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(’Come on, Brock. What did we talk about? A little foundation is fine, but you go piling it on like this and it just makes you look desperate.’)
If you don’t like seeing Brock Lesnar in the UFC, and if you didn’t enjoy his appearance on E:60, you’re really not going to like this.
Maybe you hoped Dana White would give up on the former WWE star if he fails to beat Randy Couture. Maybe you just hoped he and his enormous traps would get stuck in a doorway somewhere in a remote part of Minnesota and he’d never be heard from again. Unfortunately for you, the second scenario is starting to sound more plausible than the first. Judging by Dana White’s remarks to The Sun, he seems to be absolutely smitten with Lesnar:
“It’s such an interesting fight because Couture is so good at coming up with plans for finding weaknesses in guys’ games and exposing them. But Lesnar’s such a different animal, this guy is so big, so strong and so fast at that weight it’s just phenomenal.
“For what he lacks in technique and knowledge, he makes up for in size, speed and power. Lesnar could go on to be the best heavyweight and the longest-reigning heavyweight - who knows what could happen with him.”
Who knows, indeed. He could go down in history as the greatest MMA fighter who ever lived. He could beat every heavyweight in the world, then travel into space to defeat intergalactic heavyweights. Instead of dying like a mortal man he could ascend to heaven on a winged white steed while angels sing a glorious song that churns the seas into a golden froth. Man, I have got to stop doing peyote in the afternoon.
The point is, it seems a little premature to get so worked up about a guy who’s 2-1 and has a bad habit of quitting stuff to go do other stuff, right? And then you hear this little afterthought thrown in there:
“If Couture loses to Lesnar, I don’t know how much more interest there is in a Fedor v Couture fight. I think you’d be looking at Fedor going up against whoever the best heavyweight at the time is.”
Okay, now I get it. White’s hedging his bets. If Couture wins, he’s still the champ and the UFC still has him under contract for two more fights. If Lesnar wins, it not only fits this heavyweight messiah storyline but it also kills the interest in a Fedor/Couture fight, or so Dana hopes.
You know who’s not so crazy about this plan? Fedor’s manager, Vadim Finklestein, who had this to say in a statement offered to FightLine.com:
Dana says UFC’s doors are wide open. Maybe they are. But these doors also shut tightly once the fighter signs with the organization. Randy Couture came back to the UFC and what now?
Instead of fighting the best in the promotion he has to fight a young upstart with 2-1 pro-record. Couture might not survive all the three contractual fights. I’m afraid that’s being made in order to finish the star which is Randy and not let him fight Fedor.
Finklestein goes on to say that Fedor doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone, that he can just hang out and fight Andrei Arlovski and Josh Barnett, and he likens Dana White to “a man with a big tasty pie who’s afraid that someone comes and bites a piece of it.”
I’m not sure that analogy helps make his point. If I had a big tasty pie, I doubt I’d want anyone biting pieces of it, either. You let one person do that, then pretty soon the whole neighborhood’s biting on your pie, and it’s so delicious, and word gets around, and…wait, what kind of pie is it? Goddamn peyote.
Written by admin on October 23rd, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on fight and General and contract and UFC 91 and Vadim Finklestein and Brock Lesnar and News and UFC and Randy Couture and Dana White and Fedor Emelianenko and MMA.
(Just saying guys, my birthday is coming up here pretty soon.)
In the UFC’s efforts to capitalize more on marketing and merchandising opportunities, they’ve been trying to get fighters to sign agreements which have come under fire for being a little too — surprise — one-sided. Sports Illustrated’s Josh Gross criticized the merchandising rights agreements for clauses that require fighters to sign away rights to their likenesses in perpetuity. In other words, the UFC owns that ass and depictions of said ass, and can do what they want with it. Several fighters — and by fighters we mean fighters’ agents — refused to sign. Now the UFC is turning up the heat on them by sending letters directly to the fighters in question, something of an ethics no-no:
Multiple sources have indicated that UFC officials are now sending letters to fighters who have not yet signed the Merchandising Rights Agreement. The letter warns fighters that if they do not return the executed Merchandising Rights Agreement by the end of the week, the offer will be rescinded, and the fighter will not be included in the UFC’s licensing program.
