Elsalvajeloco

Yeah, that was a big part of it. HBO signed him to a crazy contract (norm for then) so he wouldn't jump to Showtime in late 99/early 2000. Thus, they were very non-committal in going out of their way to put him in with the toughest guys. I mean they tried to make certain fights people wanted, but they weren't going to be very adamant paying him that much money. HBO wanted the Dariusz Michalczewski bout so Roy could have all four org belts, but it fell apart a bunch of times. The thing is none of those fights would have really sold big. You go back and watch his fights now, it seems like those possible opponents (minus a possible rematch with Bernard Hopkins) were all mythical figures. It's not like HBO was broadcasting Dariusz Michalczewski and Joe Calzaghe fights every time they fought. HBO was just it's own worst enemy and all that came to a head around the time Roy lost to Glen Johnson and Tarver.

Yes and no. You're going to get people like Demetrious Johnson who is ultra PC and shows personality when the mic is off, but doesn't want to make enemies. However, when it comes to Ronda, I think it was more about protecting their own ass. They already went through hell when Dana dropped the dreaded C word on Loretta Hunt. You can't be letting people go on transphobic rants at will. I mean YOU CAN, but you're probably not going to like the consequences. I just don't get Meltzer going on the "He should be a bigger star than he is" tirade he has been hammering home for 3 1/2 - 4 years now. Based on what fucking metric? Talent? Well that would mean DJ should be selling half a million buys every time out. But that's not happening. It comes down to two possible outcomes that are both plausible. One, maybe he is at the level he should be at. There are a bunch of people in pro wrestling and combat sports who are/were stars but didn't really transcend superstardom. Roy Jones Jr. was probably the most physically gifted fighter EVER. We're talking about a person who was beating up legit world champions at age fifteen or sixteen when he was brought in just as a sparring partner. A teenager who was just competing in the Pensacola amateur leagues beating up GROWN MEN who were the best of the best. That's fucking insane. However, he was never a PPV draw and never did a big gate in Vegas, Atlantic City, or any major fight city. Maybe it's a shame he was never able to do that or draw on PPV, but he still had a legit Hall of Fame career. Jon Jones, who has beat much tougher fighters in MMA comparatively, has sold way more PPVs than RJJ. So by Dave's standards, is he suppose to sell 750,000 everytime out? Meltzer also kinda contradicted himself by saying the Cormier fight drew because he was the right opponent. That is likely applicable to EVERY major fight in combat sports. If Jon Jones fought random guy #340, sure it's not going to sell a damn thing. You need to have the right opponents and that's where the promoter and matchmakers come in at. They don't do shoulder programming just to do it. They do it to legitimize fights. The better the opponent, the easier it becomes to legitimize. The second reason, which I am a little bit more in line with, is maybe a person's star power isn't decided in a fixed amount of time. He is still a relatively young dude who really hasn't taken all that much punishment. He isn't really a speed and reflex first fighter. So knowing that, I would say that he is going to be around for awhile barring something unforeseen. Therefore, the doom-and-gloom preaching isn't necessary knowing this guy could easily be a two division champ 2-3 years from now. I mean the seeds are already being planting for a Cain Velasquez-Jon Jones fight, which I believe could be put in AT&T Stadium with the right card and promotion. Jon Jones competing in the HW division gives him a bunch of fresh matchups and interesting round of opponents. Shit, the chase for the belt could be money because of the level of intrigue it would generate. People bought into GSP-Penn II knowing damn well GSP had 20+ pounds on him, and it was a physical mismatch. People still want to see GSP vs. Anderson, and the same thing applies in favor of Anderson Silva. Imagine if there was someone like Jon Jones who people KNOW can beat at least 90% of the division he is moving up to. Big fights will sell regardless. Whether it sells 800k-950k or 1m+ is basically splitting hairs when you have nothing to gain from what number it does.

The DirecTV package I have is funny because I get TVOne (which plays Martin marathons every week) and AXS TV. However, I would need to pay extra for El Rey. I guess I don't want to watch Lucha Underground that bad.

MMAjunkie ‏@MMAjunkie 19m Daron Cruickshank vs. Beneil Dariush lightweight bout added to UFC 185 in Dallas http://dlvr.it/86n3bl via @MMAjunkie

