WMMA 2 - real world mod quick dynasty

[JonInMiddleGA]

Just going to stick this up here, as much to help me keep organized & focused as anything really.

Using the Modern Warriors 7 real-world mod, in control of the UFC. That's about as close to sandbox as I think you're going to get, but since the TEW I've actually had the most fun with was actually a WWE sandbox game I'm pretty okay with that.

I'm not looking to role play here or much of anything else, just try to run the company, dominate the universe, and see who wins & loses.

Fair warning too, even an MMA novice like me sees quite a bit of the flaws with this mod. Ratings questions, popularity questions, you name it. And right off the bat I've found an error that could really screw things up, as I own WEC but their TV show is set to 800% costs (instead of the likely intended 80% costs that everyone else gets). If it creates a major problem then I'll deal with it by whatever cheap edit of data is necessary.

But in the end, games are supposed to be fun, not brain surgery or drudgery. And if I can wring some fun out of this then it's all good afaic. Enjoy if you will.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Monday, Week 1, February 2010

Taking over an enterprise as vast as the UFC is a daunting task.

Nothing like trying to get to know the 205 fighters on my payroll, and another 82 currently working for the WEC. Obviously the first thing I need to do is place over a dozen calls looking for additional fighters. Hey, you don't really think I'm planning to leave talent out there on the market that might help another promotion do you? We'll be shipping out some scraps to help them fill out their cards soon enough so don't feel too sorry for them or anything.

We're the #1 promotion in the world at High Level National, even our feeder is ranked #3 in the world at Low Level National. Dream is #2 also at Low National, Strikeforce is #4 also at Low National. A total of 21 promotions are currently active around the world, right down to Jungle Fight based in South America.

We've got $10m in the bank to open the month & a first card almost ready to announce.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Monday, Week 1, February 2010, part 2

Getting to know the roster & the situation a little more, starting with the five current champions:
UFC Heavyweight: Brock Lesnar
UFC Light-HW: Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida
UFC Middleweight: Anderson "The Spider" Silva
UFC Welterweight: Georges "Rush" St. Pierre
UFC Lightweight: BJ "The Prodigy" Penn

The top 10 PFP fighters on the roster:
1) Anderson Silva
2) Georges St. Pierre
3) Brock Lesnar
4) BJ Penn
5) Lyoto Machida
6) Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
7) Chael Sonnen
8) Jon Fitch
9) Rashad Evans
10) Frank Mir

At the moment we're a little overloaded in the lower weight classes, a little below my target (42 fighters per weight) in the higher ones. The range runs from 31 Heavyweights to 46 in both Welterweight & Lightweight. Going to have to sort that out to make myself happier.

The WEC roster almost seems like an even worse mess. There are currently only 3 active weight classes in our feeder company, Bantam/Feather/Light.
The respective champions in each are Brian Bowles, Jose Aldo, and Benson Henderson. 26 Bantams, 29 Feathers, 24 Lights, with 3 listed as unassigned. Our plan is to move fighters somewhat liberally between the two companies, trying to keep the better ones with the parent while not entirely stripping every marketable talent away from WEC.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Tuesday, Week 1, February 2010

We begin the process of shuffling fighters from one company to the other, as well as from one weight class to another.

LW Paul Taylor (10-5-1) assigned to WEC
LW Dave Kaplan (2-3) assigned to WEC
LW Justin Bucholz (8-5) assigned to WEC
LW Caol Uno (25-12-5) assigned to WEC
BW Dominick Cruz (14-1) recalled to UFC as LW
LW Jamie Varner (16-2) recalled to UFC
BW Mark Hominick (16-8) recalled to UFC as LW
FW Brandon Visher (13-0) recalled to UFC as LW

LHW Quinton Jackson (30-7) moved to HW from LHW
LHW Chuck Liddell (21-7) moved to HW from LHW
MW Jorge Rivera (17-7) moved to LHW from MW
MW Lucio Linhares (13-5) moved to LHW from MW
MW Gerald Harris (14-2) moved to LHW from MW
WW Paul Daley (23-8-2) moved to MW from WW
WW Rory Markham (16-5) moved to MW from WW
WW Amir Sadollah (3-1) moved to MW from WW

[JonInMiddleGA]

Tuesday, Week 1, February 2010, part two

Today also brings the announcement of our next event:Sun Wk 3, Feb 2010
UFC 110 will be held in Las Vegas

Main Event for the UFC Welterweight Title
#1WW Georges "Rush" St. Pierre (19-2)
vs
#5WW Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy (23-6)

Co-Main Event
#7WW Matt Hughes (43-7)
vs
#3WW Thiago "Pitbull" Alves (16-6)

Additional matches to be announced

[JonInMiddleGA]

Wednesday, Week 1, February 2010

Today we learn more about several of our competitors, each of whom have new owners or at least controlling investors.

Hawaii-based X-1 is the #15 promotion in the world but will certainly be looking to make a quick ascent thanks to their new owner Mark Cuban.

How do you say "You're Fired" in Japanese? Hang around the offices of Cage Force, the #13 promotion in the world, and you might find out from their new owner Donald Trump

The Donald won't be the only American with a great interest in the MMA scene in Japan, BoDog founder Calvin Ayres has purchased control of all-female promotion JEWELS, but will have a long climb to bring them up from #18 in the world.

The Japanese fight press must be losing their minds trying to keep up today, as #23 ranked promotion Valkyrie also gets a new owner, Russian businessman & fight manager Vadim Finkelchtein.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Thursday, Week 1, February 2010

Negotiations have been finalized & the first addition to the roster is ready to announce, although it's a man who really needs no introduction.

33 y/o HW Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia (25-6) has agreed to a 4/2 contract over the next 18 months paying $15,000 per fight. The former two-time UFC Heavyweight champion will be looking to bring himself back through the ranks with hopes of a third reign atop the MMA world.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

And right off the bat I've found an error that could really screw things up, as I own WEC but their TV show is set to 800% costs (instead of the likely intended 80% costs that everyone else gets). If it creates a major problem then I'll deal with it by whatever cheap edit of data is necessary.

Mine started off like that too, but it wasn't a big deal at all. Strikeforce had a similar deal and I didn't notice any real difference. The contracts expired and that was the last I had to deal with it.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Friday, Week 1, February 2010

We've added several fights to the card for UFC 110: St. Georges vs Hardy
Main Event for the UFC Welterweight Title
#1WW Georges "Rush" St.Pierre(19-2)vs#5WW Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy(23-6)
Co-Main Event
#7WW Matt Hughes (43-7) vs #3WW Thiago "Pitbull" Alves (16-6)
Also
HW Heath Herring (28-14) vs Mike "The Juggernaut" Wessel (6-1)
LHW Cyrille "Snake" Diabate (15-6-1) vs Stephan Bonnar (11-6)
MW Patrick "The Predator" Cole (13-5) vs Goran Reljic (8-0)
LW #7 Sean "Muscle Shark" Sherk (33-4-1) vs Kurt "Batman" Pellegrino (14-4)

Undercard
LHW Daniel Roberts (9-0) vs Dennis Stojnic (5-3)
MW James Irvin (14-5) vs Mike Massenzio (11-3)
LW #10 Takanori Gomi (31-5) vs Dale Hartt (6-2)

Additional bouts are expected to be announced

edit to add: Sure enough more fights were added to the card
LHW #10 Keith Jardine (15-6-1) vs Charlie Brenneman (10-1)
HW #5 Shane Carwin (11-0) vs Michael Russow (12-1)
LW #4 Dominick Cruz (14-1) vs Paul Taylor (10-5-1)

Undercard bouts
HW Chad Corwin (6-0) vs Mustapha al Turk (6-5)
WW Jonathan Goulet (22-10) vs Peter Sobotta (8-2)
MW Mario Miranda (11-0) vs Joe Vedepo (8-3)


Roster Moves
LW Duane Ludwig (19-10) assigned to WEC
LW Paul Taylor (10-5-1) recalled to UFC as LW

[JonInMiddleGA]

Monday, Week 2, February 2010

A couple of additions to the UFC roster

32 y/o HW Ricco "Suave" Rodriguez (38-11) returns after several battling personal demons more than ring opponents. He's another former UFC Heavyweight champion who will take one more crack at returning to the top. It's a 21-month deal for 5/2 at $2,500 per fight.