Even more outrageous, UFC officials are directly contacting fighters, instead of the fighters’ selected agents. Fighters are told that they are hearing only one side of the story from their selected representatives, and that the UFC’s Merchandising Rights program really is a great deal. By not signing the Merchandising Rights Agreement, fighters are told they are leaving money on the table.
The guys over at MMA Payout are calling this an attempt to “dupe” fighters, and likening it to the “moral morass that is the boxing scene, and not something that MMA promoters should be mimicking.”
Funny they should mention that, since Dana White reminded us just yesterday that one advantage the UFC has is that it doesn’t have to put up with boxing’s “political bullshit.” It’s all great timing, especially with the return of Couture, who said he first tussled with Zuffa over ancillary rights. One can’t help but wonder if he signed the merchandising rights agreement along with his new contract…
Written by admin on September 3rd, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on fight and contract and merchandising and General and News and UFC and Randy Couture and Dana White and MMA.
KJ Noons became the latest Elite XC fighter to release an official statement, as he finally dished on what’s been keeping him from taking a fight with Nick Diaz on the October 4 CBS show. Noons sent his screed to MMANews.com, and it is full of fun little quips and nuggets about life in Elite XC. Noons’ grievances range from the financial to the probably merely perceived to the petty, but he puts it all out there with enough attitude and anger to make up for all the time he let Jared Shaw run his mouth without consequences. Among his complaints:
In the Elite XC’s DVD where Diaz and I fought there are two (2) baseball cards of Diaz and Kimbo. Hello! I won the fight and Elite XC’s promoting Diaz after I beat him? Or how about the day Elite XC flew Diaz in to do a signing on the DVD where he lost. Wow, that must have been uncomfortable Nick? Signing a DVD, and it is a fight that you lost. Why wasn’t I flown in for the signing?
[…]
Consider when Elite XC gives a couple thousand tickets away at their CBS show in Stockton.
Elite XC gives me a hard time about comping me one extra ticket for my cousin that helped me train for my fight. I only get four tickets per show. I am the main event in Honolulu, my home town! I did not ask for any tickets for my family and friends and they gave me a hard time about one extra ticket!
Or how about when Elite XC brought Diaz into the ring after my last victory in Hawaii to disrespect me and my family.
Chuck Champion (President Elite XC) threatens me, my family and my manager with lawsuits and how he’s going to sue me. HAHA. Pretty hard to sue a guy who does not make jack with your company. I’m glad $kala disclosed how much I make, which breached the confidentiality clause of the contract. I will break down the real numbers for you. I am the defending world champ, I have been the main event for Elite XC three out of four times on Showtime. In almost two years I have made approximately $83,000?
Of course, Noons then goes on to tread familiar ground for fighters, explaining that he has to pay his trainers and managers and (gasp!) taxes with that money, so he figures he’s really only making around $300 a week, and his friends who are bus boys make more than that (he really said that).
The Diaz situation rears its ugly head in all of this, and it seems that their request to have Noons face him in a rematch on CBS was what really set “King Karl” off:
But the straw that broke the camel’s back is they want me to fight Diaz for the second time. Diaz is not the number one contender and they are paying Diaz three times more money than me. Diaz complained after the Stockton fight, he was not paid enough. How do you think that made me feel? Yes you can argue that Diaz gets more for the draw, therefore I do not deserve as much compensation. If that is the case, it is a result of Elite XC terrible job promoting me. Instead of promoting me as their champ and upcoming athlete, Elite XC has resented me for ruining their plans to make Diaz their champ. That is just total disrespect. So it comes down to money and what is fair. I am tired of being bent over by Elite XC with no Vaseline.
