MMA news this week

Sports Business Journal had a story talking about both UFC and WWE’s television negotiations for its new deals that expire at the end of 2018 and in September 2019 respectively.

The television deals in both cases are the single most important deals for both companies, since they would guarantee their largest revenue stream and likely for multiple years. There are a lot of changes in the television industry, with the fear that television will be losing market share to streaming and belt-tightening will result, and thus the huge rights fees would be a thing of the past. But all indications are that isn’t the case.

While not in the story, another key is that Ari Emmanuel, who owns UFC, is also WWE’s representative when it comes to these television talks.

The story indicated that FOX, which paid $140 million this year and pays $160 million next year for UFC programming, has been willing to up that number to a $200 million average on a multi-year basis in its next contract. UFC is asking for $450 million according to the story (we had heard closer to $420 million to $430 million) and because the sides are far apart, the exclusive negotiation period for FS 1 has come and gone without FS 1 even putting together a concrete bid.

While not in the story, we had reported UFC and NBC had been in talks for a deal that would include shows on NBC, NBC Sports and NBC would also be looking for web exclusive shows and material. UFC has its own streaming service, Fight Pass.

In the UFC vs. WWE battle, and it’s not really a battle because both can thrive and both can fall at the same time, although if you look at the ups and downs for each over recent years, it is notable that when UFC had big years in 2015 and 2016, that WWE’s television numbers dropped greatly. This year, as UFC has had a bad year in terms of ratings and PPV, WWE’s business when it comes to television solidified. It didn’t increase, but the drops weren’t there and UFC is probably only a tiny reason, as WWE’s numbers were way down the first half of this year, but now they’re steady as compared to last year, sometimes even up, likely due to no election coverage and no Olympics, both of which hurt the 2016 numbers.

However, what has come interesting is that FS 1 has had talks in recent months with WWE. The feeling is if they lose UFC programming, they can plug in WWE programming on FS 1, which would be significantly higher rated for a station that has been struggling to garner consistent viewership. WWE programming alone would up FS 1's prime time average, but the negative is that as a sports station, there is the question as to whether WWE should fit into that category. For WWE, their audience would surely decline moving from USA to FS 1, both because USA has a much higher base prime time audience and because (based on August numbers), USA is available in 91,898,000 homes whereas FS is in 84,221,000 homes. Less audience available means and lower profile television which means fewer fans, although the difference in tens of millions annually greatly overrides whatever decline that will cause. And there are ways to reach fans other than television that are more meaningful than in the past. Nobody knows how quick the migration will be regarding the value of television time from a promotional standpoint, as well as monetary, as compared with streaming. Since UFC events on FS 1 stream and air on television, we do have actual numbers and of late, it’s still more than 98 percent of viewers will watch the FS 1 shows on FS 1 as opposed to streaming it on their television or watching it away from their television.

What makes this notable is that if FOX does keep UFC, the value of WWE for them goes down significantly. They could easily air both, since UFC is mostly Saturday nights and WWE is Monday and Tuesday, but it’s questionable that the station would want to pay the costs for both promotions.

The story by John Ourand noted FOX wants to keep the UFC and that Eric Shanks, the president of FOX Sports, remains in communications with Ari Emmanuel and WME IMG co-President Mark Shapiro.

While UFC is asking for more than $400 million, we also were told by those at WME IMG in the past that they really expected $250 million when all was said and done, and the basic gist is they’d be very unhappy with a $200 million deal, they would be happy at $300 million and thrilled beyond belief at $400 million.

What’s also notable is that even though the new deal wouldn’t go into effect until January 2019, that UFC is hopeful that they have the next basic deal points in place with wherever they end up by the end of this year.

The UFC’s purchase price of just under four billion was based on the idea UFC was going to get a major rights increase in 2019 because they were the only major sports franchise up for bidding at a time when the belief is, because of DVRs, that the value of live sports on television would become even more important to advertisers. Most recently, Lorenzo & Frank Fertitta sold their remaining stock to WME IMG at about $50 million per point, meaning WME IMG placed a value of $5 billion on the franchise.