28 y/o MW Thales Leites (15-3) returns to the UFC after being released following an incredibly dull loss to Alessio Sakara. He's a good fighter, we're hoping he develops some additional entertainment value to go with it. It's a 24 month deal for 5/3 at $7,000 per fight and removes him from the roster of Jungle Fight.

Elsewhere, several companies named new Presidents in the past 48 hours including Pure Combat (retired 39 y/o fighter Hiroyuki Abe), DREAM (retired 29 y/o fighter Will Ribeiro), and Bitetti MMA (retired 37 y/o fighter Shane Ott).

[JonInMiddleGA]

Tuesday, Week 2, February 2010

More returned phone calls, more negotiations.

The first time we've been unable to reach an agreement with someone of interest involves Andrei Arlovski. Coming off back to back losses, the 30 y/o HW simply wanted more guarantees than we were willing to give, despite our concessions on issues such as medical coverage & win bonus. He eventually signs with KOTC & becomes easily their biggest name.

We also cannot reach agreement with MW Denis Kang (32-12-1), simply couldn't justify his $15k per asking price so he signs with MFC and becomes one of the top 6 pfp fighters. No luck with 35 y/o LW Hermes Franca (19-8) either, not willing to make him one of our highest paid fighters at his age, he joins Bellator FC where he becomes their highest ranked pfp fighter. And to heck with 37 y/o LHW Houston Alexander (9-5), even for $2,500 per fight, he's crazy to think he gets an extended contract with numerous guaranteed fights & high bonuses, X-1 is welcome to him.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Wednesday, Week 2, February 2010

One day later we decide that 33 y/o WW Jay Hieron (19-4) is welcome to pursue his career elsewhere rather than give him the highest win bonus of anyone in the UFC. DREAM is welcome to him.

We see announcements of two upcoming events, KOTC Kick Start on Tues Wk 2 March 2010 and DEEP 44 on the same date. Details still TBA.

Thursday, Week 2, February 2010

More event announcements, including WVR 12 (Fri Wk 1 March 2010) and Jungle Fight 16 (Wed Wk 2 March 2010).

Notable signing, at least in terms of name recognition, as Eric "Butterbean" Esch (11-6-1) reaches agreement with KOTC.

We've also come to terms with a new addition, 26 y/o LW Roger "El Matador" Huerta (20-3-1) returns to the UFC on a 21 month deal that runs 4/3 for $7,500 per fight. No such luck with 36 y/o MW Travis Lutter (10-5) who simply thinks more of himself & his value than we do at this stage of his career, he's welcome to continue with MFC afaic.

Our feeder promotion WEC has reached agreement for PPV's to air on Shaw PPV 1.


Friday, Week 2, February 2010
Disappointed in negotiations for the first time as HW Alistair Overeem quickly ended our conversations. Apparently he prefers making $1,800 per fight for Strikeforce & Dream to making $45,000 per fight for us. Apparently math isn't his strong suit. Same with WW Karo Parisyan, who enjoys unemployment more than he wants to work for us even though we offered him more per fight than he originally asked for with only minor reductions in the side items on the contract. Idiot.

Meanwhile LW Mark Hominick has reached an exclusive agreement with Strikeforce & will be leaving us in 28 days. For $50,000 per fight against weaker competition as opposed to the $1,200 per fight he had coming on his WEC contract, I'm not sure that I can blame him too much.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Saturday, Week 2, February 2010

Another addition to the roster that needs no introduction as we reach agreement with veteran WW Frank Trigg (19-8) for a four fights over the next 21 months for $7,500 per fight.

On the other hand, there's no way I can seem to justify $50,000 per fight for any length of contract for 41 y/o HW Naoya Ogawa. We didn't mind giving him a chance to return to work, just not at that kind of price.

Sunday, Week 2, February 2010
Same song, next verse. Wouldn't pay Ogawa $50k per fight, not going to pay 34 y/o WW Hayato "Mach" Sakurai that much either. Enjoy working for peanuts for Dream & Shooto buddy.

Much more tolerable were the demands of 39 y/o HW Jeff "The Snowman" Monson (31-8). He'll join us for a 5/3 deal over 21 months for just $2,500 per fight.

Also today, we announced plans for UFC 111 to be held in California in two weeks time, on the final Sunday of this month. Details coming very shortly.

Monday, Week 3, February 2010
There may come a time when we're willing to pay Aleksander Emelianenko $140,000 per fight but that time has not yet arrived.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Thursday, Week 3, February 2010

In a move designed largely to mildly annoy KOTC, we've signed 33 y/o LHW Tony "Kryptonite" Lopez (17-2) to a 21 month deal covering 5/3 at $1,800 per fight. We eventually outbid DREAM for him, taking the KOTC Middleweight champion away from them in the process.

Friday, Week 3, February 2010

One more signing for us, this time it's 30 y/o WW John "The Natural" Alessio (26-13) who we agree to a 24 month 6/4 deal worth $2,500 per fight. That will remove him from the roster of both DREAM and MFC where he had associate contracts.

We've also lost FW Akitoshi Tamura (14-7-2) from WEC, he's signed an exclusive with Strikeforce. We've recalled him to the UFC roster in hopes of feeding him to someone before he leaves. In return, we assign LW John Gunderson (22-7) to WEC.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Sunday, Week 3, February 2010

UFC 110: St.Pierre vs Hardy in Las Vegas, NV

Undercard
MW Mario Miranda (11-0) vs Joe Vedepo (8-3)
Takedown, past guard, kimura, tap.
Winner: Mario Miranda by submission at 2:36 of Round One-Fantastic

WW Jonathan Goulet (22-10) vs Peter Sobotta (8-2)
Sobotta wins R1 with Goulet spending most of the round in guard, neither able to catch the other for a submission. Similar story in R2, Sobotta clearly the aggressor. Goulet fared a bit better in R3 but it's not likely to be enough
Winner: Peter Sobotta by Unanimous Decision (29-29 x3)-Poor

HW Chad Corvin (6-0) vs Mustapha al Turk (6-5)
Quickly to mount, some punches, then an armbar
Winner: Chad Corvin by Submission at 2:06 of Round One-Fantastic

LW "The Fireball Kid" Takanori Gomi (31-5) vs Dale Hartt (6-2)
All Gomi with both jabs & a slam in R1. Anticipation of a kick & a fast accurate punch for the KO early in R2.
Winner: Takanori Gomi by Knockout at 0:49 of Round Two-Great

MW James Irvin (14-5) vs Mike Massenzio (11-3)
Completely one-sided, as though only one fighter heard the opening bell. A series of punches, another series of punches, and a final flurry with his opponent pinned against the cage forced the ref to step in
Winner: James Irvin by TKO at 1:12 of Round One - Great

LHW Daniel "Ninja" Roberts (9-0) vs Denis "The Menace" Stojnic (5-3)
More misses than hits in R1, with the final minute against the cage giving the round to Stojnic. Roberts the aggressor but Stojnic had the better of R2 with solid counters to every attack. An exhausted Roberts had nothing left worth mentioning in R3
Winner: Denis Stojnic by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3) - Poor

Main Card
LW Dominick Cruz (14-1) vs "Relentless" Paul Taylor (10-5)
Takedown, side control, armbar.
Winner: Dominick Cruz by Submission at 1:49 of Round One - Great

HW Shane Carwin (11-0) vs Michael Russow (12-1)
Russow got an early takedown but Carwin defended well, reversed the situation & locked in an armbar.
Winner: Shane Carwin by Submission at 4:43 of Round One - Good

LHW "The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine (15-6) vs Charlie "The Spainard"
Brenneman (10-1)
Jardine blocked a takedown in R1 & punished Brenneman with punches. Close R2 as Jardine appeared to tire. An early flurry by Jardine who was exhausted but left no openings either.
Winner: Keith Jardine by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3) - Good

LW Sean "Muscle Shark" Sherk (33-4) vs Kurt "Batman" Pellegrino (14-4)
It took a couple of tries but Sherk finally sunk in an arm triangle.
Winner: Sean Sherk by Submission at 2:49 of Round One - Fantastic

MW Patrick "The Predator" Cote (13-5) vs Goran Reljic (8-0)
Reljic counter punches with a takedown but couldn't do much else, still he at least managed that in R1. Cote effective with kicks to the ribs throughout R2 & then a perfectly timed counterpunch ends it
Winner: Patrick Cote by Knockout at 4:59 of Round Two - Decent