I am right when I say Diaz is not the number one contender. Elite XC is trying to force this fight for their ratings. Eddie Alaverez is the number one contender and anybody with half a brain knows that a fight with Eddie is a way harder fight for me than Diaz. I will fight Diaz, but Elite has to be fair. I’m not ducking Diaz, why the hell would I be scared of someone I already beat.
Noons concludes by saying that he plans to fight Diaz eventually, but not on the October CBS card, and that he also plans to focus on his boxing career, where he feels he can make more money. He also claims that no one is talking about Elite XC’s October card apart from the Noons-Diaz match that isn’t happening on it. He does know about the whole Kimbo Slice-Ken Shamrock thing, right?
Here’s a crazy idea: if Noons is upset that Diaz is making more money and getting more of a push, why not go out in front of the CBS audience and give him a whipping? After all, he’s not a top contender, so it should be an easy paycheck, and after he beats Diaz down Elite XC will have to pay him more and promote him as their champ, right? Plus, think of the extra sponsorship money he could pick up in front of a CBS crowd.
Or he could just sit out and not get that money. Either way. Maybe his bus boy friends know of some place that’s hiring.
Written by admin on August 28th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on money and Elite XC and CBS and contract and Jared Shaw and KJ Noons and fight and News and Nick Diaz and Gary Shaw and Boxing and General and MMA.
(You thought the fight was messy…)
Three KJ Noons stories in one day? It feels like that episode of “The Twilight Zone” where everyone looked like pigs except for the one blonde girl, only instead of everyone looking like pigs they’re all talking about KJ Noons, which is even crazier. I don’t know who would be the blonde girl in this analogy, but you get the point.
Insane though it may be, this is too good not to report. You remember the deadline put forth by Jared Shaw? Where he said KJ Noons had until 5 pm today to agree to the bout with Nick Diaz, and if he didn’t he would face the dreaded “public opinion” as a consequence? Well, get your opinions ready, because according to Noons’ manager, Mark Dion, they aren’t concerned in the least with Shaw’s ultimatum:
“The update on [the deadline] is nothing is going to happen with it,” Dion said. “That’s what’s going to happen with that. I don’t care about how many threats [Shaw] wants to pull. We’ll be doing a press conference if EliteXC doesn’t see the light here pretty soon and if Shaw doesn’t stop talking [expletive].”
“As far as Nick Diaz, he’s not the No. 1 contender out there,” Dion said. “To [EliteXC] he is. He’s the number one (for getting) eyeballs to (watch) them. They’re pushing on eyeballs versus a career move for a champion like KJ. KJ is really not the one who gets anything out of the fight. Diaz does and so does ProElite.”
“We’ll do a press conference to discuss everything,” Dion said. “But there’s nothing in it for KJ unless [EliteXC] finally wakes up a little bit. That’s why we’ll have a press conference. I don’t like to talk and beat a company that’s already beat down. I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully they’ll see the light.”
Looks like the relationship between KJ Noons/Mark Dion and Elite XC/Jared Shaw just went from unfriendly to straight-up hostile. Dion just had to go and mention that Pro Elite is struggling. That’s like bringing someone’s mother into the argument. Now this thing is personal.
The point about Diaz not being a number one contender, but rather simply Elite XC’s number one contender is an interesting one. You could argue that Noons isn’t really a lightweight champ, but rather just Elite XC’s lightweight champ, though then you’d just be stating the obvious. So who does Dion think should get the shot?
“I would think Eddie Alvarez is the No. 1 contender,” Dion said. “He’s definitely ranked higher than Nick Diaz. KJ already beat Nick Diaz.”
When told that Alvarez was unavailable to fight because he’s taking time off to get married, Dion responded, “that’s not our problem…People get married in five or 10 minutes.”
Clearly, Mark Dion is not only a master negotiator, but also a totally sweet dude. People do get married in five or ten minutes. That’s a fact. So what now, Elite XC?
