Bobby Olgun has put MMA in Japan into a bit of an odd place. To catch on like other fads in Japan again, MMA needs a strong native star to rise up at the right time and be the right mix of skill, budo spirit and boyish good looks to drive up female viewership (if you still refuse to admit this is why Masato, KID Yamamoto, etc. were stars you are in denial).
As you can imagine, FEG, Real Entertainment and TBS are not getting along very well in regards to MMA and the future of DREAM. I fully expect the rumors which were in the past just whispers of FEG trying to sell DREAM turning into more than just whispers.
The implications of the deep troubles afflicting the UFC's biggest competitors, combined with the unexpected success of WEC 48: Aldo vs Faber on PPV this weekend leave Zuffa in an even stronger position.
But fear not Kid Nate fans, I still read this as a long term negative. The failure of MMA on American and Japanese network television means that MMA will remain a niche sport for the foreseeable future. That is good for Zuffa and Dana White. It's not a total loss for fans as they have proven they can consistently deliver an excellent product.
However their willingness to water down their product in the interest of sticking to a strict PPV schedule may be eroding their paying fan base. This statement Meltzer got from WEC honcho Reed Harris about the difference between the WEC's approach to PPV and that of the UFC:
Harris noted that even if the show beats expectations on pay-per-view, that WEC will be a product that does pay-per-view when the right match comes along, as opposed to UFC, which has a set schedule of pay-per-view dates every few weeks, and then plugs in matches for those dates.
Zuffa has shown over the past nine months that they'll keep the PPV's coming, whether or not they have the appealing fights to fill the cards. Allowing their PPV cash cow to dry up combined with their ambitious and expensive goals for international expansion is a dangerous combination. Time will tell if Zuffa is making the right gamble.
The other big losers in a potential collapse of major competition to the UFC will be the fighters. Athletes like Andrei Arlovski, Renato "Babalu" Sobral and Dan Henderson that get cross-ways with Dana White will be between a rock and a hard place without viable competition.
That's not good for the sport.
Nor is the loss of Japan as a major MMA market. For all of the UFC's success in the UK and Australia, Japan dwarfed them as an MMA market. The pool of Japanese fan money that fueled the big pay days that fighters and promoters made in the hey day of PRIDE is gone and although it's offset by the explosion of MMA's popularity in the U.S. its loss is still going to be keenly felt.
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"But fear not Kid Nate fans"
Wait a minute….you have fans? Since when? ;)
I don’t want only UFC as the only game in town, but it is the top dog for MMA right now and should always be the biggest fish unless proven otherwise.
Right now Bellator can be the next best thing outside of Zuffa. I’m a huge fan of Bellator because it carves its own niche as a tournament-style organization. Strikeforce does not know how to handle anything properly and they will probably be at fault for their own inevitable demise.
Hopefully Bellator can fix their television contract situation with FSN and be big enough to be a solid organization to grow the sport.
"It's fourth and fifteen and you're looking at a full-court press." - Lt. Frank Drebin, Police Squad
I just made a huge mistake
I read the whole article and forgot to just skim over it and claim Kid Nate is anti-UFC. For that I apologize and will never do such a thing again.
"It's fourth and fifteen and you're looking at a full-court press." - Lt. Frank Drebin, Police Squad
i'm sorely disappointed
don’t let it happen again.
i really expect less out of my readers.
; )
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
Kid Nate has a Dana White dartboard in his house
And uses flame throwers as darts.
There, I’ve redeemed myself!
"It's fourth and fifteen and you're looking at a full-court press." - Lt. Frank Drebin, Police Squad
I have never understood...
this obsession that some fans have to have MMA be more than a niche sport??? That IMO would water down the sport. I enjoy the sport as “below mainstream” because when the day comes that my mother wants to talk to me about her favorite MMA star is the day that I will stop watching or caring.
Day-man! Fighter of the Night-man! Champion of the sun. You're a master of Karate and friendship for everyone!
"Charlie"
I want to see MMA
draw the best athletes. That takes the most money.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
by Kid Nate on Apr 30, 2010 1:34 PM EDT up reply actions 4 recs
Nice article Kid Nate.
I want to disagree with the notion that MMA will somehow be hurt by an evergrowing UFC, a dying Japanese MMA landscape and a dependence on PPV events to generate revenue. First, by UFC gaining any market share lost by the collapse of Strikeforce and Dream. This will allow Zuffa to acquire the contracts of some big name fighters. Aoki, Melendez, Lawler,Mousasi, Fedor, Kid Yamamoto etc. By acquiring these fighter, Zuffa can strengthen the rosters of both WEC and UFC. The stronger the roster, the better the PPV cards. We get to see the best fight the best. It’s a win win for MMA overall. No more, arguements over Fedor being better than Couture or Aoki better then Penn. Japan has always been a fickle MMA market, fraught with corruption and lacking any standards or drug testing. The death and ultimate rebirth of Japanese MMA is the only logical answer to fixing the landscape. The UFC will not go into Japan and allow business as usual. If Japan wants to watch Minowaman fight an 800 lb grizzly bear, they can still have it, just in a much smaller, regional type promotion. The PPV model grows and is improved almost over night with the acquisition of Dream and Strikeforce fighters.
If Russia attacked Turkey from the rear, Do you think Greece would help?
Zuffa could obtain all the contracts for all the relevant fighters in both Dream and Strikeforce tomm. and it would not mean better quality PPVs. In fact, it would mean more watered-down PPVs. like two every month. They would just spread the talent out as far as they could while still getting fans to pay for it. That is easy money BTW, since the majority of UFC fans have been brain-washed into thinking they should buy even the most watered-down of cards.
Lack of competition is good for Zuffa; not the fighters, not the fans or the sport. The Dana zombies don’t get this because, well, they are zombies. If you like paying $60 for a PPV w/no titles on the line and perhaps one semi-relevant fight, then you should be happy when all of Zuffa’s competition is gone. You can spend $120($160 when WEC comes to town) a month, send Dana a tweet and wait for the :) response.
