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No Out-of-Competition Drug Testing for UFC 100 Fighters
by Ivan Trembow

None of the fighters on the UFC 100 card were subjected to the Nevada State Athletic Commission's out-of-competition drug testing program, as confirmed by NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer on Sunday morning.

Out-of-competition drug tests differ from the NSAC's usual drug tests in the sense that with the out-of-competition testing, fighters do not know when they are going to be tested ahead of time.

Drug testing on the day of the weigh-in or the day of the fight is, of course, going to fail to detect a significant percentage of dopers because they will have had weeks to use advanced methods of flushing performance-enhancing drugs out of their bodies.

None of the "Big Four" major sports in the United States have a drug-testing program in which the athletes know ahead of time exactly when they may be tested.

Even in the out-of-competition drug tests, fighters are given 48 hours to take their drug tests, whereas other sports require their athletes to take their drug tests immediately upon notification that a test has been ordered.

As The Ring Magazine's Mark Zeigler wrote earlier this year about the NSAC's out-of-competition testing, "Here's how it works: The commission contacts a licensed fighter, notifies him he has been selected for an out-of-competition test and provides instructions about locating the nearest accredited laboratory. The lab is also contacted, and the fighter has two days to show up, present photo identification and submit a urine test. Here's the problem: Two days is ample time for someone to flush their system of many banned substances."

Even when no other out-of-competition drug testing is performed, the NSAC usually orders out-of-competition tests to be performed on fighters who have previously failed drug tests in the state of Nevada.

In the case of UFC 100, that was not done. Stephan Bonnar was not ordered to take an out-of-competition drug test, despite the fact that Bonnar previously tested positive for Boldenone after a fight against Forrest Griffin in 2006. Boldenone is an anabolic steroid used by veterinarians to rehabilitate injured horses.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 4:06 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Detailed Summary of St. Pierre vs. Penn Vaseline Incidents, Including Possible Influence on Round 2
by Ivan Trembow

Much more information has come out in the past couple of days about the incidents in which vaseline was allegedly rubbed on Georges St. Pierre's back by one of his cornermen in between the rounds of his fight against BJ Penn at UFC 94 on Saturday night. Rubbing vaseline anywhere other than on a fighter's face would be illegal.

There has been a lot of noise on all sides of this issue, including from many fans (and even a few journalists) who are taking the “bury your head in the sand” mentality of just wanting this story to go away, regardless of whether or not any wrongdoing was committed.

The statements from Penn's side about what happened are naturally going to be slanted in one direction, and the statements from St. Pierre's side about what happened are naturally going to be slanted in the other direction.

This makes the quotes from Keith Kizer, the Executive Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, especially relevant because he's not on the Penn side or the St. Pierre side.

So, based on video evidence and numerous statements made by Kizer, here are the actual facts as we know them.

First of all, the video of the cornerman, Phil Nurse, rubbing St. Pierre's face with vaseline and then immediately thereafter rubbing St. Pierre's back is now on YouTube at this URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKuJSQJOiwM. This occurred between Rounds 1 and 2.

There is also confirmation in numerous interviews with Kizer that this was not the only time during the fight that vaseline appeared to be have been rubbed on St. Pierre's back by his cornerman. Kizer has said in multiple interviews that he saw it happen with his own eyes between Rounds 2 and 3, at which point he entered the cage and started yelling at St. Pierre's cornermen.

Here are quotes from MMAWeekly and Sherdog articles about the two separate vaseline incidents.

From MMAWeekly:

"After round two, I watched him like a hawk," said Kizer. "I've only entered the ring maybe three or four times (in my career) during a fight, but I did this time.

Watching the pay-per-view, Nurse is clearly seen on camera applying Vaseline to the face of St. Pierre following round one. It is difficult to tell the amount of residual Vaseline on his hands, but he does clearly rub St. Pierre's shoulders and then reach around to touch his upper back. The extent to which such actions affected the actual in-ring action are unclear, but what is clear is that such action was a violation Nevada's regulations.

"They didn't take a big glob and throw it on his back. After putting Vaseline on (St. Pierre's) face, he put his hands on his body. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but it was improper," Kizer continued, who confirmed that an inspector did use a towel to wipe St. Pierre's back between rounds two and three, and three and four."

From Sherdog:

[Kizer said] “After the second round, we observed Mr. Jackson putting Vaseline on Mr. St. Pierre’s face and then putting his hand on his back.”

...

“I told them I was disappointed and that they may have tainted Mr. St. Pierre’s victory…Whether it was intentional or not, I don’t know. It was improper.”

An important detail that has come out in multiple interviews with Kizer is that while the first application of vaseline to St. Pierre's back appeared to happen between Rounds 1 and 2, it wasn't until after the second round that the NSAC intervened.

This would mean that if vaseline was applied to St. Pierre's back after Round 1, it would have still been on his back throughout Round 2.

There is confirmation of this important detail from Kizer in various interviews, but perhaps most clearly in this one from MMA Junkie in terms of the timeline of events:

[Kizer said] "The first round, one of the inspectors that was on the outside of the cage came over to me and said it looked to him that when the cornerman, who I think in that case was Phil Nurse, put the Vaseline on Georges’ face then rubbed his shoulders — which you see the guys rubbing the other guy’s shoulders to help him out — he didn’t wipe off his hands between doing that. I said, ‘Well, I’m going to watch very closely after this round.’”

Kizer watched intently to see if the questionable actions would be repeated as the second round came to a close.

“At the end of the second round I watched, and then another cornerman who I believe was Greg Jackson, he put the Vaseline on Georges’ face, and then he put his hand on his back to do the breathing thing they always do,” Kizer said. “As soon as I saw that, it looked like there was still some Vaseline on his hand. Not a lot, but still some.

“Tony Liano and I immediately yelled at him, and I don’t think he heard us because of the noise. So I actually went into the octagon, and I said, ‘Take your hand off of his back. What are you doing?’ We wiped it down. We made sure it was wiped down after the third round as well. This was after the second when I was in there. I was very upset. I don’t know if they were doing it intentionally or not. Either way, they shouldn’t have done it.

...

[Kizer said] "His cornerman should have been more careful if it was an accident. If it was intentional, that's even worse. Just very, very disturbing."

Now, with all of these facts and statements in mind, look at these five animated GIFs from the Underground Forum of five different times in Round 2 that Penn's legs slipped on St. Pierre's back while Penn was trying to utilize his rubber guard techniques from the bottom:

http://free-zg.t-com.hr/bhz/mma/penn_vs_gsp/slip1.gif
http://free-zg.t-com.hr/bhz/mma/penn_vs_gsp/slip2.gif
http://free-zg.t-com.hr/bhz/mma/penn_vs_gsp/slip3.gif
http://free-zg.t-com.hr/bhz/mma/penn_vs_gsp/slip4.gif
http://free-zg.t-com.hr/bhz/mma/penn_vs_gsp/slip5.gif

Again, Round 2 was after St. Pierre's cornerman rubbed his back immediately after applying vaseline to his face; and Round 2 was also before the athletic commission intervened to towel off St. Pierre's back, which did not happen until after Round 2.

Based on all the facts, quotes, and video evidence, it does look like it COULD have aided St. Pierre in Round 2. I don't think the outcome of the fight would have been any different, but as for whether it COULD have aided St. Pierre in Round 2, the video evidence is pretty overwhelming that it could have.

Although the outcome of the fight would have likely been the same even if St. Pierre did have an advantage in Round 2, that does not make this a non-story. It has been amazing to see some people saying, "It didn't affect the outcome of the fight, so it's a non-issue that we should all stop talking about!" That is such backwards logic.

They are two different situations, but the stand-up agreement in the fight between Seth Petruzelli and Kimbo Slice didn't affect the outcome of that fight because Petruzelli won by knockout anyway in 14 seconds. Were people saying after that fight, "It didn't affect the outcome of the fight, so it's a non-issue that we should all stop talking about"? Of course not, and if they were, that would have been an equally ridiculous argument.

As for where this goes from here, there is a possibility of fines and/or suspensions for any of St. Pierre's cornermen that the athletic commission deems to have broken the rules.

Perhaps just as significantly, St. Pierre's brilliant performance in the fight may be tainted in some fans' eyes. As Kizer said in his interview with MMA Junkie, "This may have tainted [St. Pierre's] victory in the eyes of many fans, and it's his cornerman's fault for that. It doesn't take away his victory, but it does take away from his victory in the eyes of many fans, I believe."

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 4:34 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC 94 Thoughts
by Ivan Trembow

As usual, Georges St. Pierre and Lyoto Machida looked like machines, in this case by dominating B.J. Penn and Thiago Silva, respectively. The best sporting event of the weekend was on Saturday, not on Super Bowl Sunday.

Machida Deserves Title Shot in Next Fight: Machida is long overdue for a title shot and he absolutely deserves to get the next shot at Rashad Evans' belt, not the winner of the upcoming fight between Quinton Jackson and Keith Jardine.

Update: Dana White said at the post-fight press conference that it will be Jackson who will be getting the next title shot, not Machida, provided that Jackson beats Jardine. He said that Machida will “probably” get a title shot by the end of 2009. At this point, the continual snubbing of Machida is just pathetic.

St. Pierre vs. Penn: In the GSP-Penn fight, Penn showed up to fight and looked to be in good shape, but GSP was simply too good.

For all the hype that went into this fight as two all-time greats with both of them at their absolute peak, Penn’s peak in terms of accomplishments was not beating Jens Pulver, Joe Stevenson, and Sean Sherk in the three-fight winning streak that he had going into this fight. Realistically, Penn's peak in terms of accomplishments was beating the #1 lightweight in the world and then beating the #1 welterweight in the world, and that was in late 2003 and early 2004, not in 2008 and 2009.

St. Pierre has Thiago Alves next on his plate, although if Jon Fitch could take down Alves at will like he did, then I’m guessing St. Pierre will also be able to take Alves down at will.

Vaseline Controversy in St. Pierre's Corner: According to this report on Cage Potato: "B.J. Penn's camp has filed a formal complaint with the Nevada State Athletic Commission over Vaseline that was allegedly rubbed on Georges St. Pierre's back between rounds one and two. UFC president Dana White said at the post-fight press conference that he was aware of the complaint, and said he personally witnessed members of the commission take the Vaseline away from GSP's camp and rebuke them in the Octagon between rounds."

White was also quoted as saying that the Nevada State Athletic Commission was "flipping out" about it and was "screaming" at St. Pierre's cornermen about it.

I am in shock about this. I would imagine that if this had been anything other than a huge fight, the fighter who got vaseline put on his back would have been disqualified on the spot, although I don't know that for sure.

I wish we could have seen what actually happened... how much vaseline was applied, who applied it, what the commission did, etc. The UFC has cameras in both corners in between every round, and it sounds like it would have been a big commotion, but the UFC apparently decided not to show the incident during the fight or after the fight, unless they did and I missed it.

Update: From looking at the tape, it was hard to see too much because the director kept cutting away every time vaseline would be on-screen or a towel would be on-screen. However, you can clearly see that one of GSP's trainers rubs his back between Rounds 1 and 2. You can't see in the shot whether the trainer has anything on this hands, but you can see that he is using the same hand that was just applying vaseline to GSP's face seconds earlier, and that is on the tape clear as day.

The athletic commission "flipping out" can be seen on the tape between Rounds 2 and 3. You can see as the round was about to start that one of the NSAC inspectors was thrown a towel and gave St. Pierre's back a very brief rub-down in the seconds right before Round 3 started. Then, between Rounds 3 and 4, it looks like St. Pierre's back got a much more thorough rub-down with towels. Again, it's hard to determine more from this because the director kept cutting away from it.

Zach Arnold also wrote about this on Fight Opinion: "If the NSAC agrees that indeed rules were violated, it will immediately taint St. Pierre’s dominant win over Penn. I realize and you realize that St. Pierre put on a dominant performance, but Penn’s camp has a perfectly legitimate gripe here if the accusations of vaseline usage (in this manner) are true. While Dana White tried to soften the blow of the allegations about possible illegal vaseline usage on St. Pierre, the fact that White is trying to deflect all the heat for the incident on a cornerman and not on St. Pierre is unacceptable."

Fights Going the Distance is Not Necessarily Bad: A lot of people online are complaining about UFC 94 because of the high number of fights that went the distance of three rounds. I don’t think that most fights going to a decision automatically makes an event worse than if most fights end quickly. Even with the one-sided main event, I thought this event was better than the recent UFC event with a bunch of quick finishes that most people said was a great event because of all the quick finishes (UFC 91).

Another Curious Decision for Fight of the Night: Seriously, Clay Guida vs. Nate Diaz gets a Fight of the Night award? And last month, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Mark Coleman did? And the month before that, Junie Browning vs. David Kaplan did? There were more deserving fights on all three of those events.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 4:09 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- No Out-of-Competition Drug Testing for UFC 94 Fighters
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The Nevada State Athletic Commission did not test any fighters on the UFC 94 card as part of its out-of-competition drug testing program.

In addition, there were no fighters subjected to the out-of-competition drug testing program who competed on the WEC event on December 3; or on the UFC events on December 13 or December 27. All four events took place in Nevada and fall under the NSAC's jurisdiction.

When asked on January 15 if any fighters on the January 31 card had been tested as part of the NSAC's out-of-competition drug testing program, NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer replied, "Not yet."

When asked earlier this week, on January 28, if any fighters on the January 31 card had been tested as part of the NSAC's out-of-competition drug testing program, Kizer replied, "No."

The out-of-competition drug testing program allows the NSAC to order random drug tests at any time on any fighter that the NSAC licenses as a mixed martial artist, boxer, or kickboxer.

Like many other major sports, this out-of-competition drug testing is in addition to day-of-competition drug testing. The day-of-competition drug testing was still conducted at all of the aforementioned events and will be conducted at UFC 94 as well.

However, when athletes know the exact date of an upcoming drug test ahead of time, the testing is not going to catch very many users. There are numerous ways to mask banned substances if you have days, weeks, or in this case months of notice before a drug test.

Therefore, the out-of-competition drug testing program is a vital step towards detecting the use of banned substances during training camps.

A total of fourteen fighters (some boxers, some mixed martial artists) whose fights were scheduled between February 1, 2008 and October 31, 2008 were tested as part of the out-of-competition drug testing program, which was announced in January 2008.

In the weeks prior to UFC 91 in November, ten fighters were tested as part of the program, and all of them passed their tests.

Between November 15 and the end of January, there were four major MMA events scheduled in the state of Nevada: a WEC event on December 3, a UFC event on December 13, another UFC event on December 27, and another UFC event that will take place on January 31.

None of the fighters on these shows were tested as part of the out-of-competition drug testing program.

In other news related to the NSAC's out-of-competition drug testing program, The Ring Magazine Online recently reported that instead of having several hours to submit to a drug test from the time that they are notified that they need to take a drug test, fighters actually have two days to take an NSAC-ordered drug test.

The Ring's Mark Zeigler wrote, "Here's how it works: The commission contacts a licensed fighter, notifies him he has been selected for an out-of-competition test and provides instructions about locating the nearest accredited laboratory. The lab is also contacted, and the fighter has two days to show up, present photo identification and submit a urine test. Here's the problem: Two days is ample time for someone to flush their system of many banned substances."

The NSAC's Keith Kizer confirmed that fighters do have two days to take an out-of-competition drug test from the time that they are notified, but added that this is subject to change.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:41 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts: Nevada Commission Meets with UFC about Controversial Behavior on The Ultimate Fighter
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

At a meeting in December for which an official summary was released yesterday, Nevada State Athletic Commission officials expressed concerns to UFC officials about some of the behavior that was exhibited during the controversial eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter.

For each season of The Ultimate Fighter, dating back to the first season's filming in late 2004, Zuffa has requested and been granted a waiver of the NSAC's regulations relating to the results of NSAC-sanctioned fights being posted publicly. This allows the results of the fights on The Ultimate Fighter to remain secret until the fights air on Spike TV months later. These waivers must be requested and granted for each individual season of TUF.

Prior to granting the usual waivers to Zuffa for the upcoming ninth season of TUF, which recently started filming and is tentatively scheduled to begin airing on April 1, the NSAC wanted to talk to Zuffa about some of the behavior in the eighth season of TUF.

Present at the meeting were Lorenzo Fertitta, Frank Fertitta, Dana White, Marc Ratner, Kirk Hendrick, Michael Mersch, Lawrence Epstein, Andrea Richter, and Craig Piligian, at least four of whom were previously part of the NSAC in some capacity (Lorenzo Fertitta, Ratner, Hendrick, and Mersch).

Also present at the meeting were NSAC Commissioners Bill Brady, Skip Avansino, John Bailey, T.J. Day, and Pat Lundvall, as well as Executive Director Keith Kizer, Recording Secretary Sandy Johnson, and David Newton, who was attending on behalf of the Attorney General's Office.

After Lorenzo Fertitta's Power Point presentation on the history of the company, NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer said that there was "some concern about behavior displayed by some of the contestants" during The Ultimate Fighter 8. The NSAC's official summary of the meeting goes on to say, "Lorenzo Fertitta stated that the UFC does not condone the behavior of those contestants and wants the State and the sport to be reflected in a good light. Lorenzo Fertitta stated that in the future there will be a closer look at any behavior that might be offensive prior to broadcast, and that Zuffa does not encourage such behavior and had no prior knowledge of it occurring."

After Commissioner Skip Avansino thanked all of the parties involved for attending the meeting, "Commissioner Avansino stated he did talk with Mr. Fertitta on the phone and he is confident that Zuffa will endeavor to monitor the show so such behavior will not occur again, and there will be no further incidents."

According to the official summary, "Lorenzo Fertitta then explained a UFC event had been held the week prior in Fort Bragg, NC, benefiting the Fallen Heroes Fund and that the contestants visited the soldiers in the hospitals, all of the admission was free, and they raised $4,000,000 for the fund."

At that point, Commissioner Avansino made a motion to approve Zuffa's petition for the usual waivers for the ninth season of The Ultimate Fighter. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Brady and approved by all of the commissioners.

The specific behavior in question was not detailed during the meeting, but among the incidents that occurred during TUF 8 were several involving Junie Browning. Throughout the course of the season, Browning threw a glass at Kyle Kingsbury; got into a poolside scuffle with Ryan Bader; jumped over the Octagon fence and went after Efrain Escudero in an aggressive manner immediately after Escudero defeated Shane Nelson in an NSAC-sanctioned fight; threw a glass at Shane Primm's head; and threw two punches at Primm. Browning was not kicked off of the show for any of these incidents, and was later featured in a fight on the televised main card of TUF 8's live season finale on Spike TV.

Also during the eighth season of TUF, several members of Team Mir urinated in a platter of fruit salad that was later eaten by several members of Team Nogueira; Kyle Kingsbury mixed his semen into a sushi platter that Dave Kaplan may or may not have later eaten; Tom Lawlor knocked Kaplan unconscious with a punch to the face after an intoxicated Kaplan begged him to do so; and Lawlor and Kaplan voluntarily drank shots of each other's urine while they were both intoxicated (although the voluntary urine-drinking was edited out of the show at the last minute in what was referred to as "a last-minute editorial decision" by Spike TV).

According to an article by Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole that was published on January 13 (several weeks after this meeting took place in December between Zuffa and the Nevada State Athletic Commission), "UFC president Dana White said he’s not going to require the fighters to change anything about the way they behave. That means alcohol stays in the house and the fighters are free to do what they please when they please."

White was quoted in the article as saying, "If you take any young guys, from a frat house, and put them alone and together you’re going to get that kind of stuff. Welcome to dealing with young guys. I’ve talked to the pro skaters and snowboarders and they helicopter guys up to a house and sometimes they get snowed in. They told me that some of the [expletive] that happens with those guys makes what happened on The Ultimate Fighter look like a joke.”

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:06 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Ultimate Fighter 6 Finishes as Lowest-Rated Season to Date
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The twelve-episode regular season of The Ultimate Fighter 6 was the lowest-rated season in Ultimate Fighter history. This marks the third consecutive season of TUF that has been the lowest-rated to date.

In chronological order from first to last and rounded to the nearest one-tenth of a ratings point, the twelve individual episodes of TUF 6 drew overall ratings of 1.5, 1.0, 1.1, 1.1, 1.1, 1.2, 1.1, 1.0, 1.1, 1.0, 1.1, and 1.1. In the end, the season averaged a 1.1 overall rating.

Overall Ratings
In the history of the series, The Ultimate Fighter 1's regular season averaged a 1.6 overall rating; the second season was down to a 1.4 average rating; the third season was the series' peak with a 1.7 average rating; the fourth season was down to an average rating of 1.2; the fifth season was down very slightly from the previous season but still rounded to an average rating of 1.2; and the just-completed sixth season was down to an average rating of 1.1, which is the new series-low.

Ratings in the #1 Key Demographic
In the demographic that is most coveted by advertisers on Spike TV, the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, the ratings of The Ultimate Fighter as a series were on a steady increase through the first three seasons (which finished airing in June 2006), and have been on a steady decrease ever since.

In the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, the twelve-episode regular season of TUF 1 averaged a 2.2 rating; the second season increased to a 2.5 average rating; the third season continued the increase with a 2.9 average rating; the fourth season decreased to a 2.0 average rating; the fifth season continued the decline with a 1.6 average rating; and the just-completed sixth season declined further to an average rating of 1.5.

Ratings in the #2 Key Demographic
The second most targeted demographic among the UFC and Spike TV's advertisers is 18-to-49-year-old males. In this demographic, we don't have all of the data for the first and second seasons of TUF, but we do have all of the data starting with the third season.

In the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic, the twelve-episode regular season of The Ultimate Fighter 3 drew an average rating of 2.2; the fourth season decreased to an average rating of 1.6; the fifth season continued the decline with an average rating of 1.4; and the just-completed sixth season further declined with an average rating of 1.3.

Future of The Ultimate Fighter
Despite the decreasing ratings, The Ultimate Fighter is not going to be leaving the airwaves anytime soon. In fact, it's just the opposite, as Spike TV has a deal in place with the UFC to air TUF 7 and TUF 8 in 2008; TUF 9 and TUF 10 in 2009; TUF 11 in 2010; and TUF 12 in 2011.

The most recent season pick-ups were part of a multi-year renewal of the UFC's contract with Spike TV to air numerous shows on the network, including The Ultimate Fighter, UFC Unleashed, and UFC Fight Night. Under the terms of the new contract, Spike TV will pay the UFC over $100 million, according to Variety and MultiChannel News, plus additional funds if there are more than six special event broadcasts per year, which consist of four UFC Fight Night events per year through 2011; two Ultimate Fighter finales per year through 2009; and one Ultimate Fighter finale per year in 2010 and 2011.

The Ultimate Fighter 7 will feature a 16-man middleweight tournament and will be filmed starting in January, will air in April, May, and June. While the coaches of TUF 7 have not yet been officially announced, the UFC has said that it has very big plans for Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in the near future, which has added fuel to the widespread rumors that Jackson will be one of the coaches on TUF 7.

As for the other coach, the most likely choices would seem to be Forrest Griffin, who scored the biggest win of his career in September when he submitted Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 76; or Chuck Liddell, provided that he defeats Wanderlei Silva at UFC 79.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 1:42 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Fighter Salary Breakdown for UFC 74
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information for UFC 74, which took place on August 25 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that Zuffa is required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions, including the winners' bonuses.

Although MMA fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed bonuses that Zuffa also pays its fighters, but does not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, pay-per-view bonuses for the top pay-per-view main event fighters), are not included in the figures below.

In the listings below, "Title Match & Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show and/or compete in a title fight on a show. "Main Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear on the main card, but not in title fights or in the main event. "Preliminary Match Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those matches end up airing on the PPV broadcast.

Also, please note that Renato "Babalu" Sobral was fined $25,000 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, due to his refusal to release the winning submission hold when he defeated David Heath.

In addition, next to each fighter's name is the number of UFC fights that he has had, not counting fights that took place during Ultimate Fighter seasons because those fights are officially classified as exhibitions.

UFC 74 Fighter Salaries
Event took place on August 25, 2007

Title Match & Main Event Fighters
-Randy Couture: $250,000 (18th fight in UFC; defeated Gabriel Gonzaga; win bonus was $0)
-Gabriel Gonzaga: $45,000 (5th fight in UFC; lost to Randy Couture; win bonus would have been $45,000)

Main Card Fighters
-Georges St. Pierre: $140,000 (10th fight in UFC; defeated Josh Koscheck; includes $70,000 win bonus)
-Roger Huerta: $34,000 (5th fight in UFC; defeated Alberto Crane; includes $17,000 win bonus)
-Joe Stevenson: $32,000 (6th fight in UFC; defeated Kurt Pellegrino; includes $16,000 win bonus)
-Patrick Cote: $24,000 (6th fight in UFC, defeated Kendall Grove; includes $12,000 win bonus)
-Kendall Grove: $12,000 (4th fight in UFC; lost to Patrick Cote; win bonus would have been $12,000)
-Josh Koscheck: $10,000 (9th fight in UFC; lost to Georges St. Pierre; win bonus would have been $10,000)
-Kurt Pellegrino: $8,000 (4th fight in UFC; lost to Joe Stevenson; win bonus would have been $8,000)
-Alberto Crane: $4,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Roger Huerta; win bonus would have been $4,000)

Preliminary Match Fighters
-Frank Mir: $66,000 (11th fight in UFC; defeated Antoni Hardonk; includes win bonus of $30,000)
-Marcus Aurelio: $30,000 (1st fight in UFC after 6 fights in Pride; lost to Clay Guida; win bonus would have been $30,000)
-Renato "Babalu" Sobral: $25,000 (10th fight in UFC; defeated David Heath) (Sobral would have also received a $25,000 win bonus, but it was withheld by the Nevada State Athletic Commission due to Sobral's actions at the end of the fight)
-Thales Leites: $18,000 (4th fight in UFC; defeated Ryan Jensen; includes $9,000 win bonus)
-Clay Guida: $14,000 (4th fight in UFC; defeated Marcus Aurelio; includes $7,000 win bonus)
-Antoni Hardonk: $8,000 (3rd fight in UFC; lost to Frank Mir; win bonus would have been $8,000)
-David Heath: $6,000 (4th fight in UFC; lost to Renato "Babalu" Sobral; win bonus would have been $6,000)
-Ryan Jensen: $4,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Thales Leites; win bonus would have been $4,000)

Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $730,000

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 11:34 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Fighter Salary Breakdown for UFC Fight Night 10 & Ultimate Fighter 5 Live Finale
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information for the live season finale of The Ultimate Fighter 5 and for UFC Fight Night 10. The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale took place on June 23rd in Las Vegas, Nevada; and UFC Fight Night 10 took place on June 12th in Hollywood, Florida.

The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that the UFC is required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions. The winners' bonuses for the fighters who won their matches are included in the figures published below.

Although MMA fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed bonuses that the UFC also pays its fighters, but does not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, PPV bonuses for PPV main event fighters), are not included in the figures below. Also not reflected below are the taxes that the fighters have to pay.

In the listings below, "Title Match & Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show and/or compete in a title fight on a show. "Main Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear on the main card, but not in title fights or in the main event. "Preliminary Match Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those matches end up airing on the TV or PPV broadcast.

Please note that Brandon Melendez was fined 10% of his purse for failing to make weight. All of The Ultimate Fighter 5 fighters had contracts that paid them $8,000 to fight and $8,000 to win on the finale, so Melendez' purse for his loss to Lauzon was $8,000. The amount of the fine was $800, half of which went to Lauzon and half of which went to the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

In addition, next to each fighter's name is the number of UFC fights that he has had, not counting fights that took place during Ultimate Fighter seasons because those fights are officially classified as exhibitions.


UFC Fight Night 10 Fighter Salaries
Event took place on June 12, 2007

Main Event Fighters
-Spencer Fisher: $26,000 (7th fight in UFC; defeated Sam Stout)
-Sam Stout: $6,000 (3rd fight in UFC; lost to Spencer Fisher)

Main Card Fighters
-Jon Fitch: $36,000 (6th fight in UFC; defeated Roan Carneiro)
-Drew McFedries: $14,000 (3rd fight in UFC; defeated Jordan Radev)
-Jordan Radev: $5,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Drew McFedries)
-Roan Carneiro: $5,000 (2nd fight in UFC; lost to Jon Fitch)

Preliminary Match Fighters
-Pete Spratt: $12,000 (7th fight in UFC; lost to Tamdan McCrory)
-Thiago Tavares: $10,000 (2nd fight in UFC; defeated Jason Black)
-Gleison Tibau: $10,000 (3rd fight in UFC; defeated Jeff Cox)
-Luigi Fioravanti: $8,000 (5th fight in UFC; lost to Forrest Petz)
-Tamdan McCrory: $8,000 (1st fight in UFC; defeated Pete Spratt)
-Forrest Petz: $8,000 (4th fight in UFC; defeated Luigi Fioravanti)
-Nate Mohr: $6,000 (2nd fight in UFC; defeated Luke Caudillo)
-Anthony Johnson: $6,000 (1st fight in UFC; defeated Chad Reiner)
-Jason Black: $6,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Thiago Tavares)
-Jeff Cox: $3,500 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Gleison Tibau)
-Luke Caudillo: $3,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Nate Mohr)
-Chad Reiner: $3,000 (2nd fight in UFC; lost to Anthony Johnson)
Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $175,500


Ultimate Fighter 5 Live Finale Fighter Salaries
Event took place on June 23, 2007

Main Event Fighters
-BJ Penn: $100,000 (11th fight in UFC; defeated Jens Pulver)
-Jens Pulver: $30,000 (9th fight in UFC; lost to BJ Penn)

Main Card Fighters
-Roger Huerta: $24,000 (4th fight in UFC; defeated Doug Evans)
-Nate Diaz: $16,000 (1st fight in UFC; defeated Manny Gamburyan)
-Thales Leites: $14,000 (3rd fight in UFC; defeated Floyd Sword)
-Manny Gamburyan: $8,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Nate Diaz)
-Floyd Sword: $3,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Thales Leites)
-Doug Evans: $3,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Roger Huerta)

Preliminary Match Fighters
-Joe Lauzon: $16,400 (2nd fight in UFC; defeated Brandon Melendez) (original purse was $16,000 and he also received $400 from Brandon Melendez' fine)
-Cole Miller: $16,000 (1st fight in UFC; defeated Andy Wang)
-Matt Wiman: $16,000 (2nd fight in UFC; defeated Brian Geraghty)
-Brian Geraghty: $8,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Matt Wiman)
-Allen Berube: $8,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Leonard Garcia)
-Andy Wang: $8,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Cole Miller)
-Robert Emerson: $8,000 (1st fight in UFC; fought to a no contest with Gray Maynard)
-Gray Maynard: $8,000 (1st fight in UFC; fought to a no contest with Robert Emerson)
-Brandon Melendez: $7,200 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Joe Lauzon) (original purse was $8,000 and he was fined $800 for failing to make weight)
-Leonard Garcia: $4,000 (2nd fight in UFC; defeated Allen Berube)
Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $297,600

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 10:08 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC & WEC Fighters Pass Drug Tests
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

A total of thirty-six fighters competed at UFC 71 and WEC 27, of which twelve fighters were drug tested. Of the fighters who were drug-tested, all twelve have passed their tests for steroids, stimulants, and recreational drugs.

At UFC 71, which took place on May 26th in Las Vegas, the six fighters who were drug-tested by the Nevada State Athletic Commission were Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Chuck Liddell, Karo Parisyan, Josh Burkman, Alan Belcher, and Sean Salmon. All six of those fighters tested negative for all banned substances. The other twelve fighters on the card were not drug-tested.

The NSAC spent a total of $1,670 on drug testing for UFC 71. The total cost of drug testing every single fighter on the card would have been an additional $3,341.

At UFC 69 (which took place on April 7th in Houston, Texas) and UFC 70 (which took place on April 21st in Manchester, England), there was no drug-testing of any kind. The UFC has said that there would be drug testing at UFC 72 (which took place on June 12th in Belfast, Nortern Ireland). The same claim was also made prior to UFC 70.

At WEC 27, which took place on May 12th in Las Vegas, the six fighters who were drug-tested by the NSAC were Doug Marshall, Justin McElfresh, Manny Tapia, Brandon Foxworth, Ed Ratcliff, and Johnny Sampaio. Those six fighters tested negative for all banned substances. As with UFC 71, the other twelve fighters on the card were not drug-tested.

The NSAC spent a total of $1,670 on drug testing for WEC 27, the same as UFC 71. The total cost of drug testing every single fighter on the card also would have been an additional $3,341.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 11:33 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC Fight Night 10 Draws 1.2 Rating; Brutal Knockouts Handled Poorly Yet Again
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The live broadcast of UFC Fight Night 10 on Tuesday, June 12th drew an overall rating of 1.2. With a line-up that was considered to have perhaps the least marquee value of any live UFC event on Spike TV to date, the overall rating has to be considered a success.

The main event of UFC Fight Night 10 featured Spencer Fisher and Sam Stout, both of whom were coming off of losses in their last UFC fights. The star in the semi-main event, Jon Fitch, had a UFC record of 5-0 going into the bout, but not a single one of his fights had ever aired on UFC television, and only one of them had ever aired on UFC pay-per-view. While hardcore MMA fans recognize Fitch as one of the top ten welterweight fighters in the world, Fitch's constant placement on the UFC's preliminary undercards means that the casual fans who make up the bulk of the UFC's TV viewership likely had no idea who Fitch was prior to this fight.

With all of these facts in mind, the UFC and Spike TV may have been concerned that UFC Fight Night 10 would draw the UFC's lowest ratings to date, but it did not, at least not in terms of overall viewership. The overall rating of 1.2 managed to stay a tenth of a ratings point higher than the UFC's least-watched live fight special to date (the November 2006 finale of The Ultimate Fighter 4 drew an overall rating of 1.1). In addition, it was two-tenths of a ratings point higher than Spike TV's primetime average rating of 1.0.

Ratings in Key Demographic Continue to Slip
However, in the advertiser-coveted demographic of 18-to-34-year-old males, UFC Fight Night 10 did indeed draw the UFC's lowest ratings ever for a first-run event premiere. There have been two live specials in the UFC's history on Spike TV, dating back to early 2005, that have drawn ratings lower than 2.0 in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic. UFC Fight Night 9 in April 2007 drew a rating of 1.6 in this demographic, and UFC Fight Night 10 drew a 1.5 rating in this demographic.

The UFC and Spike TV both depend on this key demographic to attract new advertisers and retain current advertisers, so a drop in overall viewership might actually be preferred over the drop in 18-to-34-year-old male viewership that UFC programming on Spike TV has been experiencing in both live specials and the premieres of pre-taped Ultimate Fighter episodes.

In the 18-to-49-year-old demographic, a slightly broader group that is the UFC and Spike TV's second most-targeted demographic, UFC Fight Night 10 drew a rating of 1.5, putting the show in a three-way tie for the all-time low mark among live UFC fight specials on Spike TV. The other two specials in the three-way tie for last place among live UFC events are April 2007's broadcast of UFC Fight Night 9, and November 2006's broadcast of The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale.

UFC Fight Night 10's Ratings vs. Previous UFC Ratings
Compared to the UFC's average-to-date for fight specials headed into this event, UFC Fight Night 10 was not able to approach the previous shows' average ratings.

The UFC's average-to-date for its previous fifteen fight specials was a 1.7 overall rating, and UFN 10 drew a 1.2 overall rating.

In the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, the UFC's average-to-date was a 2.8 rating, and UFN 10's rating in this demographic was 1.5.

In the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic, the UFC's average-to-date was a 2.2 rating, and UFN 10's rating in this demographic was 1.5.

A March Through the UFN 10 Broadcast, Including Brutal Knockouts and Ratings for Individual Fights
The two-hour broadcast of UFC Fight Night 10 opened up with Drew McFedries' quick knockout victory over Jordan Radev in a fight that drew an overall rating of just 0.7. The first two or three fights on any live UFC broadcast on Spike TV are almost always the least-watched, but even the first fights on the broadcast still manage to hit the 1.0 mark on the vast majority of occasions.

After this fight, when Radev was still unconscious in the ring, the UFC continued what is now a long-standing, de-facto policy of cutting away from the unconscious fighter and not acknowledging the fighter's condition for the rest of the broadcast. The UFC did this on two occasions in 2005 when Terry Martin and Tra Telligman were each brutally knocked out, and then the same thing happened for a third time when Sean Salmon was knocked out cold by Rashad Evans in January 2007. This is the equivalent of an NFL player going down from a big hit and not moving for several minutes, but the camera on the television broadcast cuts to a crowd shot or commercial break, and then the injured NFL player is never or shown or acknowledged again for the rest of the broadcast.

The UFC could not send the next scheduled fighters out to the Octagon while Radev was still receiving medical attention inside the cage, but they were also apparently insistent on keeping with the de-facto policy of not acknowledging the unconscious fighter. So, 16 minutes after the end of the McFedries-Radev fight, a pre-taped preliminary fight between Anthony Johnson and Chad Reiner aired.

The Johnson-Reiner fight also ended in a quick and brutal knockout, as Johnson knocked Reiner out and the fight drew a 1.1 rating. Ironically, while Jordan Radev was still being treated by medical personnel in real time, the UFC also chose not to update or acknowledge the unconscious Reiner's condition for the rest of the broadcast.

After Radev was taken to the backstage area, the next live fight pitted Jon Fitch against Roan Carneiro in a fight that started nine minutes after the Johnson-Reiner bout finished airing. Fitch defeated Carneiro by submission, and the fight drew a 1.0 rating. While that rating could certainly be considered a disappointment, it's not a complete surprise that the fight didn't pop a rating, given the fact that it was Fitch's first ever exposure on a UFC event on Spike TV.

At this point in the broadcast, with two of the three main card bouts having concluded before the end of the second round, there was plenty of time to fill, so the decision was made to air the preliminary fight between Thiago Tavares and Jason Black, as main-eventers Spencer Fisher and Sam Stout made their final preparations backstage. As is usually the case with the UFC's live fight specials on Spike TV, the viewership level increases significantly over the course of the last hour. Thirteen minutes after the end of the Fitch-Carneiro fight, Tavares' impressive submission victory over Black hit the airwaves, and the fight drew a 1.4 rating.

Twenty minutes after the Tavares-Black bout finished airing, Fisher vs. Stout to got underway, and the two fighters had an exciting stand-up battle that Fisher won by unanimous decision. The main event fight drew a 1.6 rating, making it the most-watched fight of the night.

The 1.6 rating for Fisher vs. Stout was higher than every single fight on the UFC Fight Night 9 broadcast, but it was lower than every single fight on the UFC 70 broadcast on Spike TV, and lower than all-but-one of the fights on the UFC Fight Night 8 broadcast. Ironically, that one fight on the UFN 8 broadcast was Spencer Fisher's previous fight, a TKO loss to Hermes Franca that drew a 1.5 rating. Stout's previous fight on Spike TV, a submission loss to Kenny Florian in June 2006, drew a 1.8 rating.

Ratings Comparison: UFC vs. WWE vs. IFL vs. WEC
Even though UFC Fight Night 10's ratings were among the lowest in the UFC's history on Spike TV for a live event broadcast, the Zuffa-owned UFC is still in a different ballpark when compared to other MMA promotions.

The UFC's top competitor for TV ratings amongst current MMA promotions is the IFL. The first ten original episodes of the IFL's "Battleground" series on MyNetworkTV averaged 998,000 viewers, compared to 1,524,000 viewers for UFC Fight Night 10. The Zuffa-owned WEC promotion recently aired its first live event on Versus Network, and the two-hour broadcast averaged 416,000 viewers.

UFC Fight Night 10 also marked the first time since August 2006 that a live UFC fight special went head-to-head with first-run WWE programming. The latest edition of WWE's Tuesday night program "ECW" (which is "ECW" in name only) on the Sci Fi Network out-drew UFC Fight Night 10 in overall rating (1.7 to 1.2) and overall viewers (2,400,000 million to 1,524,000), but the UFC actually beat WWE in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic. Even the UFC's record low rating of 1.5 was enough in that demographic to beat WWE's rating of 1.2 in the same demographic.

Head-to-Head Network Competition; Other UFC-on-Spike Ratings
Airing head-to-head with the first hour of UFC Fight Night 10 on network television from 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM on Tuesday, June 12th, ABC's presentation of "NBA Finals: Game 3" drew a hugely disappointing overall rating of just 5.1 in the hour. The NBA Finals on ABC lost handily to the NBC variety show "America's Got Talent," which drew an overall rating of 7.9 in the hour. Meanwhile, a repeat of "The Unit" on CBS drew a 4.7 overall rating, and a repeat of "House" on Fox drew a 4.2 overall rating.

Airing head-to-head with the second hour of UFC Fight Night 10 from 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM on June 12th, the second hour of "NBA Finals: Game 3" drew a slightly better 5.7 overall rating on ABC. However, it embarrassingly lost to repeat programming, as a rerun of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" on NBC drew a 6.1 overall rating. A repeat episode of the documentary news series "48 Hours Mystery" on CBS was not far behind with a 5.1 overall rating.

Leading into the 9:00 PM start of UFC Fight Night 10 on Spike TV, a repeat of UFC Unleashed aired from 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM and drew a disappointing overall rating of just 0.5, continuing the trend of UFC Unleashed's decreased ratings.

After the conclusion of UFC Fight Night 10, the hour-long special "Countdown to UFC 72" aired on Spike TV from 11:00 PM to 12:00 AM and drew an overall rating of 0.8. Thanks in large part to the UFC lead-in, this was higher than the overall rating of 0.7 that was drawn by the premiere of "Countdown to UFC 71" and the overall rating of 0.5 that was drawn by the premiere of "UFC All Access: Quinton Jackson."

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 11:07 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- TUF Ratings Slump, but Still Dominate Boxing; PLUS: Liddell on Letterman Ratings
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The final three regular season episodes of The Ultimate Fighter 5 drew overall ratings in the low 1's, concluding a season that was the least-watched in the history of The Ultimate Fighter. However, the UFC still managed to completely dominate a live boxing broadcast on Versus Network that went head-to-head with the eleventh episode of TUF 5.

Episode Ten of The Ultimate Fighter 5 featured the final two quarter-final fights of the season's 16-man tournament. The episode premiered on Thursday, June 7th and drew an overall rating of 1.1, which was down slightly from the previous episode's 1.2 overall rating. In the advertiser-coveted 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, Episode Ten drew a 1.4 rating, which was also down slightly from the previous week's 1.5 rating in that demographic.

Episode Eleven of TUF 5 featured the first of two semi-final tournament bouts. The episode premiered on Thursday, June 14th and drew an overall rating of 1.3, which was up from the previous episode's 1.1 overall rating. Episode Eleven also out-drew Episode Ten in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, 1.7 to 1.4, while still finishing well below TUF 4's ratings averages in the same demographic.

The final regular season episode of TUF 5 featured the second of two semi-final tournament bouts. With Episode Ten serving as its lead-in, Episode Eleven premiered on Thursday, June 14th at 11:00 PM and drew an overall rating of 1.0, which is tied for the lowest-rated premiere episode in TUF history when airing on its normal night. The episode drew a rating of 1.5 in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic.

TUF Demolishes Boxing Head-to-Head
Overlapping with The Ultimate Fighter 5's eleventh episode on Thursday, June 14th, the newest live installment of "Versus Fight Night" on Versus Network was thoroughly trounced by TUF in the ratings. While Spike TV is available in approximately 90 million homes and Versus is available in approximately 70 million homes, that is certainly not enough to explain the huge disparity in viewership between TUF and the live boxing broadcast.

The two-hour boxing broadcast on Versus aired from 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM and featured former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman in the main event. While Episode Eleven of TUF 5 drew an overall rating of 1.3, the two-hour broadcast of Versus Fight Night drew an overall rating of 0.2.

As for the overall number of viewers, Episode Eleven of TUF 5 averaged 1,718,000 viewers, while Versus Fight Night averaged 227,000 viewers. The disparity is far greater in the younger male demographics, due to the fact that the average age of Versus Fight Night's audience was 60 years old.

In the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic, Episode Eleven of TUF drew a 1.5 rating, while Versus Fight Night drew a rating of 0.1.

One might think that it can't get any worse than 1.5 to 0.1, but it can, as evidenced by the ratings in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic. In that key demographic, Episode Eleven of TUF drew a 1.7 rating, and Versus Fight Night did not even register as a 0.1 rating in the demographic. Technically, the two-hour broadcast of Versus Fight Night averaged a rating of 0.03 in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic.

Ratings for Individual Fights on Episodes 10, 11, and 12 of TUF 5
As for the ratings that were drawn by individual fights on the final three episodes of TUF 5, Episode Ten featured Nate Diaz' submission victory over Corey Hill in the tournament quarter-finals. The Diaz-Hill aired early in the episode and drew a 1.1 rating. Diaz' previous fight, which was a submission victory over Robert Emerson, had drawn a 1.3 rating. Hill's previous fight, which was also a victory over Emerson (by judges' decision), drew a 1.3 rating as well.

Episode Ten also featured Manny Gamburyan's unanimous decision victory over Matt Wiman in the last of the tournament quarter-final bouts. The Gamburyan-Wiman fight aired during the second half of the episode and drew a 1.2 rating. Gamburyan's previous fight was a submission victory over Noah Thomas, and it drew a 1.4 rating. Wiman's previous fight was a technical submission victory over Marlon Sims, which drew a 1.2 rating.

The first semi-final tournament bout aired on Episode Eleven, as Manny Gamburyan defeated Joe Lauzon by unanimous decision. The fight itself drew a 1.3 rating, up slightly from the 1.2 rating that was drawn by Gamburyan's quarter-final fight against Matt Wiman. Lauzon's previous fight was a TKO victory over Cole Miller, which drew a 1.4 rating.

Episode Twelve featured the last of the tournament semi-final matches, as Nate Diaz defeated Gray Maynard by submission. The fight drew a 1.0 rating, down slightly from the 1.1 rating that was drawn by Diaz' quarter-final bout against Corey Hill. Maynard's previous fight was a submission victory over Brandon Melendez, which drew a 1.3 rating.

Liddell Episode of Letterman Draws Strong Ratings
Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell appeared on CBS' "The Late Show with David Letterman" on Thursday, June 7th, and the episode drew a 3.6 overall rating.

It was the most-watched episode of the week for "The Late Show," which drew a 3.5 overall rating on Monday of that week, a 3.0 rating on Tuesday, 3.5 on Wednesday, and 3.2 on Friday.

The June 7th episode also out-drew the next week of "The Late Show," as the show's highest rating from June 11-15 was 3.4. However, the June 7th episode of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" still topped Letterman's rating of 3.6, as Leno drew an overall rating of 4.1 on the same night, head-to-head with the episode of Letterman that featured Chuck Liddell.

TUF's Head-to-Head Network Competition
Airing head-to-head with Episode Ten of The Ultimate Fighter 5 on Thursday, June 7th from 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM, the cancelled drama series "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" continued its march towards oblivion, as it drew an overall rating of 3.1 on NBC. The first game of the NBA Finals on ABC drew a hugely disappointing 5.6 overall rating, and it actually lost to repeat programming head-to-head, as a rerun of the crime drama series "Shark" drew a 6.3 overall rating on CBS.

Airing head-to-head with Episode Eleven of TUF 5 on Thursday, June 14th from 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM, a new (burn-off) episode of "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" drew an overall rating of 3.0 on NBC. Meanwhile, the fourth and final game of the NBA Finals on ABC drew an embarrassing 5.6 overall rating, which was the same rating that Game 1 drew one week earlier. The NBA Finals once again lost to repeat programming head-to-head, as a rerun of "Shark" on CBS drew an overall rating of 5.8.

On both June 7th and June 14th, the NBA Finals broadcast was just the fifth most-watched TV show of the evening. On both Thursdays, the NBA Finals broadcasts lost not only to repeats of "Shark," but also to repeats of "CSI" and new episodes of "So You Think You Can Dance" and "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?"

Leading into Episode Ten of TUF 5 on Spike TV was the pro wrestling show "TNA Impact," which drew an overall rating of 1.0 on June 7th.

Leading into Episode Eleven of TUF 5 on Spike TV was "TNA Impact," which drew an overall rating of 1.1 on June 14th. Episode Twelve of TUF 5 then aired immediately after Episode Eleven.

Labels: Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 10:57 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Penn vs. Pulver Preview Special to Air on Versus Network?
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

In a strange development, the 30-minute countdown special for the upcoming fight between BJ Penn and Jens Pulver will actually air on Versus Network tonight (June 22nd), despite the fact that the show is specifically designed to promote a Saturday night broadcast that will be airing on Spike TV, not Versus.

The 30-minute special, entitled "Bad Blood: Penn vs. Pulver," premiered on Monday night, June 18th at 11:30 PM on Spike TV. Barring a last-second schedule change or the NHL Draft running past its allotted timeslot (7:00 PM to 10:00 PM), the Penn-Pulver preview special will air on Versus tonight at 11:00 PM Eastern Time, less than 24 hours before the fight between Penn and Pulver begins on Spike TV. Versus does not have a staggered feed for different time zones, so an 11:00 PM Eastern start time is 10:00 PM for the Central time zone, 9:00 PM for the Mountain time zone, and 8:00 PM for the Pacific time zone.

Zuffa's contract with Spike TV specifically states that Spike TV is the exclusive basic cable home of UFC programming. While the contract, which expires in mid-2008, does not preclude the UFC from signing a deal with a premium cable network such as HBO or a broadcast network such as CBS, it does prevent the UFC from signing a deal with Versus, ESPN, or any other basic cable network for the duration of the contract. So, in order for the Penn-Pulver special to be cleared to air on Versus, Spike TV would have had to specifically approve it.

When asked about the unusual nature of this arrangement, a Spike TV spokesperson told MMAWeekly, "It is unusual, but a great way to promote our finale to a potentially new audience. [The special] is also available on SpikeTV.com and iFilm."

With the generally low ratings of Versus, it does not seem as though Zuffa has much to gain from airing the special on Versus, unless one takes into consideration the fact that there happens to be a pay-per-view event airing at the same time that will be co-promoted by Zuffa competitors EliteXC and Strikeforce.

Zuffa has a well-established history of aggressively counter-programming on Spike TV with extended UFC marathons whenever a competitor runs a major televised event. While one could argue that it's strictly a series of coincidences, the UFC has happened to schedule marathons of UFC programming on Spike TV to air head-to-head with the WFA pay-per-view in July 2006, the Pride USA pay-per-view in October 2006, the first EliteXC event in February 2007, the second EliteXC event earlier this month, and the K-1 Dynamite pay-per-view earlier this month.

Now that Zuffa owns the WEC and has WEC programming on Versus Network in addition to having UFC programming on Spike TV, the UFC now has two different cable networks that it could theoretically use if it wanted to counter-program against a competing MMA show. Versus stands to benefit from this arrangement because the Penn-Pulver preview special will likely out-draw the show that Versus was originally planning to air in the timeslot.

So, in addition to UFC programming airing on Spike TV tonight, the Zuffa-owned WEC will be airing a Friday encore of WEC WrekCage at 10:00 PM on Versus, and that will be followed by the Penn vs. Pulver preview special at 11:00 PM on Versus. Both shows will be going head-to-head with the EliteXC/Strikeforce pay-per-view event, which also starts at 10:00 PM.

There's nothing unusual about a replay of UFC Fight Night 10 airing on Spike TV tonight, as the UFC has aired UFN replays on Friday nights for several weeks. However, tonight's airing of WEC WrekCage is somewhat unusual, as it is the only Friday night airing of WEC WrekCage on the schedule for the next six weeks; and tonight's airing of the Penn-Pulver preview special is highly unusual, as it will mark the first time ever that a preview special for a Spike TV event will be airing in its entirety on a competing cable network.

Labels: Elite Xtreme Combat (EliteXC), Elite Xtreme Combat (EliteXC) News, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 10:10 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Ultimate Fighter Ratings Slip in Week Nine
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The ninth episode of The Ultimate Fighter 5 drew an overall rating of 1.2 on Thursday, May 31st. The previous week's episode, which was promoted around the street fight between show contestants Marlon Sims and Noah Thomas, drew a slightly higher 1.3 overall rating.

Spike TV's primetime average last week was a 1.1 overall rating, which is just 0.1 lower than TUF 5's average-to-date.

In the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, Episode Nine drew a 1.5 rating, down from the previous week's 1.7 rating. In the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic, Episode Nine drew a 1.4 rating, down from the previous week's 1.6 rating.

The portion of Episode Nine that featured the tournament quarter-final match between Gray Maynard and Brandon Melendez, which Maynard won by submission, drew a 1.3 overall rating. This is an increase from Maynard's previous fight (a TKO victory over Wayne Weems) and Melendez' previous fight (a decision win over Andy Wang), as both of those fights drew 1.1 ratings.

Overall Ratings Close to Season 4; Key Demographic Ratings Significantly Lower than Season 4
At this point, if TUF 5 continues to draw overall ratings in the range of 1.2 every week, it will likely be tied with TUF 4 as the least-watched season of TUF to date, although it's going to be close. However, in the key demographic of 18-to-34-year-old males, the gap is much wider and TUF 5 is by far the least-watched season of TUF to date in that demographic.

In terms of overall ratings, TUF 5 is averaging a 1.2 rating through its first nine episodes. At the same point in previous TUF seasons, the first season was averaging a 1.6 overall rating, the second season was averaging a 1.4 overall rating, the third season was averaging a 1.7 overall rating, and the fourth season was averaging a 1.3 overall rating.

In the advertiser-coveted 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, TUF 5 is averaging a 1.6 rating through nine episodes. At the same point in previous TUF seasons, the first season was averaging a 2.1 rating, the second season was averaging a 2.5 rating, the third season was averaging a 3.0 rating, and the fourth season was averaging a 2.2 rating.

UFC Still Drawing Higher Ratings than Other MMA Promotions
Even as the least-watched season of The Ultimate Fighter, the ratings for TUF 5 are still higher than the ratings for the IFL and WEC.

While Episode Nine of TUF 5 drew an average audience of 1.6 million viewers on Spike TV, the IFL's Battleground series is averaging 998,000 viewers per episode on MyNetworkTV, and the WEC's live debut on Versus averaged 416,000 viewers.

Head-to-Head Network Competition
Airing head-to-head with Episode Nine of The Ultimate Fighter 5 on May 31st at 10:00 PM, a repeat of the drama series "Shark" on CBS drew a 6.5 overall rating. Over on ABC, the final few minutes of the National Spelling Bee and a repeat of "Grey's Anatomy" combined to average a 3.8 overall rating in the hour. The ratings for new episodes of "Grey's Anatomy" are typically much higher than the ratings for new episodes of "Shark," but that is not the case when both series are in reruns for the summer.

Airing on NBC in the 10:00 PM hour was a new episode of the cancelled series "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," and the show's 2.9 overall rating may have reminded NBC why they decided to cancel the show in the first place.

Airing in the 9:00 PM hour on Spike TV prior to The Ultimate Fighter, the pro wrestling show "TNA Impact" drew an overall rating of 0.9.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 8:44 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- WEC's Debut on Versus Network Draws 0.4 Rating
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The debut broadcast of World Extreme Cagefighting on Versus Network drew an overall rating of 0.4 on Sunday, June 3rd. The event was the WEC's fourth since being purchased by UFC parent company Zuffa last December, and it was the first time that the WEC or any other MMA promotion has aired on Versus.