Pretty much. People still think MMA fans dress like Bobby Cannavale in Blue Jasmine. I am just trying to figure out why this narrative about the fans actually matters. I think it all comes down to this and you would think Meltzer could understand as a historian (especially considering what’s happening with the WWE). You play the hand you’re dealt. No sport has any choice in what fanbase they have or who they choose to root for. I mean you can try to push them in a certain direction, but you have to expect some pushback (see: McGregor, Conor). The narrative four years ago when Jones first won the belt was that he couldn’t draw because he didn’t have that connection. Sure, no one hated Jon Jones when he was breaking Brandon Vera’s face and already earmarked to be the UFC champion in MMA’s money division. That is what I will concede to Meltzer’s point. However, the spotlight changes everything. When a sports star goes from a small market team to New York or Los Angeles, it’s a whole different game when it comes to coverage. That extramarital affair you had while playing in Denver is now a big thing when you play in NYC. Same thing applies when it comes to going from prospect to champion in combat sports. He has been champion for going on four years, and the UFC has been to trying to make him a superstar since that time. Even though Dave admitted Jon is now a star, he is still having trouble looking at the UFC 182 buyrate and asking himself, “Does the UFC actually give a shit?” If it was as simple as babyface and heel reactions, Brock would have never had the effect he had on the sport. It doesn’t matter why people boo or cheer you and how rational their reason is. All that matters is how much are you drawing and do fans give a damn to do one or the other. People love Matt Brown. Not a PPV draw. People really love Urijah Faber. Not a PPV draw. So on and so forth. At the end of day, the UFC generates money based on how much the fans give a shit and doing it enough to watch or spend money. Drug test failure or not, Jon Jones did himself a favor with his post-fight interview after the Cormier fight. Plus, he was phenomenal in the post-fight presser. It wasn’t a 1m buys every fight from now on thing, but it was a definite turn-the-corner moment (again, as Meltzer pretty much conceded). If you can do in the range of 500k+ buys everytime Jones fights, you’re doing your job as a promoter correctly. That’s all the UFC should be concerned with. If it’s not a long-term solution UFC can readily identify, they can only come to that road when they get to it. As far Jon Jones the person and the race card narrative goes, I remember that came up when super underdog Rashad Evans knocked out Chuck Liddell in Atlanta in 2008. Yeah, I am sure that there were racist fans there (former DVDVR mod sprewellrimz can attest to this) and booed Rashad when he did the Fred Sanford fake heart attack thing when he KO’d Chuck. However, Chuck was a big star then (especially to drunk white frat boys thus the passion and vitrol) and the fight did business. Even though the cocky black man narrative persisted, Rashad was still able to do business. You can argue the UFC was hotter then and that’s why, but that’s more or less bullshit. Big fights or events could sell in almost any landscape. Rampage vs. Evans, with the same type of buildup, would still sell a ton of PPVs. If someone told Dave that WrestleMania’s fiscal success directly correlates with WWE’s overall quality and ratings, he would go “what the fuck are you talking about?” and rightly so. You have to be able to isolate things and not have certain narratives (false or not) affect your overall outlook. People boo and that’s just what they do. I think that Jon’s biggest problem (outside of the partying aspect which was just uncovered) is he really doesn’t understand his own place within the entire UFC landscape. I think he looks at his brothers’ success in the NFL and wants to sort of replicate some type of crossover aspect that isn’t really there. Part of that is Malki Kawa is terrible at his job as a PR rep and manager, but that’s really whatever in the grand scheme of things. I think UFC 182 kinda showed he is figuring it out a bit, but it’s still not there yet. Jon has to figure out that the most violent sport in the world isn’t going to produce a bunch of crossover stars, and he doesn’t have to protect his reputation in a dubious, premeditated way. On social media, it is just going to coalesce into a bunch of things that can be used against you. However, I will say that I was more concerned about Ronda in the beginning of her UFC run than I ever was about Jon. I think the TUF experience and the fact she is doing legit movie roles helped push her to tone it way down. At first, she was just so abrasive and outspoken. She was calling Cris Cyborg a tranny, retweeting Newtown/Sandy Hook truther videos, going in on Fallon Fox, and just doing general over-the-top unladylike shit (which can somewhat be attributed to her stardom). It got to the point where I was legitimately concerned that some major politician or special interest group would step in and make some people from Zuffa publicly apologize. Now, Ronda is strictly Instagram pictures and training videos. I don’t know who got to her, but it was definitely effective. That’s probably why I am hesitant to admit Ronda is smarter than Jon when it comes to that aspect. Getting the muzzle put on you and letting it happen doesn’t necessarily qualify you as a smarter individual. Ronda is still going to get booed a ton, but I don’t think the UFC cares as long as she stays a consistent draw. Same goes with Jon Jones. Ultimately, protecting your personal brand to that level is not their job. Making you a star is their job.

Yeah, The Revenant (which I thought was suppose to shoot through April anyway) is behind schedule. All those guys are in the Canadian Rockies just freezing their asses off.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2330479-ufc-and-reebok-a-detailed-look-at-the-ufcs-new-athlete-outfitting-policy

The UFC on Fox summer show will be 7/25 in Chicago (United Center). Ill Phil Brooks finna get dis paper.

Mike Bohn ‏@MikeBohnMMA 13m T.J. Dillashaw-Renan Barao 2 & Quinton "Rampage" Jackson-Fabio Maldonado are being discussed for UFC 186, per @ArielHelwani on UFC Tonight. The Machida vs. Rockhold card will have Paige VanZant vs. Felice Herrig (pretty sure Meltzer hounded Dana to do this) & Jim Miller vs. Paul Felder. BTW Esparza vs. Jedrzejczyk is also official.