At this point, some of you are probably wondering, isn’t this brash Mark Dion character the same guy who was involved in the Brandon Vera-UFC contract debacle? The answer is yes, but don’t bring that up unless you’ve got a minute:
“Look at Brandon Vera,” Dion said. “He had a long layoff, but he’s making more money than the No. 1 ranked [expletive] fighter in the world, Anderson Silva — or the same amount.
“And now Anderson Silva is getting Bud Light sponsorships from (UFC President) Dana (White) handed down to him. He’s getting to fight at 205 (pounds). He’s kind of telling them what he wants to do. Why? Because you got people like Brandon Vera, who’s on a losing streak and not performing, making more money than the most valuable guy.
“Who do you think negotiated that [expletive] contract a year and a half ago? And if you look at my Post-it, the one I negotiated was a $7 million deal for four years. It’s nothing close to [$100,000] and [$100,000] (as a win bonus). As far as trying to bring in the Mark Dion negatives and stuff, good luck. Show me any negatives on it. And that’s just a pitch [EliteXC] can use. But hey, I know my [expletive]. I’ve been around this sport a long, long time.”
And so it goes. Your turn, Jared Shaw. Better make it count.
Written by admin on August 21st, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Elite XC and KJ Noons and contract and Jared Shaw and Mark Dion and deadline and fight and General and Anderson Silva and UFC and Dana White and Nick Diaz and Brandon Vera and News and MMA.
Despite announcing that he had signed a “ground-breaking record” deal with Affliction, Tito Ortiz is now said to be negotiating with other organizations, including Elite XC and the crazy Kentuckians of the AFL. It seems only fair. Why should Affliction get to hog all the Tito crazy? Their contract negotiations with him are said to be troubled, so that could be the impetus for him looking elsewhere. He’s even said to be in talks with the UFC, which might be the source of this anonymous quote:
“I don’t know if we’re really negotiating, or simply helping Tito stroke his giant ego,” one frustrated company representative said Sunday, Aug. 17.
Why does it have to be an either/or situation? Why can’t it be both? This is Tito Ortiz we’re talking about. Most of his actions are designed to boost his ego.
The idea that Tito could end up back in the UFC is, in a word, insane. Not only is he not enough of a draw at this point to justify the price tag or the headache, but Dana White seems to genuinely hate him too much to give him any more money or TV time. It would seem more likely that the UFC is trying to drive the price up on Affliction, but that’s just one man talking sense.
If Ortiz does sign with the AFL — the organization known for giving huge contracts to lesser-known female fighters and putting many of their economic eggs into the AFL-brand dress pants basket — I think it’s safe to say that they will officially be the zaniest and least viable MMA organization in existence. Now that I think about it, that does seem like the appropriate home for Tito.
Written by admin on August 18th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Elite XC and Affliction and contract and AFL and fight and General and UFC and Tito Ortiz and News and MMA.
(To the cameraman’s amazement, suggesting she pour water on her boobs actually worked.)
Thanks to his chummy relationship with Octagon girl Arianny Celeste, MMA Rated’s Ariel Helwani got the scoop on what’s going on between Roger Huerta and his former “gal pal” (I read that phrase in Us Weekly while waiting in line at the supermarket and have been dying to use it). It sounds like Roger has done screwed things up somehow:
AH: What did you think of Roger Huerta’s performance against Kenny Florian?
AC: It was OK.
AH: And what about the rumors that you had falling out with Roger. Are those true?
AC: I wish the best for everybody including him but we are no longer on speaking terms. We are no longer friends.
AH: Wow. What happened?
AC: No comment.
AH: Why are you not on speaking terms?
AC: No comment
AH: Some have speculated that Roger and (”That 70’s Show” star) Laura Prepon have a budding relationship. What are your thoughts on that?
AC: I don’t know anything about that.
At the risk of leaning toward celebrity relationship gossip blog territory, I have to admit this makes me wonder. No longer on speaking terms? That doesn’t sound like your average break-up language, even if she wishes “the best for everyone, including him” — which is the type of boilerplate phrase that is certainly not meant to convey any sort of truth. Maybe all the fame and attention has gone to Huerta’s head? That explanation would certainly jive with his outrageous contract demands. At least this means that Arianny is back on the market. Maybe you should give her a call. I think she’d really like you if she got to know you.
