A few updates on what's been going on in the MMA Twittersphere.

ALTERNATE UNIVERSE & DOPPELGANGERS

"If you had a chance to do a different career what would it be? ...I would be a high school wrestling coach."  -Tito Ortiz

"camp counselor for nymphomaniac girls :)"  -Razor Rob, replying to Tito Ortiz

"If one more person tell me I look like Dewight Howard I'm gonna snap.... And by snap I mean start playing basketball"  -Phil Davis, Dwight Howard! Dwight Howard! Dwight Howard!

"Thanks to @joerogandotnet I just watched TWO GIRLS, ONE CUP… my god… um… like… um… wow… you want fries with that? ... and thanks to @joerogandot net I just watched the dude get f*cked in the ass by a horse – 2 guys 1 horse – I am officially scarred for life! ...BTW there is a porno of a guy who LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE ME, I have the clip somewhere I thought someone had drugged me in Vegas & shot a porn!"  -Michael Schiavello, has an evil pornstar twin... or has just invented the best way to deny being in a porno.

/FACEPALM

"I hate watching the machida fight. Bastard ran none stop. Lucky bastard."  -Tito Ortiz, /facepalm.

"Sickening, just sickening. Da Da 5000 just won by ko after the ref stood the fighters up while he was mounted!Don't know either guy but cmon... Just to clarify, da da was mounted and getting hit."  -Tom Tawlor, /facepalm.

"www.cansecovswalker.com go cast your votes! lets make it happen!"  -Jose Canseco, /facepalm.

Continue reading this post »

Continue reading this post »

At today’s press conference at Wald 9 in Shinjuku (Tokyo), it was announced that the UFC Charlotte event would air on TV Tokyo, the smallest of the free-to-air broadcast networks in Japan. In other words, UFC will not make much of a dent in the Japanese marketplace. TV Tokyo is a pay-for-play station. You bring the sponsors and pay for the time, you get it. The 3/31 show will air on TV Tokyo on 4/8 in a one-hour slot from 10 PM to 10:54 PM JST.

A taped video by Dana White was played at the press conference, saying that the three Japanese fighters (Gomi, Okami, and Uno) are "Japanese legend fighters." Which means those fighters will all fight in the top 3 slots on the card, right? Nope — Okami fights 3rd and Uno 4th, both dark matches in America.

I recorded this video prior to last Sunday's show. I wanted to share it with the audience here at BloodyElbow.com because it appears to be generating some heat with me distributing this on Twitter only.

First, I recorded this video in a frustrated state. Some of my diction I'd probably alter going forward, but what's done is done.

Second, I absolutely mean what I say as it relates to my point. Perhaps ESPN is closer to carrying MMA than I realize. As I state in the video,I have not sat in on the meetings . But I have talked to as many people in positions of power at newspapers, television stations and radio stations as I possibly could. And what I keep hearing is that MMA fans really aren't sports fans in any meaningful sense. Moreover, the existing sports fans the traditional outlets do keep aren't really interested in great numbers about hearing MMA news.

Third, let's actually give ESPN some credit. Partnering with Sherdog and putting on MMA Live (which I would wager makes no money) is a huge step forward.

Arguing that poker or pool could be replaced is true, but misses some critical considerations. Pool and poker are actually widely adopted hobbies of sports fans both men and women and across age groups. They're also very inexpensive to produce. They also don't carry much baggage, unlike MMA, which has no doubt made considerable strides in changing it's image but still has a long way to go. A typical sports fan can turn on ESPN at 4pm on a Sunday and see poker without being horrified by carnage. Not so with MMA, to say nothing of the potential blowback.

Lastly, let me make something clear about MMA media talking heads or even journalists: most of them are liars. If not to you, then to themselves. I am neither interested nor do I see it as my job to cheer lead the sport. Am I a fan? Sure. But MMA won't sink or swim because of what I do. Believe me, I have been working tirelessly in the DC market to affect change for the last five years and I've barely made a dent. If you want a show that's going to offer reflexively positive commentary about the state of MMA and is going to head scratch over why mean ol' ESPN won't cover it, MMA Nation isn't the show for you. I couldn't even do that if I tried and besides, the MMA echo chamber doesn't need or want my contributions. I have banged my head against the wall wondering why MMA, despite some unreal successes made possible by the UFC, still can't seem to cross any major threshold within the traditional sports media establishment for years. Rather than asking what was wrong with others, I found it more instuctive to ask what was wrong and right about us. There's a lot to acknowledge in both categories .

Again, perhaps the UFC and ESPN are closer to a deal than I realize. That would be welcome and positive. And let me be clear: things are still in transition. MMA is getting more popular. Sports fans are coming around to MMA every day. But if six months or a year from now it is not, turn the mirror on the sport and stop asking what's wrong with the media. It might be uncomfortable what you find, but the truth isn't always assuaging.