SB Nation User Blog: Kid Nate

NFL Player Chad Ochocinco Asks Dana White for a UFC Fight Against Anderson Silva

Kid Nate — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:14:44 -0000

The Cincinattie Bengals wide receiver tweeted:

"Dana this Ocho Cinco, I want to fight your #1 and #2 best fighters asap,exhibition to raise money for a charity of choice!!!!!!," Ochocinco tweeted. "matter of fact I want Anderson Spider Silva---please don't ignore me or you'll have to fight me yourself!!! Sincerely Esteban :)"

Dana White replied:

If you are really serious @OGOchoCinco, contact me. We'll put a fight together for charity.

I'd put odds against this fight ever happening at about 100-1.

Bloody Elbow Judo Chop: Katsunori Kikuno's Standing Crucifix Neck Crank on Eddie Alvarez at DREAM.12

Kid Nate — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:26:50 -0000

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Note: I wrote most of this a couple of weeks back but didn't get a chance to finish, thought I'd go ahead and post since I figure alot of our readers are technique nerds too.

DREAM.12 featured Bellator champ (and #3 ranked lightweight in the world on the USAT/SBN Consensus MMA Rankings) Eddie Alvarez, a fighter who epitomizes the combination of boxing and wrestling that has become a mainstay of MMA. His opponent was the fast-rising Katsunori Kikuno whose success with Kyokushin karate, an eccentric Sanchin dachi stance and use of crescent kicks have made him a cult favorite with those of us who are fascinated with the successful use of "traditional martial art" styles that were long believed to be of extremely limited effectiveness in MMA.

But instead of the clash of contrasting striking styles fans had expected, the fight was decided in the grappling phase of the game. Sure Alvarez scored repeatedly with hard hooks, but he won the fight with an arm triangle and nearly lost it in the first round when he was caught in a rare standing crucifix.

I've done a judo chop on the crucifix neck crank before (not to be confused with the various crucifix positions of jiu jitsu or the position in which Matt Hughes finished B.J. Penn at UFC 63) but that was an instance when it was used on the ground, rather than standing as in Kikuno vs Alvarez.

Many fans watching assumed that Alvarez was in no danger as Kikuno held him in the hold. Alvarez, too, underestimated the danger of the hold, until it was released. Ray Hui scooped me with a write-up he did of the move last week and he wrote up Alvarez' comments at the post fight press conference:

"I originally thought that they were just going to break it, so I kind of just relaxed in there, but the ref just let it go and he kept cranking my neck," Alvarez told the press after the fight. "It didn't feel like it was a move that you would give up to. I just felt uncomfortable. That's all."

However upon release, Alvarez was in obvious discomfort and outright ran away from Kikuno for a momentary breather.

"And I didn't realize until I got out of it that it was stopping my blood flow to my brain I guess and it messed up my footing."

Let's look at some animated gifs in the full entry.

On the left we see Kikuno stuffing Alvarez' shot. He was clearly concerned about Alvarez' wrestling prowess and wanted to avoid getting put on his back. Impressively he is able to get double underhooks on Alvarez. He plants his left foot against the cage and uses the leverage to stand. At the same time, he is able to lock his two hands together. With Alvarez head pressed into the center of his chest, Kikuno has now established the crucifix neck crank.

On the right -- almost two minutes later -- we see Kikuno locking the hold in and dropping his weight down to put maximum pressure on Alvarez' neck. But then he decides to fire a knee to Alvarez' face. I hate to play Monday morning quarterback, especially since I have no idea what I'm talking about, but it seems to me that if Kikuno had on taking Alvarez to the ground here, he could have gotten a dominant enough position to finish the fight with the neck crank.

Here on the left we see Alvarez riding out the hold and finally escaping. The cross-face he gets on Kikuno had to help, but I am sure that Kikuno's arms were very tired after cranking the hold for more than two minutes.

GIFs by Chris Nelson. Photo via Sportsnavi.

Is the WEC Getting Outshined Again?

Kid Nate — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:29:54 -0000

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From Kevin Iole's mailbag:

Brown and Aldo will meet for Brown’s World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight title in what legitimately figures to be one of the finest matches of 2009 on Nov. 18 at the Palms in Las Vegas.

