MMA Junkie reports that Rampage Jackson has signed a multi-year contract to fight in Bellator and wrestle with TNA Wrestling. Although he originally set out to be a professional wrestler, Jackson became an MMA fighter. Jackson, 34, fought his last UFC bout in January.
Tuesday’s signing by Bellator-owned Viacom includes a reality series for the former UFC Light Heavyweight champion which will highlight him during the leadup for his Bellator debut.
Jackson ironically joins “King” Mo Lawal as the second fighter/pro-wrestler signed for the benefit of Spike TV.
Payout Perspective:
A good signing for Bellator? Although Jackson may be past his prime, his style, trash-talk and popularity make him perfect to segue between sports and sports entertainment. A built in rivalry with Lawal can happen instantly in Bellator and TNA.
As a side note, you may recall, Jackson secured a sponsored with Reebok but was prohibited from wearing the sneaker brand at UFC on Fox 6. The UFC and Reebok were said to have been close to a major deal. Will Jackson be sponsored by Reebok when he moves to Bellator/TNA or will he not be able to because the UFC has a sponsorship with the brand?
I called it! Rampage will bring in ratings.
UFC will start to lose it’s grip
Sampson,
I pains me greatly to say this, but here we go: you were right.
If it makes money it makes sense. Rampage is obviously not threatening for a title shot in the UFC but he still has some gas in the tank. I think this move will help Bellator, and be good for Rampage as well as he tries to move beyond fighting.
Any word on what the contract looks like?
@Diego No terms were disclosed as of yesterday.
I’m skeptical about the ratings that Rampage can bring. He’s never proven to be a draw on his own and there is a grand total of one compelling opponent for him in Bellator. He’s also shown to be a PR risk.
I’m also skeptical of his ability to stay injury-free and in shape, especially given the possible tournament participation.
Good signing for Bellator, he should bring in better ratings than anyone else in Bellator.
He cant compete with the top UFC LHW and Bellators LHW div is terrible so its a good fit. Same with Kongo, in the UFC he is a boring gatekeeper making 70/70, in Bellator he is a title contender.
So those signings make sense for Bellator and both fighters.
Oh and what are you talking about Sampons? Losings its grip on what? Two fighters the UFC didnt want who are old and pretty washed up went to Bellator.
It’s the cycle of fighting sports.
A fighter can be deemed as washed up and way past their primes by the hardcore fans yet their name still resonates with the casual masses. It’s the same reason why washed up boxers past their primes can still earn big money internationally.
Hell… even look at the Roy Jones-Felix Trinidad Pay-Per-View buys at 500,000 plus. Both guys were clearly past their primes when they fought but the names still resonated with the public. Who is Anderson Silva, the supposed BEST UFC fighter currently STILL calling out? Roy Jones Jr.
Names resonate and build the strength of new organizations. It happened for the WCW against the WWE in the 90s and it’s happening right now for Bellator against the UFC. I wouldn’t put it past Bellator to pick up Mayhem Miller and even Kimbo Slice sometime next year to throw more ratings grabbers in the mix.
Once this happens, the general public (not the hardcore fans) get confused as to what organization, champion should be followed. It’s happened over time in boxing and is happening currently in MMA.
The UFC’s best fighters generally fight on PPV or Fox on a Saturday night in large arenas with good production values, UFC shows seem more special. Bellator will be running a week night in some Indian reservation with average at best production values, there will be 12 similar shows every week of the season, thus it seems less special.
Bellator’s biggest signings are from viacom and they are contracted to do reality shows and or TNA wrestling as well, that’s
kind of sad, what if someone like Cain Velasquez became available and didn’t want to do a reality show or Pro Wrestling?
duck,
Then it probably wouldn’t make sense for them to go to Viacom because it is unlikely they could pay enough without the reality and wrestling gigs on the side. This is a good way for Bellator to sign some names that they otherwise couldn’t afford. It’s not going to work for every fighter. And for the record, I can totally see Cain in a lucha libre mask jumping off the top ropes.
Most of the TV audience doesnt know or care about. where the fights are taking place. All they know is that its in a cage, its a name they recognize, hell some might even assume its a “UFC” fight when its really Bellator.
Weeknights are actually statistically much better television wise for the target demo. Males 18-34
Yeah they def have to do deals like this with some fighters cause the cant afford to pay them on their own. I mean they could but they would lose money every time Page fought.
So you make it more acceptable financially to Mo and Page by getting TNA to put some money in.
It can only work for Mo, Page, Barnett, Sonnen and Roy Nelson.
They have page and Mo, Barnett/Sonnen are with the UFC and Roy Nelson is a free agent after his next fight so they could do a similar deal with him.
But thats about it, I dont see anyone else in mma wanting/doing/getting a deal like this.
And Sampson couldnt be more wrong, most people dont care where the fights take place?
really? Then why is Bellator doing 700k viewers instead of the millions that watched UFC on the same network? Why doesnt WSOF get UFC ratings?
People care about the brand name and the UFC brand is bigger than any other.
Sure the fighters are what fans tune in for but what the UFC has done by building the brand over fighters is ensure that no matter who is fighting people will watch. Sure GSP fight or Anderson, Jones will get more viewers and more hype but the UFC has built the brand up so fans will watch the brand also.
Its not just about the fighter, you’ll see Rampge wont get as many viewers on Spike as he did when he fought Hendo in the UFC or Glover on Fox, he is the same fighter but the UFC brand is what brought in a large portion of the fans.
Fans absolutely care about the brand.
More people watch TV during the week but combat sports have always made their money on a Saturday night because you are more likely to sell PPVs to groups having a party and drawing a large gate. It’s not like team Sports were everybody in the town supports the team but people will travel 100’s of miles and pay top dollar to watch a big fight in Las Vegas and to a lesser extent other large cities around the globe.
Chris = pure idiot
I was speaking about the casual fan little lady. You are a UFC geek and a fan boy. Nobody cares about the brand except the nerds.
Rampage will definitely draw over 1 million viewers on Spike.
Watch how much the UFC draws on Fox Sports 1. Just wait and see… my guess is 500k average for the first 6 months. Maybe 600k for the next 6 and then flat line forever.