"It would appear that the strain was more than he could bear".- Doc Holliday
by MyFistYourFace on Apr 30, 2010 8:45 PM EDT up reply actions
This is ridiclious
MMA is not milk. There’s a huge amount of elasticity with it. Zuffa does not intentionally put on strings of weak cards, because they know weak cards make them a lot less money than strong cards. If they had the means to put on great cards every time out, they would, because that makes them a lot more money. They have no compelling reason to simply sit on their top fighters and put on weak cards because then people stop buying and they die too. If zuffa had more top fighters, there would be more top fights. There’s absolutely no reason to believe otherwise.
by Trysdor on May 1, 2010 12:35 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
You must have a different relationship with your mom than I do…
Day-man! Fighter of the Night-man! Champion of the sun. You're a master of Karate and friendship for everyone!
"Charlie"
You too?
I have a relationship with his mom as well.
"Someone is WRONG on the internet. What do you want me to do? LEAVE? Then they'll keep being wrong!"
-Randall Munroe
my mom loves it when I put her in a guilotine choke.
If Russia attacked Turkey from the rear, Do you think Greece would help?
North/south for the win...
with someone’s else mom.
she likes it when I get her in the Rear Naked.....
see what i did there ……its a play on words…..
dont ban me lol
"When i get in there, in his face ,pressin the action,I'm RUFF NECKIN'EM,I'm throwin him around,I'm punchin him,hes punchin me, I'm eatin his shots and I'm Blastin him back in the face he's not goin to be able to handle it ." - Chris Leben on how his fight with Anderson Silva is gonna go.
My mom watches the UFC; she’s definitely a “casual fan” but she knows what’s going on when she watches, and usually tunes in for any GSP fight. I think that’s the bomb.
"I'm AJB and I endorse this nut-puncher."
by AJB on May 1, 2010 8:46 AM EDT up reply actions
That makes no sense to me
Do you feel cool for liking what most people don’t ?? Please explain.
"When i get in there, in his face ,pressin the action,I'm RUFF NECKIN'EM,I'm throwin him around,I'm punchin him,hes punchin me, I'm eatin his shots and I'm Blastin him back in the face he's not goin to be able to handle it ." - Chris Leben on how his fight with Anderson Silva is gonna go.
Thank goodness
I still read this as a long term negative
I thought I had lost the plot!
I’m really torn between wanting another strong league in Japan and wanting only one strong league with everyone else being developmental.
Saku is the GOAT. Once in a lifetime kind of person and talent. Waiting for another Saku to come along to save Japanese MMA is a death sentence.
ALL OF YOU LISTEN TO MEE, DON'T DISTURB HERE, I WILL CALL POLICE CATCH YOU, DON'T COME TO MY BANGOLOW HOUSE, UNDERSTAND, O.K. I HATE ALL OF YOU.
The only problem with ufc being the only game in town is dana’s volatility when confronted with what he deems as disloyalty or fighters asking too much or guys that are, you know, serving their best interest. Otherwise the UFC being the only game in town has a lot of upside.
Yeah, I would be ok if Dana didn’t tell us as much as he does. If someone is getting cut just say we wish you well and hope you can put together a win streak and get invited back. Even guys Dana hates will still make him money….don’t burn so many bridges.
If he can make up with Tito he can make up with anyone.
by brad23 on Apr 30, 2010 5:07 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I’d prefer to let the market regulate what fighters can or can’t have. The nice thing about MMA is that each fighter ultimately negotiates for himself what he feels he deserves, I see this as a pretty good system to bypass having to have a union, with all the negatives it brings, the upside, to me, just isn’t high enough.
by Dooda on Apr 30, 2010 2:43 PM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
Do you really think Shields would be getting the kind of money the UFC is about to give him if SF wasn’t around? With out competition it will be you take what we are giving you or you won’t fight any where ever.
In any business the people who make the rules always end up with a disproportionate slice of the pie. That is why the head of Disney made more than his 10,000 lowest paid employees.
The market will only dictate what a fighter gets if there are competing forces. If there is no competition, then its the UFC that decides what a fighter gets. If the UFC becomes the last promotion standing, I think the fighters will have to protect themselves by forming a union.
The market will always dictate what the fighters will get.
If all other competitors die, and people feel zuffa isn’t paying what they should, they will start their own promotion (like they have done countless times in the past).
If those promotions are unable to exist by paying those salaries, that means zuffa is paying what they should.
by Phildo on Apr 30, 2010 4:57 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Whether you have a union or not, the market will always dictate the price. Unions typically only make it harder to figure out because they notoriously don’t look at the big picture, and have no concept of risk/reward. I’m not saying that unions are bad, they aren’t, but there’s so much downside to having a union, I say negotiate your contract for what you think you’re worth. If you get it, great, if you don’t, fight somewhere else, start another promotion, or choose a different vocation where you get what you feel you deserve.
That pic looks like it was taken for some 80’s sitcom. lol
‘Coming Soon to ABC! Just The Three Of Us!’
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
“The best fuckin’ sitcom on fuckin’ ABC!”
If you're not watching Treme, you're a bad person.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Apr 30, 2010 1:45 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Great piece
The only thing I’d disagree with is the part about Babalu, Henderson, and Arlovski. It’s one thing to move on for “greener pastures” it’s another to burn a bridge. Dan burned a bridge, Babalu just hasn’t been that impressive, and Arlovski now has an inflated sense of self-worth due to his Affliction contract. People will argue that Affliction was a good thing, but massive contracts means fighters expect that every time. Zuffa seems to be built with long term goals and they haven’t played the short term pay off game.
Unless we know what kind of percentage the promotion gets for advertisements on network tv, those deals don’t seem desirable. Getting 700k per show is a hell of a lot different than the 20million they make per pay per view.
I think the only way MMA survives is if everything is under one roof. This is the only way a fighters union makes sense, and the only way you can have undisputed champions. Boxing got killed because their belt system is totally watered down. I hope MMA doesn’t get to that point.