LHW Cyrille "Snake" Diabate (15-6) vs Stephan Bonnar (11-6)
Solid striking by Diabate gives him the edge in R1. Almost all Diabate in R2, his hands just too quick for Bonnar. Bonnar's success improved in R3 but nothing substantial
Winner: Cyrille Diabate by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3) - Good

HW "The Texas Crazy Horse" Heath Herring (28-14) vs Mike "The Juggernaut" Wessel (6-1)
A quick takedown led to narrow submission escapes by Wessel, so Herring changed tactics & started bombing away
Winner: Heath Herring by TKO at 3:51 of Round One - Great

Co-Main Event
WW Matt Hughes (43-7) vs Thiago "Pitbull" Alves
Back & forth R1 with Alves holding a slight edge by pinning Hughes to the cage for almost a minute. R2 began with blocked takedowns so Hughes simply scooped Alves & slammed him but could get no further. R3 opens with a brutal head kick that sent Hughes sprawling to the canvas but he recovered. A takedown & side control followed, with Alves unloading elbows at will.
Winner: Thiago Alves by TKO at 1:50 of Round Three - Great

Main Event for the UFC Welterweight Title
Georges "Rush" St.Pierre (19-2) vs Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy (23-6)
St.Pierre went for a slam early but Hardy defended well & slipped away. The challenger answered with a barrage of punches that forced the champ against the cage where he found himself on the wrong end of a beating.
Winner: Dan Hardy by TKO at 1:28 of Round One - Great

Attendance: 12,183 for a gate of $730,980
PPV: 342,144 buys for revenue of $1,368,576
Show Rating: Great

[JonInMiddleGA]

Monday, Week 4, February 2010

A surprising new Welterweight Champion as the new day dawns, but full credit to Hardy, he earned it with an impressive explosive performance.

The show was pretty satisfying in terms of revenue as well as quality. The problem is that expectations of the fans are now higher than ever & we have only half as many fighters considered main event caliber as we did 24 hours earlier.

Disappointment too, as Joe Vedepo fails a PED test after the fight & is suspended for one year by the medical boards. Termination procedures have begun.

Last night also marked the final appearance for Paul Taylor, as we chose not to renew his contract. He leaves with a two fight losing streak.

Both James Irvin and Mustapha al Turk are down to one fight remaining on their contracts, we've contacted Irvin's agent to discuss renewal. We do not plan to extend al Turk beyond his current deal.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Monday, Week 4, February 2010, part two

Details of next week's UFC 111 are ready to unveil.

Main Event: Heavyweights
Antonio"Minotauro"Rodrigo Nogueira(32-5-1) vs "Iceman"Chuck Liddell (21-7)
Co-Main Event:
LHW "The Axe Murderer" Wanderlei Silva (32-10-1) vs Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (18-4)
Undercard
MW Ed "Short Fuse" Herman (15-8) vs Ricardo "Cachorrao" Almeda (11-3)
WW Carlos Condit (24-5) vs Renzo Gracie (13-6-1)
LW Roger "El Matador" Huerta (20-3-1) vs Akitoshi "Ironman" Tamura (14-7-2)
LW "The Machine" Mark Hominick (16-8) vs Gleison Tibau (20-6)
HW Gabriel "Napao" Gonzaga (11-4) vs Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia (25-6)
WW Anthony "Rumble" Johnson (8-3) vs Chris "Lights Out" Lytle (27-17-5)
MW Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-1) vs Steve "The Hooligan" Steinbleiss (4-3)
WW "The K.C. Bandit" Jason High (9-2) vs Dong "Stun Gun" Hyun Kim (12-0-1)

Preliminaries
HW Antoni Hardonk (8-6) vs Ricco "Suave" Rodriguez (38-11)
LHW "The Polish Experiment" Krzysztof Soszynski (18-9-1) vs Igor Pokrajac (21-6)
LHW James Te Huna (11-4) vs Steve Lopez (12-2)
MW Rory Markham (16-5) vs Drew "The Massacre" McFedries (8-6)
LW Spencer "The King" Fisher (23-5) vs Aaron Riley (28-12-1)

Weight Class changes:
Rich Franklin moved to MW from LHW
Wanderlei Silva moved to LHW from MW
Goran Relijic moved to LHW from MW
Clay Guida moved to WW from LW

[JonInMiddleGA]

Sunday, Week 4, February 2010

UFC 111 from Irvine, CA

Preliminaries
LW Spencer "The King" Fisher (23-5) vs Aaron Riley (28-12-1)
Winner: Fisher by Submission (guillotine) at 2:17 of Round 3 - Great

MW Rory Markham (16-5) vs Drew "The Massacre" McFedries (8-6)
Winner: Markham by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3) - Average

LHW James Te Huna (11-4) vs Steve Lopez (12-2)
Winner: Lopez by TKO at 1:42 of Round 2 - Great

LHW "The Polish Experiment" Krzysztof Soszynski (18-9-1) vs Igor Pokrajac (21-6)
Winner: Pokrajac by Submission (rear naked choke) at 4:20 of Round One - Good

HW Antoni Hardonk (8-6) vs Ricco "Suave" Rodriguez (38-11)
Winner: Hardonk by Submission (armbar) at 4:14 of Round 2 - Great

Main Card
WW "The K.C. Bandit" Jason High (9-2) vs Dong "Stun Gun" Hyun Kim (12-0-1)
Too quick, too agile, too everything really. An early takedown & then strikes until stoppage. A training camp stomach virus may have cost High any chance he might have had
Winner: Kim by TKO at 1:47 of Round One - Great

MW Yoshihiro Akiyama (13-1) vs Steve "The Hooligan" Steinbleiss (4-3)
3 punches by Akiyama to 1 for Steinbleiss, repeat, then 1 more big punch by Akiyama
Winner: Akiyama by KO at 1:44 of Round One - Great

WW Anthony "Rumble" Johnson (8-3) vs Chris "Lights Out" Lytle (27-17-5)
A little bit of everything from both fighters in a close R1. Middle of R2 sees Johnson gain a clear edge with a series of punches followed by a pair of roundhouse kicks to the ribs. Lytle found himself backed into the cage but managed to hold off Johnson without further damage in R3.
Winner: Johnson by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3) - Decent

HW Gabriel "Napao" Gonzaga (11-4) vs Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia (25-6)
Big punch scores a knockdown in the opening minute but Sylvia survives. He isn't so lucky after finding himself on the wrong end of a takedown
Winner: Gonzaga by Submission (armbar) at 3:19 of Round One - Great

LW "The Machine" Mark Hominick (16-8) vs Gleison Tibau (20-6)
Hominick wanted to grapple but Tibau had the better R1, almost ending things with an armbar just before the bell. Tibau couldn't advance past half guard in R2 but spent the entire round in complete control. Hominick was the aggressor in R3, looking for a big punch, but couldn't land enough to take out Tibau
Winner: Tibau by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3) - Decent

LW Roger "El Matador" Huerta (20-3-1) vs Akitoshi "Ironman" Tamura (14-7-2)
Most of R1 was Huerta takedowns and Tamura sweeping his way out of trouble. Very close R2, maybe a slight edge to Huerta as again he got takedowns he could do nothing with. R3 also close but Tamura provided most of the pressure while Huerta had a impressive sweep reversal.
Winner: Tamura by Unanimous Decision (29-28x2, 30-27) - Great

WW Carlos Condit (24-5) vs Renzo Gracie (13-6-1)
Plenty of action on the ground as Gracie tried to find several submissions but failed. Condit tried only once and succeeded.
Winner: Condit by Submission(guillotine) at 4:38 of Round One - Average

MW Ed "Short Fuse" Herman (15-8) vs Ricardo "Cachorrao" Almeda (11-3)
Training camp illness rumors appeared true as Almeda easily took Herman down, forcing him to pull guard. Playing possum maybe? Herman ended it almost immediately afterwards
Winner: Herman by Submission (kimura) at 1:19 of Round One - Great

Co-Main Event:
LHW "The Axe Murderer" Wanderlei Silva (32-10-1) vs Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (18-4)
Zero offense for Silva, as Rua used jabs to force him back into the cage & then unloaded
Winner: Rua by TKO at 2:57 of Round One - Fantastic

Main Event: Heavyweights
Antonio"Minotauro"Rodrigo Nogueira(32-5-1) vs "Iceman"Chuck Liddell (21-7)
Liddell spent almost all of R1 fighting off various submission attempts by Noguiera. R2 was spent with Liddell trapped in a Muay Thai clinch, looking in vain for any opening to counter. R3 was simpler, takedown to side control to mount to Americana
Winner: Nogueira by Submission(americana) at 1:59 of Round 3 - Good

Attendance: 13,819 for a gate of $829,140
PPV: 354,586 buys for revenue of $1,418,344
Show Rating: Great

[JonInMiddleGA]

Monday, Week 1, March 2010, part one

We close the month with another great show, including 50-50 on our efforts to send departing fighters out with a loss. Gleison Tibau handled Mark Hominick as we had hoped, while Roger Huerta failed to dispatch Akitoshi Tamura. Eh, win some lose some I guess.