Airing from 9:00 PM to 10:54 PM, WEC 28 averaged 416,000 total viewers. The broadcast's 0.4 overall rating was matched by its 0.4 rating in the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic. In the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, the show drew a rating of 0.7.

Formerly known as the Outdoor Life Network, Versus is available in approximately 70 million U.S. households. Spike TV and most other cable networks are available in slightly more than 90 million U.S. households. Broadcast TV networks such as CBS and NBC are available in approximately 111 million U.S. households.

WEC's Ratings Already Approach NHL's Ratings
While the WEC's ratings pale in comparison to the average ratings for the UFC, the same could be said for any show on Versus. The network's highest-profile property, the National Hockey League, has drawn lackluster ratings not only for the regular season, but also for the playoffs and the Stanley Cup Finals.

In the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, WEC 28 actually out-drew the two games of this year's Stanley Cup Finals that aired on Versus. Both of the Stanley Cup Finals games drew 0.6 ratings in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, while WEC 28 drew a 0.7 in that demographic.

The first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals on Versus drew overall ratings of 0.8 for Game 1 and 0.7 for Game 2, as compared with 0.4 for WEC 28. In terms of overall viewership, the difference between the WEC and the NHL is not as big as the overall ratings might suggest, as there were more viewers per household for the WEC. Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Versus averaged 769,000 viewers; Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Versus averaged 576,000 viewers; and WEC 28 on Versus averaged 416,000 viewers.

When coverage of this year's Stanley Cup Finals moved over to NBC starting with Game 3, the result was the lowest overall rating for any primetime broadcast in NBC's history. The game drew a 1.1 network rating on NBC, which is slightly lower than the low point of Vince McMahon's ill-fated XFL in early 2001.

WEC vs. EliteXC vs. IFL vs. UFC vs. NBA
The average audience of 416,000 people for WEC 28 on Versus is slightly higher than the average audience of 365,000 viewers who tuned in for the premiere of EliteXC on Showtime back in February. The ratings for EliteXC were considered excellent for Showtime, given the fact that the premium cable network is available in just 15 million U.S. households, whereas Versus is available in 70 million households.

The average audience for IFL Battleground in its first ten original episodes on MyNetworkTV was 998,000 viewers, which compares favorably with the NHL's average for the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals (673,000 viewers) and the WEC's live debut on Versus (416,000 viewers). As a broadcast TV network, albeit a struggling broadcast TV network, MyNetworkTV is available in approximately 105 million U.S. households.

Of course, other live sporting events held by such organizations as the UFC and NBA are in a different league when it comes to overall viewership levels.

The most recent live UFC broadcast on cable television was UFC 70, which drew a 1.8 overall rating and 2.8 million viewers on April 21st.

The most recent live NBC broadcast on cable television for which final ratings are available was Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, which drew a 4.8 overall rating and 5.6 million viewers on May 31st.

WEC WrekCage and Tapout Also Premiere on Versus
Leading into the live WEC broadcast on Versus was the premiere of WEC WrekCage, featuring WEC fight footage and a UFC Unleashed-like format. The first episode of WEC WrekCage drew an average audience of 189,000 viewers and an overall rating of 0.2. The two most recent airings of UFC Unleashed on Spike TV drew overall ratings of 0.4 on May 8th and 0.7 on May 15th.

The series premiere of the reality show Tapout, featuring the people behind the well-known MMA clothing line, aired immediately following WEC 28. Tapout drew an average audience of 286,000 viewers and an overall rating of 0.3. In the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, Tapout drew a rating of 0.5, which is just short of the 0.6 rating that the first two games of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals averaged on Versus.

Head-to-Head Network TV Competition
Airing head-to-head with the first hour of WEC 28 on June 3rd from 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM, a repeat of "Cold Case" on CBS drew a 6.3 overall rating. The final hour of the movie "Bad Boys II" drew a 3.3 overall rating on Fox. A repeat of "Desperate Housewives" on ABC lagged far behind the top spot with a 2.7 overall rating, as "DesperateHousewives" typically draws much lower ratings for its repeats than most shows. Coming in a distant last place on the Big Four networks was a repeat of the NBC drama series "Friday Night Lights," which drew a 1.5 overall rating.

Airing head-to-head with the second hour of WEC 28 on June 3rd from 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM, a repeat of "Without a Trace" drew a 6.0 overall rating. Fox doesn't air national programming in the 10:00 PM hour, and NBC moved ahead of ABC for second place among the Big Four networks. A repeat of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" drew a 2.7 overall rating on NBC, while a repeat of "Brothers & Sisters" drew a 2.3 overall rating on ABC.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 10:20 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Fighter Salary Breakdown for WEC 28
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information for WEC 28, which took place on June 3rd, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The event was the WEC's fourth since being purchased by UFC parent company Zuffa, and it was also the WEC's live debut on cable television channel Versus.

The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that Zuffa and the WEC are required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions, including the winners' bonuses.

Although MMA fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed bonuses that Zuffa and the WEC also pay its fighters, but do not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, pay-per-view bonuses for the top pay-per-view main event fighters, which would not apply since this event was not on pay-per-view), are not included in the figures below.

In the listings below, "Title Match & Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show and/or compete in a title fight on a show. "Preliminary Match Fights" are fights that are taped before a television or pay-per-view show goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those fights aired on the telecast or pay-per-view broadcast.

Title Match & Main Event Fighters
-Urijah Faber: $20,000 (defeated Chance Farrar)
-Chance Farrar: $4,000 (lost to Urijah Faber)

Main Card Fighters
-Alex Karalexis: $10,000 (defeated Josh Smith)
-Rani Yahya: $10,000 (defeated Mark Hominick)
-Brian Stann: $8,000 (defeated Craig Zellner)
-Mark Hominick: $6,000 (lost to Rani Yahya)
-Craig Zellner: $2,000 (lost to Brian Stann)
-Josh Smith: $1,000 (lost to Alex Karalexis)

Preliminary Match Fighters
-John Alessio: $18,000 (defeated Alex Serdyukov)
-Brock Larson: $16,000 (defeated Kevin Knabjian)
-Cub Swanson: $8,000 (defeated Micah Miller)
-Alex Serdyukov: $6,000 (lost to John Alessio)
-Jeff Bedard: $6,000 (defeated Mike French)
-Charlie Valencia: $6,000 (lost to Brian Bowles)
-Brian Bowles: $4,000 (defeated Charlie Valencia)
-Micah Miller: $4,000 (lost to Cub Swanson)
-Mike French: $3,000 (lost to Jeff Bedard)
-Kevin Knabjian: $2,000 (lost to Brock Larson)
Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $134,000

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:05 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Sims-Thomas Street Fight and Scheduled UFC "Rematch" Give the Sport Two Black Eyes
Editorial by Ivan Trembow

A lot has been said and written about the UFC's handling of the unsanctioned street fight between Marlon Sims and Noah Thomas on a recent episode of The Ultimate Fighter. The UFC absolutely did the right thing by kicking Sims and Thomas off the show. Two fighters in TUF history were kicked off the show and no longer welcome in the UFC for not making weight (Kenny Stevens and Gabe Ruediger), and doing anything less than that to Sims and Thomas for getting into a street fight would have accurately been seen as encouraging exactly that kind of behavior on future seasons.

This brings us to the fact that despite being kicked off the show and called a disgrace to the sport, Marlon Sims and Noah Thomas are being welcomed back into the UFC. Not only that, but they'll actually be fighting each other in a bout that is being promoted specifically as a rematch of the street fight. And not only will this fight take place on the season finale card on June 23rd in Las Vegas, but it will actually be given the "main card" treatment and air live on Spike TV.

It would be very difficult for the hypocrisy in all of this to be more overwhelming. First of all, there's the fact that the fighters are put in a house with no form of entertainment or contact with the outside world and then provided with as much beer and hard liquor as their hearts desire.

Quasi-outrage and shock notwithstanding, that basic combination is a formula that has been used to create drama, confrontations, and fist-fights on a wide variety of reality TV shows for many years. It's not rocket science.

If the UFC didn't want alcohol-induced wild antics or confrontations on the show, it would be very simple to eliminate the alcohol from the equation, as evidenced by Season 1 of The Ultimate Fighter. After Chris Leben's drunken episode on TUF 1, Zuffa's Lorenzo Fertitta said to remove the alcohol from the house and to tell the contestants to act like professional athletes.

One season later, the alcohol was put back in the house towards the end of Season 2, in part because of the belief that there wasn't enough in the way confrontation or wild antics, which means that it should not come as a surprise to anyone associated with the show when the abundance of alcohol contributes to exactly that kind of behavior.

Just as much of a disgrace to MMA as the actual Sims-Thomas street fight itself is the fact that Sims and Thomas are going to get another shot in the UFC, in a match against each other that is being promoted as a rematch of their street fight, and they are being rewarded with a main card slot on the season finale of TUF, while other TUF 5 contestants who didn't get into street fights are relegated to untelevised prelim status, with their finale undercard bouts seen by a fraction of the audience.

It doesn't excuse their actions in any way, but Sims and Thomas' judgment was impaired when they had their street fight because they were drunk.

Spike TV and the UFC cannot use the same excuse for their poor judgment in deciding to reward Sims and Thomas for getting into a street fight on the show.

Both Spike TV and the UFC share the blame for this because either party could have refused to go along with it.

If it was the UFC that was the primary force in wanting to have a Sims-Thomas "rematch" on the TUF 5 finale, Spike TV could have said, "No, we're not going to air that. Put it on PPV or on your web site if you want it to happen so badly."

If it was Spike TV that was the primary force behind it, the UFC could have said, "No, we're not going to have that fight on one of our events, and you can't force us to put any fight on any of our events."

Instead, both Spike TV and the UFC either endorse the decision or share in the complicity for it by allowing it to happen.

Barely a week after the UFC received the most mainstream media attention and coverage in its history, the message that is sent by the Sims-Thomas decision could not be more disturbing: "If you gain enough notoriety from getting in a street fight, you will be rewarded for it."

Sadly, this can't be considered a one-time lapse in judgment, as this is the second time that this message has been sent to potential UFC fighters. The first time was in 2005 when Sean Gannon was given a UFC contract as a result of the notoriety he gained from a video of his unsanctioned street fight with Kimbo Slice.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 7:05 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Ultimate Fighter 5 Ratings Increase in Week 8
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Episode Eight of The Ultimate Fighter 5 drew an overall rating of 1.3 on Thursday, May 24th, an increase from the previous episode's 1.1 overall rating.

The entire week of marketing leading up to Episode Eight was focused on the unsanctioned street fight that took place at the fighters' house between intoxicated, previously eliminated fighters Marlon Sims and Noah Thomas. The part of the show that contained the Sims-Thomas street fight drew a 1.2 rating. The part of the show that featured the MMA fight between Joe Lauzon and Cole Miller drew a slightly higher 1.4 rating, which is tied for the second-most-watched fight thus far in Season Five.

The increase in the overall rating from the previous week can be partially attributed to the commercials promising a brawl at the house, and also to the fact that the UFC had just come off its biggest week of mainstream exposure and awareness in the history of the company.

In the advertiser-coveted demographic of 18-to-34-year-old males, Episode Eight drew the same 1.7 rating that Episode Seven drew one week earlier. In the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic, the rating increased from 1.4 to 1.6.

Season-to-Date Averages Through Eight Weeks
Through eight episodes, TUF 5 is averaging a 1.2 overall rating. Eight episodes into previous seasons of TUF, the first season was averaging a 1.6 overall rating, the second season was averaging a 1.5 overall rating, the third season was averaging a 1.7 overall rating, and the fourth season was averaging a 1.3 overall rating.

In the key 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, TUF 5 is averaging a 1.7 rating through eight episodes. Eight episodes into previous TUF seasons, the first season was averaging a 2.1 rating, the second season was averaging a 2.6 rating, the third season was averaging a 2.9 rating, and the fourth season was averaging a 2.2 rating.

Head-to-Head Network Competition
The head-to-head network TV competition that The Ultimate Fighter faced on Thursday, May 24th was significantly weaker than the competition that TUF 5 has faced in all of its previous episodes. May 24th was the first night of the summer 2007 season, so TUF 4 only had to contend with repeats and failed NBC dramas instead of heavily promoted season finales.

Airing head-to-head with TUF from 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM, a repeat of "Shark" on CBS drew a 7.5 overall rating, and a repeat of "Grey's Anatomy" on ABC drew a 3.9 overall rating. One week earlier, the show's season finale had drawn a 14.0 overall rating, but "Grey's Anatomy" always performs much worse in repeats. Also airing at 10:00 PM on May 24th, the cancelled NBC drama "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" began its summer burn-off and drew a 2.8 overall rating, which is embarrassing for NBC even by the summer's lower ratings standards.

The Ultimate Fighter 5's lead-in on May 24th was a new episode of the pro wrestling show "TNA Impact," which drew a 1.0 overall rating for the fifth consecutive week. Leading out of TUF at 11:00 PM was a replay of the UFC 71 Countdown special, which drew an overall rating of 0.9.

On Monday, May 21st, the premiere of the UFC 71 Countdown special drew an overall rating of 0.7, and the premiere of UFC All Access: Quinton Jackson drew an overall rating of 0.5.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 8:31 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Fighter Salary Breakdown for UFC 71
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information for UFC 71, which took place on Saturday, May 26th in Las Vegas.

The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that the UFC is required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions.

The winners' bonuses are included in the figures below. (Chuck Liddell and Quinton Jackson had flat salaries with no win bonuses.)

Although MMA fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed bonuses that the UFC also pays its fighters, but does not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, PPV bonuses for PPV main event fighters), are not included in the figures below. Also not reflected below are the taxes that the fighters have to pay.

In the listings below, "Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show. "Main Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear on the main card, but not in title fights or in the main event. "Preliminary Match Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those matches end up airing on the PPV broadcast.

In addition, next to each fighter's name is the number of UFC fights that he has had, not counting fights that took place during Ultimate Fighter seasons because those fights are officially classified as exhibitions.

Title Match & Main Event Fighters
-Chuck Liddell: $500,000 (18th fight in UFC; lost to Quinton Jackson)
-Quinton Jackson: $225,000 (2nd fight in UFC after 17 fights in Pride; defeated Chuck Liddell)

Main Card Fighters
-Karo Parisyan: $32,000 (9th fight in UFC; defeated Josh Burkman)
-Ivan Salaverry: $17,500 (6th fight in UFC; lost to Terry Martin)
-Terry Martin: $12,000 (4th fight in UFC; defeated Ivan Salaverry)
-Kalib Starnes: $10,000 (3rd fight in UFC; defeated Chris Leben)
-Chris Leben: $10,000 (9th fight in UFC; lost to Kalib Starnes)
-Houston Alexander: $8,000 (1st fight in UFC; defeated Keith Jardine)
-Josh Burkman: $7,000 (6th fight in UFC; lost to Karo Parisyan)
-Keith Jardine: $7,000 (6th fight in UFC; lost to Houston Alexander)

Preliminary Match Fighters
-Din Thomas: $28,000 (7th fight in UFC; defeated Jeremy Stephens)
-Wilson Gouveia: $16,000 (4th fight in UFC; defeated Carmelo Marrero)
-Thiago Silva: $16,000 (1st fight in UFC; defeated James Irvin)
-Alan Belcher: $14,000 (4th fight in UFC; defeated Sean Salmon)
-James Irvin: $7,000 (5th fight in UFC; lost to Thiago Silva)
-Carmelo Marrero: $5,000 (3rd fight in UFC; lost to Wilson Gouveia)
-Sean Salmon: $3,000 (2nd fight in UFC; lost to Alan Belcher)
-Jeremy Stephens: $3,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Din Thomas)
Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $920,500

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 6:00 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Ultimate Fighter Ratings Flat at Midseason
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The sixth and seventh episodes of The Ultimate Fighter 5, both of which featured two fights instead of one, drew overall ratings of 1.2 and 1.1, respectively. The previous week's episode drew a 1.1 overall rating.

Episode Six aired on May 10th and featured two fights in order to make up for the editors' decision not to include a fight on the Gabe Ruediger-focused Episode Five.

The fight on Episode Six between Joe Lauzon and Brian Geraghty, which Lauzon dominated, drew a 1.1 rating, tied for the lowest of the season. However, this was to be expected because it aired near the beginning of the show, and the show's smallest viewership levels are almost always towards the beginning of any given episode.

Airing over the course of the second half of Episode Six, Corey Hill's controversial three-round judges' decision win over Robert Emerson drew a 1.3 rating. This was a slightly higher rating than the previous week's Ruediger-weight-cutting ending, which closed out with a 1.2 rating in the final minutes.

Episode Seven of TUF 5, which aired on May 17th, also featured two fights, largely because both of the fights ended up being so brief. Gray Maynard's domination of Wayne Weems did not air until the second half of the show, but the fight still only drew a 1.1 rating. Matt Wiman's equally impressive domination of Marlon Sims in the closing minutes of the show drew a 1.2 rating.

Key Demographic Ratings Up for Episodes Six and Seven, but Series-to-Date Averages Still Down Significantly
While the overall ratings of 1.2 and 1.1 for Episodes Six and Seven, respectively, are not much different than Episode Five's overall rating of 1.1, the ratings in the key demographics were slightly higher than Episode Five's. In the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, Episode Five drew a 1.5 rating, Episode Six drew a 1.6 rating, and Episode Seven drew a 1.7 rating. In the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic, Episode Five drew a 1.3 rating, Episode Six drew a 1.5 rating, and Episode Seven drew a 1.4 rating. Given the ratings free-fall that was taking place earlier in the season, this upward trend is encouraging.

However, TUF 5 continues to be the least-watched season of TUF to date by a good-sized margin. Through seven episodes, TUF 5 is averaging a 1.2 overall rating. At the same point in previous TUF seasons (seven episodes in), the first season was averaging a 1.6 overall rating, the second season was averaging a 1.5 overall rating, the third season was averaging a 1.7 overall rating, and the fourth season was averaging a 1.4 overall rating.

In the advertiser-coveted 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, TUF 5 is averaging a 1.6 rating through seven episodes. At the same point in previous TUF seasons, the first season was averaging a 2.0 rating, the second season was averaging a 2.6 rating, the third season was averaging a 2.9 rating, and the fourth season was averaging a 2.3 rating.

Hype for Episode Eight Promises a Fight at the House
The commercials for Episode Eight that have been running on Spike TV all week long clearly show a fight breaking out at the fighters' house between two fighters who appear to be Marlon Sims and Noah Thomas. It will be interesting to see how yet another "fight breaks out in the house" ad campaign will affect the ratings.

It will also be interesting to see how the UFC will handle the first full-fledged fight breaking out at the fighters' house in series history. Other fighters have been banished to the "you're no longer welcome in the UFC" territory for various reasons: Eli Joslin (who quit the show), Kenny Stevens (couldn't make weight), Noah Inhofer (quit the show), and Gabe Ruediger (couldn't make weight).

Head-to-Head Network Competition
New episodes of the pro wrestling show "TNA Impact" served as The Ultimate Fighter's lead-in on May 10th and 17th, and "Impact" drew a 1.0 overall rating on both of those weeks.

Airing head-to-head with Episode Six of The Ultimate Fighter 5 on May 10th at 10:00 PM, the CBS drama "Without a Trace" returned to its Thursday night roots and drew a 9.9 overall rating with its season finale. A new episode of "ER" on NBC drew a 6.2 overall rating, while the series premiere of the new drama "Traveler" flopped on ABC with a 6.1 overall rating, retaining less than half of its lead-in audience from "Grey's Anatomy."

Airing head-to-head with Episode Six of TUF 5 on May 17th, a repeat of "CSI" on CBS out-drew the season finale of "ER" on NBC, as "CSI" drew a 9.0 overall rating and "ER" drew a 6.4 overall rating. Meanwhile, ABC drew an 8.7 rating for the hour, as the network aired the end of the "Grey's Anatomy" season finale from 10:00 to 10:15, followed by a special called "Lost: The Answers" from 10:15 to 11:00.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 6:50 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Fighter Salary Breakdown for WEC 27
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information for WEC 27, which took place on May 12th in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was the WEC's third since being purchased by UFC parent company Zuffa.

The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that Zuffa and the WEC are required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions, including the winners' bonuses.

Although MMA fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed bonuses that Zuffa and the WEC also pay its fighters, but do not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, PPV bonuses for the top PPV main event fighters, which would not apply since this event was not on PPV), are not included in the figures below.

In the listings below, "Title Match & Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show and/or compete in a title fight on a show. "Preliminary Match Fights" are fights that are taped before a TV or PPV show goes on the air, and since this show hasn't aired on TV or PPV, all of the non-main event fights are defined as "Main Card Fights."

Highlights from this event will air this summer on one of the WEC's hour-long highlight shows on the Versus Network, which is available in approximately 70 million U.S. households.

Title Match & Main Event Fighters
-Doug Marshall: $8,000 (defeated Justin McElfresh)
-Justin McElfresh: $3,000 (lost to Doug Marshall)

Main Card Fighters
-Jason "Mayhem" Miller: $30,000 (defeated Hiromitsu Miura)
-Manny Tapia: $8,000 (defeated Brandon Foxworth)
-Sherron Leggett: $6,000 (defeated Charlie Kohler)
-Ariel Gandulla: $6,000 (defeated Gary Padilla)
-Marcus Hicks: $6,000 (defeated Sergio Gomez)
-Ed Ratcliff: $6,000 (defeated Johnny Sampaio)
-Eric Schambari: $6,000 (defeated Art Santore)
-Art Santore: $6,000 (lost to Eric Schambari)
-Charlie Kohler: $5,000 (lost to Sherron Leggett)
-Tom Speer: $4,000 (defeated Sidney Silva)
-Sidney Silva: $4,000 (lost to Tom Speer)
-Brandon Foxworth: $4,000 (lost to Manny Tapia)
-Sergio Gomez: $4,000 (lost to Marcus Hicks)
-Gary Padilla: $3,000 (lost to Ariel Gandulla)
-Hiromitsu Miura: $3,000 (lost to Jason "Mayhem" Miller)
-Johnny Sampaio: $2,000 (lost to Ed Ratcliff)

Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $114,000

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:21 AM

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Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts--- Arrest & Firing of HBO's CEO Could Affect UFC-HBO Deal
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The news of the record-breaking PPV buyrate for Oscar De la Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather, Jr. has almost been overshadowed by the news that HBO Chairman and CEO Chris Albrecht has been fired. Just hours after the conclusion of the De la Hoya-Mayweather fight, Albrecht was arrested for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend in a Las Vegas parking lot.

As reported by the Los Angeles Times, "Officers at the site of the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jr. boxing match came running when they spotted a man later identified as Albrecht grabbing a woman by the throat with both hands and dragging her toward the valet parking station at the MGM Grand... The officers who arrested Albrecht said that he had grabbed his companion around the neck so hard that he left red marks, and that they had to physically break his grip to free her."

According to an MSNBC/Newsweek account of the police report, Albrecht then told the officers "that his girlfriend had pissed him off and that he was the CEO of HBO."

Fans of mixed martial arts who don't follow the boxing industry or HBO at large may be familiar with the name Chris Albrecht because he is the person who took the uncommon step of overruling HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg's plans to exclude MMA from HBO's line-up in the future, as previously reported by acclaimed boxing writer Thomas Hauser of Seconds Out.

Two days after his arrest, Albrecht initially said in a memo to HBO employees that he was taking a paid leave of absence from the company. Just one day later, Albrecht said in a second memo that he was resigning from the company "at the request of Time Warner," which is HBO's parent company.

As for what changed in that one-day period between the two memos, Albrecht was asked to resign from his position at HBO on the same day that the Los Angeles Times published a story containing the revelation that this is not the first time Albrecht has been in trouble for allegedly assaulting a woman. The Times reported, "In 1991, the cable network [HBO] paid a major settlement to Sasha Emerson, a subordinate and love interest of Albrecht's who alleged that he had shoved and choked her at HBO's West Coast offices in Century City. The incident, according to four people familiar with the matter, had been kept quiet for 16 years by the management of HBO."

Insiders at HBO considered Albrecht to be "a ticking time bomb" even prior to the most recent incident, according to a report by the Reuters news service.

Reuters has also reported that there could be further shake-ups at HBO if those loyal to Albrecht choose to leave the company in the coming months. As Reuters put it, "Rarely does an executive that high in a corporate structure fall out without taking some of the people he put in with him. Insiders are wondering who will follow Albrecht out the door."

Albrecht is among those credited with helping lead HBO to expand beyond movies, sports, and stand-up comedy with the addition of critically-acclaimed original series such as "The Sopranos," "Six Feet Under," and "Oz."

Bill Nelson, the Chief Operating Officer of HBO, will assume Albrecht's duties until a full-time CEO is appointed. The top candidates to replace Albrecht as CEO include Nelson and two other HBO executives, Eric Kessler and Richard Plepler.

According to a report by Thomas Hauser of Seconds Out from January of this year, HBO Sports did not want to air MMA programming at all, and HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg had "opposed the UFC deal as vigorously as possible," while doing "everything in his power not to televise mixed martial arts."

It was a surprising and significant move when Albrecht, then the Chairman and CEO of HBO as a whole, veto'd Greenburg and insisted that HBO would air MMA programming at some point, leaving Greenburg only to negotiate the details of such a deal. The Seconds Out article added that the veto from Albrecht "represented a marked shift in HBO's corporate culture... in the past, an HBO chief executive officer would not have ordered sports programming over the objection of the sports department."

It is not yet known what affect, if any, Albrecht's departure from HBO will have on Greenburg's day-to-day business dealings and the decisions that he makes at HBO Sports.

However, due in part to Albrecht's previous veto of Greenburg, and also due in part to the very strong anti-MMA sentiments of other people at HBO Sports (including HBO Boxing's lead announcer Jim Lampley), it's a very sensitive political situation at HBO whenever the subject of boxing vs. MMA is raised even privately, and much more so when it's raised publicly.

Lampley said on the air following the conclusion of the De la Hoya-Mayweather fight, "Mixed martial arts is entertaining, but the kind of skill level you saw in the ring tonight... there’s nothing in mixed martial arts which is within light years of what Mayweather and De la Hoya are able to do with their hands."

Max Kellerman, the HBO Boxing color commentator who may or may not be replacing Larry Merchant as the #1 color commentator for HBO Boxing in the coming months, responded to Lampley's comment minutes later by saying on the air, "I disagree with Jim. I think there are mixed martial artists who are operating on a very similar skill level in what they do as these fighters [Mayweather and De la Hoya], and that’s one of the reasons why that sport is becoming very popular."

In comments to the media after the record-setting PPV buyrate was announced, HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg said, "This fight never would have materialized if boxing was dying. It's alive and well." Greenburg expanded on that point in the L.A. Times: "The sport of boxing is alive and well. If it isn't, how do you explain this? The naysayers can go take a nap."

In numerous interviews with the media after the De la Hoya-Mayweather fight, UFC president Dana White voiced his disappointment with the fight. In one interview with the Boston Herald, some of White's statements included: "I went to the fight that night. Inside the arena, there was no energy whatsoever... I'm not bashing boxing, I love it, but all these people have destroyed this sport... It's crazy. It just drives people further from boxing. You get one fight for 55 bucks. One fight for a $2,500 ticket. You get people all excited for the build-up and then the fight ends up sucking. Both guys try to outpoint the other and win a decision."

White continued, "In the UFC, we give you eight or nine fights, they’re all good, and the guys are fighting their asses off trying to finish it."

The UFC's contract with Spike TV expires in mid-2008. Spike is currently the UFC's exclusive basic cable television partner, an arrangement which precludes the UFC from signing deals with other basic cable networks, but would not preclude a deal with a premium cable network like HBO.

In addition to seeking a large increase in programming rights fees in its negotiations with Spike TV for a contract renewal, the UFC is almost certainly going to want to remove the exclusivity clauses altogether, given the company's publicly stated desire to air its programming on other networks such as ESPN.

Labels: Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 10:58 PM

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Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts--- Mayweather vs. De la Hoya Shatters Pay-Per-View Records
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The May 5th fight between Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Oscar de la Hoya shattered the pay-per-view industry's all-time records for buys and gross revenue for a single event, with approximately 2,150,000 pay-per-view buys and $120 million in gross PPV revenue.

The number of buys for the show exceeded all expectations. Going into the show, it was believed that the event would break the all-time record for a non-heavyweight boxing PPV (which was 1.4 million and was set by De la Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad in 1999), but the event was not expected to break the sport's all-time record of 1.99 million PPV buys. As it turned out, Mayweather vs. De la Hoya surpassed that mark by over 100,000 buys.

PPV Records Broken
The previous all-time boxing PPV records were set by a 1997 fight between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield; and a 2002 fight between Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis.

The last time Oscar de la Hoya fought, it was against Ricardo Mayorga in May 2006. De la Hoya vs. Mayorga drew 925,000 pay-per-view buys and generated $46.2 million in gross PPV revenue.

The UFC's biggest event in company history, last December's UFC 66 with Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz as the main event, drew approximately 1,050,000 pay-per-view buys and grossed approximately $41.95 million in PPV revenue. Prior to that, the UFC's biggest PPV in company history was UFC 61, which drew approximately 775,000 PPV buys and grossed approximately $30.96 million in PPV revenue.

Live Gate Records Broken
The event is also expected to have broken boxing's all-time records at the live box office, with over $19 million in gross ticket sales at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The previous record of approximately $16.9 million was held by the 1999 rematch between Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Last May, Oscar de la Hoya's fight against Ricardo Mayorga generated approximately $7.6 million in gross ticket receipts at the MGM Grand.

The UFC's biggest live event in company history was UFC 66 at the MGM Grand in December of last year, which generated approximately $5.4 million in gross ticket receipts. Prior to UFC 66, the UFC's biggest live gate was drawn by UFC 57 in February 2006, which featured Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture in the main event and generated approximately $3.4 million in gross ticket receipts.

Fighters' Pay, The "24/7" Series, and The Rematch
Oscar de la Hoya's guaranteed, upfront purse for the fight was $23.3 million, and his final purse is expected to be nearly $50 million, according to both ESPN and the Los Angeles Times. Floyd Mayweather's guaranteed, upfront purse for the fight was $10 million, and his final purse is expected to be approximately $20 million, also according to ESPN and the L.A. Times.

A significant portion of the fight's success is being attributed to the success of HBO's four-part series, "De le Hoya-Mayweather 24/7," which has come to represent the new state-of-the-art for promoting an individual fight. A point could certainly be made that prior to "24/7," nothing else came close to the UFC's "Countdown" specials on Spike TV in their effectiveness at promoting certain fights.

However, the intimate, in-depth look into Mayweather and De la Hoya's professional and personal lives that was offered by "24/7," coupled with the series' incredible production values, have taken the game to a whole new level.

A rematch between De la Hoya and Mayweather, perhaps in 2008 after De la Hoya's pregnant wife has given birth, would appear to be likely as a result of the overwhelming financial success of the event. While Mayweather said before and after the event that he is retiring from fighting, he has also said numerous times in recent days (including on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno) that he might have to come out of retirement "if the fans demand to see a rematch."

Within the boxing community, it was widely believed even before the aforementioned comments that Mayweather would fight again if a huge financial offer was made, which would be no less than $10 million to $15 million per fight. Now that the record-breaking numbers have come in, any doubt as to whether Mayweather would be worth that kind of money for a rematch with De la Hoya has seemingly disappeared.

The Myth of Boxing as a "Dying Sport"
Much like Jim Lampley's thoughts on the subject of mixed martial arts, the whole notion of boxing as a "dead sport" or a "sport that needs to be saved" is based largely on ignorance of the facts. The facts are that last year was the second-biggest year in boxing history at the pay-per-view box office, with $177 million in gross PPV revenue for HBO.

It would also be inaccurate to say that boxing can't draw decent PPV buyrates without Oscar de la Hoya. While De la Hoya vs. Mayorga was boxing's biggest event in 2006, it only generated $42 million out of the $177 million in HBO's gross PPV revenue last year. The remaining $132 million in gross PPV revenue was drawn by fights that did not feature De la Hoya.

One of the reasons for the existence of this false perception about boxing's fortunes is the dramatic rise of the UFC on the PPV landscape in 2006. Even with boxing having its second-biggest year ever in 2006, the UFC surpassed boxing for the first time ever in 2006, with gross PPV revenue of $222,766,000 generated by UFC PPVs in 2006.

The drastic increase in the UFC's pay-per-view buyrates did not appear to negatively affect boxing's PPV buyrates. In fact, a major boxing PPV and a major UFC PPV aired at the same time on PPV last November, and neither event suffered any significant ill effects as a result of the head-to-head competition. There is some crossover between the two sports' fans, but nowhere near as much as one might assume.

Though many hardcore MMA fans hate the pro wrestling industry with a passion, the fact remains that MMA's audience overlaps much more with pro wrestling's audience than it does with boxing's. It has been pro wrestling, not boxing, that has seen its United States PPV buyrates collapse as the UFC's PPV buyrates have increased. It is pro wrestling, not boxing, that shares a similar demographic breakdown with the UFC. The #1 demographic for boxing is people over the age of 50. The UFC doesn't draw particularly well among 35-to-49-year-olds, much less people over the age of 50.

Labels: Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:04 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC Fighter Melvin Guillard Suspended 8 Months for Positive Cocaine Test
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Lightweight UFC fighter and former Ultimate Fighter contestant Melvin Guillard has suspended for eight months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission following a disciplinary hearing in Las Vegas. He was also fined $2,100 out of his $7,000 purse for the fight.

Guillard tested positive for Benzoylegonine, a major metabolite of cocaine, following his loss to Joe Stevenson at UFC Fight Night 9 on April 5th. Guillard's fight against Stevenson was the card's main event, and it aired live on Spike TV.

Guillard was the first MMA fighter to test positive for cocaine in the state of Nevada. In neighboring California, only one MMA fighter, Ricco Rodriguez, has tested positive for cocaine.

At his disciplinary hearing in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Guillard admitted that he used cocaine. Guillard said that on Friday, March 30th, he was hanging out with some friends and not intending to use any drugs, but "one thing led to another" and he ended up trying cocaine. Guillard said that he thought the drug would be out of his system within 72 hours and that he absolutely did not expect to test positive when he fought six days later.

Guillard said, "I've only been introduced to drugs in the past year or so." He added that he has only used drugs for recreational purposes, and that he does not have an addiction. Guillard did not specify which other drugs he has used, but he did state that he has never used performance-enhancing drugs.

Guillard said to the commissioners, "I made an honest mistake. I embarrassed myself, and I embarrassed my family." Guillard said that the hardest part of the whole process was explaining to his mother what he had done. Guillard added that he has subsequently tried to put himself in a new environment with different people surrounding him and that he does not intend to use drugs in the future.

The commissioners said that there is precedent on the sentencing of fighters who test positive for certain drugs, but that they also have some leeway to give suspensions on the low end of the spectrum or the high end of the spectrum. The commissioners did appreciate Guillard's honesty and the fact that he appeared to be remorseful for his actions. At that point, a motion was introduced to suspend Guillard for eight months from the date of the fight and to fine him 30 percent of his purse for the fight (or $2,100 out of his $7,000 purse). The motion passed unanimously.

There has never been a positive cocaine test for a fighter in the state of Nevada. Professional boxer Omar Nino tested positive for methamphetamine in March 2006 and was given a suspension of nine months, one month longer than Guillard's suspension.

Although Guillard was the only fighter on the UFC Fight Night 9 card to have failed his drug test, only six of the card's eighteen fighters were drug-tested. The NSAC spent a total of $1,670 on drug testing for UFC Fight Night 9, while the total cost of drug testing every single fighter on the card would have been $5,011. No fighters at all were drug-tested at UFC 69, which took place in Houston, Texas; or at UFC 70, which took place in Manchester, England.

The issue of drug-testing in MMA has become increasingly prevalent as more and more fighters have failed drug tests. At a teleconference prior to UFC 70, when a reporter raised the issue with UFC president Dana White and specifically mentioned Diego Sanchez' positive test for marijuana and Melvin Guillard's positive test for cocaine, White said that it always sucks whenever any UFC fighter tests positive for anything. When the reporter asked if the UFC would consider instituting random drug testing of its own, in addition to the athletic commission drug testing that always takes place on the day of the events, White did not directly address the question. Instead, he said that all of the fighters on The Ultimate Fighter reality show have to pass a drug test before they can be on the show, and some of the other fighters are drug-tested by the athletic commissions, but he concluded, "I don't know what else I can do."

Guillard will have to provide a negative drug test to the NSAC before he will be allowed to fight again in the state of Nevada.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:09 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Ultimate Fighter Ratings Rebound Slightly, Still Below Previous Seasons
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The fifth episode of The Ultimate Fighter drew a 1.1 overall rating on Thursday, May 3rd. The show's overall rating rebounded slightly from the previous week's all-time series low rating of 1.0.

Through the first five episodes of the season, The Ultimate Fighter 5 has drawn an overall rating of 1.4 for the season premiere, followed by overall ratings 1.3, 1.2, 1.0, and 1.1.

Just as importantly, Episode Five was up significantly in the advertiser-coveted demographics when compared to Episode Four. In the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, Episode Four drew a 1.1 rating, and Episode Five drew a 1.5 rating. In the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic, the increase was less pronounced, but still notable, as Episode Four drew a 1.1 rating and Episode Five drew a 1.3 rating.

Weight-Cutting Focus & Lack of Fight May Have Pushed Away Some Viewers
Despite the increase in overall viewership, the trend in the quarter-hour ratings would seem to indicate that some viewers were not satisfied with the content of the episode, which did not feature a fight and instead focused on Gabe Ruediger's struggles to make the 155-pound weight limit.

The viewership level of any given episode normally stays the same or increases as the show progresses, but the viewership level for this episode actually decreased at one point. The second quarter-hour drew a 1.2 rating, and the third quarter-hour drew a 1.1 rating.

Even with all of TUF 5's ratings struggles, this is the first time all season long that the viewership level has actually decreased from one quarter-hour to the next enough to cause the rating to change when rounded to the nearest tenth of a ratings point.

This was actually the first time that such a decrease has taken place during an Ultimate Fighter episode since Episode Four of TUF 4

The final 15 episodes of the episode drew a 1.2 overall rating, which is the second-lowest mark of the season for an episode's final quarter-hour. The episode that featured Brandon Melendez' fight against Andy Wang drew a 1.1 rating in its last 15 minutes.

TUF 5's Ratings Through Five Episodes Compared to Previous TUF Ratings
Over the course of its first five episodes, the fifth season of TUF has averaged a 1.2 overall rating. At the same point in each of the previous TUF seasons (five episodes in), the first season was averaging a 1.5 overall rating, the second season was averaging a 1.6 overall rating, the third season was averaging a 1.7 overall rating, and the fourth season was averaging a 1.4 overall rating.

In the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, which is where the majority of the UFC's fan base is located and is also Spike TV's target audience, the fifth season of TUF has averaged a 1.6 rating through its first five episodes. This is much more of a drastic drop-off than is the case in the overall ratings. At the same point in previous seasons in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, the first season was averaging a 1.9 rating, the second season was averaging a 2.6 rating, the third season was averaging a 3.0 rating, and the fourth season was averaging a 2.3 rating.

Head-to-Head Network Competition
A new episode of the pro wrestling show "TNA Impact" aired at 9:00 PM on May 3rd as the lead-in for TUF 5, and it drew a 1.0 overall rating. The ratings for "Impact" have struggled ever since TNA co-owner and head writer Jeff Jarrett booked himself to return to action in a prominent role.

Airing head-to-head on network television with Episode 5 of The Ultimate Fighter 5 on Thursday, May 3rd, the second half of a two-hour "Grey's Anatomy" on ABC drew a massive 13.4 overall rating. Meanwhile, the season finale of "Shark" on CBS drew an 8.3 overall rating, and a new episode of "ER" on NBC drew a comparatively paltry 5.3 overall rating.

Just a couple of weeks ago, when a new episode of "ER" came in third place in its timeslot, it was a highly unusual occurrence. Now, it almost seems commonplace, and the show is not even coming in a close third place. Fox does not air national programming in the 10:00 PM hour.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:02 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Fighter Salary Breakdown for UFC 70
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information for UFC 70, which took place on April 21st in Manchester, England.

In the listings below, "Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show. "Main Card Fighters" are defined as fighters are not in the main event bout, but whose matches are on the main card (regardless of whether or not those matches air in all countries).

"Preliminary Match Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those matches end up airing on the PPV broadcast. As always, any PPV bonuses are not included in the figures below, nor are other bonuses such as Knockout of the Night or anything else other than the win bonuses.

In addition, next to each fighter's name is the number of UFC fights that he has had, not counting fights that took place during Ultimate Fighter seasons because those fights are officially classified as exhibitions.

Main Event Fighters
-Mirko Cro Cop: $350,000 (2nd fight in UFC after 24 fights in Pride; lost to Gabriel Gonzaga)
-Gabriel Gonzaga: $60,000 (4th fight in UFC; defeated Mirko Cro Cop)

Main Card Fighters
-Andrei Arlovski: $160,000 (13th fight in UFC; defeated Fabricio Werdum)
-Fabricio Werdum: $80,000 (1st fight in UFC after 6 fights in Pride; lost to Andrei Arlovski)
-Ryoto Machida: $42,000 (2nd fight in UFC; defeated David Heath)
-Cheick Kongo: $40,000 (4th fight in UFC; defeated Assuerio Silva)
-Michael Bisping: $24,000 (3rd fight in UFC; defeated Elvis Sinosic)
-Elvis Sinosic: $8,000 (7th fight in UFC; lost to Michael Bisping)
-Assuerio Silva: $8,000 (3rd fight in UFC; lost to Cheick Kongo)
-David Heath: $6,000 (3rd fight in UFC; lost to Ryoto Machida)

Preliminary Match Fighters
-Alessio Sakara: $20,000 (4th fight in UFC; defeated Victor Valimaki)
-Terry Etim: $12,000 (1st fight in UFC; defeated Matt Grice)
-Paul Taylor: $8,000 (1st fight in UFC; defeated Edilberto de Oliveira)
-Junior Assuncao: $6,000 (2nd fight in UFC; defeated David Lee)
-Jess Liaudin: $6,000 (1st fight in UFC; defeated Dennis Siver)
-Edilberto de Oliveira: $4,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Paul Taylor)
-Victor Valimaki: $3,000 (2nd fight in UFC; lost to Alessio Sakara)
-Matt Grice: $3,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Terry Etim)
-Dennis Siver: $3,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Jess Liaudin)
-David Lee: $2,000 (2nd fight in UFC; lost to Junior Assuncao)
Combined Fighter Payroll: $845,000

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 6:39 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Ultimate Fighter Ratings Collapse to Record Lows
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Episode Four of TUF 5 drew an overall rating of just 1.0 on Thursday, April 26th. The episode went head-to-head with the NBA Playoffs, but so did several episodes of The Ultimate Fighter 3, which was the most-watched season in the history of TUF.

The overall rating of 1.0 has the dubious distinction of being tied with several episodes of TUF 4 as the lowest-rated episodes in series history. The first four episodes of TUF 5 have drawn overall ratings of 1.4, 1.3, 1.2, and 1.0, respectively.

Perhaps more alarming than the drop in overall viewership was the drastic drop in viewership among the advertiser-coveted demographic of 18-to-34-year-old males. In that demographic, TUF 5 had been averaging a 1.9 rating in its first three episodes (which was already the lowest average in TUF history), but Episode Four drew a 1.1 rating in this demographic. The average for TUF 4 in this demographic was 2.0, and the average for TUF 3 was 2.9.

The same pattern emerged in the viewership patterns of the slightly broader demographic of 18-to-49-year-old males. In that demographic, TUF 5 had been averaging a series-low 1.7 rating through three episodes, but Episode Four drew a 1.1 rating in this demographic as well. The average for TUF 4 in this demographic was 1.6, and the average for TUF 3 was 2.2.

What the Ratings Collapse Means for the UFC, Spike TV, and Advertisers
The fact that TUF 5's ratings are lower than previous seasons' ratings is disappointing for the UFC and Spike TV, but the fact that TUF 5's ratings are lower than the advertiser-quoted expectations is what's likely to actually cost money for the UFC and Spike TV. The overall ratings for TUF 5 (an average of 1.2 through four episodes) are significantly lower than the ratings that the show's advertisers were told to expect according to the Wrestling Observer, which reported for the season premiere an advertiser expectation of a 1.7 overall rating. If the advertising contracts for TUF 5 are structured like most ad deals in the TV industry, the show's advertisers are going to be getting refund checks, make-good spots (basically free commercial slots to make up for the lower viewership) or a combination of both.

With the continued drop in viewership, many fans of the sport have asked via e-mail and message boards whether TUF will be cancelled. The answer is "no," and not necessarily because the ratings are strong enough that it would be completely out of the question based on the ratings alone. If for no other reason, Spike TV is unlikely to cancel TUF because the UFC as a whole is too valuable to Spike TV.

The relationship between the UFC and Spike TV is currently in a crucial time period, as negotiations for the UFC's new contract (and new rights fees) will be starting in the not-too-distant future if they haven't already gotten underway. Spike TV's contract with the UFC expires in the middle of 2008, and the UFC is going to want to secure higher rights fees for the TV programming that it produces, either from Spike TV or from other networks.

The collapse of TUF's ratings does lower the amount of money that the UFC is going to be able to get from Spike TV or any other network for the rights to air its programming. At the same time, Spike TV doesn't want to do anything that would alienate or upset the UFC (such as canceling TUF) because its leverage in negotiations is limited by the fact that the UFC is Spike's #1 provider of original programming.

While these negotiations play out over the next several months, TUF 6 and TUF 7 were already ordered in early 2006, which was the last time that the UFC extended its contract with Spike TV. These two seasons of TUF are likely to air regardless of how high or low the ratings are, as the UFC's management has stated numerous times in the past that they do not believe in "overexposure."

The sixth season of TUF is scheduled to begin filming before the fifth season finishes airing, and it will have a premiere date of August or September 2007. The seventh season of TUF will air sometime in the first half of 2008, which means that it's either going to be filmed in late 2007 for a January 2008 premiere date, or it's going to be filmed in January 2008 for an April 2008 premiere date.

Head-to-Head Network Competition; Plus Other Spike TV Ratings from April 26th
Airing head-to-head on network television with Episode 4 of The Ultimate Fighter 5 on Thursday, April 26th, a new episode of NBC's "ER" came in third place in its timeslot for just the second time in the series' history (the first time was last week). The overall rating of 6.2 for "ER" was beaten by ABC's "October Road," which drew a 6.4 overall rating, and by CBS' "Shark," which drew a 9.4 overall rating. The lead-in for "ER" on NBC is now "Scrubs" (which drew an embarrassing 3.0 overall rating), and this has only served to accelerate the series' rapid decline. In the same timeslot, CBS has a new hit on its hands with "Shark," and the consistent 6's that have been drawn by "October Road" may or may not be enough to warrant a second season order from ABC.

Episode Four of TUF 5 was preceded on Spike by TNA Impact, which drew the same overall rating as TUF (1.0). The episode of UFC Unleashed that followed TUF on April 26th drew an overall rating of 0.8.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 1:25 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC 70 Draws Strong Ratings on Spike TV
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

On the same week in which the fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter continued its ratings collapse with the lowest-rated episode to date, UFC 70 drew a strong overall rating of 1.8 on Spike TV.

The three-hour, tape-delayed broadcast of UFC 70 on April 21st was the fifth-highest-rated UFC broadcast out of the fourteen UFC fight specials that have aired on Spike TV since the beginning of 2005. Five nights later, the latest episode of The Ultimate Fighter 5 drew an overall rating of 1.0.

UFC 70's Ratings vs. UFC's Previous Ratings
Compared to the UFC's average-to-date for fight specials headed into this event, UFC 70 showed increases across the board. The UFC's average-to-date for its previous fourteen fight specials was a 1.7 overall rating, and UFC 70 drew a 1.8 overall rating.

In the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, the UFC's average-to-date was a 2.8 rating, and UFC 70 rating in this demographic was 3.2.

In the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic, the UFC's average-to-date was a 2.2 rating, and UFC 70 rating in this demographic was 2.6.

The high ratings for UFC 70 came just sixteen days after the disappointing ratings for UFC Fight Night 9 on Spike TV, which makes UFC 70's viewership all the more impressive by comparison.

The overall rating of 1.8 for UFC 70 is significantly higher than the 1.2 overall rating that was drawn by UFC Fight Night 9, and is only surpassed in the UFC's history on Spike TV by TUF 1's live finale (1.9), TUF 2's live finale (2.0), TUF 3's live finale (2.0), and The Final Chapter with Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock (3.1).

In the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, UFC 70's rating of 3.2 was literally double UFC Fight Night 9's rating of 1.6. The only UFC fight specials to have ever drawn higher ratings in this demographic were TUF 1's finale (3.3), TUF 2's finale (3.7), TUF 3's finale (3.8), and The Final Chapter (6.0).

In the broader demographic of 18-to-49-year-old males, UFC 70's rating of 2.6 was significantly higher than UFC Fight Night 9's rating of 1.5, and higher than any UFC fight special to have ever aired on Spike TV other than TUF 1's finale (2.7), TUF 2's finale (2.7), TUF 3's finale (2.9), and The Final Chapter (4.5).

Ratings for Each Specific Fight
The UFC 70 broadcast started off with the fight between Cheick Kongo and Assuerio Silva, and that particular fight drew a 1.7 rating, which is a good rating for the traditionally low-rated first fight of the broadcast.

After a 17-minute gap, the preliminary fight between Terry Etim and Matt Grice started airing. Etim vs. Grice drew a 1.9 rating, which is an impressive rating for a match-up of two fighters who were making their UFC debuts.

Following a 27-minute gap in between fights, the fight between Michael Bisping and Elvis Sinosic started airing. Surprisingly, this fight did not build on the previous fight's rating, as it also drew a 1.9 rating. The last time there was a "live" Bisping fight on Spike TV, his TUF 3 finale match-up against Josh Haynes drew a much higher 2.5 rating.

After a 24-minute gap, the fight between Andrei Arlovski and Fabricio Werdum started airing. Even though it was not the most thrilling of fights, Arlovski vs. Werdum drew a strong 2.2 rating. This was the first time in over six months (since October 10, 2006) that any fight on any UFC broadcast drew a rating of 2.0 or higher.

Twenty-five minutes later, the main event bout of Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Mirko Cro Cop started airing, and this fight also drew an impressive 2.2 rating.

The aforementioned long gaps in between fights drew lower ratings than the fights themselves, which is why the three-hour broadcast's overall average rating was 1.8.

Although it was hyped at the beginning of the show, the fight between Ryoto Machida and David Heath did not air on Spike TV, nor were any highlights or explanations offered to viewers.

In addition, the entire UFC 70 broadcast was inaccurately billed as live, as the words "Spike TV LIVE" were displayed in the corner of the screen at all times, despite the fact that no portion of the broadcast was actually live. It was not live-to-tape either, as there were numerous post-production voice-overs leading into and out of commercial breaks, the Etim-Grice fight was inserted after the Kongo-Silva fight as if it were also live, and the Machida-Heath fight was edited out entirely.

UFC 70 vs. NASCAR vs. Major League Baseball vs. NBA
UFC 70 on Spike TV out-drew the NBA, Major League Baseball, and NASCAR on Saturday, April 21st in the UFC's strongest demographic, as there were 885,000 males between the ages of 18 and 34 who watched UFC 70.

In terms of overall viewership, UFC 70 drew 2.8 million viewers. On the same weekend, a Saturday night NASCAR race on Fox drew 7.6 million viewers; Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN drew 5.5 million viewers; Saturday afternoon baseball on Fox drew 4.7 million viewers; and a first-round NBA Playoffs game on Sunday afternoon drew 4.3 million viewers.

The first-round NBA Playoffs game that aired on ESPN head-to-head with UFC 70 barely out-drew UFC 70 in overall viewership, with a 2.0 overall rating compared to UFC 70's overall rating of 1.8. Ratings for the NBA in general are down drastically from what they were ten years ago for Michael Jordan's sixth and final championship season.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 8:08 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC Reaches Deal with HBO, According to UFC
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The UFC has reached a deal to air live events on HBO, according to statements made by UFC president Dana White during a teleconference prior to UFC 70.

White said that the UFC will be putting on live events for HBO and that the first UFC event on HBO will air this summer. When asked by a reporter if the HBO deal is "signed, sealed, and delivered," White said, "Yes." When asked if the deal should be reported as official, White said, "Yeah. We will be on HBO this summer."

White also spoke of struggling to sign the HBO deal in the past tense, as he said, "We would have never signed a deal if we weren't comfortable with it."

However, at a post-UFC 70 press conference, White said that a deal between the UFC and HBO has not yet been signed.

White said during the pre-UFC 70 teleconference that the UFC broadcasts on HBO will have an HBO production team and HBO announcers, so UFC announcers Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan will not be doing commentary on the UFC's HBO events. White said that he doesn't know who will be on the HBO announcing team for UFC events, but when asked if Jim Lampley would be on the team, White said, "Hell no."

White inferred that the HBO events will be higher in stature than the Spike TV events but still lower in stature than the pay-per-view events. As an example, White said that you could expect to see the winners from future seasons of The Ultimate Fighter have their first post-TUF fights on HBO after they win the TUF competition, whereas the UFC Fight Night events would be the home for all of the fighters who are on TUF and get UFC contracts even though they didn't win the TUF competition.

As another example, White said that you can expect to see Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira fight on HBO, and he added that Nogueira "will fight one of the top guys right off the bat." White said that fans can expect to see top-quality fights whether any given UFC event is on HBO, Spike TV, or pay-per-view.

White said that the UFC's June 16th event in Belfast, Northern Ireland will not be the HBO debut show, as he said that the June 16th show will be "on Spike TV or pay-per-view." The UFC web site previously said that the June 16th would be on Spike TV in the United States.

The statements made by White would seem to end a period of more than one year wherein the UFC and HBO were close to a deal but had not reached a deal. White has said consistently over the past year that the UFC would be on HBO "very soon," dating back to an April 2006 radio interview on 1140 KHTK in Sacramento, California.

Acclaimed boxing writer Thomas Hauser wrote in an article on the Seconds Out web site in January 2007 that HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg had "opposed the UFC deal as vigorously as possible" and was doing "everything in his power not to televise mixed martial arts." In the same article, former HBO Sports president Seth Abraham actually compared MMA to "naked boxing" and said that MMA would tarnish HBO's boxing heritage

In an unprecedented move, HBO Chairman and CEO Chris Albrecht veto'd HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg and insisted that HBO would air MMA programming at some point, leaving Greenburg only to negotiate the details of such a deal. According to Hauser, this move "represented a marked shift in HBO's corporate culture... in the past, an HBO chief executive officer would not have ordered sports programming over the objection of the sports department."

Left only to come to terms on the details, some of the key disagreements between Zuffa and HBO Sports were whose production crew will film the event, whose announcers will commentate on the event, and how those announcers will go about commentating on the event.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer recently summarized the dispute as follows: "HBO wants full control of the product, and to use its crew and its announcers and cover it like a network broadcast team would cover a major sporting event. UFC doesn't want to give up its control of the product, wants its own crew to film it, and wants to use its own announcers, who are closer to pro wrestling announcers whose role is to build up the product as opposed to providing detached, objective commentary."

