UFC on ESPN?

[Divide Et Impera]

http://ufcjunkie.com/2007/04/18/dana-white-espn-will-cover-ufc-events-and-weigh-ins/

Dana White: ESPN Will Cover UFC Events and Weigh-Ins
Posted by UFC Junkie on April 18, 2007 at 10:06 pm ET

Tuesday’s conference call with UFC president Dana White contained a couple days’ worth of news, and one story that got lost in the shuffle here at UFCjunkie.com was the announcement that cable-sports giant ESPN will step up its coverage of the UFC.

That coverage could begin with this weekend’s UFC 70 event, which takes place in Manchester, England, and airs on Spike TV.

According to White, ESPN’s coverage would go far beyond the fighter-profile pieces of late. Randy Couture and Matt Serra, for example, earned some face time on the channel after their upset championship wins during the past couple months. However, ESPN will now cover standard aspects of the UFC, including weigh-ins and highlights from actual events.

In other words, the UFC will be covered like any other sport.

The two organizations have been in talks for months now, but this positive outcome always seemed inevitable. With ESPN billing itself as the worldwide leader in sports, it simply couldn’t ignore one of the fastest-growing sports and organizations anywhere in the world.

Additionally, with PRIDE Fighting Championships now under the control of UFC’s ownership group, it’d be reasonable to assume that the Japanese-based organization could also earn some airtime on ESPN in the near future.

One aspect of the partnership that hasn’t been discussed much is online coverage. With ESPN devoting its broadcasting time to the UFC, ESPN.com will surely follow suit.

In any manner, for more information about the ongoing negotiations between ESPN and the UFC, check out the UFCjunkie.com archives.

 

[dreamcastrocks]

UFC on ESPN? Works for me.

 

[Louis]

Anybody watch Bad Blood on Spike?

I was disappointed that Ortiz v White did not happen.

That 1 1/2 hour long show made Ortiz look very unmanly. From his pouting at White, his posturing, his career until now, and then finally his backing out in the end.

 

[Diamondback Jay]

Anybody watch Bad Blood on Spike?

I was disappointed that Ortiz v White did not happen.

That 1 1/2 hour long show made Ortiz look very unmanly. From his pouting at White, his posturing, his career until now, and then finally his backing out in the end.

Between this and the two UFC Pay Per Views being shown on Spike TV (70, which actually is this Saturday, and 72 which features Rich Franklin vs. Martin Kampmann), I'm close to crying tears of joy LOL.

Seriously, as much as I love the UFC, those 40 dollar PPVs add up in a hurry. I don't bother getting them anymore because I just can't afford it.

 

[devilfan02]

Why didn't the Ortiz/White fight happen? I saw the ad for it on Spike and was amazed that Dana White would even consider stepping into the ring with Ortiz. I know it was for publicity and they have bad blood but come on..... Don't turn this into the WWF

 

[Louis]

Why didn't the Ortiz/White fight happen? I saw the ad for it on Spike and was amazed that Dana White would even consider stepping into the ring with Ortiz. I know it was for publicity and they have bad blood but come on..... Don't turn this into the WWF

White was Ortiz' manager before he was the President of UFC.

White got the chance to buy UFC and did which meant he could no longer promote and manage.

Ortiz then became ultra mad at White and a beef developed and grew over the years with Ortiz basically calling White every name in the book and bad mouthing him to accusing him of money things.

White says during the time he managed Ortiz (he also managed Liddell) that he made 0 money. Charged nothing.

Ortiz' contract lapsed and he wasn't resigned. He and his family were on the brink of a true crisis. Ortiz' wife called White and begged for him to be allowed to return. White agreed, Ortiz made a stipulation that the two would have to fight if Ortiz would return.

White agreed but didn't want it promoted in any manner, Ortiz started flapping his lips to everybody and anybody. White had to go through hoops to get licensed by the commission in Nevada.

On the day of the weigh in, Ortiz texted him to say he wasn't showing up.

Fight never happens.

*Edit*

The bad blood is for real.

White trained hard for 6 weeks. Sparring against a lot of guys and prepared physically and mentally for the fight.

 

[devilfan02]

That doesn't surprise me at all. Ortiz is a 12 year old trapped in an adults body. I knew there was well documented bad blood between the two but I had no idea White used to be his manager.

 

[Diamondback Jay]

As for taking sides here, whenever there's a fight, put the middle ground in to equation and draw your own conclusions.

Do I buy that Dana made nothing financially from Tito Ortiz? No... I say this, simply because if you look at where Dana White is now financially, which can mainly be attributed to his affiliation with Tito, I think it's fair to say he's made up for his generosity 10 fold.

Do I think Tito is wrong for backing down from this fight? Yes.. Then again, I think he was foolish for taking the fight to begin with. Let's face it.. What exactly does he have to gain from it? Notority? Fame? Success? You beat a 36 year old non-athlete in an MMA exhibition? You're supposed to. If somehow Dana lands a left hook that puts Tito on his ass and wins their little sparring session, Tito's career is essentially over.

 

[Assface]

Tito's explanation:

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?f...&MyToken=776f7b49-717c-4c0f-8978-47226bc0a030

 

[Assface]

Back on topic, I'm glad that UFC is going to be covered by ESPN. The more exposure the better. Like Jay said, those monthly pay-per-views add up.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

UFC is fast becoming NASCAR's biggest challenger for the title of America's most intellectually devoid mainstream "sport" which is why modern-day ESPN jumping on it's bandwagon is not surprising in the least.

