UFC brings back biff … and bucks
Roar Guru
By Steve Kaless, 19 Feb 2010 Steve Kaless is a Roar Guru
- Tagged:
- Frank Fertitta, UFC, UFC 110, Ultimate Fighting Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship in action - image via www.ufc.com
Australia’s football codes have all waged war on violence over recent years keen to win over mums and girlfriends and grow their markets. Left behind have been many male fans who miss the old days of rough and tumble on the pitch or a less sanitized experience in the stands. Step forward the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
UFC is here to hand men back their most primal form of entertainment and at the same time break all forms of sales records with the ease that the football codes could probably only dream of.
In 2001 Las Vegas casino moguls (now that’s a job description) Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta bought the rights to the UFC for just over $2 million. In a little over eight years their investment has grown to be worth more than $1 billion.
Okay, it’s a US company and is in country that packs out stadiums to professional wrestling and monster trucks, but the figures in Australia are just as impressive.
UFC 110, which will be held in Sydney on Feb 21, sold out in hours, in fact it was the second fastest sell out in UFC history.
It will post a new revenue record for a sporting event held at the Acer Arena, and will join the elite of revenue raisers at the indoor centre.
All this when at the time, not a single fighter had been announced on an undercard and not a single dollar had been spent on advertising.
The night’s program will also be shown live on free to air channel One HD, underlining its drive to get mainstream appeal.
Maybe mainstream might be asking a bit much, and you wonder whether their claims that they aim to become the biggest sport in the world aren’t just part of the slick show, but the appeal to the male demographic of 18-35 is clear.
Like rock music, it’s sure to stir up the talkback shows and there will no doubt be calls to have it banned. But this will probably be music to the promoters’ ears.
It’s a long, long way from my cup of tea, but I’ll be watching to see if it is the next big thing or if it disappears quietly … taking with it a shed load of our money and whether it should give the bosses of the various codes food for thought.
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- Explore:
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Brett McKay said | February 19th 2010 @ 8:36am | Report comment
Steve, UFC isn’t really my cup of tea either, but for some reason when I’m flicking channels and stumble across it on ONE, I find it hard not to watch it. I can see the same thing will happen on Sunday…
Kento said | February 19th 2010 @ 10:33am | Report comment
I hear what you say Brett. There’s something about the sport; it’s like boxing was before hollywood took it over. Like watching Tyson fight. Brutal, but sadly compelling.
bever fever said | February 19th 2010 @ 11:02am | Report comment
I am the same, find it hard not to watch, call me old fashioned but when a man is down i dont like the idea that you can keep beating him up or knee him etc.
I just wonder whether this has translated to pubs, where once upon a time a fight was quickly put to bed once it was established who was winning, now it seems, once you get them down you just keep going and their is no ref to drag them off, so the beating just does not stop, and it looks a bit like UFC.
Mattwa said | February 19th 2010 @ 3:27pm | Report comment
Bever, I get what you’re saying about hitting a man when he’s down, but the refs in UFC are very quick to stop a fight if one guy is beating the other and there is no chance of recovery. Better than in boxing where you get a standing 8, and then go back to having your brain pounded against the inside of your skull.
The ground game, involving greco-style wrestling and jujitsu grappling, adds a dimension that sets MMA apart from boxing. It’s incredibly technical, and tactics are very important. Watch a few of these and you see that these guys have to be skilled as well as aggressive, and need a full box of tricks to succeed. That’s why I like it, and that’s why I’ll be heading along on Sunday.
MarkR said | February 19th 2010 @ 3:39pm | Report comment
Silva, Jardin, flipping heck – Mattwa I hate you ! Actually enjoy the night.
Bever it used to be more brutal when they allowed headbutts, strikes to the back of the head, no weight class, time limits, etc. It’ll be interesting in 10 yrs when they do the studies on MMA vs Boxers & the incidence of brain injuries.
Tinnie said | February 19th 2010 @ 9:44am | Report comment
What makes this event special is the fact that this is possibly the strongest card the UFC has produced outside American shores and they’ve given it to us first time round. Wouldnt be surprised if in the future we 1-2 regular shows a year.
