Issue 027
July 2007
A few years back it was impossible to find MMA on free television in the US. Closely following the sport generally meant buying pay-per-views and quite often, getting involved in the underground tape-trading world. But in 2007, there's plenty of fighting action out there, every single week.
In this article, Andrew Garvey takes a minute-by-minute look at the very different weekly television shows offered up by the IFL (International Fight League), BodogFight and the UFC for the final week of April.
IFL on MyNetwork TV
One of the channel's flagship shows – the weekly, two-hour IFL Battleground – makes the team-based promotion the second most watched MMA brand in the United States, trailing only the UFC. Generallydrawing ratings in the 0.7 and 0.8 range (1.1 to 1.2 million viewers), Battleground is below most primetime MyNetwork TV programming. Considering the competition on a Monday night however, this is something of an achievement, though, as first-run episodes go head-to-head for an hour with WWE Raw, hardly ideal scheduling when the casual audience and target demographic for both is so similar. Launched in September 2006 and owned by the media megalith Fox, MyNetworkTV is available in 96% of American homes, but struggles against more established networks in such a crowded marketplace against more established networks. Aside from the IFL, primetime schedules revolve around housewife-pleasing 'telenovelas', movies and second-rate reality shows.
IFL Battleground (Season 1, Episode 5, April 23rd 2007)
The Battleground series is aimed more at profiling fighters and teams than simply showing a few fights from a single event. This, and the two-hour running time, gives them plenty of space for really promoting the IFL brand, but so far the IFL have fallen into the trap of trying to cram in as many fights as possible, resulting in much editing.
Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, my copy of the show had all the adverts cut out, meaning there was one hour 23 minutes of nothing but IFL action ahead of me. Most Battleground episodes focus on a particular IFL team, and this one featured the Marco Ruas-coached South California Condors. At exactly 9pm, I started watching the show. Here's how things unfolded:
9:02-The opening credits promise "ten big bouts" in two hours. That seems like a lot and there's no mention of who might actually be involved. The graphics are good, in a cheesy 'Mortal Kombat' kind of way. Allan Goes talks about his fight with Daniel Gracie and proclaims "I'm gonna try to kill him right there. That's my job. I'm here to kill him". How nice. After a very quick introduction to the rules, the Goes-Gracie fight is on.
9:09-A dull kickboxing-type affair between two men with poor striking skills ends when Goes floors Gracie with an uppercut and pounds away for the TKO early in the second round.
MMA ON TELEVISION
9:11-A short video on Marco Ruas airs. There is no mention of his UFC career.
9:12-The Condors vs. Tiger Sharks (run by Maurice Smith) series of five fights are about to start. These took place in January but that isn't explained. Condor lightweight Adam Lynn tells us about accidentally punching his mother in the face when he was 12. We learn nothing useful about opponent Shad Lierley. They cut immediately to the in-ring introductions with no analysis or talk about the fight. Lierley hammers Lynn with a right hand, jumps on him and gets the TKO in 44 seconds.
9:16-Jaoude vs. Crawford at heavyweight. A quick graphic and the bell rings. The fight is very dull. They show a brief video on Jaoude between rounds. He has a fascinating life story. A speaker of five languages, an Olympic wrestler, and law student with ambitions of working for the UN, Jaoude is an intriguing character. A shame his fighting style is so boring. The crowd, commentators and even the referee are not impressed.
9:27-A silent onscreen graphic pops up that informs viewers of the Maurice Smith vs. Marco Ruas fight taking place on May 19th. They should be making a bigger deal about that one if they hope to sell some tickets.
9:30 - The next fight is up IMMEDIATELY, with no interviews. Lightweights again so they seem to just have five random fights at whatever weight they can find. I thought they had one in each weightclass from lightweight to heavyweight.
9:33-A throwaway video feature on Condors' assistant coach Debi Purcell, 'the only female in the IFL'.
9:40- Former UFC fighter Justin Levens talks about his carjacking, drug dealing youth. Condor Levens is facing Tiger Shark Reese Andy, an excellent college-wrestler a decade ago. Andy dominates the first and second rounds in efficient, boring fashion. Levens' only tactic seems to be to wait for a stand-up and then swing wild bombs. It looks like Andy will win, so the decision not to actually tell the viewers anything about him is even more puzzling.
9:51-Andy clearly takes the unanimous decision. There's no post-fight interview, and with no pre-fight build-up: Reese Andy is just a man who won a boring fight. This is not how to promote effectively.