With those issues resolved, there were no remaining obstacles standing in the way of a deal between the UFC and HBO.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:06 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC News Round-Up: Tito Ortiz, Brandon Vera, Mirko Cro Cop, Drug Test Failures, Knee Strikes, and More
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

In addition to discussing the UFC's deal with HBO and his plans for Pride, UFC president Dana White also discussed numerous other issues during a media teleconference last week.

A reporter asked White about Tito Ortiz' recent statement that he would still be willing to fight White in an exhibition boxing match if the right contractual terms were reached. White said, "Why would I pay him to fight me? He wanted the fight."

When the reporter continued, asking White whether or not Ortiz is aware that the Nevada State Athletic Commission said that they don't want to hear about the fight again, White responded, "Tito's not aware of anything. He's living in a f---ing bubble. He's out there making himself look like a jackass right now. He ought to shut his face and focus on Rashad Evans."

A reporter mentioned that the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board might be interested in legalizing knees to the head on the ground in MMA, and asked if White thinks the Nevada State Athletic Commission would follow suit if that were to happen. White said, "Probably, because it was New Jersey that didn't want knees to the head before." White has previously stated on multiple occasions that he would personally like to see knees to the head on the ground legalized in MMA.

White also said that Brandon Vera will be fighting on a UFC card in the near future, that the Spike TV program Inside the UFC (which was previously placed on indefinite hiatus) will be returning at some point, and that ESPN will not only be covering UFC events from now on, but may also broadcast live UFC events in the future.

Regarding the UFC's show in the United Kingdom, White said that because there is no athletic commission in the U.K. that regulates MMA events, UFC vice president Marc Ratner would be regulating and overseeing UFC 70. Ratner is the former Executive Director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

A reporter asked about all of the recent drug test failures in the UFC, specifically mentioning Diego Sanchez' positive test for marijuana and Melvin Guillard's positive test for cocaine, and White said that it always sucks whenever any UFC fighter tests positive for anything. When the reporter asked if the UFC would consider instituting random drug testing of its own, in addition to the athletic commission drug testing that always takes place on the day of the events, White did not directly address the question.

Instead, he said that all of the fighters on The Ultimate Fighter have to pass a drug test before they can be on the show, and some of the other fighters are drug-tested by the athletic commissions, but he concluded, "I don't know what else I can do."

Prior to Mirko Cro Cop's loss to Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC 70, Cro Cop also spoke to the media. When asked which fighters he would like to fight other than Gonzaga and Randy Couture, he said that he would like to fight Fedor Emelianenko and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in the very near future.

Cro Cop said that his term in the Croatian Parliament ends in six or seven months, and he will not be seeking a second term.

He will instead return to the Special Forces police unit in Croatia, which he says will not affect his MMA career. Cro Cop said that it has been an honor to serve in Parliament, but that he enjoys fighting more than he enjoys politics.

When asked about the possibility of fighting Chuck Liddell at some point in the future, Cro Cop said that he is not able to make the 205-pound weight limit, but he would welcome a fight with Chuck Liddell or anyone else if the fight was contested in the heavyweight division.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 7:58 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Ratings for Ultimate Fighter 5 Continue to Decline in Week Three
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Episode Three of The Ultimate Fighter 5 drew an overall rating of 1.2 on Thursday, April 19th. There has been a downward trend since the beginning of this season, as Episode One drew a 1.4 overall rating, Episode Two drew a 1.3 overall rating, and Episode Three drew a 1.2 overall rating.

A week's worth of commercials on Spike TV hyping that Episode Three would contain one of the best fights in the history of The Ultimate Fighter was apparently not enough to entice more viewers to tune into the show. The actual fight between Nate Diaz and Robert Emerson drew a 1.3 rating, making it the least-watched fight of this season to date.

In addition to the overall rating decreasing from the previous week, Episode Three of TUF 5 also saw decreases in the demographics most coveted by advertisers. In the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, Episode 3 drew a 1.7 rating, down from the previous week's mark of 2.0. In the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic, Episode Three drew a 1.5 rating, down from the previous week's mark of 1.7. It was still the highest-rated show of the day on cable television in the latter demographic.

An overall rating of 1.2 is still an excellent rating for cable, but it's not significantly above Spike TV's primetime average of 1.0. More importantly, it is significantly lower than the overall rating that the show's sponsors were told to expect, as the Wrestling Observer has reported that advertisers were told to expect a 1.7 overall rating for the season premiere. If the overall ratings of TUF 5 were to sink any lower than 1.0, the series would actually be dragging down Spike TV's primetime average at that point, but it seems unlikely that the ratings will decrease to that extent in the coming weeks.

At this point, if TUF 5's ratings hold steady at this level or increase in the upcoming weeks, it may or may not end up being the lowest-rated season of TUF to date. However, the numbers are now at a point where if the ratings decrease any further in the upcoming weeks, TUF 5 will beat out TUF 4 as the lowest-rated season of TUF to date.

The fourth season of TUF averaged a 1.2 overall rating, compared to 1.7 for TUF 3, and 1.2 for Episode Three of the current season.

The Ultimate Fighter 4 averaged a 2.0 rating in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, compared to 2.9 for TUF 3, and 1.7 for Episode Three of the current season.

The fourth season of TUF averaged a 1.6 rating in the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic, compared to 2.2 for TUF 3, and 1.5 for Episode Three of the current season.

Episode Three of TUF 5 was almost out-drawn by its pro wrestling lead-in, TNA Impact, which has had stagnant ratings for several months. The episode of TNA Impact that aired on April 12th at 9:00 PM drew a 1.1 overall rating, just 0.1 lower than TUF's 1.2 overall rating. However, the demographic ratings aren't even close, as TNA drew a 0.9 in the two demographics most coveted by advertisers, compared to 1.7 and 1.5 for TUF.

Even the sinking ratings of TUF are still higher than the highest ratings that the IFL has drawn on MyNetworkTV. The most-watched episodes of IFL Battleground have averaged 1.1 million viewers, while Episode 3 of TUF 5 averaged 1.6 million viewers.

Airing head-to-head on network television with Episode 3 of The Ultimate Fighter 5 on Thursday, April 12th, the CBS drama "Shark" came out on top in the 10:00 PM hour. A new episode of "Shark" drew an 8.5 overall rating, once again beating out a new episode of NBC's "ER," which drew a 6.1 overall rating.

For the first time in the history of "ER" on Thursday nights, a new episode of the series actually came in third place in its timeslot, losing not only to "Shark" but also to ABC's "October Road," which drew a 6.7 overall rating. Though "ER" was already renewed through May 2008 about two years ago, it's hard to imagine the series continuing past that point.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 11:01 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Ultimate Fighter 5's Ratings Slip to 1.3 in Week Two
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The second episode of The Ultimate Fighter 5 drew an overall rating of 1.3 on Thursday, April 12th. This is down slightly from the season premiere's 1.4 overall rating, which was the lowest overall rating for any TUF season premiere to date.

The silver lining for the UFC and Spike TV is that despite the decrease in the overall rating, the show's rating in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic actually went up slightly. Episode Two drew a 2.0 rating in this demographic, up from the season premiere's 1.9 rating in this demographic. This is still down significantly from TUF 3's average rating of 2.9 in this demo, but at least now it's on par with TUF 4's average of 2.0 in the demo.

In the week prior to Episode Two, it seemed as though all of this episode's proverbial eggs were being put into one promotional basket: The tease that one or more fights would break out in the house during Episode Two. The ads for the episode were heavily focused on the heated arguing and near-fighting in the house.

This gambit did not pay off in terms of overall viewership. One of the major reasons is that this kind of behavior, and the producers' eagerness to make an entire episode revolve around it and then focus heavily on it promotionally, serves to actually TUF less of a unique show.

There's only one reality show on television that people can watch if they want to see professional fighters battle it out in MMA competition for a UFC contract (or several UFC contracts). On the other hand, there have been literally dozens of reality shows that people can watch if they want to see people get into heated arguments with each other in a house and subsequently get into scuffles or near-scuffles in the house. Every time there's a fight or tease of a fight in the TUF house instead of in the Octagon, it makes TUF seem more like "just another reality TV show," as opposed to "the reality TV show where they have an MMA fight at the end of each episode."

The actual fight between Manny Gamburyan and Noah Thomas drew a 1.4 rating, as compared to the 1.5 rating that was drawn by the Episode One fight between Cole Miller and Alan Berube.

Compared to the first four seasons of The Ultimate Fighter, the current season is drawing higher ratings than TUF 4's averages at this point, but lower ratings than all of the other seasons. The first season of TUF averaged a 1.6 overall rating, TUF 2 averaged a 1.4 overall rating, TUF 3 averaged a 1.7 overall rating, and TUF 4 averaged a 1.2 overall rating. The first two episodes of the current season have drawn overall ratings of 1.4 and 1.3, respectively. If the ratings hold steady and do not drop any further, TUF 5 would not be the lowest-rated season to date.

Airing before The Ultimate Fighter on April 12th, the pro wrestling show TNA Impact drew a 1.1 overall rating. Airing after The Ultimate Fighter on April 12th, the Ortiz-White special drew a 1.2 overall rating. Much like Austin-McMahon before it, Ortiz-White was able to pique viewers' interest.

Airing head-to-head on network television with the second episode of TUF 5 from 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM, a new episode of CBS' freshman drama "Shark" dominated a new episode of veteran NBA drama "ER," as "Shark" drew a 9.5 overall rating and "ER" drew a 6.3 overall rating. The continued losses for "ER" are getting increasingly embarrassing for NBC, but it's not surprising for "ER" to lose when its lead-in audience is literally one-tenth the size of the lead-in audience for "Shark" ("CSI" out-drew NBC's comedy block by the ridiculous margin of 13.4 to 3.4).

ABC came in third place in the 10:00 PM hour, averaging a 5.8 overall rating for the hour-long series premiere of its new comedy, "Notes from the Underbelly." Fox does not air national programming after 10:00 PM.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:07 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC President Discusses Plans for Pride, Plus Fedor, Shogun, Wanderlei, and More
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White spoke in great detail during a pre-UFC 70 teleconference about his plans for the Pride Fighting Championships organization, which was recently purchased by UFC principal owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta.

The most striking aspect of White's answers to reporters' questions was the way in which he spoke of Pride as a company essentially owned-and-operated by the UFC. Any pretense from the initial buy-out announcement that White would not have anything to do with Pride (or would not be running Pride) was long gone, as was any pretense that Pride and the new company Pride FC Worldwide would not be controlled by Zuffa.

White set the tone for this early on in the conference call when he talked about how busy he is: "I'm working on that [the first round of the Pride Lightweight Grand Prix]. There's only so much I can do at once. We own the UFC, Pride, and WEC, so it's a lot of work."

White also said, "I'm working on a major TV deal for Pride in the U.S. and in Japan." When asked about the Pride USA office, he said that all of the Pride employees will be keeping their jobs but added, "I'm going to be the one going out and signing deals for Pride."

White's comments about Pride stand in stark contrast to the statements made by DSE executives when the announcement was made that UFC co-owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta were buying Pride. At the time, DSE president Nobuyuki Sakakibara said, "Lorenzo believes that Pride should maintain its luster, and he will make sure that Pride. is here to stay. I trust and believe in Lorenzo... but please don't misunderstand the situation. This is not a speech about the UFC purchasing Pride. The UFC will forever stay as a competitor to Pride, because the UFC is operated by Zuffa Entertainment and Mr. Dana White."

White also contradicted statements made just in the past week by DSE executives about Pride's upcoming Lightweight Grand Prix. When asked if it's true that there will be one or more UFC fighters in the Pride Lightweight Grand Prix, White said that it is absolutely not true.

At the press conference last week in Japan where it was announced that the first round of Pride's Lightweight Grand Prix would not be taking place on May 20th as originally scheduled, DSE president Sakakibara said, “I’m sure that the UFC will send us one of the very best lightweight fighters of the UFC. That’s what Lorenzo promised me. I’m sure that Lorenzo will prove his commitment.”

Also, while DSE announced in Japan this week that the first round of the Grand Prix would take place on July 16th in Nagoya, Japan, White said, "We don't have a date for the Lightweight Grand Prix yet." White said that it's still being determined when they'll be ready to run their first Pride event.

When a reporter asked if it's true that Mauricio "Shogun" Rua will be fighting in the UFC just as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will be, White said that Shogun will stay in Pride and added, "All of the guys who are in Pride will stay in Pride." White said that there will be no Pride fighters in the UFC before the big UFC vs. Pride "Super Bowl" event, which he said will be taking place this year.

When asked about the recent statements from Shogun's camp that Shogun has a contract for two fights in Pride and two fights in the UFC, White said, "I don't know where that's coming from, but it's not true."

When a reporter asked about Wanderlei Silva's status as a free agent, White said that Silva is not a free agent and that he has four fights remaining on his Pride contract.

When asked about the status of Pride Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko, who recently stated that he is not under contract to Pride, White said that Fedor is indeed under contract to Pride, but added, "It's a non-exclusive contract, and I don't do non-exclusive contracts."

White said that he is trying to sign Fedor to an exclusive contract and that if Fedor were to sign a similar non-exclusive contract with any other MMA promotion in the meantime, "We would absolutely slap an injunction on that." An "injunction" in this case would be a temporary restraining order seeking to legally prohibit Fedor from fighting in any other MMA promotion.

White was asked about the problem of so many Pride fighters, such as Fedor, being under non-exclusive contracts. White responded, "Yeah, it's a problem. I'm working on it. It's a big problem, but believe me, I'll fix it."

Several of the reporters did not seem to be aware of White's previous statements that the UFC and Pride would have the same rules. When asked about the differences between the UFC's rules and Pride's rules in the future, White said, "It'll all be the same."

One of the reporters on the teleconference said that he feels the color commentary on the April 8th Pride event was "horrendous" due to the "constant shilling for Pride" and asked if White will be making changes to ensure that the Pride broadcasts will be "more professional" in the future. White responded, "Absolutely," and said that he "agrees 100 percent" with what the reporter said. When asked specifically if color commentator Frank Trigg will continue to be part of the Pride announcing team, White said, "No, he won't. We're looking for some new announcers."

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Pride Fighting Championships News, UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:06 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Zuffa-Owned WEC to Make Live Cable TV Debut on June 3
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

World Extreme Cagefighting is scheduled to make its debut on live cable television on June 3rd, according to the Versus Network's web site. The Versus Network and WEC previously announced a partnership that would start in June, and now the specific date and other details have been pinned down.

The first live WEC fight card is scheduled to air on the Versus Network on Sunday, June 3rd from 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM. Versus' web site lists the next two live WEC broadcasts as taking place on Sunday, August 5th and Wednesday, September 5th.

While any of these dates could change, the June 3rd date is solid enough that the WEC has formally requested the date with the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

The WEC has run two events since being purchased by the Fertittas, who also own Pride and the UFC, and an additional WEC event is scheduled for May 12th. Footage from these events will serve as the basis for a series of WEC highlight shows that will air on Versus, not unlike UFC Unleashed on Spike TV.

All of the WEC's live events since the Fertitta purchase have taken place at the WEC's unofficial new "home base" venue, The Joint at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas, Nevada.

As previously reported by MMAWeekly, the WEC's deal with Versus Network is for three live fight specials (each of which will be two hours in length), and six highlight shows at one hour apiece. The total committment from Versus at this point is for 12 hours of WEC programming, plus replays.

The six new episodes of WEC highlight shows are scheduled to premiere on Versus at the following dates and times: Sunday, June 3rd at 8:00 PM (leading into the first live fight special); Wednesday, June 6th at 9:00 PM; Wednesday, June 13th at 9:00 PM; Sunday, August 5th at 8:00 PM (leading into the second live fight special); Wednesday, August 8th at 9:00 PM; and Wednesday, August 15th at 9:00 PM.

The Versus Network, formerly known as the Outdoor Life Network, is available in approximately 70 million U.S. households. This is not at the level of cable networks such as Spike TV, which is available in over 90 million households, but the Versus Network does have a far wider reach than premium networks like HBO (30 million households) and Showtime (15 million households). Versus had been in advanced negotiations for a TV deal with the IFL prior the Fertittas' purchase of the WEC.

Given the low ratings that the NHL has drawn on the Versus Network, it would not be unrealistic for one to expect that the WEC could approach or even surpass the NHL's viewership levels right out of the gate. If that were to happen, it would be a mere formality for Versus to order more episodes of the WEC's live and pre-taped programming.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 4:42 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC Fighter Melvin Guillard Tests Positive for Cocaine
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Lightweight UFC fighter and former Ultimate Fighter contestant Melvin Guillard tested positive for a major metabolite of cocaine following his main event bout with Joe Stevenson at UFC Fight Night 9, according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

The NSAC's drug testing results show that Guillard's urinalysis was found to contain cocaine metabolite Benzoylegonine in an amount equal to or greater than 150 ng/ml. When reached for comment by MMAWeekly's Damon Martin, Guillard's manager had no comment at this time.

Guillard is the first MMA fighter to test positive for cocaine in the state of Nevada. In neighboring California, only one fighter, Ricco Rodriguez, has tested positive for cocaine.

The six fighters on the card who were drug-tested were Guillard, Stevenson, Antoni Hardonk, Justin McCully, Nate Mohr, and Kurt Pellegrino. All of those fighters tested negative for all banned substances, except for Guillard.

The other twelve fighters on the card were not drug-tested. The NSAC spent a total of $1,670 on drug testing for UFC Fight Night 9, while the total cost of drug testing every single fighter on the card would have been $5,011.

In addition, all of the drug tests that were administered at WEC 26 in Las Vegas late last month have come back negative for all banned substances.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission tested eight of the twenty fighters who competed on the card. The eight fighters who were drug tested were Urijah Faber, Dominic Cruz, Carlos Condit, John Alessio, Chase Beebe, Eddie Wineland, Alex Serdyukov, and Scott Norton.

All eight of those fighters' urine samples did not contain any banned substances, including steroids, stimulants, and recreational drugs. The remaining twelve fighters on the card were not drug tested.

The event took place on March 24th and was the WEC's second show since being purchased by the Fertittas, who also own the UFC and Pride

The drug test results from WEC 26 are a notable improvement from WEC 25, where two of the six drug-tested fighters failed their drug tests.

Although, Urijah Faber, Rob McCullough, Rich Crunkilton, and Mike Joy all passed their drug tests at WEC 25, Kit Cope tested positive for the anabolic steroid Boldenone (frequently used by veterinarians to rehabilitate injured horses) and was later suspended by the NSAC for nine months; while Joe Pearson tested positive for Delta 9 THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) and was later suspended by the NSAC for six months.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:03 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC Fight Night 9 Draws Series-Low Ratings
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The two-hour broadcast of UFC Fight Night 9 drew an overall rating of 1.2 on Thursday, April 5th, making it the lowest-rated installment to date of UFC Fight Night on Spike TV.

The telecast also drew the lowest ratings ever for a live UFC event on Spike TV in the advertiser-coveted demographic of 18-to-34-year-old males.

The event was not the lowest-rated live UFC fight card in the company's history on Spike TV, as the November 11, 2006 live season finale of The Ultimate Fighter 4 drew a 1.1 overall rating.

UFC Fight Night 9 Ratings vs. UFC Fight Night 8 Ratings
The trend of declining UFC Fight Night ratings appeared to be turning around with the 1.7 overall rating that was drawn by UFC Fight Night 8 on January 25, 2007, but this may have just been an abberation, based on the much lower rating for UFC Fight Night 9.

Both UFN 8 and UFN 9 aired on Thursday nights from 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM, and both received similar levels of promotional build-up on Spike TV. However, UFN 9 drew significantly lower numbers than UFN 8 in terms of overall rating (1.7 to 1.2), the rating in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic (2.3 to 1.6), and the rating in the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic (2.0 to 1.5).

As far as how exactly this happened, the increases and decreases over the course of these two broadcasts indicate that both started out with a fairly low viewership level, as is almost always the case with live UFC broadcasts on Spike TV. The key difference is that UFN 8 was able to significantly increase its ratings over the course of the two-hour broadcast, while UFN 9 was not.

While both broadcasts opened up with a similar rating for the first 15 minutes (1.2 for UFC Fight Night 8, compared to 1.0 for UFC Fight Night 9), the ratings for UFN 8 increased drastically during the broadcast, peaking with a 2.1 rating for the Heath Herring vs. Jake O'Brien fight. On the other hand, nothing on UFN 9 was able to draw a rating higher than 1.4.

Increases and Decreases in Viewership During the UFN 9 Broadcast
The first fight on the UFC Fight Night 9 broadcast was Kenny Florian vs. Dokonjonosuke Mishima, which drew a 1.1 overall rating, not atypical for the opening fight on a live UFC broadcast.

As with UFC Fight Night 8, the second fight on UFN 8 was a heavyweight fight that lasted the entire 15-minute time limit. However, while Heath Herring vs. Jake O'Brien drew a 2.1 rating in January, Justin McCully vs. Antoni Hardonk drew a 1.2 rating in April.

The next fight that aired on the UFN 9 broadcast was the preliminary fight between Kurt Pellegrino and Nate Mohr. Pellegrino vs. Mohr drew a 1.4 rating, and that's where the rating would stay for the remainder of the broadcast. Joe Stevenson's 27-second submission win over Melvin Guillard in the main event was too short for its rating to be determined, but the minutes before and after the actual fight drew a 1.4 rating, the same as the Pellegrino-Mohr fight.

UFC Fight Night 9's Ratings vs. UFC's Average Ratings
In total, there were 13 live UFC fight specials on Spike TV prior to UFC Fight Night 9, from the first one in April 2005 all the way through UFC Fight Night 8 in January 2007. The average ratings of those 13 broadcasts are significantly higher than the ratings that were drawn by UFN 9.

The UFC's average overall rating for its first 13 live fight specials on Spike TV was 1.7, while UFN 9 drew a 1.2 overall rating. In the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic, the UFC's average-to-date was 2.3 heading into this event, and UFN 9 drew a 1.5 rating in this demographic. In the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, the UFC's average-to-date was 2.9 heading into this event, and UFN 9 drew a 1.6 rating in this demographic.

The rating of 1.6 in the core demographic of 18-to-34-year-old males is a long way from the UFC's prior average of 2.9, but it still out-drew the NBA game that aired head-to-head on TNT. In addition, the UFC's smallest audience for a UFC Fight Night broadcast (1.6 million total viewers) is still larger than the IFL's biggest audience for an IFL Battleground broadcast (1.1 million total viewers).

Head-to-Head Network Competition; Plus Other Spike TV Ratings from April 5th
Airing head-to-head with UFC Fight Night 9 on Thursday, April 5th from 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM, a new episode of "Survivor: Fuji" on CBS drew an 8.0 overall rating. While it was enough to win the timeslot, the 8.0 rating is significantly lower than the ratings that Survivor was drawing just a couple of seasons ago. A new episode of the Fox trivia show "Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?" came in second place with a 6.0 overall rating, while a repeat of "Ugly Betty" on ABC drew a 4.4 overall rating. NBC's combination of "The Office" and "30 Rock" averaged a 4.1 overall rating in the hour.

Airing head-to-head with UFC Fight Night 9 in the 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM hour, "CSI" on CBS beat out "Grey's Anatomy" on ABC, primarily due to the fact that Grey's Anatomy was a repeat. A new episode of "CSI" drew a 12.9 overall rating, making it the most-watched show on television that night, while a repeat of "Grey's Anatomy" drew a 5.8 overall rating. NBC's combination of "30 Rock" and "Scrubs" averaged a 3.4 overall rating. Two off-night repeat airings of "Family Guy" on Fox averaged a 3.1 overall rating.

A new episode of UFC Unleashed served as UFC Fight Night's lead-in on Spike TV, airing from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM and drawing an overall rating of 0.8.

Following the two-hour broadcast of UFC Fight Night was the one-hour broadcast of The Ultimate Fighter 5's premiere, which drew a 1.4 rating. As detailed in a separate article that was published yesterday, this is tied with the TUF 1 premiere for the lowest-rated season premiere in the history of the series.

Leading out of the UFC programming block was a new episode of the pro wrestling show TNA Impact, whch aired from 11:00 PM to 12:00 AM and drew an overall rating of 0.9.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:26 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Fighter Salary Breakdown for UFC Fight Night 9
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information for UFC Fight Night 9, which took place last night in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that the UFC is required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions, including the winners' bonuses.

Although MMA fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed bonuses that the UFC also pays its fighters, but does not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, PPV bonuses for PPV main event fighters), are not included in the figures below. Also not reflected below are the taxes that the fighters have to pay.

In the listings below, "Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show. "Main Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear on the main card, but not in title fights or in the main event. "Preliminary Match Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those matches end up airing on the PPV broadcast.

In addition, next to each fighter's name is the number of UFC fights that he has had, not counting fights that took place during Ultimate Fighter seasons because those fights are officially classified as exhibitions.

Main Event Fighters
-Joe Stevenson: $32,000 (5th fight in UFC; defeated Melvin Guillard)
-Melvin Guillard: $7,000 (5th fight in UFC; lost to Joe Stevenson)

Main Card Fighters
-Kenny Florian: $16,000 (6th fight in UFC; defeated Dokonjonosuke Mishima)
-Dokonjonosuke Mishima: $8,000 (2nd fight in UFC; lost to Kenny Florian)
-Antoni Hardonk: $6,000 (2nd fight in UFC; lost to Justin McCully)
-Justin McCully: $6,000 (1st fight in UFC; defeated Antoni Hardonk)

Preliminary Fighters
-Drew Fickett: $20,000 (7th fight in UFC; defeated Keita Nakamura)
-Rich Clementi: $12,000 (4th fight in UFC; lost to Roan Carneiro)
-Kurt Pellegrino: $12,000 (3rd fight in UFC; defeated Nate Mohr)
-Kuniyoshi Hironaka: $12,000 (2nd fight in UFC; defeated Forrest Petz)
-Wilson Gouveia: $12,000 (3rd fight in UFC; defeated Seth Petruzelli)
-Thiago Tavares: $6,000 (1st fight in UFC; defeated Naoyuki Kotani)
-Roan Carneiro: $6,000 (1st fight in UFC; defeated Rich Clementi)
-Seth Petruzelli: $5,000 (2nd fight in UFC; lost to Wilson Gouveia)
-Keita Nakamura: $4,000 (2nd fight in UFC; lost to Drew Fickett)
-Forrest Petz: $4,000 (3rd fight in UFC; lost to Kuniyoshi Hironaka)
-Naoyuki Kotani: $3,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Thiago Tavares)
-Nate Mohr: $3,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Kurt Pellegrino)

Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $174,000

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:39 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Ultimate Fighter 5 Ties Series Low with Premiere Rating
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 5, which aired on Spike TV on April 5th, drew an overall rating of 1.4. This puts the TUF 5 premiere in a tie with the premiere of the very first season of The Ultimate Fighter for the lowest-rated premiere episode in series history, as the TUF 1 premiere also drew a 1.4 overall rating.

The majority of the episode drew a 1.3 rating, but the show-closing fight between Cole Miller and Alan Berube drew a 1.5 rating, increasing the average for the hour.

The pertinent question now is whether or not TUF 5's ratings will decrease as the season progresses, as was the case with TUF 4. It would still be a successful show if it can draw a 1.4 overall rating every week. However, if the ratings were to decrease over the course of the season to the extent that TUF 4's ratings decreased, the show would fall well below the series' ratings expectations and it would be an alarming sign.

The UFC and Spike TV appear to be under the impression that it was the pull-apart quasi-brawls that drew the series-high ratings for TUF 3, as the promotion for this season of TUF in general (and the next episode in particular) is focused heavily on the tease of one or more fights breaking out in the house.

Say what you will about the negative light in which this portrays MMA and its competitors, but they may very well be correct in their belief that it will draw strong ratings. We'll find out in the coming weeks.

TUF 5 Ratings vs. Previous TUF Ratings
On the whole, The Ultimate Fighter 3 (which premiered in April 2006) was the most-watched season to date, and TUF 4 (which premiered in August 2006) was the least-watched season to date. The UFC has publicly dismissed TUF 4's lower ratings on multiple occasions by blaming the lower numbers on having to go head-to-head with the NFL, but that makes no sense because TUF 4 only went head-to-head with a regular season NFL game on one occasion.

The second season of TUF, on the other hand, went head-to-head with regular season Monday Night Football games airing on ABC for all but three episodes of its regular season, and yet TUF 2 drew higher ratings than TUF 4.

Based on the premiere ratings, it appears to be extremely unlikely that TUF 5 is going to be challenging TUF 3 for the mantle of most-watched TUF season. As for whether it will challenge TUF 4's position as the least-watched TUF season, that remains to be seen, but it doesn't look promising based on the season premiere's ratings.

In comparing those three seasons, the trend is not a positive one. In terms of the overall rating, the TUF 3 premiere drew a 2.0 rating, the TUF 4 premiere drew a 1.7 rating, and the TUF 5 premiere last week drew a 1.4 rating.

In the advertiser-coveted 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, the TUF 3 premiere drew a 3.7 rating, the TUF 4 premiere drew a 2.8 rating, and the TUF 5 premiere drew a 1.9 rating.

In the second most coveted advertising demographic for Spike TV and the UFC, 18-to-49-year-old males, the TUF 3 premiere drew a 2.7 rating, the TUF 4 premiere drew a 2.2 rating, and the TUF 5 premiere drew a 1.8 rating.

As you can see, the ratings trends for TUF in the key demographics have taken a complete U-turn over the past 12 months, decreasing rapidly instead of increasing rapidly, as they were at this time last year. However, these are still excellent ratings in the key demographics. The TUF 5 premiere was still the #1 show on cable in the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic on April 5th, and even the UFC's decreased ratings on Spike TV are higher than anything that the IFL is drawing on MyNetworkTV.

The two-hour live broadcast of UFC Fight Night that served as TUF 5's lead-in drew a 1.2 overall rating, making it the lowest-rated live fight special in the UFC's history on Spike TV. We will have a separate report on UFC Fight Night's ratings tomorrow.

Head-to-Head Network Competition
Airing head-to-head on network television with the premiere of TUF 5 on April 5th from 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM, CBS led the pack with a new episode the drama series "Shark," which drew a 10.0 overall rating. ABC came in second place with a new episode of the drama "October Road," which drew a 5.2 overall rating and may be headed towards cancellation if its ratings don't turn around.

NBC came in a distant third place in the hour with a new episode of the comedy "Andy Barker, P.I." airing at 10:00 PM and drawing an overall rating of 2.6 (the series was shortly thereafter removed from NBC's Thursday night line-up, effective immediately). At 10:30 PM, NBC aired a repeat of "My Name is Earl," and the 2.6 overall rating that it drew is not atypical for a repeat airing of a comedy series. Fox does not air national programming in the 10:00 PM hour.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 11:35 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Numerous MMA Fighters Fail Drug Tests in California
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Welterweight UFC star Diego Sanchez is far from the only fighter to have a positive drug test in California that was not publicly disclosed at the time. MMAWeekly has obtained documentation indicating that nearly two-dozen MMA fighters have failed drug tests in the state of California over the past year without the drug test failures being publicly disclosed at the time.

Sanchez tested positive for marijuana following his December 13th victory over Joe Riggs in the main event of UFC Fight Night 7, but it wasn't until a March 22nd report by Carlos Arias of the Orange County Register that Sanchez' drug test failure was publicly announced or disclosed.

When asked why the UFC did not acknowledge Sanchez' drug test failure on its web site, as it has for all other UFC drug test failures over the past year, the UFC did not respond.

When asked why the California State Athletic Commission did not previously disclose or announce Sanchez' positive drug test, CSAC Executive Officer Armando Garcia said to MMAWeekly, "No one made any requests for public records on it." Garcia also said that the CSAC would make information about any positive drug tests in the future readily available to media outlets.

The California State Athletic Commission has now provided MMAWeekly with a complete list of every MMA fighter who has tested positive for any banned substance in the state of California since the first legal MMA events were held in California in March 2006. Many of these drug test failures have not previously been publicly disclosed in any media outlet.

Legally, this information is public record; there is no right to privacy or confidentiality for any fighter who tests positive for any banned substance. If a fighter takes a banned substance and tests positive for it, he or she can expect to be fined or suspended, and for the drug test failure to be publicly disclosed.

In addition to 31 professional boxers in the same time period, 23 mixed martial artists tested positive for banned substances in the past year, and the complete list of these fighters can be found below.

Over the past year in the state of California, the punishments have been a three-month suspension and $500 fine for any fighter who tests positive for marijuana; or a six-month suspension and $1,000 fine for any fighter who tests positive for any banned substance other than marijuana (or a combination of marijuana and other banned substances). These punishments escalate for repeat offenders.

In a neighboring state, Nevada, drug-related suspensions are taken on a case-by-case basis, but in general the suspensions have been six months for any fighter who tests positive for marijuana; or eight to twelve months for any fighter who tests positive for any banned substance other than marijuana.

There are many fighters who don't fight more often than once every three months under normal circumstances, so a three-month suspension for these fighters may or may not change their fighting schedule in any tangible way.

You may notice in the list below that not a single fighter tested positive for steroids over the past year in California. This is because there has been no steroid testing in California over the past year. This will change in April 2007, according to CSAC head Garcia, who said, "No steroid policy has ever been in place in California. Obviously, I was not satisfied by this." Starting in April, a total of approximately 25 fighters per month will be tested for steroids in California, and any fighter who tests positive for steroids will be suspended for six months and fined $2,500.

The list below is in chronological order, with each item containing the date and name of the event, the name of the fighter who tested positive for a banned substance, the substance(s) for which the fighter tested positive, brief notes on the substance(s) if warranted, and the length of the fighter's suspension (which is consistently three months for marijuana and six months for anything other than marijuana).

California State Athletic Commission Positive Drug Tests for MMA Fighters

-March 10, 2006: Strikeforce; Cesar Gracie tested positive for Delta 9 THC (active ingredient in marijuana); suspended for 3 months

-May 13, 2006: International Cage Fighting Organization; Tim McKenzie tested positive for Benzodiazepines (frequently found in anti-anxiety drugs and muscle relaxants); suspended for 6 months

-June 3, 2006: Extreme Wars 3; Anthony Ruiz tested positive for Delta 9 THC (active ingredient in marijuana); suspended for 3 months

-June 9, 2006: Strikeforce Revenge; Harris Sarmiento tested positive for Delta 9 THC (active ingredient in marijuana); suspended for 3 months

-June 15, 2006: WEC 21; Joe Hurley tested positive for Delta 9 THC (active ingredient in marijuana); suspended for 3 months

-June 15, 2006: WEC 21; Ryan Healy tested positive for Delta 9 THC (active ingredient in marijuana); suspended for 3 months

-June 17, 2006: Invincible- Fists of Fury; Randal Limond tested positive for Delta 9 THC (active ingredient in marijuana); suspended for 3 months

-July 1, 2006: Gladiator Challenge 51; Emmanuel Newton tested positive for Delta 9 THC (active ingredient in marijuana); suspended for 3 months

-July 15, 2006: Total Combat 15; Shawn Bias tested positive for Benzodiazepines (frequently found in anti-anxiety drugs and muscle relaxants); suspended for 6 months

-July 22, 2006: World Fighting Alliance; Bas Rutten tested positive for Hydrocodone (prescription painkiller), Morphine (prescription painkiller), and Diphenhydramine (antihistamine with common brand name Benadryl); suspended for 6 months

-July 22, 2006: World Fighting Alliance; Lodune Sincaid tested positive for Cannabinoids/Marijuana Metabolite; suspended for 3 months

-August 12, 2006: Warrior Cup; Chuck Booz tested positive for Delta 9 THC (active ingredient in marijuana); suspended for 3 months

-August 18, 2006: Pangea Fights 2; Aaron Brink tested positive for Cannabinoids (substances found in cannabis) and Benzodiazepines (frequently found in anti-anxiety drugs and muscle relaxants); suspended for 6 months

-August 19, 2006: California Xtreme Fighting 3; Mike Penalber tested positive for Amphetamine; suspended for 6 months

-August 19, 2006: Total Fighting Alliance; Jesse Romero tested positive for Delta 9 THC (active ingredient in marijuana); suspended for 3 months

-September 30, 2006: Chaos in the Cage; Paul Mince tested positive for Delta 9 THC (active ingredient in marijuana); suspended for 3 months

-September 30, 2006: Xtreme International Kombat; Ty Montgomery tested positive for Delta 9 THC (active ingredient in marijuana); suspended for 3 months

-October 26, 2006: Valor Fighting; Jamiah Williamson tested positive for Delta 9 THC (active ingredient in marijuana); suspended for 3 months

-November 4, 2006: Cage Combat Fighting Championships; Joe Hurley tested positive for Delta 9 THC (active ingredient in marijuana); suspended for 6 months as a repeat offender

-November 4, 2006: Total Combat 18; Shad Smith tested positive for Delta 9 THC (active ingredient in marijuana); suspended for 3 months

-November 17, 2006: Beatdown in Bakersfield; Ricco Rodriguez tested positive for Benzoylecgonine (major metabolite of cocaine) and Delta 9 THC (active ingredient in marijuana); suspended for 6 months

-December 13, 2006: UFC Fight Night 7; Diego Sanchez tested positive for Delta 9 THC (active ingredient in marijuana); suspended for 3 months

-February 17, 2007: Cage Combat Fighting Championships; Nate Loughran tested positive for Delta 9 THC (active ingredient in marijuana); suspended for 3 months

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:12 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Fighter Salary Breakdown for Second Zuffa-Owned WEC Event
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information for WEC 26, which took place on March 24th in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was the WEC's second since being purchased by UFC parent company Zuffa.

The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that Zuffa and the WEC are required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions, including the winners' bonuses.

Although MMA fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed bonuses that Zuffa and the WEC also pay its fighters, but do not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, PPV bonuses for the top PPV main event fighters, which would not apply since this event was not on PPV), are not included in the figures below.

In the listings below, "Title Match & Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show and/or compete in a title fight on a show. "Preliminary Match Fights" are fights that are taped before a TV or PPV show goes on the air, and since this show hasn't aired on TV or PPV, all of the non-main event fights are defined as "Main Card Fights."

Highlights from this event will air this summer on one of the WEC's hour-long highlight shows on the Versus Network, which is available in approximately 70 million U.S. households.

Title Match & Main Event Fighters
-Carlos Condit: $20,000 (defeated John Alessio)
-Urijah Faber: $14,000 (defeated Dominick Cruz)
-John Alessio: $9,000 (lost to Carlos Condit)
-Chase Beebe: $6,000 (defeated Eddie Wineland)
-Dominick Cruz: $3,000 (lost to Urijah Faber)
-Eddie Wineland: $3,000 (lost to Chase Beebe)

Main Card Fighters
-Brock Larson: $12,000 (defeated Erik Apple)
-Alex Serdyukov: $10,000 (defeated Scott Norton)
-Charlie Valencia: $8,000 (defeated Antonio Banuelos)
-Micah Miller: $6,000 (defeated Jesse Moreng)
-Cub Swanson: $6,000 (defeated Tommy Lee)
-Brian Stann: $6,000 (defeated Steve Cantwell)
-Tiki Ghosn: $5,000 (lost to Dave Terrel)
-Antonio Banuelos: $4,000 (lost to Charlie Valencia)
-Dave Terrel: $4,000 (defeated Tiki Ghosn)
-Tommy Lee: $3,000 (lost to Cub Swanson)
-Steve Cantwell: $3,000 (lost to Brian Stann)
-Erik Apple: $3,000 (lost to Brock Larson)
-Jesse Moreng: $2,000 (lost to Micah Miller)
-Scott Norton: $2,000 (lost to Alex Serdyukov)
Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $129,000

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:05 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- More on Fertittas' Pride Buy-Out, Plus Two More Fights Announced
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Two more fights have been announced for Pride 34: Kamikaze, which will take place on April 8th and will be the final Pride event held by Dream Stage Entertainment before the company's operations are turned over to a company owned by UFC majority owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta.

Veteran heavyweight Kazuyuki Fujita will face former UFC fighter Jeff Monson, and MMA legend Don Frye will face 185-pound Pride veteran Ikuhisa Minowa.

Don Frye, who exploded onto the MMA scene by winning the UFC 8 tournament in 1996, has had health problems with his neck and spine in recent years, but has continued to fight nonetheless and amassed an MMA record of 3-0-1 in 2006. The 41-year-old Frye is no longer under contract to fight for K-1 Hero's, thus enabling him to fight for Pride.

It's possible that Frye's contract to fight in Pride will only be a one-time deal since it's the last Pride show promoted by DSE. Frye is the coach of the Tucson Scorpions in the fledgling International Fight League (IFL), and Zuffa has made it clear in the past that it's not going to use any fighters who are coaches in the IFL.

This has been Zuffa's unofficial policy for the UFC itself, and UFC co-owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta may or may not have the same unofficial policy when their newly formed company, Pride FC Worldwide, assumes control of Pride's day-to-day operations after the April 8th event.

Leaving the IFL altogether would seemingly not be an option for Frye, as all of the coaches in the IFL have ownership stakes in the company that cannot be sold for a certain number of years.

Frye's opponent will be 31-year-old Ikuhisa Minowa, who has a career MMA record of 35-25-8. Minowa's MMA record in 2006 was 5-2, but several of his wins came in "freak show fights" where he was vastly outweighed by his lesser skilled opponent, including wins over Eric "Butterbean" Esch, Paulo "Giant" Silva, and Mike Plotcheck (aka, Bart Gunn in WWE).

While Frye is not a super-heavyweight like the aforementioned fighters, he is still going to outweigh Minowa by 30 to 50 pounds, which is the kind of size mismatch that will presumably not be allowed once Pride is run by the same people who own the UFC.

Since returning from K-1 Hero's to Pride in 2006, Fujita has gone 2-1, with a loss to Wanderlei Silva and victories over James Thompson and Eldari Kurtanidze.

Monson is a former UFC fighter who asked to be released from his UFC contract after his one-sided decision loss to Tim Sylvia last November, so that he could pursue opportunities in the BodogFight promotion. Monson was originally scheduled to face Fedor Emelianenko on BodogFight's April 14th pay-per-view event in St. Petersburg, Russia, and was later scheduled to face Fedor's brother, Aleksander Emelianenko, and then Roman Zentsov. Instead, Monson will be facing Fujita at Pride 34.

In addition to Frye vs. Minowa and Fujita vs. Monson, it was also reaffirmed today that Ricardo Arona will be fighting Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou on the April 8th card, and Shinya Aoki will be fighting Brian Lo-A-Njoe.

Wanderlei Silva is also tentatively scheduled to compete on the April 8th card (his opponent has not been announced), pending the approval of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Silva is medically suspended by the NSAC until April 11th as a result of his knockout loss to Dan Henderson at Pride 33.

When previously reached for comment on this issue by MMAWeekly, Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Keith Kizer said, "If Mr. Silva is cleared by a doctor there [in Japan], our doctor will look at the medical records and determine whether to lift the suspension three days early." If he is unable to get this clearance, Silva will not be fighting on the April 8th card.

After the April 8th card in Japan, the next planned show with the Pride brand name is scheduled to take place in Japan on May 20th, as the first round of a 16-man Lightweight Grand Prix is scheduled to take place on that date.

This had been scheduled to be a 160-pound tournament, but Pride is no longer scheduled to have a 160-pound weight class under the ownership of the Fertittas. With White saying in the Las Vegas Review Journal that Pride will have the same weight classes at the UFC, this means that Pride's 2006 Grand Prix would have to be changed to a 170-pound Grand Prix or a 155-pound Grand Prix.

The Fertitta-owned Pride also plans to run a few shows per year in the United States, possibly as soon as June, but these plans are complicated by former Pride USA president Ed Fishman's lawsuit against Dream Stage. With Fishman being the exclusive U.S. promoter of Pride events, the Fertitta-owned Pride may or may not be legally able to run shows in the United States until Fishman's lawsuit has worked its way through the court system, or until a financial settlement with Fishman can be reached.

Labels: International Fight League (IFL) News, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Pride Fighting Championships News, UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:08 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Diego Sanchez Failed Drug Test After UFC Fight in December
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Ultimate Fighting Championship star Diego Sanchez tested positive for marijuana after his December 13th victory over Joe Riggs and was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission.

The UFC welterweight contender and Ultimate Fighter Season One winner knocked out Riggs in the main event of UFC Fight Night 7, which took place in San Diego, California at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and aired live on Spike TV.

At some point following Sanchez' failure of the drug test, he was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission for three months from the date of the fight, which means that his suspension has already expired. The CSAC also fined Sanchez $500 (his purse for the fight was $32,000).

The news of Sanchez' positive test was first reported on Thursday by Carlos Arias of the Orange County Register. In the three months following the Sanchez-Riggs fight and prior to Arias' report, the California State Athletic Commission did not announce or disclose Sanchez' drug test failure.

In addition, the UFC did not acknowledge Sanchez' drug test failure on its web site, despite the fact that the company has posted brief stories on its web site acknowledging all other drug test failures for UFC fighters since the beginning of 2006, including Thiago Alves' positive test for a banned diuretic just a few weeks after Sanchez' positive test for marijuana.

When asked why the California State Athletic Commission did not previously disclose or announce Sanchez' positive drug test, CSAC Executive Officer Armando Garcia said to MMAWeekly, "No one made any requests for public records on it." Garcia also said that the CSAC would make information about any positive drug tests in the future readily available to media outlets.

When asked why the UFC did not acknowledge Sanchez' drug test failure on its web site, as it has for all other UFC drug test failures over the past year, the UFC did not respond.

Sanchez' next scheduled fight is against Josh Koscheck at UFC 69 in Houston, Texas on April 7th. His positive drug test will not affect his availability to fight on the UFC 69 card, due to the fact that his suspension has already expired. Sanchez has a 17-0 professional record in MMA and is currently the world's #4 Welterweight in the MMAWeekly Rankings.

It is fairly uncommon for fighters in the UFC to fight more often than once every three months under normal circumstances, so a three-month suspension may or may not change any given UFC fighter's schedule in any tangible way.

The CSAC's Garcia said to MMAWeekly that a three-month suspension and $500 fine is the most common punishment for MMA fighters who test positive for marijuana in the state of California. In Nevada, the typical punishment for a positive marijuana test is a six-month suspension. Since the beginning of this year alone, there have been two MMA fighters who have tested positive for marijuana in Nevada: Pride's Nick Diaz and the WEC's Joe Pearson, neither of whom have had their NSAC disciplinary hearings as of yet.

Garcia also said that the California State Athletic Commission is planning to implement new drug testing procedures in the near future, which will include drug testing more fighters than any other state. Under the CSAC's new procedures, all fighters will be tested for recreational drugs, and approximately 25 fighters per month will be tested for steroids.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:06 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- It is now official that the owners of the UFC have purchased Pride Fighting Championships. For complete details on this huge, industry-changing deal, check out the full report from MMAWeekly's Scott Petersen on MMAWeekly.com

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Pride Fighting Championships News, UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:14 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC Fighters Pass Drug Tests; Plus the Recent History of MMA Drug Testing
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The drug test results have come back from UFC 68, and all of the fighters who were tested at the event tested negative for banned substances.

The Ohio Athletic Commission tested for steroids and recreational drugs at the event in Columbus, Ohio on March 3rd, although only four of the eighteen fighters on the card were tested.

The four fighters who were drug tested were Randy Couture, Tim Sylvia, Jon Fitch, and Luigi Fioravanti. All of those fighters' urine samples came back negative for all banned substances. The remaining fourteen fighters on the card were not drug tested.

This marks the second consecutive UFC event on which none of the fighters failed their drug tests. At UFC 67, which took place in Las Vegas on February 3rd, eight of the eighteen fighters on the card were drug tested and all of them passed their tests. Those eight fighters were Anderson Silva, Travis Lutter, Mirko Cro Cop, Eddie Sanchez, Quinton Jackson, Marvin Eastman, Ryoto Machida, and Sam Hoger.

At UFC 66, which took place in Las Vegas on December 30th, six of the eighteen fighters on the card were drug tested. Five of those fighters passed their drug tests: Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Keith Jardine, Forrest Griffin, and Tony DeSouza. However, the banned diuretic Spironolactone was detected in the urine sample of the sixth fighter who was tested, Thiago Alves, and Alves was suspended for eight months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Prior to Alves' failed drug test, the last time that a UFC fighter had tested positive for banned substances was when Stephan Bonnar tested positive for the anabolic steroid Boldenone at UFC 62 on August 26, 2006. Bonnar was suspended for nine months by the NSAC.

Drug testing is the responsibility of the state athletic commissions, not the responsibility of the UFC, Pride, or any other specific MMA promotion. However, in the cases of big promotions like Zuffa or Dream Stage Entertainment, they could easily afford to pay for every fighter to be drug tested on every card with the revenue generated from less than 100 tickets sold.

At Pride's first event in the United States, which took place in Las Vegas on October 21st of last year, ten of the sixteen fighters on the card were drug tested. The fighters who were drug tested and passed their tests were Fedor Emelianenko, Mark Coleman, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Josh Barnett, Dan Henderson, Phil Baroni, and Yosuke Nishijima. However, three fighters on the card failed their drug tests: Vitor Belfort, Pawel Nastula, and Kevin Randleman.

Belfort tested positive for the anabolic steroid 4-hydroxytestosterone and was suspended for nine months by the NSAC. Nastula tested positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone and also for the banned stimulants phenylpropanolamine, pseudoephedrine, and ephedrine; Nastula was suspended by the NSAC for nine months.

Randleman admitted to submitting a fake urine sample due to the large amount of painkillers and antibiotics that he was taking at the time, as well as the fact that he had a potentially life-threatening lung infection. At a discplinary hearing last month, the NSAC revoked Randleman's license as a fighter. In addition to passing a drug test, Randleman will have to personally appear in front of the NSAC and provide medical evidence that he is completely healthy before he can fight again, and he is not eligible to do so until at least October 2007.

At Pride's second event in the United States, which took place in Las Vegas on February 24th, ten of the eighteen fighters on the card were drug tested. The fighters who were drug tested and passed their tests were Wanderlei Silva, Dan Henderson, Takanori Gomi, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Alistair Overeem, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Joachim Hansen, and Jason Ireland. However, Nick Diaz tested positive for marijuana. Diaz has not yet had his Nevada State Athletic Commission disciplinary hearing.

At the first Zuffa-owned WEC event in Las Vegas on January 20th, six of the eighteen fighters on the card were drug tested: Urijah Faber, Joe Pearson, Rob McCullough, Kit Cope, Rich Crunkilton, and Mike Joy. Faber, McCullough, Crunkilton, and Joy passed all of their drug tests. However, Cope tested positive for the illegal anabolic steroid Boldenone, and Pearson tested positive for the active ingredient in marijuana. Cope and Pearson have not yet had their NSAC disciplinary hearings.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Pride Fighting Championships News, UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:02 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC 68 Breaks Total Attendance Record for North American MMA
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The final attendance figures for UFC 68 have come in from the Ohio Athletic Commission, and the event has officially broken the all-time total attendance record for a mixed martial arts event in North America.

The total number of fans in attendance at UFC 68 in Columbus, Ohio on March 3rd was 19,079. The previous record for an MMA event in North America was set by the Strikeforce promotion, which drew a total of 18,265 fans at a show in San Jose, California on March 10, 2006.

The paid attendance for UFC 68 was 17,358. This falls just short of Strikeforce's paid attendance record for an MMA event in North America, which still stands at 17,465 for its March 10, 2006 event in San Jose.

The initially announced figure of $3,014,520 for UFC 68's live gate revenue was not correct, as the final live gate figure for the event was actually $2,741,820.

This is almost identical to the live gate total for UFC 67 ($2,767,130), despite the fact that UFC 67's paid attendance of 8,700 was much smaller than UFC 68's paid attendance. The reason for this disparity is that UFC 68 had much cheaper ticket prices than most of the UFC's Las Vegas events. The average price per ticket sold for UFC 67 was $318, while the average price per ticket sold for UFC 68 was $158.

UFC 68 out-drew the Pride event that took place one week earlier at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. UFC 68 came out on top in total attendance (19,079 to 12,911), paid attendance (17,358 to 8,334), and live gate revenue ($2,741,820 to $2,033,098).

Comparisons to Previous UFC Records and Worldwide MMA Records
The previous record for total attendance at a UFC event was set by UFC 60, which was attended by a total of 14,765 fans in Los Angeles, California on May 27, 2006. The UFC's web site still claims that UFC 59 drew over 17,000 fans in Anaheim, California on April 15, 2006, but the building capacity for that sold-out show was actually 13,814.

The new record of 19,079 in total attendance is strictly for North American MMA events and does not apply to Japanese MMA events. Pride has sold out the Saitama Super Arena numerous times, and with Pride's seating configuration, the arena can hold approximately 35,000 fans (though the attendance is usually announced as being over 45,000).

However, Pride has never drawn anywhere near as much pay-per-view revenue as the UFC, which generated $222,766,000 in pay-per-view revenue in 2006 alone.

The worldwide total attendance record for an MMA event was set at Tokyo Outdoor Stadium on August 28, 2002, as a Pride and K-1 co-production drew over 70,000 fans (though it was announced as being 91,107).

Compared to WWE's biggest pro wrestling event in the United States over the past twelve months (WrestleMania 22 in Chicago, Illinois on April 2, 2006), UFC 68 out-drew WrestleMania in total attendance (19,079 to 17,155) and in live gate revenue ($2,741,820 to $2,500,000).

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:16 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC 70 to Air on Spike TV Instead of Pay-Per-View or HBO
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

With a star-studded line-up that includes top ten heavyweights Mirko Cro Cop, Andrei Arlovski, and Fabricio Werdum, the UFC's April 21st show in the United Kingdom is an event that many fans in the United States would have gladly bought on pay-per-view. Instead, due to an unforeseen chain of events, U.S. audiences will be able to watch the event for free on Spike TV.

The news, which was previously listed on MMAWeekly's Rumors page for UFC 70, has now been officially confirmed by the UFC.

Dana White, the president of UFC parent company Zuffa, previously said that UFC 70 was Zuffa's target date for the company's first show on HBO. Privately, negotiations have been ongoing between Zuffa and HBO, but a number of sticking points have kept the two sides from reaching an agreement in time for UFC 70 to air on HBO.

Zuffa could not air UFC 70 on HBO without having an HBO deal, and Zuffa also could not air UFC 70 on pay-per-view because all of the PPV advertising deadlines for an April 21st event have long since passed.

This sequence of events left Spike TV as the only logical option as the U.S. home for UFC 70. Spike TV was interested in broadcasting UFC 70 due to the strong ratings that it is sure to draw, and Zuffa was interested in airing the event on Spike TV not only because there wasn't much of a choice, but also because it will build some goodwill with fans.

Instead of airing live, the event will air in the United States on a tape delay and will begin airing on Saturday, April 21st at 9:00 PM (Eastern Time/Pacific Time).

The six-figure cost of broadcasting live in the United States from an event in Europe was ultimately deemed to not be worth the expense, particularly since the ratings are likely to be higher in primetime. Most UFC fans in the U.S. will not be aware that the event is taking place on Saturday afternoon.

The event could have aired live on Spike TV on Saturday afternoon and re-aired on Saturday evening in primetime (as is the case when HBO Boxing broadcasts an event from Europe), but instead it will air only in primetime.

