- Details on Roger Huerta’s Contract Demands, A Conflict Of Interest?
- LA Times Acknowledges NHL and Cycling for Pushing DirecTV/Versus Resolution, Not UFC/WEC
- Baldacci Cancellation Leads to Questions Regarding California Amateur Bouts
- Douglas De Luca Joins the Board of Directors of ProElite, Stratus Slowly Assembling Old Regime
- Station Casinos workers seek refuge with Culinary Union
Details on Roger Huerta’s Contract Demands, A Conflict of Interest?
For several months, Huerta was believed to be bound for Strikeforce, the Showtime- and CBS-aligned promotion that has attempted over the last year to establish itself as a major competitor to the UFC. Strikeforce and Huerta “did the dance like everyone else,” said the organization’s CEO, Scott Coker. That is until the fighter’s monetary demands apparently quelled its interest. Huerta, too, seemed unsure about Strikeforce’s ability to deliver bouts on a regular basis, which is exactly what he didn’t want from a promotional partner.
Mere rumors of Huerta’s asking price — which, according to sources outside the fighter’s camp familiar with the negotiations, included a $250,000 signing bonus — was enough to keep Dream, Japan’s top promoter, from making an offer, said its U.S. representative, Mike Kogan. (Sports Illustrated)
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Huerta, the first fighter ever to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated following his emphatic UFC 69 win over Leonard Garcia in 2007, was heavily promoted by the UFC in 2007 and 2008. When the popular 26-year-old fighter opted not to re-sign with the promotion, Bellator and Strikeforce both courted Huerta, who is of Salvadoran and Mexican decent. Sherdog.com has learned that the bilingual Huerta was offered additional undisclosed incentives to join the fledging Bellator’s ranks, which caters to both English- and Spanish-speaking demographics. (Sherdog)
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MMAPayout Note: Conflict of Interest? Roger Huerta’s manager, Jeff Clark, also serves as a consultant for Bellator Fighting Championships.
LA Times Acknowledges NHL and Cycling for Pushing DirecTV/Versus Resolution, Not UFC/WEC
According to three sources who had information about the negotiations but who could not speak publicly, the high profile of hockey after the Olympics as well as anticipation for the upcoming cycling season where Versus will televise both the Tour of California and Tour de France where Lance Armstrong is expected to race, played a part in a contract agreement being reached. (LA Times)
Baldacci Cancellation Leads to Questions Regarding California Amateur Bouts
A CAMO official told Baldacci that, in order to resolve the situation, he would have to get the promoters of his previous bouts to send a legal document stating that Baldacci’s previous bouts were considered amateur fights and that he was not paid for competing. Baldacci says that such a task would be impossible. “I couldn’t even get those promoters to return my calls so that I could get a video of my fights, let alone putting together a legal document stating that my fights were amateur bouts when there wasn’t even a definition of amateur at the time,” Baldacci says. (Heavy)
Douglas De Luca Joins the Board of Directors of ProElite, Stratus Slowly Assembling Old Regime
“Having Doug De Luca on the board will help solidify our plans for success,” stated Paul Feller, President and CEO of Stratus. “His extensive experience and knowledge of the MMA and television worlds combined with his skills in developing strategic relationships and generating revenue will be essential for the growth of ProElite.”
During his tenure at ProElite, Mr. DeLuca negotiated and closed deals for ProElite with a number of media entities including Showtime Networks, CBS Television, Mark Burnett Productions, IMG, and Fox Sports Net. These deals propelled ProElite from a concept to the only Mixed Martial Arts organization to be broadcast live on network television in primetime. (MarketWatch)
Station Casinos workers seek refuge with Culinary Union
After months of legal wrangling, Station announced last month that it had reached a deal with key lenders that could clear the way out of bankruptcy this summer. The announcement came on the same day the Culinary went public with its organizing campaign, led by hundreds of Station employees companywide.
Under the deal, Station Chairman and CEO Frank Fertitta III and his brother Lorenzo Fertitta, would make a substantial but undisclosed equity investment, and the current management team would continue to lead the company.
…
The Culinary hopes to capitalize on public outrage over the bank bailouts, pitching its organizing campaign in populist terms. Taylor said company insiders, led by the Fertitta family, nearly tripled Station’s long-term debt to take the company private, netting more than $660 million in the process.