9:55- Finally a very short video acknowledges the Smith-Ruas fight. It lasts about 30 seconds.
9:56-Focus switches to the Condors taking on the Tokyo Sabres. This took place in March. Sabres' coach Ken Yasuda (a Japanese bodybuilder) explains how he
9:57 Fighters Only editor Hywel Teague calls for a chat. He is subjected to a long rant and much foul language about how much I hate this show. Sadly, I remembered to pause the action so didn't miss the 4013 fights and video packages undoubtedly rushed through during our ten minute phone call.
10:09 Sabres' lightweight Savant Young gets a short video package. He's facing Adam Lynn, sparked out earlier in the programme. About the fourth 'Who is the Janitor?' graphic appears onscreen. It's former UFC fighter Vladimir Matyushenko. Mystery solved, but the IFL make him sound like some guy with a mop.
10:13 - Very brief clips of Rodrigo Ruas ruyfj(Marco's nephew) losing to the Sabres' Antonio McKee by decision, implying this fight was even worse than the Jaoude-Crawford and Andy-Levens fights. That is hard to believe. McKee actually gets abrief post-fight interview, the only man so far to get one.
10:18-Vladimir Matyushenko of the Sabres is fighting Justin Levens. Afterall those graphics they devote some 15 seconds to building Matyushenko up. Unsurprisingly, Matyushenko dominates and bashes him to a first round TKO. Matyushenko looks excellent.
10:22-Results of the IFL website poll from last week is in. 56% of Battleground viewers think Ken Shamrock would beat Frank Shamrock in a fight. By the way, this could actually happen. These two are not blood-related and Frank is publicly very interested in the fight. Both are also rival IFL coaches.
10:24 - Final fight is Sabres' Wayne Cole against Antoine Jaoude. Oh no, not Jaoude. Thankfully the show has a fired all but one of the team's fighters for a maximum of seven minutes left so there fresh start this year after an abysmal 2006. must be either a finish or some kind of editing. Thank you, IFL. Actually, the first minute is very good. Jaoude is far more aggressive than against Crawford, and Cole seems to have potential. And then bang, 55 seconds into the second round, Jaoude atones for his earlier borefest by KO'ing Cole with a monstrous right hand.
10:31 - The show is over and ends with a promo for next week where the Sabres take on Don Frye's Tucson Scorpions.
IFL Battleground: Final Thoughts
IFL Battleground may be the most infuriating thing I've ever experienced, and that includes experiencing Romanian passport control and working for a city council. They try and force so much into the show that nothing really sticks in your mind. I actually have to review my notes to remind myself what happened. In two hours worth of TV I saw 18 different fighters. All that stuck in my mind is that
Vladimir Matyushenko is a good fighter and Antoine Jaoude can be boring at times and explosive at others.
Aside from a couple of matches nothing was actually boring, but the fact is MMA should be a fairly simple sport for the casual viewer. They should not need to make notes to remember what they watched just minutes earlier. The IFL just need to slow things down. I watched Reese Andy fight for a full three rounds but know nothing about him, and after being bombarded with so many other things on the show, I'm not even sure I could pick him out of an identity parade. I barely remember who was on which team.
This show is sorely lacking in thought or pacing and is just a poor advertisement for a promotion that clearly has big ideas. IFL Battleground left me feeling in need of a long lie down, several stiff drinks and no desire whatsoever to see the next episode.
BodogFIGHT on ION
A pretty feeble and anonymous network, much of ION's schedule is made up of repeats bought in from other networks (notably the Wonder Years and Battlestar Galactica) and paid infomercials flogging household gadgets and exercise cons nobody in their right mind would ever use. BodogFIGHT is a paid programming infomercial, meaning they actually pay the station to air their episodes. Bodog can afford it thanks to the riches of founder Calvin Ayre.
With an 11PM Tuesday night timeslot on a weak network riddled with regional scheduling differences, its no surprise the viewing figures are dismal. Up to date, accurate figures are not easy to come. by but season two of BodogFIGHT on ION in February premiered with a pitiful 0.1 rating. There is little reason to think season three is doing much better.