Even though most consider this a bad year for UFC with ratings and PPV down significantly, because of the increase in television rights fees, and the success of Mayweather vs. McGregor, Dana White claims this is the best year financially in company history and others have confirmed that this will be the company’s most profitable year, because of so much cost-cutting. But even with making more money temporarily based on a freak one-time fight that can’t be duplicated, and a contract signed in 2011, losing popularity is not a good thing and UFC is still built around superstar power, and Conor McGregor has too much power and his longevity is questionable as well as if he can draw at the current level if he’s no longer a champion. Georges St-Pierre is clearly temporary and Jon Jones, who needs a top opponent to draw, is not someone you can depend on.

More importantly, there is also nobody on the horizon who has shown that level of charisma. Both McGregor and Ronda Rousey’s potential as draws were clear years before they got there, as was Jones. St-Pierre came from another era. Joanna Jedrzejczyk showed charm but was unable to turn that into top drawing power. Cody Garbrandt had something, but he lost, and even if he hadn’t, he was going to be at best Urijah Faber and more likely Dominick Cruz as a draw. Max Holloway is similar. I’d go so far as to say there is nobody right now coming up who looks to have the potential to do more than 300,000 buys on a regular basis, and because of that, PPV business, which has historically been the biggest revenue stream, will become far less important than TV rights fees. In the long run, that should mean that more big fights will move to television, and that only the biggest draws will be on PPV.

It noted that UFC has had meetings with CBS, ESPN, NBC Sports Turner Sports, Amazon and Oath (Yahoo’s parent company) and making its pitch for why it is worth more than $400 million per year.

Ourand reported that Turner Sports showed the most interest, but they have their hands tied right now over the AT&T/Time Warner merger. Without the merger going through, Turner Sports’ would be less willing to put together that kind of a financial package. But multiple bidders is the best way UFC can increase its price. But even in a worst-case scenario, they are probably getting $200 million plus unless suddenly the product is perceived as cold or dead, and I don’t see that perception taking place this year. The ability of McGregor and St-Pierre to up interest in 2018, the year these negotiations will get the most serious, is key, so their value is at an all-time high. If Jones gets a minimal suspension, the idea of Jones vs. Brock Lesnar is also a fight that would greatly increase interest.

There is also the possibility, if not the goal, of making deals with two or more different companies, similar to the NFL and NBA, particularly if they can get a big offer from a digital platform.

The story noted that Chief Strategy Officer George Barrios and Paul Levesque met with Shanks during the summer. WWE also met with CBS, Disney, Amazon and YouTube, to get ready for its next round of negotiations. Right now, no serious negotiations can take place because NBC Universal, the parent company of the USA Network, has an exclusive negotiations period that ends in about four months.
.......................................................................................................................................
An incident, captured on tape led to the unusual situation of a UFC fighter pressing charges for assault against another fighter, in this case, Colby Covington, who has been in the news a lot of late, and Fabricio Werdum.

Werdum was charged with simple assault for throwing a boomerang to the face of Covington at about 1:30 p.m. on 11/16 in Sydney, Australia, two days before the show Werdum headlined beating Marcin Tybura. Video of the incident was filmed by another UFC fighter, Dan Hooker.

Covington, who claimed in a later interview that Werdum punched him, which Werdum denied, responded with an interview where he used an anti-gay slur on Werdum and also claimed Werdum would probably end up in an Australian prison. He also said, “F*** Brazil. F*** Fabricio Werdum, little bitch ass. F*** Brazil. A bunch of filthy animals, and they wonder why they get talked to like that, because they’re a bunch of animals.”

The story got mainstream national coverage in Australia.

Werdum, after being arrested, was expected to appear at Downing Centre Local court on 12/13. The police noted that neither man required medical treatment following the incident. Werdum told Submission Radio that he does plan on returning to Australia for the court date.

Covington is right now hated by a lot of the fighters, particularly Brazilians, for his anti-Brazil remarks, particularly around the 10/28 show in Sao Paulo, where he beat Demian Maia via decision.

Even some of Covington’s teammates at American Top Team, as well as owner Dan Lambert, who had used Covington as part of his entourage in pro wrestling with Impact the past few months, have come out against his remarks. Covington appeared to be copying Chael Sonnen and Conor McGregor, who both made names for themselves insulting Brazil and Brazilian fighters. For whatever reason, probably due to the delivery of the lines, or lack of any comedy as far as the delivery went, the reaction for Covington hasn’t seemed to make him a star, but has gotten him a lot of attention among fighters. At the UFC show two days later, Belal Muhammad, who is Palestinian and fights out of Chicago, but said he hated racist comments, after winning a decision over Tim Means, challenged Covington to a match in the cage, telling him, “If I see you in the street you’re going to ICU.”