 

[Diamondback Jay]

UFC is fast becoming NASCAR's biggest challenger for the title of America's most intellectually devoid mainstream "sport" which is why modern-day ESPN jumping on it's bandwagon is not surprising in the least.

Intellictually devoid eh?

Well, keep this in mind about some of these "intellectually devoid" fighters.

Before signing his UFC contract, Rich Franklin taught calculus at the University of Cincinnati.

Randy Couture served in the military and has served on the Presidental Board of Physical Fitness under Clinton and Bush. He also works part time as the UFC's third play-by-play announcer and speaks fluent English, Spanish and Italian.

Rob MacDonald is a cop in Toronto.

As for the fans being devoid, I'd like to consider myself fairly intelligent and I'm a big fan of the sport.

Also, as for the "sport" comment, come on up to Arizona Combat Sports sometime, take them up on the free lesson and walk away with a different opinion about the sport.

I like you Mao. I always respect your views and points even though I may disagree with some of them. However, this one you're off the mark.

 

[devilfan02]

UFC not a sport? WTF? UFC is way more physically demanding then both basketball and football. I have no problem saying that whatsoever

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Puff Daddy and thousands of his fans are smart people too but that doesn't make the crap he produces any more intelligent does it? The physical demands in comparison with major sports also has zero bearing on it's usefulness either otherwise we'd consider eating competitions more a sport than golf.

Ultimate fighting, mixed-martial arts, no holds barred fighting or whatever you want to call it has been around for centuries and never gained mainstream acceptance as a sport. It's a popular right now, but as always has no staying power.

 

[Louis]

Physical and mental demands of the sport.

Those guys are working all of their muscles when fighting. Each move is performed in fractions of a second during which both fighters are having to calculate their countermove, etc.

UFC could get much more exposure from ESPN than from the midnight runs on Spike.

I'm definitely looking forward to that playing out on ESPN Ocho.

 

[CorporalCardinal]

Puff Daddy and thousands of his fans are smart people too but that doesn't make the crap he produces any more intelligent does it? The physical demands in comparison with major sports also has zero bearing on it's usefulness either otherwise we'd consider eating competitions more a sport than golf.

Ultimate fighting, mixed-martial arts, no holds barred fighting or whatever you want to call it has been around for centuries and never gained mainstream acceptance as a sport. It's a popular right now, but as always has no staying power.

I love this type of stuff. Love when people stick with the "this isn't a sport" response, yet these are the same people who claim that boxing is a sport, but because we do it in an octagon and incorporate several disciplines we're suddenly just a bunch of thugs who like to beat on people. Love that mentality

 

[Assface]

I like Michael Bisping a lot. He's a great fighter and an equally great interview. UFC should make it a point to market him.

 

[Divide Et Impera]

Bisping is an animal. It was crazy how Sinosic caught him after getting handled like that. Bisping recovered... LUCKILY.... and won the fight, but that was scary....

 

[CorporalCardinal]

Elvis is a strange bird to me, he seems to be the measuring stick for the young guys (i.e. Forrest and Bisping) when the UFC wants to test the newbies. Bisping seemed to believe that he had already one and got stunned by that great shot by Elvis....it was a very entertaining fight

 

[Diamondback Jay]

I like Michael Bisping a lot. He's a great fighter and an equally great interview. UFC should make it a point to market him.

Trust me, they are.. The main reason UFC 70 was held in Manchester was a way of marketing Bisping in front of his home crowd. There's also a reason he's been fed guys like Eric Schafer and Elvis Sinosic in his first two fights. They're methotically but slowly building him up.

 

[Diamondback Jay]

I love this type of stuff. Love when people stick with the "this isn't a sport" response, yet these are the same people who claim that boxing is a sport, but because we do it in an octagon and incorporate several disciplines we're suddenly just a bunch of thugs who like to beat on people. Love that mentality

Hey, I'll challenge anyone to go visit any of the three local MMA gyms to debate (A) the legitimacy and (B) the "barbarism" of this sport.

MMA fighters are generally some of the classiest human beings you'll meet, and are much smarter than the Geico Cavemen that some tend to believe they are. As I said, Rich Franklin, before hitting it big, was a full time calculus teacher at the University of Cincinnati. I'd hardly say he's dumb.

 

[devilfan02]

Let people be ignorant. To say the UFC isn't a sport is beyond ridiculous. I have no problem saying they are the best conditioned athletes in the world.

Bisping is great. Like you guys have said, he's not only a great fighter but a great personality. When he came into the ring in Nation Collide, you couldn't help but get pumped up. He came sprinting out of the locker room, tried to get in the ring with all his sweats still on, then ran around the ring even crossing into Elvis's corner. How great was it when they focused on Elvis and he was singing along to Bispings intro song! That crowd was by far one of the rowdiest I've ever seen and Bisping fed off it like an animal. He's such a well rounded and conditioned fighter that I don't see any reason why he can't be a serious contender for the belt. The guy can stand and throw with anyone and NEVER gets tired. I'd love to see him beat Tito at his own game

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

I should've known it was only a matter of time before I got the "if you don't think MMA is a sport you should come try it" response from one of the their fans. No thanks guys, but like most rational people the novelty of beating people up and/or watching other people beat each other up wore off when I became an adult.

 

[devilfan02]

I No thanks guys, but like most rational people the novelty of beating people up and/or watching other people beat each other up wore off when I became an adult.

Real mature response. Nice

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

Real mature response. Nice

It's certainly better than the only arguments I've gotten so far which are that MMA is physically demanding and a few of it's participants went to college.