Spike TV and the UFC have announced their counter-programming to Strikeforce for Saturday, May 15th will be a compilation of the best fights of 2010 entitled UFC’s Ultimate Fights. The two and a half hour program will air at 10PM ET (7PM PT) and feature the following five bouts:
- Carwin vs. Mir
- Garcia vs. Jung
- Munoz vs. Grove
- Etim vs. dos Anjos
- Serra vs. Trigg.
Payout Perspective:
I like the idea of taking the best fights of the year and putting them together on the same program. I’ve also long believed that interactive programming is one of the best ways to foster greater interest and loyalty in the consumer. Thus, I’d really like to see Spike and the UFC create an annual “Fight of the Year” series.
Basically the show – call it UFC’s Fight of the Year or something similar- would pit all of UFC’s fight of the nights from that year against one another to determine the Fight of the Year as voted by the fans. The organizations could use the December series to help push awareness and interest in the UFC’s annual NYE card. It would also provide a host of PR-related content for the UFC and Spike to publish and market the hell out of (especially on the social media side where this thing would catch like wildfire if it were properly tied into YouTube and Facebook).
Furthermore, as I mentioned above, this is the type of contest that gets fans involved and cultivates a deeper connection between them, the UFC, and its fighters. That’s probably the most important piece of all.
I don’t know why people get so upset by counter programming.
You have a DVR: Record Spike and watch Strikeforce.
Don’t have DVR: Watch Strikeforce. Or, Switch back and forth.
If people don’t know that Strikeforce is on Showtime this Saturday and they watch Spike, who’s fault is that? STRIKEFORCE/SHOWTIME!
Dana is taking advantage of Strikeforce/Showtime’s weak ass marketing. They leave him the opening to steal viewers away.
Also, The UFC does everything it can to inform it’s customers through social media. Strikeforce sucks at it.
Most people who have Showtime probably have a DVR. Most people who will watch old fights on Spike rather than new fights on Showtime probably weren’t going to tune in to SF anyway. I could be wrong, but that’s my feel.
Regardless, it comes off as silly when Dana continually does this kind of thing. I think SF should start to actively counter the WEC. The will probably beat it as long as Faber isn’t fighting, and the UFC is unlikely to counter the counter so SF can avoid the serious competition of the UFC.
With so many nights available to show fights, it does get frustrating when you have two good shows on the same night, I think that’s why people get upset. I think many fans would also prefer to see MMA competing for ratings against other entertainment offerings than against itself.
I think its great UFC counters SF. The less new fans who see the train wrecks that is anyone who has compete with the UFC in recent years, the better. Its not a good thing for new future hardcore MMA fans who see a couple UFCs then see Elite XC promote Kimbo as the best fighter in the world, then see SF have a brawl in the ring. Its chaos. Why not give new fans some UFC programming rather than them maybe tuning in for a rival who is probably not going to be around long. Its confusing and a sure way to turn people off to the sport. Look who has competed with the UFC in the last 4 years or so. Pride, Bodog, WFA, IFL, Affliction, Elite XC, and now Strikeforce. So far these people have embarraced the sport. Strikeforce is new to top level MMA. They havent had to great a start from a responsibility stand point. So why allow SF to gain viewers when history suggest they may not be around and alienate the public anyway. The more people who see these fly by night promotions the more they think MMA is a fly by night sport and dont take it serious.
If SF runs a promotion properly then the fans will come reguardless of what the UFC does. If they did their job right they would start to attract the 800K+ PPV buying mainstream fans of the UFC.
Good idea Kelsey. A Fights of the year show would be great. They could even gear it around a UFC year end awards show. At the same time have a KO of the year and Sub of the tear show, rookie of the year show. Allowing the public to text in their votes during the show. Then the results and awards are presented during the Year end UFC awards show. This creates a lot of fresh programs and the text voting allows fans to interact with the show. The awards will go a long way into building the image of the fighters and the UFC. The more ways to get high dollar main event fighters on TV without having them fight on free tv the better. Seeing a Brock Lesnar or Shogun Rua get Fighter of the year award will transfer over to PPV buys on their fights.
