brashleyholland

The other issue is that it's logistically tough as you like to get decent wrestling trainers/sparring partners over to the UK for a camp. Expensive too. Since his last fight he can afford it though(oh believe me he can afford it...I know what the guy is really making and it's INSANE money)...so we might actually see a bit more wrestling in his repertoire from now on...or at least better defensive wrestling. He's got some damn good boxing/Muay Thai coaches over here (Dave Jackson is incredible from personal experience) but to be honest, I think he needs to get back to that old Slam 'n' Pound style if he's going to have any success in the UFC.

I've said it before and I'll say it again...Sons of Anarchy is just fantastic. Katie Sagal and Ron Pearlman are awesome in it. Can't wait for season three.

Rampage really, really wanted Nogueira. It's still a winable fight for him, but I think Machida will be the favourite going in. He'll be able to use his speed and footwork to keep out of the pocket, but on the same note he doesn't have the wrestling to shut Rampage down like Rashad did. Will he need it? Who knows. Where will Machida's head be after his first loss? Who knows. It's a very well-matched fight. Could go either way. As a fan I'm very much looking forward to seeing them go at it. I've never rated Sanchez to be honest. He's one of those guys who just doesn't have 'it' in terms of breaking the proverbial glass ceiling. That said...Thiago doesn't react well to pressure...so (phrase of the day) who knows?

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Dustin" data-cite="Dustin" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="26660" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>brashleyholland<p> </p><p> How many viewers does a UFC event usually do worldwide? Their programming is available in 130 countries according to the website.</p><p> </p><p> Take a guess if you don't know.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I couldn't even guess to be honest. Just because they have programming available in 130 countries, doesn't mean that 130 countries get live (or recent) PPV's. A lot of places just get UFC Wired/Unleashed etc and old highlight shows. I wouldn't even know where to begin. </p><p> </p><p> They supposedly do somewhere between 30-50k for the live airings on ESPN in the UK, but the figures aren't readily available. Hell, even the US PPV numbers are unofficial 'guestimates'. There were some semi-legit people claiming that UFC 100 actually did way less than the reported figure, some say as low as 800,000. Only the UFC know for sure. </p><p> </p><p> Your guess is really as good as mine...</p>

I don't want to be too harsh on Impact FC, despite the broadcast on Saturday/Sunday running the gamut from bad to hilarious. - The matchmaking was ok in and of itself, unfortunately it was just one of those nights where nothing really clicked. Daley-Acacio should have been a stand-up slugfest on paper. JT$ should have been bullying Bustamante around while the crafty vet desperately flailed for armbars and triangles. Ninja vs May should have been a showcase for the Brazilian. Rizzo should have taken Kenny's head off in brutal fashion in the first minute. Not really Impact's fault that the above didn't happen, but thems the breaks. - It was their second show, ever. Their first live PPV. To the best of my knowledge, the guy has never promoted anything like this before. I'm not excusing all the stuff that went wrong or that they could have done better, but it could have been a lot worse. - They were basically forced into using Ken Shamrock, from what I understand. The original plan was for three shows in four weeks, all on PPV. The PPV providers in the US/UK supposedly weren't interested without Shamrock on the bill, so they had no option. - The empty crowd was apparently the fault of the promoter's partner in the event...I'm guessing the name Andrew McManus might ring a few bells with people around here? He was in charge of the ticket sales and promotion for the cards and apparently did very, very little of either, not realising that MMA most certainly does not = UFC when it comes to box office performance. I guess to sum up, mistakes were made...oh boy mistakes were made...but everyone makes mistakes first time out. No point ragging on every new promoter who takes a risk. If their next show isn't a significant improvement...THEN is the time to ridicule them to the end of the earth. Also...this is the funniest thing in MMA this year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fORS3CtCzrc&feature=player_embedded

Yeah, for sure. He's not a half-bad grappler when he's on...he'd definitely make a good mid-level guy. He made a meal out of that though! Also, worst ring announcer ever?

Same here. I was going to hit the hay and watch it tomorrow, as it doesn't finish till 6am my time, but they were kind enough to send me a freebie so I thought what the hell :-p The Daley fight should be decent, and the main event will be some serious car-crash TV :-p Got a soft spot for Bustamante and Ninja as well.