That will put it three days before UFC 106, in which Lesnar was scheduled to defend his title against Shane Carwin in the main event. With Lesnar forced to withdraw because of mononucleosis, Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin were bumped to the UFC main event. However, the move also affords Brown and Aldo to escape Lesnar’s considerable shadow.

...

WEC general manager Reed Harris said more conflicts with the UFC are inevitable in 2010. He said choosing a date is a tricky process that involves working with Versus, which broadcasts WEC cards, as well as venues.

Here's Reed Harris talking to Heavy.com:

When we decided to focus on the lighter weights we knew we had our work cut out for us. But if you look at boxing for example, it took many yeas, but now the lightweight guys are the guys everybody is interested in. If you look at the time frame, I only started really focusing on the light weights about eight months ago. Now look where we are at. Everyone in the MMA industry says the best lightweights in the world fight for WEC. I get calls from across the world, from Japan, from Korea, from Brazil, with coaches saying 'I've got lightweight fighters we want to bring into the WEC, because these guys want to fight the best.' It used to be the other way around. We used to have to chase after them.

I think in the next year you're going to see a lot of things happening in the WEC. We've got a new deal with Versus. We're going to go to the PPV model. We're going to possibly go to Mexico and Canada and expand internationally. We're going to do more shows. I'm looking forward to next year. You're going to see alot of things happen with the WEC and I think that we are starting to step out of the shadow of the UFC. They are our parent company and they cast a big shadow. I think going to the lighter fighters, which was something Dana (White) wanted us to do and, by the way, I didn't want to do. Now I look back and I'm really glad we did that.

It's often been said here and elsewhere online that the UFC and the WEC should merge. That would allow WEC champs like ~~Urijah Faber and Miguel Torres~~ Mike Brown and Brian Bowles to beef up UFC cards in desperate need of top tier fights. It would also dramatically increase the pay for the top fighters in the smaller divisions.

But the reality is that Zuffa signed a deal with Versus that insists on a strong branding separation between UFC and WEC. And Spike TV is very mindful of their prerogatives. They're not going to let anything that can be perceived as a UFC fight to air on the Versus network.

With Versus' declining reach, that deal is looking less attractive by the day. It served its purpose to box out competitors from getting significant cable coverage but now Zuffa is paying the price.

SBN coverage of WEC 44: Brown vs. Aldo

UFC's Dana White Makes the Case Against Strikeforce on CBS

Kid Nate — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:51:34 -0000

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Dave Meltzer gets the Dana's reaction and points out how well UFC on Spike has done relative to Strikeforce on CBS:

"CBS made its biggest mistake partnering with a tiny, small show with a roster no one cares about," said Dana White. "Just because you read on MMA.TV that someone is a superstar doesn't make it true. This should prove that no one out there gives a [expletive] about Fedor."

"We're pulling those numbers on Spike," White said. "I mean, how the [expletive] is what they did considered any good in any way, shape or form? What kind of numbers do you think we would pull with a live show on CBS? I'll tell you. Huge. It would be significantly, significantly more than what they got with these idiots from Showtime."

"You'd think everyone [in the industry] would be happy because it's great for the industry for everyone to be doing well," responded Coker.

Of the eight episodes of the current season of the UFC's "Ultimate Fighter" reality show on Spike, two had higher ratings than this show. Aside from that, UFC has topped a 2.5 rating for a live event twice, for a 2006 Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock fight and a 2007 Quinton Jackson vs. Dan Henderson fight. UFC 105, which airs this coming Saturday night, headlined by Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera, the first time Couture will have ever fought live on Spike TV, could do a rating in the same range as Strikeforce show.

But the TV ratings news isn't all good for Dana and the UFC:

UFC's attempt at counterprogramming the opposition didn't prove as successful as in the past. UFC has always put on replays of past major pay-per-view events against the prior CBS shows, usually doing a 1.2 rating, considered very strong for Spike TV for using old footage. But they were down 25 percent from usual, doing a 0.9 rating and 1.2 million viewers with a custom-made show featuring the television debuts of four recent never-before-seen pay-per-view main event matches.

