I know I know…Liddell kills wrestlers and the prove is in the pudding. Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz both succumbed to ass whippings twice, as did Kevin Randleman.  However, there are several factors that could possibly alter the outcome that we have become all to familiar with in this regard.  First let’s take a look at Rashad Evans and what he brings to the table in comparison to the other wrestlers Liddell has faced.

Rashad brings a decent chin, adequate standup game, questionable stamina, but is a much better athlete than Couture or Ortiz.  I think the X-factor for Evans will be his stamina.  If he comes into this fight in shape, I think his chances of winning go up dramatically.  Now let’s take a look some of the factors that could affect the outcome of this fight:

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Fronted by Luke Thomas.

From today's Wrestling Observer update Bryan Alvarez reports the following:

We will have more tomorrow as this has not yet been made official, but it appears the December 5th UFC will be taking place at the Bell Center in Montreal with George St. Pierre headlining.

It's quite an interesting development.   GSP seemed hesistant to take the fight wanting instead to rest up.  B.J. Penn wants nothing more than this fight with GSP to show everyone that he's not only the best lightweight, but also the best welteweight in the world.

Their first match was close decisions and I'm excited to see the fight, but with such a long list of challengers at 170 and Penn's two defeats while at welterweight, I'm hard pressed to see any rationale in making this a title fight.

That said, there are no two people I'd rather see fight for 5 rounds than Penn and GSP.

Update from Michael Rome:  December 5 is a Friday, which makes this even more interesting.  They were unable to do it on a Saturday because the Canadiens were playing every weekend, and it looked like they gave up on Montreal as a result.  It's also worth wondering whether or not this will take the place of the November PPV, which they had no real main event for and were having no luck putting one together.

The Wrestling Observer website has deleted the story from its daily update, as well as from the headline.  It's very od d that they did this instead of printing a retraction.  

Update II:  I contacted Dave, and it turns out there was a report in Montreal about a show that day, but he has not been able to confirm it, so they took it down.

 Possibly die. mmamania.com has an article apparently taken from the former UFC Middleweight Champs Web Blog where he talks about an upcoming trip to the desert to, Explore the deep reaches of the untracked desert. Here's the actual blog entry:

“I’m hoping that very soon I’ll be sitting out in the quiet of the desert beneath a deep blue midnight sky, listening to the calm desert breeze. The idea going into the desert came to me soon after I moved to Oceanside. It was motivated by my friend Sara’s talk of treasure hunting and lost gold, and my own insatiable appetite for adventure and exploration. I began to imagine what might be found in the deep reaches of the untracked desert. It became an obsession of sorts…. I’ve been gathering my gear for this adventure for over a month, not a long time by most standards, but far too long for my impatient nature. Being a minimalist by nature, wanting to carry only the essentials, and being extremely particular, it has been a little difficult to find just the right equipment. I plan on going so deep into the desert, that any failure of my equipment, could cost me my life. I’ve been doing a great deal of research and study. I want to know all I can about where I’m going, and I want to make sure I have the best equipment. One more week. I think one more week, and I’ll be ready to go.”

 

Sounds like he's gonna be taking a while off from fighting. Which is good because he didn't really look too good in his last two fights. I sure hope he makes it back o.k. though. Good Luck Evan.

Many Radio Personality's, MMA writers and even some fighters will have you believe that there is a possibility of the UFC co-promoting if not now sometime in the future...

Let me illustrate for you what would have to transpire in order for the UFC to comply - so the reality of the situation can be better understood:

A real competitor to Zuffa must emerge.

An Organization needs to emerge not owned by zuffa that not only can maintain profitability but can match or exceed zuffa's revenue.

Why?  Because in order to compete on pay you have to be able to compete in revenues and profitability.

Zuffa has a nasty way of calculating compensation with the understanding of what the competitions revenues can sustain and their bids always keep the competition in the red.

The current reality is not one organization has been able to compete nationally and remain profitable let alone match Zuffa's revenue.

Let's say an organization has TV and gets on PPV.  The UFC will counter program and their free counter programming will range from a replay all the way to a star studded ppv quality card.

An organization would need to spend a fortune just to get close to 200k ppv buys.

So some say don't compete with Zuffa initially... build stars first.

Where do you think your stars will end up once their contract is up?

Cung Lee is already in talks with Zuffa... once Kimbo, Lawler, shields,  big foot's contracts are up where do you think they will go?

Elite XC can't afford to put on their next show let alone match what ever offers that will come their way.

Bottom line if you compete with Zuffa they have a plethora of tactics to keep you in the red.

The Conclusion is in order to promote on a national level you need to build fighters that Zuffa doesnt want (so far women)... 

And a Man vs Woman fight won't force Zuffa to co promote.