Tough nights for Liddell & Silva, both of whom really could have used wins.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Monday, Week 1, March 2010, part two

Our first month in charge was pretty successful. Hard to complain with $3.7m in profit from two shows and an overall rise in popularity to Low Level International according to Blurcat ... but that isn't going to stop me from griping a little bit.

Our number of fighters with sufficient popularity to headline major shows hasn't changed from mid-month but we're having a heck of a time finding a non-title holder to showcase on our Ultimate Fight Night TV show scheduled for Thursday Week 2. Or at least not any that we're really ready to put in the ring just yet.

We also anticipate that the financial picture is going to get tougher in a hurry, as contract renewals already begin to come into play, most notably the need to extend Maurico "Shogun" Rua as well as extend a couple of others that we don't want to let get away (Anthony Johnson & Chris Lytle).

Top 10 UFC Pound-for-Pound Fighters as of March 1, 2010
The top 10 PFP fighters on the roster:
1(1) Anderson Silva (25-4, 10-0) MW
2(3) Brock Lesnar (4-1, 3-1) HW
3(4) BJ Penn (15-5-1, 11-4-1), LW
4(x) Thiago Alves (17-6, 10-3), WW
5(x) Dan Hardy (24-6, 5-0), WW
6(5) Lyoto Machida (16-0, 8-0), LHW
7(x) Mauricio Rua (19-4, 3-2), LHW
8(6) Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (33-5-1, 4-1), HW
9(2) Georges St. Pierre (19-3, 13-3), WW
10(7) Chael Sonnen (24-10-1, 3-3), MW

Top 10 World Pound-for-Pound Fighters as of March 1, 2010
1. Anderson Silva (25-4) MW UFC
2. Fedor Emelianenko (31-1), HW Strikeforce
3. Brock Lesnar (4-1) HW UFC
4. BJ Penn (15-5-1), LW UFC
5. Thiago Alves (17-6), WW UFC
6. Dan Henderson (25-7), MW Strikeforce
7. Dan Hardy (24-6), WW UFC
8. Brian Bowles (8-0), BW WEC
9. Lyoto Machida (16-0), LHW UFC
10. Shinya Aoki (23-4), LW Dream, Shooto

Top Fighters By Weight Class as of March 1, 2010
SHW - Jonathan Wiezorek (11-2) KOTC
HW - Fedor Emelianenko (31-1) Strikeforce
LHW - Lyoto Machida (16-0) UFC
MW - Anderson Silva (25-4) UFC
WW - Thiago Alves (17-6) UFC
LW - BJ Penn (15-5-1) UFC
FW - Jose Aldo (16-1) WEC
BW - Brian Bowles (8-0) WEC
FlW - Mamoru Yamaguchi (22-5-3) Shooto
PFP Female - Megumi Fujii (19-0) Jewels, Valkyrie

Top 10 Promotions as of March 1, 2010
1. UFC
2. DREAM
3. WEC
4. Strikeforce
5. World Victory Road
6. Maximum Fighting Championships
7. Bellator Fighting Championships
8. Shooto
9. King of the Cage
10. DEEP

[JonInMiddleGA]

Monday, Week 1, March 2010, part three

Roster changes
Assigned LW Dale Hartt to WEC
Assigned LW Dan Lauzon to WEC
Assigned LW Aaron Riley to WEC
Recalled BW Ian McCall to UFC LW
Recalled FW Deividas Taurosevicius to UFC LW
Recalled BW Charlie Valencia to UFC LW
Moved LHW Ryan Bader to HW
Moved LW Tyson Griffin to WW
Moved WW Martin Kampmann to MW
Moved WW Frank Trigg to MW
Moved MW Vitor Belfort to LHW

[JonInMiddleGA]

Monday, Week 1, March 2010, part four

Announcement of card for Ultimate Fight Night in Columbus, OH
Thursday, Week 2, March 2010.

Main Event
MW Rich Franklin (25-5) vs Michael Bisping (18-2)

Co-Main Event
LW Frankie Edgar (11-1) vs Jeremy Stephens (16-5)

Undercard
HW Mirko Filipovic (25-7-2) vs Pat Barry (5-1)
LHW Vladimir Matyushenko (23-4) vs Jorge Rivera (17-7)
WW Marcus Davis (16-6) vs Phil Baroni (13-12)

Preliminaries
LHW Jason Brilz (17-2-1) vs Steve Cantwell (7-3)
LW Shannon Gugerty (12-4) vs Ian McCall (7-2)
HW Todd Duffee (6-0) vs Chase Gormley (6-1)
MW Rob Kimmons (22-5) vs Tim Credur (12-3)
WW Yoshiyuki Yoshida (11-4) vs Matthew Riddle (3-1)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Wednesday, Week 1, March 2010

Resigned MW James Irvin (15-5) Exclusive 21 months 5/3 at $2,500 per fight

Friday, Week 1, March 2010

-- Reached agreement with Sky Italia I for PPV, 6 fights, 80% revenue to Sky Italia
-- Signed BW Cole Escovedo (14-4) to Associate, 4 fights, 15 months 0/4 at $400 per fight
-- Assigned BW Cole Escovedo (14-4) to WEC

Saturday, Week 1, March 2010
-- Reached TV agreement with DSF (Germany) to air Ultimate Fight Night, late night, 6 fights, 80% revenue to DSF

World Victory Road (#5 promotion) held WVR 12 in Kinki (1,278 att, $51,120)
LHW Alexandre Ribeiro beat Stanislov Nedkov by Submission at 1:17 of R2 to win the WVR LHW Title (Fantastic)
Also, Hidehiko Yoshida beat Josh Barnett by Submission at 4:27 of R2 (Good)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Sunday, Week 1, March 2010

Bellator FC (#7) held BFC 11 in Florida (652 att, $13,040)
Eddie Alvarez beat Jorge Masvidal by Submission at 3:06 of R1 to retain the BFC LW Title (Great)
Also, Hector Urbina beat Edwin Aguilar by UD (Average)

CFC (#15) held CFC 12 in NSW (258 att, $3,870)
LHW Rawdon Lee beat Anthony Perosh by UD to win the CFC LHW Title (Poor)
Also, Kyle Noke beat J.F. Lenogue by Submission at 4:07 of R3 (Fantastic)

In other news, MFC signed veteran Dan Severn (90-16-7)

Tuesday, Week 2, March 2010
Bitetti (#T14) held MMA 5 in Brazil (194 att, $2,910)
Pedro Rizzo beat Fabio Maldonado by Submission at 3:31 of R1 (Good)
Also, Paulo Filho beat Luis Dutra, Jr by TKO at 2:31 of R1 (Fantastic)

UC UK (#11) held Apocalypse Now! in London (455 att, $9,100)
Neil Grove beat Ashley Pollard by UD to retain the UCUK HW Title (Decent)
Also, Jack Mason beat Dean Amasinger by Submission at 1:31 of R1 to win the UCUK Welterweight Title (Good)

Wednesday, Week 2, March 2010
Roster moves
Resigned WW Anthony Johnson (9-3), Excl 21 mos, 5/3, $7,500 per fight
Resigned WW Chris Lytle (27-18-5), Excl 21 mos, 5/3, $7,500 per fight
Signed MW Jorge Santiago (21-8), Excl 21, 5/4, $7,500 per fight (WVR MW Champion joins us in 30 days)
WW Renzo Gracie (13-7-1) announced retirement in 3 mos/1 fight
HW Josh Barnett (24-6) refused negotiations (strong dislike Dana White)

Elsewhere, KOTC signs HW Mark Coleman (16-11) to a three fight deal
Dream signs Aleksander Emelianenko (15-3) to a five fight deal

MFC (#6) held Desperate Measures in Brit.Col. (672 att, $13,440)
Pete Healy beat John Alessio by UD to retain the MFC WW Title (Good)
Also, Dean Lister beat Travis Lutter by Submission at 1:37 of R5 to win the MFC Middleweight Title (Decent)