Support me in my campaign for Absolute Banning Power for Bloody Elbow
one good thing about burnt bridges is the only thing you need to rebuild them is money… a lot of money… which is exactly what the UFC has. Tito Ortiz, BJ Penn, Randy Couture… They all had their bridges burned and rebuilt with massive piles of cash. To a lesser extent, bridges were burned with Crocop, Jon Fitch, and Rampage… but those situations were quickly resolved and they were brought back into the fold.
The only bridges that stay burnt are the guys like Tim Sylvia, Frank Shamrock, or Pat Militich… guys that couldn’t compete in the UFC within a year or two of them leaving. If Arlovski goes on a run, he clearly could be brought back. Whatever ill will there is, it can always be cured with a contract $1 more than the next guy is willing to pay.
Getting bent out of shape over a fight promoter lying is like getting upset that a hooker won't kiss you. It betrays a deep lack of understanding of the nature of the profession.
The people you mentioned who burnt bridges were proven PPV draws, Hendo and Babalu weren’t ever draws and I’d argue at this point that Arlovski couldn’t draw a picture. Thats the problem, when you leave for greener pastures, if you don’t keep your win streak going, you are no longer a viable asset.
So
Follow me on twitter @thisredengine
by Matthew Roth on Apr 30, 2010 8:06 PM EDT up reply actions
I don’t think Henderson burned any bridges with UFC. I may be wrong, but I’m fairly certain White has said in multiple interviews, that he holds no ill will against Henderson, and that they just couldn’t agree on a contract. Nothing personal at all.
by WestbergIDFC on Apr 30, 2010 2:34 PM EDT up reply actions
Henderson has had some harsh criticisms, but mostly on the business side rather than the personal side. He was critical about not receiving royalties from the Undisputed game as well as personal appearance fees owed to him. And that truck he got for being on TUF was cursed.
Getting bent out of shape over a fight promoter lying is like getting upset that a hooker won't kiss you. It betrays a deep lack of understanding of the nature of the profession.
Here we go again
First Kid Nate calls for the imminent decline of the UFC after the swath of injuries over the winter lead to some lackluster cards as far as name value goes only to be proven wrong just like most people said he would be by the string of great shows doing great business that we’re currently in the middle of. Now he’s predicting the death of MMA because a couple of second-rate organizations are struggling (or continuing to struggle more accurately) just like most people thought that would.
It seems like he moves from knee-jerk reaction to knee-jerk reaction. Personally, i find that It’s getting hard to take anything he says seriously.
Hello. I take stuff too seriously.
by The Flying Gentleman on Apr 30, 2010 1:53 PM EDT reply actions 14 recs
Wow, did he actually say that?
I guess calling for the death of mma, sometimes is the only way to grab people’s attention.
When the sport has come so far already.
by pickleofguatemala on Apr 30, 2010 2:15 PM EDT up reply actions
smart monkey
you get a banana.
I don’t take my business analysis very seriously, just deal ‘em as I feel ’em.
so it’s good that you’re beginning to notice.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
by Kid Nate on Apr 30, 2010 3:09 PM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
Hello. I take stuff too seriously.
by The Flying Gentleman on May 1, 2010 12:21 AM EDT up reply actions
Maybe this will give M-1 Global an opportunity to become #2
They manage to make money off events, and Fedor gets paid well.
by pickleofguatemala on Apr 30, 2010 1:56 PM EDT reply actions
I have said this before.
M-1 Global being #2 would be as big a deal as being the tallest midget in the room.
If Russia attacked Turkey from the rear, Do you think Greece would help?
Symbiosis of PPV + network TV, niche + mainstream
In regards to the whole niche vs mainstream arguement, MMA needs to remain a niche sport for the foreseeable future. As the saying goes, do not count your chickens before they hatch. MMA needs to grow organically, it needs to be nurtured and carefully tended while it grows larger, and not just thrust upon the big stage before it has the legs to carry itself. Strikeforce is trying to go immediately to the mainstream without having a legitimate infrastructure behind itself to maintain the necessary momentum to stay relevant as a major sport. UFC, on the other hand, has done an absolutely phenomenal job at growing their business (and therefore MMA) incrementally, with tangible short term goals, and properly orchestrated long term strategies.
Now, the UFC strategy does employ some free to watch television, with the Versus cards, the spike prelims, TUF, countdowns, etc. Granted, the main priority for these is to bolster PPV buys, however, they have an important secondary function which Zuffa undoubtedly is aware of. These televised events/shows build a solid and organically grown fanbase. They get people accustomed to the sport, to the fighters themselves, to the culture surrounding MMA, and these people then spread the word even farther. Dana and Co are, without a doubt, drooling at the idea of the $$ brought in my major sports on major networks, but to get there, they have to take the long view and not just go for a money grab. In 5 years I can see the UFC starting to regularly put on televised shows with a frequency equal to PPV.
bingo.
Nice post Cocytus. Moreover, WEC could help further their own growth with a TUF style tv show. This could introduce the FW and BW fighters the same way TUF does. The built in feeder system for WEC allows more WEC programming on VS, helps groom upcoming fighters for the WEC and allows the WEC to promote more PPV cards. The WEC TUF idea is being discussed by Zuffa, the thing to seperate this idea would be to involve, VS, Zuffa and WEC to help create a different version. Not that TUF is stale, but, it would quickly become stale if, WEC does a clone version.
If Russia attacked Turkey from the rear, Do you think Greece would help?
Even if they all collapse....
The amateur ranks is the real way to grow the sport. Building gyms and having affordable gear and programs for youngsters to train. That is how warriors have trained in Martial Arts for thousands of years. CAMO is a great idea to give legitimacy to events but just a first baby step of what could be.
I think that more organization at the grass roots level would have more effect than anything these big promoters can do around the world. Look at soccer for this model globally.
John
http://ionnes.wordpress.com
Twitter me @ionnespoetry
by Ionnes on Apr 30, 2010 2:00 PM EDT reply actions
We need a “Corporate Judo Chop” when the UFC finally knocks out the other organizations haha. In fact, go back and do a Corporate Judo Chop for UFC taking over Pride.
