MMAterial Facts (02/10/10)

• Mark Coleman, Frank Trigg, Tim Hague, and Phillipe Nover Released By UFC
• Xyience Signs Endorsement Deal with Dan Hardy
• Motivations and Media and Merchandise Consumption in MMA
• MMA legislation is bad news for Wisconsin
• Meeting MMA: An Outsider’s Encounter With The World’s Fastest Growing Sport
• HDNet to Feature Three Title Fights on the Live Debut of ‘Mark Burnett Presents: King of the Cage – Vengeance’

Mark Coleman, Frank Trigg, Tim Hague, and Phillipe Nover Released By UFC

Despite headlining UFC 109, Mark Coleman cut by UFC following loss

Despite headlining the organization’s most recent card, UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman has been cut from the UFC’s roster of light heavyweights.

Fiveouncesofpain.com first reported the termination, which MMAjunkie.com has since confirmed with a source close to the UFC.

Coleman, a former NCAA Division I national wrestling champion and the first-ever UFC heavyweight title-holder, went 1-2 in the UFC after coming out of retirement and rejoining the UFC in 2008.  (MMAJunkie)

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Frank Trigg confirms UFC termination, undecided on future plans

It’s two and out for UFC welterweight Frank Trigg after his Ultimate Fighting Championship return.

After posting a 6-1 record to earn his way back into the organization and signing a new deal with the UFC in 2009, Trigg was notified on Monday that he had been dropped from the UFC after a knockout loss to Matt Serra at this past weekend’s UFC 109 event.

Trigg confirmed the news with MMAjunkie.com on Wednesday.   (MMAJunkie)

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Nover, Hague Released from UFC Contracts

UFC sources have confirmed with Heavy.com that Tim Hague and Phillipe Nover have been released from their UFC contracts following losses at UFC 109 last weekend.

Hague lost a close decision to Chris Tuchscherer. Prior to that, he lost a 7-second knockout to Todd Duffee in August, the fastest knockout in UFC history.

UFC sources also confirmed with Heavy.com that Nover, the former Ultimate Fighter star who was once famously dubbed “the lightweight Anderson Silva” by UFC president Dana White, has also been released from his contract. Nover lost to fellow Ultimate Fighter alum Rob Emerson at UFC 109, taking his UFC record to 0-3.   (Heavy)

Xyience Signs Endorsement Deal with Dan Hardy

XYIENCE, the official energy drink of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announces that UFC fighter Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy has joined its team of brand ambassadors by signing an exclusive promotional contract, effective immediately. The 27-year-old British welterweight has been fighting professionally since 2004. He has held titles with Cage Warriors, including Light Welterweight and Welterweight World Champion. In 2008, Hardy signed with the UFC, and now has an overall mixed martial arts (MMA) record of 23-6-0. In March, he will become the first British fighter to compete for a UFC title when he faces the current UFC Welterweight Champion, Canadian Georges St. Pierre, at UFC 111 on March 27, 2010 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.

“In addition to being one of the finest fighters in the UFC, Dan Hardy is a unique individual –a dedicated athlete and highly creative artist. He approaches mixed martial arts with the same raw passion as his own art  –deeply intuitive yet still influenced and inspired by his teachers and coaches,” says Jessica Lautman-Hughes, XYIENCE’s senior marketing specialist, who heads up fighter relations.   (MMA Payout’s Perspective)

Motivations and Media and Merchandise Consumption in MMA

The phenomenal growth of the sport of MMA over the last five years is now just starting to catch the eye of the broader sports community, including sports academia. There have been a few papers written on the topic of MMA over the last few years – including the well-read Johns Hopkins brain injury study – but none have gone into as much detail regarding the marketing side of the sport as a paper released in the latest issue of Sports Marketing Quarterly.

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Implications for MMA

The study provides a great amount of new insight regarding MMA’s relationship with its fan base, but also supports many hypotheses that MMA industry professionals have had for quite some time.