It's widely rumored that UFC 75 was aired free on Spike as a demonstration for the networks -- particularly CBS -- of what UFC could do on free television. Having seen the Strikeforce broadcast, Dana White has to be happy he didn't sign with CBS since one of their demands was supposedly taking over production and commentary. It was bad enough for me to hear Gus Johnson talking about Jake Shields "holding his breath" to avoid being submitted by a rear naked choke, can you imagine Dana White's reaction to hearing that kind of commentary on a UFC telecast?

On the other hand, it's very hard for me to imagine a scenario where any major network, even Fox, let's the UFC bring its own production and commentary team along for the network broadcast. It's one thing for the UFC to hire its own announcers on Spike TV or on PPV, but any organization with its own sports news operation is going to be very resistant to airing sports programming that is announced by the promotion's own commenters. Rogan and Goldberg may be better than any team a network could assemble right now, but it's just not big time to let the fight promoter control the coverage. It's not big time, it's WWE.

Dana White's desire to control the presentation of his product is probably the right instinct and might well be what's best for the long term health of the sport, but it's also what's keeping UFC off the networks and allowing otherwise second-tier promotions to grab the opportunity.

Quote of the Day: Jerry Millen Talks Dana White, Fedor Emelianko

Kid Nate — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:10:27 -0000

"If I get the opportunity just to punch Dana White in the face once in the cage, he could whip my ass. Pay me $50,000 that I give to charity, I'd still do it. Just one shot to punch him in the mouth."

...

"In the meeting, Dana says to Fedor 'oh, you're the best fighter in the world, we'd love to have you.' And Fedor says to him 'yeah, I hear and read on the internet what you have to say about me everyday.' And then Dana's like 'I'm just a promoter. I'm just trying to sell tickets. I just want to sell tickets.' And Fedor said 'that's what makes you and I different.' [Fedor] just wants respect and to be treated fairly."

Jerry Millen Millen told DC and The Sunshine Man on ESPNRadio1100. HT Steve Cofield

Two fights from the UFC 106 undercard: Marcus Davis vs Ben Saunders and Jake Rosholt vs Kendall...

Kid Nate — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:06:59 -0000

Two fights from the UFC 106 undercard: Marcus Davis vs Ben Saunders and Jake Rosholt vs Kendall Grove to air on Spike TV. HT MMA Fanhouse

Coverage of UFC 106

Dana White, Fedor Emelianenko and Sour Grapes

Kid Nate — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:37:19 -0000

Illustration from legendary Japanese comic at the time of Dana White's purchase of PRIDE.

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Jesse Holland of MMA Mania breaks from their usual "just the facts ma'am" mold and tears it up in an opinion piece about Fedor:

UFC President Dana White thinks Fedor Emelianenko is a fraud. A flabby relic from the mismanaged days of PRIDE that now hides behind the iron curtain, emerging only to fight hand-picked opponents that pose no threat to a self-proclaimed legacy.

In fact, White is so sure that the Russian heavyweight is at the bottom of the divisional rankings that he was willing to write him a blank check after Affliction MMA imploded under the weight of its own spending.

That makes sense.

Imagine how quickly the men in white coats would come to collect you if you walked onto the lot of an auto auction and told the yard barker: "I've got a check for five million dollars, please give me the biggest piece of shit on the lot."

Ever since the fall of PRIDE, there have been a lot of hard feelings between the UFC and Emelianenko's camp and I suspect a great deal of that has been "The Last Emperor's," ability to escape the Zuffa monopoly.

Men with White's power and ultimately White's greed are used to getting what they want. What do men in power want? Everything. Yet "those crazy Russians" have balked at every attempt the UFC has made to secure the WAMMA champion as their own.

And why wouldn't they, especially when M-1 can have a monopoly of their own? As long as Emelianenko keeps winning, Vadim and the Finkelchtein Express can continue cashing in at the expense of other promotions who need an established headliner.