The top four fights on the card are Mirko Cro Cop vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (with the winner fighting Randy Couture this summer), Andrei Arlovski vs. Fabricio Werdum, Ryoto Machida vs. David Heath, and Michael Bisping vs. Elvis Sinosic. All of those fights look excellent on paper, with the exception of the Bisping bout, as Sinosic has an MMA record of 8-9-2.

If there is a fifth fight on the live Spike TV broadcast, it would likely be Cheick Kongo's fight with Assuerio Silva. The complete line-up as it currently stands is listed at the end of this article.

Zuffa could have booked a United States pay-per-view date for UFC 70 while privately hoping to have reached a deal in time for the event to potentially air on HBO, as was the case with UFC 69. The fact that Zuffa never did book a U.S. PPV date for UFC 70 demonstrates how confident the company was that an HBO deal would be reached by this point.

Now, without a PPV date booked for UFC 70 and without an HBO deal in place, UFC 70 is set to air on Spike TV.

As a result, HBO has lost out on an event that would have likely garnered more interest than many of the lopsided boxing offerings that have aired on HBO recently, and Zuffa has lost out on millions of dollars in PPV revenue. The winner in this unusual chain of events is clearly the fans, who will be able to watch a PPV-quality event for free on Spike TV.

As for why Zuffa wasn't able to reach a deal with HBO in time for UFC 70 to be the company's first event on HBO, there have been a number of snags in the negotiations between the two sides.

Zuffa president Dana White has said consistently over the past eleven months that the UFC would be on HBO "very soon." However, while HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg has publicly said things like, "We're still measuring it, looking at it, and getting comfortable with the UFC" (which he recently said in an interview with trade journal MultiChannel News), Greenburg is said to be strongly against the UFC deal behind the scenes.

Acclaimed boxing writer Thomas Hauser wrote in an article on the Seconds Out web site in January that Greenburg had "opposed the UFC deal as vigorously as possible" and was doing "everything in his power not to televise mixed martial arts." In the same article, former HBO Sports president Seth Abraham actually compared MMA to "naked boxing." Abraham said that MMA would tarnish HBO's boxing heritage, a view that is shared by many people who still work at HBO Sports.

In an unprecedented move, HBO Chairman and CEO Chris Albrecht actually veto'd HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg and insisted that HBO would air MMA programming at some point, leaving Greenburg only to negotiate the details of such a deal. According to Hauser, this move "represented a marked shift in HBO's corporate culture... in the past, an HBO chief executive officer would not have ordered sports programming over the objection of the sports department."

Left only to come to terms on the details, some of the key disagreements between Zuffa and HBO Sports have been whose production crew will film the event, whose announcers will commentate on the event, and how those announcers will go about commentating on the event.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer recently summarized the dispute as follows: "HBO wants full control of the product, and to use its crew and its announcers and cover it like a network broadcast team would cover a major sporting event. UFC doesn't want to give up its control of the product, wants its own crew to film it, and wants to use its own announcers, who are closer to pro wrestling announcers whose role is to build up the product as opposed to providing detached, objective commentary."

UFC 70 Line-Up
-Mirko Cro Cop (#2 Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Gabriel Gonzaga
-Andrei Arlovski (#7 Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Fabricio Werdum (#8 Heavyweight in the World)*
-Ryoto Machida vs. David Heath
-Michael Bisping vs. Elvis Sinosic
-Assuerio Silva vs. Cheick Kongo
-Dennis Siver vs. Jess Liaudin
-Alessio Sakara vs. Victor Valimaki
-Terry Etim vs. Matt Grice
-David Lee vs. TBA

* Based on MMAWeekly Rankings

Labels: Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:13 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Inside the UFC Goes on Hiatus
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The UFC newsmagazine-style series Inside the UFC has been put on hiatus and currently has no return date planned. The last planned episode of the series aired on March 1st and was officially referred to as the "season finale."

A Spike TV spokesperson tells MMAWeekly, "Inside the UFC will be going on hiatus, as we have new originals Bullrun and TUF 5 coming up."

While part of the reason for Inside the UFC going on hiatus was because of two original series that are set to debut in March and April, that couldn't have been the entire reason. Bullrun is going to air on Tuesday nights at 10:00 PM, while The Ultimate Fighter 5 will air on Thursday nights at 10:00 PM. Neither of those timeslots conflict with Inside the UFC's regular timeslot of Thursday nights at midnight, nor does the scheduled weekly replay of Bullrun on Thursday nights at 11:00 PM, nor does

A significant factor that may have contributed to the decision to put Inside the UFC on hiatus was the show's diminishing ratings. While the show did an excellent job of hyping the UFC's pay-per-view events, it also faltered in the ratings.

Inside the UFC started off with ratings that were considered strong for a midnight show, as it averaged a 0.6 overall rating in its first five weeks. However, starting at the beginning of January, the show no longer had repeats of UFC Unleashed and other UFC programming as its lead-in, and instead it had Afro Samurai and Wild World of Spike as its lead-in.

Inside the UFC's ratings promptly collapsed without UFC programming as a lead-in, with the next four episodes all drawing overall ratings in the range of 0.3 to 0.4. The low point came on February 1st, when the show drew a 0.2 overall rating. The show didn't get much help from its lead-in, Wild World of Spike, which drew a 0.3 overall rating on February 1st.

During the UFC 67 pay-per-view on February 3rd, it was mentioned on multiple occasions that Inside the UFC would have a special start time of 11:00 PM "for the next two weeks."

Spike TV moved the debut airings of Inside the UFC from midnight to 11:00 PM starting with the February 8th episode, in part to see if the show would perform better in the earlier timeslot and with a much stronger lead-in (Pros vs. Joes).

While the ratings did increase for the two episodes that debuted at 11:00 PM, those episodes still averaged a mere 0.4 overall rating. For the purposes of comparison, the pro wrestling show TNA Impact averaged a 0.8 overall rating in the same timeslot of Thursdays at 11:00 PM on Spike TV.

Given the fact that repeats of UFC Unleashed consistently draw ratings in the range of 0.7 to 1.0 no matter how many times they have aired in the past and no matter what kind of lead-in they have, it wouldn't make much sense to produce a 30-minute original series every week if it was only going to average a 0.4 rating.

Inside the UFC did not air on February 22nd. A repeat of UFC Unleashed aired instead, and sure enough, it drew a 0.9 overall rating for an episode that has aired numerous times in the past.

When asked about a possible return date for Inside the UFC, a Spike TV spokesperson said, "Inside the UFC is currently in hiatus, so I don't have a target date."

The series is expected to return eventually, but not anytime in the immediate future.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:06 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC 68 Fighter Salaries & UFC Fight Night 8 Fighter Salaries
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information for UFC 68, which took place on Saturday, March 3rd in Columbus, Ohio.

The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that the UFC is required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions, including the winners' bonuses.

Although MMA fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed bonuses that the UFC also pays its fighters, but does not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, PPV bonuses for PPV main event fighters), are not included in the figures below. Also not reflected below are the taxes that the fighters have to pay.

Following the fighter salaries for UFC 68 are the fighter salaries for UFC Fight Night 8, which took place on January 25 in Hollywood, Florida.

In the listings below, "Title Match & Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show and/or compete in a title fight on a show. "Main Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear on the main card, but not in title fights or in the main event. "Preliminary Match Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those matches end up airing on the PPV broadcast.

In addition, next to each fighter's name is the number of UFC fights that he has had, not counting fights that took place during Ultimate Fighter seasons because those fights are officially classified as exhibitions.

UFC 68 Fighter Salaries
Event took place on March 3, 2007

Title Match & Main Event Fighters
-Randy Couture: $250,000 (17th fight in UFC; defeated Tim Sylvia)
-Tim Sylvia: $100,000 (11th fight in UFC; lost to Randy Couture)

Main Card Fighters
-Matt Hughes: $150,000 (18th fight in UFC; defeated Chris Lytle)
-Rich Franklin: $42,000 (9th fight in UFC; defeated Jason MacDonald)
-Renato "Babalu" Sobral: $21,000 (9th fight in UFC; lost to Jason Lambert)
-Martin Kampmann: $20,000 (3rd fight in UFC; defeated Drew McFedries)
-Jason Lambert: $18,000 (5th fight in UFC; defeated Renato "Babalu" Sobral)
-Jason MacDonald: $14,000 (3rd fight in UFC; lost to Rich Franklin)
-Chris Lytle: $10,000 (8th fight in UFC; lost to Matt Hughes)
-Drew McFedries: $5,000 (2nd fight in UFC; lost to Martin Kampmann)

Preliminary Match Fighters
-Jon Fitch: $28,000 (5th fight in UFC; defeated Luigi Fioravanti)
-Matt Hamill: $10,000 (3rd fight in UFC; defeated Rex Holman)
-Luigi Fioravanti: $8,000 (4th fight in UFC; lost to Jon Fitch)
-Jamie Varner: $6,000 (2nd fight in UFC; defeated Jason Gilliam)
-Gleison Tibau: $6,000 (2nd fight in UFC; defeated Jason Dent)
-Rex Holman: $3,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Matt Hamill)
-Jason Gilliam: $3,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Jamie Varner)
-Jason Dent: $3,000 (2nd fight in UFC; lost to Gleison Tibau)
Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $697,000


UFC Fight Night 8 Fighter Salaries
Event took place on January 25, 2007

Main Event Fighters
-Rashad Evans: $24,000 (5th fight in UFC; defeated Sean Salmon)
-Sean Salmon: $3,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Rashad Evans)

Main Card Fighters
-Heath Herring: $60,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Jake O'Brien)
-Hermes Franca: $24,000 (7th fight in UFC; defeated Spencer Fisher)
-Jake O'Brien: $18,000 (3rd fight in UFC; defeated Heath Herring)
-Spencer Fisher: $13,000 (6th fight in UFC; lost to Hermes Franca)

Preliminary Match Fighters
-Nathan Marquardt: $44,000 (4th fight in UFC; defeated Dean Lister)
-Ed Herman: $24,000 (3rd fight in UFC; defeated Chris Price)
-Din Thomas: $24,000 (6th fight in UFC; defeated Clay Guida)
-Rich Clementi: $20,000 (3rd fight in UFC; defeated Ross Pointon)
-Josh Burkman: $14,000 (5th fight in UFC; defeated Chad Reiner)
-Dean Lister: $11,000 (3rd fight in UFC; lost to Nathan Marquardt)
-Chris Price: $7,000 (2nd fight in UFC; lost to Ed Herman)
-Ross Pointon: $5,000 (2nd fight in UFC; lost to Rich Clementi)
-Clay Guida: $5,000 (2nd fight in UFC; lost to Din Thomas)
-Chad Reiner: $3,000 (1st fight in UFC; lost to Josh Burkman)
Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $299,000

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:19 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Tito Ortiz vs. UFC President (and now Professional Boxer) Dana White Sanctioned in Nevada
by Ken Pishna and Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Dana White, President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, officially received his professional boxing license from the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Monday morning.

White was attemping to acquire such a license in order to fulfill a contractual promise that he made to professional MMA fighter Tito Ortiz when Ortiz re-signed with the UFC in 2006.

With the license in hand, White is now cleared to face Ortiz in an exhibition boxing match that will consist of three rounds of three minutes each. All of the standard ringside precautions will be taken, and the bout will take place under the auspices of a professional boxing referee, although there will be no judges or scoring of rounds due to the bout's exhibition status.

The bout is scheduled to take place on March 24th and will not be open to the public. There are plans to air the bout on UFC.com (though not live), with the majority of the financial proceeds going to charity. There will also be a documentary about Ortiz and White's training for the bout on Spike TV.

White received his license following a 3-1 vote by the NSAC to approve him. The lone dissenting vote was from Dr. Raymond “Skip” Avansino, Jr. who after much discussion said that he could not justify granting a license to an 0-0 professional boxer to face a fighter with as much experience as Tito Ortiz, albeit as a mixed martial artist and not as a professional boxer.

At one point, White did say that he was doing this because he wanted to live up to the word that he gave when he promised the bout to Ortiz. Reassuring the commission, he said, “Believe me, if I thought I was going to get seriously injured… I wouldn’t do it.”

UFC Chief Operating Officer Kirk Hendrick also spoke on behalf of White, saying that he really has been training for this and is taking it seriously. “This is not WWE wrestling. This is not Vince McMahon getting in the ring. We’re taking this seriously,” said Hendrick, addressing another concern of Avansino’s that this was some sort of “publicity event.”

At one point, when Dr. Avansino was saying that he couldn't justify voting in favor of granting White a license to fight Ortiz because he felt it was a mismatch in favor of Ortiz, Hendrick said that if anything it would be a mismatch in favor of White. Hendrick said to the athletic commission that White used to "dominate" Ortiz when they would spar together.

White was an amateur boxer from the ages of 17 to 24 (which would be 1988 to 1995) before turning to managing fighters and then to his current position as president of Zuffa, which is now the most successful mixed martial arts company in the United States, if not the world.

In the end, the argument for the bout to take place won out, and the 3-1 vote was cast in favor of newly licensed professional boxer Dana White.

White said towards the end of the meeting, "Believe me, I'm never going to fight again after this."

Labels: Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:45 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC's Relationship with HBO Continues to Evolve
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

An article by the Associated Press has addressed the issue of the UFC's relationship with HBO Sports, and the Wrestling Observer recently reported on some of the points of contention between the two companies as well.

Zuffa has been in negotiations to air UFC programming on HBO for quite some time. Any potential deal with HBO would not conflict with Zuffa's Spike TV deal. Zuffa's deal with Spike TV is an exclusive basic cable deal, but Spike's exclusivity does not cover premium cable (like HBO and Showtime) or broadcast television (CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, MyNetworkTV, and The CW Network).

The Associated Press report said, "[HBO executive Mark] Taffet said he isn't worried about UFC's rise. The two companies are negotiating over HBO possibly airing a UFC fight. However, there are questions about which company will produce the fight and who will call it — along with some hard feelings. One of HBO's most well-known ringside announcers is Jim Lampley, who has bashed the sport of mixed martial arts and the UFC."

In addition, HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg recently told MultiChannel News, "We're still measuring it, looking at it, and getting comfortable with the UFC."

The Wrestling Observer has elaborated on the status of the negotiations between Zuffa and HBO, specifically focusing on the disagreements over control, production crews, and announcers.

The Observer reported, "HBO wants full control of the product, and to use its crew and its announcers and cover it like a network broadcast team would cover a major sporting event. UFC doesn't want to give up its control of the product, wants its own crew to film it, and wants to use its own announcers, who are closer to pro wrestling announcers whose role is to build up the product as opposed to providing detached, objective commentary."

The Observer added that there are two factors that have made a UFC-HBO deal more likely to happen than it was a few months ago, with the April 21st show from England being the UFC's target date for its HBO debut.

One factor is that with Showtime having aired the first MMA event on premium cable (EliteXC), and with the event being internally considered a ratings success by premium cable standards, it has led to "both parties [HBO and Zuffa] wanting to get in the game now and speed up working through whatever problems might be there."

The other factor that makes a UFC-HBO deal more likely to happen is the fact that if Zuffa does not agree to a deal on HBO's terms, HBO could easily find other MMA promotions that would agree to its terms.

So, even if the terms of the deal are not favorable, Zuffa might still want to sign with HBO, if for no other reason than to prevent any other MMA promotion from signing a deal with HBO. This scenario is not as far-fetched as it might seem at first glance. The Observer previously reported that the IFL had been in negotiations for a national TV deal with the Versus Network when Zuffa bought the WEC and got it a deal to be the exclusive MMA partner of the Versus Network. (This was before the IFL struck a deal with MyNetworkTV.)

Zuffa president Dana White has said consistently over the past year that the UFC would be on HBO "very soon." This has been said as recently as this past week and as far back as April 2006, when White first mentioned HBO during a radio interview on 1140 KHTK in Sacramento.

An article in January on the boxing web site Seconds Out reported that HBO Sports did not want to air MMA programming at all, specifically saying that HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg had "opposed the UFC deal as vigorously as possible" and was doing "everything in his power not to televise mixed martial arts."

Seconds Out feature writer Thomas Hauser wrote that HBO Chairman and CEO Chris Albrecht, in an unprecedented move, actually veto'd Greenburg and insisted that HBO would air MMA programming, leaving Greenburg only to negotiate the details of such a deal.

The Seconds Out article added that the veto from Albrecht "represented a marked shift in HBO's corporate culture... in the past, an HBO chief executive officer would not have ordered sports programming over the objection of the sports department."

Greenburg was quoted on the record in the Seconds Out article as saying, "I wouldn't say that I’m a big fan of UFC... but when I started at HBO, I wasn’t a big fan of boxing, either. I recognize the fact that UFC appeals to a fan base and demographic that boxing doesn’t have right now."

Seth Abraham, who was the president of HBO Sports before Greenburg, went on a now-infamous tirade in the article, and his rather outlandish statements about MMA are said to represent the opinions of some of the hard-liners who, unlike Abraham, still work at HBO Sports.

Abraham said, "I think it's ridiculous for HBO to televise UFC. When I was at HBO, we had discussions once or twice a year about professional wrestling. We all agreed that it would get good ratings, and we also agreed that it would tarnish our boxing franchise. I feel the same way about UFC. Boxing has a storied history. When HBO attaches itself to boxing, it attaches itself to Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, and Muhammad Ali. It attaches itself to history, achievement, and glory. UFC has none of those things, and it will tarnish HBO's boxing franchise. Will UFC get good ratings? Probably, but so would naked boxing."

Labels: Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:12 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC PPV Revenue Tops $200 Million in 2006, PLUS: Early Word on UFC 67's PPV Buyrate
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The UFC broke the pay-per-view industry's all-time records for a single year of business and generated over $200 million in revenue during 2006, according to two credible media outlets.

Both the Associated Press and the Wrestling Observer have reported that Zuffa's pay-per-view revenue in 2006 exceeded $200 million, with the Wrestling Observer reporting the specific figure of $222,766,000. As the Observer put it, "UFC grossed more money this past year on PPV than any promotion in history ever has."

Many fans of both boxing and MMA have wondered whether the UFC has already surpassed boxing. The numbers show that not only is the UFC bigger than boxing today, but it's also bigger than boxing ever was from a PPV revenue standpoint. The all-time record year for boxing was 1999, with just over $200 million in combined PPV revenue, and the UFC broke that record by over $20 million in 2006.

Specific UFC PPV Buyrates
In addition to the broader, annual statistics in the Associated Press report, the Wrestling Observer has also reported on the PPV buyrates of specific UFC events.

Leading the way was UFC 66 (Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz), which drew approximately 1,050,000 pay-per-view buys and grossed approximately $41.95 million in PPV revenue.

Prior to UFC 66, Zuffa publicly and repeatedly predicted that the event would draw 1.2 million PPV buys. While the event fell short of meeting that prediction, the total of 1,050,000 still topped boxing's biggest event of 2006 (Oscar de la Hoya vs. Ricardo Mayorga) by more than 100,000 buys, as De la Hoya vs. Mayorga drew approximately 925,000 PPV buys.

The UFC's second-biggest pay-per-view event of 2006 was UFC 61 (Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock and Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski), which drew approximately 775,000 PPV buys and grossed approximately $30.96 million in PPV revenue.

The UFC's third-biggest PPV event of 2006 was UFC 60 (Matt Hughes vs. Royce Gracie), which drew a final number of approximately 620,000 PPV buys and generated approximately $24.77 million in PPV revenue.

Several other UFC PPV events in 2006 surpassed the mark of 500,000 PPV buys (and thus $20 million in PPV revenue), as the UFC's average for its ten PPV events in 2006 was approximately 522,500 buys per event.

Even if one were to take the three biggest UFC events of 2006 out of the equation, the seven remaining UFC PPVs in 2006 still managed to average approximately 400,000 PPV buys per event.

Boxing Has Second-Biggest Year Ever, WWE's Domestic PPV Buyrates Collapse
The only records that the UFC has not broken are the all-time boxing records for individual events, which still stand at approximately 2.0 million buys for a heavyweight fight and approximately 1.4 million buys for a non-heavyweight fight. The upcoming fight between Oscar de la Hoya and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is expected to break the 1.4 million mark and perhaps even approach the 2.0 million mark.

While the perception is that boxing's PPV business has rapidly declined, the fact of the matter is that 2006 was the second-biggest year in boxing history at the PPV box office, with gross PPV revenue of $177 million. That would likely be seen as a far bigger news story than it currently is, if it weren't for the fact that the UFC blew away boxing's all-time records during the same year.

It's not boxing that the UFC's explosion in PPV business appears to have severely hurt; it's pro wrestling and specifically World Wrestling Entertainment that the UFC is hurting.

The UFC launched on national cable television with the highly-watched pro wrestling program WWE Raw as its lead-in, and two years later the UFC's domestic PPV business has skyrocketed during the same period that WWE's domestic PPV business has collapsed.

From a promotional standpoint, the UFC has out-done WWE at its own game with money-drawing, exaggerated personal feuds like Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock, only with real fights in place of the simulated fights that pro wrestling offers. Indeed, the same publication that broke the story of the UFC's PPV totals for 2006, the Wrestling Observer, has also written in the past year that they have been specifically told by UFC president Dana White that WWE's business model "is the business model that they're trying to emulate."

The data could not be any more clear in demonstrating that the UFC is drawing fans away from pro wrestling far more than it's drawing fans away from boxing.

The management of WWE, led by Vince McMahon, continues to publicly downplay the negative affect that the rise of the UFC has had on WWE's domestic PPV buyrates. Indeed, a WWE executive is quoted in the Associated Press story on this subject as saying, "We are not worried about UFC."

Nonetheless, WWE's domestic PPV buyrates for its monthly shows have fallen under the 200,000 mark regularly over the past year, and recently fell to as low as 55,000 for a PPV event in December. In addition to the alarming number of 55,000 domestic buys for the "December to Dismember" event, several of WWE's pay-per-view events in the second half of 2006 failed to draw 150,000 domestic buys, including Great American Bash (140,000); No Mercy (120,000); Cyber Sunday (140,000); and Armageddon (145,000).

With its total of 1,050,000 domestic PPV buys, UFC 66 actually drew more domestic buys than WWE's last six pay-per-events of 2006 combined. The last six WWE PPVs of 2006 combined to draw approximately 880,000 domestic PPV buys, which is still 170,000 buys short of UFC 66.

In addition, annual mega-events that used to be huge for WWE are now drawing domestic PPV buyrates that are far below the average UFC PPV buyrate. Two prominent examples are Royal Rumble and SummerSlam from January 2006 and August 2006, respectively. Royal Rumble and SummerSlam are traditionally WWE's second and third biggest events of the year, but the 2006 editions of these events only managed to draw 340,000 domestic buys and 330,000 domestic buys, respectively.

Even WWE's biggest event of the year, WrestleMania, was actually out-drawn at the domestic box office by the UFC's second-biggest PPV of the year, and not by a close margin (775,000 to 640,000).

The total revenue generated by domestic buys of WWE PPVs in 2006 was $131,793,000, according to the Wrestling Observer, and that's with WWE having held 16 pay-per-view events in 2006, as compared with ten events for the UFC in 2006 and eleven for boxing.

The average number of domestic PPV buys per event was a mere 208,000 for WWE; which is less than half of the UFC's average of 522,500.

UFC 67 Establishes Strong "Base-Line" for Non-Marquee UFC Events
The Wrestling Observer also reports that the UFC's first PPV event of 2007, UFC 67, drew a much stronger than expected PPV buyrate and has established a "rock bottom" for UFC PPV buyrates that would still be highly profitable.

With Georges St. Pierre having pulled out of UFC 67 due to injury, the PPV main event was Anderson Silva vs. Travis Lutter, which was expected to draw the lowest buyrate that the UFC could possibly draw at this time. The Observer added, "Anything more than 300,000 would have been considered a huge success."

As it turns out, the early estimates for UFC 67 are that it drew between 350,000 and 400,000 PPV buys, meaning that it grossed between $13.98 million and $15.98 million in PPV revenue. The early estimates are always lower than the final numbers, which have replays and "late buys" included in the figures.

It's a positive sign for the UFC if the absolute minimum number of buys that UFC PPVs are going to draw is still in the range of 350,000 to 400,000 buys.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:07 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Pride 33 and UFC 67 Attendance Breakdown
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Pride 33: The Second Coming was a moderate success from a live box office standpoint, with numbers that were almost identical to those of Pride: The Real Deal.

Pride 33 drew a paid attendance of 8,334, which was up slightly from The Real Deal's mark of 8,079 in paid attendance. Both events took place at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

However, with ticket prices down slightly, the live gate was down from $2,056,044 for The Real Deal to $2,033,098 for The Second Coming. As it currently stands, The Real Deal drew the eighth largest live gate of any MMA event in Nevada to date, and The Second Coming drew the ninth largest live gate of any MMA event in Nevada to date. The UFC holds the top seven spots in Nevada's record books.

The number of people in attendance who had free "comp" tickets went up from 4,042 at The Real Deal to 4,577 at The Second Coming.

The total number of fans in attendance increased from 12,121 at The Real Deal to 12,911 for The Second Coming.

As is usually the case, there are the attendance numbers that the promotion claims publicly during or after the event, and then there are the actual, legitimate attendance numbers.

In the case of Pride 33: The Second Coming, Pride announced that the total attendance was 13,180, which is slightly higher than the legitimate total attendance figure of 12,911.

While The Second Coming performed slightly better at the live box office than The Real Deal, both events paled in comparison to the live event business that the UFC consistently generates in Las Vegas.

Just three weeks prior to Pride's Second Coming, UFC 67 took place in Las Vegas. While the UFC lamented the fact that the event did not fill the 11,000-seat Mandalay Bay Events Center at the post-fight press conference, the event still handily out-drew Pride: The Second Coming.

While Pride: The Second Coming generated $2,033,098 in ticket sales, UFC 67 generated $2,767,130 in ticket sales.

The UFC's higher live gate figure was caused not only by higher ticket prices, but also by the fact that UFC 67 had a slightly higher paid attendance figure, with 8,700 fans paying to attend UFC 67 (compared to 8,334 for The Second Coming).

UFC 67 also had 1,527 fans in attendance who had free "comp" tickets, making the total attendance 10,227, which is slightly lower than the UFC's publicly announced figure of 10,787.

The UFC has held eleven live PPV events since the beginning of 2006, and eight of those events were able to exceed Pride: The Second Coming's live gate of $2,033,098.

The only UFC PPV events from the past year that Pride: The Second Coming out-drew at the live box office were UFC 58 (which took place in Las Vegas and drew a live gate of $1,758,450); UFC 63 (which took place in Anaheim and drew a live gate of $1,582,370); and UFC 64 (which took place in Las Vegas and drew a live gate of $1,790,490).

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Pride Fighting Championships News, UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 11:56 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- In-Depth Coverage: NSAC Hearings for Randleman, Yvel, Alves, Toughill, and Carvalho
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Mixed martial arts fighters Kevin Randleman, Thiago Alves, and Aaron Carvalho have each been suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission as a result of their positive tests for banned substances following their recent MMA bouts in the state of Nevada; while Gilbert Yvel has been denied a fighters' license and Erin Toughill has been granted a conditional fighters' license in Nevada.

Randleman's license as a fighter has been outright revoked for providing fake urine during a drug test; Alves has been suspended for eight months due to a positive test for a banned diuretic; and Carvalho has been suspended for six months due to a positive test for the active ingredient in marijuana.

Randleman and Toughill appeared before the NSAC in person, while Alves, Yvel, and Carvalho participated via teleconference.

In Randleman's case, it's not clear when or if he will be allowed to fight again. The absolute earliest that he will be able to apply to get his license back will be one year from the date of his last fight, so that would be October 21, 2007. Even after that date, Randleman will have to personally appear in front of the NSAC and provide medical evidence that he is completely healthy before he can fight again. On top of the aforementioned suspensions, Randleman has been fined $5,000 and Alves has been fined $5,500.

Also today, Gilbert Yvel was denied a fighters' license in Nevada due to his previous actions in MMA bouts, which include punching and kicking a referee during a 2004 fight in Europe and also getting disqualified in two previous fights. While Yvel was calm throughout the hearing, there were several heated moments stemming from the fact that Yvel seemed to be oblivious to the fact that the NSAC did not understand his justifications for his actions. The NSAC appeared to become increasingly frustrated with Yvel's explanations during the proceedings, and Yvel was eventually denied his request for a license to fight on Pride's February 24th card.

In addition, Erin Toughill was granted her request for a fighters' license. Toughill's request required a special hearing because she previously fought while under an NSAC medical suspension. In 2006, Toughill was TKO'ed during a boxing match in Nevada, and she fought on an MMA card in California while under NSAC medical suspension. The NSAC agreed to grant her a license on the condition that it would only be for one fight, and then the NSAC will re-evaluate her case on medical grounds.

In another matter that was before the NSAC today, Kit Cope and Joe Pearson were temporarily suspended, pending disciplinary hearings at a later date. Following their fights on the first Zuffa-owned WEC event in January, Cope tested positive for the anabolic steroid Boldenone and Pearson tested positive for the active ingredient in marijuana.

Drug testing at mixed martial arts events in the United States is handled by state athletic commissions, not by the MMA promotions such as Pride or the UFC. As with all NSAC drug-related suspensions, the suspended fighters must submit a urine sample after the suspension has expired and the sample has to come back negative for all banned substances before the fighter can fight again.

For as long as a particular fighter is suspended in the state of Nevada, companies that are licensed to promote events in the state of Nevada are strongly discouraged from using that fighter anywhere in the world, which includes Pride and K-1 events in Japan. On this subject, Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Keith Kizer previously said to MMAWeekly, "I would expect a licensed promoter to respect any and all NSAC suspensions."

Kevin Randleman's Hearing
Kevin Randleman fought on the Pride card on October 21st of last year, losing to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua by submission, and his post-fight urine sample did not contain any human hormones. As a result, the NSAC alleged that Randleman provided a fake urine sample, which is regarded as being just as much of a violation as actually failing a drug test, if not more of a violation.

After an emotional disciplinary hearing, during which Randleman and his representatives admitted that Randleman provided fake urine, his fighters' license was revoked. It's not clear when or if he will be able to fight again, and the absolute earliest that he will be able to apply to get his license back will be one year from the date of his last fight (which took place on October 21, 2006). The NSAC ruled that even after that date, Randleman will have to appear in front of the commission and provide medical evidence that he is completely healthy if he to be granted a fighters' license ever again.

Randleman's hearing started as his representative, Jim Gallo, discussed the recurring lung infection that has plagued Randleman for the past 16 months. The lung infection has required eleven surgeries and increasingly strong antibiotic treatments. The NSAC was provided with photos from the surgery that Randleman had just two months before his October 21st fight in an effort to rid his body of the infection. Gallo said that due to the recurring infection, Randleman was on prescription painkillers and antibiotics at the time of the Pride event, and that Randleman was subsequently hospitalized for seven days in January due to "his body shutting down" from complications stemming from the same infection.

Gallo said, "Mr. Randleman was a fighter in poor health who misled this commission so that he could fight and make money for himself and his family. He takes responsibility for his actions." Gallo also asked that the NSAC change its procedures so that fighters are provided with a list of banned substances six to eight weeks before an event takes place, as Randleman was only given a banned substances list one day before the event and "that's when he panicked" upon seeing some of his medications on the list.

Gallo concluded his statements by saying that he was aware of the talk that Randleman's license should be revoked, but Gallo felt that a suspension of 10 to 12 months would be more appropriate.

Randleman then spoke in front of the members of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Randleman said, "I'm extremely sorry for the deception... I had eleven surgeries in 16 months, and it was very rough on me. My intention was not to deceive." At that point, NSAC Commissioner John Bailey interrupted and said, "Your intention was to deceive. Instead of disclosing everything to us, you said, 'I'm going to deceive these people so that they will let me fight.' Is that correct?"

Randleman responded: "That is correct, sir... I was wrong. I was very wrong. I should have come to you and said, 'Ladies, gentlemen, I have a problem here... but all I wanted to do was fight."

The commission was upset not only with the fake urine test, but also with the fact that Randleman did not fully disclose his medical condition prior to the fight. On this subject, Bailey said during the hearing, "When we had Joe Mesi [a boxer who has suffered bleeding in the brain] in front of us, our mindset was that sometimes we have to protect fighters from themselves... You were not healthy in this case. You were not healthy, and you did not make the right judgment. You cannot really provide us any assurance that if there were a fight next week, just hypothetically if there were a fight next week, that you would not try to fight next week, irrespective of the fact that your health is bad. We have to protect you when you can't protect yourself. You have demonstrated that you can't protect yourself and that you will deceive us instead of protecting yourself. You could have gotten killed in that ring."

Randleman said, "I'm not going to run and fight in Russia or Brazil or anywhere else. I'm going to sit at home and take the responsibility of whatever the punishment is for all those people who came before me and all those who will come after me."

Commission chairman Dr. Tony Alamo expressed concern that with Randleman having a serious lung infection going into the fight, he could have theoretically passed the infection along to his opponent, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, if both of them had sustained open cuts during the fight. Fortunately, neither fighter was cut during the fight.

Alamo also said, "I am moved by what you have said. We understand that you did not lie to us so that you could... I'm just one person, but what I believe here is that you did not lie to us so that you could take a performance-enhancing drug that could hurt someone else. But we need to protect you from yourself. Your deception was not just with the urine, but also with the pre-fight medicals. If you had told the doctors about your medical condition, you would not have been cleared to fight."

Randleman said that he has been drug tested in the past when he fought for the UFC and always passed his tests. When he was asked whether he used a product called the Whizzinator to fake his urine test, Randleman said he did not. When asked what he did use, Randleman said that he bought a bottle of fake urine from a company called Diversity.

Alamo said the only case that the NSAC has for a basis of comparison is that of Sean McCully, who provided fake urine for a drug test in 2004. In McCully's case, the NSAC revoked his license. Alamo said that even though he believes Randleman regrets his actions, the NSAC also has to set the precedent that Randleman's actions were unacceptable.

At that point, an emotional Randleman said, "You're right, sir. You guys have to set an example for anyone who comes after me who tries to do the same thing... I had 16 months of pure hell. Whatever your ruling is, I am going to honor it and not go and run and fight someone else... I was just thinking [before the fight], 'I can't let everybody down. I can't let my organization down.'"

The commission ultimately decided to revoke Randleman's license and fine him $5,000. Randleman will have to personally appear in front of the NSAC and provide medical evidence that he is completely healthy before he can fight again.

In recent months, the NSAC has changed its procedures to require that all drug-tested fighters must submit their urine sample in front of the inspectors. Dr. Tony Alamo said that in order to prevent something like this from happening again, "The inspectors now have to visually see the urine leaving the genitalia and going into the cup."

Thiago Alves' Hearing
Thiago Alves tested positive for the banned diuretic Spironolactone after he defeated Tony DeSouza at UFC 66 on December 30th. Diuretics are banned not only because they can be used to help fighters cut dangerous amounts of weight in short periods of time (which many fighters routinely do even without the use of diuretics), but also because they can be used to flush other banned substances out of a fighter's body before a drug test.

Alves' manager, Dan Lambert, said to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, "We acknowledge that Thiago took the diuretic." Lambert claimed, "Thiago did not knowingly break the rules of the commission" because he did not know that the use of diuretics is banned. "We're not trying to play games with anybody here, but we have over 40 fighters on our team, and none of them knew about the ban on diuretics. If you read the Internet forums, it seems as though a lot of people, fighters and fans alike, were not aware of the ban on diuretics," Lambert said.

Alves said, "I didn't know. I'm really, really sorry. I knew about steroids [being banned], I didn't know about the diuretics [being banned]... This is my life. This is all I do. I need to fight to survive, not just for me but for my family in Brazil." Alves said that he took the diuretic on the Thursday before the event, which would have been about 48 hours before the fight.

The commissioners did not seem to believe that Alves and Lambert were unaware of the fact that diuretics are banned. They mentioned that it has been well documented in lots of sports that diuretics are banned, and specifically that diuretics are banned by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). It was very interesting to hear the NSAC mention USADA due to the fact that the NSAC and other state athletic commissions have yet to implement USADA's standard punishment for any athlete who tests positive for a banned substance (which is a two-year suspension for a first-time offender and a lifetime ban for a second offense).

The commissioners brought up the question on the pre-fight paperwork that asked if Alves had taken any medications prior to the fight, which had been marked "no." Alves was asked, "Would you agree that it was misleading for you to have checked the 'no' box?" Alves said, "Yes."

The NSAC said that past offenders of the diuretics policy have been suspended for approximately eight months, at which point the commissioners agreed to suspend Alves for eight months from the date of the fight and also fine him $5,000.

Since Alves had a banned substance in his system when he won his fight against Tony DeSouza, many fans have asked if the official result of the fight will be changed.

The official policy used to be that the result of the fight would stay the same, no matter what banned substances were found in the winning fighter's system.

That rule has been changed in the past two years. Now, if a fighter wins a fight and tests positive for steroids, stimulants, or other performance-enhancing drugs in their post-fight drug test, the official result is changed to a no-contest. However, this has not been applied to diuretics, and MMAWeekly has confirmed with the NSAC that the official result of the Alves-DeSouza fight will not be changed.

Aaron Carvalho's Hearing
Aaron Carvalho tested positive for marijuana after his December 29th loss to Gilbert Sims on the Tuff-N-Uff fight card in Las Vegas. Carvalho was very forthright and straightforward in his testimony, as he said, "I admit to it. I was hanging out with some people about a week before the fight and we were smoking." Carvalho said that he hasn't used marijuana since then and that doesn't smoke marijuana regularly, but he did use it about a week before his December 29th fight.

In deciding Carvalho's punishment, the commissioners brought up the NSAC's most recent marijuana-related suspension, noting that K-1 fighter Carter Williams was suspended for six months after he tested positive for marijuana following the K-1 USA event in August 2006 The commissioners decided that Carvalho would also be suspended for six months from the date of the fight.

In addition to the fact that it's illegal, fighters are also tested for marijuana for competitive and safety reasons. On the subject of marijuana, NSAC Executive Director Keith Kizer tells MMAWeekly, "The main issue with marijuana is it slows the reflexes, putting the fighter at much greater risk. We would not let a fighter compete who is coming off arm surgery and has not fully recovered his reflexes, or who is under the influence of alcohol because of the same issue. Additionally, it may also deaden some pain. That could hurt the fighter... he may not tap out when he should and he suffers broken bones or torn ligaments as a result... or that could unfairly help him if he can trade punches more easily with his opponent."

Other state athletic commissions have more lenient policies when it comes to marijuana or drugs in general. One recent example would be the state of California and Ricco Rodriguez. The Wrestling Observer cites the California State Athletic Commission in reporting that Rodriguez tested positive for both marijuana and cocaine after his November 17th victory over Imani Lee on an MMA show in Bakersfield, California, but he was only given a six-month suspension for the two offenses.

Gilbert Yvel's Hearing
Pride Fighting Championships previously submitted the match-up of Sergei Kharitonov vs. Gilbert Yvel to the Nevada State Athletic Commission for approval as part of the February 24th line-up, but the NSAC would not approve the fight without a special hearing due to the fact that Yvel has been disqualified on three separate occasions in his MMA career, most recently when he brutally attacked the referee during a 2004 fight in Europe.

Yvel was asked to explain his actions in each of his three disqualifications. Yvel remained calm and polite throughout the hearing, but he also seemed to be oblivious to the fact that the NSAC did not understand his justifications for his actions.

In regards to his first DQ loss, which took place in 1998 when Yvel bit his opponent, Yvel said that he was "really young and had a really bad temper" at that time. Yvel said, "My opponent, he gave me a headbutt, and I told the referee, but the referee was like, 'Nothing is happening.' And then he did it again with the headbutt, and that was what caused my reaction, to bite him."

Yvel's second disqualification loss was in a 2001 fight against Don Frye, during which Yvel repeatedly eye-gouged Frye. Regarding this incident, Yvel explained, "Don Frye is a very, very strong man, and he was pushing all his body strength against me. I just put my fingers against his nose to push him away from me, and I wasn't really paying attention to what place my fingers were, and my finger slipped on to his eye. It was in the heat of the moment and I can tell you it was not my intention to put my finger in his eye."

The most infamous incident was in 2004 when Yvel got into an argument with the referee during a fight in Europe and proceeded to punch the referee in the face and then kick him. The commissioners were familiar with the incident and seemed disgusted by it: "This commission has all seen the video of the punching and kicking of the referee... I've never in my life seen somebody do what you did. What was going through your mind?"

Yvel gave a very long response, which was interrupted several times as the commissioners tried to get him to talk about the pivotal moment where he decided to attack the referee. The following are just excerpts from the full response: "In that fight, I fought almost for free... the referee was the trainer of my opponent, the promoter of the event, and he kept us waiting for four hours to pick us up at the airport [before the event], and then at the gym he kept us waiting for three more hours. We were just waiting and waiting..."

This was one of the several occasions when the commissioners seemed to be very frustrated, as they interrupted Yvel and said, "I want you to tell me what went through your mind when the referee broke up the fighters and you felt the need to hit the referee in the face and then return back and kick him. What were you thinking?"

Yvel said "sorry" and was polite at all times during the hearing, but he seemed to be oblivious to the commissioners' frustration. Yvel continued, "In the bout, I punched my opponent really hard and he didn't want to fight anymore. He didn't want to fight anymore and we almost fell out of the ring! He was ready to walk away from the fight, he wanted out of the fight, but the referee was trying to pull him back into the fight, and he said, 'Stop, don't move.' And when the referee says, 'Stop, don't move,' then you're supposed to go to the center of the ring in the same position. But he didn't do that, he put us in the center of the ring standing up. He put us standing up instead of on the ground, and that's not right. The referee put me in a bad position and my opponent in a good position by doing that, and the referee was screaming at me, and he was pulling at me. He was screaming and pulling, screaming and pulling, and at that moment, I am there to fight..."

At this point, the commissioners interrupted again, sounding fed up and saying, "Mr. Yvel, Mr. Yvel, you've got 30 seconds. The floor is yours for 30 more seconds." At that point, Yvel finished up by saying, "And at that moment, I got mad and I hit the referee and I kicked him. Yeah."

With Yvel having explained all of his problems with the referee, the commissioners unanimously agreed to deny his application for a fighters' license. This is not like a suspension where the fighter can't fight anywhere in the world for a certain period of time; Yvel simply can't fight in Nevada because he is not being given a license to fight in Nevada.

This leaves Yvel's original opponent for Pride's February 24th card, Sergei Kharitonov, without an opponent. Pride had previously proposed a fight between Kazuyuki Fujita and Wes Sims for the February 24th card, but the NSAC rejected it for competitive reasons (Sims vs. Mark Hunt was also rejected for competitive reasons). With Kharitonov's fight not being approved and Fujita's fight not being approved, it would seem to be logical that Kharitonov would fight Fujita, but that is not the case.

The NSAC has confirmed to MMAWeekly that Fujita will not be fighting Kharitonov or anyone else on the card, as the deadline has passed and Pride has still not sent all of Fujita's medical information to the NSAC.

It is not known whom Kharitonov will be fighting (if anyone), but it won't be Fujita. As a safety measure, the medical information of all fighters who are at least 35 years old (Fujita is 36) must be submitted at least a week before a show. Pride has missed this deadline for Fujita, so he will be ineligible to compete on the card. The NSAC just got Dan Henderson's medical information from Pride today (Henderson is 35 years old).

Erin Toughill's Hearing
Female mixed martial arts competitor Erin Toughill, who was recently featured on the MSNBC show Warrior Nation, appeared before the Nevada State Athletic Commission to request a fighters' license. Toughill's application required a special hearing instead of getting a standard approval because last year Toughill fought while she was under an NSAC medical suspension.

Toughill was TKO'ed in a boxing match in the state of Nevada on August 31, 2006. Due to punishment sustained in the fight, the NSAC medically suspended Toughill for 30 days. However, Toughill fought two weeks later on an MMA show in California while she was still under medical suspension.

Toughill said that all she can say in her own defense is that the MMA fight in California was on an Indian Reservation and she thought it was not under commission regulations. An emotional Toughill also said that her father passed away shortly before the MMA bout in California, and that the MMA bout was the best way for her to cope with her loss at the time.

The commissioners said that sometimes they have to protect fighters from themselves and that she should not have been fighting anywhere, in any sport (boxing or MMA), while under medical suspension. The commissioners voted to grant Toughill a conditional, one-fight license to fight in the state of Nevada. After that one fight in Nevada, then the NSAC will re-evaluate her case on medical grounds. Toughill is able to fight anywhere else in the meantime; her application for a fighters' license today was specifically for the state of Nevada.

Drug Testing Costs; Other Recent Drug Testing Results
According to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, the total cost of drug testing one fighter for performance-enhancing drugs, stimulants, recreational drugs, and all other banned substances is $278.40.

The seven Pride fighters who were drug tested and passed their tests at the Pride USA event last October were Fedor Emelianenko, Mark Coleman, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Josh Barnett, Dan Henderson, Phil Baroni, and Yosuke Nishijima. Vitor Belfort and Pawel Nastula failed their drug tests, and in December they were both suspended for nine months from the date of the event. The other six fighters on the Pride card were not drug tested.

The NSAC spent a total of $2,784 on drug testing for Pride: The Real Deal, while the total cost of drug testing every single fighter on the card would have been $4,454. The event drew $2,056,444 in ticket sales.

At UFC 66, there were six fighters who were drug tested: Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Keith Jardine, Forrest Griffin, Tony DeSouza, and Thiago Alves. All of those fighters passed their drug tests, with the exception of Alves. The other twelve fighters on the card were not drug tested. The NSAC spent a total of $1,670 on drug testing for UFC 66, while the total cost of drug testing every single fighter on the card would have been $5,011. The event drew $5,397,300 in ticket sales.

At UFC 67, there were eight fighters who were drug tested: Anderson Silva, Travis Lutter, Mirko Cro Cop, Eddie Sanchez, Quinton Jackson, Marvin Eastman, Ryoto Machida, and Sam Hoger. All eight of those fighters passed their drug tests. The other ten fighters on the card were not drug tested. The NSAC spent a total of $2,227 on drug testing for UFC 66, while the total cost of drug testing every single fighter on the card would have been $5,011. The event drew $2,767,130 in ticket sales.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Pride Fighting Championships News, UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:03 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Fighter Salaries for UFC 67
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information for UFC 67, which took place this past Saturday in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that the UFC is required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions, including the winners' bonuses.

Although MMA fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed bonuses that the UFC also pays its fighters, but does not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, PPV bonuses for PPV main event fighters), are not included in the figures below. Also not reflected below are the taxes that the fighters have to pay.

In the listings below, "Title Match & Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show and/or compete in a title fight on a show. "Main Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear on the main card, but not in title fights or in the main event. "Preliminary Match Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those matches end up airing on the PPV broadcast.

In addition, next to each fighter's name is the number of UFC fights that he has had, not counting fights that took place during TUF seasons because they are officially classified as exhibition fights.

Due to the fact that he failed to make weight for his fight against Anderson Silva, Travis Lutter was fined 10% of his pay. Since his pay was $20,000, the fine was $2,000. Of that amount, $1,000 went to the Nevada State Athletic Commission and $1,000 went to Anderson Silva for agreeing to fight Lutter even though Lutter hadn't made weight. These amounts are reflected in the salaries listed below for Silva and Lutter.

Title Match & Main Event Fighters
-Anderson Silva: $71,000 (3rd UFC fight; defeated Travis Lutter)
-Travis Lutter: $18,000 (5th UFC fight; lost to Anderson Silva)

Main Card Fighters
-Mirko Cro Cop: $350,000 flat fee (1st UFC fight; defeated Eddie Sanchez)
-Quinton Jackson: $170,000 (1st UFC fight; defeated Marvin Eastman)
-Eddie Sanchez: $30,000 flat fee (2nd UFC fight; lost to Mirko Cro Cop)
-Marvin Eastman: $30,000 (3rd UFC fight; lost to Quinton Jackson)
-Patrick Cote: $20,000 (5th UFC fight; defeated Scott Smith)
-Scott Smith: $12,000 (3rd UFC fight; lost to Patrick Cote)
-Roger Huerta: $12,000 (2nd UFC fight; defeated John Halverson)
-John Halverson: $3,000 (1st UFC fight; lost to Roger Huerta)

Preliminary Match Fighters
-Lyoto Machida: $36,000 (1st UFC fight; defeated Sam Hoger)
-Jorge Rivera: $12,000 (7th UFC fight; lost to Terry Martin)
-Tyson Griffin: $9,000 (2nd UFC fight; lost to Frank Edgar)
-Terry Martin: $8,000 (3rd UFC fight; defeated Jorge Rivera)
-Sam Hoger: $7,000 (4th UFC fight; lost to Lyoto Machida)
-Frank Edgar: $6,000 (1st UFC fight; defeated Tyson Griffin)
-Dustin Hazelett: $6,000 (2nd UFC fight; defeated Diego Saraiva)
-Diego Saraiva: $3,000 (1st UFC fight; lost to Dustin Hazelett)
Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $803,000

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 7:11 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC Pulls Chuck Liddell from Appearance at Local MMA Show
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The UFC has pulled Chuck Liddell from a personal appearance at a local MMA show in Jacksonville, Florida, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union.

A report in the Times-Union by reporter Bart Hubbuch says that Liddell had agreed to be the host or "master of ceremonies" for the Ultimate Warrior Challenge event in Jacksonville and was doing so on a volunteer basis.

However, the UFC pulled Liddell from the event due to concerns that the event would be mistaken for a UFC event as a result of local advertisements which said that "top UFC pros" would be making appearances at the event.

Local promoter S. Marcello Foran said, "They're very, very touchy at the UFC. They're very protective of what they've built, and Chuck is the crown jewel. I basically have to do what they tell me to do."

According to the Florida Times-Union, the UFC initially threatened to sue the local promoters unless the event was cancelled altogether. Foran said, "Once I gave the UFC confidence that there would be no more confusion about anything, they gave me the OK but said they couldn't allow Chuck to be [here]," Foran said.

You can read the full story from the Florida Times-Union at this URL: http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/020207/spo_7735798.shtml

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:25 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC Fight Night 8 Draws Solid Ratings; Pros vs. Joes Draws Strong Premiere Ratings
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The two-hour broadcast of UFC Fight Night 8 on Spike TV drew an overall rating of 1.7 on Thursday, January 25th. The overall rating and the specific demographic ratings were close to the UFC's averages for live fight specials on Spike TV, and they were also up from the ratings that were drawn by the previous UFC Fight Night special on December 13th.

Comparisons to UFN 7 and UFC's Averages-to-Date
Compared to the two-hour broadcast of UFC Fight Night 7 on December 13th, UFC Fight Night 8 was a big success from a ratings standpoint.

UFN 7 drew a 1.3 overall rating, while UFN 8 drew a 1.7 overall rating. UFN 7 drew a 2.0 rating in the key demographic of 18-to-34-year-old males, while UFN 8 drew a 2.3 rating in this demographic. In the broader 18-to-49-year-old male demographic, UFN 7 drew a 1.6 rating and UFN 8 drew a 2.0 rating.

Compared to the UFC's averages for the first twelve live fight specials that it aired on Spike TV (from April 2005 to December 2006), UFC Fight Night 8 was on par in terms of overall viewership and slightly below average in the key demographics.

The UFC's first twelve live fight specials on Spike TV drew an average overall rating of 1.7, which is identical to the overall rating that was drawn by the company's thirteenth live fight special, UFN 8. However, UFN 8's rating of 2.3 in the coveted 18-to-34-year-old male demographic falls short of the prior UFC average of 2.9 in that demographic. Also, UFN 8's rating of 2.0 in the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic falls short of the prior UFC average of 2.3 in that demographic.

Jake O'Brien vs. Heath Herring Out-Draws Rashad Evans vs. Sean Salmon
The surprise of the night was that the biggest ratings draw was not the main event match-up of Rashad Evans vs. Sean Salmon. The biggest draw of the night was the fight between Heath Herring and Jake O'Brien, which was the first live UFC fight since last October to break the 2.0 barrier in the ratings.

The lowest-rated fight of the evening was the fight that opened the live TV broadcast. This is almost always the case because a large percentage of the people who watch a live UFC special over the course of its two-hour duration are people who were not aware that the event was going to be taking place until after it started. Word of mouth and viewers stumbling upon the broadcast while flipping channels both play a big role in the ratings for every live UFC special, as evidenced by the fact that the ratings always start out low when not as many people are aware that there's a live UFC special airing on Spike TV.

In the opening fight of the broadcast, Hermes Franca defeated Spencer Fisher by TKO, and the fight drew a 1.5 overall rating, which is actually a higher rating than most UFC "opening fights" draw on Spike TV.

The biggest jump of the night for UFN's ratings came for the next fight, Jake O'Brien's unanimous decision victory over Heath Herring. That fight drew a 2.1 overall rating, creating more of an audience increase from the previous fight than the audience growth on the entire UFN 7 broadcast in December. During that broadcast, the largest audience growth was from 1.1 to 1.4.

The viewership level decreased slightly after the O'Brien vs. Herring fight, and it never reached the 2.0 level again. Ed Herman's submission victory over Chris Price drew a 1.8 overall rating, and then the main event fight between Rashad Evans and Sean Salmon was responsible for moderate ratings growth, as it drew a 1.9 overall rating.

While it was somewhat surprising for Evans vs. Salmon to have not drawn the highest rating of the broadcast, the fight still drew a high enough rating to be the second most watched fight on the last three UFC live specials (behind only O'Brien vs. Herring).

Pros vs. Joes Draws Strong Ratings for Season Premiere
The January edition of UFC Fight Night was specifically scheduled to take place on Thursday the 25th in order to serve as a steady lead-in for another show on Spike TV, which has been the case in some form or another for every single live UFC fight special on Spike TV since UFN 4.

In this case, the show being promoted was the second season premiere of Pros vs. Joes, and the show came through by actually out-drawing the UFC Fight Night special that served as its lead-in. It was only the second time that a non-UFC show has out-drawn its live UFC lead-in, with the first show being Blade: The Series last June.

Pros vs. Joes drew an overall rating of 1.9, building on UFN's overall rating of 1.7. Pros vs. Joes also drew a 2.6 rating in the 18-to-49-year-old demographic, building on UFN's 2.0 rating in this demographic. Most impressively of all, Pros vs. Joes drew a 3.3 rating in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, building on UFN's rating of 2.3 in this demographic.

Compared to the launch of Blade: The Series following a UFC Fight Night special last June, Pros vs. Joes lost slightly when it comes to the overall rating (1.9 to 2.0), but Pros vs. Joes handily out-drew Blade: The Series' premiere in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic (3.3 to 2.6) and in the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic (2.6 to 2.2).

Of course, as with any TV series (and any individual season of any TV series), the question is whether or not Pros vs. Joes can maintain ratings that are close to this level over the long haul.

The strong first week ratings won't mean all that much if the ratings fall off drastically in subsequent weeks and the series ends up being cancelled, which is what happened to Blade: The Series. Blade went from drawing a 2.0 overall rating in its first week to averaging a 0.9 overall rating in its remaining weeks, and it experienced similarly drastic drop-offs in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic (from 2.6 down to 1.0) and in the 18-to-49-year-old demographic (from 2.2 down to 0.9).

Other Spike TV Ratings from January 25th
Airing from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM and leading into the UFC Fight Night special on Spike TV was a new episode of UFC Unleashed, which drew an overall rating of 0.6. The last time that a new episode of UFC Unleashed aired at 7:00 PM, it drew an overall rating of 0.9 back on August 17th (the night of TUF 4's premiere).

