“UFC 117 was one of the best, if not THE best, MMA PPV that I’ve ever seen, from start to finish. The live crowd in Oakland was well mic’ed and made plenty of noise thanks to the action that they were seeing in the Octagon.”
“Chael Sonnen deserves massive credit for verbally selling this fight either by making himself more of a fan favorite/underdog can survive type of fighter or by turning himself villain for daring to speak negatively of the celebrated, MMA legend and arguably the best pound for pound mixed martial artist in the world, Anderson Silva.”
“Without an emotional investment being clearly made by the participants and the promotion, fans on limited discretionary income cannot or will not make the investment to buy a PPV when they may need the cash for groceries, etc instead. Sonnen and UFC created a must see/must buy environment for UFC 117. Silva’s lack of English hurts him but Sonnen more than made up for that matter by selling this fight like a maestro directing a symphony.”
JR’s other UFC 117 thoughts:
“UFC might consider shooting the packed crowd a few more times to show the humanity on hand. Close ups of fans mugging for the camera become predictable and perhaps less is more with those.”
“I feel that the use of the old “John Madden telestrator” could be of value for Joe Rogan to utilize from time to time. Showing Sonnen reluctantly tapping last night via a telestrator would have been a nice touch.”
“Mike Goldberg should not be voicing over all the ‘history packages’ or ‘fighter features’ on the PPV. Your primary PXP voice should be kept more special. A generic, big voice, voice over guy could easily read the copy for the aforementioned packages.”
“As a fan I would love to hear more of the dialog with the fighters and their people between rounds. It allows the announcers to lay out and let me up for a moment plus for the fans/consumers to enjoy the unique nuances of the between round activities.”
— Check out the full write-up at jrsbarbq.com.
“I text Chael a couple of messages after the show last night at about 2 a.m. my time in Oklahoma. I said, “I’ve had three serious bouts of the facial paralysis, Bells palsy. It challenges me daily but I use it to motivate myself. I feel that I am the best @ what I do an refuse to allow the hand dealt me define who I am. My best, @ 58, is yet to come & I tell myself that every day. Losing happens but becoming a loser is a choice. I choose to say “Hell, no.” Your press conference was tremendous. Broken hearts, thank God, can be mended. I’m living proof. Rest and reflect. Great days lie ahead for you.””
“I also told Chael “How a man responds when dealt a bad hand determines the type of man that he becomes and then that legacy is ever lasting. Stay proud, stay focused and never change. You created history tonight. Covet what you accomplished. You will build from that experience in all areas of your life.””
“The courageous, outspoken, honest and intelligent Sonnen responded promptly and in a classy manner that I will keep private but suffice to say it was a moving response.”