I think the only reason we’re getting to see these fights replayed is because of the comptetition SF puts on the UFC. It’s the fans who win if there’s competition, without it I’m sure Dana would charge for everything he could.
This SF card is solid. I’m going to watch it live because I prefer to watch sport live rather than replayed – especially if I’ve already seen the fight/game or know the result. I will DVR the UFC to watch later, and I will fast forward the Garcia-Jung fight because once was enough (isn’t that the WEC anyway?)
As usual I disagree with Brain’s anti-every-promotion-that-isn’t-the-UFC rants. I don’t think SF has embarassed the sport. I’m a huge fan of MMA and I’m no more embarassed by SF than I am by the UFC or Pride. Brain keeps mentioning the SF brawl (I’m sure we’ll never hear the end of it) but the UFC has had a checkered past (and present) as well. So do boxing, soccer and football but I’m still a huge fan of those sports.
SF have been around for a long time and they put on good fights. I’m willing to support them or any other promotion such as Bellator, that can put on good fights for free (or on a cable channel that I currently get). If Dana wants to compete, he can charging me $50 per PPV for crap like Tito-Griffin II.
Brain, did you watch the Fedor-Rogers fight? Are you going to watch the fights this weekend? Are you going to watch the Fedor-Werdum fight in June? If you answer “yes” then you’re a hypocrite, if you answer “no” then you’re not a fan of MMA – probably just a fan of the UFC. No fan of MMA is going to miss a Fedor fight. So which is it?
lol i can never watch MMA again and still have seen more fights than you will in your life. Yes i watched the Fedor Rogers fight. I was a pathtic display. Rogers is a bum who come out of ghetto bum fights on Iron Ring. Fedor isnt the best fighter anymore and he proved it in this fight. He has struggled in all of his past fights going back to Mark Hunt in Pride. Now he fights a fight vs Werdum that noone cares about. Werdum isnt that good. noone wanted to see it in Pride and they dont want to see it now. Also being a fan of Fedor doesnt make you hardcore. It makes you a tool. If you have watch MMA mor ethan 2 years you would know there is no such thing as a best fighter. Everyone has someone out there who would beat them. Fedor just knows to avoid them.
BTW, Dana was giving fights for free long before SF ever got into MMA. Also if you had an IQ above 100. You would realize SF dont charge for their events because they cant. Not because they dont want to. If Strikeforce turns into a decent promotion that anyone cares about then the first thing they will do is charge you $50 for their events.
Here is a little hint. Most people are tired of Fedor. They were tired of all his injuries in Pride, tired of him going to Bodog to fight a 185 Lindland, going to Japan to fight circus fights, and they are tired of him fighting Bum Rogers in SF. Like i said it dont make you cool because you like Fedor. It makes you a fan boy.
People complain about counter-programming because many people have a major problem with Zuffa. Anything they do will be complained about. Many use circular logic too, like bitching about low fighter pay (even though it’s been established that the disclosed payouts don’t tell the true story) and then bitching that the UFC runs too many events and runs water downed cards. I think part of it is people think MMA is more popular than it is and think there’s more money than there is.
People will also try and put down Zuffa successes, I’ve seen on boards where they said the WEC event “only” got 150k buys with Zuffa’s marketing, 150k for that event is a wild success.
Smasher,
Excellent point about SF not on PPV, people who think they are doing it out of the good of their hearts for MMA fans are fooling themselves, PPV is where the money is for the org and the fighters, the second they think they can sell a decent amount of PPVs, they will be on PPV.