Judo Chops… economics style.
Got the Summer hatin on me cus I'm hotter than the sun. Got the Spring hatin on me cus I ain't never sprung. Winter hatin on me cus I'm colder than ya'll; and I will never I will never I will never Fall.
The mat is my church, the ground is my heaven, Jiu-Jitsu is my religion. And once you hit the ground you're in my world. My world is like the ocean, I’m like a shark and most people don't even know how to swim - Draculino
by Patrick Tenney on Apr 30, 2010 2:01 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
then make slow motion gifs of Dana White's grin where it's like he's saying "I told you motherfuckers!"
and break it down step by step.
by Anton Tabuena on Apr 30, 2010 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions
UFC winner by submission over Strikeforce in the first round.
John
http://ionnes.wordpress.com
Twitter me @ionnespoetry
by Ionnes on Apr 30, 2010 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions
I was so pissed when I watched that, I was yelling “LEARN TO TAP” at the t.v….
Got the Summer hatin on me cus I'm hotter than the sun. Got the Spring hatin on me cus I ain't never sprung. Winter hatin on me cus I'm colder than ya'll; and I will never I will never I will never Fall.
The mat is my church, the ground is my heaven, Jiu-Jitsu is my religion. And once you hit the ground you're in my world. My world is like the ocean, I’m like a shark and most people don't even know how to swim - Draculino
by Patrick Tenney on Apr 30, 2010 2:45 PM EDT up reply actions
I was yelling "SNAP IT" lol
You are a kinder man then me.
"When i get in there, in his face ,pressin the action,I'm RUFF NECKIN'EM,I'm throwin him around,I'm punchin him,hes punchin me, I'm eatin his shots and I'm Blastin him back in the face he's not goin to be able to handle it ." - Chris Leben on how his fight with Anderson Silva is gonna go.
. Worse, from a ratings standpoint, the show was beaten in its target demo (although drawing a much larger audience overall) head-to-head by Spike airing a replay of the February UFC 110 pay-per-view.
I’ll never understand this.
I am. I think. I will. - Ayn Rand
I could be wrong
But target demo is all about advertising which is all the $$. Hit the target demo, advertisers give you more.
Yep, I agree with what you said. I was simply pointing why there are some people , specially w/in the demo 18-34, would rather watch a rerun than a live fight? I fight it hard to believe that they arent aware that there is a CBS MMA show going on while watching the UFC rerun.
I am. I think. I will. - Ayn Rand
how many times does this need to happen for you to be convinced that it’s the case?
CBS does a terrible job advertising their fight cards.
i know. is there really such a huge gap on MMA awareness between those who watched the Spike rerun than those who watched CBS?
I am. I think. I will. - Ayn Rand
I was simply pointing why there are some people , specially w/in the demo 18-34, would rather watch a rerun than a live fight?
I don’t think that is the case at all.
I think is awareness issue rather than a conscious choice. Most of the fans tuning in to watch the UFC rerun had no idea there were live fights on CBS.
Does anyone else wonder what kind of potential M-1 could have?
If they established themselves as #2?
They seem to make better business decisions than other orgs. I doubt M-1 would ever make a deal that doesn’t benefit them financially.
by pickleofguatemala on Apr 30, 2010 2:08 PM EDT reply actions
since their main source of income is having people hand them money so fedor can fight for other orgs, I don’t really think they’ll ever have much success promoting fights alone.
M-1 will never amount to anything as a promotion. Their last attempt at a real fight as the Don Frye/Mo Lawal fiasco… When Frye dropped out, they smeared him saying his fire was gone and he was afraid of Lawal. Don Frye’s response is classic:
"I didn’t drop out; I walked away…This is business that should be conducted between me and Joost, or Roost, whatever his name is. But he got on the internet and did a Dana White/Perez Hilton internet blog and started talking [expletive]…Here’s the deal: [The event] didn’t just move from L.A. It went from the Staples Center to the L.A. Convention Center. From the L.A. convention center to the Hilton in Las Vegas. From the Hilton in Las Vegas to an Indian casino on the Oklahoma-Texas border. From the Indian casino on the Oklahoma-Texas border to an Indian casino up in Tulsa, which is North Oklahoma. And from there up to Kansas City, Mo…So you know, after four or five times changing the venue, and then we asked [Raimond] ‘Hey, what are you doing for advertising? Are you sending a photographer out to Don’s house?’ He says, ‘No, we’re just going to use stock photos off the Internet.’…So they don’t know where the hell they’re going to have it. They’re not putting any money into advertising. So at that point we said, ‘You know what? You just ain’t got your [expletive] together. We’re walking away.’"
Getting bent out of shape over a fight promoter lying is like getting upset that a hooker won't kiss you. It betrays a deep lack of understanding of the nature of the profession.
Well Frye even compared the M-1 guy to Dana
Is that that much of a big deal?
If they marketed it right, sounds like Frye would have still been on board.
by pickleofguatemala on Apr 30, 2010 3:42 PM EDT up reply actions
The moving around of the venue was caused by their lack of a promoter’s license in California. Somehow it was only a few weeks before the event where they realized they didn’t have one and didn’t have the time to get one. They had been selling tickets to the LA show for a while before it got abruptly moved… they didn’t have any time to sell tickets at the new venue and didn’t even try.
That they treated Don Frye unprofessionally afterwards is pretty minor in the grand scheme. Still, their press releases lauding the bravery of Mark Kerr and branding Frye as a coward cleared up any doubts about their professionalism.
Getting bent out of shape over a fight promoter lying is like getting upset that a hooker won't kiss you. It betrays a deep lack of understanding of the nature of the profession.
I will disagree that M-1 make better decisions.
M-1 are treading water right now. The problem M-1 have is, their whole strategy revolves around Fedor. So, as Fedor goes, so goes M-1. This is very short sited, I will admit, they do try to develop young talent. But, none of the fighters on M-1 have any PPV draw. The next problem is, M-1 are a Russia and Eastern European regional promotion. They can package themselves any way they want too, but, in the end. Americans just dont care enough.