I've written many times about Dana's love/hate/need/want obsession with Fedor. Just to show you how psychic I am, I wrote at the time of Fedor's decision to sign with Strikeforce:

From the moment the deals were being rumored, I believed that Dana White and Zuffa were so confident that Brock Lesnar would beat Fedor in the Russian's first UFC fight that they were willing to offer lots of terms (loosening the champion clause etc) that they would not have offered if Fedor was going to be facing Randy Couture, Cro-Cop and Big Nog in his three UFC fights.
I think Fedor also is concerned that he might lose to Brock Lesnar -- and there's nothing wrong with that, Lesnar is a beast -- and even a 30% chance of Lesnar winning the first fight is a big risk for Fedor. Especially in his first fight in a cage with elbows on the ground. Fedor's history of getting cut in fights makes a cut stoppage from an elbow an exceedingly likely outcome.

In closing, here's the case for Strikeforce:

No elbows on the ground.

Willingness to co-promote. Remember, Fedor isn't just a client of M-1, he's supposedly a 20% owner -- that's twice the share Dana White has in the UFC. There's also a strong element of Russian nationalism. Fedor's never been seen on national television in Russia. Affliction had just scored a deal to do that. Also, don't forget how "business" is done in Russia. I don't want to speculate, but if I was Fedor, I'd be very hesitant to dump my Russian partners.

Strikeforce's roster of Brett Rogers, Fabricio Werdum and Alistair Overeem is a very credible roster of foes for Fedor -- they are ranked #8, 10 and 14, respectively, on this month's USAT/SBN MMA rankings. And I'm sure each would enjoy the "Josh Barnett effect" of rising several notches upon the announcement of a signed fight with Fedor.

Non-exclusivity. With Strikeforce, Fedor could quite possibly continue to fight in Japan on the odd New Year's Eve for DREAM, maybe even against Josh Barnett in a fight many still want to see.

Fedor has an enormous amount to lose if he makes the wrong step. Clearly his refusal to sign with the UFC and their aggressive PR will cost him the hearts of many MMA fans. At the same time, most of those fans will tune in to watch his next fight, regardless of opponent, especially if it's on CBS. If Strikeforce manages to book him against legitimate top 10 competition, he will only grow his appeal and be able to demand even more from the UFC if there is a next time.

Strikeforce's Fedor Emelianenko vs Brett Rogers Seen by More Than 5 Million Viewers on CBS

Kid Nate — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:59:07 -0000

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MMA Fanhouse has the story:

The final Nielsen ratings are in and 5.46 million viewers tuned in Saturday to watch Strikeforce and M-1 Global's main event between Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers from 11:00 pm to 11:15 pm ET on CBS.

...

While CBS still fell short to Fox and ABC, the channel was a big winner in the 18-34 demographic. Saturday Night Fights was the top program for both adults and men 18-34, beating out college football and was an improvement of 283% on CBS' season-to-date average on Saturday nights.

For reference, Kimbo Slice vs James Thompson drew 6.51 million viewers on CBS in May of 2008 and Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter featuring Kimbo Slice vs Roy Nelson drew 6.1 million viewers only a few weeks ago. It was far stronger than the Robbie Lawler vs Scott Smith headlined EliteXC show which only drew 2.5 million viewers.

Before the show, Josh Gross said it would be a major disappointment if the show did anything less than 5.5 million viewers. I'm curious to see if he sticks with that metric now. I'm also very curious to see if CBS gambles with another Saturday Night Fights headlined by Fedor Emelianenko. These numbers are right on the edge of good enough to try again.

[Update by Luke Thomas]: Full press release with all of the numbers after the jump.

"CBS SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS" MAIN EVENT FEATURING FEDOR VS. ROGERS DRAWS 5.46 MILLION VIEWERS

Full Broadcast Averages 4.04 Million Viewers, Winning its Time Period in Adults 18-34 and Men 18-34 and Significantly Boosting the Networks Time Period Averages in all Key Adult and Men Demos

"CBS SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS" Tops College Football on ABC and ESPN in Men 18-34 and Adults 18-34

The main event of CBS SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS featuring Fedor Emelianenko vs. Brett Rogers reached 5.46 million viewers while drawing impressive young adult and male demographic ratings, according to Nielsen live plus same day ratings from 11:00-11:15 PM on Saturday, Nov. 7. The demographic ratings include a 3.5/10 in men 25-54, 3.3/11 in men 18-49 and 3.1/12 in men 18-34, 2.5/7 rating in adults 25-54, 2.4/8 in adults 18-49 and 2.4/09 in adults 18-34.