Werdum did an interview with the Brazilian publication, UOL, translated to English by Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting. He said he had gone to get a haircut and shave his beard, was at the lobby and said he’d never met Covington. He said that when Covington walked past him, he called him a “Filthy Brazilian,” a term Covington has used in several interviews.

“I hit his phone and asked, `What did you say?’ He kicked my leg, but I managed to defend it, so the guys got in the middle and nothing else happened. But he kicked me. He’s insolent. He could have hurt me. If I really had (punched) him in the face, he would be in the hospital for sure. There was no punch. He’s delusional.”

The video showed Werdum throwing a boomerang at his face and stepping toward him and Covington, who is much smaller, backing away.

Covington appeared on the MMA Hour and said the altercation started when he was waiting for a cab outside the hotel and got sucker punched in the head, looked up, and saw it was Werdum. He said he got hit in the face from the side, was a little concussed and saw Werdum and coach Rafael Cordeiro, and claimed both threatened to kill him. He said that John Wood, another MMA coach, jumped in between them and then Werdum threw the boomerang at his face.

“His claims are completely lies,” said Covington. “I said nothing to him. I didn’t even see him before he hit me in the face. He’s out here saying, `Colby was calling me a filthy animal.’ No, I said those comments three weeks ago. Those comments are old. You can’t come up and attack someone because of free speech. It’s not okay to condone violence because of free speech.

He said when he shot the video, using the gay slur about Werdum, and called him an animal, he said he was still not thinking straight after being hit in the head.

“I regret anything that I said, because I was a little concussed. He hit me in the face.”

He also said he supports the LGBTQ community.

The UFC released a statement saying, “UFC was made aware of the altercation between Fabricio Werdum and Colby Covington at the organization’s host hotel in Sydney, Australia. The organization will conduct a full investigation to determine if the Athlete Conduct Policy was violated before taking any further action on this matter.”

The UFC sent Covington home from Australia two days later.
.......................................................................................................................................
With ten decisions in 13 fights, including a five-round main event, the UFC ran the longest show in its 418-event history on 11/19 (11/18 U.S. time) in Sydney, Australia.

The three hour and four minutes of fighting that stretched out over seven hours, included four split decisions and only one fight, the Fabricio Werdum decision win over Marcin Tybura in the main event, would have any bearing on the title picture.

Werdum won, but didn’t win in a blow-away fashion. That should put the winner of the 12/2 fight with Alistair Overeem vs. Francis Ngannou in Detroit as the probable top contender for champion Stipe Miocic. Unlike Werdum, who Miocic knocked out to win the title as part of his five straight knockout win streak that also includes Overeem, Mark Hunt, Andrei Arlovski and Junior Dos Santos, Ngannou has never faced the champion. Overeem has, but Overeem also has a recent win over Werdum. The other wildcard in the race is Cain Velasquez, who may be the most overall talented fighter, but has been beset by injuries so badly that he hasn’t fought in 18 months. After taking time off training because his wife was expecting, he’s started back and is looking to fight soon.

The show also included one of the best fights of the year, a potential Frye/Takayama award winner in a brawl where Frank Camacho won a decision over Damien Brown.

The show drew 10,021 fans to the Qudos Arena.

The ratings were unique in a number of ways. The show had a strong lead-in on FS 1 with a Penn State vs. Nebraska football game that did 1,564,000 viewers. Because of that, the pregame show, which only had 45,000 viewers on FS 2 early on, when switched to FS 1 ended up with 739,000 viewers, a ridiculously high number.

The prelims did 775,000 viewers, coming about as close to the main show number in recent history. The main show did 815,000 viewers, but the high point, at 987,000 viewers, came for the first television fight between Alexander Volkanovsky vs. Shane Young, which is rare because usually the first match is the lowest rated mach, particularly a first match without stars in it. The main show did slightly below average, but that was to be expected with a weak lineup and going against college football head-to-head on ABC, FOX, ESPN and ESPN 2. However, the prelims, also going against college football, did their fourth best number of the year.

For the latest update between regular television viewing and streaming viewing, the main show’s 815,000 TV viewers were augmented by 9,614 streaming viewers, or 98.8 percent television. The prelims were 775,000 on television and 9,136 streaming, also 98.8 percent television.