Written by admin on August 12th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on boobs and contract and Octagon girl and UFC girl and wet t-shirt and girls and fight and Roger Huerta and UFC and News and Arianny Celeste and General and MMA.
(’You’re looking at Don King’s hair behind me, aren’t you? Man, every damn time.’)
In an interview with MMAmemories.com, Winky Wright diagnoses boxing’s problem by contrasting it with what MMA is doing right:
“When I was coming up, more top fighters fought each other. They all wanted to prove they were the best in their weight class, not in the WBA, the IBF, but the best, period. But now the promoters and the networks get in the way and we’re losing a lot of fans because of it. The promoters milk the prospects, they don’t match them against top fighters. The networks allow too many easy fights.”
“I would definitely say (boxing is) declining as the best are not fighting the best. In the NBA they don’t just cancel the playoffs and have the Lakers against some sorry team. No one would watch. That’s why the UFC is gaining so much in popularity. The best fight the best and the fans love to see it.”
Winky is spot on, here. It just makes you wonder if we shouldn’t be interpreting this as a cautionary tale.
- In other news, Sherdog.com is reporting that Chris Horodecki has been officially released from the IFL, at his request, and is entertaining a couple different offers at the moment. The cockeyed financial optimists at the AFL have supposedly made a “very generous offer” (they know he’s not a woman, right?), but Affliction has said they’ll beat it in order to get “The Polish Hammer” on their October 11 show. The clock’s ticking…
Written by admin on August 5th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Affliction and fight and contract and AFL and Winky Wright and General and Boxing and UFC and HBO and News and Chris Horodecki and MMA.
(The classic taste test.)
Seriously, can we just push Fedor Emelianenko and Randy Couture into the alley behind Bed, Bath & Beyond and let them beat the shit out of each other? That’s all we want. Let’s just do this. We’ve heard about The Natural’s numerous UFC legal tangles that stemmed from Couture’s efforts to set up a fight with Fedor, and recently Fedor’s free agency details have also started to surface. And while we’re talkin’ contracts, did Fedor even have one with M-1 Global? Apparently not, according to Sherdog:
The Russian heavyweight’s only agreement with the company — according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity — came in the form of a letter of intent.
The return of a $1.5 million signing bonus paid by M-1 Global to Emelianenko is the only hurdle to the former Pride champion’s potential free agency. That should be remedied this week, the source said.
M-1 Global CEO Monte Cox declined to comment.
Once Emelianenko is clear of his M-1 obligations he is expected to field offers from several MMA promotions. The early leader, according to the same source, comes from the purported partnership between Affliction and Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, which Sherdog.com has learned could debut on June 28.
So the possible Randy/Fedor fight plot thickens. Golden Boy did not comment either, but a source claimed that Fedor would get $1.5 mill for a fight with the organization and his managers would get the TV rights in Japan and Russia. The report also claims that Fedor’s bro — Aleksander — will probably sign with Affliction along with Matt “Movie Screen Forehead” Lindland (previously reported).
So the official contract between Fedor and M-1 was reportedly never signed by the Russian heavyweight. But what does it mean if I forged my uncle’s name on my apartment lease? Am I cool with skipping the April rent? Sweet.
Written by admin on March 18th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on fedor and contract and M-1 and News and Randy Couture and MMA.
(Yep, that’s Dana White’s handwriting.)
This thing has been dragging on for a year and now Brandon “The Truth” Vera’s ex-manager, Mark Dion, is saying Vera should change his nickname to “The Liar” after the botched UFC contract negotiation - resulting in the two splitting and Vera doing nada for a long stretch. An extensive rundown of what started all this is over at cityboxing.com. The report says Vera should have to fulfill the agreement with Dion and give the manager 1/3rd of the dough made from the 2007 Tim Sylvia bout, in addition to $100k from future fights.
