NOBODY UNDER 18 CAN ATTEND UFC IN GERMANY!
San Francisco, CA– The Ultimate Fighting Championships, to some the hottest ticket in sports worldwide, has run into a problem with their upcoming card from Oberhausen, Germany. Expecting to sell out an 8,500 seat arena in the blink of an eye, there are about 4,000 seats left for UFC 122 on November 13. That may have to do with the fact that nobody under 18 can attend and the Klitschko bros. don’t do MMA!
UFC “CUTTING PROFITS & THE THROAT” OF
WWE
Sans any sympathy here, things are not looking good for the World Wrestling Entertainment folks. Overall, their business is down around 25% across the board (PPV numbers, video sales, memorabilia, DVDs, etc.) from a year ago (which wasn’t a banner year either). This can be attributed to the rise of “real” wrestling and fighting that is the UFC. The stock is holding for now, but if you have some WWE stock, I suggest you sell it now! Because with no young marketable superstars on the roster with the exception of John Cena, that and the WWE’s penchant for producing horrible movies, the future looks bleak for Vince McMahon and his WWE.
WWE ALMOST BOUGHT UFC!
When Shane McMahon had some pull with his father Vince, this before sister Stephanie McMahon and hubby and “Triple H” AKA Paul Levesque got Vince’s nod to take over after he dies, Shane McMahon pleaded with his father to buy the UFC, which is now worth more than the WWE. But Vince balked, and little by little he handed power over to Stephanie, causing Shane to leave about a year ago.
THE PROBLEMS WITH STRIKEFORCE MMA
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the “genius” that he is, wrote extensively about the Strikeforce promotion this week and I wanted to mention a few things. 1) Strikeforce, the brand, it is not over with the people. 2) The MMA craze they started in San Jose in 2006 is over! Drawing 7,500 ($528,000 gate) recently for a Nick Diaz welterweight (170 lbs) title defense, an arena that used to be at capacity (16,000+) for Strikeforce has lost the bulk of their fans because locals Frank Shamrock and Cung Le are done!. Gina Carrano-Cris Cyborg and Fedor-Allistar Overeem packed the HP Pavilion in 2009 and 2010, with each fight drawing different demographics.
BAUTISTA IS HE COMING TO STRIKEFORCE?
Dave Bautista, formerly of WWE fame, he has been training since early this year at MMA gyms with competent people. He told TMZ months ago that he was signing with Strikeforce, Scott Coker, el Presidente de Strikeforce, he has repeatedly told me that talks are ongoing. Reportedly, Bautista, a monster of huge physical proportions at nearly 300 in his WWE days, has dropped into the 240′s. He would be an instant superstar, something the far less imposing or charismatic Bobby Lashley wasn’t after the crossover. Credit to Strikeforce as they put on good fights, they just don’t have any standout superstars!
BAUTISTA FIGHTING ON CBS WOULD BE SUPER
If you recall that in the cage brawl earlier this year featuring the aforementioned Nick Diaz after an April Strikeforce card on CBS, that is the reason Strikeforce has NOT been back on the network. If Coker could wave Bautista as a carrot to CBS suits, then I think Strikeforce would be back on CBS. Here’s an idea for CBS, instead of airing the show live, have Strikeforce go on ten minutes early and you can edit out anything they feel is inappropriate.
Pedro Fernandez