There was also an interesting note in the demo breakdown. UFC is usually 70 to 78 percent male viewers. For the prelims, the demo breakdown was 0.12 in 12-17, 0.14 in 18-34, 0.36 in 35-49 and 0.35 in 50+ with 60.8 percent males in 18-49, unusually large numbers for women, and 46.8 percent males in 12-17, so more girls watched than boys, which just doesn’t happen and there’s no reason for that. And it’s not the football lead-in, since that was 62.5 percent men in 18-49 and 75.7 percent male in 12-17. For the main show, starting at 10 p.m., the breakdown was 0.16 in 12-17, 0.25 in 18-34, 0.35 in 35-49 and 0.33 in 50+. So from the ages of 35 and older, more watched the prelims and the reason the main show was higher was the 12-34 age group. The split was 65.6 percent males in 18-49 and 46.6 percent boys in 12-17.

The postfight show did 321,000 viewers. The live weigh-ins did 43,000 viewers on FS 2, but a tape of the weigh-ins airing at 12:30 a.m. late Friday night on FS 1 did 104,000 viewers.

Brown and Camacho would have both gotten best fight bonuses, but because Camacho didn’t make weight, only Brown, the loser of the fight, got the $50,000 bonus. Other $50,000 bonuses went to Tai Tuivasa and Ryan Benoit.

As far as the split decisions went, Camacho beat Brown, while 100 percent of reporters had Camacho. Jake Matthews got a split decision over Bojan Velickovic, although in this case 67 percent of reporters scored it for Velickovic and 27 percent had Matthews with six percent a draw. Belal Muhammad got a decision over Tim Means but 100 percent of the reporters went for Means. And Jessica Rose-Clark got a split decision win over hometown favorite Bec Rawlings and in that one, 100 percent of the reporters had it for Clark.

1. Adam Wieczorek (9-1) beat Anthony Hamilton (15-9) on straight scores of 29-28 in a heavyweight fight. Hamilton got a takedown and ground and pound in the first round to win it. In the second round, Wieczorek dropped Hamilton and landed punches on t he ground while working for a head–and-arm choke. Hamilton got a late takedown in that round. The third round was all standing. Hamilton went for takedowns but got one of them. Wieczorek landed more in the round to take it.

2. Eric Shelton (11-4) beat Jenel Lausa (7-4) on scores of 30-27, 30-26 and 30-25 in a flyweight fight. Shelton got two first round takedowns to one for Lausa in the first round, and also did more damage from the top. Shelton got an early second round takedown and landed punches and elbows for almost five minutes straight. In the third round, the same thing happened, Shelton got the takedown and landed punches and elbows on the ground.

3. Nadia Kassem (5-0) beat Alex Chambers (5-4) on scores of 29-28, 29-28 and 29-27 in a strawweight fight. Kassem came in at 120, missing weight by four pounds. Chambers got a takedown and did damage from the top to win the first round. In the second round, Chambers took her down but Kassem used a triangle and was landing punches and elbows while trapping Chambers. Kassem also went for an armbar. It came down to round three and Chambers got the takedown. Kassem reversed and did a lot of damage on the ground. Chambers got up, but Kassem landed a lot of punches in the last minute.

4. Frank Camacho (21-5) beat Damien Brown (17-11) on scores of 29-28, 27-30 and 29-28 in a lightweight fight. The 30-27 for Brown was a totally unforgivable score. Camacho weighed in at 160, missing by four pounds. Brown and Camacho traded takedowns. Brown got another takedown in the first round and had a choke late in the round. Camacho escaped and reversed to the top. In the second round, both were landing hard punches but Camacho had more power. This was just a great round, the crowd went crazy and they high-fived each other at the end of the round. The third round was a repeat, with both landing hard punches. Camacho bled from the right eye. Brown was covered in blood. It was surreal. A fight of the year candidate.

5. Tai Tuivasa (8-0) beat Rashad Coulter (8-3) in 4:35 of a heavyweight fight. Tuivasa landed a left and Coulter’s knees buckled. Coulter was able to take him down. Tuivasa got up and landed a lot of punches. Tuivasa’s low kicks hurt Coulter and he went down, with his leg damaged and followed with punches on the ground until it was stopped.

