UFC sets pay-per-view record

If you believe the TV, the whole world is suffering in a major financial meltdown that is leaving businesses strapped of cash and companies folding by the dozen.

Bucking the trend is the UFC. Even though they’re tightening their purse strings and regulating their spending to account for the global economic situation, they’re still charging ahead with their global expansion and raking it in.

Dana White has revealed that UFC 92 crushed the pay-per-view revenue in comparison to UFC 91. “I don’t want to get into numbers too much, that’s our policy, but it crushed it. The Christmas show crushed the Lesnar fight by 150,000-175,000 buys.”

“We low-balled our pre-fight estimates on that card and were blown away. I think what happened was two things. One, it was a kick-ass card. Two, I think we were a little off because of the holidays. I guess everybody thought, you’re burnt out by everything, what do you want to do? You want to get back together with your buddies and watch some fights. We were crapping our pants when the calendar came up when we saw the last Saturday of the year fell two days after Christmas. Then the economy went down. We didn’t know exactly what to expect. But we were surprised by how well it did.”

Lesnar vs Couture is estimated to have pulled in 1.01 million buys on pay-per-view, which could mean UFC 92 broke the all-time record set by Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell at UFC 66.

EliteXC fighters ‘screwed’

Veteran MMA journalist Dave Meltzer has shed a bit more light on the ongoing troubles faced by EliteXC-contracted fighters. Writing in his popular Yahoo! Sports column, Meltzer explains that up to 80 fighters are left in limbo due to the uncertain status of the company.

ProElite, the parent company of EliteXC, laid off all of its employees last year except for CEO Chuck Champion and an attorney, who are working on selling off the company’s assets.

This means fighters such as Gina Carano, Frank Shamrock, Nick Diaz, Eddie Alvarez, Jake Shields, Robbie Lawler, Wilson Reis, and even Kimbo Slice are currently the victims of ongoing legal wrangling.

“Jake is in the prime of his career and he wants to fight the top guys in the world,” Jack Shields, father and manager of the EliteXC welterweight champion, told Meltzer. “If they can’t get him a fight, they should let him go.”

Many of the fighters are tied to exclusivity contracts which prevent them from fighting for ‘rival’ promotions unless an exemption is granted. There is no news on how long it will take for the situation to resolve, and until then, many of the sport’s top fighters will be left waiting for word on their future.

Hughes vs Serra in May?

Posting on his official website, Matt Hughes has revealed he has spoken to UFC matchmaker Joe Silva and verbally agreed to a fight with nemesis Matt Serra for May 23rd in Las Vegas. Though he stresses that the bout isn’t “100% confirmed”, Hughes is excited about the match, which has been brewing since 2007.

Forrest Griffin out for most of 2009

Known as the hardest working fighter in MMA, Forrest Griffin has been suspended from fighting until June due to an injured left hand. The former light heavyweight champion broke his hand in his fight with Rashad Evans in December, and has since had pins inserted into the fist to aid the healing process.

Greg Jackson clears up the nipple tweak

It has been the source of much debate over the last year or so. Why exactly were fighters from Jackson’s MMA tweaking their nipples just as Bruce Buffer announced their names in the Octagon? Greg Jackson explains that not only is he happy they’re now hopefully free of the ritual, but the reasoning behind it in the first place.

“I’m actually really glad Rashad didn’t do it [against Forrest]. We’ve been on a winning streak with it but I’m glad Rashad won and didn’t do it, so now we’re free of the nipple tweak, I hope. Georges did it first and I don’t know why he did it, but everyone was giving him a hard time about it and we’re a real team so Rashad did it so people would stop giving Georges so much flack.

“Then Nate Marquardt did it and Loiseau did it and forget it, after that everyone did it. I’ve been asked, ‘does it stimulate electricity through your body?’ No. No it doesn’t. They’re just a bunch of big dorks. That’s the answer to that question.”

Mir and McCarthy get own MMA figures

Round 5, the company behind the excellent action figures of MMA fighters such as Quinton Jackson, Randy Couture, Matt Hughes, and more have released their third series of MMA figures.

The most recent fighters to be immortalised in vinyl are Andrei Arlovski, Big John McCarthy, Frank Mir, and Antonio ‘Minotauro’ Nogueira and will be available from www.round5mma.com in April. Three more series of figures will be released throughout 2009, so keep an eye out for more of your favourite fighters later this year.

...

Already Subscribed? | Login