Here’s a press release that was just released by Affliction to announce a press conference this Thursday, June 5 in New York involving none other than Donald Trump:
WHAT: “Affliction Banned†Press Conference
WHO: DONALD J. TRUMP
Chairman and CEO of the Trump Organization
WHEN: Thursday, June 5 – 12 PM/ET
WHERE: Trump Tower, [...]
(’Ultimate Iceman’: an excellent ratio of MMA buzz words.)
Never ones to sit on their hands while a competitor plans to usurp their throne, the UFC worked with Spike TV to try and distract would-be viewers from Elite XC: Primetime on Saturday night with their own counter-programming in the form of ‘Ultimate Iceman.’ The thinking here was fairly simple: hardcore MMA fans will feel compelled to watch Elite XC (if they’re home watching TV at all), but more casual fans might be swayed by a night of Chuck Liddell.
It’s not a bad strategy. Based on the informal research I’ve done in bars over the years, casual fans tend to know two things about MMA. One is that they like Chuck Liddell because he has a mohawk and knocks people out. The other is that Chuck Liddell is sometimes called “The Iceman.” Occasionally these people seem unaware that he has a real name, referring to him simply as “Iceman,” which instantly makes me wonder if the conversation hasn’t shifted to Val Kilmer’s performance in Top Gun (totally underrated, by the way).
But while this makes sense for the UFC and for Spike TV — especially considering that they don’t have much in the way of quality programming — the question is, is it working? The answer, according to the numbers, is kind of.
‘Ultimate Iceman’ drew 1.6 million viewers on Saturday night (that’s a 1.2 rating), when it aired opposite Elite XC: Primetime. By comparison, Elite XC peaked with 6.51 million viewers for the main event, almost double their first half-hour, where they had 3.38 million. If Spike TV’s efforts made a small dent in that action, you have to assume that both they and the UFC are pleased. But something about the way they’re trying so hard to downplay Elite XC’s ratings success makes them seem more envious than confident.
MMA Payout quotes Spike TV as relaying the following message:
According to MMA Weekly’s rumors section, a fight between Matt “Chipper” Riddle and Dante Rivera has been scheduled for The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale. The two jokingly talked trash to one another inside the house and now it looks like they will get to go at it inside the cage.
Riddle, a Team Rampage member, beat [...]
Brett Rogers and Team Bison issued an open letter on the Kimbo Slice/Elite XC situation today via Rogers’s official website. I don’t think I have to tell you that it’s a riveting read. Here it is, exactly as penned by Rogers and his camp:
An Open letter to all
On behalf of Brett Rogers, Team Bison and everyone representing our camp: we would like to clarify a few issues that may be mis- interrupted by the press and the many many message boards.
First we would like to start out by once again thanking Gary Shaw and Elite XC. Elite is our home and it is where we hope to be for a long time. They treat their fighters great. More then the day to day treatment of the fighters they are interested in developing fighters and making long term commitments to their fighters. Unlike other promotions who have a tradition of “one and done†and cancelling contracts without notice; Elite is standing by their fighters. We are proud to be with the organization that brought back Yves, Sammy and Phil when others wrote them off. We were proud to be part of an organization that gave James Thompson a chance at redemption (and in our mind earned another chance on Saturday!). Elite gave us an amazing opportunity to bring aboard great sponsors who could really get their money’s worth.
We really believe in Elite and hope to bring more of our fighters up through their ranks. We do not want anyone to think for a second we are ungrateful, angry or otherwise disappointed with Gary Shaw, Elite, Showtime or CBS. And no; we have not been forced or threatened to say this and anyone who thinks we could be does not know Team Bison. Simply put; we will always speak our minds and will not be intimidated; which brings us to the Kimbo situation.
The following is a press release from CBS and EliteXC:
Ratings for the final 51 minutes of CBS’s inaugural CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS mixed martial arts broadcast (11:00-11:51 PM, ET/PT), which were unavailable Sunday, delivered an average audience of 6.12 million viewers, according to updated Nielsen live plus same day ratings for [...]
Final viewership figures from EliteXC/CBS’s Saturday Night Fights broadcast were announced today via press release, and despite all the unfortunate aspects of the event itself, it was undeniably a smash in terms of drawing an audience. The final 51 minutes of the 171-minute program delivered an average of 6.12 million viewers, peaking at 6.51 million viewers during the main event. Compared to CBS’s regularly scheduled programming at 9:00-11:00 PM on Saturday during the 2007-08 season, the ratings were up an astounding 357% among men aged 18-34. In other words, as troubled as SNF was, you’ll definitely be seeing it again. (Apologies, squeamish Middle America.) Here’s the demographic breakdown released by CBS, showing rating figures and peak viewership:
The 4.31 million average viewers pulled in by SNF from 9 to 11 p.m. edged out the 4.23 scored by ABC during that time and the 4.31 recorded by NBC, which was showing an NHL playoff game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings. CBS’s beating of NBC was especially prominent in L.A., where EliteXC peaked at a 7.2 share, while the NHL averaged a 3 share. (FOX kicked everyone’s ass with the perennial Saturday night twofer of Cops and America’s Most Wanted.)
And if you need more useless information, here are the top 10 markets for CBS from 11:30-11:45 PM on Saturday:
1) Oklahoma City/KWTV: 11.1 rating/18 share
2) Nashville/WTVF: 10.3/19
3) New Orleans/WWL: 9.7/15
4) Memphis/WREG: 8.4/14
5) Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville/WSPA: 8.0/15
6) Las Vegas/KLAS: 7.5/15
7T) Tulsa/KOTV: 7.3/13
7T) Miami/WFOR: 7.3/12
9) Los Angeles/KCBS: 7.2/17
10) St Louis/KMOV: 7.1/13
It wasn’t just American Gladiators that kept Gina Carano from making weight on Friday. “Conviction” had also been busy filming live-action interlude scenes for Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3, which will be released for Xbox 360 and PC in October. Here’s the promo, which shows her dressed as her character “Natasha.” (Hopefully she’ll have a terrible Russian accent in the game to go along with that name.) Warning: The cheesiness level on this one is HIGH.
To be honest, I wasn’t really looking forward to UFC 85 until I watched part of the countdown show for last night. From what I was able to view, the show did great job of getting me excited for the Matt Hughes vs. Thiago Alves fight.
What really helped me get into it was the [...]
Kimbo Slice’s trainer and respected elder statesman of MMA Bas Rutten has posted a message to his website evaluating Slice’s performance on Saturday night and addressing some of the more controversial moments of the bout. As usual, Rutten offers a fair perspective even as a staunch Kimbo ally, but perhaps most interesting is this P.S. at the end of his remarks:
P.S. People ask me if the fight should have been stopped at the end in the second round, I say YES because those are the rules, it should have been stopped because Kimbo didn’t do anything to improve his situation. But I think what made the ref NOT do it was the fact that Kimbo was giving his thumbs up the whole time to let the referee know that he was OK.
This was the refs decission, not Kimbo’s.
There you have it. Even Rutten believes that the fight should have been stopped. His reasoning that the “thumbs up” prevented it is a little shaky. I wonder, which trapped arm was Kimbo using to give that thumbs up? Might it not have been a better idea to use said arm for defending his face?
Regardless, Rutten makes several good points about Kimbo’s evolution as a fighter, and doesn’t shy away from pointing out the numerous mistakes he made in the fight, particularly once he got tired.