MMA Logic mmalogic@yahoo.com

Fronted by Chris Nelson

Speculation regarding ProElite's future has definitely increased following the cancellations of their September 20 EliteXC card and a Cage Rage Contenders event in the UK. Couple these with a sudden ballooning of the company's stock price and some interesting news regarding financing in their latest SEC filing, and you have an atmosphere favorable to conjecture. Sam Caplan attempts to cut through the fog in a recent article:

So for now, EliteXC is not in danger of suddenly going out of business. According to their SEC filings, it appears they have enough capital on hand to get them through the year. Will they be able to go out and land major free agents such as Tito Ortiz? Most certainly not. Can they afford Frank Shamrock’s six-figure guarantee and book him for a show? I have my doubts. No matter how you want to spin it, the promotion is underfunded, as it came well short of its goals for executing a raise. The $3 million it did raise several months ago is believed to be nothing more than a loan from corporate partner SHOWTIME. The fact that the company was not able to attract new major outside investors following the strong numbers that its May 31 show did on CBS is a major cause for concern.

The word is that the $3 million which ProElite is currently seeking is once again coming from CBS/Showtime. That should get them through the October 4 event; what happens after that is unclear. Much of the organization's future is dependent upon the success on the next CBS event. Caplan elaborates:

We already know the Oct. 4 show will have a stronger lineup from a marquee name standpoint than 7/26 but will it be enough? May 31 got a great number because all of the planets were aligned perfectly. There wasn’t much competition for the 18-34 demographic and they had months to promote the show to a targeted demographic during events such as the NCAA tournament. But you know the UFC will counter-program the Oct. 4 show again and EliteXC could be going up against both college football and the Major League Baseball playoffs that night. Also, how much promotional resources can CBS devote to “Saturday Night Fights” in August and September when it has to promote its new fall lineup?

There’s also the curiosity element to factor in. A lot of people tuned in on May 31 just to see what all the buzz about MMA was and exactly who this Kimbo Slice guy was. A lot of new fans were created while a lot of people will never tune in again. The first telecast of mixed martial arts in prime-time network television history was a big marketing hook that can never be used again.

If the Oct. 4 show does not hit it out of the park in all facets then CBS will not be the corporate savior some expect them to be. And without their support, I do not see how ProElite can survive. If EliteXC folds, I don’t think that will be good for fighters or the fans (competition brings the best out of everyone) but this is how I see things breaking down. If something doesn’t change and change soon, we could be living in a UFC-only world by next summer. Having four major national promotions compete for the same nut might not be the best thing for the growth of the sport. However, I am not sure having one major national promotion is good for the sport either.

Caplan shares some of my own concerns about EliteXC's ability to replicate the promotion's ratings success in May. There is going to be more competition this time, namely college football. Football season will be in high gear by October, and college football will, no doubt, be airing during the EliteXC event. When you're talking about appealing to casual fans, you have to assume that many of these same people are also football fans. Everyone knows the kind of hold football has on the American sports scene.

We also don't know how big of a factor curiosity played in the May event's ratings.  Those ratings certainly didn't translate into big numbers for the July event. Granted, the July show wasn't executed very well from a marketing standpoint. It would have still been better to have achieved more carryover from May. Then, there is an excellent chance that Dana White and company will continue to play to counter-programming game. The strategy has been successful, thus far. Why stop?

I don't share Caplan's concern about UFC domination, however. I can't predict the future, so I can't very well predict what the MMA landscape will look like if ProElite does go out of business. What I do know is that ProElite's potential demise doesn't necessarily mean the end of competition in the MMA business. ProElite isn't exactly a well oiled machine. A better, more streamlined company may succeed them. A company that starts small and is more concerned with developing young talent would be a more surefire recipe for success, in my estimation, than the ProElite or Affliction models. For the time being, ProElite isn't dead, but their survival is directly related to what happens on October 4, 2008.

Promoted by Kid Nate.

Just found a nice piece of information regarding the former UFC ring girl. Apparently Rachelle Leah, host of the UFC All Access show will stepping in front of the camera to bare it all. Here's a piece from MMARated.com:

Remember a few months ago when we discussed the possibility of former UFC Octagon Girl and current "UFC All Access" host (does that show still exist?) Rachelle Leah posing in Playboy magazine? Well, here's a nice little update for ya:

When the news came out that Leah would be featured in the magazine there was some question as to whether she would be, you know, baring it all. After all, she did appear in the October 2006 edition of Playboy as a "Babe of the Month" which meant she was, you know, fully clothed.

Well, fear not, as MMARated.com has learned that Leah's pictorial will be of the naked variety. And you better act now because you only have three more months to line up outside your local magazine shop as her issue hits newsstands in November.

Carry on.

 

 You heard it there Guys. It's not Arianny Celeste, but by no means is Rachelle Leah a step down. Reserve those copies!