6. Nik Lentz (30-8-2, 1 no contest) beat Will Brooks (18-4) at 2:05 of the second round in a lightweight fight. The storyline here is that Brooks is from American Top Team, while Lentz is formerly of American Top Team. Both had trained together and Brooks’ coaches were Lentz’s former coaches. Brooks took him down. Lentz went for a guillotine but Brooks somersaulted out of it. Brooks landed some punches late in the round. In the second round, Brooks was getting the better of the standup early, but Lentz started with body kicks. Brooks got a takedown. Lentz, bleeding badly from the right eye, got a guillotine to win by submission. Lentz then said that he’d beat him mom up if he had to in this sport and said he’s got $50,000 as a challenge to anybody at American Top Team who can beat him, and said “Line them up like Mortal Kombat.”

7. Ryan Benoit (10-5) beat Ashkan Mokhtarian (13-3) at 2:38 of the third round in a flyweight fight. Benoit came in at 129 pounds, missing weight by three pounds. They split rounds and Benoit said he broke is right hand. In the third round, Benoit was getting the better of the standup, and knocked him out with a right high kick.

8. Alexander Volkanovsky (16-1) beat Shane Young (11-4) on scores of 30-27, 30-26 and 30-26 in a featherweight fight. Volkanovsky, from New South Wales, was a big favorite and dominated. Volkanovsky controlled the fight. He got a first round takedown, and three second round takedowns including two high slams. Young got a takedown in the third round but Volkanovsky picked him up and slammed him down and landed punches on the ground. He got a later takedown as well.

9. Elias Theodorou (15-2) beat Daniel Kelly (12-3) on scores of 30-28, 30-27 and 30-26 in a middleweight fight. Elias was just too quick, mostly focusing on low and body kicks for three rounds. Kelly, at 40, occasionally got inside and landed punches, but most of the fight was a steady barrage of kicks by Theodorou that didn’t stop Kelly or hurt him badly, but kept landing. Kelly took him down and worked for a choke in the third round. Theodorou escaped and came back, got Kelly’s back and just kept landing kicks including solid head kicks to win the round. Even though Theodorou clearly won, he crowd heavily booed the decision since Kelly is an Australian favorite and a four-time Olympian in judo.

10. Jake Matthews (12-3) beat Bojan Velickovic (15-6-1) via split decision on scores of 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28 in a welterweight fight. Matthews, who at one point looked to be a potential Australian superstar, moved up a weight class. Matthews went for a takedown but Velickovic was throwing elbows. Matthews eventually got the takedown and got his back. Matthews later got a second takedown. In round two, they traded and Matthews took im down. Velickovic used a guillotine to sweep to the top. Matthews popped out but Velickovic got mount. Matthews gave up his back and Velickovic was landing punches. Both landed late. In the third round, both traded punches and Matthews took him down. Velickovic then took Matthews down and had his back. Matthews reversed go the top and landed punches and was working for a choke. Velickovic reversed and got to the top. It wasn’t terrible judging, but Matthews was very lucky to get the decision here.

11. Belal Muhammad (13-2) beat Tim Means (27-9-1, 1 no contest) via split decision on scores of 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28 in a welterweight fight. Muhammad was landing more in the first round, which went back-and-forth. In the second round, Muhammad was landing and took Means down and Let him up. Means scored with some low kicks to take the round. It looked to come down to the third round. Means landed a head kick. Muhammad was bleeding under the left eye. Both were landing and this was a close deciding round.

12. Jessica Rose-Clark (8-4, 1 no contest) beat Bec Rawlings (7-7) via split decision on scores of 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28 in a women’s flyweight fight. Rose-Clark threw a kick and Rawlings used it to get a takedown. Rose-Clark reversed to the top. Both were landing punches late in the round but Rose-Clark landed more. In the second round Rawlings was working for a takedown but couldn’t get it. Rose-Clark hurt her with knees and got a takedown and dropped a lot of elbows from the top and clearly won the round. In the third round, both landed punches. This was a good fight with back-and-forth punches here. Rawlings hurt her late with a right and took her down. Rose-Clark got a takedown of her own late. I had Rose-Cark solid in the first two rounds.