KOTC (#9) held Kick Start in California (527 att, $10,540)
Victor Valimaki beat Noah Inhofer by KO at 4:44 of R1 to win the KOTC LHW Title (Great)
Also, Don Richard beat Gary Goodrich by UD (Very Poor)

DEEP (#T10) held DEEP 44 in Tohoku (673 att, $13,460)
Dokonjonsuke Mishima beat Jong Man Kim by Split Decision (Poor)
Also, Kazunori Yokota beat Bu Kyung Jung by Submission at 2:56 of R1 (Fantastic)

Shark Fight (#17) held Betrayed in Texas (268 att, $4,020)
Bryan Humes beat Don Frye by TKO at 2:26 of R1 to win the SF Heavyweight Title (Fantastic)
Also, Rex Richards beat Dave Herman by TKO at 4:51 of R2 (Fantastic)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Thursday, Week 2, March 2010, part one
Roster moves
LW Akitoshi Tamura (15-7-2) left UFC to join Strikeforce

Cage Force (#14) held CF 15 in Kanto (673 att, $13,460)
Rikuhei Fujii beat Kuniyoshi Hironoka by KO at 0:20 of R5 to win the CF Lightweight Title (Decent)
Also, Isao Terada beat Masahiro Oishi by UD (Very Poor)

X-1 (#T18) held Last Gasp in Hawaii (254 att, $3,810)
Marcelo Tigre beat Vernon White by Submission at 2:54 of R1 to retain the X-1 LHW Title (Fantastic)
Also, Anthony Torres beat Dylan Clay by UD (Very Poor)

Jungle Fight (#21) held JF 16 in Brazil (181 att, $2,715)
Gil Freitas beat Sergio Moraes by UD (Poor)
Also, Nazareno Malegarie beat Johnny Eduardo by Submission at 2:26 of R1 (Fantastic)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Thursday, Week 2, March 2010, part two

Ultimate Fight Night from Columbus, OH

Preliminaries
WW "Zenko" Yoshiyuki Yoshida (11-4) vs Matthew Riddle (3-1)
Winner: Yoshida by Submission (armbar) at 3:42 of Round 1 - Great

MW "The Rosedale Reaper" Rob Kimmons (22-5) vs "Crazy" Tim Credur (12-3)
Winner: Kimmons by Submission (arm triangle) at 2:31 of Round 1 - Fantastic

HW "The Irish Car Bomb" Todd Duffee (6-0) vs Chase Gormley (6-1)
Winner: Duffee by UD (30-27 x3) - Poor

LW Shannon Gugerty (12-4) vs Ian McCall (7-2)
Winner: Gugerty by Submission (armbar) at 4:57 of Round One - Good

LHW Jason "Hitman" Brilz (17-2-1) vs Steve Cantwell (7-3)
Winner: Brilz by TKO at 4:05 of Round 1 - Great

Main Card
WW "Irish Hand Grenade" Marcus Davis (16-6) vs "NY Bad Ass" Phil Baroni (13-12)
Baroni survives R1 but Davis was in control with consistent punches & kicks. A tiring Baroni was battered in R2. Davis chose to grapple in R3 and failed only to finish before the bell.
Winner: Davis by UD (30-27 x3) - Average

LHW Vladimir "The Janitor" Matyushenko (23-4) vs Jorge "El Conquistador" Rivera (17-7)
Immediate takedown, side control, finish
Winner: Matyushenko by Submission (kimura) at 3:18 of Round One - Great

HW Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (25-7-2) vs Pat "Get Hype" Barry (5-1)
Barry comes out aggressive in R1 & is more accurate with his punching. R2 finds Barry making Cro Cop look old & slow, again outpunching him. Barry counters a Superman punch with a barrage & flattens Cro Cop but cannot finish, settling for ground control.
Winner: Barry by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3) - Poor

Co-Main Event
LW "The Answer"Frankie Edgar (11-1) vs "Lil' Heathen"Jeremy Stephens (16-5)
Stephens rocked Edgar with a counter punch & went to mount to finish
Winner: Stephens by TKO at 1:27 of Round One - Great

Main Event
MW Rich "Ace" Franklin (25-5) vs Michael "The Count" Bisping (18-2)
A couple of punches from Bisping, a takedown by Franklin who moved quickly from guard to side control. Finis.
Winner: Franklin by Submission (armbar) at 2:24 of Round One - Fantastic


Attendance: 6,228 for a gate of $467,100
PPV: n/a
Show Rating: Excellent

[JonInMiddleGA]

Friday, Week 2, March 2010, part one
Roster moves
LW Ian McCall (7-3) left UFC due to contract expiration
LW Mark Hominick (16-9) left UFC to join Strikeforce
Signed MW Jared Hess (9-1-1) Excl, 6/4, 24 months(from Bellator FC in 30 days)
Moved MW Martin Kampmann back to WW

Then a tough one: Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, who was being sought heavily by DREAM. We finally come to terms: Excl, 27 months, 6/6, for $25,000 per fight.

Details of next week's UFC 112 from Miami are ready to unveil.

Main Event: Middleweights
MW Anderson "The Spider" Silva (25-4) vs Nate "The Rock" Quarry (12-3) for Silva's UFC Middleweight Title

Co-Main Event:
WW Tyson Griffin (14-2) vs Josh Koschek (14-4)

Undercard
HW Ryan "Darth" Bader (10-0) vs Stefan "Skyscraper" Struve (19-3)
LW Joe "Daddy" Stevenson (31-10) vs Andre "Gutted" Winner (10-3-1)
LHW "HB Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz (15-7-1) vs Kyle Kingsbury (8-2)

Preliminaries
LHW Eric "Red" Schafer (11-4-2) vs Luis Arthur Cane (9-1)
LW Fabricio "Morango" Camoes (10-4-1) vs Dennis Siver (15-6)
MW CB "The Doberman" Dollaway (9-2) vs Kendall "Da Spyder" Grove (11-6)
HW "Big" Ben Rothwell (30-7) vs James McSweeney (4-4)
WW "The Hitman" John Hathaway (12-0) vs "Slick" Nick Osipczak (5-0)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Friday, Week 2, March 2010, part two

Looking at last night's TV show, it was mostly what we expected. What we didn't expect was for Cro Cop to lose, and look so bad doing so, in a matchup that was meant to get him back on the winning track. Instead of moving toward or even back into the Top 10 of our HW's, he's sitting in the middle of a pack of mostly also-rans & stuck with a losing streak.

We're not much happier with the main event for UFC 112 than the initial fan reaction, but there's only so many huge fight to go around. Quarry is currently ranked #10 among our MW's so there's at least a shred of legitimacy to him getting a title shot. We wanted to go with #9 Paul Daley (23-8-2) but the reaction to that proposed pairing was even worse than "disappointing". And I'm not ready to rush into the fight against #2 ranked Chael Sonnen. #8 Akiymana probably deserves a shot but he won't be ready to fight again for more than a month, and everyone else in the top 10 is has either just broken a losing streak or is coming off a loss.

Ah well, no matter how things turn out for 112, we're hopeful that fans will be happier with what we have in mind for the next couple of PPV's.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Saturday, Week 2, March 2010

DREAM (#2 promotion) held Dream 13 in Kanto (1,943 att, $77,720, 20,736 PPV buys, $82,944)
Murilo Rua beat Kazushi Sakuraba by Submission at 9:49 of R1 to win the DREAM MW Title (Decent)
Also, Royce Gracie beat Melvin Manhoef by Submission at 5:25 of R1 (Average)[/quote]

Strikeforce (#5 promotion) held Emelianenko vs Werdum in Nevada (1,174 att, $46,960)
Fedor Emelianenko beat Fabricio Werdum by TKO at 4:28 of R2 (Good)
Also, Dan Henderson beat Ronaldo Souza by UD (Poor)

Roster moves
Signed HW Daniel Puder (8-0), Exclusive, 24 months, 6/4, $2,500 per fight

[JonInMiddleGA]

Tuesday, Week 3, March 2010

Pancrase (#12 promotion) held Kitaoka vs Palacios in Tohoku (359 att, $5,385,)
Jason Palacios beat Satoru Kitaoka by TKO at 2:24 of R3 (Great)
Also, Mu Bae Choi beat Ryuta Noji by UD to win the HW King of Pancrase Title (Very Poor)[/quote]