I think the biggest thing I took away from the study was the absence of violence as an important motivational factor for any type of consumption. However, the importance of drama in media consumption, vicarious achievement in fighter attachment, and the differences between professional and amateur fan bases should also not be ignored.  (MMA Payout’s Perspective)

MMA legislation is bad news for Wisconsin

When powerful forces line up to get something done in Wisconsin, it gets done, even if it’s something as crude and outrageous as putting gladiators in a coliseum to see who can bleed the most.

Evidence of this became even clearer last week when Gov. Jim Doyle signed legislation to regulate Mixed Martial Arts fighting in Wisconsin.

Shame on you, Jim Doyle. Shame on you.

Let me see if I can make this clear.

An organization called Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the biggest dog, by far, in the world of MMA fighting. They’ve got the best fighters, the pay per view television shows, the hugest events. One of the goals of UFC is to be seen as a legitimate sport. They don’t want people to think they are barbarians but rather, promoters of healthy sporting events.

In order to help create this fantasy, UFC decided years ago that it would only stage fights in states where MMA was regulated. They didn’t really care much what kind of regulations got passed. As long as there was some kind of municipal governance they felt that they had a stamp of approval and legitimacy.

Wisconsin was one of the last holdouts. That meant that the Milwaukee market — and to a lesser extent Green Bay and Madison — was off limits to UFC, an intolerable situation as far as revenue-producing events goes. So, they started their campaign.

They hired a great lobbyist. I know who it is but I’m not going to name him because he’s one of my oldest friends and I want to spare him the embarrassment. He is great at what he does. He lined up a couple of unsuspecting legislators, Sen. Dave Hansen and Rep. Pedro Colon. He helped them write a bill that they introduced. They held hearings, stacked with MMA supporters.

This is a classic case of talking out of both sides of your mouth. On one side they tried to get us to believe that they cared about the safety of these events. On the other side (and much quieter) they were rubbing their hands in glee over the fact that the Bradley Center was waiting for them to call. The dollar signs were blinding.

When you talk about something happening in the dead of night, this bill seems to fit the bill. Nobody, it seemed, objected to anything. The bill sailed through. The vote in the Assembly was 96-0.  (On Milwaukee)

Meeting MMA: An Outsider’s Encounter With The World’s Fastest Growing Sport

It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Mixed Martial Arts—and its most prominent brand, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, or the UFC—has struggled to gain mainstream acceptance. At least among the more traditional sports fans and media, the fastest growing sport in the world still percolates beneath the surface. Or worse, it gets dismissed altogether.

You don’t like Mixed Martial Arts? You don’t respect it? I used to be in the same boat.

Depending on your levels of cynicism, it’s either a form of human cruelty, or a slightly more legitimized form of WWF wrestling, equal parts barbaric and cartoonish. And it’s stereotypes like those that have kept the UFC relegated to the margins of the mainstream. So far, “serious” people have refused to embrace it, and as a result, idiot sports fans like me just dismiss it.

But a note to “serious” people everywhere: Mixed Martial Arts is a sport that, in so many different ways, demands to be taken seriously. Taken seriously by the fighters, by promoters, by advertisers, and most of all, by the fans—the Mixed Martial Arts obsessives that have made MMA and the UFC the fastest growing sport on the planet.

People see the UFC as an organization promoting these barbaric cage matches, bastardizing the sports of boxing and wrestling, and turning them into pure bloodsport. The athletes train hard, yes, but can they really compare to other pro athletes? Someone like Randy Couture may be tough, but so is Ray Lewis—can Randy Couture also run a 4.6 40-yard dash? These are the arguments that sports fans use when they’re dismissing MMA as a perversion and a waste of time. Much ado about nothing.

It may be insanely popular, but so are the Black Eyed Peas. And look at all the fans, wearing those ridiculous Affliction shirts. We’re supposed to take this seriously? What the hell is a tap out?

