The Week That Was In MMA
July 26 – Aug. 1
The fights may have been good, but the second EliteXC presentation on primetime network television didn’t have the same ratings-drawing spark as the first did. “Unfinished Business,” which took place in front of 6,500 fans (a paltry 3,700 paid) at Stockton Arena in Stockton, Calif., and was headlined by a Robbie Lawler v. Scott Smith rematch, drew a 1.7 share rating on CBS on July 26, an overall average of 2.62. million viewers. That’s well down from the 3.0 rating and 4.9 million viewers EliteXC drew in May. CBS drew 4.35 million viewers in the same time slot the prior Saturday night with reruns, and an airing of UFC 84 the same night on Spike TV drew 27 percent more male viewers in the coveted 18-34 demographic. The news came the same week as the resignations of EliteXC executives Doug DeLuca and Gary Shaw became public. Shaw was reportedly concerned that the company didn’t have enough time to promote and turn around a July CBS event that could continue the momentum from May 31st. DeLuca, as chief strategy officer, stepped had forward as the promotional face of the company. Both are expected to continue as consultants for the group.
The card featured entertaining, competitive fights. Robbie Lawler absorbed threatening strikes from Scott Smith before driving in the stake in round two, retaining his middleweight title with a series of heavy knees to the body that dropped Smith twice for the TKO. Nick Diaz took full advantage of ear-ringing hometown crowd support by knocking out veteran Thomas Denny in the second. While the upcoming fight was hyped on commentary, Diaz’s raucous confrontation from last month with K.J. Noons was not shown, reportedly because DeLuca felt it was an embarrassing episode. Also July 26th, Jake Shields overachieved in becoming the first EXC welterweight champion by soundly defeating Nick Thompson, who was riding a 12-fight win streak, with a guillotine choke from the mount in just over a minute. Shields challenged the winner of St. Pierre v. Fitch in a fight that will not happen. Also claiming gold for the first time was Antonio Silva, who notched a forceful TKO over Justin Eilers to become EXC Heavyweight Champion in a bout that aired on a three-fight preshow card on Showtime. Silva took home a $200,000 payday, the highest of any fighter on the card; convsersely, co-main-eventer Scott Smith collected $14,000.
EXC confirmed the next event on CBS would be Oct. 4 from the BankAtlantic Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fl. One fight that pretty much has to happen on that show is Gina Carano v. Christiane “Cyborg” Santos, who looked dynamic in battering Shayna Baszler with Muay Thai in her American debut. The Chute Boxe trainee prematurely hopped on the cage after the first knockdown, though the referee had not yet stopped the fight. Carano was antsy with anticipation watching at cageside, and did a great interview setting up the fight.
NEWSWORTHY
- The UFC announced during its July 26 encore presentation of UFC 84 on Spike TV that UFC 89, set for Oct. 18 in Birmingham, England, will be a free three-hour presentation on Spike TV. The event is headlined by Michael Bisping v. Chris Leben. The card will air on tape delay and not at 3 p.m. like live UFC broadcasts from England usually do. The company comes back the next weekend with UFC 90, the main event of which was announced this week as Anderson Silva v. Patrick Cote for the middleweight title. Additionally, heavyweight contender Fabricio Werdum announced he has resigned with the UFC and will likely face Junior “Cigano” dos Santos at UFC 90.
- James Irvin tested positive for Methadone and the painkiller Oxymorphone in a drug test administered before his July 19 fight against Anderson Silva. Irvin, who was felled just over a minute by Silva in Las Vegas, is likely to face a suspension and fine. Also failing a test for Oxymorphone was Justin Levens, who was booked and tested for the July 19th Affliction card, though his fight was cancelled due to time restraints. Levens tested at a gratuitously elevated 10,141 ng/ml, which is sky-high considering the allowable limit is 120 ngl/ml.