Thursday, Week 3, March 2010

PPV Negotiations
-- Reached PPV agreement with WOWOW 1 (Japan & Asia) 8 fights, 70% revenue to WOWOW1

Roster Moves
Assigned LW Roger Huerta to WEC
Recalled FW Chad Mendes (5-0) to UFC, assigned to LW

Pure Combat (#T19 promotion) held Deadly Game in California (236 att, $3,540,)
Jaime Jara beat Zack Trammell by Submission at 4:59 of R1 to retain the Pure Combat MW Title (Average)
Also, Dusty Arden beat Daniel Pinedo by TKO at 3:12 of R2 (Good)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Friday, Week 3, March 2010

UFC 112 from Miami, FL

Preliminaries
WW "The Hitman" John Hathaway (12-0) vs "Slick" Nick Osipczak (5-0)
Winner:Osipczak by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3) - Decent

HW "Big" Ben Rothwell (30-7) vs James McSweeney (4-4)
Winner: Rothwell by Submission(Americana) at 3:55 of R1 - Good

MW C.B. "The Doberman" Dollaway (9-2) vs Kendall "Da Spyder" Grove (11-6)
Winner: Dollaway by Submission (rear naked choke) at 3:22 of R1-Great

LW Fabricio "Morango" Camoes (10-4-1) vs Dennis Siver (15-6)
Winner: Siver by Knockout at 0:23 of R3 - Great

LHW Eric "Red" Schafer (11-4-2) vs Luis Arthur Cane (9-1)
Winner: Cane by TKO at 4:55 of R2 - Fantastic

Undercard
LHW "HB Bad Boy" Tito Ortiz (15-7-1) vs Kyle Kingsbury (8-2)
Swapped a few punches then Ortiz closed for a takedown & that was all she wrote
Winner: Ortiz by Submission (armbar) at 3:14 of Round One - Good

LW Joe "Daddy" Stevenson (31-10) vs Andre "Gutted" Winner (10-3-1)
Rumors said Winner's camp was disrupted by illness. The ease of the takedown & beating that commenced certainly seemed to confirm the rumors
Winner: Stevenson by TKO at 0:42 of Round One - Great

HW Ryan "Darth" Bader (10-0) vs Stefan "Skyscraper" Struve (19-3)
Both fighters went with change ups from what was expected in R1, with Bader first trying to punch to no avail & then Struve outwrestling him when Bader tried that route. R2 was better for the unbeaten Bader as he again opened with punches but this time they connected. R3 Bader seemed content to wait for an opening & midway through the round he found it, going for a takedown ... only to be met with a vicious uppercut!
Winner: Struve by Knockout at 3:28 of Round Three - Decent

Co-Main Event:
WW Tyson Griffin (14-2) vs Josh Koschek (14-4)
Winner: Griffin got a quick takedown but could do nothing more, Koschek answered just before the end of the R1. Almost identical R2 with Koschek actually doing more damage from guard than Griffin got after his takedown. More of the same in R3, the third straight round when the referee stood them up since Griffin could not advance against Koschek's defense.
Winner: Griffin by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x2, 29-28) - Poor

Main Event: Middleweights
Anderson "The Spider" Silva (25-4) vs Nate "The Rock" Quarry (12-3) for Silva's UFC Middleweight Title
Silva appeared to simply be too strong for Quarry in R1, controlling matters whether standing or on the mat. R2 saw Quarry get a takedown but quickly decide he wanted things standing. A stiff counter punch flattened Quarry who shook it off in time to see Silva launch a diving punch, the last thing he would see for several minutes.
Winner: Silva by Knockout at 3:48 of Round Two to retain his UFC Middlweight Title - Great

Attendance: 11,268 for a gate of $845,100
PPV: 407,017 buys for revenue of $1,628,068
Show Rating: Very Poor

[JonInMiddleGA]

Saturday, Week 3, March 2010, part one

Fans were disappointed but their standards have gotten awfully high ... I thought Koschek got robbed in spite of the UD & the fans crapped on a match since it was a defensive struggle ... So much for Bader being undefeated, he fought a terrible strategic fight ... Terrible scheduling on our part too, as WEC was also in action last night. Don't really want to compete with ourselves very often.

WEC 47: Assuncao vs Brown from Hawaii

Main Event
FW Mike Thomas Brown beat Raphael Assuncao by UD - Decent

Co-Main Event:
FW Urijah Faber beat Wagnney Fabiano by UD - Poor

Undercard
BW Rani Yahya beat Seth Dikun by Submission at 3:53 of R1 - Great
FW Fredson Paixao beat Jonathan Brookins by Submission at 4:59 of R1 - Decent
LW Rob McCullough beat Chris Horodecki by SD - Decent

Preliminaries
BW Brad Pickett beat Joseph Benevides by Submission at 3:45 of R1 - Fantastic
LW Ed Ratcliff beat Will Kerr by TKO at 1:39 of R2 - Great
BW Ivan Lopez beat Takeya Mizugaki by KO at 0:48 of R3 - Good
FW Cub Swanson beat Leonard Garcia by UD - Good

Attendance: 1,345 for a gate of $53,800
PPV: 32,760 buys for revenue of $131,040

[JonInMiddleGA]

Saturday, Week 3, March 2010, part two

Details of next week's UFC 113 from Montreal are ready to unveil.

Main Event: Light Heavyweight
Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida (16-0) vs Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort (19-8) for Machida's UFC Light Heavyweight Title

Co-Main Event:
LHW Forrest Griffin (17-6) vs Antonio "Minotoro" Rogerio Nogueira (17-3)

Undercard
HW Frank Mir (13-4) vs Kimbo Slice (4-1)
MW Tomasz "The Gorilla" Drwal (17-2-1) vs Thales Leites (15-3)
WW George Sotiropoulos (11-2) vs "The Immortal" Matt Brown (11-7)

Preliminaries
HW Brendan "The Hybrid" Schaub (4-1) vs Paul "The Headhunter" Buentello (27-11)
MW Yushin "Thunder" Okami (23-5) vs Dennis "Superman" Hallman (41-13-2)
WW James "Lightning" Wilks (6-3) vs Mike Pierce (10-3)
LW Matt Veach (11-1) vs Paul "Tellys" Kelly (9-2)
LW Terry Etim (14-2) vs "Handsome" Matt Wiman (11-5)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Monday, Week 4, March 2010

Shooto (#8 promotion) held Rest In Pieces in Kinki (739 att, $14,780,)
Takeshi Inoue beat Rumina Sato by Submission at 4:27 of R2 to retain the Shoot Lightweight Title (Decent)
Also, Hatsu Hioki beat Savant Young by Submission at 4:13 of R1 (Good)

Tuesday, Week 4, March 2010

Roster Moves
Signed WW Brock Larson (26-3) to EXCL, 24 mos, 6/4, $1,800 per fight
Moved WW Nik Lentz (17-3-2) to LW
Moved LHW Daniel Roberts (9-1) to WW
Moved LHW Vladimir Matyushenko (24-4) to HW
Moved MW Nate Quarry (12-4) to LHW

[JonInMiddleGA]

Wednesday, Week 4, March 2010

Tough decision to make on a possible signing, we ultimately overpay badly and sign 29 y/o FW(LW) Takeshi "Lion Takeshi" Inoue (18-3), the reigning Shooto Lightweight Champion & currently #10 FW in the world, but it was certainly painful: 33 months, 8/6, $15,000 per fight (with a 95% win bonus)

For the time being at least, as he's recovering from a recent title decent for the next 3 months anyway, he'll be assigned to WEC

We've also announced that UFC 114 will be held Saturday Wk 2 April 2010 in Las Vegas. Details to follow soon.

Thursday, Week 4, March 2010
More negotiations, more tough decisions.

Well, maybe not so tough when we decide to pass on 29 y/o LHW Alexandre "Xande" Ribeiro (3-0), the current WVR LHW Champion. We like the guy but his asking price ($15k per) reflects his popularity in Brazil, not his popularity in the U.S. Thanks but no thanks. He signs with DREAM later the same day.

We do reach agreement with 40 y/o LHW Marcelo Tigre (13-3), the current X-1 LHW Champion. 18 mos, 4/3, for $1,600 per fight. We also sign 33 y/o FW Marlon Sandro (15-1), the current FW King of Pancrase.

Last night was TV night for the WEC, not a good night for some recognizable names though.