BodogFight (Season 3, Episode 2, April 24th 2007)
Seasons one and two of BodogFIGHT were quite the experience. Season one was almost ruined by constant, horribly acted segments where Calvin Ayre sat by the pool in Costa Rica while his 'rock star' sidekick Bif Naked supposedly scoured the US and Russia for the greatest fighters in the world. More a way to promote the overall Bodog lifestyle brand (online casinos, a record label and envying Calvin Ayre) the show was a complete mess. Season two opened with Ayre poncing around in a Russian tank.
Thankfully such pointless nonsense has been stripped away for season three, allowing more of an emphasis on the two fights which air every week. After an hour to recuperate from the IFL Battleground I decided to brave BodogFIGHT. This makes me exceptionally brave, as I detested the first season. The show starts at 11:33PM. Again, the magic of technology means I have 42 minutes ahead of me. Thank God for one hour TV shows.
11:33-During the opening intro package one fighter says, "Bodog is unreal". He may mean 'surreal'.
11:34-The obligatory shots of Bodog boss Calvin Ayre are at least over in 20 seconds. There are two lightweight fights on the show. Plenty of time to build up the fighters. The first fight is Rafael Dias and Sami Aziz. The second is Cage Rage regular Brad 'One Punch' Pickett against JR Sims.
11:35-Training partners, the fighters themselves and Bodog commentator Paul Lazenby all talk about the Dias-Aziz fight. There's some training and fight footage too and two separate graphics list their records. Then as a bikini-clad woman runs across a beach we get more pre-fight analysis, including a few words from Royce Gracie. As the fighters make their entrance I now know something about their styles and am interested in seeing them fight. Still, seeing them in a ring, on a beach and with about a hundred people watching is odd.
11:40 The fight starts. Dias is a black belt in BJJ under Murilo Bustamante but they spend a lot of time punching. The referee is good at picking when to re-start them. Aziz is defending well but Dias' BJJ is excellent and with his busy punching, flying knees and even a spinning backfist, Dias is creative and aggressive on his feet.
11:45 The second round starts. The commentary team of Bob Sheridan (an enthusiastic former boxer commentator), former MMA fighter Paul Lazenby and Royce Gracie do a very good job of explaining techniques and keeping things interesting.
11:48-Aziz drops Dias with a knee to the face. As the round ends, Dias is looking for a hopeful toehold but Aziz did enough to even things up.
11:50 Jeff Osborne (Bodog commentator, MMA promoter and one of the smartest men in the entire sport) gives his analysis of the first two rounds. Some models in bikinis eat watermelons, ride horses and throw unconvincing punches to the camera.
11:53-Two minutes into the final round and things are slower. Aziz is showing some good takedown and submission defence. Dias hurts Aziz, a former international amateur boxer, with a right hand. Aziz recovers and drops him with a punch. A very enjoyable and competitive fight that I saw Dias winning.
11:57-Oddly, the judges declare it a draw. Both Aziz and Dias give their opinion of the fight. I'd definitely like to see a rematch. BodogFIGHT have done a great job of getting me interested in two fighters I hadn't previously heard of.
11:58 Graphics for the Brad Pickett vs. JR Sims fight. Sims and Pickett talk about the fight and their skills. Pickett admits to having 'small man syndrome'. Their trainers talk, there's training footage and they talk about their opponents. Sims says it's like taking a girl on a first date, he'll let Pickett decide what he wants to do and just go along with it. I think he means he can react to whatever Pickett does but am still concerned he may try and kiss him in the taxi on the way home. Pickett "couldn't care less" about Sims. Oh dear, this may not be the most genial of dates. Especially as he admits he wants to brawl with Sims and knock him out. Sims shows off his earrings while doing one-armed press-ups on a beach. Another very effective hype package.
00:01-Its after midnight for me now and Osborne, Lazenby and Sheridan discuss the fight. Pickett is wearing his usual hat, vest and braces. He also has Denis Kang in his corner. Sims has training partner Marvin Eastman in his. Both men are announced at lightweight despite weighing in at 145 pounds (featherweight).
0:03-Sims has the words 'Pimp Hammer' on his shorts. Sims drops Pickett twice with hefty punches. Sims looks very tired after less than four minutes and Pickett whacks him with a couple of powerful punches. It started slow but exploded in the last three minutes. In-between rounds they show some great clips of the action so far.