13. Fabricio Werdum (23-7-1) beat Marcin Tybura (16-3) on scores of 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46 in a heavyweight fight. Werdum was big favorite here as there was a Brazilian contingent at the show. Fans were chanting “You’re gonna die” in Portuguese, in Australia, at Tybura. It was a slow round but Werdum was landing more. That set the tone for the fight, as Werdum couldn’t get takedowns but did better standing, but never really hurt Tybura. Werdum outstruck im round after round. Tybura landed some solid shots each round. Werdum took over strong in the fourth and did get two takedowns in the round. There was a “Marcin” chant. Tybura got a takedown in the fourth round and Werdum got a guillotine as the round was ending. In he fifth round, Tybura landed punches and a head kick and more punches. Werdum came back and started to land. Werdum hurt him with punches and a head kick late in the round. Tybura did win the first half of the fifth round but Werdum came back very strong at the end to score what I’d call a clean sweep.
.......................................................................................................................................
Bellator on 11/17 did 444,000 viewers (plus 58,000 more watching over the next three days via DVR)for a show from Tel Aviv on a one-day tape delay with no name fighters on it. It would be the third lowest number for Bellator on Spike to date, but hardly a surprise given the lineup. The show peaked at 578,000 viewers (692,000 with DVR viewership) for the Noad Lahat vs. Jeremiah Labiano main event.

Ultimate Fighter on 11/15, delayed one hour to 11 p.m., did a record low 158,000 viewers.
.......................................................................................................................................
UFC: One week after Holly Holm’s agent called the negotiations dead, both sides came back to the table and Cris Cyborg vs. Holm for the women’s featherweight title was announced for the 12/30 show in Las Vegas. This would be the biggest possible women’s fight as far as drawing power goes that UFC could put on with its current roster. Holm is the more technical striker but Cyborg will likely go into the cage with a 15 pound or more weight edge. Cyborg has also signed a new UFC contract

The UFC was looking for a monster show on 12/30 with Conor McGregor vs. Tony Ferguson, Tyron Woodley vs. Nate Diaz and Cyborg vs. Holm, with the idea that with that card would legit blow past 1 million buys and with GSP-Bisping, that 2017 would end up super profitable. McGregor and Ferguson talks were going back-and-forth on the McGregor side, and were apparently frustrating in the sense UFC would agree to what he wanted, then he’d change what he wanted. He also expressed concern that Ferguson wasn’t a big enough name to pull the kind of numbers he was used to pulling and UFC said they’d promote the hell out of Ferguson leading to the fight. After the incident last week when he hopped the cage in Dublin, UFC was the one that made the call to end negotiations for 12/30. Daniel Cormier said that Khabib Nurmagomedov, who was scheduled to face Edson Barboza on that show, has been asked to face Ferguson instead for Ferguson’s interim title. Nurmagomedov said that he was offered the fight with Ferguson, and accepted, but Ferguson turned it down so he’s concentrating on Barboza. From the Ferguson standpoint, do you want to take a fight with a top guy that you can lose in, or take the sure thing and get the bonanza fight with McGregor, for multiple times the money, recognition, publicity for you by waiting for McGregor to come to the table. While McGregor may always blow it off, as long as you’ve got the interim lightweight title, it’s a fight you’re still likely to get even though McGregor’s real money fights are GSP or, as much as I hate to say it, De La Hoya. Woodley vs. Diaz for the welterweight title was still at least on the table this week as both are training for such a fight, but the deal hasn’t been put together. Woodley I believe has signed, but has definitely verbally agreed, but that’s obvious that Diaz would be the hold up. Richard Perez, his boxing coach, told Submission Radio that Diaz wants $15 million minimum, which makes no economic sense from a UFC standpoint to give him a guarantee at that level for anyone except McGregor. McGregor’s trainer John Kavanagh, said that McGregor probably wouldn’t fight again until April or the summer, although the impression we have is UFC would want him against Ferguson for the 3/3 show in Las Vegas

For UFC 217, those in UFC are saying the show did hit 1 million buys when you include worldwide and Internet numbers in the total. The PPV was as heavily Canadian-skewed as any UFC event in history. On a per capita basis, Google searches indicated it was all Canadian cities dominating, Calgary, Quebec City, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Hamilton Mississauga and Toronto. Australia also did well. In the U.S., the top markets were San Jose, San Diego, Phoenix, San Antonio, Denver, Los Angeles and New York, notable because most of those cities are heavily Hispanic markets. While UFC has TV everywhere, aside from the U.S., Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.K., there wasn’t really significant interest in this fight. Most notably, this show had very little interest in Brazil, which kind of tells you that the Brazilian interest in UFC is built around Brazilian fighters (or if a legit U.S. superstar fights in Brazil such as when Ronda Rousey came, as Rousey wasn’t big in Brazil until she got ready to fight there), and not around UFC, or non-Brazilian superstars, or UFC championships