No doubt. No tv deal can compare to success on PPV. Mayweather vs Pacman would draw over 25 million viewers on CBS but that cant compare to 2 million paying $50. Thats why Top boxer left network and cable TV years ago. Thats not to say Network tv shouldnt be used and cant be profitable. But as soon as Strikeforce thinks they can get 100K of their 2-3 million CBS viewers to pay $45 on PPV they will do it in a heart beat. 100K PPVs is a net of 4.5 million. After cable provider takes half they are still well above anything CBS is paying them. Their best fighters would be on PPV and the rest on CBS and Showtime. But they cant get 100K buys. Basically SF would be doing everything the UFC is doing if they were in the same position. The difference is Dana White has done a great job where others would have more than likely had major screw ups along the way.
Just a little defensive don’t you think Brain? Did I hit a nerve?
For the record, I don’t dislike the UFC or Dana White – I love what they do. But I dislike the fact that you constantly rag on every promotion that is not Zuffa owned even when they are putting out a decent product.
I guess I’m a tool because I like to watch Fedor. Interesting. I never said he was the best fighter – you’re the one who keeps bringing that up – I just said he’s someone I enjoy watching, and I especially enjoy watching him for free. But you admit that you watch SF, even though they’r’e an embarrassment to the sport. Also interesting. And the only “fan boy” on this site is you Re: Dana White.
By the way, how do you know how many MMA fights I’ve seen or how long I’ve been watching MMA? Get off your high horse dude. You don’t speak for the sport, so stop making sweeping generalizations and passing off your biased opinions (and I don’t say that in a derogatory way, everyone’s opinions are biased) as fact. For example:
“Most people are tired of Fedor.” Really? Is that most people in the world, most people you know, or you’re the one who is tired of him and you’ve decided that everyone else should agree with you? Look at the difference in SF ratings when Fedor fights vs. when he doesn’t. It would seem that a couple of million people at least are not tired of him. But then you’ll probably write those few million people off as “tools” or “fan boys” or people who have been watching MMA for less than two years, or people who have an IQ of less than 100.
And I don’t care why SF puts on fights for free, I just like that they do and I hope they keep doing it even though I hope they eventually put on a few fights on PPV, just like I hope the WEC goes back to PPV as well.
Stan, I agree that 150 PPVs is awesome for anyone other that the UFC. It shows how strong the UFC brand is that if they did 150k in a PPV most pundits would predict that they are about to go out of business and would chastise them for such a poor showing, but if anyone else can do 150k it’s a huge success. The fact that the WEC could get than kind of buy rate pretty much makes them the #2 promotion behind the UFC.
I don’t think anyone believes SF is putting on fights for free out of the goodness of their hearts. Obviously they are building towards a PPV model because that’s where the real money is, but they only became a national promotion last year, so it’s probably going to take them a while. It will be interesting to see when the WEC puts on their next PPV how they do. If they can get above 100k buys again it suggests that there is room for other promotions than the UFC on PPV. Of course those results are confounded slightly because of the branding games that Zuffa is playing with the WEC PPVs, but still, I think it would be a good sign.
Diego,
I am a MMA fan, but sometimes I admit I come off as a little bit of a Zuffa supporter because like i cited above there are MMA fans who just trash everything they do and every promotion is the next thing that will tear down Zuffa.
Barring any personal event that I don’t want to miss I watch basically every MMA event I can watch, either PPV, cable or whatever. I actually missed the WEC PPV card because I went to a local MMA card where a guy I knew was fighting on. However, I cannot apologize for the respect I have for Zuffa and Dana White. They took a dying brand, put 40m of their own money in, produced a show with no network and kept the UFC going. They had a couple of breaks go their way along the way no doubt, but that happens a lot in business.
I see where you are coming from Stan. I am the same way. I love watching any MMA events. Hell i watched every single Pride event even though i knew the way they ran things caused their talent to be left behind(same old fighters for 10 years) also knowing there were works(which i hate more than anything). BUt some fights were very good. I watch fight regardless of the promotion. I watch Ametuer fights in Ohio, Spartan Fighting in Kentucky, had a friends who put on a pro fight in Ohio. Went to KOTC, Gracie Fighting Championships. I love them all. I actualy prefer smaller events at times.