For the entire broadcast, CBS SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS (S) (9:00-11:24PM) averaged 4.04m viewers, winning its time period among adults 18-34 and men 18-34, and delivering ratings significantly higher than the Network's season to date averages in the time period among young adult and male demos. The ratings include a 1.8/06 in adults 18-49, 1.8/07 in adults 18-34, 2.6/07 in men 25-54, 2.5/08 in men 18-49 and 2.3/09 in men 18-34.

Compared to CBS's 9:00-11:00PM season-to-date averages, CBS SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS was up +38% in adults 18-49 (from 1.3/04), +125% in adults 18-34 (from 0.8/03), +117% in men 25-54 (from 1.2/03), +178% in men 18-49 (from 0.9/03) and +283% in men 18-34 (from 0.6/02).

CBS's SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS outrated ABC's regionalized primetime college football in men 18-34 (2.3/09 vs. 1.9/07) and adults 18-34 (1.8/07 vs. 1.5/06) and ESPN's Florida State vs. Clemson primetime game in men 18-34 (2.3/09 vs. 0.7/03) and adults 18-34 (1.8/07 vs. 0.5/02). CBS also topped ESPN2's primetime Vanderbilt vs. Florida game in men 18-34 (2.3/09 vs. 1.1/04) and adults 18-34 (1.8/07 vs. 0.9/04).

The audience composition for CBS SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS was 31% adults 18-34 and the median age for the broadcast was 41.4.

UFC 105 Preview: Randy Couture Stole Brandon Vera's Mojo

Kid Nate — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:12:19 -0000

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Dave Meltzer tells the tale:

He had four stoppage wins in his first four UFC fights, including three in the first round. The highlight of his streak came against former heavyweight champion Frank Mir at UFC 65, where Vera won in just 1:09 by overwhelming Mir standing.

The win put Vera in line for a shot at then-heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia. But Vera and the UFC had a contract dispute, and he never signed for the match. It was his upcoming opponent, Couture, who came out of retirement to fill the vacancy, leading to Couture's win in one of the most memorable moments in UFC history.

Just as Couture's storybook career hit its apex, Vera's unraveled.

After his contractual issue with the UFC came a management problem and a dispute. He sat out a year, and when he came back at UFC 77, he broke his hand in the first round in a fight against Sylvia, losing a decision and ending his undefeated status. The loss derailed him from a heavyweight title fight he would have received with a win.

Anyone who was following Brandon Vera up to 2006 knows that at one time he was one of the most exciting fighters in the heavyweight division: a skilled Greco-Roman wrestler with devastating Muay Thai skills and the jiu jitsu to rack up a string of submission wins. He wasn't just well rounded either, he was aggressive, confident, devastating.

And then he got into a business dispute with first the UFC and then his manager and when he finally came back after sitting out a year, he wasn't the same fighter.

Meanwhile, Randy Couture came out of retirement, where he'd been since Chuck Liddell had KTFO'd him right out of the light heavyweight division. Couture got the title shot against Tim Sylvia that should have been Vera's. This was when Tim Sylvia seemed like a vampire atop the heavyweight division, relentlessly draining the life out of the division just as he relentlessly took decision win after decision win over shorter, smaller foes. Then he stepped into the cage to face Randy Couture.

The rest is history.

Somehow the career momentum that had been accruing to the brash young Brandon Vera transferred to Randy Couture and the Natural went on a tear while Vera went on a downward spiral that almost saw him run out of the UFC.

We'll find out Saturday if Vera can get some of that mojo back from the ageless Captain America.