If Russia attacked Turkey from the rear, Do you think Greece would help?
Everyone always acts like they are rolling in money, but I don’t understand why they keep playing these games if they are so good. If they have that much money, they could pay fedor and his opponent on their own.
Instead they run E level shows out of leisure centres in Europe
by Mat Parker 116 on Apr 30, 2010 2:16 PM EDT up reply actions
I've heard people talking about it positively internationally
I don’t know the full extent of their popularity overseas though.
They probably would need to continue to build their presence.
by pickleofguatemala on Apr 30, 2010 2:17 PM EDT up reply actions
I can tell you that they are talking complete bullshit the last show most of there shows are in civic halls in tiny towns with about five people there.
by Mat Parker 116 on Apr 30, 2010 2:21 PM EDT up reply actions
I hate NBC. I hate Comcast.
Please don’t go to NBC, UFC.
"It's fourth and fifteen and you're looking at a full-court press." - Lt. Frank Drebin, Police Squad
This
Comcast really does suck. No Spike HD. But I get fucking Fox News in HD. Whoop-de-doo!
certified warlord
Because I need to watch talking heads in HD!
"It's fourth and fifteen and you're looking at a full-court press." - Lt. Frank Drebin, Police Squad
But fear not Kid Nate fans, I still read this as a long term negative
I am. I think. I will. - Ayn Rand
by vivero on Apr 30, 2010 2:15 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs
Rec’d for using a small image.
Bolts from the Blue // "He looks like a catfish" - Nick Hardwick on Brandon Siler
Bloody Elbow // " looks like your comment violated rule #4. and it’s a heck of a rule, rule #4" - Kid Nate
by Richard Wade on Apr 30, 2010 11:56 PM EDT up reply actions
I hate to see any org fail, and I have always been of the thought that competition would = success, BUT…
I have changed my thoughts. Put the WEC weight classes in the UFC, let the UFC be THE major promotion and let places like Dream and SF be breeding grounds for up and comers and guys that didn’t make it before. With the mess promotions have made the past few years, let’s just get all the top fighters under one promotion.
I felt competition would = bigger pay for fighters, but all I have to say is, Affliction. SF and about all other orgs have been messes, with unhappy fighters, canceled events and so on. Do they have good points? Of course, but I think it would be better for everyone if we all just gave in and went UFC all the way! PPV and free card every month! 3 seasons of TUF every calender year! Ok that last one might not be that good of a thing, but we could finally see all the best fighting each other.
I don’t get the title of this article. The UFC has been top dog of the MMA world for quite a while. They don’t need Strikeforce or DREAM to fold for them to be considered the number one promotion.
Maybe “Poor business decisions, lack of star power continue to hinder Strikeforce and DREAM”
Or “Lessons not learned; Strikeforce, DREAM walking the failed path of Affliction, EXC”
by sadface on Apr 30, 2010 2:42 PM EDT via mobile reply actions 1 recs
I don't follow the analogy...
MMA’s Shrinking Pond Leaves the UFC as the Biggest Fish
Why does pond size effect fish size?
If UFC is the biggest fish and every other fish is smaller, pond size is not really related.
“MMA’s shrinking pond leaves the UFC a lonely big fish”
or
“MMA’s shrinking pond doesn’t allow for other big fush”
I think those make more sense in this context.
A smaller pond could be bad for a big fish. Less food wouldn hy would the pond getting smaller change that? They are bigger than the other fish now and they
I’ve always felt that if you have to literally break an analogy down, its basically ineffective.
by sadface on Apr 30, 2010 2:55 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
well i would have said "leaves UFC as big fish in small pond"
but our capitalization rules require not capitalizing non-verbs under 4 letters long and i wanted to capitalize big. so it’s a bit of a kludge.
The point is that being a big fish in a small pond is an inherently limited position. Not much room for growth.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
Thats when they take over other ponds
Such as Germany, UK, Austalia. Idk maybe I’m not getting it. I see a lot of facts and such stated but don’t see the overall point
Consider yourself warned, im offensive and creative like handicap porn
by II SMASH II on Apr 30, 2010 3:05 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
they're burning money
on the Euro and Aussie expansion attempts mainly because they don’t have a lucrative PPV outlet for those shows. They were originally going to cut a deal with HBO which would’ve made perfect sense but now they have an extra PPV in the mid afternoon every six weeks.
These PPVs do weak business and more importantly water down the UFC brand and in the long run are hurting the numbers of their other PPVs.
They’re trying to build a beach head in the UK and Europe. That in no way can replace Japan which was the biggest market in MMA from 1997 to 2007. We still haven’t matched the shows that PRIDE put on in the early 2000s in terms of revenue or overall audience.
MMA is big in the States right now, but for a while it was HUGE in Japan. That loss is hard to replace.
And building marginally successful niche markets in the UK doesn’t come close to filling the gap.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
‘Burning money’ implies that their overseas efforts are unprofitable. Are you sure that’s the case? Those shows tend to do a pretty decent gate, and even if they only get 250,000 buys, they’re still generating quite a bit of revenue. Plus, those cards usually aren’t loaded with high cost fighters.
Just curious as to what you’re basing that on.
I'm basing it on
the fact that Zuffa’s revenue stream is largely PPV money. And from the numbers that have been released, it’s clear that the Euro PPV’s dramatically underperform American PPVs.
That means they’re putting on 1.5 times as many events and bringing it .75 the revenue.
The live gates don’t make enough to cover the marketing costs of expanding overseas, having a full international team, etc.
They didn’t sell Flash/Abu Dhabi a 10% stake because they are nice guys who enjoy hanging out with sheiks, they needed a cash infusion and some political allies in hard to reach markets — China, Russia, etc
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
They’d have to be wasting money pretty badly to lose money on even a 200k ppv buys show. That’s $10M in PPV money, let’s say UFC takes in $4m. Add in all the other ways they make money from a show and I have no doubt in my mind that Australia, Abu Dhabi and the rest made a tidy profit.
I have to agree...
