UFC strikes deal with FOX

[Liquidrob]

great job zuffa, not thats how you do it, what a fight

I was just going to write a long post about how lame a tito vs franklin fight would have been and what a wasted oppurtinity, etc...

This is how you make a splash into main stream

[CrimsonGhost56]

BOOM ANOTHER HIT IS LANDED!

[SHOGUN]

[Warner2BruceTD]

I have been told Lorenzo Fertitta made the final call on the fight.

The idea is to keep doing big PPV main event level fights on FOX. They believe PPV is a slowly dying business and want to stay ahead of the curve and change the business model slowly. They won't give away the really big fights, but when a champ fights a non draw or you have two guys like Cain/JDS who were not going to do well on PPV anyway, you will get it on FOX.

Of course this can all change based on the numbers they do or a million other reasons.

[Liquidrob]

Such a big move by zuffa, like Warner said, the PPV numbers are falling, And1 who is THE GOAT just bombed on PPV, 275k buy is lower than Frankie Edgar

Now you can showcase the best HW in the world (whoever wins, THE REEM aside) to the mainstream, this was the best move they could make

Throw in that boxing has HW's that nobody wants to watch, you can really take over the fight game, HW's are the way to go

[Liquidrob]

I have been told Lorenzo Fertitta made the final call on the fight.

[Liquidrob]

what I find hilarious about this whole thing is the complete opposite way the 'MMA fans' have reacted to this deal compared to the Strikeforce CBS deal

There were so many fans that blasted, just killed SF for are the same things the UFC is dealing with on network TV, SF actually had 4 fights on the main card and than 3 title fights the next time, the UFC is getting a 1 hour 1 fight special at first, MMA fans were killing SF and CBS for only getting 4 fights!

Also fan blasted SF for having very short promos on CBS and so on, 'they cant promote, CBS doesnt care' blah blah blah, the UFC just got like a 10 second promo for the show

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ18Jiv57Gs&feature=player_embedded[/ame]

Shows that MMA fans were never going to let SF or a non UFC show suceed, people want there MMA to be UFC and not anything else

[Kuzzy Powers]

I think the difference was that Strikeforce was in need of something huge to establish themselves, while the UFC is already established, and can do in a bit of a different route. I still would prefer a full show over one fight, which I dont think is all that special despite the match-up.

[EmpireWF]

The main aspect of the deal starts in 2012, this is to get their feet in the water + november sweeps.

Besides, there's so much MMA going on in a short timespan, who cares if it's one awesome fight on the CBS show for now?

[Liquidrob]

The main aspect of the deal starts in 2012, this is to get their feet in the water + november sweeps.

Besides, there's so much MMA going on in a short timespan, who cares if it's one awesome fight on the CBS show for now?

you missed the entire point as usual

[EmpireWF]

you missed the entire point as usual

You said people were more critical of SF's stuff on network TV than they are with the UFC right now. I say, it's not so cut and dry to say they're the same thing.

[Warner2BruceTD]

People were going to be critical of SF no matter what, and UFC willl largely get a pass no matter what. That's the point rob is making.

I do recall people complaining about "only" four fights.

[EmpireWF]

Why would you criticize UFC for only having 1 fight? It's not the same thing as when SF could only present a few fights.

I know what he means with people letting UFC off the hook, but there really is nothing to criticize them over about Fox (for the time being).

[EmpireWF]

Yes, I now realize criticizing SF over the # of fights they were ever able to present on CBS or even Showtime was foolish.

[SHOGUN]

The co-main for the Cain/JDS event is looking like Bendo/Guida.

Should be exciting since Bendo's the better fighter and will beat the brakes off the always advancing Guida.