Fedor Emelianenko Shines in the Spotlight in His U.S. Broadcast Debut for Strikeforce

Kid Nate — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:36:36 -0000

Photo via Showtime Sports

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We talk a lot at Bloody Elbow about whether Fedor is marketable or not. Sometimes readers object that they only care about the fights and don't want to hear about what goes on backstage and want to hear informed speculation about marketability even less. The reason we write about this aspect of MMA is this -- MMA is a fringe sport emerging into the mainstream and its success in the sports and entertainment marketplace determines the quality of athletes entering the sport, the quality of match-ups promoters present and even the larger cultural relevance (if any) of the sport.

With that introductory note out of the way, let's get to some breathless speculation about whether or not Fedor is going to be a marketable star in the States.

BE commenter MMALogic did a very capable job of describing how a fighter, even a seemingly non-charismatic fighter like Fedor can become a star:

When you look at fighters and experience who they are you have to look at them like a casting agent to see the potential. Since everyone has been brought up and raised by TV we look at people and categorize them if they were in a movie or show.

GSP is a Van Damme
Lyoto is a Ryu or the lead martial artist in the karate movies we used to see.
Anderson (Silva) comes off as an extra henchmen type or the bad guy the hero has to beat at the end of the movie.
Fedor looks like the fat guy behind the counter where the lead actor is buying a pretzel.

The closer a fighter can get to being viewed as a "lead" character in a movie the more potential they have.

Without talking about acting skills and just looking at their character can you see them as a "lead" in a movie? Can they be a supporting character? or just an extra? Those are the most important questions in regards to potential (besides the physical abilities).

What trumps all of this though is what experience the fighter actually gives the viewer plus REPETITION. Any lack of star potential can be overcome with these 2 factors (quality of experience delivered and repetition of delivery)

The hard core fans have had many "experiences" with fedor. They go way back. To ask or to expect some new fan to view Fedor in the same or similar light just doesnt work.

And if the experience and repetition occurs in big fights (where endorphins of the viewer are most released) you multiply the effect of that "experience".

The thing is ANYONE can end up being a star... it's just a matter of how much quality of "experience" that needs to be delivered and the repetition (how many times it needs to be delivered)... this differs from fighter to fighter and what usually determines it is the potential (the answers to the questions I posed above regarding the "casting" of a fighter).

With that in mind, how did Fedor do at delivering that quality of "experience" Saturday night.

Kevin Iole tells the story how Fedor Emelianenko introduced himself to a mass American audience on Saturday:

The crowd was booing and not in a good mood as Shields and Miller exited the cage.

But as soon as Emelianenko's image appeared on the video boards, it was as if a switch was flipped and the crowd erupted in cheers. Emelianenko, staring straight ahead with a blank expression, walked to the cage and quietly awaited the bell.

...

..it's pretty clear that Emelianenko's next fight will be a much bigger deal. He's never been a big ticket seller before and his pay-per-view numbers were atrocious, but the crowd Saturday was clearly into it and the fight had to have been well-received by those who didn't walk away from their TVs after the dreadful Shields-Miller match.

...

One more fight like that on network television and Emelianenko will be able to carry a show by himself.

I have to agree whole-heartedly with Iole's assessment. I enjoyed the rare treat (for me) of getting to watch the fight with a room full of first time MMA watchers, a couple of skeptical boxing fans who've seen a few MMA fights and our host, one of my long-time MMA watching buds. It was very telling to gauge the reactions. The Shields-Miller fight was more an occasion for discussion of Mayhem's pre-fight antics and a lot of remarks about the sexual connotations of the guard and back-mount positions.

But as soon as Fedor-Rogers began everyone was into the fight. And once Rogers, whose Sam's Club background made a big impression on everyone, scored first and bloodied Fedor the excitement and tension in the room was palpable. When Fedor answered the challenge with his trademark looping bombs, the room was abuzz.

Everyone happily watched the fight a second and then a third time amidst much spirited discussion of whether or not it was an early stoppage, whether there was anything Rogers could have done differently to secure the win and most of all about this mysterious, odd-looking chubby Russian who had such an impassive but implacable aura and an amazing ability to fight.

I have no doubt that most of the first time MMA watchers that I saw the fight with will be back for more the next time they hear Fedor will be fighting.