Much like anything in China, the potential is huge. There's certainly no shortage of paying customers. Will they pay for MMA? I can't see why they wouldn't in the future. To answer your question though, nobody really knows yet. Combat sports and martial arts are obviously very popular there, so that's a good sign. There is a fairly big MMA show called Art of War that had a big TV slot, but they've not promoted a card this year, so I'm not sure what's going on there. There's also a show in Singapore called Martial Combat that you get a fair few Chinese fighters on. There's even a China Top Team! The rest of it is still a mystery. Chinese MMA is still very much a niche sport behind San Da (Sanshou), but there are apparently a fair few guys who are able to train full time. I'd like to be able to say more...but with China being China, there just isn't a whole lot of information out there. Money will definitely need to be spent though, that's for sure. Here's some Art of War clips:

Don't hold your breath. The Japanese have a history of overblowing press conferences...there isn't going to be a war between FEG and WWE/UFC. How could there be? You can't throw money at the fight game...many have tried, only the UFC have succeeded, and it took them years. If you read between the lines, all this is saying is that FEG have conceded that they've maxed out their potential at home (due to the decay of the Japanese fight game) and are in dire need of a cash injection to move forward. China is potentially a good market, no doubt...but it's far, far from the be-all-and-end-all. Will be interesting to see how this one plays out, thats for sure. It's not been scrapped, it's been put back until later in the year. Texas apparently nixed tournaments when they clamped down on Toughman years back, and are treating MMA in the same regard. Cali allow one-night tournaments (with modified rules), so they're aiming to get something done on CBS/Showtime in November/December over two nights. - Also, Chad Griggs isn't as can-tacular as the rest of the guys Lashley has fought. He's a full time firefighter, tough as nails, finished all his fights with strikes, never gone the distance and only gone out of the first round twice. I'm not saying that the dude is a world-beater, but it might give us a chance to see how Lashley reacts when someone actually hits him properly a couple of times.

Shields vs Kampmann is a go. Just had it confirmed on the phone by someone close to one of the fighters. Nothing signed, obviously, but that's what both fighters have been told to prep for.

I guess the only issue here would be switching back from a 'TV Special' model to a PPV model in the future. I know there was a bit of an issue a couple of years back between Spike and the UFC regarding getting the likes of Penn, Liddell, Couture, GSP etc on Fight Nights or TV specials. The problem being if people get used to seeing something for free, they will be very reluctant to pay for it in the future...especially if TNA continue to struggle ratings wise.

Not really, but your post just reminded me of a great song...Machinehead by Bush. Quality.

I just realised that I have never played a Pokemon game. Ever.

Well yeah, they do...just not enough to go galavanting around the world with such a lavish set up. Even without knowing the exact figures involved, if you look at the production, venues, travel, talent etc that M-1 uses compared to say King of the Cage...well it just doesn't add up. The M-1 Challenge as it used to be (teams from various countries) had already been scrapped or shelved...they were using the M-1 Selections events to find talent for something called Challengers. Instead of teams, each of the four regions where Selection events have been held will have five 'champions' (one in each weight class) who will then fight each other. No idea if it'll be a bracketed tournament or a round-robin affair though.

You're right, he does own a minority share in the company, but he has nothing to do with the running of it or any of the business side of M-1, or his own career for that matter. As for if the man has money...who knows? He's certainly earned some over the years, but M-1 take care of literally everything for him. He doesn't exactly live like a king (or your average sports star for that matter), but I very much hope that he has something put away.

It's official by the way; M-1 are not paying their fighters. There have been rumours of M-1 employees not being paid for a couple of months, but nobody has been able to say anything as they were (until now) just that; rumours. Now a number of fighters have come out and said that M-1 have not paid them. Doesn't look good. The rumour doing the rounds was that M-1 was backed by a number of business men in Russia who were willing to chuck money at it for the purpose of being associated with the baddest man on the planet. The kind of guys to whom a hundred grand here or there isn't much of an issue. Ever wondered who the 30-40 people were who M-1 flew over to Cali for Affliction 3, that were mentioned in the M-1/Affliction lawsuit? Now you know. Puzzled as to how M-1 could run the world-wide M-1 Challenge and Selections events without any kind of decent PPV, sponsorship or TV money? Now you know. Anyway, long story short...rumours persist that Fedor lost, and the money very, very quickly dried up. Could mean that either A) They're already having cash-flow problems or B) There's going to be some major restructuring in the near future.