After the two-hour broadcast of UFC Fight Night and the one-hour broadcast of Pros vs. Joes, the Spike TV original series Afro Samurai aired from 11:00 PM to 11:30 PM and drew an overall rating of 0.7, which was actually an increase from the series' previous average of 0.5.

Airing from 11:30 PM to 12:00 AM, Wild World of Spike drew an overall rating of 0.5, which was up slightly from its previous average of 0.4. Needless to say, the ratings that have been drawn by Afro Samurai and Wild World of Spike have left a lot to be desired, and the low ratings can't be blamed on the late timeslot because TNA Impact was able to consistently draw ratings of 0.8 or higher in the same timeframe (11:00 PM to 12:00 AM).

The latest episode of Inside the UFC aired on Spike TV from 12:00 AM to 12:30 AM, and it drew an overall rating of 0.4. The ratings for Inside the UFC have decreased ever since Spike TV took away its UFC lead-in.

In the five-week period when Inside the UFC had repeats of UFC Unleashed and one new episode of UFC All Access as its lead-ins, the series was averaging a 0.6 overall rating, which was actually considered a fairly good rating for a show that airs at midnight. In the four weeks since then, with lead-ins of Afro Samurai and Wild World of Spike, the series has drawn overall ratings in the 0.3 to 0.4 range.

Head-to-Head Network Competition
Airing head-to-head with UFC Fight Night 8 on Thursday, January 25th from 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM, a repeat of CSI Miami on CBS led the pack with an overall rating of 8.1, while a repeat of the ABC series Ugly Betty drew a 6.9 overall rating. NBC's repeats of My Name is Earl and The Office drew overall ratings of 5.3 and 4.8, respectively, which are fairly strong ratings for repeats of comedy shows.

Bringing up the rear was Fox, which managed to draw only a 3.5 overall rating for a repeat of 'Til Death and a 3.2 overall rating for a new episode of The War at Home. Neither series is going to be on the air for very long if they keep drawing ratings in that range. The War at Home's ratings have fallen off drastically ever since Fox moved the series from Sunday nights and put it head-to-head with The Office and Ugly Betty on Thursday nights.

Airing head-to-head with UFC Fight Night in the 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM hour, a new episode of Grey's Anatomy on ABC out-drew a new episode of CSI on CBS, which was shocking when it first happened last fall but is now considered commonplace. Grey's Anatomy drew a 14.0 overall rating, while CSI drew a 13.1 overall rating.

In the meantime, NBC's repeats of Scrubs and 30 Rock drew overall ratings of 3.2 and 2.5, respectively. Despite its critical acclaim, 30 Rock is probably not going to get renewed for a second season unless its ratings increase in the coming months. Fox again came in last place with a 2.5 overall rating for a new episode of The OC. That is exactly the kind of number that caused Fox to make the decision to end The OC, which was drawing more than double its current audience just two years ago.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 1:10 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- WEC's Joe Pearson Tests Positive for Marijuana Ingredient
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Joe Pearson, who fought for the WEC Featherweight Title at the first Zuffa-owned WEC event on January 20th, has tested positive for a metabolite form of the active ingredient in marijuana, according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

The active ingredient in marijuana is Delta-9-THC, and Pearson tested positive for Delta-9-THC's major metabolite, Delta-9-THC Carboxylic Acid. THC is short for Tetrahydrocannabinol, and it is the primary psychoactive substance in marijuana.

Pearson is the ninth MMA fighter to fail a drug test in the state of Nevada since the beginning of 2006.

With Pearson's test for recreational drugs coming back positive, two of the four fighters in WEC title bouts on the January 20th event have now tested positive for a banned substance.

Last week, when the test results came back for performance-enhancing drugs, WEC Lightweight Title challenger Kit Cope was found to have tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid Boldenone. Cope lost his January 20th fight to Rob McCullough, while Pearson lost his fight to Urijah Faber.

The six fighters who were drug tested at the WEC event on January 20th were Pearson, Cope, Faber, McCullough, Rich Crunkilton, and Mike Joy. Faber, McCullough, Crunkilton, and Joy passed all of their drug tests.

Competitors in MMA, boxing, and kickboxing who have been suspended for positive marijuana tests in the state of Nevada in the past have included Samson Po'uha, Sean McCully, Jason Guida, and Carter Williams. Though there is no standard punishment for a drug test failure in Nevada, previous fighters have generally been suspended six months for their first offense (and twelve months for their second offense in the case of Po'uha).

According to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, the steroid test for any given fighter costs $154.50, the drug screen (which also tests for recreational drugs) costs $78.90, and the stimulant test costs $45.00, so the total cost of drug testing one fighter is $278.40.

The NSAC spent a total of $1,670.40 on drug testing for the first Zuffa-owned WEC event, which was also the first WEC event in Nevada. The total cost of drug testing every fighter on the card would have been $5,011.20. With 664 tickets sold, the WEC event had a live gate of $100,155.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 7:02 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC Handles Brutal Knockout Poorly
by Ivan Trembow

The UFC showed a lack of class in its handling of the brutal knockout of Sean Salmon on the UFC Fight Night card on Thursday night, just as was the case when Tra Telligman and Terry Martin when they were both unconscious for an extended period of time after being knocked out in separate UFC bouts in 2005.

If you didn't see it, Salmon was knocked out cold by a high kick from Rashad Evans in the main event of the UFC Fight Night broadcast on Spike TV. He was unconscious for several minutes, and the UFC never acknowledged or updated viewers on his condition. (UPDATE: We now know, not from the UFC but from the web site of one of Salmon's sponsors, that Salmon is scheduled to be released from the hospital later tonight and thankfully it looks like he's going to be okay.)

As was the case with Telligman and Martin, there was no on-air acknowledgement by the UFC that Salmon was unconscious for a significant period of time, nor were there any general updates on his condition. In fact, the commentators were still yelling about what a "beautiful knockout" it was 30 seconds after it happened, when Salmon was still completely limp and it was clear that there was a potentially serious situation unfolding.

After the event, numerous people on message boards were asking questions like, "Is he okay?" and even, "Is he dead?" You literally would not know from the UFC broadcast itself whether Salmon was dead or alive when the show went off the air, which left a lot of people wondering about his condition.

Name any other sport where someone has a potentially serious injury and the response is to not acknowledge it or update the viewers on the injury.

It would be the equivalent of an NFL player going down from a big hit and not moving for several minutes, and the camera on the television broadcast cuts to a crowd shot or commercial break, and then the injured NFL player is never acknowledged again during the broadcast.

That’s exactly what happened in the UFC when Telligman and Martin were knocked out (and in both of those cases, they had hours to offer any kind of update or acknowledgement to the PPV viewers), and that’s exactly what happened tonight. It was classless and it’s not something that you’re going to see in other sports.

If you're the UFC, you don’t have to say, “He’s okay!” You don’t have to put the camera on him non-stop and “play up the spectacle” of it. That’s not what I was suggesting at all. What I was suggesting is that they acknowledge the fact that someone is unconscious and that the fighters’ safety is the most important thing, and that whether Sean Salmon ends up being okay or not is ultimately more important than the fact that Rashad Evans just scored a highlight reel KO. It would take maybe two sentences and it would make a world of difference in terms of the image that the UFC is portraying.

In Salmon's case, there may not have been enough time to update viewers on his condition in the few minutes before they went off the air. The UFC would deserve and would receive the benefit of the doubt in this situation if it weren't for their previous actions when Tra Telligman was unconscious for an extended period of time due to a Tim Sylvia high kick, or when Terry Martin was unconscious for an extended period of time due to a flying knee from James Irvin. In Telligman’s case, they even kept going with the post-fight interview without skipping a beat as Telligman was in a neck immobilizer and being taken out of the cage on a stretcher in the background of the camera shot.

Again, even if there was literally no new information to give before they went off the air, they could read two sentences about how fighter safety is the most important thing in the UFC, and that there is a great team of doctors helping Salmon right now, and that there will be updates on the UFC web site later tonight as they learn more about his condition. (Yes, that would have been a plug for their web site, but when it’s a legitimate news story, it’s no different than ABC News saying, “We’ll have more on this developing story throughout the night on our web site.")

That would have been the decent thing to do. It wouldn't be "shining a light on the negative aspects of the sport," because the fact is that viewers could see with their own eyes, whether the UFC acknowledged it or not, that there was a team of doctors in the background trying to help a fighter who was still not moving. All the lack of acknowledgment did was make the UFC look bad for not acknowledging it.

A brutal knockout, in and of itself, does not make the sport of mixed martial arts "look bad." Brutal knockouts are going to happen in any combat sport, though MMA has a far better safety record than boxing. Serious injuries like those that could have been suffered by Salmon are going to happen in any contact sport, though MMA has a far better safety record than football. What makes the sport of MMA look bad is when a fighter has been knocked unconscious for several minutes and the promotion in three separate cases doesn't even acknowledge the unconscious fighters' condition.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 11:36 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Fighter Salary Breakdown for First Zuffa-Owned WEC Event
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information for the WEC event that took place this past Saturday night, January 20th, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was the WEC's first in Las Vegas and also the WEC's first since being purchased by Zuffa, the same company that owns the UFC.

The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that Zuffa and the WEC are required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions, including the winners' bonuses.

Although MMA fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed bonuses that Zuffa and the WEC also pay its fighters, but do not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, PPV bonuses for the top PPV main event fighters, which would not apply since this event was not on PPV), are not included in the figures below.

In the listings below, "Title Match & Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show and/or compete in a title fight on a show. "Preliminary Match Fights" are fights that are taped before a show goes on the air, and since this show hasn't aired on TV or PPV, all of the non-main event fights are defined as "Main Card Fights."

Highlights from this event will air this summer on one of the WEC's hour-long highlight shows on the Versus Network, which is available in approximately 70 million U.S. households.

Title Match & Main Event Fighters
-Rob McCullough: $20,000 (defeated Kit Cope)
-Urijah Faber: $10,000 (defeated Joe Pearson)
-Kit Cope: $5,000 (lost to Rob McCullough)
-Joe Pearson: $4,000 (lost to Urijah Faber)

Main Card Fighters
-John Alessio: $10,000 (defeated Brian Gassaway)
-Rich Crunkilton: $10,000 (defeated Mike Joy)
-Alex Karalexis: $8,000 (defeated Olaf Alfonso)
-Logan Clark: $8,000 (defeated Blas Avena)
-Carlos Condit: $8,000 (defeated Kyle Jensen)
-Antonio Banuelos: $6,000 (defeated Mike French)
-Brian Gassaway: $4,000 (lost to John Alessio)
-Brendan Seguin: $4,000 (defeated Fernando Gonzalez)
-Olaf Alfonso: $4,000 (lost to Alex Karalexis)
-Mike French: $3,000 (lost to Antonio Banuelos)
-Fernando Gonzalez: $3,000 (lost to Brendan Seguin)
-Kyle Jensen: $3,000 (lost to Carlos Condit)
-Blas Avena: $2,500 (lost to Logan Clark)
-Mike Joy: $2,000 (lost to Rich Crunkilton)
Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $114,500

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 6:19 PM

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Video Games and Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC Reaches New Video Game Deal with THQ
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a new edition of the Ultimate Fighting Championship in video game form, but that will be changing in the not-too-distant future, as the UFC has struck a deal with video game publisher THQ.

In a story first reported by entertainment trade journal Variety, THQ has signed a five-year contract with Zuffa to be the exclusive publisher of UFC video games through the end of 2011 for "all console and portable platforms, as well as wireless devices."

While no specific game platforms have been announced for the first UFC game from THQ, the primary platforms for UFC games in the future would seem likely to be the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, though modified versions of UFC games could also be released for the less powerful and younger-skewing Nintendo Wii.

Drastically altered versions of the games could also be released for portable systems such as the Nintendo DS or Sony PSP in order to maximize revenue and help offset the higher development costs of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 games.

THQ is not a company that develops video games itself; THQ is a game publisher that hires game developers to create games. THQ funds and supervises the development of these games, and THQ is then responsible for marketing the finished products.

The quality of future UFC video games will be heavily dependent on which developer(s) THQ has contracted to develop the games. In an interview with IGN, THQ executive Kelly Flock refused to answer when he was asked to name the developer of the game.

THQ is also the publisher of WWE video games, and the fact that WWE and UFC games will now be released by the same game publisher has upset the management of WWE, which has seen its domestic pay-per-view buyrates collapse in the same year that the UFC's PPV buyrates skyrocketed.

In early 2005, the UFC started airing on the same cable network as WWE (Spike TV), and when WWE's contract with Spike TV came up for renewal later in 2005, Spike TV made the choice to break off all renewal negotiations with WWE, which then returned to USA Network for significantly lower rights fees than it had been receiving from Spike TV.

THQ's Flock said in an interview with Variety, "We see WWE as an entertainment brand, while UFC is a true sports brand." The WWE games that have been published by THQ had been fairly well received from a critical standpoint for years, but have received decidedly mixed reviews over the past few years.

THQ previously published "Pride FC" for the PlayStation 2, a game that is widely regarded as the best MMA game to date. As for UFC-branded video games, the first effort on the Sega Dreamcast was well-received, but the last several UFC games from publishers such as Crave Entertainment, TDK Mediactive, and Global Star Software (a brand of Take-Two Interactive) were almost universally panned by critics.

Video games based on MMA are inherently difficult to create due to the complexity of the sport and the fact that fights can end in any number of different ways, which makes it hard for developers to create an entertaining, but still true-to-life gameplay experience.

When asked by IGN about the degree of difficulty in such a project, Flock acknowledged, "We're well aware of this difficulty to made this game work out, especially the mechanics, and Zuffa, LLC was also aware of this when they picked us to publish their game."

THQ has been mum on the details regarding its first UFC game. The Variety and IGN articles said that the game would include online multi-player functionality (which is a given for any sports game) and would feature "current and former UFC fighters."

The specific fighter line-up could be a key factor, as previous UFC games were missing some notable fighters who wanted to be paid fees or royalties for their video game appearances in the same way that athletes in any other sport are paid when they appear in video games. In football, basketball, baseball, hockey, and other sports, this is handled through the Player's Association of each respective sport.

THQ's Flock also said that he envisions new releases once per year after the first UFC game has been released, as he said to IGN, "UFC lends itself to an annual update, so we expect to have annual iterations of the game with new features, updated and upgraded graphics and gameplay, the whole deal."

No titles or release dates have been announced, though the Variety article said that the first game would likely be released in late 2007 or in 2008.

However, given the fact that the deal between Zuffa and THQ was just signed in late 2006 and that a new gameplay engine is presumably being created for the game, a late 2007 release date would seem to be very unlikely. A one-year development cycle would be unusually short and seemingly rushed for the first generation of a new game franchise running on a new gameplay engine.

Beyond the core gameplay itself and the features that are standard for any sports or fighting game, fans of previous MMA video games will also be interested to know what innovations the game will offer in its "Season" or "Career" modes, how deep the simulation aspects of the game will be, and how many fighters the game will include. It's conceivable that the game could feature dozens of fighters, given the massive size of the UFC's real-life roster.

THQ's biggest motivation for signing a deal with the UFC is obvious. A top-selling video game can generate tens of millions of dollars in revenue or more, and the UFC's popularity has exploded over the past two years.

THQ's Flock said to IGN, "The popularity of the UFC has really kicked into gear. It's amazingly popular right now. We saw the numbers, how it was taking off, how our demographic was interested, and we felt like it was time to bring it back to the interactive arena. The response from people [who] know about it all think this is a great move."

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Video Games

posted by Ivan Trembow at 11:34 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Biggest Event of 2006: UFC vs. Boxing vs. WWE
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

With the UFC's business exploding in every category over the past twelve months, many people have asked how the UFC's current level of business compares with that of boxing and pro wrestling, which are two of the UFC's primary competitors.

To examine this issue, we're going to take a look at the two most relevant statistics for the largest shows of the year in each of the three aforementioned respective genres: Live gate revenue and pay-per-view revenue.

Television ratings information is not available for boxing on HBO or Showtime, and it has proven largely irrelevant in the case of WWE, which regularly produces TV shows with double or quadruple the UFC's TV ratings while also producing monthly pay-per-views with less than half of the UFC's domestic PPV buys.

The boxing event with the biggest live gate in 2006 was the May 6th fight between Oscar de la Hoya and Ricardo Mayorga, which generated $7,636,000 in gross ticket receipts.

Even with UFC 66 drawing the UFC's biggest live gate in history, its live gate total of $5,397,300 is still over two million dollars short of boxing's high mark in 2006.

However, if the UFC's own publicly stated predictions are accurate, UFC 66 will generate more PPV revenue than De la Hoya vs. Mayorga.

The fight between De la Hoya and Mayorga drew 925,000 pay-per-view buys in the United States at $49.95 per buy, which generated gross PPV revenue of $46.20 million.

The UFC has publicly and repeatedly predicted that UFC 66 will draw 1.2 million PPV buys, and with a price of $39.95, the gross PPV revenue would be $47.94 million.

The previous all-time record for UFC PPVs was set this past July by UFC 61, which drew approximately 775,000 buys and generated approximately $30.96 million in revenue.

In boxing, the all-time record for pay-per-view buys was set in 2002 by Mike Tyson vs. Lennox Lewis, which drew 2.0 million pay-per-view buys. That event is followed closely in the record books by the 1997 fight between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, which drew 1.99 million PPV buys.

The all-time record for a non-heavyweight boxing PPV was set in 1999 when Oscar de la Hoya's fight against Felix Trinidad drew 1.4 million PPV buys. De la Hoya's upcoming fight against Floyd Mayweather, Jr., which is scheduled to take place on May 5th, has a strong chance of breaking the 1.4 million record for a non-heavyweight boxing PPV.

With the decline in its domestic business in recent years, World Wrestling Entertainment is no longer in the same league as the UFC or big-name boxing match-ups when it comes to live gate sales or PPV revenue for the largest events.

The biggest WWE event of 2006 was WrestleMania, which took place on April 2nd and drew a live gate of just $2.5 million. In addition, WWE now claims that WrestleMania drew 636,000 PPV buys in the United States (an increase from WWE's previously claimed figure of 560,000).

If WWE's latest figure of 636,000 buys is accurate, that would equal PPV revenue of $31.77 million for the event, which would be $14.43 million short of the PPV revenue that was generated by De la Hoya vs. Mayorga, and $16.17 million short of Zuffa's projections for UFC 66.

Live Gate Sales (United States)
1. Boxing's Biggest Event of 2006: $7,636,000 (De la Hoya vs. Mayorga)

2. MMA's Biggest Event of 2006: $5,397,300 (UFC 66)

3. Pro Wrestling's Biggest Event of 2006: $2,500,000 (WWE WrestleMania)


Pay-Per-View Revenue (United States)
1. MMA's Biggest Event of 2006: $47.94 million (UFC 66, according to Zuffa's publicly stated projections)

2. Boxing's Biggest Event of 2006: $46.20 million (De la Hoya vs. Mayorga)

3. Pro Wrestling's Biggest Event of 2006: $31.77 million (WWE WrestleMania, according to WWE's latest claimed figures)

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 11:07 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC, Pride, and IFL Dates Revealed
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

MMAWeekly has learned the scheduled dates of several upcoming mixed martial arts events that have not yet been publicly announced.

As previously announced, Pride's next show in the United States will take place on February 24th, but Pride has also requested the venue of the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas for a third U.S. show on April 28th.

Meanwhile, Spike TV has confirmed that the live season finale of The Ultimate Fighter 5 (featuring BJ Penn vs. Jens Pulver) will take place on June 23rd.

Also, while not confirmed by Spike TV, MMAWeekly has learned that the next UFC Fight Night broadcast after the January 25th event is scheduled to take place on March 13th, and the next one after that will take place on April 5th as the lead-in to the season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 5.

In addition, the previously open date in June on the IFL's previously announced 2007 season schedule now appears to have been filled, as the IFL has formally requested the date of June 17th for an event at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada.

Finally, though it was reported on MMAWeekly several months ago, it has now been officially confirmed that UFC 68 will be taking place on March 3rd at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The show is actually being referred to as "UFC 68: Ohio 1." There will already be a lot of visitors in the Columbus area on that weekend due to the Arnold Classic bodybuilding event, and many of those visitors may also purchase tickets to the UFC event.

You can always find the latest information on scheduled dates and rumored line-ups for upcoming MMA events in MMAWeekly's Rumors section, and you can find the specific TV or PPV listings for any particular event in our MMA Television Guide.

Labels: International Fight League (IFL) News, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Pride Fighting Championships News, UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:06 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC 66 Breaks Records; UFC Business Year-in-Review
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Last weekend's UFC 66 event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada generated $5,397,300 in gross ticket sales, which is more than any other event in UFC history.

Prior to UFC 66, there had been three events in UFC history that drew more than $3 million in gross ticket sales: UFC 57 (headlined by Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture), UFC 61 (Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock; and Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski), and UFC 62 (Liddell vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral).

The live gate figure of $5,397,300 that was announced by Zuffa after UFC 66 is indeed the legitimate live gate figure. However, Zuffa's claim that the building was sold out with 14,607 fans in attendance is not accurate.

The actual number of fans in attendance, according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, was 13,761. Of the 13,761 fans in attendance, 12,191 of those fans paid for their tickets, while the remaining 1,570 people in attendance had free "comp" tickets.

The UFC's all-time record for highest paid attendance is still held by UFC 59, for which 13,060 tickets were sold. In addition, the UFC record for the highest total attendance still belongs to UFC 60, which had a total of 14,765 fans in attendance (although 4,418 of those fans had free "comp" tickets).

Nonetheless, the amount of the live gate is far more important from a business standpoint than the number of fans in attendance, and UFC 66 simply blows away every other UFC event in history when it comes to gross ticket sales. The event that previously held the all-time record was UFC 57 (with gross ticket sales of $3,382,400), and UFC 66 surpassed that mark by more than $2 million.

UFC 65 Live Gate Info
Just over a month prior to UFC 66, a fight between Matt Hughes and Georges St. Pierre headlined UFC 65 in Sacramento, California. The event drew a live gate of $2,138,020, making it the ninth highest-grossing UFC event in history (including UFC 66).

Both events took place in California and both events featured a Matt Hughes fight in the main event, but UFC 65 (with Hughes vs. St. Pierre) drew approximately $550,000 more in gross ticket sales than UFC 63 (with Hughes vs. BJ Penn).

However, the public claims that 15,350 fans were in attendance at UFC 65 are false. The legitimate total attendance was 14,666, with 12,362 of those fans paying for their tickets and the other 2,304 fans receiving free "comp" tickets.

UFC Business Year-in-Review
Heading into 2006, the UFC had drawn live gates of $2 million or more on just two occasions in its history (UFC 52 with Liddell vs. Couture, and UFC 54 with Liddell vs. Jeremy Horn).

In the year 2006 alone, the UFC surpassed the $2 million mark in ticket sales with seven different events, three of which also surpassed the $3 million mark, and one of which also surpassed the $5 million mark.

Chuck Liddell has been in the main event in five of the nine events in UFC history that have drawn live gates of $2 million or more. The only two fighters who come close to Liddell's record are Tito Ortiz and Matt Hughes, each of whom have been in the main event in three of the UFC's nine events that have had ticket sales of more than $2 million.

In addition, Chuck Liddell has been in the main event in three of the four events in UFC history that have drawn live gates of $3 million or more, and he fought three different fighters in those three events (Randy Couture, Renato Sobral, and Tito Ortiz). Ortiz has been in two of the top four events, with Liddell and Ken Shamrock as his opponents.

The UFC held a total of ten pay-per-view events in 2006, and without taking pay-per-view revenue into account, those ten events generated $27,532,225 in ticket sales. The revenue in ticket sales, while impressive, is dwarfed by the skyrocketing PPV revenue.

Using the most conservative possible estimates for the UFC PPV events that took place in late 2006, the gross PPV revenue that was generated by the UFC's ten PPV events in 2006 surpassed $200 million. The total may actually be well over $200 million, depending on how well UFC 64, UFC 65, and UFC 66 performed at the PPV box office.

Using Zuffa's own public predictions of 1.2 million buys for UFC 66, that would mean that UFC 66 alone generated approximately $47.94 million in pay-per-view revenue.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 9:10 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC Reaches Deal for Weekly Syndicated TV Show
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The UFC is expanding into the syndicated television market and has reached a deal with Trifecta Entertainment & Media to launch a weekly syndicated TV show in the fall of 2007.

Hosted by UFC color commentator and Inside the UFC host Joe Rogan, the new show will be called UFC Wired and will air in syndication on local TV networks throughout the United States starting at the beginning of the 2007-2008 TV season.

The format of the hour-long weekly series is tentatively planned to be a mixture of UFC Unleashed and Inside the UFC. Advertising will be sold in the weekend syndication market, meaning that the show will air on Saturday or Sunday, depending on your local market.

UFC Wired will be the first syndicated show that Trifecta Entertainment & Media has distributed since the company was founded in 2005 by former MGM Entertainment President Hank Cohen.

Cohen said in a press release, "When we formed Trifecta, we agreed it was a priority to identify a high-profile property before launching our syndication business and, without a doubt, UFC Wired is that property."

Trifecta's initial committment to UFC Wired is a 22-episode order.

Given the weak ratings of the current crop of first-run syndicated weekly TV shows in the young male demographics that form the UFC's target audience, it's conceivable that UFC Wired could become one of the highest-rated weekly syndicated shows on all of television in the young male demographics. The current leaders in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic among first-run, non-scripted weekly syndicated shows are Maximum Exposure, The Chris Matthews Show, and Ebert & Roeper.

The UFC's expansion into the syndicated TV market comes on the heels of several other expansion initiatives, which include buying the WEC, buying selected assets of the WFA, and reportedly entering into negotiations to buy Pride Fighting Championships (although Pride has publicly denied those reports). The news also comes mere weeks after the launch of a new, magazine-style weekly series on Spike TV called Inside the UFC.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 9:01 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Fighter Salaries for UFC 66 & UFC Fight Night 7
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information for UFC 66 and UFC Fight Night 7. UFC 66 took place on December 30th in Las Vegas, Nevada; while UFC Fight Night 7 took place on December 13th in San Diego, California.

The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that the UFC is required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions, including the winners' bonuses.

Although MMA fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed bonuses that the UFC also pays its fighters, but does not disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, PPV bonuses for the top PPV main event fighters), are not included in the figures below.

In the listings below, "Title Match & Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show and/or compete in a title fight on a show. "Main Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear on the main card, but not in title fights or in the main event. "Preliminary Match Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those matches end up airing on the PPV broadcast.

In addition, next to each fighter's name is the number of UFC fights that he has had, not counting fights that took place during TUF seasons because they are officially classified as exhibition fights.

UFC Fight Night 7 Salaries
Event took place on December 13, 2006

Main Event Fighters
-Diego Sanchez: $32,000 (6th UFC fight; defeated Joe Riggs)
-Joe Riggs: $14,000 (8th UFC fight; lost to Diego Sanchez)

Main Card Fighters
-Karo Parisyan: $24,000 (8th UFC fight; defeated Drew Fickett)
-Josh Koscheck: $14,000 (7th UFC fight; defeated Jeff Joslin)
-Marcus Davis: $10,000 (3rd UFC fight; defeated Shonie Carter)
-Shonie Carter: $10,000 (6th UFC fight; lost to Marcus Davis)
-Drew Fickett: $10,000 (6th UFC fight; lost to Karo Parisyan)
-Jeff Joslin: $3,000 (1st UFC fight; lost to Josh Koscheck)

Preliminary Match Fighters
-Brock Larson: $8,000 (2nd UFC fight; defeated Keita Nakamura)
-David Heath: $8,000 (2nd UFC fight; defeated Vitor Valimaki)
-Luigi Fioravanti: $8,000 (3rd UFC fight; defeated Dave Menne)
-Alan Belcher: $6,000 (2nd UFC fight; defeated Jorge Santiago)
-Dave Menne: $5,000 (6th UFC fight; lost to Luigi Fioravanti)
-Jorge Santiago: $4,000 (3rd UFC fight; lost to Alan Belcher)
-Keita Nakamura: $4,000 (1st UFC fight; lost to Brock Larson)
-Vitor Valimaki: $3,000 (1st UFC fight; lost to David Heath)
Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $163,000


UFC 66 Fighter Salaries
Event took place on December 30, 2006

Title Match and Main Event Fighters
-Chuck Liddell: $250,000 (17th UFC fight; defeated Tito Ortiz)
-Tito Ortiz: $210,000 (19th UFC fight; lost to Chuck Liddell)

Main Card Fighters
-Andrei Arlovski: $145,000 (12th UFC fight; defeated Marcio "Pe de Pano" Cruz)
-Michael Bisping: $24,000 (2nd UFC fight; defeated Eric Schafer)
-Forrest Griffin: $16,000 (6th UFC fight; lost to Keith Jardine)
-Keith Jardine: $14,000 (5th UFC fight; defeated Forrest Griffin)
-Jason MacDonald: $10,000 (2nd UFC fight; defeated Chris Leben)
-Chris Leben: $7,000 (8th UFC fight; lost to Jason MacDonald)
-Marcio "Pe de Pano" Cruz: $5,000 (4th UFC fight; lost to Andrei Arlovski)
-Eric Schafer: $4,000 (2nd UFC fight; lost to Michael Bisping)

Preliminary Match Fighters
-Thiago Alves: $22,000 (6th UFC fight; defeated Tony DeSouza)
-Gabriel Gonzaga: $18,000 (3rd UFC fight; defeated Carmelo Marrero)
-Yushin Okami: $16,000 (3rd UFC fight; defeated Rory Singer)
-Tony DeSouza: $7,000 (5th UFC fight; lost to Thiago Alves)
-Christian Wellisch: $6,000 (2nd UFC fight; defeated Anthony Perosh)
-Rory Singer: $5,000 (3rd UFC fight; lost to Yushin Okami)
-Carmelo Marrero: $5,000 (2nd UFC fight; lost to Gabriel Gonzaga)
-Anthony Perosh: $3,000 (2nd UFC fight; lost to Christian Wellisch)
Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $767,000

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 11:16 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC Confirms Signing of Mirko Cro Cop; A Look at the Heavyweight & Light Heavyweight Title Pictures
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

As previously reported by MMAWeekly.com's Ken Pishna, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic has signed with the UFC, and this news was officially confirmed at the UFC 66 event on Saturday night.

Cro Cop will make his UFC debut against Eddie Sanchez at UFC 67 on February 3rd. Cro Cop is the #2 Heavyweight in the MMAWeekly Rankings, behind only Fedor Emelianenko.

A commercial for UFC 67 aired several times during the UFC 66 pay-per-view broadcast and also on the big screens at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Cro Cop's name got somewhat of a lukewarm reaction from the live crowd in Las Vegas, indicating that many of the UFC fans in attendance do not know who he is.

The expectation of this kind of response from casual MMA fans is primary reason for not giving Cro Cop an immediate title shot in the UFC. If Cro Cop has one fight in the UFC and beats Sanchez, far more UFC fans will be familiar with and interested in Cro Cop headed into a potential UFC Heavyweight Title match.

Brandon Vera had been scheduled to get the next shot at UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia, but that fight will only happen if Vera signs a multi-fight contract extension with the UFC (Vera currently has one fight left on his UFC contract).

Vera recently made an appearance at the introductory press conference of the Showtime-backed Elite XC promotion, where he told the Los Angeles Times that he wants his next contract to be with "whoever wants to take care of me the best."

The commercial for UFC 67 also prominently featured Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, the #8 Light Heavyweight in the MMAWeekly Rankings. Jackson will be making his UFC debut at UFC 67 against Marvin Eastman.

The next shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight Title had been tentatively slated to go to Forrest Griffin if he defeated Keith Jardine at UFC 66, but Griffin's loss to Jardine throws a monkey wrench into those plans.

With Jardine defeating Griffin by TKO, the next shot at Chuck Liddell's UFC Light Heavyweight Title would seem to be most likely to belong to Jackson if he is able to beat Eastman on February 3rd, but it could also conceivably go to Jardine.

After his second TKO loss to Liddell, Tito Ortiz would not appear to be in the UFC Light Heavyweight Title picture for now. However, a rematch between Ortiz and Griffin would still be highly marketable, and Ortiz has already laid the marketing groundwork in recent days and weeks for a potential fight against Renato "Babalu" Sobral, whom Ortiz has repeatedly referred to as a "B-level fighter."

The UFC has also confirmed previous MMAWeekly.com reports that Heath Herring has signed with the UFC and will be fighting Jake O'Brien at UFC Fight Night on January 25th in a battle of heavyweight contenders.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Pride Fighting Championships News, UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:48 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- History Being Re-Written on the Eve of the UFC's Biggest PPV Ever
by Ivan Trembow

On the eve of UFC 66, which will be the biggest UFC pay-per-view to date thanks to the main event match-up of Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell, it shouldn't be too surprising to see that history is being re-written, specifically the history of the UFC in articles that also feature interviews with Zuffa executives. The so-called "Zuffa Myth," fresh off its appearance on 60 Minutes, has reared its head in the New York Times and the St. Petersburg Times, both of which failed to do any basic fact checking.

The New York Times wrote: "Dismissed as too brutal by critics, and banned in some states including New York, the sport has been striving for respect after enacting rules in 2001 that forbid tactics like eye gouging and biting."

The St. Petersburg Times wrote: "'We thought, God, if we owned this thing, it would be so cool if we did this or that. We had a lot of ideas,' said [Dana] White, a former boxer and driving force behind the growth of the sport. White’s plan? Invade the country’s major markets. Instead of running from regulation, run toward it."

Basic fact checking would have alerted the New York Times to the fact that eye gouging and biting were both illegal in 1993 when the UFC started. Basic fact checking would have also alerted the St. Petersburg Times to the fact that the "old UFC" ran fully sanctioned UFC events in states such as New Jersey, Iowa, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

New Jersey is regarded as having the second-biggest sanctioning body (behind only Nevada's) in terms of importance and prestige. In addition to getting fully sanctioned in New Jersey, the previous owners of the UFC also made an unsuccessful attempt to get sanctioned in Nevada before selling the UFC to Zuffa, so it is completely false that the previous owners "ran from regulation" or "ran from sanctioning."

A lot of credit must go to James Melroy of the Long Beach Press-Telegram for not repeating these kinds of lies, as Melroy wrote what any other mainstream media reporter would write after doing five or ten minutes of basic fact checking: "SEG Sports, which bought the company in 1995 from its founders, Art Davie and Rorion Gracie, slowly began working toward regulation, and in November of 2000, held its first sanctioned event in New Jersey under the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board's Mixed Martial Arts Unified Rules. But with the company running well into the red, SEG began to field offers from potentials buyers. White, a boxing promoter and fan of MMA, heard about the opportunity and made a few phone calls, including one to his childhood friend Lorenzo Fertitta. 'A month later we owned it,' White said. With White taking over as UFC president and brothers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta helping out behind the scenes, UFC slowly began to dig itself out of the hole in which it had been buried for so long."

Tito Ortiz Also Re-Writing History
The re-writing of history is not limited to the history of the UFC itself, at least not if you've listened to anything that Tito Ortiz has had to say in the build-up to his rematch with Chuck Liddell. Ortiz has numerous tall tales that he has made a habit of telling in recent days and weeks, one of which is that he was best friends with Liddell right up until Liddell "betrayed" him by agreeing to fight Ortiz in the UFC.

Ortiz' assertion is unintentionally hilarious given the fact that Ortiz was the one who jumped in the Octagon after Liddell defeated Vitor Belfort in mid-2002 to talk about how badly he was going to beat Liddell... this at the time that they were supposedly "best friends who would never fight each other," according to Ortiz' current version of events.

In the official previews, the first fight between Liddell and Ortiz is portrayed very differently from how you may remember it if you saw it in April 2004. Ortiz has portrayed the fight as though his loss was almost entirely because of Liddell's accidental thumb to the eye. It's almost like Ortiz just lost on a technicality if you go by Ortiz' version of events. He was having a fantastic fight and then there was this freak incident with a thumb to the eye and that's the only reason he lost, which is far from the truth.

Then there's the notion that Ortiz insisted on standing and trading strikes with Liddell for the entire first fight... that he played Liddell's game because he was too headstrong to go for takedowns and his signature ground and pound offense. This ignores the visual evidence of Ortiz going for several takedowns in the fight and Liddell defending every one of them.

It's also interesting to note that Ortiz has been saying different things in different interviews about the possibility of one day fighting training partner and new UFC acquisition Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, who will make his UFC debut on February 3rd against Marvin Eastman. In some interviews, Ortiz says that he would be willing to fight Rampage if it was a "champion vs. number one contender" scenario (which is also what Rampage has said publicly on a consistent basis), and in other interviews such as one in the Orange County Register, Ortiz says that he would never fight Rampage and that he actually has an agreement with Rampage that they will never fight.

Tito Ortiz Comments on Triple H
Here's a Tito Ortiz quote regarding Vince McMahon's son-in-law, Paul Levesque (aka Triple H): "I think he would be horrible [in MMA]. He's too stiff and his cardio fitness is horrible. A guy like that isn't an athlete. We're running, lifting, and training every day, not for looks or to show off our bodies, but to fight and last five rounds at full strength."

While Ortiz didn't use the S-word, the point stands that MMA is not bodybuilding. At the same time, pro wrestling in and of itself is a perfectly valid form of entertainment, as Ortiz should know very well given the fact that he has participated in pro wrestling in the past and he has admitted in media interviews that he modeled his character in the Ken Shamrock feud after the WWE character of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

Also, if you haven't been reading MMAWeekly.com lately, check it out to read all about Quinton Jackson's impending UFC debut, the fact that the UFC is going to announce the signing of Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic on tonight's PPV (he will make his UFC debut in February against Eddie Sanchez), and Zuffa's impending TV deals with the UFC headed to HBO (in addition to Spike TV), while the newly Zuffa-owned WEC heads to the Versus Network. All of this and much more is up right now on MMAWeekly.com.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:35 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- New Jersey Commission Corrects 60 Minutes Story on MMA
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

MMAWeekly has previously documented the false statements that have repeatedly been made by Zuffa in recent weeks, months, and years about the history of the UFC and the rules and sanctioning of mixed martial arts in general.

Now, with the recent 60 Minutes segment on mixed martial arts having provided a positive look at the sport while also propagating the same set of factually incorrect statements, we present to you a copy of the letter sent to CBS News by Nick Lembo, who is the Deputy Attorney General of the state of New Jersey and the Counsel to the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board.

"To: 60 Minutes
CBS News
(addresses deleted)

My name is Nick Lembo, I am the Counsel to the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board.

I found your program interesting and appreciated your coverage of a great sport, known as mixed martial arts. Your segment including legends such as Renzo Gracie, Pat Miletich, and Matt Hughes
was fantastic.

However, I would like to address some issues surrounding Mr. Dana White and his limited role in creating rules currently in use in the sport.

Mr. White did not set up rules and regulations for today's sport known as mixed martial arts. Simply put, the State of New Jersey did. All Mr. White did was follow rules that were already set in place.

Mr. Larry Hazzard was the first major state athletic Commissioner to sanction modern day mixed martial arts. He should be given due credit.

It should be noted that even before New Jersey sanctioned the sport, the California State Athletic Commission had prepared detailed rules to regulate mixed martial arts but they were not implemented solely due to governmental issues surrounding the budgeting process. These rules were based on rules developed in Quebec, Canada.

That being said, I think the current UFC has done great things for the mixed martial arts fan and the sport of mixed martial arts in the United States.

Please be advised that the previous owner of the UFC, Bob Meyrowitz, held UFC 28 in Atlantic City, NJ on November 17, 2000. This event was fully sanctioned by New Jersey while the UFC was an entity and a name owned by SEG. This event was held under strict oversight and was not "no holds barred".

The UFC, under Mr. Meyrowitz, had already accepted, by virtue of staging that event in Atlantic City in November 2000, every below listed rule before Zuffa bought it. Accordingly, knees to the head of a downed opponent, certain elbow strikes, head butts, groin strikes and 20 other actions were already denoted as fouls that could result in disqualification. Additionally, weight classes, stringent medical requirements and strict regulatory oversight were in place at that time.

In fact, an entity unrelated to the UFC, SEG or Zuffa held a sanctioned event, under similar rules, in Atlantic City, prior to UFC 28, on September 30, 2000. This organization was known as the IFC [the International Fighting Championships].

Many other rules and regulations were in place in the UFC itself even before New Jersey or California's involvement, including weight classes (added in 1997), multiple judges scoring a fight if it goes the distance (1995), doctors at ringside (1993), medical exams of fighters (1993), time limits (1995), gloves (1995), multiple timed rounds (1999), the banning of groin strikes (1994), and the ability of the referee to stop the fight (1994).

The notion that the previous owners of the UFC ran from regulation is factually incorrect. In fact, the previous owners tried to get sanctioned in as many states as possible, and they did so in New Jersey, Louisiana, Iowa, and Mississippi. Also, the previous owners of the UFC formally sought sanctioning in the state of Nevada not long before selling the company, and they were unsuccessful in their efforts to get sanctioned in Nevada.

Mr. Ivan Trembow recently published the following, {According to the Wrestling Observer and with edits made in brackets to fill in context or correct grammar, and with a timeline clarification courtesy of Whaledog.com:

"Meyrowitz [former UFC president Bob Meyrowitz] would go to InDemand [the PPV company] and ask what he needed to do to get back on InDemand, and they said the UFC needed to get sanctioned [by a major sanctioning body]. He got sanctioned in New Jersey, and was basically told that he needed to get it sanctioned in Nevada, as that was the most influential athletic commission in the country. [Meyrowitz] set up a meeting in Las Vegas, and at the time, sanctioning was going to happen based on what inside sources were telling both Meyrowitz and InDemand. Suddenly, the night before the approval that was going to be the step to put the UFC back on the map, Meyrowitz was told that he was going to be voted down [the next day, when his request was scheduled to be voted on by the members of the Nevada State Athletic Commission]. He didn't have the votes. He was also told that if he followed through the next day, and was voted down, he would never have an opportunity to be sanctioned. So, he pulled out, they created some cover reason as to why he was pulling his attempt at sanctioning, and basically he was screwed. Lorenzo Fertitta [the current co-owner of the UFC] was an influential member of the Nevada commission at the time. [Approximately one year later], Fertitta purchased the UFC [for $2 million], then got sanctioning in Nevada, and then got on PPV."}

Mixed martial arts websites and publications such as Full
Contact Fighter, ADCC News, Eddie Goldman's NHB News, Whaledog.com, MMAWeekly.com, WrestlingObserver.com, and FightOpinion.com have done extensive articles covering Mr. White's factually incorrect statements, which have come to be known as the "Zuffa Myth".

In Clyde Gentry's 2001 book on MMA, Mr. Fertitta, the owner of the UFC was quoted as stating that "Without Larry Hazzard and the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, this sport would still be dying a slow death."

Please find the following language in our administrative proposal, written in 2001, regarding martial arts. "In past years, the State Athletic Control Board (SACB) had been hesitant to sanction mixed martial arts events due to the lack of formal rules in the sport which created health and safety concerns. For example, the sport generally did not divide contestants into weight classes, had contestants participate in several matches on the same evening and did not provide time limits on either round or bout length. However, in the last year or so, promoters of mixed martial arts events began to develop formal rules and regulations which included procedures to minimize the risk of injury to the contestant. After becoming aware that detailed regulations were now in place for most mixed martial arts events, the SACB then began a course of communications with the California State Athletic Commission with regard to the subject of regulating mixed martial arts events. California has established rules and regulations for the conduct of the sport in their state. As of September 2000, the SACB began to allow mixed martial arts promoters to conduct events in New Jersey upon submission and review of their established rules and regulations. In addition, the promoters had to agree to incorporate the SACB's medical testing and safety requirements. The intent was to allow the SACB to observe actual events and gather information needed to determine what would be necessary to establish a comprehensive set of rules to effectively regulate the sport. On April 3, 2001, the SACB held a meeting in Trenton to discuss the regulation of mixed martial arts events. This meeting was set up by SACB Commissioner Larry Hazzard, Sr. in an attempt to unify the myriad of rules and regulations, which have been utilized by the different mixed martial arts organizations. At this meeting, the proposed uniform rules were agreed upon by the SACB, several other regulatory bodies, numerous promoters of mixed martial arts events and other interested parties in attendance. The meeting was quite comprehensive and lasted over three hours. At the conclusion of the meeting, all parties in attendance were able to agree upon a uniform set of rules to govern the sport of mixed martial arts. In recent months, other states, including Nevada, have begun to sanction mixed martial arts events based upon the SACB's regulatory framework, which arose at the conclusion of the April meeting. The SACB anticipates that this proposal will result in uniform rules for mixed martial arts events held throughout the United States. In a similar sense, in March of 1998, the SACB proposed uniform rules for the conduct of championship professional boxing matches. Since the proposal, these rules for championship rules have become the norm throughout the country.


SUBCHAPTER 24A; MIXED MARTIAL ARTS UNIFORM RULES

13:46-24A.1 Weight classes of mixed martial artists

(a) Mixed martial artists shall be divided into the following classes:

1.Flyweight under 125.9 pounds;
2.Bantamweight 126 lbs. - 134.9 pounds;
3.Featherweight 135 lbs. - 144.9 pounds;
4.Lightweight 145 lbs. - 154.9 pounds;
5.Welterweight 155 lbs. - 169.9 pounds;
6.Middleweight 170 lbs. - 184.9 pounds;
7.Light Heavyweight 185 lbs. - 204.9 pounds;
8.Heavyweight 204 lbs. - 264.9 pounds; and
9.Super Heavyweight over 265 pounds.

13:46-24A.2 Fighting area

(a) The fighting area canvas shall be no smaller than 18 feet by 18 feet and no larger than 32 feet by 32 feet. The fighting area canvas shall be padded in a manner as approved by the Commissioner, with at least one-inch layer of foam padding. Padding shall extend beyond the fighting area and over the edge of the platform. No vinyl or other plastic rubberized covering shall be permitted.

(b) The fighting area canvas shall not be more than four feet above the floor of the building and shall have suitable steps or ramp for use by the participants. Posts shall be made of metal not more than six inches in diameter, extending from the floor of the building to a minimum height of 58 inches above the fighting area canvas and shall be properly padded in a manner approved by the Commissioner.

(c) The fighting area canvas area shall be enclosed by a fence made of such material as will not allow a fighter to fall out or break through it onto the floor or spectators, including, but not limited to, vinyl coated chain link fencing. All metal parts shall be covered and padded in a manner approved by the Commissioner and shall not be abrasive to the contestants.

(d) The fence shall provide two separate entries onto the fighting area canvas.

13:46-24A.3 Stools

(a) A ring stool of a type approved by the Commissioner shall be available for each contestant.

(b) An appropriate number of stools or chairs, of a type approved by the Commissioner, shall be available for each contestant's seconds. Such stools or chairs shall be located near each contestant's corner.

(c) All stools and chairs used must be thoroughly cleaned or replaced after the conclusion of each bout.

13:46-24A.4 Equipment

For each bout, the promoter shall provide a clean water bucket and a clean plastic water bottle in each corner.

13:46-24A.5 Specifications for bandages on mixed martial artist's hands

(a) In all weight classes, the bandages on each contestant's hand shall be restricted to soft gauze cloth not more than 13 yards in length and two inches in width, held in place by not more than 10 feet of surgeon's tape, one inch in width, for each hand.

(b) Surgeon's adhesive tape shall be placed directly on each hand for protection near the wrist. The tape may cross the back of the hand twice and extend to cover and protect the knuckles when the hand is clenched to make a fist.

(c) The bandages shall be evenly distributed across the hand.

(d) Bandages and tape shall be placed on the contestant's hands in the dressing room in the presence of the inspector and in the presence of the manager or chief second of his or her opponent.

(e) Under no circumstances are gloves to be placed on the hands of a contestant until the approval of the inspector is received.

13:46-24A.6 Mouthpieces

(a) All contestants are required to wear a mouthpiece during competition. The mouthpiece shall be subject to examination and approval by the attending physician.

(b) The round cannot begin without the mouthpiece in place.

(c) If the mouthpiece is involuntarily dislodged during competition, the referee shall call time, clean the mouthpiece and reinsert the mouthpiece at the first opportune moment, without interfering with the immediate action.

13:46-24A.7 Protective equipment

(a) Male mixed martial artists shall wear a groin protector of their own selection, of a type approved by the Commissioner.

(b) Female mixed martial artists are prohibited from wearing groin protectors.

(c) Female mixed martial artists shall wear a chest protector during competition. The chest protector shall be subject to approval of the Commissioner.

13:46-24A.8 Gloves

(a) The gloves shall be new for all main events and in good condition or they must be replaced.

(b) All contestants shall wear either four, five or six ounce gloves, supplied by the promoter and approved by the commission. No contestant shall supply their own gloves for participation.


13:46-24A.9 Apparel

(a) Each contestant shall wear mixed martial arts shorts, biking shorts, or kickboxing shorts.

(b) Gi's or shirts are prohibited during competition.

(c) Shoes are prohibited during competition.

13:46-24A.10 Appearance

(a) All contestants shall be cleanly shaven immediately prior to competition, except that a contestant may wear a closely cropped mustache.

(b) Hair shall be trimmed or tied back in such a manner as not to interfere with the vision of either contestant or cover any part of a contestant's face.

(c) Jewelry or piercing accessories are prohibited during competition.

13:46-24A.11 Round length

(a) Each non-championship mixed martial arts contest shall be three rounds, of five minutes duration, with a one-minute rest period between each round.

(b) Each championship mixed martial arts contest shall be five rounds, of five minutes duration, with a one-minute rest period between each round.

13:46-24A.12 Stopping a contest

The referee and ringside physician are the sole arbiters of a bout and are the only individuals authorized to enter the fighting area at any time during competition and authorized to stop a contest.

13:46-24A.13 Judging

(a) All bouts will be evaluated and scored by three judges.

(b) The 10-Point Must System will be the standard system of scoring a bout. Under the 10-Point Must Scoring System, 10 points must be awarded to the winner of the round and nine points or less must be awarded to the loser, except for a rare even round, which is scored (10-10).

(c) Judges shall evaluate mixed martial arts techniques, such as effective striking, effective grappling, control of the fighting area, effective aggressiveness and defense.

(d) Evaluations shall be made in the order in which the techniques appear in (c) above, giving the most weight in scoring to effective striking, effective grappling, control of the fighting area and effective aggressiveness and defense.

(e) Effective striking is judged by determining the total number of legal heavy strikes landed by a contestant.

(f) Effective grappling is judged by considering the amount of successful executions of a legal takedown and reversals. Examples of factors to consider are take downs from standing position to mount position, passing the guard to mount position, and bottom position fighters using an active, threatening guard.

(g) Fighting area control is judged by determining who is dictating the pace, location and position of the bout. Examples of factors to consider are countering a grappler's attempt at takedown by remaining standing and legally striking; taking down an opponent to force a ground fight; creating threatening submission attempts, passing the guard to achieve mount, and creating striking opportunities.

(h) Effective aggressiveness means moving forward and landing a legal strike.

(i) Effective defense means avoiding being struck, taken down or reversed while countering with offensive attacks.

(j) The following objective scoring criteria shall be utilized by the judges when scoring a round;

1. A round is to be scored as a 10-10 Round when both contestants appear to be fighting evenly and neither contestant shows clear dominance in a round;

2. A round is to be scored as a 10-9 Round when a contestant wins by a close margin, landing the greater number of effective legal strikes, grappling and other maneuvers;

3. A round is to be scored as a 10-8 Round when a contestant overwhelmingly dominates by striking or grappling in a round.

4. A round is to be scored as a 10-7 Round when a contestant totally dominates by striking or grappling in a round.

(k) Judges shall use a sliding scale and recognize the length of time the fighters are either standing or on the ground, as follows:

1. If the mixed martial artists spent a majority of a round on the canvas, then:
i. Effective grappling is weighed first; and
ii. Effective striking is then weighed

2. If the mixed martial artists spent a majority of a round standing, then:
1. Effective striking is weighed first; and
2. Effective grappling is then weighed
3. If a round ends with a relatively even amount of standing and canvas fighting, striking and grappling are weighed equally.

13:46-24A.14 Warnings

(a) The referee shall issue a single warning for the following infractions. After the initial warning, if the prohibited conduct persists, a penalty will be issued. The penalty may result in a deduction of points or disqualification.

1. Holding or grabbing the fence;
2. Holding opponent's shorts or gloves; or
3. The presence of more than one second on the fighting area perimeter.

13:46-24A.15 Fouls

(a) The following are fouls and will result in penalties if committed:
1. Butting with the head;
2. Eye gouging of any kind;
3. Biting or spitting at an opponent;
4. Hair pulling;
5. Fish hooking;
6. Groin attacks of any kind;
7. Intentionally placing a finger in any opponent's orifice;
8. Downward pointing of elbow strikes;
9. Small joint manipulation;
10. Strikes to the spine or back of the head;
11. Heel kicks to the kidney;
12. Throat strikes of any kind;
13. Clawing, pinching, twisting the flesh or grabbing the clavicle;
14. Kicking the head of a grounded fighter;
15. Kneeing the head of a grounded fighter;
16. Stomping of a grounded fighter;
17. The use of abusive language in fighting area;
18. Any unsportsmanlike conduct that causes an injury to opponent;
19. Attacking an opponent on or during the break;
20. Attacking an opponent who is under the referee's care at the time;
21. Timidity (avoiding contact, or consistent dropping of mouthpiece, or faking an injury);
22. Interference from a mixed martial artist's seconds;
23. Throwing an opponent out of the fighting area;
24. Flagrant disregard of the referee's instructions;
25. Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his or her head or neck.

(b) Disqualification occurs after any combination of three or the fouls listed in (a) above or after a referee determines that a foul was intentional and flagrant.

(c) Fouls will result in a point being deducted by the official scorekeeper from the offending mixed martial artist's score.

(d) Only a referee can assess a foul. If the referee does not call the foul, judges shall not make that assessment on their own and cannot factor such into their scoring calculations.

(e) A fouled fighter has up to five minutes to recuperate.

(f) If a foul is committed, the referee shall:

1. call time;

2. check the fouled mixed martial artist's condition and safety; and

3. assess the foul to the offending contestant, deduct points, and notify each corner's seconds, judges and the official scorekeeper.

g) If a bottom contestant commits a foul, unless the top contestant is injured, the fight shall continue, so as not to jeopardize the top contestant's superior positioning at the time.

1. The referee shall verbally notify the bottom contestant of the foul.

2. When the round is over, the referee shall assess the foul and notify both corners' seconds, the judges and the official scorekeeper.


3. The referee may terminate a bout based on the severity of a foul. For such a flagrant foul, a contestant shall lose by disqualification.

13:46-24A.16 Injuries sustained during competition

(a) If an injury sustained during competition as a result of a legal maneuver is severe enough to terminate a bout, the injured contestant loses by technical knockout.

(b) If an injury sustained during competition as a result of an intentional foul is severe enough to terminate a bout, the contestant causing the injury loses by disqualification.

(c) If an injury is sustained during competition as a result of an intentional foul and the bout is allowed to continue, the referee shall notify the scorekeeper to automatically deduct two points from the contestant who committed the foul.