Volkan Oezdemir, 28, who at this point is tentatively scheduled to face Daniel Cormier for the light heavyweight title in an early 2018 PPV show, was arrested on 11/18 and charged with aggravated battery causing bodily harm or disability by Fort Lauderdale police. He was taken to the Broward County jail and released on $10,000 bond the next day after a hearing. Not a lot of details are available but the alleged incident took place outside Fort Lauderdale bar called Capone’s on 8/12. Oezdemir was allegedly in a fight with a man named Kevin Cohen. Cohen’s version of the story is that he went outside the bar after hearing that one of his friends, Sergio Sandoval, had been knocked unconscious after an argument with another man. He went outside, asked who knocked Sandoval out. He said at that point he looked up and was hit in the face, and said he was out cold for 14 minutes and taken to the hospital, where he was treated for concussion symptoms and given staples to close a cut. He said that witnesses told him it was Oezdemir who hit him. Police were unable to find Sandoval, who didn’t press charges, so there are no charges related to him. Oezdemir’s attorney, Bruce Zimet, described it as a bar room altercation which Oezdemir was not the aggressor and that he was totally justified in all of his actions based on Florida law. Oezdemir, who is from Switzerland, trains at The Combat Club in Lantana, FL, near Fort Lauderdale. The UFC has said it was aware of the situation and was investigating it. No date had been announced for Cormier vs. Oezdemir, but it was targeted for the 1/20 PPV show from Boston. Cormier said that if legal issues stemming from this take Oezdemir out of action, that he’d be willing to face whoever the top contender is, mentioning Alexander Gustafsson (their first fight was a war and I’d favor Gustafsson over him in a rematch) or Ovince Saint Preux

Jon Jones has asked for his hearing before the California State Athletic Commission to be delayed. He was scheduled for a hearing that would likely include the decision regarding his commission suspension on 12/12. He asked for a delay until February as his camp is still testing supplements to evidently try and find one that caused a positive test for the steroid Turinabol. The commission suspension process is only half the battle as there is also the USADA suspension process. If he can find a supplement that caused the positive test, while he wouldn’t get back the win in the Daniel Cormier fight or the championship, he would get a lesser suspension. If he can’t, you’re talking a suspension from two to four years, and likely the latter due to it being the second offense

The spring 2018 season of the Ultimate Fighter will be built around undefeated fighters. They are trying to line up a cast of fighters who have had at least three pro fights and have never lost, fighting at either 145, 155 or 170, looking for fighters at least 21 (since there is drinking on the show) to 34. The tryouts are 12/12 at 8 a.m. the Palace Station Hotel in Las Vegas

While I doubt this will happen due to the time frame, UFC is trying to get Georges St-Pierre to defend the middleweight title against Robert Whittaker on the 2/10 PPV show from Perth, Western Australia

This week’s show is a Fight Pass exclusive from Shanghai, China on 11/25 which starts at 3:45 a.m. Eastern time. Aside from the main event, the show has little in the way of star power and is heavy on using Chinese fighters with little major league experience. The line-up has Cyril Asker (8-3) vs. Hu Yaozong (3-0), Wuliji Buren (10-4) vs. Rolando Dy (8-6-1), Gina Mazany (4-1) vs. Yanan Wu (9-1), Shmail Abdurakhimov (17-4) vs. Chase Sherman (11-3), Bharat Khandare (5-2) vs. Pinyuan Lui (10-5), Kailin Curran (4-5) vs,. Yan Xiaonan (7-1), Bobby Nash (8-3) vs,. Kenan Song (11-3), Zabit Magomedsharipov (13-1) vs. Sheymon Moraes (9-1), Alex Garcia (14-4) vs. Muslim Salikhov (12-1), Alex Caceres (13-10) vs. Wang Guan (16-1-1), Li Jingliang (13-4) vs. Zak Ottow (15-4) and Michael Bisping (30-8) vs. Kelvin Gastelum (13-3). It’s a total one-match show. The estimated time for Bisping vs. Gastelum is 8 a.m. Eastern time, since Fight Pass shows don’t have to hit TV cues and commercials so they move the fastest of any UFC shows

