SANKAKUJIME - UFC, MMA, News, Stats: August 2010

MMA NEWS

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

UFC 118 prelims draw 1.1 million viewers

An average of 1.1 million people watched the live broadcast of UFC 118 preliminary fights, Spike TV said today.

UFC 118's prelims on Saturday generated a household rating of 0.83 overall, Spike said. That's the lowest rating to date for the network's prelim broadcasts, which started last year.

The live broadcast featured two lightweight bouts, Nik Lentz's uneventful decision over Andre Winner, followed by Joe Lauzon's quick, one-sided victory over Gabe Ruediger. Audience numbers fell steadily through the one-hour show, from 1.2 million in the first quarter-hour to 1.06 million by the last 15 minutes.

Spike drew a 1.0 for men ages 18-to-49, leading that category among basic cable networks.

That was a weak show. The only attention getter was the Couture vs Toney fight.

Via USA TODAY

Monday, August 30, 2010

China, Here Comes Fight Club

The country that brought the world martial arts is about to get a taste of American-style extreme fighting, with the introduction of the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization in Asia.

The fight organizer and promoter for the form of sports-combat called mixed martial arts, announced that it would be setting up a foothold in Asia. The company didn’t specify where, but its new executive Mark Fischer, a former exec with the National Basketball Association Inc., who lives in Beijing.

As part of its sop to Chinese audiences, the UFC is also touting the addition of an Inner Mongolian lightweight bruiser Zhang Tiequan to its scorecard for a televised bout through its sister organization, World Extreme Cagefighting. The group also has existing ties with the China National Wushu Federation, which it’s also hoping to leverage.

Distinct from stylistically pure pugilistic arts like boxing or wushu, mixed martial artists may combine elements from many styles of hand-to-hand combat or wrestling in their repertoire, or fights can pit combatants who specialize in one type of combat against someone who trained in a different fighting form.

Full Story (WSJ)

Sunday, August 29, 2010

UFC 118: BJ Penn vs. Frankie Edgar Results

Take a look at the following graphs.

Look at the wins and losses by decisions for both fighters. Once again, history repeated itself last night.

Kimbo Slice leaves UFC for boxing, R U Crazy?

The 37-year old Floridian brawler signed on with UFC in 2009, and now will pick on the heavyweight division in boxing. Promoters should label his first boxing event "R U Crazy"?

Move over Don King prospect Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Gary Shaw is looking to sign Kimbo Slice, who held a 4-2 record in his brief mixed martial arts (MMA) career. Slice has the frame of an undersized NFL linebacker at 6'2" and 225 lbs. Megaphone shout: "This ain't college football!"

Full Story

UFC announces Asia expansion, signs China fighter

BEIJING — The Ultimate Fighting Championship says it's expanding its brand to Asia and has signed a fighter from China as part of the plans to establish its presence in the world's most populous region.
The company announced Sunday that former NBA Asia executive Mark Fischer will head the UFC's new regional office.

Full Story

Couture turns lights out on Toney

In the co-headliner, UFC hall of famer Randy Couture dominated former professional boxing world champion James Toney, submitting the mixed martial arts novice with a first-round arm-triangle choke. The white flag came 3 minutes, 19 seconds into Round 1.

Couture dropped levels for a single-leg takedown inside the first 30 seconds, put Toney on his back and moved immediately to mount. From there, the finish was academic. Punches from the top softened the boxer for the choke near the cage. After a brief readjustment, Couture locked up the choke, passed to the side and waited for the tapout.

Full Story

Ultimately, this sport is a big hit

It was a big night for Big Cheese Dana White, whose background includes significant time in South Boston. The sport was only recently legalized in the Commonwealth, and this territory was regarded as almost the Last Frontier for UFC, which has soared in popularity, thanks to both White’s zeal and his marketing savvy. Clearly, he has struck a chord. His enterprise is estimated by Forbes to be worth in excess of $1 billion and White has become a very wealthy man.

Last night’s card represented the largest dollar gross of any event in TD Garden during this calendar year. Tickets were scaled from $75 to $600. For many in attendance, this was undoubtedly a dream scenario, seeing their beloved UFC up close and personal after watching all those matches on television.

Among those in attendance: Shaquille O’Neal. This was not his first time at the dance, however.

“I’ve been to about 30,’’ he confided.

Full Story

Saturday, August 28, 2010

UFC Legend Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell Joins Supreme Protein’s Team Supreme

The Iceman is in the house! The man who made the UFC famous for sports fans across America is bringing his ferocious competitive fire and indomitable spirit to a new elite circle of athletes. UFC Hall of Fame member and former light heavyweight champ Chuck Liddell is the newest member of Supreme Protein®’s Team Supreme.

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Ultimate Fighting Champion Chuck Liddell Shaves Iconic Mohawk 4 Good

NEW YORK, Aug. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- BIC knows that it doesn't take a lot to do a world of good. This summer, Ultimate Fighting Champion Chuck Liddell and BIC men's razors--specifically the new BIC® Flex4™--will partner to support BIC 4 GOOD (http://www.bic4good.com) by shaving off Liddell's signature Mohawk.

The BIC 4 GOOD initiative asks Americans to shave their head--for real or virtually--and in turn BIC will make a donation on their behalf to DoSomething.org, a not-for-profit organization that empowers youth to do good in their own communities. In celebration of the launch of the BIC Flex 4 shaver and the opportunity to support a great cause, BIC and Chuck are asking America to join the movement.
"It doesn't take a lot to make a huge difference in the world, and I'm proud to be a part of BIC 4 GOOD's humanitarian effort," says Liddell. "By shaving off my own signature 'do, I hope to inspire people to do the same for this important program."

Full Story

UFC 118 Results

From Sherdog

Match

Winner

Loser

Method

Round

Time

1	Mike Pierce	Amilcar Alves	Submission (Straight Armbar)	3	3:11
2	Greg Soto	Nick Osipczak	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
3	Dan Miller	John Salter	Submission (Anaconda Choke)	2	1:53
4	Nik Lentz	Andre Winner	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
5	Joe Lauzon	Gabe Ruediger	Submission (Armbar)	1	2:01
6	Nate Diaz	Marcus Davis	Technical Submission (Guillotine Choke)	3	4:02
7	Gray Maynard	Kenny Florian	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
8	Demian Maia	Mario Miranda	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
9	Randy Couture	James Toney	Submission (Arm-Triangle Choke)	1	3:19
10	Frankie Edgar	B.J. Penn	Decision (Unanimous)	5	5:00