(d) If an injury sustained during competition as a result of an intentional foul causes the injured contestant to be unable to continue at a subsequent point in the contest, the injured contestant shall win by technical decision, if he or she is ahead on the scorecards. If the injured contestant is even or behind on the score cards at the time of stoppage, the outcome of the bout shall be declared a technical draw.

(e) If a contestant injures himself or herself while attempting to foul his or her opponent, the referee shall not take any action in his or her favor, and the injury shall be treated in the same manner as an injury produced by a fair blow.

(f) If an injury sustained during competition as a result of an accidental foul is severe enough for the referee to stop the bout immediately, the bout shall result in a no contest if stopped before two rounds have been completed in a three round bout or if stopped before three rounds have been completed in a five round bout.

(g) If an injury sustained during competition as a result of an accidental foul is severe enough for the referee to stop the bout immediately, the bout shall result in a technical decision awarded to the contestant who is ahead on the score cards at the time the bout is stopped only when the bout is stopped after two rounds of a three round bout, or three rounds of a five round bout have been completed.

(h) There will be no scoring of an incomplete round. However, if the referee penalizes either contestant, then the appropriate points shall be deducted when the scorekeeper calculates the final score.

13:46-24A.17 Types of Bout Results

(a) The following are the types of bout results:

1. Submission by:
i. Tap Out: When a contestant physically uses his hand to indicate that he or she no longer wishes to continue; or
ii. Verbal tap out: When a contestant verbally announces to the referee that he or she does not wish to continue;

2. Technical knockout by:
i. Referee stops bout;
ii. Ringside physician stops bout; or
iii. When an injury as a result of a legal maneuver is severe enough to terminate a bout;

3. Knockout by failure to rise from the canvas;

4. Decision via scorecards:
i. Unanimous: When all three judges score the bout for the same contestant;
ii. Split Decision: When two judges score the bout for one contestant and one judge scores for the opponent; or
iii. Majority Decision: When two judges score the bout for the same contestant and one judge scores a draw;

5. Draws:
i. Unanimous - When all three judges score the bout a draw;
ii. Majority - When two judges score the bout a draw; or
iii. Split - When all three judges score differently and the score total results in a draw;

6. Disqualification: When an injury sustained during competition as a result of an intentional foul is severe enough to terminate the contest;

7. Forfeit: When a contestant fails to begin competition or prematurely ends the contest for reasons other than injury or by indicating a tap out;

8. Technical Draw: When an injury sustained during competition as a result of an intentional foul causes the injured contestant to be unable to continue and the injured contestant is even or behind on the scorecards at the time of stoppage;

9. Technical Decision: When the bout is prematurely stopped due to injury and a contestant is leading on the score cards; and

10. No Contest: When a contest is prematurely stopped due to accidental injury and a sufficient number of rounds have not been completed to render a decision via the scorecards.

SUBCHAPTER 24B ADDITIONAL MIXED MARTIAL ARTS RULES

13:46-24B.1 Licensing

(a) All mixed martial arts events shall be subject to the licensing requirements of N.J.A.C. 13:46-4.

(b) The fee for a mixed martial artist license shall be as set forth in N.J.A.C. 13:46-4.25(b). Other license fees shall be as set forth in N.J.A.C. 13:46-4.25(a).

13:46-24B.2 Bond procedure

All mixed martial arts events shall be subject to the bond procedure requirements of N.J.A.C.13:46-4.8.

13:46-24B.3 Inspectors

All mixed martial arts events shall be subject to the presence, duties and compensation of inspectors as required by N.J.A.C. 13:46-9.

13:46-24B.4 Health and safety rules

(a) All mixed martial arts events shall be subject to the uniform medical requirements of N.J.A.C. 13:46-12A.

(b) All mixed martial arts events shall be subject to the additional health and safety requirements of N.J.A.C. 13:46-12B.

(c) All mixed martial arts events shall be subject to the emergency medical facilities and equipment requirements of N.J.A.C. 13:46-2.8.

(d) All mixed martial arts events shall be subject to the insurance requirements of N.J.A.C. 13:46-14.

13:46-24B.5 Weighing of mixed martial artists

(a) Weighing of all mixed martial artists shall be conducted in accordance with the requirements for professional boxers of N.J.A.C. 13:46-1A.3."

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:36 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Randy Couture to Come out of Retirement if Ortiz Beats Liddell?
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Mixed martial arts legend Randy Couture has stated that he is "going to have to come out of retirement" if Tito Ortiz defeats Chuck Liddell for the UFC Light Heavyweight Title at UFC 66 on December 30th.

In an interview with the Houston Chronicle's Steve Sievert, the 43-year-old Couture predicted that Liddell would likely beat Ortiz, but he added, "If Tito finds a way to beat Chuck, I'm going to have to come out of retirement and give Tito a whack." The Chronicle article added, "Asked if he was serious about lacing up the gloves again to fight Ortiz, Couture responded with an emphatic 'absolutely.'"

Prior to Couture's statements in the Houston Chronicle interview, it was widely believed that the next shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight Title would be going to Forrest Griffin if he is successful in defeating Keith Jardine on the Liddell-Ortiz undercard. The next title shot could also go to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, particularly if Liddell beats Ortiz, but the UFC will likely want to give Jackson one non-title match before he fights for the title.

If Couture were to come out of retirement, a rematch against Ortiz would make more sense than a rematch with Liddell, as Couture has fought Liddell three times but has only fought Ortiz once.

Couture, who is the only fighter to have ever won both the UFC Heavyweight Title and the UFC Light Heavyweight Title, defeated Ortiz by unanimous decision in a one-sided fight in 2003.

Couture has a full trilogy already in the books with Liddell, as Couture won the first fight between the two fighters in 2003, lost the second fight in 2005, and lost the third fight of the trilogy in February 2006.

After the loss to Liddell in February, Couture announced that he was retiring from the sport. The Wrestling Observer reported at the time that Couture had made the decision prior to the third Liddell fight that he was going to retire after the fight--- win, lose, or draw. The Observer also reported at the time that UFC president Dana White did not believe that Couture would actually retire, and that White later attempted to negotiate with Couture in an effort to convince him to come out of retirement.

Couture competed at a submission grappling event in November, grappling to a draw with highly regarded Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, but he has not fought under MMA rules since retiring from MMA in February.

Since his retirement, Couture has become a semi-regular part of the UFC's announcing crew as a color commentator. Couture also made an appearance on the hit CBS comedy King of Queens, and he will be one of the athletes on the second season of Pros vs. Joes on Spike TV, which premieres on January 25, 2007 after UFC Fight Night 8.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:18 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC Fight Night Ratings Improve, but Still Below UFC's Average
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The live two-hour broadcast of UFC Fight Night 7 on Spike TV drew an overall rating of 1.3 on Wednesday, December 13th. While this is an improvement over the record-low ratings of the UFC's previous live fight special on November 11th, UFC Fight Night 7 still drew ratings that were below average across-the-board when compared to the UFC's average ratings over the past two years.

The live finale of The Ultimate Fighter 4 drew a disastrous overall rating of 1.1 in November, and UFC Fight Night 7 did surpass that mark with its 1.3 overall rating. However, it's still down 28 percent from the 1.8 average rating for all of the UFC's live fight specials that have ever aired on Spike TV.

Key Demographic Ratings Down from UFC's Averages
The same trend holds true for the ratings in specific demographics: UFC Fight Night 7 did not sink lower than the all-time low ratings of November 11th, but it still drew significantly lower ratings than the UFC has historically averaged with its live fight specials.

In the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, UFN 7 drew a 2.0 rating, which actually ties the November 11th broadcast and the very first Ultimate Fight Night as the UFC's lowest ever ratings in this demographic for a live fight card. The average-to-date for live UFC fight cards on Spike TV is 3.0 in this demographic, meaning that UFN 7 was down 33 percent from the average. Notably, it still out-drew a regular season NBA game on ESPN in this demographic.

In the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic, UFN 7 drew a 1.6 overall rating, which was up slightly from the all-time-low 1.5 rating that the TUF 4 finale drew in this demographic. However, a 1.6 rating is still down 30 percent from the average-to-date of 2.3 in this demographic for live UFC fight cards on Spike TV.

Viewership Level Plateaus at End of First Hour
The UFC Fight Night 7 broadcast opened up with Marcus Davis' unanimous decision victory over Shonie Carter. That fight drew a 1.1 rating, which is a typical rating for the first fight on a live UFC broadcast on Spike TV, as a sizable percentage of the people who end up watching the broadcast aren't even aware that it's on until they stumble onto it while flipping channels or they receive a phone call from a friend telling them to tune in. The last time Shonie Carter fought on Spike TV, it was in his pre-taped TUF 4 semi-final bout against Matt Serra, which drew a 1.4 rating.

The one big increase in viewership level during the broadcast came at the beginning of Karo Parisyan's three-round unanimous decision victory over Drew Fickett, which drew a 1.4 rating. While Parisyan vs. Fickett was the only thing that increased the ratings substantially on this night, its 1.4 rating still pales in comparison to the viewership level of Parisyan's last fight, a decision loss to Diego Sanchez in August that drew a 2.1 rating.

This is where the viewership levels started to get a bit odd. Instead of increasing throughout the course of the show, as is normally the case with live UFC specials on Spike TV, the rating stayed at 1.4 for the entire second hour of the broadcast, with statistically negligible fluctuations of just a few hundredths of a ratings point.

It's not that the next fight, Josh Koscheck's unanimous decision victory over Jeff Joslin, turned off viewers in droves, because the rating would have decreased if that were the case. That has actually happened during past UFC live specials when the viewing public dislikes a certain fight, but that's not what happened in this case, as the rating simply stayed at 1.4 for Koscheck vs. Joslin. Koscheck's previous fight on Spike TV was a victory over Jonathan Goulet, which drew a 1.1 rating in the unfavorable "first fight on the live broadcast" slot back in August.

Diego Sanchez knocked out Joe Riggs in the main event, and the viewership increases that usually occur in the minutes before, during, and after the main event fight simply did not happen on this night. Sanchez vs. Riggs drew the same 1.4 rating that was drawn by Koscheck vs. Joslin and by Parisyan vs. Fickett. The main event is almost always the most-watched fight on UFC live event broadcasts, even when it's a short fight like Sanchez vs. Riggs. Heck, even the fight between Matt Serra and Chris Lytle back in November, which was generally regarded as not being a very exciting fight, was still the most-watched fight of the night.

It's not as if Diego Sanchez isn't a ratings draw in general, because he is. His fight against Karo Parisyan back in August caused the viewership level to jump a whopping 50 percent from 1.4 for the previous fight (Chris Leben vs. Jorge Santiago) to 2.1 for Sanchez vs. Parisyan.

At the time, the 2.1 rating that was drawn by Sanchez vs. Parisyan was largely chalked up to Sanchez' ratings-drawing power and the fact that it was a great fight. However, looking back on it now, given the trends in the viewership levels on this show in December (ie, Sanchez' fight did not lead to a jump in viewership on this night, while Parisyan's fight did lead to a jump in viewership), it's pretty clear that Parisyan is a ratings draw in his own right and also deserves a lot of the credit for the strong rating that was drawn by Sanchez vs. Parisyan back in August.

UFC Fight Night is Spike TV's Lead-In of Choice, and UFN 7 Was No Exception
It becomes increasingly clear with each passing UFC Fight Night broadcast that these events are serving two purposes: One, which almost seems secondary at times in the marketing on Spike TV, is for the UFC broadcasts to draw strong ratings in and of themselves. The other purpose, from Spike's perspective, is to use these UFC events as lead-ins to whatever new show Spike is trying to push during any particular month.

While this puts the UFC in awkward positions with live fight broadcasts on nights that aren't ideal (such as Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday), it also puts the UFC in a stronger position come contract renewal time if Spike is able to launch successful new series or specials off the back of UFC broadcasts. Let's not forget, the UFC itself (in the form of The Ultimate Fighter) was launched on Spike TV with the benefit of having one of the highest-rated weekly series on cable television, WWE Raw, as its lead-in.

On the first occasion that a live UFC broadcast was used in the role of a lead-in that would heavily hype the show to follow, the premiere of Blade: The Series drew a 2.0 overall rating on Wednesday, June 28th, following a UFC Fight Night broadcast that drew a 1.4 overall rating. Not only did Blade retain the UFC's audience, but it actually increased it. The UFC did everything that it could to make Blade: The Series a success with numerous plugs on the Fight Night broadcast, and for one night, it worked exceedingly well.

Unfortunately, that's exactly how long it lasted: One night. Without the UFC as a consistent lead-in, the ratings for Blade: The Series collapsed, as it drew a 1.1 overall rating in Week 2. The entire season of Blade as a whole averaged a 1.0 overall rating, and it was subsequently cancelled by Spike TV.

The next time that a live UFC broadcast was used to help boost another show on Spike TV came on October 10th, when a live fight card headlined by Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock blew away every UFC ratings record in the book with a 3.1 overall rating. On that night, the hype was heavy for the "Scream Awards," a new awards show on Spike TV for horror and fantasy-themed entertainment. The Scream Awards drew a 0.9 overall rating, which is nothing short of disastrous for a show with a 3.1 lead-in.

Last week, UFC Fight Night 7 led into and hyped the 2006 Spike TV Video Game Awards (or VGAs), which drew a disappointing 0.5 overall rating. While there's no way to say that a 0.5 overall rating is anything short of a disappointment, the VGAs were actually less of a disaster than the Scream Awards because the VGAs had a much smaller lead-in audience from which to draw.

The Video Game Awards retained 43 percent of the UFC's overall lead-in rating, compared to the Scream Awards' 29 percent retention rate of its UFC lead-in audience. In the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, the VGAs retained 47 percent of the UFC lead-in audience, compared to 29 percent for the Scream Awards. Finally, in the 18-to-49-year-old demographic, the VGAs retained 43 percent of the UFC lead-in audience, compared to 28 percent for the Scream Awards.

As you might expect, the next edition of UFC Fight Night on Spike TV is scheduled to coincide with the launch of a major show on Spike TV. UFC Fight Night 8 on January 25, 2007 will lead into the second season premiere of the Spike TV reality series Pros vs. Joes, featuring a list of athletes that includes Randy Couture. Given that the promise of a Chuck Liddell appearance on Blade: The Series (which was basically a 30-second cameo) seemed to help Blade retain and build on the UFC's lead-in audience last June, and given the fact that Couture is actually a significant part of Pros vs. Joes Season Two, it's likely that Pros vs. Joes will do a much better job of retaining its UFC lead-in audience than either the Video Game Awards or the Scream Awards.

Head-to-Head Network Competition
Airing head-to-head with UFC Fight Night 7 on Wednesday, December 13th from 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM, the first half of The Biggest Loser's season finale on NBC won the hour with a 6.6 overall rating. Two new episodes of the CBS comedy King of Queens averaged a 5.9 overall rating, while a new episode of Bones drew a 5.4 overall rating on Fox. The William Shatner-hosted Show Me the Money drew a 4.4 overall rating on ABC, continuing the show's downward trend and leading to ABC's decision to cancel the series two days later.

Airing head-to-head with the UFC in the 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM hour, the final hour of NBC's Biggest Loser finale drew an 8.5 overall rating, but it was outdrawn by a new episode of the CBS drama Criminal Minds, which drew a 10.3 overall rating. Fox essentially threw in the towel on this hour by scheduling a repeat of Bones to air right after a new episode of Bones, and viewers reacted in kind, with the repeat of Bones drawing a rating of just 3.9. The biggest story of the night on network TV came in this hour as a fresh installment of the new ABC drama Day Break absolutely bombed. The show drew a 2.8 overall rating, which is the kind of rating that can lead to an immediate cancellation on network TV, and that is exactly what happened in this case. ABC announced a little more than 24 hours later than Day Break has been cancelled, effective immediately, with seven remaining episodes having been produced but not aired.

Three days prior to UFC Fight Night, the 60 Minutes segment on mixed martial arts was part of an episode of 60 Minutes that was watched by approximately 15.8 million people. This made 60 Minutes the #4 most-watched program on all of television for the week of December 4 to 10, behind only CSI, Sunday Night Football, and Deal or No Deal. A week later on December 17th, 60 Minutes' ratings were down nine percent, dropping the series from #4 to #13 on the weekly list of television's most-watched shows.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:02 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC Buys Select Fighter Contracts as WFA Ceases Operations
by Ivan Trembow and Ken Pishna
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Zuffa announced on Monday that it has purchased what is left of the World Fighting Alliance, most significantly "select fighter contracts" and all of the WFA's trademarks and intellectual properties.

This news comes on the heels of Zuffa buying World Extreme Cagefighting, and reportedly also being in negotiations to buy Pride Fighting Championships from Dream Stage Entertainment.

While the WEC will continue to operate as a separate promotion under Zuffa's ownership, the WFA has ceased all operations and will be folded into the UFC.

In news that broke on MMAWeekly Radio last week, WFA President and CEO Jeremy Lappen is suing the owners of the WFA for breach of contract, alleging that the WFA's owners have not paid him or many of the company's other employees for quite some time.

MMAWeekly has learned that in the days since that story broke, Lappen reached a settlement with the WFA's owners. According to Lappen, “We have reached a settlement, but I cannot comment on the situation.”

Prior to the Zuffa purchase, many of the WFA's employees had already left the company and the WFA's debt was piling up, with creditors seeking payments and with some vendors from the July 22nd show still waiting for their funds to be delivered.

It is not known if any of the WFA's employees creditors who are owed money will now get paid the amounts due. Given the wording in Zuffa's press release that it has "acquired selected assets" of the WFA, it's possible that the UFC just bought the specific fighter contracts that it wanted and the WFA's trademarks, without also acquiring the company's debts.

At the time of publication, it was unclear as to whether or not all of the fighters under contract with the WFA were assignable (able to be bought by or sold to another organization). It is believed that most were; therefore, the UFC would have been able to negotiate with the WFA for the fighters that interested them and pick up their current WFA contracts.

For any WFA fighters who were no longer under binding contract to the WFA, or whose contracts the UFC specifically chose not to buy out, those fighters are now free agents who can negotiate with the UFC or any other MMA promotion.

Sources close to the situation told MMAWeekly.com that Quinton Jackson and Heath Herring are two of the fighters that are part of the deal and will soon be fighting in the UFC. Comments from UFC President and Zuffa co-owner Dana White in Zuffa's press release would seem to support that information: “Zuffa is committed to giving our fans the best fights between the best fighters in the world. This acquisition helps us continue fulfilling that goal… bringing the WFA fighters into the Zuffa family is the best thing that could happen for the fighters – and for the fans.”

A rematch between Jackson and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell has been a highly anticipated request by fans for some time, and Herring would help bolster a lacking UFC heavyweight division. Jackson was expected to be on his way to the UFC even before the UFC-WFA buy-out took place.

There could be legal complications if the UFC acquired the WFA contracts of Matt Lindland and Bas Rutten, who are also coaches in the IFL. While the WFA deals of Lindland and Rutten both allowed them to also fight and coach in the IFL, the UFC is likely not going to want to use fighters who are also coaches in the IFL, a company with which the UFC has exchanged lawsuits in the past, although those suits have since been settled.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:06 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Mirko Cro Cop Talks about Offers from UFC & Pride
by Al Yu and Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

MMAWeekly brought you the news earlier this week when Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic told a Croatian newspaper that the UFC has shown interest in signing him, and now Cro Cop has elaborated on the offers that he has received from the UFC and Pride.

In a subsequent interview with a different Croatian newspaper, Cro Cop said, "Like everybody else, I'm also available on the market. The offer from the UFC is slightly better than Pride's offer, but I haven't decided if I will change jerseys." Cro Cop went on to say that he has also received an offer from another US-based organization, which he did not name.

Cro Cop, who won Pride's 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix, also said in the same Croatian newspaper interview that money will not be the only factor that determines where he fights in the future, alluding to the fact that his decision will likely be swayed by his desire to secure a rematch with Fedor Emelianenko, who defeated Cro Cop last year at Pride's Final Conflict 2005. Cro Cop is currently the #2 Heavyweight in the MMAWeekly Rankings, while Fedor is the #1 Heavyweight.

As previously reported by MMAWeekly, Fedor is currently taking his fight bookings as a succession of one-fight contracts, with the next one being his December 31st fight against Mark Hunt in Pride, followed by his March fight with BodogFights. After that, numerous MMA organizations will surely be seeking Fedor's services, whether it's in the form of a one-fight contract or an exclusive long-term deal.

In addition to the aforementioned Croatian newspaper interviews, the following statement was also posted on Mirko Cro Crop's official web site:

"With MMA becoming a worldwide mainstream, more than a few promotions are trying to sign some of the best fighters in the world for their shows. Mirko's office is jammed with various offers from the world's top MMA promotions, and Cro Cop is considering everything before making his final decision. We've received tons of emails lately from Mirko's fans, with questions about Mirko's future MMA plans, so we decided to share some with you.

As we all know, Mirko's primary goal has always been winning the PRIDE Heavyweight title. After a successful Grand Prix, Cro Cop was promoted to #1 contender and promised a fight with Fedor by the end of the year or in early 2007. However, it's highly unlikely that we are going to see the rematch anytime soon. It was PRIDE's call to set up one of the most anticipated rematches in MMA history, but the Japanese organization has been unable to do it so far. Maybe it's not entirely their fault, as Fedor announced several times that he's going to fight in some other MMA organizations too, such as BodogFights.

But the bottom line is that Cro Cop likely won't have his chance to fight Fedor for the title in the next few months. With that said, it's perfectly reasonable for Mirko to consider other offers.

Of course, the most interesting offers are coming from the US, where we have a number of new and promising MMA promotions. However, the leader in the US MMA market is still the UFC and they are joining the battle for top level MMA fighters with full confidence after a few recent successful events. Over the last few days we have read about the UFC's offer to Mirko that allegedly leaked out due to someone's eagle eye from the airplane backseat. Millions of dollars were about to appear on Cro Cop's account if he agreed to fight in the UFC, according to the rumors. Well, that was nothing but the rumors, the offer from the UFC is actually in Cro Cop's hands, but the numbers are entirely different.

Is Cro Cop seriously considering making his UFC appearance? Let's say that Mirko is always open to new challenges and he is looking forward to his US debut, which will happen very soon. The question remains - under which roof?

The bottom line of the whole story is - Mirko is still hoping to fight Fedor for the title in the first half of 2007. If the rematch will never happen under PRIDE's roof, again, then Cro Cop will consider some other options. There are some other interesting challenges waiting for him in MMA, it's not all about PRIDE's Heavyweight belt."

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Pride Fighting Championships News, UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 4:03 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC Buying World Extreme Cagefighting
by Ken Pishna and Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Both the Wrestling Observer and numerous independent MMAWeekly.com sources have confirmed that the Ultimate Fighting Championship has purchased, or is in the final stages of purchasing, World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC).

The Zuffa-owned WEC is expected to continue to hold shows under the WEC name and would use a UFC Octagon. Additionally, MMAWeekly has learned that WEC president Reed Harris and matchmaker Scott Adams are expected to remain with the company, and that the first WEC show to be produced under UFC ownership is an event tentatively planned for January 2007.

The Observer reports that the UFC is buying the WEC for many reasons, one of which is to serve as a venue in which to groom up-and-coming talent, and another is so that they can attempt to secure a high-profile national television deal for the WEC in a strategic maneuver to impede the chances of other MMA promotions (specifically the IFL or Pride) to secure a national TV deal in the United States.

There are only so many TV deals available for an MMA company in the United States. If a TV deal could be secured for the WEC, Zuffa would have the UFC on Spike TV, perhaps the UFC on HBO at some point, and the WEC on another network besides HDNet.

If the UFC were able to secure a deal for the WEC, this would leave any other MMA company with very limited options in terms of securing their own TV deals, with no possibility of signing with Spike TV, HBO (assuming that the UFC is able to secure some sort of deal with the premium network), Showtime (because of their agreement with Pro Elite, Inc.), and the network that would sign the WEC.

According to Ron Kruck, a broadcaster at WEC events and producer/host of WEC Exposed on HDNet, “We [HDNet] are in ongoing talks with the WEC about renewing their contract, but at this point, nothing has been signed.”

So, it appears that the HDNet deal is up in the air at this point and that the UFC may already be seeking a different outlet for their latest product.

There is definitely a higher priority being put on the television production of WEC events. Christian Printup of the Tachi Palace recently stated on WEC.tv that at least 50% of the WEC shows in 2007 are moving to the Tachi Palace’s new indoor venue, even though it is somewhat smaller than the outdoor venue where most WEC events have been held. His reasoning: “The new capacity is 1,450, and the [indoor] venue is better designed for a television audience... the [outdoor venue] was 1,800 capacity.”

As previously reported by MMAWeekly, Zuffa co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta and president Dana White were sitting in the audience at WEC 24 on October 12th. Now, with the purchase of the WEC, it has become pretty clear why they were in attendance.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 6:17 PM

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Business/Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC Owners Place $4.7 Billion Bid to Buy Back Station Casinos
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta, the majority owners of the UFC, are attempting to take their multi-billion-dollar Station Casinos empire private with a $4.7 billion buyout offer.

The newly-formed Fertitta Colony Partners LLC, which includes Frank Fertitta III, Lorenzo Fertitta, and Colony Acquisitions LLC, has made an all-cash offer of $4.7 billion to buy Station Casinos, which equals $82 per share for all of Station Casinos' current shareholders.

Station Casinos, which has been publicly traded for 13 years, would be a privately owned company if the buy-out attempt is successful.

In addition to being the majority owners of Zuffa, the company that owns the UFC, the Fertitta brothers hold senior management positions at the company that their family founded. Frank Fertitta III is the Chairman and CEO of Station Casinos, while Lorenzo Fertitta is the Vice Chairman and President of Station Casinos.

In the first nine months of 2006, senior management at Station had already bought back nearly 13 million shares of Station Casinos stock for approximately $880 million.

The Station Casinos empire includes the $500 million Green Valley Ranch, which opened in 2001 and is a joint venture with the Greenspun family; and the new Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa, which opened in April of this year and cost $925 million, according to Bloomberg News. Station Casinos also owns numerous other casinos and manages the Thunder Valley Native American Casino near Sacramento, California.

As Bloomberg News noted (albeit with some "no holds barred" hyperbole), "The Fertitta brothers also own the Ultimate Fighting Championships, a no-holds-barred martial arts competition."

The brothers can usually be seen near the Octagon during UFC fights and in the Octagon after main event fights, and they were also both sitting in the front row at Pride's United States debut show on October 21st.

As reported by Bloomberg, "Taking the company private means the Fertittas avoid investor questions about their management decisions as they build in the fast-growing Las Vegas market." Chuck Akre, the CEO of Akre Capital Management, said that the buy-out offer would give the Fertittas "greater economic gain and less public scrutiny."

Financial analysts have indicated that even more valuable than the company's current casino properties is the land that the company is currently holding for development, which is worth $997 million to $1.4 billion, according to the company's own estimates.

In an interview with Business Week, financial analyst Jeffrey B. Logsdon said that he believes the $4.7 billion bid for complete ownership of Station Casinos is a fair price. Logsdon said, "Although a bid for Station could go higher, minority shareholders would have to make a convincing argument that the company's land holdings value is higher than management's estimates."

A Forbes.com article on the $82 per share buy-out offer stated, "Analysts predicted that the deal would quickly be consummated and that the company, while recently experiencing some difficulties, will ultimately profit from a healthy Sin City economy."

According to the Associated Press, Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Robert LaFleur "sees the strong insider position of the Fertittas as decreasing the odds of an outside offer [to buy Station]... while he thinks shareholders could apply pressure for higher bids, LaFleur doesn't see it going beyond the $84 to $86 per share range."

Though the buy-out is expected to be completed at some point, three lawsuits stemming from the proposed buy-out have been filed in Clark County District Court, according to In Business Las Vegas.

Station Casinos shareholders Walter and Rita Goldmann, Helen Roessler, and Charles Traynor are suing Station, Fertitta Colony Partners, Frank Fertitta III, Lorenzo Fertitta, and several Station board members for breach of fiduciary duty.

These shareholders are seeking to form a class-action suit and have alleged that the proposed purchase price of $4.7 billion for Station Casinos is "unfair and grossly inadequate because, among other things, the intrinsic value of Station Casinos common stock is materially in excess of the amount offered, given the company's growth and anticipated operating results, net asset value and future profitability."

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 6:28 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Will DSE Really Sell Pride to the UFC or WWE?
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Dream Stage Entertainment is taking part in ongoing negotiations with several different companies based in several different countries to sell Pride, according to a report in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Among the companies with which DSE has had talks are the Ultimate Fighting Championship, World Wrestling Entertainment, and multiple companies in both the United States and South Korea that were not named in the article, which further stated that the majority of the interest that has been shown in purchasing Pride has come from outside of Japan.

The crux of the Observer article is that it is necessary for DSE to eventually sell the company because while the company can continue to put on mega-shows like the December 31st show in the short term, Pride at its current level is simply not a sustainable business model over the long run without the all-important Japanese TV deal.

Fuji TV cancelled its contract and removed Pride from its network earlier this year due to company scandals, even though Pride's 2005 New Year's Eve show won the head-to-head ratings battle with the K-1 New Year's Eve show for the first time.

Fuji TV was much more than just a TV outlet for Pride, as Fuji also paid the company millions of dollars and provided it with valuable promotional exposure. Pride has been unable to secure a new TV deal with any other major network in Japan.

The DSE-owned Pride will continue to aggressively expand into the U.S. marketplace, add big-name fighters to its roster if given the opportunity, and continue to run shows in Japan. While it remains possible that a huge explosion in popularity or a Japanese TV deal could change the situation, neither of those two things are particularly likely to occur, and this would likely make it necessary for DSE to sell the company to new ownership if things don't turn around in the next year or so.

If Pride were to be purchased by World Wrestling Entertainment, it is not a stretch to say that it would be unlikely to succeed. Putting aside any fears that WWE would be tempted to fix fights, there's also the well-documented fact that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon has never displayed competence in any business outside of his core business of pro wrestling, with unsuccessful business ventures in nutritional supplements (IcoPro), a bodybuilding league (WBF), the movie industry (WWE Films), reality television production (Manhunt, Tough Enough, WWE Diva Search), a professional football league (XFL), the book industry (WWE's self-published novels in which McMahon solves crimes), and yes, even promoting legitimate shoot-fights on national television (Brawl for All).

The Observer article noted that Zuffa is faced with a strategic choice. If the UFC bought Pride and inherited what the Observer referred to as Pride's "very high contracts," Zuffa would acquire lots of world-class MMA fighters, but the move would raise the UFC's salary structure and "up the ante greatly" in terms of the amount of money that the company spends on fighter contracts.

If, on the other hand, Zuffa were to sit back and take a different kind of risk by letting the situation play itself out, the ideal scenario for Zuffa would be that Pride would eventually go out of business (or whoever buys Pride would fail with it and go under), thus making all of Pride's fighters free agents.

This would enable Zuffa to pay a lot less for the fighters than they would otherwise have to, because at that point there would be a very large amount of free agent fighters and only two stable, big-money options available for those fighters (UFC and K-1), although upstarts like BodogFight have managed to lure Fedor Emelianenko away, at least for one fight.

As the Observer reported, in the latter scenario Zuffa would be able to "work at signing only the people they want with the ability to negotiate more favorable terms [for Zuffa] due to the only other option [for the fighters] being K-1, which generally doesn't pay at Pride's level." In this scenario, with Pride's entire roster as free agents, the top-level fighters would likely end up split primarily between the UFC and K-1.

In the face of all the speculation, Pride broadcaster Frank Trigg appeared on MMAWeekly Radio's SoundOff and denied outright that Pride was for sale. Trigg said, "Two major organizations offered to buy Pride and both answers were no. They were both very substantial offers." Trigg was adamant as he said, "[DSE President] Sakakibara does not want to sell Pride. Pride is not up for sale. I spoke with him earlier today. Are we trying to do cross-promotions with other people? Absolutely... [but] Pride is not up for sale."

The Observer reported in its initial article that DSE's senior management will continue to act like "everything is status quo" and will continue to tell company employees that the company is not going to be sold.

Regardless of how the situation with Pride plays out, the Observer reports that Zuffa is planning on getting "very aggressive" when it comes to signing top talent.

The only thing for certain is that in the ever-changing landscape of MMA, only time will tell.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Pride Fighting Championships News, UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 6:09 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC 65 Fighter Salaries
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information for UFC 65, which took place on November 18th in Sacramento, California.

The following figures are based on the fighter salary information that the UFC is required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions, including the winners' bonuses.

Although MMA fighters do not have collective bargaining or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. In addition, any undisclosed bonuses or "secret money" that the UFC also pays its fighters (specifically, PPV bonuses for the top PPV main event fighters) is not included in the figures below.

In the listings below, "Title Match & Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show and/or compete in a title fight on a show. "Main Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear on the main card, but not in title fights or in the main event. "Preliminary Match Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those matches end up airing on the PPV broadcast.

Title Match & Main Event Fighters
-Tim Sylvia: $120,000 (defeated Jeff Monson)
-Matt Hughes: $75,000 (lost to Georges St. Pierre)
-Georges St. Pierre: $58,000 (defeated Matt Hughes)
-Jeff Monson: $13,000 (lost to Tim Sylvia)

Main Card Fighters
-Brandon Vera: $40,000 (defeated Frank Mir)
-Frank Mir: $36,000 (lost to Brandon Vera)
-Joe Stevenson: $24,000 (defeated Dokonjonosuke Mishima)
-Alessio Sakara: $10,000 (lost to Drew McFedries)
-Drew McFedries: $8,000 (defeated Alessio Sakara)
-Dokonjonosuke Mishima: $8,000 (lost to Joe Stevenson)

Preliminary Match Fighters
-Nick Diaz: $24,000 (defeated Gleison Tibau)
-Jake O'Brien: $12,000 (defeated Josh Shockman)
-James Irvin: $10,000 (defeated Hector Ramirez)
-Antoni Hardonk: $6,000 (defeated Sherman Pendergarst)
-Sherman Pendergarst: $4,000 (lost to Antoni Hardonk)
-Josh Shockman: $3,000 (lost to Jake O'Brien)
-Hector Ramirez: $3,000 (lost to James Irvin)
-Gleison Tibau: $3,000 (lost to Nick Diaz)
Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $457,000

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 5:26 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- The Ultimate Fighter 4's Most-Watched Fights
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

A total of 17 fights aired on the fourth season of The Ultimate Fighter, and what follows is a ranking of the fights from #1 to #17 in terms of viewership, along with a breakdown of which specific fighters drew the highest average ratings.

1. Shonie Carter defeats Rich Clementi: 1.8 Rating (fight aired on Episode 1)

2. Edwin Dewees defeats Gideon Ray: 1.7 Rating (fight aired on Episode 2)

3. Chris Lytle defeats Pete Spratt: 1.6 Rating (fight aired on Episode 3)

4. Matt Serra defeats Pete Spratt: 1.4 Rating (fight aired on Episode 7)

5. Matt Serra defeats Shonie Carter: 1.4 Rating (fight aired on Episode 10)

6. Pete Sell defeats Charles McCarthy: 1.3 Rating (fight aired on Episode 6)

7. Matt Serra defeats Chris Lytle: 1.3 Rating (fight aired on TUF 4 live finale)

8. Din Thomas defeats Mikey Burnett: 1.3 Rating (fight aired on Episode 5)

9. Travis Lutter defeats Scott Smith: 1.2 Rating (fight aired on Episode 4)

10. Din Thomas defeats Rich Clementi: 1.2 Rating (fight aired on TUF 4 live finale)

11. Patrick Cote defeats Jorge Rivera: 1.2 Rating (fight aired on Episode 8)

12. Travis Lutter defeats Patrick Cote: 1.1 Rating (fight aired on TUF 4 live finale)

13. Scott Smith defeats Pete Sell: 1.1 Rating (fight aired on TUF 4 live finale)

14. Travis Lutter defeats Pete Sell: 1.1 Rating (fight aired on Episode 11)

15. Chris Lytle defeats Din Thomas: 1.0 Rating (fight aired on Episode 9)

16. Jorge Rivera defeats Edwin Dewees: 1.0 Rating (fight aired on TUF 4 live finale)

17. Patrick Cote defeats Edwin Dewees: 1.0 Rating (fight aired on Episode 12)

Here's how the individual fighters rank in terms of average viewership for their fights on TUF 4 (including the live finale). This list only includes fighters who fought at least twice.

1. Shonie Carter: 1.60 average over two fights

2. Rich Clementi: 1.50 average over two fights (tied with Pete Spratt)

2. Pete Spratt: 1.50 average over two fights (tied with Rich Clementi)

4. Matt Serra: 1.37 average over three fights

5. Chris Lytle: 1.30 average over three fights

6. Edwin Dewees: 1.23 average over three fights

7. Pete Sell: 1.17 average over three fights (tied with Din Thomas)

7. Din Thomas: 1.17 average over three fights (tied with Pete Sell)

9. Scott Smith: 1.15 average over two fights

10. Travis Lutter: 1.13 average over three fights

11. Patrick Cote: 1.10 average over three fights (tied with Jorge Rivera)

11. Jorge Rivera: 1.10 average over three fights (tied with Patrick Cote)

only had one fight on the air: Gideon Ray, Charles McCarthy, Mikey Burnett

did not have any fights on the air: Jeremy Jackson

TUF 3's Most-Watched Fights
For the purposes of comparison, here is a breakdown of TUF 3's most-watched fights, followed by the fighter averages for TUF 3 (as previously published on MMAWeekly). We'll add to this as more TUF aeasons air in the coming months and years.

1. Kendall Grove defeats Ed Herman: 2.5 rating (fight aired on TUF 3 live finale)

2. Michael Bisping defeats Josh Haynes: 2.5 rating (fight aired on TUF 3 live finale)

3. Kendall Grove defeats Ross Pointon: 2.3 rating (fight aired on Episode 3)

4. Josh Haynes defeats Tait Fletcher: 2.1 rating (fight aired on Episode 7)

5. Rory Singer defeats Solomon Hutcherson: 2.1 rating (fight aired on Episode 5)

6. Matt Hamill defeats Mike Nickels: 2.0 rating (fight aired on Episode 9)

7. Ed Herman defeats Danny Abaddi: 2.0 rating (fight aired on Episode 8)

8. Kalib Starnes defeats Mike Stine: 1.9 rating (fight aired on Episode 1)

9. Michael Bisping defeats Kristian Rothaermel: 1.8 rating (fight aired on Episode 4)

10. Matt Hamill defeats Jesse Forbes: 1.6 rating (fight aired on TUF 3 live finale)

11. Ed Herman defeats Rory Singer: 1.6 rating (fight aired on Episode 11)

12. Kendall Grove defeats Kalib Starnes: 1.6 rating (fight aired on Episode 10)

13. Michael Bisping defeats Ross Pointon: 1.6 rating (fight aired on Episode 12)

14. Noah Inhofer defeats Jesse Forbes: 1.5 rating (fight aired on Episode 2)

15. Josh Haynes defeats Jesse Forbes: 1.3 rating (fight aired on Episode 12)

Here's how the individual fighters on TUF 3 rank in terms of average viewership for their fights during the season and on the live finale.

1. Kendall Grove: 2.13 average over three fights

2. Ed Herman: 2.03 average over three fights

3. Josh Haynes: 1.97 average over three fights (tied with Michael Bisping)

3. Michael Bisping: 1.97 average over three fights (tied with Josh Haynes)

5. Ross Pointon: 1.95 average over two fights

6. Rory Singer: 1.85 average over two fights

7. Matt Hamill: 1.80 average over two fights

8. Kalib Starnes: 1.75 average over two fights

9. Jesse Forbes: 1.47 average over three fights

only had one fight on the air: Tait Fletcher, Solomon Hutcherson, Mike Nickels, Danny Abaddi, Mike Stine, Kristian Rothaermel, Noah Inhofer

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 9:36 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Ultimate Fighter Ratings in Review
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

MMAWeekly has already brought you the full ratings reports for each of the twelve regular season episodes of The Ultimate Fighter 4, and now we're going to take a look at the bigger picture by comparing the ratings that were drawn by TUF 4 to the ratings that were drawn by the first three seasons of TUF.

When all was said and done, TUF 4 was the lowest-rated season of TUF to date, and it also reversed what had been an upward trend throughout TUF 1, TUF 2, and TUF 3 of increasing ratings in the most advertiser-coveted demographics.

Overall Ratings
In series history, the regular season of The Ultimate Fighter 1 averaged a 1.6 overall rating, the second season was down to a 1.4 overall rating on average, the third season was up to a 1.7 average, and the recently completed fourth season drew an average rating of 1.2 overall, which was down 29 percent from TUF 3.

The Ultimate Fighter 4 actually started off the season with ratings that would have put it in the same ballpark as previous seasons, but the ratings quickly went downward.

Breaking down the twelve episodes into four different groups of three episodes apiece, the first three episodes of TUF 4 averaged a 1.6 overall rating, but then the next three episodes averaged a 1.2 overall rating, the next three episodes after that also averaged a 1.2 overall rating, and the final three episodes of the season averaged a 1.1 overall rating. The drop-off from the first set of three episodes to the last was 31 percent.

Ratings in the #1 Key Demographic
In the demographic that is the most targeted by advertisers, 18-to-34-year-old males, The Ultimate Fighter as a series had been on a steady increase in viewership from the beginning of the first season to the end of the third season. This trend reversed during TUF 4, and the season ended up with a lower average in this demographic than TUF 1 averaged.

In the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, the first season of TUF averaged a 2.2 rating, the second season averaged a 2.5 rating, the third season averaged a 2.9 rating, and the fourth season averaged a 2.0 rating, which was down 31 percent from TUF 3.

As with the overall ratings, TUF 4's ratings in the key demographic started off well and collapsed shortly thereafter. This indicates that it wasn't a case of viewers simply not giving the season a chance (if that were the case, the ratings would have been low from the beginning of the season). What this trend indicates is that many of the people who tuned into the first few episodes of Season Four decided that they were not interested in watching the rest of the season.

Again, if you look at the twelve-episode regular season as four different groups of three episodes apiece, the first three episodes of TUF averaged a 2.6 rating in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, which would have been the second highest rated season of TUF in series history if that average had been maintained.

Instead, the next three episodes averaged a 1.9 rating in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, the next three episodes after that also averaged a 1.9 rating, and the final three episodes of TUF 4 averaged a 1.6 rating in this demographic. The drop-off from the first set of three episodes to the last was 38 percent.

Ratings in the #2 Key Demographic
The second most targeted demographic among the UFC and Spike TV's advertisers is 18-to-49-year-old males. This demographic includes the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic that makes up the bulk of the UFC's audience, but it also includes the 35-to-49-year-old male demographic, which is disproportionately less interested in "new sports" like mixed martial arts.

In the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic, we don't have all of the data for the first and second seasons of TUF, but we do have all of the data for the third and fourth seasons. The third season averaged a 2.2 rating in this demographic, while the fourth season averaged a 1.6 rating in this demographic.

As with the other ratings trends, this one started out moderately well and proceeded to go downhill from there. The first three episodes of TUF 4 averaged a 2.0 rating in the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic, and then the next three episodes averaged a 1.6 rating in this demographic, the next three episodes averaged a 1.4 rating, and the final three episodes of the season also averaged a 1.4 rating. The drop-off from the beginning of the season to the end was 30 percent.

As detailed in a separate article earlier this week, the live season finale of The Ultimate Fighter 4 drew a 1.1 overall rating, which was down drastically from the 1.9, 2.0, and 2.0 overall ratings that were drawn by the finales of TUF 1, 2, and 3. Also, the individual fights on the fourth season of The Ultimate Fighter drew overall ratings that ranged from a high of 1.8 for the fight on Episode One to a low of 1.0 for the fight on Episode Twelve.

It remains to be seen whether the decreases in viewership for The Ultimate Fighter 4 were just an aberration or whether these decreases were the beginning of a downward trend in TUF ratings. If there's one thing that is certain, it is that when The Ultimate Fighter 5 starts airing in April, it will need to do a better job of maintaining its audience over the course of the season than The Ultimate Fighter 4.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:04 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Fighter Salaries for The Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information for the Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale, which took place on Saturday, November 11th.

The following figures are from the fighter salary information that the UFC is required by law to submit to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, including the winners' bonuses. Any "secret money" that the UFC also pays its fighters is not included in the figures below.

In the listings below, "Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show on a show. "Main Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear on the main card, but not in title fights or in the main event. "Preliminary Match Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those matches end up airing on the TV broadcast.

In the cases of Matt Serra and Travis Lutter, who won the TUF 4 tournaments, it was noted during the season that the two winners would each receive a cash bonus of $100,000, and you'll notice those bonuses reflected in the figures below.

Without further ado, here are the fighter salaries for the Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale.

Main Event Fighters
-Matt Serra: $110,000 (defeated Chris Lytle)
-Travis Lutter: $110,000 (defeated Patrick Cote)
-Chris Lytle: $10,000 (lost to Matt Serra)
-Patrick Cote: $10,000 (lost to Travis Lutter)

Main Card Fighters
-Jorge Rivera: $20,000 (defeated Edwin Dewees)
-Din Thomas: $20,000 (defeated Rich Clementi)
-Edwin Dewees: $10,000 (lost to Jorge Rivera)
-Rich Clementi: $10,000 (lost to Din Thomas)

Preliminary Match Fighters
-Scott Smith: $20,000 (defeated Pete Sell)
-Pete Spratt: $20,000 (defeated Jeremy Jackson)
-Charles McCarthy: $20,000 (defeated Gideon Ray)
-Martin Kampmann: $15,000 (defeated Thales Leites)
-Jeremy Jackson: $10,000 (lost to Pete Spratt)
-Pete Sell: $10,000 (lost to Scott Smith)
-Gideon Ray: $10,000 (lost to Charles McCarthy)
-Thales Leites: $3,000 (lost to Martin Kampmann)
Disclosed Fighter Payroll for Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale: $408,000

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:37 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Ultimate Fighter 4 Finale Draws Lowest Ratings in History of TUF Finales
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The live season finale of The Ultimate Fighter 4 drew a 1.1 overall rating on Saturday, November 11th, making it the least-watched TUF season finale in the history of the series. The previous low for a TUF finale was the 1.9 overall rating that was drawn by the first season finale.

While a 1.1 overall rating is still a solid rating for cable television, it's barely above Spike TV's recent primetime average of 1.0, and there's a big difference between drawing almost double the primetime average of a cable network and just barely surpassing it.

Ratings Also Down in Key Demographics
Among 18-to-34-year-old males, which is the viewer demographic that is seen as the most important by Spike TV and the UFC due to the fact that it is highly coveted by advertisers, the first three TUF finales drew ratings of 3.3, 3.7, and 3.8, respectively. The TUF 4 finale drew a 2.0 rating in this demographic, which is a decrease of 44 percent from the previous average for live TUF finales.

In the slightly broader 18-to-49-year-old male demographic, the first three live season finales of TUF drew ratings of 2.7, 2.7, and 2.9, respectively. The TUF 4 finale drew a 1.5 rating in this demographic, which is a decrease of 46 percent from the previous average for live TUF finales.

TUF 4 Finale Reverses Trend of TUF Finales Out-Drawing Regular Seasons
At this time of the year in 2005, The Ultimate Fighter 2 drew some of the lowest ratings in series history in the last several weeks of the twelve-episode regular season, only to rebound when the live season finale drew an excellent 2.0 overall rating.

This year, The Ultimate Fighter 4 was the least-watched season to date, and unlike TUF 2, it did not rebound with a stronger rating for the live season finale.

Historically, the live season finale of any given TUF season has always drawn better ratings than the twelve-episode regular season. After all, the entire regular season is designed to build up the live finale and ensure that even if a viewer misses an episode or two (or three) of the regular season, he or she will still make sure to tune in for the live season finale.

The first season of TUF improved from a 1.6 regular season average to 1.9 for the live season finale. The second season of TUF improved from a 1.4 regular season average to 2.0 for the live finale. The third season of TUF improved from a 1.7 regular season average to 2.0 for the live season finale. On average, the first three TUF season finales drew 26 percent higher ratings than the first three TUF regular seasons.

In the case of the TUF 4 finale, the opposite was true. The twelve-episode regular season drew an average rating of 1.2, and the live season finale drew a 1.1 overall rating.

TUF 4 Finale Also Lower-Rated than Non-TUF Live Specials
Instead of making more and more viewers of the show excited to see the live finale at the end of the season, it seem as though the regular season of TUF 4 actually caused viewers to have less interest in watching the TUF season finale than they would normally have in watching a UFC live fight special in general.

This is evidenced by the fact that the TUF 4 finale was not just the least-watched TUF finale in UFC history; it was also the least-watched live fight special that the UFC has ever aired on Spike TV. The live UFC Fight Night events, which typically draw much lower ratings than the TUF finales, have still averaged higher ratings than the TUF 4 finale was able to draw.

The reason that this is disconcerting is because the UFC Fight Night live specials don't have entire seasons of The Ultimate Fighter to build them up, whereas the TUF live finales obviously do. Therefore, it only makes sense that the TUF finales have generally drawn higher ratings than the UFC Fight Night specials, with the obvious exception of the October 10th special and its Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock main event (which had years of build-up behind it).

The "non-TUF" live fight specials that the UFC has aired on Spike TV (ie, the Ultimate Fight Night and UFC Fight Night events) are also lower-rated in part because they are often placed awkwardly in the middle of the week. Only one of the seven Ultimate Fight Night/UFC Fight Night specials has aired on a Saturday night, which has been established for years as the week's primary "Fight Night" in both boxing and MMA.

The non-TUF fight cards on Spike TV have, on average, outdrawn the TUF 4 live finale terms of the overall rating (1.8 to 1.1), as well as the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic (2.9 to 2.0), and in the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic (2.3 to 1.5).

The Big Question: Beginning of a Trend?
The big question moving forward is whether TUF 4's low ratings are just an aberration or whether they represent the beginning of a downward trend for UFC ratings. The latter would seem to be very unlikely, given the fact that less than two months ago, the UFC drew a phenomenal 3.1 overall rating for Ortiz-Shamrock III.

The likely reason for the drastically decreased TUF 4 ratings is not that there's a general disinterest in the UFC among people who watched previous seasons of TUF. It's much more likely that the appeal (or lack of appeal) of a TUF season or a UFC live fight special is entirely dependent on the actual fighters and how well they are promoted.

It's clearly not just the UFC brand name that sells, or there wouldn't be a live fight special drawing a 3.1 rating in October and a second live fight special from the same company drawing a 1.1 rating in November. It's all about the product and specifically how interested or disinterested the television-viewing public is in seeing the product that's being presented to them.

Ortiz-Shamrock III, while it wasn't something that was highly anticipated among hardcore fans of the sport, was a product that millions and millions of casual MMA fans (and new fans) were interested in seeing. The Ultimate Fighter 4 was not, for all of the various reasons that we've analyzed ad nauseam over the past few months. More than anything else, the ratings drawn by the TUF 4 finale demonstrate that if fans aren't interested in the specific fights or fighters that are being presented, they're not going to watch just because it's the UFC or just because it's on free TV.

With overexposure being one of the problems, Spike TV and Zuffa went a long way towards alleviating that problem when they delayed the fifth season of TUF, which had been tentatively set to start filming in October and airing in January (it's now tentatively scheduled to start filming in January and airing in April). The brief delay was a smart move that will help the series in the long run by avoiding overexposure.

When TUF 5 does start airing several months from now, its success or failure is going to be based on whether or not the producers of the series are able to conceive and execute a concept for the season that resonates with hardcore and casual fans alike.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 2:55 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Ultimate Fighter 4 Draws Another Series-Low 1.0 Rating
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The twelfth and final episode of The Ultimate Fighter 4's regular season tied the series' all-time low once again with a 1.0 overall rating on Thursday, November 2nd.

Episode Nine set the series' new all-time low for a regularly scheduled new episode by drawing a 1.0 overall rating on October 12th, then Episode Eleven tied that mark on October 26th, and finally Episode Twelve tied that mark once again on November 2nd.

The actual fight on Episode Twelve (Patrick Cote vs. Edwin Dewees) drew a 1.0 rating, which ties it with Chris Lytle vs. Din Thomas as the least-watched fights of the season.

Low Regular Season Ratings Do Not Necessarily Equal Low Finale Ratings
While it would seem that TUF has no ratings momentum heading into the November 11th live season finale of TUF 4, that does not necessarily mean that the live finale isn't going to draw strong ratings.

One needs look no further than TUF's own ratings history to see that. The second season of The Ultimate Fighter limped across the finish line with low viewership levels for the end of its regular season, yet the live season finale of TUF 2 drew a fantastic 2.0 overall rating, which made it the UFC's most-watched live fight special up to that point in time.

When it comes to the UFC, the ratings for new episodes of TUF are a different beast altogether than the ratings for live fight specials. The TUF 2 finale ratings demonstrate that, and an even more jarring example came just a few weeks ago. A new episode of The Ultimate Fighter drew an overall rating of just 1.1 on October 5th, and then the two-hour live fight special that was headlined by Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock drew a 3.1 overall rating on October 10th (shattering every UFC ratings record in the book), and just two days later the next new episode of TUF drew a series-low 1.0 overall rating.

So, in a way, the disconnect between "TUF viewers" and "UFC live fight special viewers" should be encouraging for Spike TV and the UFC. Yes, TUF 4's significantly decreased ratings are likely to make the ad rates for future seasons of TUF lower than they otherwise would have been, but the ad rates for live fight specials (including the live TUF finales) should be staying the same or going up because the UFC has still been able to deliver when it comes to live fight special viewership.

This trend also means that it would be a mistake to assume that the live season finale of TUF 4 is going to draw a disappointing rating. It may or may not draw a disappointing rating, but one cannot accurately assume that a live TUF finale is going to draw a low rating just because the regular season has been drawing less-than-stellar ratings.

Episode Twelve's Ratings Collapse in Key Demographics
The overall rating of 1.0 that was drawn by Episode Twelve of TUF 4 may be troubling for the UFC and Spike TV, but the most alarming aspect of Episode Twelve's ratings was not the overall rating; it was the dramatic drop-off in the key demographic ratings.

Among 18-to-49-year-old males, Episode Twelve drew a 1.1 rating, which is a new low for the season and is down significantly from the previous week's 1.5 rating in the same demographic.

In the most advertiser-coveted demographic, 18-to-34-year-old males, Episode Twelve drew a 1.3 rating, which was down significantly from the previous week's 1.8 rating in the same demographic. The rating of 1.3 was the lowest of the season in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic; the previous low for TUF 4 was 1.7.

In fact, Episode Twelve of TUF 4 was the least watched episode in Ultimate Fighter history in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic. The previous series low in this demographic was 1.5, which was drawn by the very first episode of TUF's first season.

Overall Rating Stays at 1.0 Despite Drastically Decreased Sports Competition
While it would be natural to assume that head-to-head sports competition has a direct negative effect on TUF's ratings, that has proven to be untrue time and time again throughout the series' history, as previously documented by MMAWeekly.

Prior to this week, the most recent example was that Episode Ten and Episode Eleven of TUF 4 went head-to-head with a virtually identical level of head-to-head sports competition (NLCS Game 7 drew a rating within one percent of World Series Game 5), and yet TUF's overall rating dropped 20 percent from Episode Ten to Episode Eleven.

In the case of Episode Twelve, it faced a drastically decreased level of sports competition, so one would think that it would have drawn a higher rating if head-to-head sports competition had any significant effect on TUF's ratings.