“It’s exactly why people are angry in this country,” Taylor said. “The very few ran off with a ton of money and we’re all having to pay for it. Now, the people who made off with the money are saying they shouldn’t have to pay it back. Station went into bankruptcy and the creditors and the workers have been left with the bag. Workers are fighting back.” (Las Vegas Sun)
VIDEO OF THE DAY
- WEC 48: Faber vs Aldo Promo: In the most explosive World Extreme Cagefighting® event ever, featherweight champion and Brazilian phenom Jose Aldo makes the first defense of his title when he takes on former world champion “The California Kid” Urijah Faber… If one title fight wasn’t enough, lightweight champion Ben Henderson takes on Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in a rematch of their 2009 Fight of the Year… Plus, former featherweight champion Mike Brown battles judo ace Manny Gamburyan. WEC: ALDO vs. FABER – Saturday, April 24, live on Pay-Per-View from Sacramento, CA.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We would have to really look at how things are developing and we’d probably have to borrow some manpower from somewhere,” Mullen said of the commission’s ability to handle both events. “It would be way bigger than anything we’ve ever done, but I don’t think it’s something we couldn’t do, we’d just have to make some unusual arrangements to make it work.” (Tennessee State Athletic Commission Addressing Two Potential MMA Events on 4/17, Sports Illustrated)
QUICK HITS
- Massachusetts Commission: Double Weigh-Ins at Fighters’ Discretion (Sherdog)
- WEC 47 draws $401,000 live gate (MMAJunkie)
- Bellator CEO says Roger Huerta at top of 155-pound tourney, not opposed to UFC signings (MMAJunkie)
- UFC 111 fighters talk Pacquiao vs. Clottey, fan apathy and boxing’s struggles (MMAJunkie)
- Lyle Beerbohm vs. Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro targeted for May 15 Strikeforce event (MMAJunkie)
- Marquardt: Hardy in Over His Head at UFC 111(MMAFighting)
- Strikeforce’s Consideration of Canseco a Flirtation in Need of an End (MMAFighting)
- Mir Buying in Bulk Against Carwin (Sherdog)
- HUERTA SAYS NO HARD FEELINGS WITH THE UFC (MMAWeekly)
- BELLATOR COULD TAKE HUERTA TO MEXICO (MMAWeekly)
- Vera suggests the UFC did him a favor with Jones matchup (Cage Writer)
- WEC 47 suffers setback with $401,000 live gate (FiveOuncesOfPain)
- UFC 111 Media Conference Call Quotes (Heavy)
TV LISTINGS
- UFC Primetime St-Pierre vs. Hardy at 10 PM ET/PT on Spike (03/17/10)
- UFC 111 Countdown: Mir vs. Carwin at 10:30 PM ET/PT on Spike (03/17/10)
- HDNet Fights Presents K-1 Classics (Masato, Drago, & Andre Dida) at 8 PM ET on HDNet (03/19/10)
- InsideMMA (Dan Henderson, Mike Straka & Donovan Craig) at 9 PM ET on HDNet (03/19/10)
- HDNet Fights: XFC X-Night of Champions at 10 PM ET on HDNet (03/19/10)
- UFC on Versus: Vera vs Jones at 10 PM ET on Versus (3/21/10)
UPCOMING EVENTS
- HDNet Fights: XFC X-Night of Champions at 10 PM ET on HDNet (03/19/10)
- UFC on Versus: Vera vs Jones at 10 PM ET on Versus (3/21/10)
- HDNet Fights: King of the Cage – Legacy at 10 PM ET on HDNet (03/26/10)
- Strikeforce Challengers: Johnson vs Mahe at 11 PM ET/PT on Showtime (03/26/10)
- UFC 111: GSP vs Hardy at 10 PM ET on PPV (03/27/10)
- UFN 21 : Florian vs Gomi at 10 PM ET on Spike (03/31/10)
- The Ultimate Fighter 11 Debut after UFN 21 on Spike (03/31/10)
Huerta is the biggest waste of time in MMA. He was a brand created by the UFC to draw hispanic fans. Something have have tried to do for a very long time. Look at his fights. The UFC would search the globe looking for someone with a good record who technically, stylistically, and physically couldnt match up with Huerta. There were a half dozen fighters where Huerta’s opponent was in his first UFC fight where they picked them out of the farm leagues. Also most of the guys were much smaller. The Pure BJJ guy he fought and Garcia soon after fighting Huerta went down in weight class’.
As soon as Huerta got a taste of someone with talent he got beat badly. He realized he was way over hyped and couldnt hang with decent fighters and used what was left of his name to ransom the UFC and others for a HUGE payday knowing his limited skills would soon make it unlikey to make it through any normal contract with any credibility left.