- International Fight League lightweight champion Ryan Schultz’s signing of a five-fight deal with the World Victory Road “Sengoku” promotion in Japan indicates that the widely expected sale of the IFL, likely to the UFC’s parent company, will not include fighter contracts. Sherdog.com reported that Schultz will participate in an eight-man lightweight tournament that begins Aug. 24 at Saitama Super Arena. Schultz faces Mizuto Araya. Two other former IFL fighters, featherweights L.C. Davis and John Franchi, have signed with Zuffa, though WEC lost a welterweight fighter, John Alessio, signed a three-fight deal with EliteXC.
- One week after Yahoo! Sports reported that Fedor Emelianenko v. Andrei Arlovski will headlined Affliction’s sophomore promotional effort on Oct. 11 in Las Vegas, word leaked that superstar Tito Ortiz may be on the card as well. Yahoo! reported that Ortiz, who will be a free agent when a non-compete term with the UFC expires Aug. 4, will face Renato “Babalu” Sobral in Oct. 11 co-main event. Babalu alluded to the bout in post-fight comments July 19, a night Ortiz was in attendance seated next to Donald Trump. Affliction has a news conference planned for Aug. 6 to announce more details for the show at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas. Also for that card, Vitor Belfort told Tatame.com that he would be facing Matt Lindland for a newly created middleweight title.
- Three Canadian fighters had a scare this past week as men yielding weapons, including a taser, attacked them in a Quebec hotel room. Former IFL fighter Claude Patrick, Freedom Fight promoter Pete Rodley and several others were attacked in what Rodley said was a robbery attempt. Patrick told The Fight Network he was tasered from behind and could not remember anything about the incident. One fighter was said to be in a coma and others were treated and released at a hospital. Police said suspects had fled the scene by the time they arrived, and the victims, many of whom participated in a Freedom Fight card the night before, were not robbed.
QUOTEWORTHY
“Need proof the UFC is the preeminent mixed martial arts brand in the world? On Saturday, July 26, more men 18-34 watched a repeat…a repeat…of a UFC event on Spike TV than a LIVE telecast of a Pro EliteXC championship card on CBS . . . Reminiscent of the XFL’s rating collapse years ago, the CBS telecast was 69% lower in Men 18-34 and 57% lower with Men 18-49 than its initial broadcast on CBS in May featuring the ‘He Hate Me’ of MMA, Kimbo Slice” – UFC press release issued shortly after ratings came in for the second EliteXC broadcast on CBS.
”I’m telling all my friends to bet on me . . . because they’re going to make a lot of money. This guy will need 10 punches to my face to knock me out, and I’ll just need one. I have a good chance. He won’t exchange with me, and I’m not scared of him” — Patrick Cote to The Chicago Sun Times about Anderson Silva.
“I guess that was a mistake, I just kind of called them out, but that fight realistically won’t happen next. Those are two guys I’d really love to fight right now. Two of the top guys at my weight, I’ve got a lot of respect for both of them, that’s why I want to fight them” — Jake Shields to MMAWeekly about calling out the winner of St. Pierre v. Fitch.
“After I saw [Baszler] on the ground, I went to celebrate. It took a little while to realize that it wasn’t a knockout, and I went and did it again” — Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos to MMA Junkie about how her fight with Shayna Baszler ended.
“Mentally he wasn’t there. It was almost as if he was possessed. He heard voices. He thought he was a God” — anonymous source to SI.com about the mental state of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson around the time of his motor vehicle escapade.
“I never saw anything like that. He would never say something like that ever. He would never say he’s god” – Jackson training partner Jeremy May to Yahoo! Sports reacting to SI.com story.
“What goes around, comes around, I guess” – Jesse Taylor to reporters during an open workout about Jackson’s situation, countering Jackson’s criticism of his exploits on The Ultimate Fighter 7. Taylor was cut from the UFC in large part due to the comment.
———————
NEXT WEEK
- World Extreme Cagefighting looks to build off the tremendous success of its June 1st card on Aug. 3 with three title fights – Carlos Condit v. Hiromitsu Miura, Jamie Varner v. Marcus Hicks and Brain Stann v. Steve Cantwell – in a live Versus telecast from Las Vegas.
********
All Content © 2011 by Fight Media Inc. | Site Developed by Nautical Progressions
