Steve Marrocco of MMAWeekly provides a summary of a recent Q&A with Dana White on the state of the UFC:
* White was disappointed by the UFC’s first showing in Chicago and promised the promotion will return to the Windy City soon.
* Chuck Liddell will meet with White soon to discuss his UFC future. Liddell has one more dance with “Dancing With The Stars” in the finale show, according to White.
* Zuffa just signed a new deal with Versus, home of the WEC, and has talked about folding the featherweight and bantamweight divisions into the UFC. “If that happened, it’s going to be a while,” said White.
* The UFC’s next trip to the Pacific Northwest will be Seattle.
* On the rash of injuries and sicknesses that have ravaged recent cards: “There’s never really a plan B (in putting together cards),” said White. “We have been jinxed lately. We’ve had more crazy (expletive) happen in the last three months than the last eight years. We’ve never really had to deal with this, but we’re dealing with it.”
* White predicted Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will face the winner of Rashad Evans vs. Thiago Silva.
* The UFC’s third trip to Montreal, presumably UFC 113, isn’t 100 percent, said White, but he was “pretty sure it was going to happen.”
* On a meeting with Shane McMahon, the son of WWE head Vince McMahon, who recently left the wrestling organization. “He’s a huge MMA fan, and you never know,” said White.
* White said he offered Gina Carano a deal when she was with EliteXC. “There was this loophole in her contract, and I tried to get her and bring her into the UFC,” he said. “The deal never happened, obviously.”
* UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner is headed to Virginia this week to discuss MMA regulation. The state’s athletic commission recently took a heap of criticism for its judging at an Ultimate Warrior Challenge show last month. The UFC is headed to the same venue, The Patriot Center, in Fairfax.
Payout Perspective:
The rash of injuries the UFC has experienced in the last few months have really impacted the promotion’s ability to promote and sell its PPVs; which is significant considering that the UFC is heavily dependent on live events for the bulk of its revenue.
The injuries underscore the importance of a balance between the UFC’s brand-first strategy and building star fighters. Nothing attracts an audience like a story, and the brand should be used to provide a solid, pervasive platform that allows the personal story, skill, and dynamism of the fighters to shine through.
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Shane McMahon coming to the UFC is also an interesting subject, because there are many people that believe he could bring a tremendous amount of marketing and licensing expertise to the company. Heavy.com writes on the subject and suggests that the UFC hasn’t been flattered by the results of their last few marketing executives (although, in fairness, their latest CMO, Bryan Johnston, hasn’t exactly had a lot of time).
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