0:09-Round two starts with Pickett trying a flying knee. He blasts Sims with an uppercut while trying to take him down. Lazenby likens Pickett to a Jack Russell terrier. Sims dumps Pickett with a beautiful German suplex. Pickett gets caught with a short right hand while rushing in for a takedown. His knees buckle and his head whiplashes back. Despite being hurt he gets the takedown and side control. With Pickett bashing away with left hands to the face, the referee stops a fantastic fight late in the second.
0:13-Approximately 2,865 bikini-clad models flounce around. Sims and Pickett are both interviewed about the fight. Sims comes across as an idiot, claiming the finishing punches didn't hurt and he was thinking "you suck" as Pickett battered him.
0:14-The show ends with clips of next week's two fights, some awful music from the insufferable Bif Naked and more women in bikinis.
BodogFIGHT: Final Thoughts
Now this was how to do it. A great TV show. With just two fights to focus on there was intelligent pre-and post-fight analysis, I remember the fighters' names, can clearly picture them, know a bit about them and am definitely interested in seeing all of them again. Going into this show I'd seen plenty of Pickett and was mightily entertained by him as usual, but Dias, Aziz and Sims all made an impression too.
The beach locations and the women might be a tacky distraction for some but if you like that sort of thing you'll definitely enjoy it. If you don't then its only on-screen for a few seconds anyway. The commentary was actually better than that provided by Stephen Quadros, Bas Rutten and the rest of the IFL crew. Sheridan asked some sensible questions to help introduce newer fans to the intricacies of the sport while Gracie, Lazenby and Osborne were all up to the job of providing articulate answers. BodogFIGHT has improved leaps and bounds since the first season and it is such a shame so few people outside the hardcore MMA fan base are even aware of the show, never mind actually watch it. IFL Battleground was a chore to watch, BodogFight was a pleasure. Guess which I'll be watching next week?
The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV
Spike TV is the real motor behind the UFC juggernaut. Reality show The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) is one of the major reasons why the UFC is so dominant in the North American MMA market. Finally exposing the UFC brand to the masses in early 2005, TUF has been a phenomenal success.
Now in its fifth season, the UFC reality show has produced some major stars, including Koscheck, Forrest Griffin, Diego Sanchez, Kendall Grove and England's own Michael Bisping. Many TUF winners and notable characters would have been big names anyway but the show has really propelled them to stardom. The current TUF run revolves around coaches BJ Penn and Jens Pulver (due to fight live on Spike TV on 23rd June) and their tearns of fellow lightweights, living in the same house and competing for a single, guaranteed UFC contract.
The training, the drama, the bizarre characters and each week's climactic fight are solid ratings winners. The current season hovers around the 1.1 mark (roughly 1.5 million viewers a week) and airs at 10PM on Thursday nights. Thursday is hardly the easiest night for drawing ratings as all the big networks put on plenty of quality programming then. Spike TV is available in slightly less homes than MyNetworkTV but with its UFC coverage the MTV-owned channel has carved out a comfortable niche in the US television market.
The Ultimate Fighter (Season 5, Episode 4, April 26th 2007)
Long-time viewers of TUF may have noticed a pattern emerging. The odd-numbered seasons are great while the even-numbered are awful. Season one launched the UFC boom and featured some classic moments of melodramatic tantrums. Season two was mostly dull, season three was highlighted by the rivalry between coaches Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock and the presence of Brits Michael Bisping and Ross Pointon and Season four, with established UFC fighters, was atrocious.
So far, season 5 has been fantastic, mixing the human drama with some of the strangest people ever to compete on the show and some gripping fight action. It's now fifteen minutes past midnight but the BodogFIGHT show was so much fun think I can cope with another 42 minutes of TV before bedtime.
0:15-It starts with a re-cap of the previous week's episode, mostly on Gabe Ruediger's antics and the cracking fight between Nate Diaz and Robert Emerson. Several of the fighters in the house talk about the Diaz-Emerson fight as clips are shown. Penn and Pulver talk about the fight and we see Team Pulver celebrate.
0:19-Switch to a Team Pulver training session. Coach Pulver and fighter Manny Gamburyan talk about the team's weak link, Wayne Weems. Pulver starts playing drill instructor with Weems. "I'm not here to wash his butt, give him a pat and put his diaper on him". Pulver is unexpectedly hilarious on this show.
0:21-Team Penn training session.
Ruediger tells Penn he wants to fight Weems. Penn and an eavesdropping Emerson know full well Ruediger is looking for the easiest possible fight. The rest of Ruediger's team think this is cowardly. Emerson criticises Gabe for "being in this for himself". Emerson appears not to understand the overall goal in this competition.