My beef with most non Zuffa promotions is they are chasing money with little passion for the sport and all of them are piggybacking the UFCs success. Take Elite XC for example. Gary Shaw was on record many times trashing MMA. ONce he realized he could make money on the sport he started his own promotion. Then every tool on the net fell in love with him claiming they were going to kill the UFC. Where was this guy 10 years ago when there wasnt money in the sport? I dont have any respect for anyone who gets into MMA because there is now money to be made. The UFC got in when most thought it was a lost cause. They got in because they loved the sport. Thats it. Strike force could have been doing MMA 10+ years ago if they really liked the sport.
If KOTC was in SFs position i would have no problem. They payed their dues and are in it because they loved the sport even when there was no money. They also opporate in a respectable fassion. They know their role and dont try to be bigger than they are. IF popularity started to rise then they would grow. They next threw away their company chasing money by competing with someone thye knew they couldnt like the IFL, Elite, Bodog, Affliction, etc.
Also the UFC has fought all the battles for these people. Its an easy road for them now. Who got sanctioned in most of the states? Who is paying millions to lobby in NY and Canada? Its not SF. Its the UFC. And people wonder why the UFC makes it hard on rival promotions. Why has any of them done for the sport?
The UFC acts responsible in the way they do things. They have to much invested and to much to lose. Others take huge risks because that have nothing invested and nothing to lose. Like the brawl in SF. The reason i keep using that is because i believe like many others it was set up. It was staged to draw ratings by either SF or Miller and Shields camp.
My biggest reason for supporting the UFC is i think they are the best respresentitive of MMA as a product and a promotion. Also as most know i am also for 1 single promotion to have the power. I think multi promotions at the top screw the fans. I can see this because i am not a fan boy with fighters posters on my wall. I am a fan of the sport not any given fighter. Multi promotions is a house divided. The more compeititon you have the more the product is watered down. i said it before MMA isnt the soft drink industry. This isnt like Coke vs Pepsi. If Pepsi never existed Coke would still taste the same. Its a renewable resource. The quality would not change. That isnt the case with talent in MMA. With no competition you have say 100 top fighters under one roof with any fight as a posibility. With a equal comptitior now each only have 50 top fighters. So now the fans get half the quality as before. With all the compeitiion in recent years the UFC has not lowered its price on PPVs.Comp has done nothing but take away great fights from the fans. How can any real fan sit and root for “compeition”? With out comp we would have already seen Fedor vs Randy and Fedor vs Lesnar just to name a few fights we now will never see. MMA and the UFC was at its peak when Pride went under and the UFC was finally able to set up Chuck vs Silva, Chuck vs QJ 2, Shogun vs Chuck, etc. This was the greatest period in the 16 years i have followed MMA/NHB.
Let me make something clear about something I greatly dislike Zuffa does, and that’s the whole way they have handled the video game, from the exclusive image rights to the non-payouts to fighters. WWE wrestlers all get a good check from appearing in the video game and I strongly feel that the UFC fighters were put in a horrible position over that
Yeah, that was a bad situation. Not sure what the game deal was in terms on value to the UFC. Being the first game on the deal it was hard to say how lucrative it was. That maybe why fighters werent given money to appear. Some fighters were paid for it. Not much though from what i hear. But from Dana’s perspective i realize the position he was in. THe game was a way to increase awareness of MMA and the UFC.(I created probably at least a dozen MMA fans from the old Pride game years ago). He had already signed the UFC with THQ assuming he already had all the fighters. He did not and was left scrambling to get fighters to sign on to the game or the deal was gone plus possible legal action. Dana was in a tight spot. I did think he was a little harsh on Fitch. I dont think there was anything wrong with playing hard ball if needed. BUt he started out a little to aggressive without actually talking to fitch.
As with most decisions the UFC makes there are reasons behind the choices they make. They are smart people who have hired smart people to work with them. Yet people want to second guess them after every decision even with their history of doing the right thing. The UFC banned MMA media people complain. BUt it was to increase mainstream media attention. THe only thing that can get MMA to the next level. They ban mom and pop sponsors by charging a large fee. people complain. But this was to increase quality of sponsors so fighters get bigger higher paying sponsors. Everything has a reason. THe UFC dont do thing for no reason or just to piss people off. Once people look at it from a perspective of a company making long term decisions to help the UFC, MMA, and its fighters. The more they will understand.