WEC Wreckage from Ohio
Main Event
FW Mackens Semerzier beat Jens Pulver by Submission at 1:31 of R1 - Great
Co-Main Event:
LW Donald Cerrone beat Caol Uno by sD - Decent
Undercard
BW Miguel Torres beat Marcos Galvao by UD - Average
LW Bert Palaszewski beat Shane Roller by TKO at 1:23 of R2 - Fantastic
Preliminaries
BW Rafael Rebello beat Damacio Page by UD - Poor
LW Dan Lauzon beat Dave Jansen by SD - Decent
FW Josh Grispi beat Jesse Moreng by UD - Very Poor

Attendance: 576 for a gate of $23,040
PPV: n/a

Friday, Week 4, March 2010
Roster Moves
LW Chad Mendes (5-0) sent to WEC, assigned to FW
FW Jens Pulver (22-13-1) called up to UFC, assigned to LW

Strikeforce (#5 promotion) held Strikeforce on Showtime (TV) in Hawaii (582 att, $23,280 gate)
Robbie Lawler beat Jake Shields by UD to win the Strikeforce Middleweight Title (Good)
Also, Scott Smith beat Frank Shamrock by TKO at 1:42 of R1 (Great)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Saturday, Week 4, March 2010

UFC 113 from Montreal

Preliminaries
LW Terry Etim (14-2) vs "Handsome" Matt Wiman (11-5)
Winner:Etim by Submission (americana) at 2:44 of R1 - Fantastic

LW Matt Veach (11-1) vs Paul "Tellys" Kelly (9-2)
Winner: Veach by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3) - Good

WW James "Lightning" Wilks (6-3) vs Mike Pierce (10-3)
Winner: Pierce by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3) - Average

MW Yushin "Thunder" Okami (23-5) vs Dennis "Superman" Hallman (41-13-2)
Winner: Okami by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x3) - Awful

HW Brendan "The Hybrid" Schaub (4-1) vs Paul "The Headhunter" Buentello (27-11)
Winner: Buentello by Submission (guillotine) at 1:51 of R1 - Great

Undercard
WW George Sotiropoulos (11-2) vs "The Immortal" Matt Brown (11-7)
A quick takedown & a vicious knee to the ribs left Brown defenseless
Winner: Sotiropoulous by TKO at 1:40 of Round One - Great

MW Tomasz "The Gorilla" Drwal (17-2-1) vs Thales Leites (15-3)
An elbow to the head cut Leites early in R1 but doctor's didn't find it too concerning. An early flurry of punches knocked Leites down, a late flurry of punches clearly gave Drwal R2. Drwal was content to punch a bit & let Leites survive R3.
Winner: Drwal by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x3) - Good

HW Frank Mir (13-4) vs Kimbo Slice (4-1)
A few punches & a takedown by Mir, Kimbo escapes the armbar attempt but ends up with Mir on his back. Kimbo didn't escape the second attempt.
Winner: Mir by Submission (armbar) at 3:01 of Round One - Great

Co-Main Event:
LHW Forrest Griffin (17-6) vs Antonio "Minotoro" Rogerio Nogueira (17-3)
Quick punches & a takedown by Nogueira early in R1 but Griffin kept him busy avoiding submission attempts after that. Similar formula in R2, Griffin keeps trying but Nogueria firmly in control. Would you believe an almost identical R3?
Winner: Nogueria by Unanimous Decision (30-27) - Poor

Main Event: Light Heavyweights
Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida (16-0) vs Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort (19-8) for Machida's UFC Light Heavyweight Title
A kick to the ribs in R1 took some wind out of Belfort but he recovered well enough to stay close. Machida kicks effectively but a mid-round barrage of punches off the counter gave Belfort some momentum in R2. Kicks to the thigh & ribs should have slowed Belfort but again he has a nice flurry in the middle of R3, a strong exchange of strikes by both to end the round. It's Belfort to starts R4 in charge with a quick flurry of punches but Machida answers with another solid kick to the knee, leaving both men tired. So tired in fact that they were happy to stand & circle after grappling left them on the mat. A nice sequence of jabs was Belfort's only real offense in R5, Machida got a takedown but couldn't advance past guard as the two warriors seemed to run out of both ideas & energy.
Winner: Machida by Unanimous Decision (49-46 x2, 48-47 x1) to retain his UFC LHW Title - Decent

Attendance: 6,109 for a gate of $305,450
PPV: 257,180 buys for revenue of $1,028,720
Show Rating: Great

[JonInMiddleGA]

Sunday, Week 4, March 2010

Not too shabby if I do say so myself. Not a big popularity boost anywhere but decent enough. Paul Kelly was seriously robbed by the judges in the prelims, Drwal was kind to let a battered Leites survive, Griffin's only chance seemed to be if he could get a fluke from guard but otherwise he was badly outfought. The main event was awesome, I don't care what the "official" match rating says. Back & forth, lots of action with neither willing to give an inch until they started to run out of gas late in the fight. Could have gone either way at any time & the fight had that feel throughout.

We reached agreement with 28 y/o FW Buck Henry Bisbey (12-2), EXCL, 24 mos, 6/4, for $1,400 per fight. He's been assigned to WEC.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Monday, Week 1, April 2010, part one

A profitable month for us again, with $3.97m in the black, slightly better than the previous month even with the $161k losses of WEC.

Popularity is up incrementally in areas where we have coverage, although we're a little concerned about maintaining that growth long term. We've got only 9 fighters that are considered "main event level" at this point & 3 of those are coming off of losses with at least one more destined for a loss after this month (details on this top 10 matchup coming shortly).

We're also running into a scheduling issue with TV, where we can get away with a little less star power. Seems you can only schedule a TV show after 4 weeks have passed from your previous one. So instead of monthly, we're probably going to be stuck with TV every six weeks (since there's normally a two week lead time required). I didn't remember that limitation & it's forcing me to rethink my scheduling a bit.

It's kind of a Catch-22, my roster size dictates fighting 30 matches a month (whether over 2 shows or 3) in order to get everyone at least 3 fights per year ... but my need to maintain my popularity level limits me to only 1-2 shows per month unless I'm willing to take a hit on popularity due to the promotion being bigger than all but a handful of our fighters. Sigh.

Oh, and we've renewed the contract of LHW Eric Schafer (11-5-2) in spite of two straight defeats. He's coming to the end of his career at age 35 but provides a useful body to throw at up & comers. It's EXCL, 18 months, 4/2, at $2,500 per fight (down from $2,681 per)

Roster Moves
Moved WW Jonathan Goulet to LW
Moved WW Clay Guida to LW
Moved WW Marcus Davis to MW

[JonInMiddleGA]

Monday, Week 1, April 2010, part two


Top 10 UFC Pound-for-Pound Fighters as of April 1, 2010
The top 10 PFP fighters on the roster:
1(6) Lyoto Machida (17-0, 9-0), LHW
2(1) Anderson Silva (26-4, 11-0) MW
3(2) Brock Lesnar (4-1, 3-1) HW
4(3) BJ Penn (15-5-1, 11-4-1), LW
5(4) Thiago Alves (17-6, 10-3), WW
6(5) Dan Hardy (24-6, 5-0), WW
7(7) Mauricio Rua (19-4, 3-2), LHW
8(8) Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (33-5-1, 4-1), HW
9(9) Georges St. Pierre (19-3, 13-3), WW
10(7) Chael Sonnen (24-10-1, 3-3), MW

Top 10 World Pound-for-Pound Fighters as of April 1, 2010
1(9) Lyoto Machida (17-0), LHW UFC
2(2) Fedor Emelianenko (32-1), HW Strikeforce
3(1) Anderson Silva (26-4) MW UFC
4(3) Brock Lesnar (4-1) HW UFC
5(4) BJ Penn (15-5-1), LW UFC
6(5) Thiago Alves (17-6), WW UFC
7(6) Dan Henderson (26-7), MW Strikeforce
8(7) Dan Hardy (24-6), WW UFC
9(8) Brian Bowles (8-0), BW WEC
10(x)Mike Thomas Brown (23-5), FW WEC

Top Fighters By Weight Class as of April 1, 2010
SHW - Jonathan Wiezorek (11-2) KOTC
HW - Fedor Emelianenko (32-1) Strikeforce
LHW - Lyoto Machida (17-0) UFC
MW - Anderson Silva (26-4) UFC
WW - Thiago Alves (17-6) UFC
LW - BJ Penn (15-5-1) UFC
FW - Mike Thomas Brown (23-5) WEC
BW - Brian Bowles (8-0) WEC
FlW - Mamoru Yamaguchi (23-5-3) Shooto
PFP Female - Megumi Fujii (19-0) Valkyrie

Top 10 Promotions as of March 1, 2010
1(1) UFC
2(2) DREAM
3(3) WEC
4(4) Strikeforce
5(5) World Victory Road
6(6) Maximum Fighting Championships
7(7) Bellator Fighting Championships
8(8) Shooto
9(9) King of the Cage
10(10) DEEP

[JonInMiddleGA]

Monday, Week 1, April 2010, part three

Details of UFC 114 from Reno are ready to unveil.