They would have to be wasting a good chunk of cash to not turn a profit on those shows.
by say
flying an entire production and announcing team overseas? those tickets add up fast
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
This is something people don't really think about
If I remember correctly it was posted that Zuffa covers the travel for the fighter and 3 cornermen and their hotels. Now a card with 24 fights (12 fights) means you have 96 flights to book + the 2 hotel rooms per fighter. That starts to add up. Granted the cost of renting the facility is greater than those costs, but no one really thinks about that. The production team has to be massive and they need airfare and hotels.
Per event, I’d say that the live gate is taking a huge hit when those costs are considered.
On the flipside, the overseas PPVs don’t have as large of a payout to fighters and often those countries have some sort of a television deal that offsets the cost. If it wasn’t even the smallest bit profitable Zuffa would cut their loses.
Follow me on twitter @thisredengine
by Matthew Roth on Apr 30, 2010 8:44 PM EDT up reply actions
Only one corner is flown out by Zuffa. Not sure on one or two rooms. Not that those costs still shouldn’t be factored in, they should (people overlook way too many operating expenses when ranting against them) but just know that it’s only one corner per fighter (at least for the general guys. Main eventers may get a little extra benefits, I don’t know.)
They do cover all costs of licensing and whatnot of fighters and their corners.
Just Blog Guy - http://JustBlogGuy.wordpress.com/
by JustBlogGuy on Apr 30, 2010 10:05 PM EDT up reply actions
Even if it cost 5000 dollars a person (a ridiclious overexaggeration)
That’s still only half a million dollars. Assume another 100 people to make the show, that’s a million dollars. a small chunk of even the worst UFC show. It might add up, but we’re talking about millions of dollars, and it doesn’t add up nearly fast enough.
If they fly 200 people out there...
at $10,000 a piece (which I think is high) that should cover flights, hotel, food, etc. you are looking at max $2,000,000
250,000 buys at $50 a pop = $12,500,000
UFC keeps 40% = $5,000,000
- Payroll = $1,000,000
- Travel = $ 2,000,000
= $2,000,000 left
Venue cost can be covered be live gate.
Revenue not included:
That doesn’t include bars that buy the show.
That doesn’t include theaters that air the show.
That doesn’t include sponsorships revenue.
That doesn’t include the purchase of prelim fights.
That doesn’t include merchandise.
You gotta think there is a couple million dollars there… Probably more like 5 million. That creates some cushion.
I still think the UFC would have to be wasting a great deal of dollars to not make money. Even if you double the costs I estimated, the are still making money.
Oh no doubt, I was just giving an example of a cost that people don’t think about. A lot of people don’t consider the fact that Zuffa covers the licensing fees of every fighter, or the travel cost for the fighter and an additional person (thanks Just Blog Guy) when they look at the revenue from a show. Point is that if they weren’t making money they wouldn’t keep at it, but I think that the money they keep after the cards is a lot less than what people expect.
Follow me on twitter @thisredengine
They’re trying to build a beach head in the UK and Europe. That in no way can replace Japan which was the biggest market in MMA from 1997 to 2007.
The UFC isn’t in Japan though either though and if they were, they would still likely be dealing with fights on tape delay…
We still haven’t matched the shows that PRIDE put on in the early 2000s in terms of revenue or overall audience
Are you sure?
1 million PPV buys at $50 a pop = $50,000,000
1 million PPV buys * 10 people per order (assuming the study is accurate) = 10,000,000 viewers
That doesn’t include bars that buy the show.
That doesn’t include theaters that air the show.
That doesn’t include sponsorships revenue.
That doesn’t include the purchase of prelim fights.
That doesn’t include merchandise
That doesn’t include the live gate.
1.6 million buys @ 50 a pop = $80 million dollars… even if the UFC only keeps 40% that is still 32 Million dollars. Did PRIDE ever make that kind of money?
I do realize there were less people in the seats, but the rest still applies...
What were the PPV and gate revenues like for PRIDE in comparision.
KId the UFC’s UK shows have been profitable for at least the last year thanks to TV deals with Setanta and ESPN which is about $10,000,000 to $15,000,000 a year.
by Mat Parker 116 on Apr 30, 2010 8:04 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
These PPVs do weak business
The performance of UFC 112 puts into question whether or not European/international PPV’s are guaranteed to underperform. 112 represented the foreign event that finally had star power, and it delivered pretty solidly with an estimated 500K buys.
Most of UFC’s international shows that underperformed on PPV also lacked a compelling main event. The repeated low buy rates may have fooled observers into thinking that it was the international aspect that was the problem. I’m not sure that’s true.
112: Silva/Penn title fights – 500K buys
110: Nogueira/Velasquez – 240K buys (in line with UFC 108,109 in U.S.)
105: Couture/Vera – SpikeTV
99: Franklin/Silva – 360K buys (in line with UFC 106 in U.S. that had Tito/Forrest)
95: Sanchez/Stevenson – SpikeTV
93: Franklin/Henderson – 350K buys (same as 103 in U.S. that also had Franklin)
89: Silva/Leben – SpikeTV
85: Hughes/Alves – 215K buys (low water mark, but a dreadful main event)
As far as I can tell, a weak main event in Europe (virtually every card to date) will produce similar PPV results to a weak main event in the U.S. Since all the European main events have been weak, it gives the impression that these shows can’t sell well in the U.S.
But now with some compelling fights at 112 (even though nobody expected them to be competitive) you got a healthy buyrate.
So… I’m not convinced that European/other expansion is necessarily hurting their PPV performance. I wrote this rather hastily, but feel free to critique.
www.tapology.com | twitter @tapology
And as far as that quote from Reed Harris goes, they didn’t even mention the WEC on their own PPV for fucks sake! I don’t know if he’s clueless or was just saying that to tow the company line.
by sadface on Apr 30, 2010 2:49 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
how is he clueless?
removing the letters WEC allowed the fight to be promoted on spike which definitely made Reed Harris, and at least Faber a lot more money than they would have otherwise.
