I've had 70 tacos in two separate sittings. No amount of intestines was not strained from having to flush that biodegradable beef out of my system. Give me the brawling guys instead.
What fight in the history of MMA comes anywhere near the level of excitement, drama, and rewatchability of Gatti-Ward 1? I'm not simply trying to start that same old argument, I just honestly want to know which matches are considered the greatest in MMA history. I just watched Gatti-Ward 1, and I can't imagine being able to so thoroughly enjoy a 7 year old sporting event whose outcome I was already aware of. Simply unbelievable.
Arturo Gatti had a one in 50 billion freak of a fighting spirit. He had to die young, a dude like that can't fade away. Rest in peace warrior.
@Sir Hotbod Handsomeface: Thanks for the reply. I'll watch Griffin-Bonnar I. I actually worked out in the same ring on the same day as Bonnar when he was a golden glove fighter in Chicago.
They gotta make money somehow. Unlike, say, football, where they can make money off 8 home games per team per year, UFC only has 1 event every couple of months or so. So asking everyone on TV to pretty much pay a ticket price helps to even it out for them.
If it becomes more popular, where they can be guaranteed money without a direct income from TV viewers, they can move on without it; plus, if its more popular, that means more SPONSORS (oh what a glorious word to the fledgling leagues of the world) and more sponsors mean more free shit for us.
@Chris Hanson's Axe: That argument would fly if UFC didnt have multiple shows on SpikeTV, Video Games, DVD's and tons of advertising on their events already. It would make more sense if you paid your $55 and got a commercial and advert free experience on your PPV event, but that's not the case.
Add the above to the fact that the fighters in UFC are locked in to ridiculous contracts, underpaid, and unable to control their own marketing and you have a recipe for looming disaster.
@Chris Hanson's Axe: UFC averages well more than "1 event every couple of months or so". Since December 8, 2008, we've had UFC 92 through 100, Ultimate Finales 8 and 9 (free), and 3 Ultimate Fight Nights (also free). Thats 14 events in about 7 months.
Also, unless Bud Light, Burger King, Harley Davidson and the bunch of movies and fight-related sponsors that have latched on to the sport don't count, they are getting plenty of sponsor recognition.
@Prada James: Didn't realize Tito Ortiz was a commenter here. How's Jenna doing?
Your PPV experience has at most 1 movie trailer in it and a bunch of ads on the canvas. I'd call that pretty commercial-free. The TUF Finales and UFNs show you what commercial-laced events look like.
And as far as a recipe for disaster, EliteXC proved that its OVERPAID fighters that are a recipe for disaster.
@Sir Hotbod Handsomeface: An up and coming fighter makes the equivalent of about $15/hr for the time it takes to prepare/recover from a UFC event. The pay scale is laughable for anyone in UFC who isnt at the top...and even then you can't compare the pay Lesnar gets to, say, Manny Pacquiao. Plus, you get the lame lifetime appearance/likeness clause that UFC puts in their contracts.
UFC made $222 million in PPV alone in 2006. Its bullshit that a fighter is getting a $20k show fee for 8 months of work. You could make more money at Starbucks.
@Sir Hotbod Handsomeface: I just meant more sponsors. Obviously they're doing very well, but they're probably not pulling "This is our country" money. Here's hoping they do someday, I love UFC.
@Prada James: I'll take a job at Starbucks for that salary if I can sell sponsorship ads on my uniform and if I do really well in my first few days on the job I get a raise to $150k to show up for my job, with a $100k bonus if I get the customer his coffee and another potential $100k bonus if its the best coffee of the day.
@Prada James: James: I agree that they need to get more money in time - but you can't just start out paying them that way when the sport is growing lest it crash around itself.
And the lifetime appearance/likeness clause is definitely lame from a fighter's perspective, but look at it from a viewer/fan's perspective - if they don't have it, we never would get to look back at UFC 1 or any of the old fights etc because the rights would be all tied up with each individual fighter. Would I like to see a way that the fighters get paid from it? Certainly. But I'm too selfish that I have to add "but not at the risk of never getting to see the fights on tv or dvd again".
@Sir Hotbod Handsomeface: But if you get beaten, you get $15/hr. That seems exploitative to me. The company gets millions no matter what and the employee gets screwed. There needs to be a fighter's union/association to help balance the negotiations. Boxing has needed one forever.
Don't get me wrong, I love the sport...been a fan since the late 90's. But I hate seeing these athletes put their lives on the line for the "opportunity" to get rich while others get rich for putting on the show, regrdless of the outcome. Every sport in history has had the same issues...shit, the NFL still cant treat its former players with class or respect for the years they put in to making the league what it is today. These guys are taking years off of their lives for our entertainment and should be properly compensated for doing so. Especially when the parent company theyre working for is swimming in profit.
@FirstDerivative:Agreed - so long as you mean "elevate the number of people talking about it"
Its the same reason why non-basketball fans know who Ron Artest is, non-hockey fans know who Sean Avery is and non-football fans know who TO is. The bad guys get people talking.