However, once again, that wasn't the case. Episode Eleven and Episode Twelve of TUF 4 both drew the same overall rating (1.0), despite the fact that Episode Twelve only went head-to-head with sports programming that drew a combined 7.8 million viewers, while Episode Eleven had to go head-to-head with sports programming that drew a combined 18.6 million viewers.

If head-to-head sports competition had any significant effect on TUF's ratings, a 58 percent drop-off in head-to-head sports competition would have led to at least a small ratings increase in TUF, but it didn't.

For the record, the head-to-head ratings breakdown for those episodes is as follows: Episode Eleven of TUF went head-to-head with the World Series on Fox (16.1 million viewers) and college football on ESPN (1.4 million viewers), for a combined head-to-head sports viewership of 18.6 million. Episode Twelve of TUF went head-to-head with college football on ESPN (6.4 million viewers) and the NBA on TNT (1.4 million viewers), for a combined head-to-head sports viewership of 7.8 million.

It's also not just a case of the bigger college football game on November 2nd drawing away more of the young male audience. On October 26th, up against Episode Eleven of TUF, a combined 8.4 percent of the 18-to-49-year-old males in the United States were watching either the World Series or college football on ESPN. On November 2nd, up against Episode Twelve of TUF, a lower percentage (5.3) of the 18-to-49-year-old males in the United States were watching either college football on ESPN or the NBA on TNT.

Head-to-Head Network Competition on November 2nd
Episode Twelve of The Ultimate Fighter 4 did face stiffer competition from the major broadcast networks on November 2nd, although TUF's competition was nowhere near as difficult as the competition faced by its lead-in, UFC Unleashed.

A repeat of UFC Unleashed aired from 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM on Spike TV and drew an overall rating of 0.8, head-to-head with two of the most-watched shows on television. A new episode of Grey's Anatomy on ABC drew a 13.9 overall rating, while a new episode of CSI on CBS drew a 12.8 overall rating. Meanwhile, the season premiere of The OC on Fox drew a 2.3 overall rating, which is an embarrassingly bad rating for network television and would almost certainly lead to an immediate cancellation if it wasn't an already established show. The ratings for The OC collapsed in the 2005-2006 TV season and have collapsed further with the first episode of the 2006-2007 TV season. Also in the 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM hour, Deal or No Deal on NBC drew a 7.9 overall rating.

Going head-to-head with The Ultimate Fighter in the 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM hour, a new episode of ER on NBC narrowly beat out a new episode of Shark on CBS, as ER drew a 9.0 overall rating and Shark drew an 8.9 overall rating. Fox does not air national programming in the 10:00 PM hour, and ABC's Six Degrees was a non-factor with a 5.3 overall rating. While ABC may or may not spare Six Degrees the indignity of being abruptly pulled in the middle of November sweeps, the chances of the show being around next season (or even at the end of this season) are almost zero, due to its low ratings.

Airing immediately after The Ultimate Fighter from 11:00 PM to 12:00 AM on Spike TV, the pro wrestling show TNA Impact drew an overall rating 0.8 for the third consecutive week. TNA Impact is bumping UFC Unleashed from the Thursday at 9:00 PM timeslot starting on November 16th, and the move comes at a time when neither series has much in the way of ratings momentum.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 6:39 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- ESPN Re-Affirms UFC Commercial Ban
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The Disney-owned ESPN has re-affirmed its ban on all UFC-related advertisements from appearing on any Disney-owned network, which includes the ABC and ESPN family of networks.

The UFC commercials that had been appearing frequently on ESPN and ESPNews were already a violation Disney's company policy, which expressly prohibits advertisements
or promotions of any sports program that does not air on a Disney-owned television network.

This is not limited to the UFC. It would also be against the Disney/ESPN corporate policy for a Disney-owned network to advertise a sports program that airs on USA Network, or a sports program that airs on Fox Sports Net, or a sports program that airs on any other non-Disney-owned network.

Despite this policy being in place, the UFC was previously able to place its commercials on Disney-owned networks such as ESPN and ESPNews by purchasing the commercials via local advertising affiliates throughout the country.

As a result of this, Disney/ESPN sent a memo, which has been obtained by MMAWeekly, to all of its local advertising affiliates. After being reminded by Disney/ESPN that the UFC commercials are "a direct violation of our Affiliate agreements," the memo goes on to state, "Please contact your programming colleagues for complete advertising restrictions. ESPN is not accepting these ads on a national level, and the same restrictions apply for our local Affiliates. Thank you for your cooperation and immediate attention to this matter."

With ESPN or any other television network, there's the programming on the network (the actual shows), and then there's the advertising. This news does not affect programming in any way. ESPN hasn't devoted many news segments to the UFC in the past, but there is nothing that would prevent them from doing so in the future. The same goes for UFC fighters appearing on Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith, Cold Pizza, or any other actual show.

Advertising, on the other hand, is a completely separate matter. The Disney/ESPN corporate policy is, and has been, that you can't buy ads to promote sports shows that air on any non-Disney-owned network.

This is not a new policy, but some local ESPN advertising affiliates were selling UFC commercials anyway. The memo from Disney/ESPN makes it clear that they are going to start enforcing the policy more strictly, so local advertising affiliates will no longer be able to violate the policy by selling UFC commercials.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 6:44 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Ultimate Fighter Ratings Tie Series Low
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Two weeks after Episode Nine of The Ultimate Fighter 4 set a new series low with a 1.0 overall rating, Episode Eleven tied that mark on Thursday, October 26th. The two episodes' ratings of 1.0 are the two lowest ratings ever drawn by any regularly scheduled new episodes of The Ultimate Fighter.

The previous week, Episode Ten of TUF 4 had shown mild improvement by drawing a 1.2 overall rating, but it was back to 1.0 with Episode Eleven. This season has been the least-watched to date, with an average overall rating of 1.3 through eleven episodes.

Episode Eleven did draw a slightly higher rating among 18-to-34-year-old males than Episode Ten (1.8 to 1.7), but neither of those two ratings approach the 2.9 rating that Season Three of TUF was averaging in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic through eleven episodes.

The actual fight on Episode Eleven, Travis Lutter vs. Pete Sell, drew a 1.1 rating, which makes it the second least watched fight of the season thus far.

Major League Baseball Has Minimal Impact on TUF's Ratings
One might think that going head-to-head with the World Series would have been a significant factor in lowering TUF's ratings from the previous week, but the ratings from the past few weeks actually contradict that notion fairly decisively.

On October 12th, Episode Nine of The Ultimate Fighter 4 drew a 1.0 overall rating when it went head-to-head with an MLB playoff game that drew an overall rating of just 5.5, which is hugely disappointing for an MLB playoff game.

One week later on October 19th, Episode Ten of The Ultimate Fighter 4 had to go head-to-head with Game 7 of the National League Championship Series, which drew a vastly improved 9.3 overall rating. So, what happened to TUF's ratings when the head-to-head baseball competition was up 70 percent in the ratings from the previous week? TUF's ratings actually went up 20 percent, from 1.0 to 1.2.

In the case of the most recent episode of TUF, Episode Eleven, it drew a 1.0 overall rating, but it actually faced a virtually identical level of MLB competition. Episode Eleven went head-to-head with Game 5 of the World Series, which drew a 9.4 overall rating. That's a difference of just one percent from the 9.3 rating that was drawn by Game 7 of the NLCS a week earlier, which means that Episode Ten and Episode Eleven of TUF 4 went head-to-head with essentially the same MLB audience.

As a result, it would be inaccurate to say that Episode Eleven of TUF 4 faced competition that was any stiffer than Episode Ten's competition, or that going head-to-head with the World Series had any demonstrable effect on Episode Eleven's ratings.

World Series Draws Fewer Young Males than UFC: Final Chapter
MMAWeekly has extensively covered the ratings that were drawn by UFC: The Final Chapter on October 10th (headlined by Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock III), which was by far the most-watched UFC broadcast of all time. Now there's another footnote to add, as The Final Chapter actually outdrew the World Series in one specific demographic.

Among 18-to-24-year-old males, which is a demographic that has shown less and less interest in baseball in recent years, the five-game average for the World Series was 504,000 viewers per game. In the same demographic, The Final Chapter averaged 532,000 viewers on October 10th.

While the World Series still drew a much larger average audience (15.8 million viewers, compared to 4.2 million for The Final Chapter), it's still extremely impressive for the UFC to be able to say that one of its broadcasts beat the World Series among 18-to-24-year-old males. That statistic is certain to cause the UFC to gain additional advertisers among those that target 18-to-24-year-old males with their products.

In the broader picture, it was not a good postseason for Major League Baseball, as the 2006 World Series' average of 15.8 million viewers per game was the lowest in television history for the World Series. The 2005 World Series drew an average of 17.2 million viewers, which was also viewed as a big disappointment at the time.

Head-to-Head Network Competition on October 26th
Besides the aforementioned Game 5 of the World Series, Episode Eleven of The Ultimate Fighter 4 faced the weakest head-to-head network competition in several weeks as CBS, ABC, and NBC braced themselves for November sweeps with the usual late October repeats.

Airing from 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM on October 26th, a repeat of the CBS freshman drama Shark won the hour with a 7.1 overall rating. ABC pulled struggling drama Six Degrees from the October 26th line-up and replaced it with an additional repeat of Grey's Anatomy. The repeat of Grey's Anatomy drew a 7.0 overall rating, which is actually higher than the 6.0 overall rating that was drawn by the most recent new episode of Six Degrees. Despite NBC's previous announcement that ER would not air any repeats this season, ER did air in repeat form on October 26th, and it drew a predictably bad 5.1 overall rating (ER has always performed horribly when it airs in repeat form).

Airing head-to-head with UFC Unleashed from 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM, a new episode of Deal or No Deal on NBC drew a 7.0 overall rating, and a repeat of CSI on CBS drew a 10.8 overall rating, which made it the night's most-watched show. Meanwhile, a repeat of Grey's Anatomy on ABC drew an 8.4 overall rating. On the five occasions when both series have aired new episodes head-to-head with each other, Grey's Anatomy has beaten CSI in each of them, but it comes as no surprise that CSI won a battle of repeats because CSI performs better than any other show on television in repeat form. Along with the 2006 Winter Olympics, you can add the 2006 World Series to the list of major events that have lost head-to-head ratings battles with repeats of CSI.

Bookending Episode Eleven of The Ultimate Fighter 4 on Spike TV were UFC Unleashed and TNA Impact. Unleashed drew an overall rating of 0.8, which was the lowest rated airing of the series since August 10th, while TNA Impact drew an overall rating of 0.8 for the second consecutive week.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 6:18 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Stephan Bonnar Suspended Nine Months for Steroid Use
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Stephan Bonnar has been suspended for nine months by the Nevada State Athletic Commission as a result of Bonnar's positive test for anabolic steroids following his fight against Forrest Griffin at UFC 62. Bonnar has also been fined $5,000 by the commission.

The NSAC chose to make the suspension retroactive to the date of the fight, so Bonnar's suspension expires in May 2007. Bonnar tested positive for anabolic steroids after his unanimous decision loss to Griffin on August 26th.

While Bonnar's representatives had previously issued a formal written response to the NSAC in which they neither admitted nor denied that Bonnar had knowingly used anabolic steroids, Bonnar admitted at a disciplinary hearing on Friday that he knowingly used anabolic steroids, and then he apologized to the commission and asked for forgiveness.

Even before his positive drug test results came back, Bonnar had already been medically suspended for six months by the NSAC due to a broken right thumb.

The maximum possible fine that could have been levied was $250,000, but it's extremely rare for fines of more than $5,000 to be issued by the NSAC for drug offenses. Bonnar's purse for the fight was $16,000.

Prior to today's disciplinary hearing, Spike TV had already released Bonnar from his contract as a broadcaster on SpikeTV.com, which is separate from his contract with Zuffa as a UFC fighter.

The anabolic steroid for which Bonnar tested positive is Boldenone, which is a steroid used by veterinarians to rehabilitate injured horses. According to the Food and Drug Administration, "Federal law restricts this drug to use by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian." Due to potential health risks for humans, the FDA has gone so far as to say that Boldenone "should not be administered to horses intended for human consumption."

Boldenone is not generally a popular drug among bodybuilders because of the fact that traces of the drug remain in the user's system for several months after use. Bonnar is just the second fighter in MMA, boxing, or kickboxing since 2000 to test positive for Boldenone in the state of Nevada (the first was Josh Barnett).

As with all NSAC drug-related suspensions, Bonnar will not be automatically reinstated in May 2007 when his suspension term expires. After the term expires, Bonnar becomes eligible to re-apply for a fighter's license in Nevada. This step requires a urine sample to be provided and for it to come back negative for all banned substances before the fighter can be re-licensed.

That is exactly what happened in Josh Barnett's case when he wanted to fight on Pride's Las Vegas card in October. Barnett tested negative for all banned substances, both before the Pride event and after the Pride event.

Out of the seventeen fighters who competed on the UFC 62 card alongside Bonnar, three of them were drug-tested (Forrest Griffin, Chuck Liddell, and Renato "Babalu" Sobral), and all of their drug tests came back negative.

Bonnar's case is unfortunately part of a growing trend of fighters testing positive for anabolic steroids. Earlier this year, Kimo Leopoldo tested positive for steroids prior to a scheduled WFA event in California. Two months after Bonnar tested positive for steroids, Vitor Belfort and Pawel Nastula tested positive for steroids following the Pride USA event on October 21st. The cases of Belfort and Nastula are still pending before the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 7:11 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Ultimate Fighter Ratings up from Previous Week, Down from TUF 1-3
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Episode Ten of The Ultimate Fighter 4 drew a slightly improved overall rating of 1.2 on Thursday, October 19th. One week earlier, Episode Nine of TUF 4 had drawn an overall rating of 1.0, which was the lowest rating ever for a new episode of TUF airing on its normal night.

Serra vs. Carter Fight Comes Through in the Ratings
The difference between Episode Ten and the previous two episodes from a ratings standpoint is that while all three episodes started out with quarter-hour ratings in the low 1's, the quarter-hour ratings for the previous two episodes stayed in that range throughout the shows.

On the other hand, the heavily hyped Matt Serra vs. Shonie Carter match-up did wonders for the viewership of Episode Ten, which increased to a 1.4 in quarter-hour viewership when the Serra-Carter fight started. The rating of 1.4 for the fight itself is tied with Matt Serra's previous fight (a victory over Pete Spratt) as the highest-rated fight since Episode Three.

Also, for the first time in three weeks, the quarter-hour rating did not decrease when UFC Unleashed ended and The Ultimate Fighter began. In the previous two weeks, a few hundred thousand viewers who had been watching UFC Unleashed actually tuned out at 10:00 PM when TUF started, which is the opposite of what one would expect. A semblance of normalcy was restored on October 19th, as the final quarter-hour of UFC Unleashed drew a 0.9 rating and the first quarter-hour of TUF drew a 1.1 rating.

Ratings Increase Despite Going Against Game 7 of the NLCS
Earlier this season, we demonstrated statistically that the NFL has had a minimal impact on the ratings of The Ultimate Fighter over the course of TUF's history, and this was also the case earlier this season when one episode of TUF went head-to-head with a regular season NFL game.

It appears that Major League Baseball also has a minimal effect on TUF's ratings, as Episode Ten of TUF 4 drew an increased rating despite the fact that it was going up against Game 7 of the National League Championship Series.

One week earlier, Episode Nine of TUF 4 had drawn an overall rating of just 1.0 while airing head-to-head with an MLB playoff game that drew an overall rating of 5.5. On October 19th, the MLB broadcast on Fox drew a drastically increased overall rating of 9.3, but this did not cause TUF's ratings to decrease.

In fact, just the opposite occurred, as TUF's overall rating went up from 1.0 to 1.2. As with Episode Ten, the ratings for Episode Eleven are going to increase or decrease based primarily on viewer interest in TUF, not because of baseball's ratings.

Speaking of Major League Baseball, the October 10th broadcast of "UFC: The Final Chapter" on Spike TV actually outdrew Game 1 of the World Series in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-34-year-old male demographic.

While the average viewership of the World Series game on October 14th was drastically higher than UFC: The Final Chapter when it comes to overall viewers (11.7 million to 4.2 million), The Final Chapter drew 1.6 million viewers in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, while Game 1 of the World Series drew 1.2 million viewers in the same demographic.

Episode Ten Comparisons
While it was an improvement over the previous week's series-low rating, the overall rating of 1.2 for Episode Ten of TUF 4 does not compare favorably with Episode Ten from the previous three seasons. Episode Ten of the first season featured Kenny Florian's victory over Chris Leben and drew a 1.7 overall rating. Episode Ten of the second season featured Luke Cummo's victory over Sam Morgan and drew a 1.4 overall rating. Episode Ten of the third season featured Kendall Grove's victory over Kalib Starnes and drew a 1.5 overall rating.

The drop-off is far more drastic when comparing the series' ratings in the advertiser-coveted demographic of 18-to-34-year-old males. In that demographic, Episode Ten of TUF 4 drew a 1.7 rating. In the same demographic, Episode Ten of the first season drew a 2.7 rating; Episode Ten of the second season drew a 3.0 rating; and Episode Ten of the third season drew a 2.3 rating.

Network Competition on October 19th
Airing head-to-head with The Ultimate Fighter on Thursday, October 19th, Game 1 of the World Series drew a 7.3 overall rating, which was down from the 8.6 overall rating that was drawn by Game 1 of last year's World Series. Also up against TUF was the CBS drama Shark, which continues to inch closer towards surpassing NBC's ER in the ratings. Both Shark and ER drew overall ratings of 9.0 on this night, while ABC's Six Degrees decreased further to a 6.0 overall rating.

Airing head-to-head with UFC Unleashed in the 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM hour, Grey's Anatomy on ABC actually expanded its lead over CSI on CBS, as Grey's Anatomy drew a 14.4 overall rating and CSI drew a 12.5 overall rating. A new episode of Deal or No Deal lagged behind on NBC with a 6.1 overall rating, but Deal or No Deal will remain safe as long as it continues to perform on its primary night each Monday (where it drew a 10.5 overall rating on October 16th).

Bookending Episode Ten of The Ultimate Fighter 4 on Spike TV were a repeat of UFC Unleashed and a new episode of the pro wrestling show TNA Impact. UFC Unleashed drew an overall rating of 0.9 for the second consecutive week, while TNA Impact drew an overall rating of 0.8.

Starting on November 16th (not coincidentally, the week after the end of TUF's season), TNA Impact will be moving to primetime and taking over the Thursday at 9:00 PM timeslot that has been occupied by UFC Unleashed since April, while Unleashed will air on Spike TV at 10:00 PM and 11:00 PM on Thursday nights.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:47 AM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Pride, UFC, and Strikeforce Attendance Breakdown
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

MMAWeekly has obtained the live gate information for recent MMA events held by Pride, the UFC, and Strikeforce.

When most organizations run an MMA event, there are two sets of attendance numbers. There are the attendance numbers that the promotion claims publicly during or after the event, and then there are the actual, legitimate attendance numbers.

This article will help you separate fact from fiction by providing you with all of the legitimate numbers, which have been verified by the California State Athletic Commission and Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Pride USA
For the Pride: Real Deal event that took place on October 21st at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada and was headlined by Fedor Emelianenko vs. Mark Coleman, the claim was made after the event that the number of paid tickets was 10,527.

In fact, the paid attendance for the event was 8,079. There were also 4,042 fans in attendance who had been given free comp tickets, so the total attendance in the building was 12,121. Approximately 33 percent of those in attendance got in for free, which is a higher percentage than any UFC event so far this year.

The Thomas & Mack Center can hold approximately 18,000 fans for certain events. While Pride's elaborate set-up did block off several thousand seats, the venue could have still held up to 14,000 fans with Pride's set-up.

With fairly high ticket prices, the live gate receipts for Pride: The Real Deal totaled $2,056,044. While that is a higher amount than both UFC 63 and UFC 64, it still falls short of seven UFC events, specifically UFC 52 (Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture II), UFC 54 (Liddell vs. Jeremy Horn), UFC 57 (Liddell vs. Couture III), UFC 59 (Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski II, plus Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin), UFC 60 (Matt Hughes vs. Royce Gracie), UFC 61 (Sylvia vs. Arlovski II, plus Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock II), and UFC 62 (Liddell vs. Renato "Babalu" Sobral).

In Japan, Pride regularly sells out the Saitama Super Arena, which holds approximately 35,000 fans, despite the company's claims of selling 45,000+ tickets. If Pride's pre-event claims that the Pride USA event would have a $30 million budget are even close to accurate, then the company lost a massive amount of money on this event. It may be a necessary first step to gain a foothold in the US marketplace, but it's still a massive financial loss.

Given the fact that the attendance for Pride's second event in America is likely to be lower than the attendance for the first event (a company only gets the "first time ever" attendance boost one time in any given market), it is puzzling that Pride is planning to run its second American event at the Thomas & Mack Center instead of a comparatively smaller venue like the Mandalay Bay Events Center or even the MGM Grand.

UFC 63
During the UFC 63 pay-per-view event, which took place on September 23rd at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California and was headlined by Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn, the claim was made on multiple occasions that the event was "sold out" and that there were "over 18,000 fans in attendance."

In fact, the paid attendance for UFC 63 was 9,343 and the number of free comp tickets was 3,261, so the total number of people in attendance was 12,604.

Approximately 26 percent of those in attendance got in for free, which is the second-highest percentage for any UFC event this year. The highest percentage so far this year was UFC 60, at which 30 percent of the fans in attendance got in for free, but that's still slightly lower than the Pride event's mark of 33 percent.

The live gate receipts for UFC 63 totaled $1,582,370. While that is the tenth-largest total in UFC history, it's also the lowest so far this year for any UFC pay-per-view event in 2006.

UFC 64
After the UFC 64 event concluded on October 14th at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada (headlined by Rich Franklin vs. Anderson Silva), the media was told by the UFC that the paid attendance for the event was 10,863.

In fact, the paid attendance was 8,913. There were also 1,260 fans in attendance who had been given free comp tickets, so the total number of people in attendance was 10,173.

Only 12 percent of those in attendance at UFC 64 got in for free, which is the third-lowest percentage for a UFC PPV event so far this year (only UFC 57 and UFC 61 had lower comp percentages).

As for the live gate receipts, the UFC claimed after the event that the gross ticket sales for the event totaled $2,314,000, which would have been the fifth-largest live gate total for any UFC PPV event thus far in 2006.

In fact, the live gate receipts for UFC 64 totaled $1,790,490, which is the third-lowest live gate total for any UFC PPV event thus far in 2006.

Through October, the UFC's live gate receipts for 2006 have totaled $20,915,287. Pay-per-view revenue is another matter altogether, and one that we have covered in-depth on MMAWeekly in recent months.

Strikeforce
As previously reported, the Strikeforce promotion set the all-time North American MMA attendance record in March of this year when an event headlined by Frank Shamrock vs. Cesar Gracie drew over 17,000 paid fans in San Jose, California. That mark has not yet been approached by any other promotion in North America, including the UFC.

However, unlike the UFC, Strikeforce has not been able to maintain its momentum, as evidenced by the attendance figures for the company's most recent event. That event was held on October 7th at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California, and it was headlined by Paul Buentello vs. Tank Abbott.

The paid attendance for the October 7th Strikeforce event was just 3,755. Combined with the 682 fans in attendance who had been given free comp tickets, the total attendance was just 4,437. The live gate receipts for the event totaled $307,820.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Pride Fighting Championships News, UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 8:58 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Ultimate Fighter Draws Series-Low 1.0 Rating
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Just two days after every UFC ratings record in the book was shattered by Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock III on Spike TV with a 3.1 overall rating, Episode Nine of The Ultimate Fighter 4 drew an overall rating of 1.0 on Thursday, October 12th.

The overall rating of 1.0 is the smallest in the history of The Ultimate Fighter for a regularly scheduled new episode. The previous week's overall rating of 1.1 had tied the previous all-time low for a new episode on any season of TUF, but the latest rating of 1.0 has set a new all-time low in the record books.

It's important to keep this in perspective, as a 1.0 overall rating is still a hit on cable TV. Nonetheless, it is hugely disappointing for both Zuffa and Spike due to the ratings that were drawn by the series' first three seasons.

Ortiz-Shamrock Viewers Don't Tune Into TUF Two Days Later
The low ratings for TUF are troubling not just because of the actual ratings, but also because this episode of TUF came just two days after more people than ever before were exposed to the UFC product and saw commercials for The Ultimate Fighter. The average number of viewers at any given time for UFC: The Final Chapter on October 10th was 4.2 million, compared to 1.5 million for the new episode of TUF that aired two days later.

Instead of a certain percentage of the massive Final Chapter audience trying out TUF to see if they like it, which is the ratings trend that one would normally expect in such a scenario, TUF's ratings were actually down from the previous week. The same was the case for UFC Unleashed, which drew a 0.9 overall rating, marking the first time since August 10th that UFC Unleashed drew an overall rating of less than 1.0 in its regular timeslot.

Portion of Unleashed Audience Tunes Out Again; Lytle vs. Thomas Doesn't Draw
For the second consecutive week, the people who turned off Spike TV when The Ultimate Fighter started at 10:00 PM actually outnumbered the people who tuned into Spike TV when TUF started at 10:00 PM. The end of a UFC Unleashed repeat drew a 1.1 quarter-hour rating leading up to 10:00 PM, and then the first quarter-hour of TUF drew a slightly smaller 1.0 rating.

In addition, the first semi-final match-up was the least watched fight so far this season. Previously, the least-watched fight of the season had been Patrick Cote vs. Jorge Rivera in Episode Eight (the fight drew a 1.2 rating), but the Episode Nine semi-final fight between Chris Lytle and Din Thomas drew a 1.0 rating.

Episode Nine Comparisons
Compared to Episode Nine of previous TUF seasons, the 1.0 overall rating that was drawn by Episode Nine of this season does not stack up. Episode Nine of the first season featured Forrest Griffin's victory over Alex Schoenauer and drew a 1.5 overall rating. Episode Nine of the second season featured Rashad Evans' victory over Mike Whitehead and drew a 1.1 overall rating, which was the series' all-time low at the time. Episode Nine of the third season featured Matt Hamill's victory over Mike Nickels and drew a 1.8 overall rating.

Through nine episodes, The Ultimate Fighter 4 is the least-watched season of TUF to date, with an average overall rating of 1.3. Prior to Season Four, only two regularly scheduled new episodes of The Ultimate Fighter in series history had ever drawn overall ratings lower than 1.3.

Key Demographic Increases Slightly; Serra vs. Carter Could Boost the Ratings
One bright spot for Episode Nine's ratings is that while other demographics decreased, the rating among 18-to-34-year-old males increased slightly, as it went from 1.7 for Episode Eight to 1.9 for Episode Nine. However, the rating of 1.9 is still down drastically from Season Three's average-through-nine-episodes of 3.0 in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic. It's also lower than Season Four's own average-through-nine-episodes of 2.2 in this demographic. Still, it's some good news amidst a lot of bad news.

If ever there was an episode of The Ultimate Fighter 4 that was going to pop a rating, it would be this week's Episode Ten, featuring the heavily-hyped semi-final fight between Matt Serra and Shonie Carter. In addition to the fact that commercials on Spike TV have been promoting the fight all week, a significant portion of this season has been dedicated to building up this particular fight, as Serra and Carter have been the most prominently featured contestants on the season by a large margin.

It's hard to tell with the ratings trending downward the way they are, but one would expect the Serra-Carter fight to cause a slight ratings increase, and if the fans who tune in specifically for the Serra-Carter fight enjoy what they see on the show in general, a decent percentage of them will also tune into Episodes Eleven and Twelve as well. That's what Zuffa and Spike have to be hoping for, but there have been other heavily-hyped events this season that have had little-to-no impact on the ratings (including Serra's first fight on the show, and the commercials early this season which hyped that one of the contestants was getting kicked off the show on the following episode).

Network Competition on October 12th, and Ratings for Spike TV's Scream Awards
Airing head-to-head with The Ultimate Fighter on Thursday, October 12th from 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM, ABC's Six Degrees continued its slow march towards cancellation with an overall rating of 6.3. Meanwhile, CBS' Shark came closer to toppling NBC's ER in the ratings, but fell just short, as Shark drew a 9.2 overall rating and ER drew a 9.4 overall rating.

Airing head-to-head with UFC Unleashed in the 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM hour, Grey's Anatomy on ABC eliminated any doubt that it is here to stay as the most-watched show on Thursday nights, and also the most-watched show on all of television (at least until American Idol comes back in January). Grey's Anatomy out-drew CBS' CSI for the fourth consecutive week, as Grey's Anatomy drew a 14.6 overall rating and CSI drew a 13.3 overall rating. While it's still one of the most-watched shows on television, CSI has lost the "untouchable" aura that it had just five months ago.

Also in the 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM, NBC's Deal or No Deal drew a 6.2 overall rating, as it continues to be put in a sacrificial position by NBC because the network knows that Deal or No Deal is going to draw a decent rating no matter how difficult its timeslot. A Major League Baseball playoff game drew a 5.5 overall rating on Fox, which was down significantly from the 6.4 overall rating that the first LCS broadcast drew on Fox in October 2005.

Airing immediately after the record-breaking broadcast of UFC: The Final Chapter on Tuesday, October 10th, the Spike TV Scream Awards can be described as nothing less than a ratings disaster. Despite the fact that its lead-in drew a 3.1 overall rating, the Scream Awards broadcast drew an overall rating of 0.9.

To put into perspective how much of a disappointment this is, keep in mind that any show on television that retains less than 50 percent of its overall lead-in audience is generally viewed as a monumental failure. The Scream Awards retained just 29 percent of UFC: The Final Chapter's overall viewership, 29 percent of The Final Chapter's 18-to-34-year-old male viewership, and 28 percent of The Final Chapter's 18-to-49-year-old male viewership.

The episode of the pro wrestling show TNA Impact that aired immediately after The Ultimate Fighter on Thursday, October 12th also drew a 0.9 overall rating, but its lead-in was less than one-third the size of the Scream Awards' lead-in. The October 12th edition of TNA Impact retained 90 percent of The Ultimate Fighter's overall viewership, 68 percent of The Ultimate Fighter's 18-to-34-year-old male viewership, and 77 percent of The Ultimate Fighter's 18-to-49-year-old male viewership.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 4:14 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC 63 and UFC 64 Fighter Salary Breakdown
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

MMAWeekly has obtained the fighter salary information for UFC 63 and UFC 64. UFC 63 took place on September 23rd in Anaheim, California, and UFC 64 took place on October 14th in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The following figures are from the fighter salary information that the UFC is required by law to submit to the state athletic commissions, including the winners' bonuses.

Although MMA fighters are not unionized, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just as with every other major sport in the United States. Any "secret money" that the UFC also pays its fighters (specifically, PPV bonuses for the top PPV main event fighters) is not included in the figures below.

On the subject of fighter pay, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer recently reported that despite its drastically increased revenue, Zuffa has made a conscious business decision to not raise the pay scale for all but the top pay-per-view main event fighters.

Meltzer added, "The pay scale [for non-main-event fighters] has not changed even with the success of the organization, and that's why it's a lot harder for Zuffa to put together cards with depth, even without factoring in running so many more shows per year. The best 'non-superstar' talent can get more money right now with the IFL or other groups, and that siphons away 60 to 90 potential fighters."

In the listings below, "Title Match & Main Event Fighters" are defined as fighters who compete in the main event of a show and/or compete in a title fight on a show. "Main Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear on the main card, but not in title fights or in the main event. "Preliminary Match Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take place before the live broadcast goes on the air, regardless of whether or not those matches end up airing on the PPV broadcast.

Without further ado, here are the fighter salaries for UFC 63 and UFC 64 from the California State Athletic Commission and Nevada State Athletic Commission.

UFC 63 Fighter Salaries
Event took place on September 23, 2006 and aired on pay-per-view

Title Match & Main Event Fighters
-Matt Hughes: $130,000 (defeated BJ Penn)
-BJ Penn: $50,000 (lost to Matt Hughes)

Main Card Fighters
-Jens Pulver: $30,000 (lost to Joe Lauzon)
-Rashad Evans: $24,000 (defeated Jason Lambert)
-Mike Swick: $14,000 (defeated David Loiseau)
-Melvin Guillard: $10,000 (defeated Gabe Ruediger)
-Jason Lambert: $9,000 (lost to Rashad Evans)
-David Loiseau: $9,000 (lost to Mike Swick)
-Joe Lauzon: $6,000 (defeated Jens Pulver)
-Gabe Ruediger: $3,000 (lost to Melvin Guillard)

Preliminary Match Fighters
-Tyson Griffin: $14,000 (defeated David Lee)
-Jorge Gurgel: $10,000 (defeated Danny Abaddi)
-Roger Huerta: $6,000 (defeated Jason Dent)
-Danny Abaddi: $5,000 (lost to Jorge Gurgel)
-Eddie Sanchez: $4,000 (defeated Mario Neto)
-Jason Dent: $3,000 (lost to Roger Huerta)
-Mario Neto: $3,000 (lost to Eddie Sanchez)
-David Lee: $2,000 (lost to Tyson Griffin)
Disclosed Fighter Payroll for UFC 63: $332,000

UFC 64 Fighter Salaries
Event took place on October 14, 2006 and aired on pay-per-view

Title Match & Main Event Fighters
-Anderson Silva: $50,000 (defeated Rich Franklin)
-Sean Sherk: $22,000 (defeated Kenny Florian)
-Rich Franklin: $21,000 (lost to Anderson Silva)
-Kenny Florian: $8,000 (lost to Sean Sherk)

Main Card Fighters
-Cheick Kongo: $20,000 (lost to Carmelo Marrero)
-Spencer Fisher: $20,000 (defeated Dan Lauzon)
-Jon Fitch: $20,000 (defeated Kuniyoshi Hironaka)
-Kuniyoshi Hironaka: $6,000 (lost to Jon Fitch)
-Carmelo Marrero: $6,000 (defeated Cheick Kongo)
-Dan Lauzon: $3,000 (lost to Spencer Fisher)

Preliminary Match Fighters
-Yushin Okami: $12,000 (defeated Kalib Starnes)
-Clay Guida: $6,000 (defeated Justin James)
-Kalib Starnes: $5,000 (lost to Yushin Okami)
-Kurt Pellegrino: $4,000 (defeated Junior Assuncao)
-Junior Assuncao: $3,000 (lost to Kurt Pellegrino)
-Justin James: $3,000 (lost to Clay Guida)
Disclosed Fighter Payroll for UFC 64: $209,000

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 5:18 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Ultimate Fighter Ties All-Time Series Low Rating
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Episode Eight of The Ultimate Fighter 4 drew a disappointing 1.1 overall rating on Thursday, October 5th. This ties the all-time series low for a regularly scheduled episode of TUF, which was previously set by Episode Nine of the second season and by Episode Four of this season just a few weeks ago.

Compared to the previous week's disappointing ratings, Episode Eight was down from 1.3 overall to 1.1 overall. In the 18-to-49-year-old demographic, it was down from 1.6 to 1.4. In the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, it was down from 2.1 to 1.7, which is the second-lowest rating that TUF has ever drawn in the most advertiser-coveted demographic

TUF 4 is Least-Watched Season to Date
On a larger scale than one week of disappointing ratings, the general public's interest level in TUF has never been lower, based on all of the Neilsen data. In the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic, TUF 4 has averaged a 1.7 rating through its first eight episodes, which is down from Season Three's 2.2 average at the same point.

Even more significantly, in the advertiser-friendly 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, TUF 4 has averaged a 2.2 rating through its first eight episodes, which is down significantly from Season Three's 2.9 average.

It's natural for one to think that this is merely because TUF 3 was such a ratings sensation, but the unflattering comparisons do not end with TUF 3. Through eight episodes, TUF 4 is averaging a 1.3 overall rating.

This average of 1.3 is down from the first season's average of 1.7 through eight episodes; it's down from the first season's 1.6 average at the same point in the season; and yes, it's even down from the much-maligned second season's average of 1.5 at the same point in the season.

Competition for Male Viewers Smaller for TUF 4 Than it Was for TUF 2
There is a perception that TUF 4 is going up against stiffer competition than previous seasons of TUF when it comes to male-oriented programming, but that is not actually the case.

The fourth season of TUF has had to go head-to-head with a regular season NFL game exactly one time (on September 7th).

On the other hand, The Ultimate Fighter 2 went head-to-head with ratings powerhouse Monday Night Football on ABC for all but three weeks of its entire season, and yet TUF 2 still drew better ratings than TUF 4 has drawn up to this point. In addition, TUF 2 aired in a worse timeslot (11:00 PM) when the total amount of people watching television is significantly smaller.

The Monday Night Football broadcasts that went head-on with TUF 2 drew an average rating of 10.0 overall, a significant percentage of which were the young adult male viewers that watch the UFC. Other than one week of NFL football, TUF 4 has faced nothing of the sort, instead going up against baseball games with overall ratings in the 4's and 5's, as well as college football games with ratings in the 2's.

UFC Unleashed Generating Just as Much or More Interest than TUF
It is becoming more and more apparent with each passing week that a significant number of viewers, first numbering in the thousands and now well into the six figures, consider themselves to be "UFC fans" or "MMA fans," but are not interested in watching this season of TUF for whatever reason.

This point is demonstrated week after week by the fact that replays of old fights that have already been replayed numerous times on Spike TV have been generating just as much viewer interest as brand new episodes of The Ultimate Fighter. The repeat of UFC Unleashed that aired immediately before Episode Eight of TUF 4 drew the same overall rating as TUF: 1.1.

In a somewhat alarming sign, several hundred thousand television viewers who had been watching UFC Unleashed actually changed the channel at 10:00 PM when UFC Unleashed ended and TUF started. The rating normally darts upward right at 10:00 PM, as one would expect when a repeat is ending and a new episode of an original series is just starting, but the opposite was true in this case.

The quarter-hour rating for the end of UFC Unleashed was 1.3 overall, and this number actually decreased to 1.0 for the beginning of TUF. The amount of people who were watching TUF did not increase all that much from there, as the show-closing fight between Patrick Cote and Jorge Rivera averaged a 1.2 rating.

This could indicate that more viewers are interested in actual fights, or that many viewers may have soured on the general concept of watching a reality show about MMA (because they would rather just watch the fights), or that some specific elements of TUF 4 have turned off viewers and have made them not want to watch the show anymore. More than likely, it's a combination of these factors, but whatever the reason, this has to cause concern for the ratings of the already-ordered TUF 5, TUF 6, and TUF 7.

On a broader scale, only two of the last six repeat airings of UFC Unleashed have drawn lower ratings than the 1.1 overall rating that a new episode of TUF drew on October 5th, and even those two Unleashed repeats drew overall ratings of 1.0.

There has never been a regularly scheduled new episode of TUF that has drawn a 1.0 overall rating, but with the way the ratings have been going this season, it could very well happen at some point in the coming weeks unless there is a major change in momentum.

Network Competition on October 5th, and UFC Octagon Girl Search Ratings
Airing head-to-head with The Ultimate Fighter on Thursday, October 5th from 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM, ABC's Six Degrees continued its steady decline in viewership, as it drew an overall rating of just 6.6, which will eventually get the show cancelled if there is no ratings improvement. Six Degrees no longer approaches Shark on CBS, which drew a 9.2 overall rating. Also, while ER is nowhere near the ratings force that it was once, the veteran drama series won the hour with a 9.6 overall rating on NBC.

Airing head-to-head with UFC Unleashed in the 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM hour, Grey's Anatomy out-drew CSI for the third consecutive week, as Grey's Anatomy drew a 14.8 overall rating and CSI drew a 13.3 overall rating. Within the TV industry, the realization is starting to sink in that it was not a one-time aberration, and the show that was previously the most-watched show on television really has been dethroned by the up-and-coming medical drama. Also in this hour, NBC's Deal or No Deal drew a 6.3 overall rating (solid considering the overwhelming competition), and the Major League Baseball Playoffs drew a disappointing 4.1 overall rating on Fox.

Airing in primetime on Monday, October 2nd at 10:00 PM, the UFC Octagon Girl Search bombed with a 0.6 overall rating. The show didn't fare much better in the advertiser-targeted demographics, as it drew a rating of just 0.8 in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, and a rating of just 0.6 in the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic.

Airing immediately after The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV on October 5th was the pro wrestling show TNA Impact, which drew a 0.8 overall rating.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 7:45 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock Shatters All UFC Ratings Records
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The two-hour Spike TV broadcast of "UFC: The Final Chapter" shattered all of the UFC's ratings records on Tuesday night, October 10th.

Headlined by the third and final match between former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Tito Ortiz and MMA legend Ken Shamrock, the two-hour broadcast averaged a 3.1 overall rating, with a 2.8 average in the first hour and a 3.4 average in the second hour.

UFC Ratings Record Book Gets Re-Written in One Night
Previously, the highest-rated UFC broadcast of all time was the live season finale of The Ultimate Fighter 3, which drew a 2.0 overall rating on June 24th, 2006. There was previously one other occasion when the UFC drew a 2.0 overall rating for a live Spike TV broadcast (the live season finale of TUF 2), and this was also the case with three separate pre-taped episodes of The Ultimate Fighter (two episodes from the first season of the show, along with the season premiere of TUF 3). However, the highest-rated broadcast in terms of overall viewership was the live season finale of TUF 3.

All of those records have now been demolished by UFC: The Final Chapter. The ratings expectations for The Final Chapter within Spike TV were that the show would break the 3.0 mark, which would have sounded like an insanely unrealistic goal if it weren't for the fact that the show was headlined by a fight between Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock.

Though the fight itself lasted less than three minutes, the time period that contained the actual Ortiz-Shamrock fight itself and the pre-fight introductions drew an enormously impressive 4.3 rating.

That breaks down to an amazing 5.7 million viewers for the fight. This shatters the UFC's previous record for the number of people watching a UFC fight at any given time. The previous record was 3.4 million viewers, despite repeated claims by Zuffa that the first fight between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar was watched live by ten million viewers.

Quarter-Hour Ratings Show Growth Throughout the Show
As is always the case with live UFC broadcasts on Spike TV, the least-watched quarter-hour was the first.

The first fight on the broadcast was Matt Hamill's victory over Seth Petruzelli, which started off with a 2.4 rating at the beginning of the fight and proceeded to grow by an unusually high margin to a 3.0 rating at the end of the fight.

Jason MacDonald's victory over Ed Herman drew a 2.8 rating, while Kendall Grove's victory over Chris Price drew a 3.1 rating.

As expected, the Ortiz-Shamrock fight led to a massive jump in the quarter-hour ratings, as the fight itself drew a rating of 4.3.

The Ortiz-Shamrock fight ended at 9:44 PM Eastern Time, and approximately one-third of the viewing audience did not stick around for the post-fight interviews, as the rating for the final quarter-hour of the broadcast fell to 3.0, which is still a tremendously successful quarter-hour rating.

Demographic Ratings Even More Impressive than Overall Rating
In the specific viewership demographics that the UFC and Spike TV make an effort to target so that they can boost their revenue with the sale of TV commercials, The Final Chapter performed even more impressively than the 3.1 overall rating would suggest.

In the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic, the previous all-time record for any complete UFC broadcast was a 2.9 rating for the live finale of TUF 3. The Final Chapter averaged a 4.5 rating in this demographic, far eclipsing the previous record.

In the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, which is the UFC's primary audience and is also the demographic that advertisers across many industries are struggling to reach, the previous all-time record for any complete UFC broadcast was 3.8 for the live finale of TUF 3. The Final Chapter averaged a whopping 6.0 rating in this demographic.

To put this number in perspective, the UFC broadcast averaged 1.6 million viewers in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, which was greater than the 1.1 million viewers in the same demographic who watched the baseball playoff game between the A's and the Tigers.

While the average viewership of the baseball game was significantly higher when it comes to overall viewers (7.8 million to 4.2 million), there can be no doubt that drawing such a huge rating in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic will open a lot of people's eyes and will bring many new advertisers into the mix for the UFC in the future.

Final Chapter Draws Huge Ratings at the Same Time that TUF Hits New Lows
The huge rating that was drawn by The Final Chapter comes at a time when The Ultimate Fighter is hitting an all-time low in viewership up against competition that is no more difficult than the competition faced by previous seasons of TUF.

The Final Chapter's huge ratings serve as another reminder that there are an increasing number of fans out there who consider themselves "UFC fans" or "MMA fans," but are not particularly interested in the fourth season of TUF for whatever reason.

It's possible that many of the viewers who watched The Final Chapter on Tuesday will check out TUF on Thursday, and it would significantly help TUF's ratings if even a small percentage of The Final Chapter's audience were to sample TUF this week.

Ortiz-Shamrock Feud Was Not for Purists, but it Brought in the Dough
While most hardcore MMA fans were not particularly looking forward to Ortiz-Shamrock III, the fact remains that Ortiz vs. Shamrock is the biggest-drawing feud in United States MMA history, and this was further cemented by the monstrous rating that their third fight drew on Spike TV.

As previously reported by MMAWeekly, significant elements of the Tito Ortiz-Ken Shamrock feud were worked, specifically the constantly repeated claim that they really, really hated each other's guts and could barely be in the same room without a fight breaking out.

None of their actual fights were worked in any way, but the feud itself was worked in the sense that their real-life dislike for each other was greatly embellished to draw money, and the embarrassing worked pull-apart scenarios on TUF 3 speak for themselves.

The business-oriented nature of Ortiz and Shamrock's "hatred" towards each other was all-but-acknowledged immediately after Ortiz' third victory over Shamrock on Tuesday night. After Ortiz flipped off Shamrock (in order to, as he put it, "put on the entertainment for the fans"), Shamrock approached Ortiz and could be heard on national television telling Ortiz, "It was all business, man. You and me made a lot of money together. It was all business." Ortiz then said in his post-fight interview that he has always looked up to Shamrock.

To the millions of people watching at that moment, the vast majority of whom are casual MMA fans who watch the UFC on Spike TV but don't follow the product closely enough to have already known that it was "all business," that may have been a jarring thing to hear just minutes after they had watched video packages about how much Ortiz and Shamrock "really, really hated each other."

If any of those fans feel misled by the nature of the rivalry itself, they would have every right to feel that way. If any fans took Shamrock's comments to mean that any aspects of the actual Ortiz-Shamrock fights were worked, that would be unfortunate because that is not the case in any way, shape, or form. The actual fights themselves were completely legit.

This fight is another in a trend of UFC main events that were booked with the knowledge that one fighter was overwhelming likely to win (ie, Rich Franklin vs. Shamrock, Matt Hughes vs. Royce Gracie, Ortiz vs. Shamrock II, Ortiz vs. Shamrock III).

In that sense, the main difference between pro wrestling and this particular style of MMA promoting is that pro wrestling promoters can be 100% certain that the expected outcome will occur, whereas MMA promoters are still promoting shoot fights at the end of the day, so they can only be about 90% sure of the outcome even in the most lopsided of match-ups.

With Ken Shamrock's UFC career coming to an end, he wasn't able to go out on top from on an athletic standpoint, but he certainly was able to go out on top from a business standpoint, as his feud with Tito Ortiz is the biggest-drawing feud in the history of MMA in the United States.

WWE Over-Reacts to UFC's Special and Ends Up with Little to Show for It
In part because the UFC often employs the aforementioned pro wrestling-style promoting strategies, and in part because the two companies target the same viewer demographics, the UFC's biggest competition is WWE, and WWE's biggest competition is the UFC, no matter how much that fact is denied or reviled by WWE, Zuffa, MMA fans, or pro wrestling fans.

When World Wrestling Entertainment chairman Vince McMahon found out that the UFC was running a high-profile live fight special on October 10th that was expected to exceed a 3.0 overall rating, he went into full-fledged "war mode" and scheduled two big shows to take place on the night before and the night of the UFC broadcast.

Of course, the ratings for one particular week of television are not going to make or break WWE, but by all accounts McMahon takes these kinds of things personally and is extremely competitive, compulsive, and aggressive.

Airing from 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM on Sci-Fi Channel, WWE's Tuesday night show was hyped for several weeks and featured the oldest ratings stunt in the book. In addition to the evening's pro wrestling action, WWE heavily promoted a "live strip poker game" featuring the women of WWE.

Despite this ratings stunt, the show drew a 1.8 overall rating, which was not even an increase from the normal rating for WWE's Tuesday night show. The UFC's two-hour broadcast handily beat WWE's broadcast on the same night, despite the fact that WWE had a much bigger marketing machine hyping its broadcast.

The night before UFC: The Final Chapter, WWE put on a special three-hour broadcast that was designed to draw a much-higher-than-usual rating and crush whatever rating the UFC broadcast might draw on Tuesday night. Airing from 8:00 PM to 11:00 PM on Monday night on USA Network, the "WWE Raw Family Reunion" drew a 3.8 overall rating, which was barely up from WWE Raw's recent average.

The 3.8 rating is hugely disappointing for WWE, which first failed in its goal to demolish the UFC with its Monday night rating and then actually lost by an embarrassing margin with its Tuesday night rating.

While WWE can still claim that it "beat the UFC" since the Raw Family Reunion drew a 3.8 overall rating compared to the UFC's 3.1 overall rating, the UFC always has the last laugh in these sorts of battles with WWE due to the huge disparity in the American pay-per-view buyrates of the two companies.

WWE often surpasses the 4.0 mark with Raw on Monday nights, its pay-per-views struggle on a month-to-month basis to surpass 200,000 domestic PPV buys, and even the once-mighty WrestleMania drew just 560,000 American PPV buys this year.

Meanwhile, the UFC can air a well-produced PPV preview show on Spike TV that might not even draw a 1.0 overall rating for any of its individual airings, and then they draw 600,000+ PPV buys for UFC 60 and 775,000+ PPV buys for UFC 61.

The bottom line is that even though WWE has far more viewers on cable TV than the UFC, it's equally true that the UFC has far more fans in the United States who are willing to actually spend money to buy PPV events. It's not a matter of "when" the UFC will surpass WWE in this area: It has already happened.

Head-to-Head Network Competition
Airing head-to-head with UFC: The Final Chapter on Tuesday, October 10th in the 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM hour, ABC's Dancing with the Stars led the way with a massive 13.2 overall rating, while the drama NCIS (no relation to CSI) held up fairly well with a 9.9 overall rating on CBS. A Major League Baseball playoff game on Fox drew a 5.0 overall rating in this hour, while NBC's new drama Friday Night Lights drew a very disappointing 4.1 overall rating, which is the kind of number that will get it cancelled if the ratings don't immediately improve.

Airing head-to-head with the UFC in the 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM hour, which is the hour that featured the Ortiz-Shamrock fight, CBS' drama The Unit won a closely-contested battle with NBC's Law & Order: Criminal Intent, as The Unit drew an overall rating of 8.3 and Criminal Intent drew an overall rating of 7.9. The Major League Baseball playoff game on Fox improved significantly from a 5.0 rating in the previous hour to a 6.0 rating in this hour. The new ABC comedy Help Me Help You is going to need help if it wants to be around at this time next year, because it retained just over 50% of its Dancing with the Stars lead-in. While the show drew a 7.0 overall rating, which would normally be great for a comedy series, a 7.0 rating is considered disappointing when the lead-in show draws a 13.2 rating.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 2:12 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Ultimate Fighter Ratings Flat in Week Seven
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Episode Seven of The Ultimate Fighter 4 drew a 1.3 overall rating on Thursday, September 28th. It was the same overall rating that the show drew one week earlier, and it continued the trend of TUF 4 being the least-watched season of TUF to date.

In the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, Episode Seven drew a 2.1 rating, which was down slightly from the previous week's 2.2 rating in the same demographic. In the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic, the show drew a 1.6 rating, which was down slightly from the previous week's 1.8.

Ratings Strong by Spike TV's Standards, but Not Strong by UFC's Standards
The good news for Zuffa and Spike TV is that the ratings appeared to have bottomed out a few weeks ago, and it doesn't appear that the show is going to be drawing any less than a 1.3 or 1.2 overall rating on a weekly basis.

Overall ratings in the 1.2 to 1.3 range are still strong ratings for Spike TV, which was the #16 cable network last week with a primetime average rating of 0.8.

However, Episode Seven of The Ultimate Fighter 4 does not compare favorably with previous seasons of TUF as far as ratings are concerned. Episode Seven of TUF 3, featuring Josh Haynes' victory over Tait Fletcher, drew a 1.9 overall rating. Episode Seven of TUF 2, featuring Seth Petruzelli's victory over Dan Christison, drew a 1.3 overall rating. Episode Seven of TUF 1, featuring Stephan Bonnar's victory over Bobby Southworth, drew a 1.7 overall rating.

Matt Serra's Heavily Hyped Fight Does Not Lead to Ratings Boost
Episode Seven's ratings did not increase as a result of an event that a significant portion of the first six episodes was spent hyping: Matt Serra stepping into the Octagon and fighting.

Matt Serra and Shonie Carter have been the only two contestants on this season of the show to have a significant amount of character development and air time dedicated to them. Serra emerged as his team's unofficial leader and cornerman, while Carter's antics annoyed many of his housemates.

The difference is that while Shonie Carter fought on the very first episode of the season, Serra still hadn't fought on the show through six episodes, and the majority of TUF 4's viewers have never seen Serra fight.

There was a week-long advertising campaign on Spike TV that specifically hyped the fact that Matt Serra would be fighting on Episode Seven, but it did not lead to the ratings increase that one might have expected.

Even Serra's fight itself did not lead to an increase over the previous quarter-hour viewership, as the preceding quarter-hour drew a 1.4 rating and the fight itself also drew a 1.4 rating.

Network Competition Notes
Airing head-to-head with The Ultimate Fighter on Thursday, September 28th from 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM, the new CBS drama Shark drew a 9.5 overall rating. Shark not only out-muscled the new ABC drama Six Degrees, which drew a 7.3 overall rating, but it also tied NBC's ER with its 9.5 rating.

Leading into the seventh episode of TUF 4, a repeat of UFC Unleashed aired from 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM on September 28th and drew an overall rating of 1.0 for the second consecutive week.

Airing head-to-head with UFC Unleashed were two of the most-watched shows on television, as new episodes of Grey's Anatomy on ABC and CSI on CBS went head-to-head for the second week. While Grey's Anatomy shockingly won the head-to-head battle with CSI on September 21st by a significant margin (15.7 to 13.5), the gap narrowed significantly on September 28th. On that date, Grey's Anatomy drew a 14.9 overall rating, while CSI drew a 14.2 overall rating. It's still surprising to see CSI losing to anything under any circumstances, but it was a much closer battle in week two.

The other shows that aired head-to-head with UFC Unleashed in the 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM hour were a new episode of Deal or No Deal on NBC and the Thursday finale of Celebrity Duets on Fox. Deal or No Deal drew a respectable 6.5 overall rating, while Celebrity Duets drew a disappointing 2.9 overall rating on Fox.

Airing immediately after The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV at 11:00 PM on September 28th was the pro wrestling show TNA Impact, which drew a slightly higher-than-usual rating of 0.9, in large part due to TNA's signing of Kurt Angle.

