ESPN & MMA

[White Shogun]

I heard on the Colin Cowturd ESPN radio show this morning that ESPN management is meeting to determine how the network is going to cover MMA.

Cowturd said that MMA is fast becoming one of the most popular sports in America. He said the numbers show that it is already bigger than boxing and bigger than hockey. There are certain parts of the country where it is by far the most popular sport around, i.e. Southern California. He even described 'this Ortiz guy and Randy Couture' as the Ali and Frazier of this generation. (That's a bit of stretch IMO, but I get the point.)

I didn't catch any more of the segment after that last comment. If anyone else heard anymore, please post it, along with your thoughts on the topic. Edited by: White Shogun

 

[dkr77]

Since Couture would hand Ali, Frazier or Tyson their a$$ all in the same night I think it's high time they give MMA competitors their due!

 

[Poacher]

Get ready to see alot of Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans on ESPN.

 

[White Shogun]

Get ready to see alot of Rampage Jackson and Rashad Evans on ESPN.

And the UFC. I can't believe the UFC is headlining Ultimate Fight Night on Jan. 25th with Rashad Evans v Sean Salmon. There are fights on that very undercard, not to mention several fights on the undercard on both UFC 67 & 68, that are for more worthy of a main event than that fight.

I pointed out on another thread that the UFC is hungry for a black fighter that they can promote as a 'face' in the UFC. Anderson Silva is good enough but he doesn't speak English. They've tried feeding Cheick Kongo a couple guys they thought were cans but the Kongo train was ran off the tracks.

How seriously can you take a guy like Rashad who pointedly says he isn't ready for a title shot? How many more cans do they want to feed this guy? People are actually considering him for a title shot but instead of fighting Forrest Griffin, Keith Jardine, Tito Ortiz, Babalu, or Randy Couture on the comeback trail, they have him fight Sean Salmon? I mean, wtf!

Unless they're trying to set up a mega-PPV between Jackson and Chuck immediately, I guarantee you that Quinton is going to fight his share of cans in order to build up his fan base and make him more popular so the UFC will be able to plaster his mug all over their website and interview him at every opportunity.

 

[michiganblkman]

Why did they change the rules of NHB (time limits, rounds, etc) from what they originally were back when Royce was tapping everyone out?

 

[white is right]

Why did they change the rules of NHB (time limits, rounds, etc) from what they originally were back when Royce was tapping everyone out?

The sport couldn't grow and guys like Gracie and Taktarov were abusing the rules with their stalling negative tactics. I don't really fault Gracie since he was spotting most competitors major poundage.

 

[Kaptain]

Why did they change the rules of NHB (time limits, rounds, etc) from what they originally were back when Royce was tapping everyone out?

I consider the early rules to be closer to real fighting. But a lot of people were bored by the length of the matches. I didn't really mind. But think of how hard the events would have been to organize if you didn't know if the matches would last 1 minute or an hour. It just wasn't marketable. The biggest new rules were to have rounds, and several restarts if action lulled.

 

[Kaptain]

Gracie's family also prepared for matches that went hours long. The Gracie vs. Severn match lasted about 1/2 an hour before Gracie finally submitted the Hwt. wrestler. I was never bored. But you won't ever see matches like that in the UFC.

 

[Freedom]

The biggest problem with UFC is the length of the fight.

They don't last long enough always. What if they made it a series of fights, like the best 2 out of 3?

Will the sport be casted?

 

[White Shogun]

They changed the rules to keep the sport from being banned. It was described as too brutal, the fighters were too prone to injury, and there were no weight classes.

Senator John McCain, et al, chose to use MMA as a springboard for publicity and attempted to pass legislation to ban it altogether.

The sport's organizers changed a few of the rules, added gloves and weight classes, limited some of the more 'dangerous' techniques, and now you have the phenomena that has taken the country and the world by storm.

The changes have definitely changed the sport into one that is less like a real fight, i.e. you can't kick an opponent on the ground, no head-butts, no knees to the head in north-south or from side-mount, etc, but it is still the most realistic fight sport on the planet.