0:24-Team Pulver training session. Pulver is coming across like a great coach this episode, and throughout the season.
0:27-Back in the house Marlon Sims talks about how he got the nickname Mr Indestructible'. He talks about his hundreds of streetfights. Ruediger doesn't believe these tales, nor does anyone else in the house or even the production team, who play jaunty, comedic music. Ruediger calls "shenanigans" and in an interview explains how Sims "fights 30 men with his eyes closed, he drinks the blood of his opponents. This man is a walking nightmare". This is a hilarious segment that ends with the fighters giving Marlon a sarcastic round of applause.
0:29-Teams gather in the gym for the next fight announcement. Brandon Melendez is fighting for Team Pulver and he picks Andy Wang as his opponent. 0:31-Gabe talks to BJ. He's concerned that Andy Wang won't listen to his corner's advice, as Gabe cornered him in his last fight. Penn orders Wang to take Melendez down quickly. Wang says he'll do just that. As usual, with the fight announced, all focus is on the two men preparing. Wang talks about being born in Taiwan, moving to America and "the mists of battle" being more important than winning and losing.
0:34-Weigh-in. Melendez makes weight and Pulver notes "I'm stunned." Back in the house, Melendez stuffs his face after making weight. At the next training session, Pulver has brought in Matt Hughes as a guest coach.
0:38-Night before the fight, Wang talks about his late grandfather, his first martial arts instructor. Melendez is missing his wife and children.
0:39-On the way to the fight, Wang is talking about Samurai and fighting spirit. He's like a walking, talking martial arts movie cliché. Pulver gives Melendez advice on winning the fight. Wang talks about destiny.
0:41 - Pre-fight graphic has Wang being 29 and Melendez being 23. That MUST be a mistake. Melendez looks at least 40 and Wang looks 15. Melendez is taller and has won more fights.
0:42 Fight starts and Melendez drops Wang with a left within 15 seconds. By 30 seconds, Penn is shouting for Wang to try a takedown. Wang appears not to listen. Melendez is clearly the more skilled striker. More shouting for takedowns by Penn. Halfway through the round and Penn is practically screaming for a takedown from Wang. The most notable thing about the first round is Penn's shouting and Wang's apparently sudden deafness. Melendez is firmly in charge.
0:47 Between rounds, Wang promises Penn he'll go for a takedown. The fight restarts and he makes a vague attempt in the first 30 seconds. "Take him down, take him down, TAKE HIM DOWN!" bawls Penn. Wang continues to stand and fight, slowly but surely losing the most important fight of his career through his own stubborn foolishness. Melendez wins a very clear unanimous decision.
MMA ON TELEVISION
0:53-Wang explains that after being floored early he decided the only way he could win the fight was to KO Melendez. Wang appears confused both about the scoring of a UFC fight and the very nature of MMA. Penn feels Wang lied to him. Wang explains he's stubborn and the fight "fell into his (Melendez'] hands." No Andy, you gently threw it into his hands and he caught it. They cut back to Wang in the Octagon immediately after the fight and he throws the biggest crying fit in the history of this television show. Penn understandably shows no sympathy whatsoever. Wang thinks people will say "there's Andy Wang, he's a warrior." I doubt it. On the evidence of this fight they may be saying, "there's Andy Wang, that bonehead who wouldn't listen to BJ Penn."
0:56-Clips for the next show, featuring
Gabe Ruediger's desperate weight-cutting for his fight with the barking mad beanpole Corey Hill. I know I'll be watching.
The Ultimate Fighter: Final Thoughts
Lacking the bitter and obvious rivalry between Penn and Pulver of earlier episodes and with a fairly dull fight at the end this was the weakest episode so far of a spectacularly entertaining season five, but this was still a good show. Masterfully edited and put together as usual, TUF seems to have really found the perfect mixture of drama, silliness, serious training and fighting. The formula is simple. They sow the seeds for later episodes by highlighting certain people and rivalries a little at a time but as soon as the two fighters that week are confirmed everything is focused on them.
The show often descends into too much childishness for hardcore MMA fans but for the all-important casual audience that make the difference between 100,000 viewers and one million, this is a consistently strong show. Completely different to any other MMA show in its focus on the 'reality show' aspect, there's really nothing else like it, and no other weekly series of the last couple of years has been so effective in turning fighters into stars.
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