He will get beat by Alverez too. Huerta is tough and scrappy so he will hang tough early but Alverez will use his better technique and power to win on the feet and also mix in takedowns to take the clear decision if he dont land a KO.
I do not agree with your assesment. Yeah, his first 4-5 wins in UFC weren’t nothing extra and it was to build up him (which succeeded). But after that, his fight with Guida was pretty good and Huerta showed great endurance and resiliency (and to beat Guida isn’t as easy as it sounds). Then he lost on points with Florian (who is basically #2 in division), also feat that many fighters cannot really do – actually he is the only guy in UFC that Florian did not finished (not counting Florian’s losses)
And about handpicking: His last opponent, Gray Maynard was on the contrary specifically handpicked to defeat Huerta and do it in a way that would diminish Huerta’s value most. But it backfired, fight was not bad and Huerta lost by a split decision which is really not that humiliating.
After all, Huerta is not some angel from a heaven or clearcut TOP10 guy he is #38 ranked fighter, which is pretty right I think. Power of his signing is elsewhere: He is basically first guy to go to the Bellator rather than UFC, because he still had that choice (go to UFC). He wasn’t kicked out because of his fights or because of his losses, it was because of a contract dispute.
I’m not really that sure he will win that tournament, but he will be a nice measure for Bellator guys. And should he won that, of course that Alvarez is a favorite. He is ranked #3, not #38.
So, Huerta is not “biggest waste of time in MMA” (that is Jose Canseco I believe :)) but a very solid mid-to-top-level guy and very, very good acquisition for Bellator.
It’s interesting to see fighters with cross over appeal starting to look at the big picture against the restricted contracts that the UFC are expecting their roster to sign. Although the UFC tends to be the biggest paying ship in town, a person can’t fight for ever. Randy is an anomaly, not the norm. As fighters start to consider their future revenue streams, perhaps being locked down by a heavy handed contract even though more lucrative may not be in the best interest of the individual.
@mmaguru – After reading MMA Payout’s breakdown of the Bellator contract I don’t see the UFC’s contracts as being more heavy handed. Check it out and see what you think.
http://mmapayout.com/2009/03/inside-the-bellator-contract/
mmaguru and Matt. C,
Both raise some very good points. Bellator was scrutinized for having really tough binding contracts its first year, but we have not heard anything since. Not sure if they may have loosened up some clauses for recently signed fighter. Also, though they are exclusive contracts, Bellator has announced previously that they are open to co-promotion and letting their fighters fight in other promotions, though with certain requirements.
As an MMA fighter, it’s their job and goal to look out for their future, and if you can be a fighter that a promotion can get behind, like Huerta, then there is no reason for Huerta not to have made the jump. Fighting and proving you are the best is only a small part of having a career as a fighter and securing your financial stability and future is always the goal.
@ Jose Mendoza – Bellator pretty much had to be open to letting their fighters fight in other promotions because of their schedule. They would have had fighters sitting on the shelf for months between seasons if they didn’t allow some of them to fight elsewhere. I’m skeptical we will see much more of that now that they seem to have their schedule set for at least the next year.
Also if Roger Huerta got what he was asking for I don’t blame him for signing with Bellator. Good for him getting what he wanted.
Heurta was looking for a deal that was in line with main event fighters in the UFC, I would guess this contract is loaeded with extra money or at least the potential for extra money.
Caidel
The guy you claim is the 38th ranked fighter at 155 is asking for a quarter of a million. That makes him a waste of time in my book. He hasnt beat anyone good. Clay is not that good. He got perfect match ups to look good.Clay got killed by the much improved but over rated Florian who by no accident is being guided around all the wrestlers of the division because he has name value. Being a touhg punching bag is Huerta’s lone strength. Thats why he cant beat anyone just survive. Clinging to a split decision verses Maynard doenst help your cause. There was nothing split about it. A blind judge dont make Huerta more talented. He got out classed. Forget the fact he didnt face the good guys of the division who would run right over him. Penn, Sancez, Sherk, Tyson, Edgar, Florian again, and even Stevenson. He would probabley get wasted by a has been Gomi.
Yet this the guy who is wanting more money than guys like all but 5-10 guys in the UFC dispite never headlining an event or beating a top contender.
I refer to this as Tito Syndrome. If you are not very good and you know it and others dont. You better cash in before you fight and get exposed. Tito would holdout everytime he won a fight. I hope Bellator didnt waste that much money on him.