Not if you have to pay £70 for the cheapest seat :-p Warburton is a little scrapper. He's 1-1-1 against Ross Pearson, but honestly, Ross got the better of the three fights. Just. Sass is a submission machine. Won his first 7 by triangle, with only one guy lasting as long as the second round. That's a world record in MMA, apparently. He's currently 10-0 with a couple of heel-hooks and a decision. Notable wins on the UK scene against Martin 'Stapes' Stapleton (the soldier from TUF 9) and Rob Sinclair. Rob Broughton is a big old brawler. He's very, very fit though...his body hides some deceptively great cardio. He's 7-2 since Feb 2007, with losses to Jesse Gibbs (one of the best submission grapplers in Europe) and Ricco Rodriguez. As for skillset...let me put it this way. He's got very far as a part time fighter, and since the Wolfslair have got hold of him, he's got fitter, trimmer and better. He's always going to suffer from the lack of a wrestling background (especially in the UFC), but given a few years he could establish himself as a Gonzaga/Kongo level fighter...beats the scrubs but cant crack the upper echilon. Blackledge is a good striker who has been doing more coaching than fighting over the years. He's never really been a full time fighter, and has been fighting as an under-sized HW when he's really an average-sized 205'er. His last KO was siiiiiick.

So the UFC are back in sunny In-Gur-Lund in a couple of months time with UFC 120. There's already been a huge backlash from the UK fans (as usual), but this is the first time outside of UFC 95 where I think they have something to be aggrieved about. As it stands we have... Main Card: Bisping vs Akiyama Dan Hardy vs Carlos Condit John Hathaway vs Dong-Hyun Kim Cheick Kongo vs Travis Browne Spencer Fisher vs Kurt Warburton Prelims: Cyrille Diabate vs Alexander Gustafsson Big Rob Broughton vs Vinicius de Quieroz James McSweeny vs Tom Blackledge I know that Paul Sass is fighting as well. On the one hand, it certainly isn't a 'numbered' UFC, despite having similar ticket pricing. At the same time, it's better than the UFC cards on Spike and the UFC LIVE cards on Versus. Last time they visited the main event of Couture vs Vera was announced after tickets went on sale, before which Bisping/Kang was the main event...from what I understand there's going to be no suck luck this time. What says everyone on the quality of this card?

I read somewhere that the 'mystery tag team' is going to be (drum roll).... SPOILERS IN WHITE: ****Samoa Joe and Rob Terry**** Jeeeeezus.

Dana Twittered, Tweeted, Twote...or whatever it's supposed to be a day or two ago I believe. Mark's story is a really sad one. The guy is literally flat broke. His head has apparently been out of the game for a long time, but he's basically been forced into a corner where fighting is his only way to make money. He's currently selling subscriptions to his blog. You have to pay $97 (US) to register, then $19.97 per week subscription. Seriously. There's a lot more to Mark's story that meets the eye; he has a very troubled past from what I'm told and has had problems with the law and from hanging around with some seriously, seriously shady individuals. And not in a cool Enson Inoue "chilling with the Yakuza" way either. As for the UFC thing, a colleague of mine spoke to a high-profile MMA agent about it...from what I understand, the UFC had the option to buy out the contracts...but obviously it's the fighter's call at the end of the day as to whether or not they accept. Mark didn't. A single win in the UFC, plus the bonuses, endorsements and visibility that go along with it, will be worth more to him than the base on his deal (which in itself is no small sum, so I'm told). I'm not sure if they can cut him on a single loss either, as is the case with all UFC contracts. The reason it's all taken so long is that the UFC have been involved in various legal actions with the people that were behind Pride following the buyout. Those fighters who were still under contract were told that they were free to look for work elsewhere in the interim. I guess they're at the stage where they're tying up loose ends!

Damn, I thought he was going to get his foot ripped off!

Dana has confirmed that Cain vs Brock will headline UFC 121 in October, a week after UFC 120

Not by the UFC, but yes. He's fighting Sean McCorkle...flabby, sloppy ground 'n' pound fighter. He's undefeated, but he lacks killer instinct and is very slow. They've both looked a bit rubbish for various reasons. If Mir loses, he's out of the HW division. If Nog loses, he could be out of the UFC. Will be interesting to see what kind of weight Mir comes in at for this one. Both a done deal. If the Nog that fought Jason Brilz shows up he'll be in trouble, for the first couple of rounds at least. Dunham vs Sherk will give us a really good indication of where the kid is at compared to top-level fighters...is Sherk (coming off his injuries) a top teir fighter though? November, or a week after UFC 120 in October at the earliest.

Frankie Boyle as well...think that might have been in one of the add-ons though....

Isn't there some option whereby you can turn off your phone for everything but storyline-critical calls? Or is that just wishful thinking on my part? :-p I did enjoy The Ballad of Gay Tony as well, although I think they got a different guy doing Brucie's voice and the character was much more subdued. Still, some sweet cars/guns in that one :-p