Welcome everyone to the inaugural No News Barred right here only on Inside Fights! This weekly news feature takes a full contact look at the week that was in MMA. I hope you find this new column informative and entertaining.
This week we will be taking a look back at the week of 3/31 -4/6/2009. Leading off this week is the story that garnered the most mainstream press:
Dana White’s vlog Scandal:
Dana White’s controversial video blog was the top story this week. White slandered MMA writer and Sherdog columnist Loretta Hunt using homophobic slurs (among many others) during his profanity laced tirade.
White lashed out at Hunt after her story claimed that the UFC has been taking away back stage passes unfairly. She reported that passes were not being taken away from favored fighters/managers/cornermen but only from those who draw the ire of UFC brass were being punished.
The UFC (not just Dana White) vehemently denies these allegations and claims that they are only trying to relieve the congestion in the back stage areas. This has turned into a “he said, she said” argument that quickly became overshadowed when White’s vlog went public on April 1st.
Gay and Lesbian rights groups were the quickest and strongest to react to the insensitive and hurtful words Dana White used to describe Hunt (though many others could have followed suit). He reluctantly issued an apology. He defended his right to protect himself and the company he works for from liable. However, he did apologize for his poor choice of words and the way in which he decided to defend his and the UFC’s reputation.
White could not have picked a poorer time to release something so damaging. The UFC is on top of the MMA world. Their historic and marquee event, UFC 100, is right around the corner. They are fighting for sanctioning in the biggest market in the world, NYC. And MMA is almost ready to burst into the main stream.
White brings a lot to the table, both good and bad. How this misstep shapes the UFC’s future is still uncertain. What is for certain is that this was the last thing White and the UFC needed at such a crucial point in the history of the UFC and MMA as a whole.
Ultimate Fight Night 18 a Hit in Tennessee:
Moving on to lighter and better news for the UFC, last Wednesday’s Ultimate Fight Night 18 set a Fight Night attendance record. The UFC’s first trip to Tennessee was a resounding success drawing over 10,000 attendees and grossing a gate of over $626,000.
After the UFC’s recent trips to Atlanta and N.C. the UFC appears to be embracing its roots with strong showings in the south. Many of the UFC’s first 31 cards took place in the deep south (Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Louisiana) due to sanctioning issues in fighting hotbeds like Las Vegas and Atlantic City.
This is a great sign for the UFC that they can go almost anywhere in the country and draw great support. The next region the UFC plans to test is the pacific northwest. UFC 102 is tentatively scheduled to take place in Portland, Oregon.
The Ultimate Fighter Nine – Make or Break:
Another big win for the UFC this week was the debut of The Ultimate Fighter Season Nine: U.S. v. U.K. The ninth installment of the groundbreaking reality show (and UFC uber marketing vehicle) got off to a rousing start as the season debut drew 1.8 million viewers.
This show drew the most total viewers since the season five debut. It also drew the highest rating in the coveted 18-49 year old male category since the season four debut. This appeared to be a make or break season for the star crossed show which changed formats for the first time since season four. For the first time TUF will feature two teams from different countries squaring off against each other in the cage.
The last two season’s have not produced many viable fighters and the antics on the show became so sophomoric and even vulgar that there was some backlash amongst UFC fans to see more fighting and less debauchery. So far this season is off to a good start. This season will undoubtedly contain enough fighting and zany antics to soothe many viewers. What will be interesting to watch for is if there are any legitimate prospects on this season.
Good News for Sherdog too:
This week wasn’t all bad for Sherdog either as they announced that they have extended their content sharing agreement with ESPN.com. Sherdog is the exclusive MMA content provider to the #1 sports website in the world. They have agreed to continue their partnership for an undisclosed period of time.
ESPN currently only produces blogs and an online show (“MMA Live”). They have no full time MMA staff and currently use Sherdog as their content provider. Sherdog founder Jeff Sherwood occasionally appears on MMA Live as well.
This is great news for Sherdog who continues their partnership with the sports and media giant. This can only bring greater exposure to their site and as MMA grows and the money makes sense to ESPN to capitalize on it, Sherdog may be getting on at the ground floor of something special.
Thomson v. Melendez Off:
The Josh Thomson v. Gilbert Melendez fight for the Strikeforce Lightweight championship this Saturday has been nixed due to a broken ankle suffered in training by champion Josh Thomson. Thomson beat Melendez for the title back in June of 2008. This was a highly anticipated rematch and it is very unfortunate timing for Thomson who was set to make his first title defense.
Gilbert Melendez is still expected to fight on the card but an opponent has not been named as of 4/6.
Fight Announcements:
In other Strikeforce news Robbie Lawler v. Jake Shields will officially headline their June 6th card to take place in St. Louis, MO. This will mark Lawler’s debut in Strikeforce after winning and defending the EliteXC Middleweight title twice. This also marks Shields move up to Middleweight from Welterweight where Strikeforce currently has no champion.
Also appearing on the June 6th Strikeforce card will be battle tested veterans Phil Baroni v. Joe Riggs. This fight will be accompanied by Renato “Babalu” Sobral’s return to Strikeforce where he is the recognized Light Heavyweight champion. He will meet Rafael Cavalcante for the belt after bouncing between Affliction and Strikeforce over the past several months.
In non Strikeforce news Jens Pulver, Manny Gamburyan, and Donald Cerrone v. Richard Crunkilton have all been confirmed for the WEC 41 event on June 7th in Sacramento, California. This card features Mike Brown v. Urijah Faber for the Featherweight title.
Pulver returns for one last shot after two tough losses to Faber and one to Leonard Garcia. Manny Gamburyan, of TUF fame, moves down to 145 lbs to take this fight after a less than stellar showing in the UFC at 155 lbs. Cerrone looks to bounce back after losing a tough decision in his Lightweight title fight against Jamie Varner back in January. He goes up against the tough WEC veteran Crunkilton looking to pick up another win.
Important Fight Results:
This past week saw three of the best fighters in action at 155 lbs or less. Eddie Alvarez wins his opening round bout in Bellator’s Lightweight Grand Prix. This was a nice win for the tough fighter from Philly after losing to Shinya Aoki for the WAMMA Lightweight title back on New Year’s eve 2008.
Miguel Torres went five exciting rounds with Takeya Mizugaki Sunday night at WEC 40. He earned the tough decision victory to keep his Bantamweight belt. This fight keeps Torres in the conversation for best fighter on the planet between himself, Fedor, GSP, and Anderson Silva.
On a down note top Lightweight Shinya Aoki was brutally KO’d in his second WW bout against the tough veteran Hayato Sakurai. Aoki loses his opening round bout in DREAM’s Welterweight Grand Prix. This loss does not tarnish his reputation as a great Lightweight. Unfortunately, it destroys the talk of him being a fringe pound for pound prospect.
That’s it for No News Barred this week. I hope you had as much fun reading it as I had writing it. Until next week,
Enjoy the fights!