I watched it at a sports bar last night only because my buddy (his turn to order the fight) didn't pay his damn cable bill.
Dana "You Fight for Me!" White not letting the fighters under UFC contract fight any where else (see Silva v. Mayweather jr) is the problem. Not Fedor. Right now Fedor takes Lesnar. Give Lesnar a few more fights and I'm not so sure.
So after watching this, I've realized that we officially have 2 weightclasses completely cleared out (Welter and Middle) with the next ppv's outcome result determining whether there will be a third (Light if BJ wins) and Brock's dominance tonight hinting that the heavyweight div may be cleared out as well (barring a Fedor signing).
Good evening, DUAN! I'd be remiss if I didn't comment on the passing (and apparent murder) of arguably the greatest boxer to ever come out of Canada, Arturo Gatti.
He was found dead today in his hotel room in Brazil, while on his second honeymoon.
My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.
So how can my local bar offer this for free to anyone that shows up? I thought PPV "laws" said bars got charged per viewer. Is that only for boxing, and UFC has different rules? Maybe the new owners that bought it a month ago are eating the cost to get people to realize it's now a dump, and not the glorified dump it once was?
@DumpsterDining: I'm by no means a legal expert and I think laws differ by municipality, but I was under the same impression that you were, in that a restaurant or bar is charged a greater PPV fee due to the larger number of patrons.
Incidentally, in Toronto, it's technically illegal for a bar to charge cover for a PPV event, although it happens all the time, so what a lot of places are doing now is collecting a charitable donation in lieu of cover. I don't know how legitimate these collections are, though.
07/12/09
07/12/09
Arturo Gatti had a one in 50 billion freak of a fighting spirit. He had to die young, a dude like that can't fade away. Rest in peace warrior.
07/12/09
07/12/09
Forrest Griffin-Shogun Rua
Roger Huerta-Clay Guida
Guida-Diego Sanchez
Guida-Tyson Griffin
I just watched Gatti-Ward 1 Round 9. If all boxing matches were like that, I'd be a boxing fan.
07/12/09
07/12/09
07/12/09
If it becomes more popular, where they can be guaranteed money without a direct income from TV viewers, they can move on without it; plus, if its more popular, that means more SPONSORS (oh what a glorious word to the fledgling leagues of the world) and more sponsors mean more free shit for us.
07/12/09
Add the above to the fact that the fighters in UFC are locked in to ridiculous contracts, underpaid, and unable to control their own marketing and you have a recipe for looming disaster.
07/12/09
Also, unless Bud Light, Burger King, Harley Davidson and the bunch of movies and fight-related sponsors that have latched on to the sport don't count, they are getting plenty of sponsor recognition.
07/12/09
Your PPV experience has at most 1 movie trailer in it and a bunch of ads on the canvas. I'd call that pretty commercial-free. The TUF Finales and UFNs show you what commercial-laced events look like.
And as far as a recipe for disaster, EliteXC proved that its OVERPAID fighters that are a recipe for disaster.
07/12/09
UFC made $222 million in PPV alone in 2006. Its bullshit that a fighter is getting a $20k show fee for 8 months of work. You could make more money at Starbucks.
07/12/09
07/12/09
07/12/09
And the lifetime appearance/likeness clause is definitely lame from a fighter's perspective, but look at it from a viewer/fan's perspective - if they don't have it, we never would get to look back at UFC 1 or any of the old fights etc because the rights would be all tied up with each individual fighter. Would I like to see a way that the fighters get paid from it? Certainly. But I'm too selfish that I have to add "but not at the risk of never getting to see the fights on tv or dvd again".
07/12/09
Don't get me wrong, I love the sport...been a fan since the late 90's. But I hate seeing these athletes put their lives on the line for the "opportunity" to get rich while others get rich for putting on the show, regrdless of the outcome. Every sport in history has had the same issues...shit, the NFL still cant treat its former players with class or respect for the years they put in to making the league what it is today. These guys are taking years off of their lives for our entertainment and should be properly compensated for doing so. Especially when the parent company theyre working for is swimming in profit.
07/12/09
07/12/09
Its the same reason why non-basketball fans know who Ron Artest is, non-hockey fans know who Sean Avery is and non-football fans know who TO is. The bad guys get people talking.
07/12/09
07/12/09
Dana "You Fight for Me!" White not letting the fighters under UFC contract fight any where else (see Silva v. Mayweather jr) is the problem. Not Fedor. Right now Fedor takes Lesnar. Give Lesnar a few more fights and I'm not so sure.
07/12/09
/Inside leg kick in the dick joke
07/11/09
He was found dead today in his hotel room in Brazil, while on his second honeymoon.
My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.
07/11/09
07/11/09
Incidentally, in Toronto, it's technically illegal for a bar to charge cover for a PPV event, although it happens all the time, so what a lot of places are doing now is collecting a charitable donation in lieu of cover. I don't know how legitimate these collections are, though.
07/11/09
07/11/09
07/11/09