Main Event: Light Heavyweight
"Sugar" Rashad Evans (14-1-1) vs "The Natural" Randy Couture (18-10)

Co-Main Event:
LHW Brandon "The Truth" Vera (11-4) vs Thiago Silva (14-2)

Undercard
LW Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez (21-3) vs Jamie "C4" Varner (16-2)
HW Cain Velasquez (7-0) vs Joey "The Mexicutioner" Beltran (11-3)
HW Cheick Kongo (14-6-1) vs Gilbert "The Hurricane" Yvel (36-14-1)
MW Alessio "Legionarius" Sakara (14-7) vs Rousimar"Toquinho"Palhares (10-2)
WW Brock Larson (26-3) vs "Bad" Brad Blackburn (15-10-1)

Preliminaries
MW Aaron "A-Train" Simpson (7-0) vs TJ Grant (15-3)
LHW Rodney "Sho Nuff" Wallace (9-1) vs "Kryptonite" Tony Lopez (17-2)
LW Rafael dos Anjos (13-4) vs Ross "The Real Deal" Pearson (10-3)
LW Brandon "The Viper" Visher (13-0) vs Mark Bocek (8-2)
HW Matt Mitrione (1-0) vs Jon Madsen (3-0)
WW Ben "Killa B" Saunders (8-1-2) vs "Doomsday" John Howard (13-4)
WW Ricardo "Golden Boy" Funch (7-1) vs DaMarques Johnson (10-7)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Tuesday, Week 1, April 2010

Renewed contract of HW Stefan Struve, Excl, 24 mos, 6/4, $2,500 per fight (down from $2,750)

Wednesday, Week 1, April 2010
Renewed contract of WW Charlie Valencia, Excl, 18 mos, 4/2, $1,600 per fight (outbid Strikeforce)

Thursday, Week 1, April 2010
Renewed contract of LHW Luis Arthur Cane, Excl, 24 mos, 6/5, $2,750 per fight

Friday, Week 1, April 2010
Recalled BW Seth Dikun from WEC, for the purpose of contract negotiations

[JonInMiddleGA]

Note: Events are reported the day after they occur, not the same day. Results are obviously highlights only, featuring the main event & at least one other prominent match (usually the co-main, occasionally an undercard fight with a notable name).

Saturday, Week 1, April 2010

Bitetti MMA (#14) held Bitetti 6 in Brazil (183 att, $2,745)
Pat Miletich beat Chris Wilson by Submission at 1:15 of R4 to win the Bitetti Welterweight Title (Decent)
Also, Luciano Azevedo beat Paul Sass by Submission at 4:40 of R1 to win the Bitetti Lightweight Title (Good)

CFC (#15) held CFC 13 in New South Wales (247 att, $3,705)
Matt Cain beat by Brian Ebersole by UD to win the CFC Welterweight Title (Very Poor)
Also, Bernardo Magalhaes beat Jai Bradney by Submission at 4:11 of R1 (Good)

Sunday, Week 1, April 2010

Bellator (#7) held Bellator (TV) in Florida (279 att, $5,580)
Lyman Good beat Jesse Juarez by Submission at 3:53 of R2 to retain the Bellator Welterweight Title (Decent)
Also, Wilson Reis beat Shad Lierley by UD (Poor)

Monday, Week 2, April 2010

Roster Move
Signed 29 y/o KOTC LHW Champion Victor "The Matrix" Valimaki (17-5) Excl, 24 months, 6/4, $2,500 per fight (outbid Dream with a hefty signing bonus of $50k)

WVR (#5) held Singoku G! in Kanto (610 att, $24,400)
Masakazu Imanari beat Ryoza Uozomi by Submission at 2:02 of R2 (Decent)
Also, Kazuyuki Fujita beat Maurice Smith by TKO at 2:13 of R1 to win the WVR Heavyweight Title (Fantastic)

Tuesday, Week 2, April 2010

DREAM (#2) held DREAM TV in Kinki (1,702 att, $89,600)
Sergei Kharitonov beat Andrei Arlovski by Submission at 4:34 of R2 to win the Dream Heavyweight Title (Fantastic)
Also, Jerome LaBanner beat Tae Hyun Lee by UD (Average)

Bellator (#6) held Bellator 12 in Florida (279 att, $5,580)
Hector Lombard beat Gary Padilla by UD to retain the Bellator Middleweight Title (Average)
Also, Hermes Franca beat Chris Simmons by Submission at 3:14 of R2 (Good)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Wednesday, Week 2, April 2010

MFC (#6) held MFC 25: Burn It Up in Brit. Col. (679 att, $13,580)
Ryan Machan beat Antonio McKee by UD to win the MFC Lightweight Title (Decent)
Also, Dennis Kang beat David Loiseau by TKO at 1:32 of R2 (Great)

KOTC (#9) held Destructive Appetite in California (644 att, $12,880)
Hong Man Choi beat Eric Esch by KO at 0:24 of R1 (Great)
Also, Din Thomas beat Emmanuel Fernandez by Submission at 4:12 of R3 to win the KOTC Featherweight Title (Decent)

UC UK (#11) held Where Eagles Dare in London (432 att, $8,640)
Tom Watson beat Mark Epstein by Submission at 3:22 of R1 to retain the UC UK Middleweight Title (Great)
Also, Seth Kleinbeck beat Abdul Mohammed by UD (Good)


Thursday, Week 2, April 2010
Roster Moves
Signed 30 y/o LHW Glover Teixeria (8-2), Excl, 24 months, 6/4, $1,400 per fight (joins in 28 days from Bitetti)

DEEP (#10) held DEEP 45 in Tohoku (643 att, $12,680)
Tara Larosa beat Miku Matsumoto by Submission at 3:01 of R1 to win the DEEP Women's Lightweight Title (Great)
Also, Katsuyori Shibata beat Ryuta Sakurai by UD (Poor)

KSW (#17) held KSW 12 in Poland (271 att, $4,065)
Jim Wallhead beat Jedrez Kubski by Submission at 4:27 of R2 to win the KSW Welterweight Title (Excellent)
Also, Mahmed Khalidov beat Robert Jocz by TKO at 1:33 of R1 to win the KSW Middleweight Title (Great)

X-1 (#18) held Pushing the Limits in Hawaii (284 att, $4,260)
Ron Waterman beat Wesley Correira by Submission at 3:23 of R1 to retain the X-1 Heavyweight Title (Good)
Also, Jorge Evangelista beat Thierry Quenneville by Submission at 4:59 of R1 (Decent)

Saturday, Week 2, April 2010, part one
WVR (#2) held WVR 13 in Kyushu (1,375 att, $55,000 + 13,260 PPV buys for $53,040)
Pavula Nastula beat Marcio Cruz by Submission at 3:40 of R3 (Very Poor)
Also, Kazuhiro Nakamaura beat Joe Doerksen by Submission at 1:39 of R1 (Great)

WEC 48: Bowles vs Escovedo from Nevada

Main Event
Brian Bowles beat Cole Escovedo by Submission at 4:52 of R4 to retain the WEC Bantamweight Title - Good

Co-Main Event:
Danny Castillo beat Alex Karalexis by TKO at 3:10 of R1 - Great

Undercard
Javier Vazquez beat Courtney Buck by Submission at 3:30 of R1 - Great
Will Campuzano beat Scott Jorgensen by Submission at 3:39 of R2 - Good
Diego Nunes beat Tyler Toner by UD - Good

Preliminaries
Ricardo Lamas beat Mike Campbell by Submission at 2:21 of R1 - Fantastic
Karen Darabedyan beat Duane Ludwig by UD - Average
John Hosman beat Eddie Wineland by Submission at 4:42 of R1 - Great
Chad George beat Del Hawkins by Submission at 4:58 of R1 - Good

Attendance: 1,531 for a gate of $61,240
PPV: 28,318 buys for revenue of $113,272