And white men excel at it. I think MMA has the opportunity to revolutionize the way white men are viewed by the media and the 'public' in general. It's going to be hard to characterize white men as a bunch of milquetoasts and obese couch potatoes when people can see with their own eyes white men who are strong, powerful and kicking ass. I personally believe that is one of the main reasons behind the popularity of the UFC in general.

 

[Poacher]

Well it's starting. The LA Times just did an article on Jackson and all of a sudden NBC sports has a UFC page on it's website, with a Jackson interview of course. Jackson says he's going to "take it to him (Chuck) just like I did the last time." Whatever loud-mouth.

Hey WS, what do you think Lutter's chances are against Silva? Personally I don't think he can pull it off but it would be one sweet upset if he did.Edited by: Poacher

 

[Bart]

Well it's starting. The LA Times just did an article on Jackson and all of a sudden NBC sports has a UFC page on it's website, with a Jackson interview of course.

Gee, what a surprise.

 

[White Shogun]

Well it's starting. The LA Times just did an article on Jackson and all of a sudden NBC sports has a UFC page on it's website, with a Jackson interview of course. Jackson says he's going to "take it to him (Chuck) just like I did the last time." Whatever loud-mouth.

This sort of thing is so blatantly racist, anti-white, and pro-black that it should be obvious to any objective observer what's going on. The UFC has made MMA in this country one of the fastest rising, most popular sports in the country, and they can't do one interview with any one of multitudes of white stars who built up this sport in the USA?

Was anybody else interviewed in this article? Did they interview Chuck?

I'm telling you this is all they have been waiting for: to find a black guy who fights well enough to market and publicize as the face of the UFC. The only thing that's prevented this from happening so far is the less than stellar performances of all the black fighters in MMA. The fact is, the media is filled with liberal white-hating PC multiculturalist who can't stand to see a white man win anything. Every opportunity they get to rub our noses in it, they'll take it.

Hey WS, what do you think Lutter's chances are against Silva? Personally I don't think he can pull it off but it would be one sweet upset if he did.

I'd love to see it happen, too, but I personally am not giving him much of a chance. I think the fight will last longer than Franklin's fight against Silva though, as I think Lutter will be more cautious and try to set up a takedown than to do exactly what Silva wants, which is trade and Thai clinch the way Franklin did. Franklin tried to beat Silva at his own game and paid dearly for it; I think the fight ends differently in the rematch.

In the meantime, I hope Lutter kicks his a**!

 

[white is right]

Well it's starting. The LA Times just did an article on Jackson and all of a sudden NBC sports has a UFC page on it's website, with a Jackson interview of course. Jackson says he's going to "take it to him (Chuck) just like I did the last time." Whatever loud-mouth.

Hey WS, what do you think Lutter's chances are against Silva? Personally I don't think he can pull it off but it would be one sweet upset if he did.

Rampage talks a good fight, but he has been exposed. He will get his ass kicked again. He still has skid marks from Vanderlai Silva on his back....

 

[Triad]

It's likely more MSM coverage, and especially ESPN, won't come to MMA unless a few dominant black champs arise. So if Jackson can beat Liddell again that might get UFC even more exposure and I bet the UFC knows this.

 

[DixieDestroyer]

DKR77, outstanding point! Any top MMA fighter would destroy any top boxer. Look at the expansive athletic backgrounds of many of MMA fighters. I think not only do they deserve "mainstream" billing, but they should be billed above so-called "sports" like golf, auto-racing, ice-skating, tennis, etc. They athletic ability of MMA fighters is (on average) far beyond these other "sports" that receive loads of coverage.For pure adrenaline, athleticism, & machismo, MMA takes the cake hands down!

 

[jared]

I kind of like the way it's not too mainstream yet. Too much money and exposure and it's going to turn into the same over-the-top dog & pony show that the NFL has become.

 

[DixieDestroyer]

ESPN sux royally. I hope Chuck whoops Rampage's thug ass & YOshad Evans gets exposed as over-rated asap. We need the superior white fighters to dominate!

 

[dkr77]

Dixie LOL Yoshad! Look at the next UFC card. Almost an entirely caucasian lineup ( except for Mcfredries )

Just warms my heart looking at it