1) Liddell vs. Evans

Chuck Liddell has excellent wrestling. We have all seen glimpses of that in his fights against Wand & Couture, but Rashad is a different style wrestler than Couture.  This will be a very interesting fight because in order for Liddell to win, he needs to be able to stuff the excellent shot of Evans.  I don't think he will be able to do it. Also, this fight is such an interesting fight because the winner should receive the title shot. Whoever wins, Forrest is in some SERIOUS trouble.  I believe that either of these two fighters will beat Griffin.  I can't say that about anybody else in the LHW division.

2) Hendo vs. Palhares

So aptly named: UFC 88 "Breakthrough".  That is exactly what Palhares is gonna do... He's gonna breakthrough to a title shot with Silva. Maybe not the next fight but soon.  After Silva destroys Cote (I love Cote) the fans are gonna get sick of the nonsense and demand he fight someone who can beat him. That someone is Palhares.  First he has to get by hendo. This will prove to be a very good fight.  It won't be easy for Palhares, but he will get it done.

The Least Exciting Fights at UFC 88:

1) Franklin vs. Hamill

WHO CARES! Here's how this one goes down: They come out and touch gloves. Hamil takes him down, and Franklin survives. This will happen for three rounds and Hamil will win by decision.  We can only hope that Hamil chooses to stand with Franklin -- the fight might be over sooner. On a good note: I'm glad to see Franklin at 205. He has a better chance in this division.

2) Parisyan vs. Yoshida

I used to be such a huge fan of Parisyan but this fight shows just how far he has slipped in the rankings (Yoshida has beaten up Koppenhaver, so what).  If Yoshida beats Karo, and he definetely can, it's the freezer for The Heat. btw... Yoshida has a good resume and is a veteran of the sport, the problem is, the fans know him as a guy who beat up Koppenhaver.  This will be an exciting fight, just not too interesting. Their differing styles will cancel each other out and we'll be able to see another Karo style brawl.

Dana White admitted to taking Steroids in a report that is as shocking as:

- Vince McMahon saying he too took steroids
- Vince McMahon saying WWE / WWF is / was scripted
- Dana White and Vince McMahon enjoying a roid-raged weekend in Vegas together

"Yes. There was a doctor here in Vegas when I was in high school; you went to his office and said you wanted to try his ‘weight gain’ program. … Injections and pills. Pretty soon I felt strong. Superhuman. But I wasn’t comfortable with it."

See full video and photo here:

http://blog.ingamenow.com/2008/08/14/dana-white-admits-to-taking-steroids-in-playboy/

via mrsunshinevegas.files.wordpress.com

Over the past few days, a new rash of Fedor/Randy news has started the blogosphere talking, starting with the couple's canoodling in LA, followed by Vadim's statements to Sherdog reiterating their willingness to work with the UFC.  That was followed by Randy's statements on Adam Carolla's show, saying he believed his paycheck for that fight should be $6-10 million.

Pramit Mohapatra over at FightTicker did a fine job of debunking Randy's claims as to reasonable pay:

At $50 a pop, 700,000 PPV buys gives us $35 million in PPV revenue. Give the PPV broadcaster half and the promotion ends up with $17.5 million.

Now, UFC 87 (with an announced attendance in the neighborhood of 15,000) made a reported live gate of $2.2 million. Let's be generous and say that Randy-Fedor garners a live gate of $3 million.

. . .

(Without all costs) factored in, Couture's estimate of a $12-20 million total payout for both him and Fedor seems very unrealistic.

However, that still leaves open a couple of questions: what would be reasonable pay and terms for that fight to take place in the UFC?  And will those terms prevent the fight from ever happening?

Continue reading this post »

With GSP's win over Fitch and BJ Penn's post-fight appearance and hype for a fight between the two, it seems that everyone thinks that's the next fight for both. But should it be? At least one person doesn't think so.

"Sure, he destroyed Shawn Sherk...on his feet. I would have liked to have seen BJ's cardio on display against Sherk. However, Sherk was out to prove that he's more than a wrestler, and he didn't go for takedown after takedown. Because of this, Penn's cardio was never put to the challenge.

That being said, Penn has defended his title only once and he's been screwing hard workers out of their title shot this year because of his infatuation of fighting Georges St. Pierre.

The same could be said for Georges St. Pierre, but Georges St. Pierre is a two time Welterweight Champ who has beaten every opponent he has ever fought. Sorry Kenny Florian, your five wins in a row only mean you have to keep winning because BJ Penn wants to fight Georges St. Pierre, and what Baby Jay wants, Baby Jay gets."

It does seem unfair to tie up yet another division's title and withhold opportunities for other fighters, especially when neither titleholder has had the chance to defend their titles more than once or clean out their divisions. And what happens after the fight? Where do the titles end up? What happens to the fighters climbing up the ladder that have been patiently waiting for their shot?

Wouldn't everyone involved be better off if both GSP and Penn had some time to further establish their dominance in their respective divisions before having a 'P4P Clash'?