The episode of ABC's Dancing with the Stars that aired on Tuesday, September 26th and featured the UFC's Chuck Liddell drew an overall rating of 11.8. Liddell was shown in the crowd cheering for Willa Ford, and he was wearing a t-shirt that said, "Vote for Willa... or Else." Though Ford was in the bottom three on the previous two weeks of the show, she was not eliminated on the September 27th results show. While Liddell was not shown in the crowd this week, Ford's continued presence on the series will only increases the chances of Liddell, and MMA in general, getting more exposure in front of a huge national television audience.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 4:35 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Extension Granted in Stephan Bonnar's Steroids Case
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

With the September 26th deadline for a formal response having come and gone, Stephan Bonnar and his attorneys have been given an extension to formally respond to the Nevada State Athletic Commission's complaint regarding a positive test for anabolic steroids.

Bonnar lost to Forrest Griffin by unanimous decision at UFC 62 on August 26th, and a formal complaint was filed on September 6th in which the NSAC notified Bonnar that his post-fight urinalysis came up positive for Boldenone, which is a banned anabolic steroid that is intended for use only by veterinarians, primarily to help rehabilitate injured horses.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission initially gave Bonnar and his attorneys 20 days from the date of the complaint to issue a formal response, but Bonnar's attorneys met with the NSAC shortly before the deadline and were granted an extension. Bonnar and his attorneys now have until this coming Wednesday, October 4th, to formally respond to the charges.

After Bonnar's side has issued its formal response, the NSAC will set the date for a disciplinary hearing, at which Bonnar could be fined and/or suspended. As previously reported, the amount of the fine can be up to $250,000, or the complete amount of the fighter's purse for the event, whichever amount is greater. In this case, Bonnar's purse for the August 26th fight was $16,000, so the maximum possible fine is $250,000.

The length of the suspension can be whatever the NSAC deems appropriate, but the suspensions have generally ranged from three to twelve months in past instances of mixed martial artists and boxers testing positive for banned substances.

In Bonnar's case, it's unlikely that he would have fought again this year even if he hadn't tested positive for a banned substance at UFC 62, due to the fact that he had already been medically suspended for six months as a result of a broken right thumb suffered during the fight against Griffin.

A total of eighteen fighters competed on the UFC 62 card on August 26th, and four of those eighteen fighters were drug tested by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which is not an atypical amount for a UFC event held in the state of Nevada.

MMAWeekly will continue to keep you updated on any further developments in this story.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 1:17 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Ultimate Fighter Ratings Up Slightly to 1.3; Chuck Liddell on Network TV
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Episode Six of The Ultimate Fighter 4 drew a 1.3 overall rating on Thursday, September 21st, which was up slightly from the previous week's 1.2 overall rating.

While this season of TUF has fallen far short of TUF 3 in the ratings throughout the first half of its season, there has been a slight positive trend in the ratings over the past few weeks.

The overall rating is going to have to be higher than 1.3 on a weekly basis in order for TUF 4 to not end up being the lowest rated season of TUF to date, but on this particular week, the overall rating of 1.3 must have brought a sigh of relief to Spike TV and Zuffa.

After the overall ratings bottomed out with a series-low of 1.1 with Episode Four, the fifth episode of the season drew a 1.2 overall rating, and now the sixth episode has drawn a 1.3 overall rating. In that sense, there is reason for optimism if the ratings continue to improve.

In the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, Episode Six of TUF 4 drew a 2.2 rating, which was up from the previous week's rating of 1.9 in that demographic. Again, coupled with the increase in the overall rating, there is reason for optimism.

Season-to-Season Comparisons Still Disappointing
An overall rating of 1.3 would normally be considered a big hit on cable television, and it still is in the case of TUF. It's only disappointing when compared to the expectations that have been set by previous seasons of The Ultimate Fighter.

Episode Six of TUF 3 drew a 1.7 overall rating, and it was highlighted by the drama of Noah Inhofer quitting the show after an envelope with a letter from his girlfriend mysteriously showed up at the gym. Episode Six of TUF 2 drew a 1.4 overall rating, and it was highlighted by Jason Von Flue's victory over Jorge Gurgel. Episode Six of TUF 1 drew a 2.0 overall rating, and it was highlighted by Josh Koscheck's victory over Chris Leben.

Episode Six from season one is still tied for the highest-rated UFC broadcast of all time, although the 2.0 record is expected to be shattered by the Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock special on October 10th, which the UFC and Spike are hoping will surpass the 3.0 mark.

On a season-to-season basis, the first six episodes of TUF 3 averaged a 1.7 overall rating, while the first six episodes of TUF 4 averaged a 1.4 overall rating.

Just as notably, TUF 4 is averaging a 2.3 rating in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic through six episodes, which is down from the 2.9 mark set by the first six episodes of season three.

One Week of Hype for Matt Serra's Fight Could Boost the Ratings
If there's one thing that has been built up on the show throughout the season, it's Matt Serra stepping into the Octagon and fighting. Serra has been the most prominently featured contestant on the show, and if the producers and editors of the show have succeeded in making viewers anticipate Serra's first fight on the show, then it would stand to reason that Episode Seven could draw a better rating than Episode Six.

This could be further aided by the fact that Serra's welterweight quarter-final bout is the last of the welterweight quarter-finals, so Spike TV can (and has) hyped all week long in commercials that Matt Serra will be fighting on Thursday's episode.

Normally, specific fights can't be hyped ahead of time because a large part of the suspense on any given episode is based on which fighters are going to be selected to fight. The exceptions are the last fights in any round of the competition, due to the fact that there are no other remaining fighters who could potentially be fighting.

The same could be said for the fight between Jorge Rivera and Patrick Cote on Episode Eight in the last of the middleweight quarter-finals, but Rivera hasn't been featured on the show anywhere near as much as Serra, and Cote hasn't had much screen time at all during the first six episodes.

The Episode Five fight between Pete Sell and Charles McCarthy did not provide the show with a noticeable increase in viewership. The Sell-McCarthy fight averaged a 1.3 rating over the course of the show's final 30 minutes, and the episode as a whole also averaged a 1.3 overall rating. This is the first time this season that the fight on any given episode did not average a higher rating than the entire episode on which it aired.

Liddell Gets Network TV Face Time, but the Added Exposure Might Not Last Much Longer
As previously reported by MMAWeekly, the September 19th episode of ABC's smash hit reality series Dancing with the Stars included contestant Willa Ford mentioning Chuck Liddell and the UFC by name, and a ten-second clip of Liddell was shown. That episode of the show drew a 12.1 overall rating. While this had a negligible impact on the ratings for the episode of TUF that aired two nights later, it does go a long way towards building up the UFC's brand awareness in general.

Liddell was also on the episode of Dancing with the Stars that aired on September 26th, although ratings for that episode are not yet available. Liddell was shown in the audience cheering on Ford and wearing a shirt that said, "Vote for Willa... Or Else." However, Liddell's name was not mentioned at any time during the episode.

If Willa Ford makes it to the final stages of the competition (as was expected going into the season) and if Liddell keeps attending the tapings in the "Willa Ford friends and family" section of the audience, there is no doubt that he will be mentioned by name once again and perhaps several more times before the season is over.

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Ford is going to be on the show much longer, as she has consistently finished in the bottom three in fan voting and just barely avoided elimination in the first two weeks. Despite strong reviews from the show's panel of judges, as well as a personality-establishing love-hate relationship with her professional dance partner on the show, it has become clear that for whatever reason, she is not doing well in the fan voting.

If Ford is eliminated this week or shortly thereafter, it would cut off something that appeared to be a great opportunity for MMA to get a lot more exposure in the coming weeks on one of the most watched shows on television.

Head-to-Head Network Competition Shocks the Television Industry... How This Could Benefit TUF
Leading into the sixth episode of TUF 4, a repeat of UFC Unleashed aired from 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM on September 21st and drew an overall rating of 1.0.

The results of the head-to-head ratings showdown that took place in the same timeslot sent shockwaves through the entire television industry, as the #1 show on television, CSI, was dethroned by the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy.

New episodes of the two series went head-to-head for the first time on September 21st, at the same time that UFC Unleashed was airing on Spike TV. Shockingly, Grey's Anatomy won the battle rather handily, drawing a 15.7 overall rating for its season premiere, compared to a 13.5 overall rating for CSI's season premiere.

In the 2005-2006 TV season, new episodes of CSI ranged from a season-low of 14.4 to a season-high of 18.8, while new episodes of Grey's Anatomy in its normal weekly timeslot ranged from a season-low of 11.8 to a season-high of 15.4.

It remains to be seen whether Grey's Anatomy beating CSI head-to-head is a short-term thing, or whether ABC's big gamble will pay off throughout the season, but in any case, it can't have zero effect on the UFC's ratings when 30% of the entire country is watching one of two specific TV shows at the same time.

Due to the fact that Grey's Anatomy and CSI are airing every week at 9:00 PM (head-to-head with UFC Unleashed) and not at 10:00 PM (head-to-head with The Ultimate Fighter), this could actually benefit TUF's ratings due to the tens of millions of people throughout the country who are in front of their TVs at 10:00 PM on Thursday nights when Grey's Anatomy and CSI go off the air.

Based on the September 21st ratings, only two-thirds of these people are staying tuned to ABC/CBS, which means that in the precise timeframe that TUF is starting on any given week, a whopping ten percent of the entire country is either going to bed, turning off their TV, or changing the channel from ABC/CBS to something else.

If even a tiny percentage of the millions of people who are watching their TVs and changing the channel at 10:00 PM on Thursday nights happen to stumble upon TUF and keep watching it, that can only help the show.

This is exactly why airing in a timeslot that is near a mega-hit show (or two) is both a blessing and a curse for a TV show. It's a curse for the obvious reason that most people are watching the mega-hit show or shows, but it's also a blessing because of the sheer amount of "eyeballs" that are watching TV in that timeframe.

It's the same reason that when a mega-hit show like American Idol is airing on Fox and it goes off the air at 10:00 PM, the ratings for most of the shows on television that start airing at 10:00 PM are higher than usual. If a mega-hit show goes off the air at 9:00 PM, the ratings for most of the shows on television that start at 9:00 PM are higher than usual.

This same effect could potentially benefit TUF 4 as the season progresses, particularly if such a large percentage of the country continues to watch Grey's Anatomy and CSI in the hour before TUF every week.

Other Head-to-Head Network Ratings
Fortunately for The Ultimate Fighter and every other TV show that airs at 10:00 PM on Thursday nights, the network shows that aired at 10:00 PM were nowhere near as dominant as their 9:00 PM counterparts on September 21st.

While the new CBS drama Shark retained a respectable percentage of CSI's audience and thus drew a 9.8 overall rating in the 10:00 PM hour, that is still down drastically from the 13.8 overall rating that the season premiere of Without a Trace drew in the same timeslot in September 2005.

As for the new ABC drama Six Degrees, it lost a whopping 45% of the Grey's Anatomy audience in the 10:00 PM hour and thus drew a hugely disappointing overall rating of 8.7.

Winning the 10:00 PM timeslot was the season premiere of NBC's ER, which drew a 10.0 overall rating and will surely perform better in the ratings this season now that Without a Trace is no longer on Thursday nights to kick it around.

In addition to Grey's Anatomy and CSI, the other shows that aired head-to-head with UFC Unleashed in the 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM hour were new episodes of Deal or No Deal on NBC and Celebrity Duets on Fox.

Deal or No Deal drew a 6.5 overall rating, which was down from the 9.6 overall rating that the series drew three nights earlier in its season premiere, but it was about as good as could be expected up against Grey's Anatomy and CSI. Meanwhile, the ratings for Celebrity Duets fell off the face of the planet up against the new competition. The show drew a 2.4 overall rating, which is often grounds for immediate cancellation on network TV. In Celebrity Duets' case, it has been spared because it only has one week left anyway.

Airing immediately after The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV at 11:00 PM on September 21st, the pro wrestling show TNA Impact drew a 0.8 overall rating, which was up slightly from the previous week's 0.7 overall rating.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 11:06 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Ultimate Fighter Ratings Up Slighly, But Still Lower than Previous Seasons
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The fifth episode of The Ultimate Fighter 4 drew a 1.2 overall rating on Thursday, September 14th, which was up slightly from the previous week's overall rating of 1.1. As expected, the impact of Episode Four airing head-to-head with the NFL was minimal, as the ratings for Episode Five did not change very much without the NFL as head-to-head competition.

Only two episodes in the history of The Ultimate Fighter have drawn a lower overall rating than 1.2 while airing on the show's normal night, and one of those episodes was the aforementioned Episode Four from earlier this month. Ratings are always rounded to the nearest tenth of a ratings point, and while there are many times when the exact rating is 1.65 or 1.66 rating and it gets rounded up to 1.7, in this particular case the exact rating drawn by the show was 1.245.

The repeat of UFC Unleashed that aired as TUF's lead-in on September 14th drew a 1.1 overall rating, which matches the overall rating that was drawn by the previous week's new episode of TUF.

Leading out of The Ultimate Fighter was TNA Impact at 11:00 PM, which once again drew a 0.7 overall rating. TNA Impact has been on a ratings free-for-all ever since part-company-owner Jeff Jarrett was given the promotion's world title belt and made the centerpiece of the weekly TV show.

Quarter-Hour and Specific Demographic Ratings
In the overall quarter-hour ratings, which track the level of viewership over the course of an episode, the fifth episode of TUF 4 started out with a 1.2 rating and stayed virtually unchanged throughout the hour, as the Din Thomas vs. Mikey Burnett fight at the end of the episode drew a 1.3 rating.

Episode Five drew a 1.9 rating in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, which was up slightly from the previous week's 1.7 rating in that demographic. However, this was also just the fifth time in the history of TUF that a new episode has drawn a rating of less than 2.0 in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic.

Season-to-Date Averages Down from Previous Seasons
Through five episodes, The Ultimate Fighter 4 is averaging a 2.3 rating in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, which is down from season three's 3.0 average over the same span of episodes.

In terms of overall viewership, TUF 3 was averaging a 1.7 overall rating through five episodes, while TUF 4 has averaged a 1.4 overall rating through five episodes. One might think that this is simply a case of TUF 3 being an extraordinary ratings success that can't be matched, but that is not the case. Even TUF 2, which ended up drawing the lowest average ratings of any TUF season, was averaging a 1.6 overall rating through five episodes.

On an episode vs. episode basis, Episode Five of The Ultimate Fighter 4 drew a 1.2 overall rating. At the same point in previous seasons, Episode Five of the third season drew a 1.7 overall rating, highlighted by the fight between Rory Singer and Solomon Hutcherson. Episode Five of the second season drew a 1.5 overall rating, highlighted by the fact between Rashad Evans and Tom Murphy. Episode Five of the first season drew a 1.7 overall rating, highlighted by the Chris Leben-Josh Koscheck-Bobby Southworth brouhaha.

As detailed last week on MMAWeekly, there are numerous possible reasons for TUF 4's lower ratings. Among these possible reasons are that viewers have not become attached to the characters in the way that they became attached during previous seasons; or that the lack of air time or character development for the coaches/trainers has turned off a lot of viewers; or that the general concept of Season Four is simply not appealing to the masses in the way that it is appealing to the hardcore fanbase; or a combination of these factors.

Free Publicity on Network TV Could Lead Some Viewers to Watch TUF This Week
It will be interesting to see whether the ratings for Episode Six of The Ultimate Fighter 4 are helped to any significant degree by what was essentially a free ten-second advertisement for the UFC on one of the biggest shows on television. On ABC's hit reality series Dancing with the Stars that aired on Tuesday, September 19th, contestant Willa Ford said during her pre-dance video package, "My friend Chuck Liddell is in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and he taught me that sometimes you get knocked down and you just have to get right back up." While she said this, clips aired of Liddell and of the UFC in general.

Even though it only lasted ten seconds, it can't be overstated how much exposure this brought to the sport. Dancing with the Stars is one of the most-watched shows on television. While the ratings for this Tuesday's episode are not yet available, last Tuesday's two-hour season premiere averaged a monstrous 13.2 rating, which is the second highest rated episode in Dancing with the Stars' history, behind only the season two finale.

If one-tenth of the people who saw the brief UFC clip on Dancing with the Stars this week have their curiosity piqued and seek more information about the UFC, it could have a positive effect on TUF's ratings in future weeks.

Willa Ford was, surprisingly, in the bottom three of the competition last week, but if she's still on the show next week, it would only make sense for her to have Chuck Liddell as one of her invited guests in the audience.

Each contestant is allowed to bring several friends or family members to sit in the audience for any given episode of the show, and these people are then shown on camera numerous times throughout the show. The invited guests can be present in the audience for a single episode, the entire season, or anywhere in between. If Liddell were to be shown or mentioned in the audience, which frequently occurs with the contestants' guests, the exposure for the UFC product would be immense.

Network TV Competition on September 14th
Airing head-to-head with TUF on September 14th from 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM, a repeat of CSI on CBS drew a 9.8 overall rating, while the final regular weekly edition of the ABC newsmagazine Primetime drew a 5.6 overall rating. Meanwhile, a repeat of ER on NBC drew a 3.6 overall rating. ER generally performs very poorly in repeats, which is why NBC is going to air only new episodes of ER this season (the show will take a hiatus in the winter in order to make this possible).

Airing head-to-head with UFC Unleashed on September 14th from 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM, a repeat of CSI on CBS drew a 9.9 overall rating, a repeat of Grey's Anatomy on ABC drew a 6.3 overall rating, a new episode of Celebrity Duets on Fox drew a 3.9 overall rating, and the repeat combination of My Name is Earl and The Office averaged a 3.6 overall rating on NBC.

Network Competition to Get Much Stronger
In terms of the overall number of people who are watching other shows on their televisions that air at the same time as TUF, the first five weeks were actually the easiest of TUF's season. Starting with Episode Six on September 21st, TUF will be airing head-to-head with the new fall season on the major broadcast networks instead of the repeat programming that it has faced in recent weeks.

While the most likely scenario is that the new fall season will have a minor negative effect on TUF's ratings, it could actually be beneficial to TUF in a way because it means that there will be more people in front of their televisions who might stumble upon TUF, enjoy what they see, and keep watching, but in general it's a less formidable task to have to go head-to-head with repeat programming.

Starting on September 21st, UFC Unleashed (TUF's lead-in show) will have to go head-to-head with new episodes of CSI and Grey's Anatomy, which averaged a combined rating of 30.0 last season (yes, that's 30% of American TV households). New episodes of CSI averaged a 16.7 overall rating on Thursday nights last season, while new episodes of Grey's Anatomy averaged a 13.3 overall rating on Sunday nights last season.

Of course, there's no telling what's going to happen to people's viewership patterns when the two shows air head-to-head, but the sheer volume of people (it could be 30% of the country) watching one of those two shows will almost certainly have a negative effect on the ratings of UFC Unleashed. The ratings of a show's lead-in always has some effect on the show, whether it's a big effect or a small effect, so this could conceivably hurt TUF's ratings.

As for TUF itself, it's not going head-to-head with CSI or Grey's Anatomy, but it is going head-to-head with a line-up that is still likely to have some effect on TUF's ratings. Even if TUF's ratings increase in future weeks, it is likely to be a smaller increase than it otherwise would be without strong head-to-head competition.

NBC's ER will be back with new episodes starting on September 21st, and while ER is no longer considered the ratings powerhouse that it once was, it still averaged a 9.4 overall rating for new episodes last season, which is excellent by any standard other than the one that was set by previous seasons of ER.

Also in the 10:00 PM hour, CBS will try to launch the new drama "Smith" off the back of its lead-in, CSI; while ABC will try to launch the new drama "Six Degrees" off the back of its lead-in, Grey's Anatomy. The sheer number of people watching all of these shows will likely have a minor negative impact on TUF's ratings in future weeks.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 8:04 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Fighter Salaries for UFC Fight Night 6
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

UFC Fight Night 6 took place on Thursday, August 17th in Las Vegas, Nevada and aired nationally on Spike TV. What follows is a full listing of the fighter salaries for the event, which the UFC is required by law to submit to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Any additional bonuses or "secret money" that the UFC has chosen not to disclose are not included in the listings below.

Regarding the "known event revenue" that is listed below the disclosed fighter payroll, the live gate for this event at the Fertitta-owned Red Rock Resort was $187,050. The total attendance was 1,412; with 1,052 tickets sold and 360 free comp tickets.

As previously disclosed by Neilsen Monitor Plus, the average price for a 30-second commercial on UFC programming is $3,500, so the gross advertising revenue is $112,000 per hour. Therefore, the gross advertising revenue for a UFC broadcast is $224,000 if it's a two-hour broadcast. The amount of the rights fee that Spike TV pays Zuffa for each live TV event is not known.

UFC Fight Night 6 Fighter Salaries
Event took place on August 17, 2006 and aired on Spike TV

-Diego Sanchez: $32,000 (defeated Karo Parisyan in main event)
-Joe Riggs: $24,000 (defeated Jason Von Flue)
-Dean Lister: $16,000 (defeated Yuki Sasaki)
-Josh Koscheck: $14,000 (defeated Jonathan Goulet)
-Chris Leben: $14,000 (defeated Jorge Santiago)
-Karo Parisyan: $12,000 (lost to Diego Sanchez in main event)
-Anthony Torres: $10,000 (defeated Pat Healy)
-Martin Kampmann: $10,000 (defeated Crafton Wallace)
-Jonathan Goulet: $6,500 (lost to Josh Koscheck)
-Jake O'Brien: $6,000 (defeated Kristof Midoux)
-Jason Von Flue: $5,000 (lost to Joe Riggs)
-Yuki Sasaki: $5,000 (lost to Dean Lister)
-Sam Morgan: $4,000 (lost to Forrest Petz)
-Jorge Santiago: $4,000 (lost to Chris Leben)
-Forrest Petz: $4,000 (defeated Sam Morgan)
-Crafton Wallace: $3,000 (lost to Martin Kampmann)
-Kristof Midoux: $2,000 (lost to Jake O'Brien)
-Pat Healy: $2,000 (lost to Anthony Torres)

Gross Totals:
Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $173,500
Known Event Revenue: $411,050 (live gate of $187,050; TV ad revenue of $224,000)

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 11:20 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- The Ultimate Fighter Draws Series Low Ratings in Week Four
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The fourth episode of The Ultimate Fighter 4 drew a 1.1 overall rating on Thursday, September 7th, which was down 21 percent from the previous week's 1.4 overall rating.

The overall rating of 1.1 matched the series' all-time low rating. The only other episode of TUF from any season to draw a 1.1 overall rating on the show's normal night was Episode Nine of the second season, which featured a heavyweight match-up between Rashad Evans and Mike Whitehead.

In addition to drawing a 1.1 overall rating, Episode Four's rating among 18-to-34-year-old males was just 1.7, which is the second-lowest rating in the history of the series in that demographic. The only episode to draw a lower rating among 18-to-34-year-old males was the very first episode of the first season, which drew a 1.5 rating in the advertiser-coveted demographic.

Episode Four of TUF 4 actually drew a lower overall rating than the previous two episodes of UFC Unleashed, which had drawn overall ratings of 1.3 and 1.2, respectively, on the previous two Thursday nights.

NFL Football Part of the Reason for the Decline... but Only a Small Part
The first game of the NFL's regular season aired head-to-head with Episode Four of TUF 4. The NFL game averaged an overall rating of 11.8 on ABC, and the specific hour that aired head-to-head with TUF drew an 11.5 overall rating.

While there's no doubt that the NFL broadcast had some impact on TUF's ratings, the facts and history both indicate that the NFL's impact on TUF's ratings was actually much smaller than one might expect.

Unlikely as it seems, when the second season of TUF had to go head-to-head with the season premiere of Monday Night Football on ABC last year, the effect on TUF's ratings was negligible.

The last episode of TUF 2 that aired without Monday Night Football as head-to-head competition drew a 1.5 overall rating on September 5, 2005. The next week, the season premiere of Monday Night Football aired head-to-head with TUF and drew a 12.7 overall rating, which is actually higher than the 11.8 overall rating that was drawn by the NFL game last Thursday.

What happened to TUF 2's ratings that week, you ask? What happened was that the overall rating went down exactly 0.1, from 1.5 to 1.4. The all-important 18-to-34-year-old male rating actually stayed the same, as the show drew the exact same 2.5 rating in the key demographic that it drew the week before when it didn't have the Monday Night Football's season premiere as head-to-head competition.

So, while it might seem to be logical to simply dismiss this week's ratings decline by saying, "Of course it went down by 20+ percent... what do you expect going head-to-head with the NFL?" that is simply not an accurate statement when you look at the facts. This means that something else is also responsible for the decreases in TUF 4's ratings.

Lack of NFL Impact on TUF Ratings Goes Beyond One Week
Even going beyond the lack of a one-week drop-off when TUF 2 faced new head-to-head competition in the form of Monday Night Football last fall, the Neilsen ratings information also shows that Monday Night Football as a whole did not have a significant negative impact on TUF 2's ratings.

The loss of WWE Raw as a lead-in can conclusively be shown to be a major contributing factor to TUF 2's ratings collapse as the season went on, but the competition with Monday Night Football cannot.

There were six episodes of TUF 2 that had the benefit of WWE Raw as a lead-in before WWE went back to USA Network. Three of those episodes did not have regular season Monday Night Football as competition, and three of those episodes did have regular season MNF games as competition.

The three episodes of TUF 2 that did not have MNF as competition averaged a 1.6 overall rating, and that number decreased by 0.2 to an average of 1.4 in the three weeks with MNF as competition.

In the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, the three episodes of TUF 2 that did not have MNF as competition averaged a 2.6 rating , and that number decreased by 0.1 to an average of 2.5 in the next three weeks.

What this means is that the head-to-head competition with the NFL was responsible for ratings drop-offs in the range of 0.1 or 0.2, which pale in comparison to the kind of drop-offs that TUF 4 has been experiencing since week one.

The reason that this is so important is because it demonstrates that the NFL is not the only reason, or even a major reason, for TUF's ratings collapse.

TUF 4 Ratings Have Decreased Gradually Over Time
In the absence of any significant effect from the NFL, the Neilsen ratings information shows that, for whatever reason, a significant number of viewers have been turned off by one thing or another during the first few weeks of TUF 4.

This is supported by the fact that the ratings have consistently decreased since the beginning of the season, whereas TUF 3's ratings tended to increase as the season went on.

The first four episodes of TUF 4, in order from Episode One to Episode Four, have drawn overall ratings of 1.7, 1.6, 1.4, and 1.1.

In the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, the drop-off is more drastic, with ratings of 2.8, 2.7, 2.4, and 1.7 over the first four weeks.

In the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic, the first four episodes of TUF 4 have drawn ratings of 2.2, 2.1, 1.7, and 1.3.

Possible Reasons for the Ratings Fall-Off
Why is this happening, and what does it mean? It could mean that viewers have not become attached to the characters in the way that they became attached during the first and third seasons. It could mean that the glaring lack of air time or character development for the coaches/trainers has turned off a lot of viewers. It could mean that the gruesome amount of blood loss on Episode Two turned off a certain percentage of viewers. It could mean that the general concept of Season Four is simply not appealing to the masses in the way that it is appealing to the hardcore fanbase. The most likely scenario is that it's a combination of all these factors.

Hopefully, one thing that the producers and editors of the TUF series will not do is mistakenly think that this ratings decline is because there isn't enough "reality show drama." That was the general feeling among the producers regarding TUF 2's decreased ratings, and the result (or at least one of them) was large amounts of alcohol being placed in the house during Season Three so that contestants could get sauced and naturally create some good reality TV moments.

One can only hope that when TUF 5 starts filming in October, the producers will not resort to the same tactics, because it's very unlikely that "reality show drama" is what viewers want above all else.

What the UFC's Audience Wants Above All Else
If it were true that "reality show drama" is what spikes the interest of viewers even more than actually seeing UFC fights, then a week-long run of commercials teasing that one of the contestants was going to be kicked off of TUF 4 would have done something to stem the tide of decreasing ratings. Airings of older fights on UFC Unleashed would not be drawing higher ratings than an hour-long reality TV show about the UFC under any circumstances. A repeat of TUF airing at 9:00 PM on September 7th would not have drawn a lower rating (0.9) than the episode of UFC Unleashed that drew a 1.2 overall rating in the same timeslot on the previous Thursday.

In fact, what the ratings of TUF have always shown in almost every single episode of the series that has ever aired is that people want to see the actual fights more than anything else. Even the most recent episode, with its series-low ratings, increased from a 1.0 rating at mid-hour to a 1.2 rating for the minutes of the show that featured the pre-fight, fight, and post-fight segments of the Travis Lutter vs. Scott Smith match-up.

Zuffa president Dana White recently said on the Wrestling Observer's radio show that the UFC plans to run between 23 and 36 live events in 2007. With such a high number of live events, and such a strong public demand to see the actual fights above all else, next year would seem to be an ideal time for the launch of a new weekly series that would feature new fights every single week (not necessarily live fights, but never-before-seen airings of recently taped fights). There are certainly going to be enough new fights to go around in 2007, and the ratings trends indicate that casual and hardcore fans alike would prefer to see more fights.

Network TV Competition: Fox Launches New Line-Up and NBC Dominates while CBS & ABC Wait
Though it's very unlikely to have affected The Ultimate Fighter's ratings by more than 0.1 or 0.2, the first game of the NFL's regular season led NBC to a ratings victory among the networks on September 7th. The game averaged an overall rating of 11.8, which was up slightly from the 11.6 overall rating that was drawn by the Thursday night premiere of the NFL regular season on ABC last season. However, the rating of 11.8 was down from the 12.7 overall rating that was drawn last year by the season premiere of Monday Night Football on ABC.

Airing head-to-head with a repeat of TUF in the 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM hour, the NFL game on NBC averaged a 12.5 rating for the hour. While Little Richard slipped a little bit deeper into the throes of insanity right before America's eyes, the show on which he is allegedly a judge did not slip in the ratings, as Celebrity Duets drew a 4.6 overall rating on Fox, which was a lower-than-expected drop-off from the series premiere's 5.3 overall rating.

Also in the 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM hour, repeats of CSI on CBS and Grey's Anatomy of ABC drew overall ratings of 7.2 and 5.5, respectively. Last season, the ratings for new episodes of CSI and Grey's Anatomy were such that not even the NFL could touch either series in terms of overall viewership during the regular season, but the two series' audiences might be fragmented now that CSI and Grey's Anatomy will be airing new episodes head-to-head with each other starting on September 21st.

Airing head-to-head with a new episode of TUF in the 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM hour, the NFL game on NBC averaged an 11.5 rating for the hour, down from the previous hour's 12.5 average. In the same hour, a repeat of the moving-to-Sunday CBS drama Without a Trace drew a 7.3 overall rating. The ABC newsmagazine Primetime drew a 4.4 overall rating in one of its final weeks as a regular weekly series; it will be relegated to occasional specials starting this fall.

Following The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV was the pro wrestling show TNA Impact, which continued to suffer the decline in ratings that the show has been experiencing ever since TNA co-owner Jeff Jarrett was given the top on-air position in the company. The latest installment of TNA Impact drew a 0.7 overall rating, which is the lowest rating that TNA Impact has ever drawn when it had a new episode of The Ultimate Fighter as a lead-in.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 11:17 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- New Jersey Commission Speaks About UFC's False Statements
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Nick Lembo, the Deputy Attorney General of the state of New Jersey, has publicly responded to the latest in a series of factually incorrect statements about the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship as it relates to New Jersey.

The factually incorrect statements in question have been made in a series of media interviews by UFC President Dana White over a period of months, as fully detailed later in this article.

In his role as Deputy Attorney General of New Jersey, Nick Lembo also serves as Counsel to the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, and he has written letters of correction to numerous mainstream media reporters who have printed the false statements that have been made by White.

Lembo carbon-copied MMAWeekly on several of these e-mails, and we previously published them on MMAWeekly. In the letters, Lembo listed all of the MMA rules and sanctioning regulations that were in place in the state of New Jersey before Zuffa bought the UFC, as Lembo attempted to "clarify what, in my opinion, were misleading, confusing or erroneous statements" made in the newspaper articles.

The specific false statements that have repeatedly been made by UFC President Dana White are that Zuffa got the UFC regulated and sanctioned by major athletic commissions for the first time, and that the previous owners "ran from regulation" or "didn't want to be regulated."

In fact, the "old UFC" also ran fully sanctioned UFC events in states such as Iowa, Louisiana, and Mississippi. While those states do not have "major athletic commissions," New Jersey certainly does, as it is regarded as having the second-biggest sanctioning body (behind only Nevada's) in terms of importance and prestige.

In addition to getting fully sanctioned in New Jersey, the previous owners of the UFC also made an unsuccessful attempt to get sanctioned in Nevada before selling the UFC to Zuffa, so it is completely false that the previous owners "ran from regulation" or "ran from sanctioning."

The most prominent occasion on which these misstatements were repeated was during a national television appearance on ESPNews' The Hot List in July, as White said that the UFC "wasn't sanctioned by any of the major athletic commissions" before Zuffa bought it, which is factually incorrect. White also said on ESPNews, "When we first bought the sport... it was not in any of the major venues here in the United States," which is also factually incorrect unless the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey is not considered a major venue.

The false statements that were made on ESPNews were not an isolated incident. To list just two of many possible examples, White told the Washington Times in July, "The first thing we knew we had to do was to get it sanctioned by all the major athletic commissions. We sat down with officials from Nevada and New Jersey in 2002, and we got that done," again repeating the false claim that Zuffa got the sport sanctioned in New Jersey.

White told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in July, "I could see that if this was done the right way, if someone didn't run away from regulation but embraced it, if someone cleaned it up and shined it a little, this thing could be huge," again repeating the false claim that the previous owners ran from regulation.

There are far more examples that could be cited, as Lembo also wrote letters of correction to other publications that printed false information, including the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Philadelphia Daily News, and Miami Herald.

Upon being sent the letters of correction from Lembo that were previously carbon-copied to MMAWeekly and published on the site, most of these media outlets stopped printing the false statements in subsequent articles about the UFC. In all likelihood, many of them were probably not aware that they were printing false statements when they printed the aforementioned quotes about Zuffa's role in the UFC's history.

In the case of Miami Herald reporter Bob Emanuel, Jr., he responded via e-mail to Lembo's letter of correction in late August, which was then carbon-copied to MMAWeekly. Emanuel, Jr. wrote, "Thank you for the information. Unfortunately, unlike most other sports, the history of the UFC is not well documented. Facts, often, get blurred depending on which version of history you are hearing. I will likely do a follow-up in the near future (as time permits)."

Despite this e-mail, the Miami Herald published an article written by Emanuel, Jr. on September 5th, which repeated many of the same claims, including the following quote from Dana White: "Senator McCain's big problem with the UFC was that they wouldn't get sanctioned. The old owner didn't want to get sanctioned, didn't want to have rules and regulations. We felt differently. We felt it should be regulated. We agreed with McCain. The sport should be regulated. It should have rules and regulations -- refs, judges, etc. We weren't arguing with him. We went to the athletic commissions, sat down with them, came up with a set of rules and regulations. It's all downhill from there."

These consistently false statements are puzzling, if for no other reason because they are completely unnecessary. Zuffa legitimately did a lot of great things for the sport in the aforementioned time period (and also has in the years since then), such as getting sanctioning in Nevada, unifying the rules between Nevada and the pre-existing New Jersey sanctioning, and getting back on cable PPV. There is no valid reason to continue to propagate these false statements, as the truth is more than flattering enough.

Nick Lembo will continue to send letters of correction to the authors of such articles as part of his job as the Counsel to the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board and the Deputy Attorney General of the state of New Jersey.

Of course, this begs the question of why Lembo wouldn't also send letters of correction directly to the person who is making these false statements in the first place, Dana White, in addition to sending letters of correction to the publications that print these false statements. MMAWeekly asked Lembo that very question, and he granted us permission to print his response:

" It seems that the [Miami Herald] reporter, Mr. Emanuel, Jr. chose to ignore my e-mail to him placing the topic in the correct historical perspective. This, even though he responded to my e-mail alerting him of the facts prior to writing his second article on the same subjects.

As far as your suggestion that I write Mr. Dana White directly (re: my email to various reporters), it is not necessary. My initial response to the reporters was also forwarded, by me, to a UFC official.

I have been contacted by two individuals with top positions in the UFC to discuss my reply to these articles. Both individuals were very aware and knowledgeable about my emails to various media on the subject. Neither individual in the UFC disagreed with one scintilla of the factual history which I had detailed. They claimed that Dana was misquoted, that the writers chose not to write other details involving New Jersey that Dana gave them and that Dana was just 'being a promoter.'

I have absolutely nothing against Dana White or the UFC. In fact, I hardly know Dana White. I rarely, if ever, dealt with him during the UFC's New Jersey shows. I think the UFC has done great things for the mixed martial arts fan and the sport of mixed martial arts in the United States.

Therefore, I am at a complete loss as to why Dana has chosen to continue to ignore the true history of this great sport. He seems to be unwilling, for whatever reason, to accept the truth and instead chooses to continue to repeatedly make false claims about the origins of Zuffa and the history of mixed martial arts in the United States.

Nick Lembo
Deputy Attorney General, State of New Jersey
State Athletic Control Board Counsel "

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 12:09 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Ratings for The Ultimate Fighter Drop in Week Three
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

The third episode of The Ultimate Fighter 4 drew an overall rating of 1.4, which was down from the 1.6 overall rating that was drawn by the previous week's episode.

In the advertiser-friendly 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, Episode Three of TUF 4 drew a 2.4 rating, which was down from the previous week's mark of 2.7. In the 18-to-49-year-old male demographic, Episode Three drew a 1.7 rating, which was down from the previous week's mark of 2.1.

MTV Video Music Awards Influence TUF Ratings... To a Degree
Some of the decrease in viewership for this particular episode can be blamed on the fact that it aired head-to-head with the MTV Video Music Awards. However, the primary demographic for the VMAs is actually 12-to-24-year-olds, whereas TUF's top demographic is 18-to-34-year-olds.

There is a substantial amount of overlap among 18-to-24-year-olds, but there is not as much across-the-board overlap as one might expect. Also, the Video Music Awards show continued its annual free-for-all in the ratings, as the 2006 installment of the show drew a 4.4 overall rating, down almost 30 percent from 2005, which was down significantly from 2004.

Season-to-Date Averages for TUF 4 Fall Just Short of TUF 3
With three episodes of the TUF 4 season now having aired, the season-to-date averages are down slightly from the third season.

Through three episodes, TUF 4 is averaging a 1.6 overall rating, compared to a 1.7 overall rating for TUF 3 at the same point in its season. Among 18-to-49-year-old males, TUF 4 is averaging a 2.0 rating so far, whereas TUF 3 was averaging a 2.2 rating through three episodes.

In the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, TUF 4 is averaging a 2.6 rating through three episodes. That's an excellent rating for any show to draw in the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic, but it's also down significantly from the 3.0 average that TUF 3 was drawing in the same demographic through three episodes.

Episode Three of TUF 4 featured a quick fight in which Chris Lytle submitted Pete Spratt. Episode Three of the third season also featured a one-sided fight that ended by submission, as Kendall Grove defeated Ross Pointon. The difference from a ratings standpoint is that the Grove-Pointon fight drew a 2.3 rating in the minutes immediately before, during, and after the fight, whereas Lytle vs. Spratt drew a 1.6 rating in the same timeframe.

Portion of UFC Unleashed Audience Tunes Out When TUF Starts
This particular episode of TUF got off to a very slow start in the ratings, as the opening 15 minutes of the show drew an average rating of just 1.3. This was actually a decrease from the final 15 minutes of the UFC Unleashed episode that preceded TUF, as that quarter-hour drew a 1.4 rating.

While there were many people who tuned in to Spike TV at 10:00 PM specifically to see The Ultimate Fighter, these people were actually outnumbered by the people who were watching UFC Unleashed and chose to change the channel instead of keeping it on Spike TV when TUF started at 10:00 PM.

This is the first time ever that we have such an occurrence on record. There have been times when the quarter-hour rating stayed the same rather than increasing when TUF started at 10:00 PM, but this was the first time that the number of viewers actually decreased.

Though it's only a slight ratings fluctuation at this point, this is generally not a good sign for TUF 4 because it means that there are a decent number of people who are interested in seeing the UFC in general and will stay tuned to finish watching UFC Unleashed, but who are not interested in TUF 4 for whatever reason and choose not to keep watching when TUF starts at 10:00 PM.

The entire hour of UFC Unleashed averaged a 1.2 overall rating, which marks the second week in a row that UFC Unleashed drew an overall rating that was just 0.2 lower than the episode of The Ultimate Fighter that followed it.

Will the "Someone Might Get Kicked Out" Tease Boost the Episode Four Ratings?
At the end of Episode Three, the teaser for next week's episode hinted that a fighter might be kicked off the show next week for breaking the house rules. Fighters have broken the house rules and gotten away with it on prior seasons of TUF (specifically the rule about not leaving the property without permission), but it's still a possibility that someone actually was kicked off the show this season for wandering off the property.

Given that the segments with recaps of each fighter's UFC career have been airing right before they fight on the show, it made absolutely no sense for Jeremy Jackson's UFC career to be recapped in the middle of Episode Three for no apparent reason.

One of the only logical explanations is that the editors knew in post-production that Jackson had been kicked off the show before he got a chance to fight, and there would be no opportunity to air Jackson's recap footage right before his TUF fight if he didn't have a TUF fight. This is pure speculation, though, and it's also possible that the editors and producers threw that out there intentionally as a red herring.

It will be interesting to see if the tease of someone potentially getting kicked off the show will increase the ratings for Episode Four. Ultimately, the answer to that question is almost completely dependent on whether or not most viewers care about or have grown attached to the fighters on this season of the show.

In the end, that is what determines the ratings success or comparative failure of any season of TUF: Do viewers get attached to the fighters and/or coaches? If a viewer cares about or gets emotionally invested in what happens to the fighters, or the coaches/trainers, or preferably both, they will keep watching throughout the season and maybe even encourage their friends to check out the show (see TUF 3 with its increasing ratings as the season went on).

In the second season, the ratings collapsed as the season progressed (even before the WWE lead-in was lost), in great part because there were several occasions when the fighters on the show were disrespected, treated like trash, or portrayed as wimps, even in cases like Rob MacDonald's where they were fighting through major injuries. Not enough viewers got emotionally attached to the fighters or coaches, and many of them stopped watching before the end of the season.

On the first three episodes of TUF 4, trainers Randy Couture and Georges St. Pierre have barely even been on the show, but the producers and editors have done a good job of establishing some of the fighters' personalities, with an emphasis on Shonie Carter and Matt Serra.

With commercials airing throughout the week hyping the fact that one of the fighters could be kicked off the show on Episode Four, the ratings for this episode will likely be indicative of how much viewers care about this season's cast as a whole.

Network TV Competition: The Calm Before the "New Fall Season" Storm
For the second consecutive week, the pro wrestling show TNA Impact drew an overall rating of 0.8 following The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV. The ratings for TNA Impact have dropped an alarming 20 percent in the weeks since TNA part-owner and head writer Jeff Jarrett was given the promotion's world title belt.

Airing head-to-head with The Ultimate Fighter 4 on August 31st from 10:00 PM to 11:00 PM, the finale of the now-cancelled NBC drama Windfall drew a 3.6 overall rating. Also, ABC's newsmagazine Primetime drew a 5.1 overall rating, and a repeat of Without a Trace on CBS drew a whopping 8.1 overall rating.

Airing head-to-head with UFC Unleashed from 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM, two repeats of The Office on NBC drew overall ratings of 3.9 and 3.8, respectively. The series premiere of Celebrity Duets, featuring a completely incoherent Little Richard as one of the judges, was replayed on Fox and drew a 3.7 rating in this hour.

Also in the 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM hour, in what may or may not be a preview of things to come when both series begin their new seasons on September 21st, a repeat of the CBS drama CSI easily topped a repeat of the ABC drama Grey's Anatomy in the ratings. CSI drew an 8.1 overall rating, while Grey's Anatomy drew a 5.9 overall rating.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 6:18 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- Stephan Bonnar Tests Positive for Anabolic Steroid
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

In a developing news story that broke on Wednesday's edition of MMAWeekly Radio, MMAWeekly has learned that Stephan Bonnar tested positive for an anabolic steroid after his fight against Forrest Griffin at UFC 62 on August 26th.

The specific banned substance that was found in Bonnar's post-fight urine sample after his unanimous decision loss to Griffin was Boldenone Metabolite, according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission's drug testing results.

Boldenone is an anabolic steroid that is intended for use only by veterinarians, specifically to help rehabilitate injured horses. It has several brand names for veterinary use, including Equigan, Equipoise, Ultragan, and Ganabol. It is on the banned substances list of all the major athletic commissions and sports leagues.

In a formal complaint filed on Wednesday by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, Bonnar was informed of his positive test result and was made aware that the NSAC has the right to suspend and/or fine him for his positive test result, pending a disciplinary hearing.

The amount of the fine can be up to $250,000, or the complete amount of the fighter's purse for the event, whichever amount is greater. In this case, Bonnar's purse for the August 26th fight was $16,000, so the maximum possible fine is $250,000.

The length of the suspension can be whatever the NSAC deems appropriate, but the suspensions have ranged from three to twelve months in past instances of mixed martial artists and boxers testing positive for banned substances.

According to the NSAC complaint, Bonnar's side has 20 days from the date of the complaint to issue a formal response to the NSAC in writing, which would put the date at September 26th.

After Bonnar's side has formally responded, the NSAC will set the date for a disciplinary hearing, at which Bonnar will be "entitled to be represented by counsel of his choice" and will also be entitled to "cross-examine witnesses, present evidence, and argue on his own behalf before a decision is made by the Commission."

Even before his drug test results came back positive for a banned substance, Bonnar had already been medically suspended for six months due to a broken right thumb, so it's unlikely that he would have fought again this year even if he hadn't tested positive for a banned substance at UFC 62.

Boldenone is not generally a popular drug among bodybuilders because of the fact that traces of the drug remain in the user's system for several months after use. According to Food and Drug Administration filings, which cited the Office of New Animal Drug Evaluation, Boldenone is intended for use by veterinarians as "an aid for treating debilitated horses when an improvement in weight, hair coat, or general physical condition is desired."

The FDA filings added, "Federal law restricts this drug to use by or on the order of a licensed veterinarian." Due to potential health risks for humans, the FDA has gone so far as to say that Boldenone "should not be administered to horses intended for human consumption."

The possible side effects of Boldenone when used by humans include high blood pressure, increased water retention, elevated levels of estrogen, possible hair loss, flu-like symptoms, anxiety, and acne.

A total of eighteen fighters competed on the UFC 62 card on August 26th, and four of those eighteen fighters were drug tested by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. In addition to Bonnar, the other fighters who were drug-tested were Chuck Liddell, Renato "Babalu" Sobral, and Forrest Griffin, all of whom passed their drug tests.

With a cost-per-fighter of $278.40 to run all of the tests for steroids, stimulants, and recreational drugs, the total amount spent on drug testing for UFC 62 was $1,113.60.

At the UFC Fight Night card in Las Vegas on August 17, four of the eighteen fighters who competed were drug tested by the NSAC. Those fighters were the two main event fighters, Diego Sanchez and Karo Parisyan, as well as two fighters who were selected at random, Josh Koscheck and Jason Von Flue. Sanchez, Parisyan, Koscheck, and Von Flue all passed their drug tests.

As with UFC 62, the total amount spent on drug testing for UFC Fight Night was $1,113.60.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 6:18 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC 61 Surpasses $30 Million in Pay-Per-View Sales, Plus Final PPV Buyrate for UFC 60
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

Last week, MMAWeekly took a look at the fighter salaries for UFC 62, which took place on August 26th in Las Vegas. While pay-per-view buyrate information is not yet available for UFC 62 due to the fact that it takes weeks or months for such numbers to be finalized, we do have the initial estimates on UFC 61's PPV buyrate and the final numbers on UFC 60's PPV buyrate.

The news is excellent for the UFC, as just seven weeks after one of its PPV events generated more than $20 million for the first time in the history of the UFC, the company's next PPV generated over $30 million in gross sales, blowing away all previous records.

The initial buyrate estimate for UFC 61 within the pay-per-view industry, as published by the Wrestling Observer, is that the show drew a whopping 775,000 PPV buys. The Observer been one of the most credible publications for many years when it comes to PPV buyrates, and 775,000 PPV buys at $39.95 per buy equals $30.96 million in gross PPV revenue. The UFC's share of the gross revenue for this and all other PPV events is approximately 50 percent, and all of the PPV figures in this article only take into account domestic PPV buys, which is where the majority of the UFC's PPV buys originate.

The initial buyrate estimates within the PPV industry are always lower than the final numbers, due to the fact that the final numbers take into account "late buys." Late buys is a term that refers to encore PPV buys of an event's replays throughout the month that it debuted, as well as PPV buys from smaller cable systems throughout the United States, and these late buys typically take several months to be fully reported in the inefficient cable industry.

The PPV industry's initial buyrate estimates, as first published by the Wrestling Observer, combined with MMAWeekly's own sources in the PPV industry, who are more familiar with the updated numbers that have "late buys" taken into account, are the basis of this article and MMAWeekly's previous article on the UFC's PPV buyrate explosion of 2006.

The main event of UFC 61 was technically Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski for the UFC Heavyweight Title, but the vast majority of the hype for the event was dedicated to the rematch between Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock, which was hyped on national television for several consecutive months during the airing The Ultimate Fighter 3 on Spike TV.

The mark of 775,000 PPV buys for UFC 61 shatters the previous all-time UFC record that had been set by UFC 60, which had broken the record set by UFC 59, which had broken the record set by UFC 57. In total, four of the UFC's first five PPVs of 2006 broke the company's all-time PPV records, as detailed in our previous article on this subject.

The initial buyrate estimate for UFC 60 within the pay-per-view industry, as published by the Wrestling Observer and MMAWeekly at the time, was 600,000 buys. MMAWeekly has subsequently learned that the final buyrate for UFC 60 will be in the range of 615,000 to 625,000 buys, which is actually not that much of an increase over the initial buyrate estimate. In total, the gross PPV revenue for UFC 60 was between $24.57 million and $24.97 million. The event, headlined by Matt Hughes vs. Royce Gracie, was the first UFC event to break the $20 million mark in gross PPV sales.

The first three UFC PPVs of 2006 were also extremely successful. As previously detailed, UFC 57 in February broke all of the UFC's records at the time by drawing 400,000 to 410,000 PPV buys. With the main event of Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture III, the event generated between $15.98 million and $16.38 million in gross PPV sales. Impressive as these numbers were and still are, they have now been dwarfed by the PPV sales for UFC 60 and UFC 61.

UFC 58 in March was headlined by Rich Franklin vs. David Loiseau, and though it did not break UFC 57's record, the event still drew 290,000 to 300,000 PPV buys, which far exceeded the PPV industry's pre-event expectations. UFC 58 carried a fee of $34.95 instead of $39.95, and the gross PPV revenue was between $10.14 million and $10.49 million. When the lowest-drawing PPV event of the year still generates over $10 million in gross PPV sales,

UFC 59 in April was technically headlined by Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski, but the vast majority of the hype was dedicated to the semi-main event of Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin. Though it was expected to draw a strong PPV buyrate, UFC 59 surpassed those lofty expectations by breaking the records that had been set by UFC 57. The total number of buys for UFC 59 was in the range of 415,000 to 435,000, which generated gross PPV revenue of $16.58 million to $17.38 million.

Adding up all of the aforementioned figures and not counting the "late buys" for UFC 61, the total number of PPV buys for the first five UFC PPVs of 2006 was between 2,495,000 and 2,545,000. Taking into account the fact that UFC 58 was priced at $34.95 instead of $39.95, this means that the gross PPV revenue generated by the first five UFC PPVs of 2006 was between $96,230,000 and $100,180,000.

As we've mentioned in the past, even though they promote two different products, the single company with which the UFC most directly competes is World Wrestling Entertainment, and the changing fortunes of both companies has led to a shift in the pay-per-view industry at large. In less than one year, the UFC has gone from not being able to even approach WWE's big-event PPV numbers to actually beating WrestleMania in domestic PPV sales on two separate occasions over the course of one summer.

WrestleMania has been the biggest American pro wrestling event of the year since 1985, and this year's WrestleMania drew approximately 560,000 domestic PPV buys, according to WWE's own financial records. That number is less than UFC 60's PPV buyrate and is not even close to UFC 61's.

The Royal Rumble, which is traditionally the second- or third-biggest American pro wrestling event of the year, drew approximately 340,000 domestic PPV buys, which is lower than all-but-one of the UFC's PPV events so far this year.

Outside of its four biggest events of the year (WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series), WWE's domestic PPV buyrates have collapsed in the past few years and even more so in 2006, just as the UFC's PPV buyrates have skyrocketed.

The non "Big Four" PPVs that WWE produces on a monthly basis have not been able to surpass the mark of 200,000 domestic buys for any individual event so far in 2006, while a UFC PPV that draws 200,000 domestic buys would now have to be considered a big disappointment given the standard that has been set in recent months.

According to WWE's financial statements, the No Way Out PPV drew approximately 140,000 domestic buys; Backlash drew approximately 130,000 domestic buys; Judgment Day drew approximately 140,000 domestic buys; One Night Stand drew approximately 170,000 domestic buys; Vengeance drew approximately 190,000 PPV buys; and the Great American Bash drew approximately 130,000 PPV buys. Pay-per-view sales information for this year's edition of SummerSlam is not yet available.

What's clear in these figures is that the UFC's many shows on Spike TV, not only The Ultimate Fighter but also the regular airings of older fights on UFC Unleashed and the well-produced PPV preview shows, do a much better job of convincing people to buy PPV events than WWE's five hours of weekly original programming (one hour on Sci Fi Channel, two hours on USA Network, and two hours on UPN, which will soon become The CW Network).

Though WWE still draws significantly higher television ratings than the UFC, more and more people in the United States are willing to plunk down 40 dollars to buy the UFC's pay-per-view events, while an ever-shrinking amount of people are willing to spend the same amount of money to buy WWE's PPV events.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 4:29 PM

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Mixed Martial Arts--- UFC 62 Draws Third-Biggest Gate in UFC History
by Ivan Trembow
Originally Published on MMAWeekly

UFC 62 drew the third-biggest live gate in UFC history on August 26th in Las Vegas, Nevada. While the Mandalay Bay Events Center was not sold out, despite repeated claims to the contrary during the pay-per-view broadcast, UFC 62 was still a huge success at the box office, as it managed to become the third event in UFC history to surpass the $3 million mark in gross ticket receipts.

The total number of tickets sold for the event was 8,954, for a live gate of $3,040,880. In addition, there was 905 free comp tickets that were given away, so the total attendance in the building was 9,859. While the Mandalay Bay Events Center can hold over 11,000 fans with the UFC's set-up, the third-biggest gate in UFC history can still be considered nothing less than an enormous success at the live gate.

Despite having what was perceived beforehand as a weaker main event (Chuck Liddell vs. Renato Sobral II, along with Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar II), UFC 62 still managed to surpass the live gate revenue of UFC 60, which generated $2,900,090 in live gate receipts with the main event of Matt Hughes vs. Royce Gracie.

The top four live gates in UFC history have all come in 2006. UFC 57 drew the biggest live gate in company history this past February, as the event headlined by Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture III generated $3,382,400 in late gate receipts.

The number two live gate in UFC history was drawn on July 8th by UFC 61, as the event drew a live gate of $3,350,775 with the co-main events of Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock II and Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski III.

Labels: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), UFC News, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)

posted by Ivan Trembow at 4:28 PM

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