This is how people like me have ignored the rise of Mixed Martial Arts over the past decade. It’s like there’s this awesome party going on, and nobody can be bothered to show up and check it out. (SB Nation)

HDNet to Feature Three Title Fights on the Live Debut of ‘Mark Burnett Presents: King of the Cage – Vengeance’

WHAT: HDNet announces the fight card to be featured in the first “Mark Burnett Presents:  King of the Cage” event entitled “Vengeance.”  The event will feature three title fights in one night!  In the heavyweight division, champion Tony “Kryptonite” Lopez (17-2) puts his 15-fight win streak on the line against Tyler East (4-2).  KOTC Bantamweight champion and DREAM veteran Abel Cullum (16-3) faces a rising star in undefeated Joe Coca (7-0).  Wrapping up the championship bouts, Lightweight champion Donald Sanchez (18-10) who’s on a 3-fight win streak, takes on Victor “Joe Boxer” Valenzuela (9-4-2).

The Main Event features a clash of Heavyweights, as cage veteran Travis Wiuff (58-13), who is on a 4-fight winning streak, faces Mike Kyle (13-7) who won four of his last five fights.  HDNet rounds out this stacked card with Rich Clementi (35-15) vs. submission specialist Quinn Mulhern (8-1).

HDNet Fights CEO, Andrew Simon said, “This event marks the beginning of great relationship between HDNet and Mark Burnett Presents: King of the Cage.  Everyone is excited about showcasing great fights while highlighting the long journey that these fighters endure to make it to national television.”

The HDNet announce team will pair “The Voice” Michael Schiavello with MMA fighter and MTV Bully Beatdown star Jason “Mayhem” Miller.  HDNet will also introduce Andrea Feczko to MMA fans as backstage reporter.

WHEN:  LIVE, Friday, February 12 at 10:00 p.m. ET only on HDNet.  (PR Newswire)

QUICK HITS

• Rampage Jackson to Make UFC Return at UFC 110 … Sort of (MMAFighting)
• Henderson KO Still Following Bisping  (Sherdog)
• Sengoku 12 adds Gono vs. Gonzalez, Nakao vs. “Sentoryu,” Santos vs. Kunioku (MMAJunkie)
• Melanson and Toughill Talk Couture and Cyborg (MMAFighting)
• Rookie fan at UFC 109 captures why MMA is so big (Cage Writer)
• DAMACIO PAGE VS. ANTONIO BANUELOS SET FOR WEC PPV (MMAWeekly)
• WCF ANNOUNCES FULL CARD FOR NEXT SHOW FEB 26 (MMAWeekly)
• UFC 110 Conference Call Quick Recap (Heavy)
• ‘JZ’ Expects Spring Return (Sherdog)
• Leonard Garcia vs. Diego Nunes official for WEC 47 prelims, March 6 card nearly complete (MMAJunkie)
• Andrei Arlovski takes on boxer Fres Oquendo at Feb. 27 boxing exhibition bout (MMAJunkie)
• Ex-UFC champ Arlovski ready to box (ESPN)

VIDEO OF THE DAY

• HDNet Fights Video Vault: Akihiro Gono vs. Hayato “Mach” Sakurai at “Dynamite!! 2009”: In a DREAM vs. WVR matchup, Gono was matched up against Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, a DREAM welterweight grand prix semifinalist who entered the bout with eight wins in 10 fights.  (MMAJunkie)

TV LISTINGS

• HDNet Fights Presents K-1 Classics (Maeda & Teixeira, 2008)  at 8 PM ET on HDNet (02/12/10)
• InsideMMA (Randy Couture, Mike Swick, & Bobby Lashley) at 9 PM ET on HDNet (02/12/10)
• HDNet Fights Presents King of the Cage – Vengeance  at 10 PM ET on HDNet (02/12/10)
• Best of Pride FC at 10 PM ET/PT on Spike (02/12/10)
  

UPCOMING EVENTS

• HDNet Fights: King of the Cage – Vengeance at 10 PM ET on HDNet (02/12/10)
• UFC 110: Nogueira vs Velazquez at 10 PM ET on PPV (02/20/10)
• Strikeforce Challengers: Prangley vs  Amoussou at 11 PM ET/PT on Showtime (02/26/10)
• WEC 47: Bowles vs Cruz on at 10 PM ET on Versus (03/06/10)