The Post It note at the head of this post was apparently penned to Vera from Dana White in the middle of the negotiation process. Here are the details:
– Three fight deal worth $90K/$90K, $100K/$100K, $115K/$115K, and then $150K/$150K, $170K/$170K, $185K/$185K if Vera were to become the UFC Heavyweight Champion.
Or:
– $7 Million over 4 years, plus a $100K signing bonus if Vera were to become champion.
Vera didn’t like the offer, so he and Dion countered with this:
– $150K/$150K, $175K/$175K, $200K/$200K, plus a $1.5 million signing bonus.
Or:
– Insured 10 fights over three years, $3 million per year, plus a $1.5 million signing bonus.
(more…)
Written by admin on March 18th, 2008 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Commentary and contract and manager and Brandon Vera and News and UFC and Dana White and MMA.
(With the right contract, maybe Fedor can even afford to finally quit his part-time construction gig.)
Dana White has managed to shoot down most of the ‘what if’ questions in regards to Randy Couture facing Fedor Emelianenko in the UFC by repeating over and over again that Fedor is under contract with “another organization” and thus they can’t even talk about making that deal yet. But in an interview with USA Today’s Sergio Non, M-1’s Director of Operations Joost Raimond says that’s not really the issue:
The contracts that Fedor has at this point in time would allow for such a fight to take place, and specifically the Randy fight, so we’re free to make that happen if the opportunity presents itself.
…[A]nd the UFC knows that. That’s not a secret and we’ve always been very open that the Randy-Fedor fight is something special. It’s not your ordinary contract fight, as far as any fight can be ordinary.
But we’ve made provisions in any and all contracts that refer to Fedor to allow that fight to take place, with any organization in conjunction or in coooperation with whoever. Contractually there’s not an issue. … so I don’t know Dana would be calling that out, because the UFC is well aware that we have that contractual possibility.
So if it’s not his Affliction contract that’s holding things up, what’s the problem? From the sound of things, M-1 and Fedor’s “crazy Russian” management team are getting in the way. When asked if Fedor would be willing to sign an exclusive contract with the UFC — and as we all know, that’s the only way they do business — Raimond said it wasn’t a “feasible option.” And why not?
Because we have a contract with Affliction. We also — M-1, as an organization, we have a partnership with Affliction to co-promote events. We value that relationship very much, so signing a contract for a longer period of time, for a multiple-fight deal for Fedor with the UFC, is just not in the picture right now.
But once his contract with Affliction runs out and once he fulfills his M-1 commitments, would he then be willing to do an exclusive deal with UFC?
At that point in time, just like everybody else, I’m not able to look into a crystal ball, but if there are no further contractual obligations, and our partnership with Affliction would allow it, and Fedor would still be fighting — I’m already calling out a lot of ifs — yeah, we’ll entertain anything, including a deal with the UFC.
And who knows, By that time, there might be other organizations who are very interesting to talk to.
But to answer your question, if all those ifs are not an issue, then at that point in time, we will entertain that discussion with the UFC, certainly. … (But) let me make it clear that at this point and also for the coming period, that’s just not in the game plan.
Here’s what I’m hearing: M-1 has Fedor, Affliction is just borrowing him, but doing so with the knowledge that he can go fight Randy Couture wherever and whenever. What he can’t do is sign exclusive contracts, not until his deal with Affliction is up, and not unless M-1 (aka Fedor’s management team) gets a healthy slice of the pie for themselves.
Okay, I inferred that last part based on past observations, but it is rather suspicious the way M-1 and Fedor’s management are one and the same. They always talk about wanting to “co-promote,” but really what they seem to mean is they want to be paid for the rights to use Fedor and have the opportunity to make a few self-promotional speeches at the pre-fight press conferences. Affliction seemed okay with those conditions, but the UFC? Not bloody likely.
Written by admin on November 29th, 1999 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on General and fight and Affliction and contract and M-1 and News and UFC and Randy Couture and Fedor Emelianenko and MMA.
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