MMAPayout will be taking a look at the storylines heading into UFC 119: Mir vs. Cro Cop, which will be held at the Conseco Fieldhouse Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana on Saturday, September 25, 2010.

Q&A with Dana White, the president of Ultimate Fighting Championship

UFC combines various fighting disciplines including boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiujitsu and Muay Thai, and has grown dramatically in popularity since White persuaded Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta to purchase the entity for $2 million in 2001. With offices in Las Vegas, Toronto, London and Beijing and shows televised in a half billion homes worldwide, White reports UFC is worth about $2.5 billion today. (IndyStar)

Hoosier state of mind for UFC

In Indiana, legislation passed quietly last year without much opposition. It took effect Jan. 1, paving the way for the UFC to make its first visit Saturday in Indianapolis…

“In the UFC’s case, their stance has always been that they run to regulation. So we felt, with Indianapolis being arguably one of the better sports cities in the nation, that it would be a matter of time before they visited our state for the first time once the Commission got up and running smoothly.

“On top of that, there is a huge MMA fan base here, and we’ve always heard that pay-per-view buys in Indiana are at or near the top of the list.” (NWITimes)

UFC 119: Rare non-sellout for the mixed martial arts juggernaut

The MMA fighting league, the most popular in the world, is struggling to sell out this weekend’s bout, which marks the first time the event is being staged in Indiana. In recent years, UFC has routinely sold out its monthly main events, and it has often made TicketNews’ exclusive industry rankings of the Top Events of a particular week.

A check on Ticketmaster.com today, September 22, revealed that tickets were still available to the event at most price points, from $40 face value to $300. Fees were not included in those prices, which ranged from an additional $12.20 to $26.60. The event will be held at the Conseco Fieldhouse, which seats close to 18,400.

Several factors appear to be contributing to event’s slow ticket sales, including the weak economy – Indiana’s unemployment rate is above the national average at 10.2 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics – a lackluster main event, and the fact that UFC has never visited the Hoosier State before. (TicketNews)

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MMAPayout Note: As of earlier this week, UFC 119 had sold 11,500 tickets (1,500 still available) for a $1.5 million gate. The venue is assumed to only accommodate about 13,000 fans out of the possible 18,400 the Conseco Fieldhouse arena can host.

15 things you may not know about UFC

In simplest terms, Ultimate Fighting Championship is the world leader in mixed martial arts fighting.

Two men go at it in 30 feet of fighting space enclosed in a caged octagon. Fighting disciplines include karate, jiu-jitsu (submission grappling), boxing, kickboxing and wrestling.

The sport will be on display for the first time in Indiana with UFC 119 on Saturday night at Conseco Fieldhouse. The 11-fight card, expected to draw an 18,000-seat sellout, starts at 7 p.m, with preliminary fights airing live at 9 on Spike TV. Pay-per-view of the night’s five featured fights begins at 10. (IndyStar)

UFC 119: Lytle happy to be home

Chris Lytle was the ideal first choice to throw a few loud punches, then roll around on a mat in a brief but sweaty introduction of Ultimate Fighting Championship training Wednesday afternoon at the Omni Severin Hotel Downtown.

Who better to promote Saturday night’s UFC 119 at Conseco Fieldhouse than a local favorite? Four mixed martial arts fighters on the 11-bout card have Indiana ties, but Lytle is the best-known in UFC’s Hoosier state debut. (IndyStar)

MATT ERICKSON: Love it or hate it, MMA is ‘inevitable’

You probably don’t call it that — you probably call it “ultimate fighting” or “cage fighting” or “extreme fighting.” You might even call it what Sen. John McCain called it years ago — “human cockfighting.”
But whatever name you give it, you probably think it’s too bloody, glorifies violence and is akin to ancient gladiators forcing two men to fight till one of them became a farm purchaser.
But you’d be wrong. Most of the time, anyway. (NWITimes)