I know of the contract situation, but they aren’t selling the WEC. It just seems funny to me that they talk of promoting the WEC but its the UFC brand that is pushing their sales.
by sadface on Apr 30, 2010 3:33 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
To be perfectly honest...
I think Japan’s MMA scene will dwindle to a regional level with one major promotion barely putting up good enough numbers to even make it noticeable outside of the regional level. Japanese MMA just isn’t competitive enough anymore. Sure, they have great battles in Shooto, but at the highest level — most of the fighters cannot compete against North American MMA, and I think that’s causing some dwindling interest from hardcores.
For casual fans, DW is right. There isn’t a teen heart throb/ MMA fighter in the mix, and that’s exactly why Kid Yamamoto was huge over there for a long time. There really isn’t much to cheer for in the scene, and to be honest — I’m not at all excited about any of their upcoming cards. The only thing I actually want to see is how unbelievably beat down Sakurai will get by Diaz.
Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Japanese MMA just isn’t competitive enough anymore
I agree and it makes me sad. Why do you think this is? I keep trying to figure it out and I just can’t seem too.
ALL OF YOU LISTEN TO MEE, DON'T DISTURB HERE, I WILL CALL POLICE CATCH YOU, DON'T COME TO MY BANGOLOW HOUSE, UNDERSTAND, O.K. I HATE ALL OF YOU.
by Chris Barton on Apr 30, 2010 3:58 PM EDT up reply actions
It’s a combination of not branching out into different training camps (stagnating in the same ol’ same ol’ Japanese gyms) and a general avoidance of weight cuts. Japanese guys tend to like fighting as the smaller man in the cage, the problem is, they get bullied like the smaller man in the cage.
The Japanese fighters who DO cut weight and x-train at least a little (Yushin Okami comes to mind) are far more competitive.
Ok
But why don’t the Japanese gyms get better? It makes no sense that they aren’t trying to improve, I’m sure they are. What’s stopping them from having elite gyms?
Sure, some of them are smaller but not always. Even when they are, in MMA it’s not automatic that the bigger guy wins.
ALL OF YOU LISTEN TO MEE, DON'T DISTURB HERE, I WILL CALL POLICE CATCH YOU, DON'T COME TO MY BANGOLOW HOUSE, UNDERSTAND, O.K. I HATE ALL OF YOU.
by Chris Barton on Apr 30, 2010 6:37 PM EDT up reply actions
I hope I’m not stereotyping, but one potential answer that springs to mind is the Japanese reverence for tradition putting a wheel in the spokes when it comes to modern training methods.
If someone who knows more about Japanese culture than me can prove me dead wrong, please don’t hesitate!
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here's a few economic reasons
1) there is more money to be made fighting K-1 or being a Judoka or Sumo than fighting MMA
2) traditionally the biggest pool of Japanese MMA fighters came out of their pro-wrestling scene — Sakuraba, Funaki, Tamura, etc — proresu has tanked in the past decade, largely because of the damage done to their brand by losing so many MMA fights — anyway, that pool of talent has dried up.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
people forget
that Japanese fighters didn’t do that great in PRIDE’s hey dey either.
Other than Sakuraba’s wins over the Gracies and Gomi’s LW triumphs there wasn’t really a Japanese fighter that was that dominant in the PRIDE era either.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
Exactly
I’m not delusional enough to think they’ll be able to produce as many great fighters as the U.S. as I don’t think the population discrepancy would bare that out. They should have at least as many as the UK.
ALL OF YOU LISTEN TO MEE, DON'T DISTURB HERE, I WILL CALL POLICE CATCH YOU, DON'T COME TO MY BANGOLOW HOUSE, UNDERSTAND, O.K. I HATE ALL OF YOU.
by Chris Barton on Apr 30, 2010 6:40 PM EDT up reply actions
there are still far more
top tier fighters from Japan than Britain, it’s not even close.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
I agree with this entirely.
Even in the PRIDE era, the Japanese fighters were hardly relevant anymore outside of a few exceptions. Nowadays the gap has widened even farther. It’s one thing to watch a proven legend lose like a warrior, but I just don’t think there is much interest in watching Japanese fighters get continually beaten up by foreigners.
Not to mention the generally faddy nature of trends in Japan and how things are here today gone tomorrow.
What this article seems to ignore is that the UFC has NEVER had any presence in the Japanese market, and has done just fine without it. I don’t see UFC needing Japan to operate, it’s a small blip compared to the entire rest of the world.
The loss in Japan is only going to be felt by guys like Yoshida (I know, he’s retired) who were getting paid a fortune pretty much just for being well known in Japan and fighting there. There’s plenty of room in the US for lots of these guys, the question is will Japan’s talent swallow their pride and branch out into better training programs so they can compete at higher levels?
I know that the UFC has never had a presence in Japan
I also know they’d like to — otherwise they wouldn’t have bought PRIDE.
The point is that the Japanese market was the largest in the world for MMA and now it’s gone.
It’s largely been replaced by the dramatic growth in the U.S. MMA market, but not entirely and with the seeming end of MMA on U.S. network television the shortest route to dramatic growth has been cut off.
I expect the UFC to continue to grow geometrically but not exponentially.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
I honestly don’t see UFC going network at all, or at least not until they’re so big that the networks are asking for them and not the other way around.
Dana White has hinted lately that he thinks the internet is the way moving forward, and I have a hard time arguing with him. Strikeforce is trying to use the 1980’s WWE model (to be fair, UFC is using a lot of the WWE model as well).
It feels to me like UFC is trying to embrace the front end of the changing market…more and more people are moving away from standard TV entirely, moving to internet for a lot/all of their entertainment. Whether or not this will play out in the end, we’ll see, but they seem to be doing an awful lot of business as it is now.
What I wonder is, at what point is it no longer considered a niche? Is Boxing a niche? I’d gather if someone crunched the numbers and compared the viewership of UFC/WEC events in a year to boxing events in a year (HBO/Showtime/PPV vs. Spike/Versus/PPV) that UFC is outdrawing them by leaps and bounds. The sport typically trends very high in popularity, I remember reading it was higher than hockey and close to NASCAR. To me that’s pretty mainstream.