Pete said | February 19th 2010 @ 11:55am | Report comment
Love the hard hits in footy, but this doesn’t do it for me. The times I have watched it, it starts off interesting (when they are standing) and then they fall over and it basically becomes two blokes lying on the ground not moving whilst one of them tries to squeeze the life out of the other one. I say this from the comfort of my computer. If I met one of these guys I’d be very polite and tell them its the greatest thing I’ve ever seen.
MarkR said | February 19th 2010 @ 1:40pm | Report comment
Steve – ” but I’ll be watching to see if it is the next big thing or if it disappears quietly ”
UFC 1 was held in November 12, 1993. It was originally martial arts based with a LOT less rules so you ended up watching some really bizzare match ups such as Sumo vs Karate.
So in 17 yrs it’s grown to a point where there’s reality shows (10 so far), & most countries have their own version held regularly..There’s an Oz version that currently gets shown on Fox (Stike Force I think). Japan has had Vale Tudo which is huge over there & according to good ol wiki VT has been around since treh 20′s in Brazil. There are numerous schools in Australia, it’s similar to Thai boxings development in Australia the 80s/early 90s.
So it’s not going to disappear quietly as it’s been around for a while. UFC is the brand, MMA (mixed martial arts) is the style.
Steve Kaless said | February 19th 2010 @ 2:47pm | Report comment
Hi Mark,
Yes, I was referring to whether we’d get another live bout over here. It’s certainly established itself in other parts and on the box. Apparently they are now going for the Olympics.
Cheers
MarkR said | February 19th 2010 @ 2:52pm | Report comment
Steve, OK thanks for the clarification. Good luck for them getting into the olympics !
pike64 said | October 5th 2010 @ 4:57pm | Report comment
it is one of the original Olympic sports in Ancient Greece. Back then it was called the pankration.
Chris McKay said | February 19th 2010 @ 3:24pm | Report comment
Steve,
I am a massive UFC fan and after reading Dana White’s (UFC El Presidente) comments about it I can guarantee we will get more. It solid out before a fight was announced. Australia works as they can still get prime time in the USA.
They have brought along some of the best fighters running around as well (Silva, Jardine). Keep an Eye out for Michael Bisping – he is amazing.
I conceed that some fights are a little boring when they end up on the deck but when the big names fight like Lidell, Rampage Jackson, BJ Penn, Sanchez and GSP these are always top quality fights.
For anyone wanting to see some more epic highlights type in Rampage Jackson and see what comes up.
Cugel said | February 19th 2010 @ 3:27pm | Report comment
Fighting in football is boring – unless it doesn’t stop the game. Better off without it.
MarkR said | February 19th 2010 @ 3:40pm | Report comment
Cugel – I agree 100%. I always though a lot of the ‘cheap’ stuff the goes on in footy/rugby/league was cowardly. In the ring it’s you know who you’re up against & what the rules are.
ohtani's jacket said | February 19th 2010 @ 4:00pm | Report comment
It’s priceless having footy fans comment on MMA. I wonder if they’ll get Nogueira or Velasquez on the footy shows to give a cheap rub to those great Australian games.
MarkR said | February 19th 2010 @ 4:03pm | Report comment
I dunno OJ, I reckon Nogueira coiuld help out a few front rows %-) Olo Brown was a jodoka & you saw it come out on the field sometimes.
drewster said | February 19th 2010 @ 8:10pm | Report comment
Yep! I’m a Big Fan of UFC and have watched it evolve from it’s beginings of “anything goes” to the sport it is today. You have to admire the fitness, skills and guts these guys have. Chris McKay I’m not to sure about Bisping being amazing though he got KO’d big time by Dan Henderson a Few Months Back. Still, They have got out the big guns of the sport for this fight night in Sydney. Should be an awesome evening. As Referee “Big John Mcarthy” says “Lets get it on”.
Chris McKay said | February 22nd 2010 @ 4:05pm | Report comment
Drewster. In MMA a fighters career is often pretty short and no one ever goes undefeated. Usually they loose a few. I think Bisping is an amazing fighter – if you watched him when he was on the UFC show he showed amazing range of skills and the ability to conceptualise what he was going to do. But I do take your point in the Dan Henderson knock out. Silva got him on the weekend as well. Perhaps his time is drawing to a close.
Anyways – glad to see it was big success. They certainly brought down some of the top fighters running around right now.
Dan said | February 19th 2010 @ 9:06pm | Report comment
When Fedor Emelianenko starts fighting in the UFC, I’ll start watching.