Yaozong, who makes his debut, is a late replacement for James Mulheron. Mulheron tested positive for a banned substance on an 11/10 drug test–and this is actually news in the sense that since this test was so close to the fight, they did rush it and got the results back in eight days, in the past it usually had taken weeks and fighters who had tested positive even two weeks before the fight still fought. It’s likely with visa issues and such that at such late notice UFC would be limited to having someone from China as a replacement for Mulheron against Asker

Derek Brunson vs. Ronaldo Jacare Souza is in talks for a fight on 2/3 in Belem, Brazil. Souza tweeted that he’s accepted the fight. Brunson wants the fight on 1/27 in Charlotte

Paige VanZant vs. Jessica Rose-Clark at flyweight has been targeted for the 1/14 show in St. Louis

John Lineker is being looked at as the replacement for the injured Dominick Cruz in a 12/30 fight with Jimmie Rivera. Ariel Helwani reported it as the direction being looked at but as not signed

Bryan Caraway, who hasn’t fought since May 2016, pulled out of his 12/9 fight in Fresno with Luke Sanders due to an injury. Caraway is being replaced by Andre Soukhanmthath

The first fight announced for the 3/3 PPV show in Las Vegas is Ketlen Vieira vs. Cat Zingano. Vieira is 9-0 and just beat Sara McMann via submission, and a win over Zingano would put her in title contention. Zingano holds a win over champion Amanda Nunes, but Nunes has improved a ton since then and Zingano has been injured a ton since then. A Zingano win would also put her in title contention.

. Irene Aldana vs. Talita Bernardo has been added to the 1/14 show in St. Louis. Bernardo replaces the injured Bethe Correia.

BELLATOR: Ariel Helwani reported that the probable first-round matches in the heavyweight Grand Prix tournament for the championship are Rampage Jackson vs. Chael Sonnen, Matt Mitrione vs. Roy Nelson, King Mo Lawal vs Ryan Bader and Fedor Emelianenko vs. Frank Mir. He reported the matches would be taking place on different shows between January and April. Several days later, Bellator officially released that exact information, and noted that the tournament would begin on 1/20 at the Forum with Jackson vs. Sonnen on the card that also features Douglas Lima vs. Rory McDonald for the welterweight title. Mitrione vs. Nelson takes place 2/16 in Uncasville, CT. Emelianenko vs. Mir will take place in April in Chicago. Lawal vs. Bader will take place in May in San Jose.

Shane Carwin, who last fought six-and-a-half years ago and is now 42, contacted Bellator and has asked to be an alternate in the tournament. Oddsmakers have made Mitrione the favorite at +200, followed Bader at +260, Mir at +380, Fedor and Nelson at +500. They’ve also given an unnamed alternate coming in and winning at +1000, better odds of winning than Lawal, Jackson and Sonnen. Lawal and Sonnen are +1200 and Jackson is +1500

They drew a second sellout crowd on the 11/16 show in Tel Aviv, Israel. The TV show featured all quick finishes except the main event. Denise Kielholtz (1-1), a kickboxer they are pushing, beat Jessica Middleton (2-3) with an armbar in 1:16. John Salter (15-3) beat Jason Radcliffe (12-5) with a choke in 1:55. Haim Gozali (8-4) beat Arsen Faitovch (4-2) with a triangle in :45. The main event saw Israel’s top star, Noad Lahat (12-3) beat Jeremiah Labiano (11-7) with straight 29-27 scores

Michael Chandler vs. Goiti Yamauchi, which is a high quality fight, has also been added to the 1/20 show at the Forum in Los Angeles. Brent Primus, the lightweight champion, said to MMA Fighting that he expected to be defending his title against Chandler, but that Chandler turned down the rematch. He said it was frustrating to wait for Chandler’s leg injury to heal, only to find out Chandler wasn’t taking the fight. He expects to defend in early 2018 against someone else, with the name Patricky Pitbull Freire, who beat Benson Henderson and Josh Thomson, being the likely contender. Chandler said it was Primus who turned the fight down

Herschel Walker, 55, is saying that he wants one last fight. I mean, the guy was probably the single greatest athlete ever to compete in pro wrestling or MMA, but at some point this is no longer a good idea.