UFC will never be the NFL, and I don’t think it needs to be. Plenty of guys are getting rich and even more guys are making a comfortable living off of the sport. Sure, there aren’t Judoka getting paid $2m a fight anymore, but the overall market is bigger than ever.
the thing is that the UFC is doing this great without any real mainstream media coverage
ESPN and other mainstream media outlets totally ignore or bash the UFC and MMA in general
with a network deal and some real coverage the UFC could drastically grow even from where it is right now
did anyone else notice how much better looking the Fertitta's are than Dana White?
"It’s going to be like sex with a grizzly bear, you know, a lot of scratching and growling on both sides." - Don Frye
According to every single metric that counts Zuffa’s future looks deliciously good. I said 2 years ago there is no viable path for a “pepsi” to emerge to Zuffa’s “coke”. Save congress itself there isnt a single threat to Zuffa in North America.
I said the only potential threats were from China and India… and guess what’s happening now? They’re being neutralized.
No matter how fast Zuffa and the sport is growing you have to keep in mind that Zuffa operates like a turtoise more than a hare. TIME WILL SOLVE EVERYTHING.
domination in 18-34 year olds will soon be 18-45 year olds and once their sons, nephews and eventually grandsons grow up it will be insane.
The data looks so Good Zuffa just needs to chug alog and the numbers will do all the work… it’s like floating down a river at this point. International Expansion is where focus is require as those markets need to catch up.
People dont realize when you cheerlead these flawed business plans like affliction, shitfarce, etc… all that does is hurt the fighters in the long term.
Money needs to go towards regional and local promotion but what happens is these guys come in thinking they can take on Zuffa and they inflate fighter purses who would other wise be in local and regional shows building those sustainable models up. Local and regional shows cant compete when the elite xc’s of world come in take up talent, artificially raise the price and then disappear.
People who are cheer leading unsustainable business models at the expense of sustainable ones are hurting the sport more than anything else.
and by the way…
Zuffa did over 5.5 million viewers with Dan Henderson on Rinky Dink Spike TV… These nimrods couldnt even do half. That’s a reality check often glossed over in mma land.
I wonder
Do you think his opponent, the guy who knocked out Chuck Liddell in his previous fight in less than two minutes, might have had a hand in that?
by Jonathan Snowden on Apr 30, 2010 9:06 PM EDT up reply actions
Rampage wasnt over with the fans at that time and even after his first tuf stint he still wasnt anything more than a credible opponent. He’s right about now ready to break out.
So you’re honestly trying to tell me that the UFC 75 broadcast was built around Dan Henderson, not the guy that just knocked out the legendary Chuck Liddell?
by Jonathan Snowden on May 1, 2010 9:52 PM EDT up reply actions
c-c-combo breaker
"It’s going to be like sex with a grizzly bear, you know, a lot of scratching and growling on both sides." - Don Frye
Meltzer is a scrub
He comes from Pro wrestling and is a supporter of the one-promotional system the WWE runs since 2001.
SF will get another event on CBS (CBS will require some proven draws this time like Gina or Walker)
Andrei Arlovski, Renato “Babalu” Sobral and Dan Henderson
1. AA didn’t have a big falling out with the UFC brass, he just got offered 1 mil + to fight for Affliction. It’s not like there was a bidding war to drive up his wage, Affliction just drove a dump truck full of money up to AA’s house.
2. Babalu got thrown out for one of the all time great dick moves, and any rational person running an org would do the same.
3. Hendo signed with SF not becase they are a healhy, thriving #2 promo, but because they were desperate for headliners.
Fighters wil get market value for their skills and name value, strong #2 or not. If SF imploded tomorrow, there would not be a series of sudden drastic reductions of fighter pay. The management of the UFC understands that well paid fighters are happy fighters, and happy fighters put on good fights. Good fights make the UFC money. Ergo the UFC will want to keep fighter pay decent, #2 or not.
Keep Firing, Assholes!
I wonder what Shane Carwin thinks about all of this?
Arlovski
was put in the deep freeze by Zuffa for over a year, given his last fight on the prelims and generally ground into the dirt.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
But that is just SOP for Zuffa when a guy is on the last fight of his contract. There wasn’t any personal animosity there. Dana has said many times that he wanted Arlovski back but that the deal Affliction offered him was fiscally irresponsible and that he wasn’t going to blow up Zuffa’s payscale to keep him.
Andrei’s only problem is that his market value imploded after the loss to Rogers. Dana would gladly have him back, but it is going to have to be at a reduced rate.
For the record, I think Dana would also take Babalu back. I always assumed his banishment was a temporary thing, but Babalu has managed to carve himself out a nice living as one of the few legit LHW opponents for guys outside the Zuffa umbrella. If/when that niche drys up, I expect he’ll be welcomed back to the UFC.
Hendo, they’ll probably take him back too, unless Dana has got his nose bent out of joint about Dan taking potshots at Zuffa in the media.
Oh, and to hell with being hurt by a dying Japanese scene, the UFC wants into India and China, where there are some 2 billion fucking people and an emerging middle class with the same population as the US of A.
Keep Firing, Assholes!
I wonder what Shane Carwin thinks about all of this?
^ This. I don’t think MMA will miss Japan one bit. PRIDE was awesome while it lasted, and while MMA fans can respect what was done in Japan back in the day, the future is clearly all about expansion into India and China. There’s a reason why governments make special trips to China to secure business. There’s a reason why governments let China get away with all their human rights violations. That’s where the money is, and for an organization looking to expand like the UFC, it makes complete sense. I have no doubt Dana wants to get into the Japanese market, cause sure money can be made, but it’s more based on some nostalgic fanboy notion I think. MMA will be fine without Japan.
As awesome as the idea of the Indian and Chinese markets are with their massive middle-class I can’t see either being a viable market to soon. It took along time for the UFC to come this far in western markets and it is still an ongoing process of ‘educating’ the general public.
I’m not sure how they feel about it, but there’s every chance these highly traditional cultures would view MMA as nothing less than savagery.
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