The UFC has signed HW Shamil Abdurahimov. I guess the road to the UFC goes through Kenny "Deuce" Garner.

From what I can glean, should McGregor be victorious on Sunday, the UFC might move the Aldo fight to Vegas on 5/23. The Croke Park execs want the fight, but the Dublin City Council has a 11 p.m. curfew. That means the UFC would have to move the PPV to midday. Dave Allen, the UFC's EMEA brand director, is still working it out. Aviva Stadium (seats 51k) may also be in play.

Rumor is Esparza vs. Jedrzejczyk on the Dallas show.

No point in that if Cain is getting back in the gym. The only worthy contender is Junior really, and I'm guessing they're matching Browne against him. Why fuck up the fight you been trying to make forever in one specific location for a fight nobody is really clamoring for? Just let it be your plan B then.

... I guess. However, Lawler was targeting May/June for his comeback. I was thinking that Hendricks didn't want to blow up in weight between fights like he did last time and chose to have a quick turnaround. Although, fighting Matt Brown ain't exactly playing safe for a person with an injury history. If he busts his hand up or something like that, he will lose his title shot to the MacDonald-Lombard winner. That would suck for someone like him just to score an easier payday to fight Matt Brown. In boxing, it happens all the time. In MMA, it's way more dangerous. BTW, Ferguson vs. Medeiros on the UFC 184 card in LA.

Since Lawler needs more time, Hendricks will take a warm-up fight against Matt Brown on the Dallas show. Thatch-Wonderboy will main event the Broomfield show instead.

Also, someone needs to talk to Ms. Rawlings (NSFW-ish):

Yeah, somebody at Nova Uniao has to talk to our boy Renan.

Two flyweight bouts for UFC 185: Cejudo (moving back down) vs. Cariaso & Sergio Pettis vs. Ryan Benoit

Jon got the CliffNotes' version of rehab. He's good to go.

The Nevada Athletic Commission in a nutshell: Spent almost a half hour on whether or not Marc Goddard should be granted a license before settling on a temporary one fight license to ref in NV Spent only fifteen minutes on the Jon Jones drug testing snafu before moving on to lesser profile drug test failures Priorities, ladies and gentlemen.

He's not that old. He's 24. He's a 24 year old self-made billionaire. So, yeah, I think there has to be Wolf of Wall Street-levels of financial fraud going on because that just can't be possible by legal means. Unless you invent facebook. O...kay.

Taking all that into account, I would like this to be a competitive bout.

http://deathvalleydriver.com/forum/index.php?/topic/50-mma-talk/page-175#entry274945

The UFC really needs to think about doing shoulder programming based upon Donald Cerrone doing crazy shit with his friends and it being the sole reason he has to fight 25 times a year.

UFC Fight Night 59: McGregor vs. Siver January 18, 2015 Boston, MA (TD Garden) Conor McGregor (145) vs. Dennis Siver (146) - McGregor, TKO (elbows and punches), R2 (1:54) Donald Cerrone (155) vs. Benson Henderson (156) - Cerrone, DEC (unanimous) Uriah Hall (186) vs. Ronald Stallings (185) - Hall, TKO (doctor stoppage - cut), R1 (3:37) Norman Parke (156) vs. Gleison Tibau (156) - Tibau, DEC (split) Fox Sports 1 Preliminary Card: Cathal Pendred (171) vs. Sean Spencer (171) - Pendred, DEC (unanimous) John Howard (170) vs. Lorenz Larkin (171) - Larkin, TKO (strikes), R1 (2:17) Lipeng Zhang (156) vs. Chris Wade (156) - Wade, DEC (unanimous) Patrick Holohan (125) vs. Shane Howell (125) - Holohan, DEC (unanimous) Johnny Case (156) vs. Frankie Perez (155) - Case, TKO (elbows and punches), R3 (1:54) Charles Rosa (145) vs. Sean Soriano (146) - Rosa, SUB (D'Arce Choke), R3 (4:43) Fight Pass Preliminary Card: Matt Van Buren (205) vs. Sean O'Connell (206) - O'Connell, TKO (punches), R3 (2:11) Tateki Matsuda (125) vs. Joby Sanchez (126) - Sanchez, DEC (split) Event Bonuses ($50,000): Performance of the Night: Lorenz Larkin Performance of the Night: Conor McGregor Fight of the Night: Matt Van Buren vs. Sean O'Connell Attendance: 13,828 Gate: $1.34 million Rating: 1.4 (2.75 million viewers) Cancelled Bouts: Norman Parke vs. Jorge Masvidal - Injury to Masvidal (Back) Paul Felder vs. Johnny Case - Felder Moved to Another Card Johnny Case vs. Frank Trevino - Injury to Trevino Uriah Hall vs. Costas Philippou - Injury to Philippou (Rib) Benson Henderson vs. Eddie Alvarez - Alvarez Removed Due to Illness Uriah Hall vs. Louis Taylor - Injury to Taylor (Back)