Unfortunately people complaining about the UFC isnt anything new. I was following MMA online back in the mid 90’s and people were hating on the UFC even though there werent anyone else to follow. In that sitaution you have to question why they were event watching. BUt people hated the cage, the rules, SEG, the fight cards, Meyrowitz, the UFC was under paying, etc. It hasnt changed. There is always going to be a large group of people who are never happy.
No one needs to apologize for liking the UFC. It’s awesome. I’m not asking anyone to apologize for watching UFC fights. I also agree that a lot of promotions suck. But everyone is lumping SF in wit ElilteXC and Affliciton which were both poorly run and managed and I get tired of the constant complaints about everything SF does. I have the same problem with people who complain about everything the UFC does. Both promotions are solid, as is Dream in my opinion, at least in terms of putting on fights. I have to admit that the way they do business in Japan remains a mystery to me. I also like what Bellator has been doing. They are putting on good competitive fights with guys who would otherwise be on much smaller shows. Hell, I’m a huge fan of the old IVCs. Some of the fights could be a grind, but man they were intense.
My point is there is a lot of good MMA out there, and not just in the UFC. What sets me off is people criticizing promotions just because they are not the UFC, and it sets me off when keyboard warriors start ragging on fighters: “Brett Rogers is a bum, Fedor is a coward who is ducking people, Werdum is a no-talent UFC dropout” etc., just because they are not fighting for the UFC. It’s the reason I don’t post on other sites and I would hope we can keep that kind of BS personal attack against MMA fighters out of this site.
I’m happy for fighters to have alternatives to the UFC. Babalu was able to make good money after they UFC cut him (the ethics of what he did to get cut aside) because there were other promotions out there. Werdum wasn’t cut, they merely brought him in for contract renegotiation and informed him that they were cutting his money in half. Fedor wanted to be able to boost his promotion company – whether that’s a good business move or not is irrelevant, it’s what the man wants to do and that’s that.
Nor do I agree that Zuffa got into MMA because of their passion for the sport. The Fertittas saw the potential and thought the UFC would dovetail nicely into their existing casino business. They didn’t go $40M in the red because they really like Dan Severn and Ken Shamrock. It was a cold business decision, they were just smarter about making it than Bodog, EliteXC, Affliction, IFL, etc. MMA is a business, Zuffa is involved in it because it is a business. Other people have the right to get involved as well. And just because the UFC are pioneers doesn’t mean they get a free pass forevermore on being criticized. There is plenty that they do wrong, and the fans and media (and fighters although they have no real leverage) have the right to call them to account. I agree that Dana bashing get’s out of hand, but frankly so does Dana nut-hugging. I guess the internet is a medium best suited to extremes.
I firmly believe that over the long term competition will be good for the sport. The other alternative is a very strong fighters’ union that can counter the strength of the one promotion left standing. Otherwise you will see salaries pushed down, prices go up and eventually you will stop attracting the top talent into your industry. Saying that if SF goes under then we get to see Fedor v Lesnar (or Carwin who will win in my opinion) is taking a short-sighted view. And it’s true that PPV prices have not gone down for the UFC, but honestly, they haven’t been pushed. Other than Pride, no promotion has come close to competing with the UFCI could counter that argument by saying that PPV prices haven’t gone up either. I think PPV pricing does not change much with competition – Jones v. Hopkins was the standard PPV price even though it wasn’t a highly regarded fight.
But if you want to look at how the UFC reacts to competition just remember that the only reason the WEC was not brought into the UFC fold was because Zuffa wanted to block the IFL from Versus. They bought the WEC and put it on Versus so the IFL would have to go to whatever godawful channel they wound up going to. So basically, no IFL, no WEC on Versus. And I like the WEC on Versus.