A congressional hearing on Mixed Martial Arts will take place on Thursday, December 8th at 10:30am. They are running late but you can view it here. Four witnesses have been invited to testify today including Randy Couture and the UFC’s Jeff Novitsky. Novitsky’s testimony is available here. Notably, Couture was the only witness not to […]
UFC
Ronda Rousey in new Pantene marketing campaign
Ronda Rousey will be a part of a new marketing campaign with Procter & Gamble’s Pantene brand. The campaign is a play on Pantene’s “Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Beautiful” campaign in the 1980s. In the television ad, Rousey states, “Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Strong.” Partnering w/ @Pantene to show how beautiful strong women […]
Emmanuel and Whitesell No. 4 on SBJ’s Most Influential in Sports Business for 2016
WME-IMG’s Ari Emmanuel and Patrick Whitesell have made Sports Business Journal’s Most Influential People in Sports Business for 2016. Emmanuel and Whitesell are key members of the new ownership group for the UFC. SBJ noted the ascension of these two (last year they were No. 12 on the list) but noted the following in choosing […]
Ali Act sponsor claims UFC attempted to influence witness list of congressional hearing
Bloody Elbow reports that the UFC threatened not to participate at a Congressional subcommittee hearing on MMA and the possible expansion of the Ali Act set for Thursday. The power play was due to Randy Couture’s participation as a witness at the hearing. According to the bill’s sponsor, Republican congressman Markwayne Mullin, the UFC attempted […]
TUF 24 Finale draws 1.032M viewers, Prelims 887K
The Ultimate Fighter Finale on FS1 Saturday drew 1.032 million viewers per Sports TV Ratings. The Prelims drew 887,000 viewers. The main card aired from 10:00-1:32am on FS1 and featured Demetrious Johnson successfully defending his title against TUF 24 winner Tim Elliott. The main card drew 531,000 viewers in the adult 18-49 category per Sports […]