News Wrap

• UFC Tackles Long Term Growth Issues - The last five pay-per-view events have produced three of the company's top ten events according to Dave Meltzer. UFC 79, 81, and 83 all drew between 525,000-650,000 buys and at $44.95. UFC 79 and 83 also produced the second and third largest gates in company history.
  
• Golden Boy Sticking to Boxing - Oscar de La Hoya recently said that Golden Boy will stick to boxing when asked about MMA.
  
• Viacom CEO Praises Iron Ring - Q1 profits for Viacom were up 33%. CEO Philippe Dauman said, "content creation is our central mission and our ongoing investments in programming are paying off as we see our television ratings continue to improve. Successful new programming across our networks during the first quarter included MTV's Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew, TV Land's High School Reunion and BET's Iron Ring among others, which joined new seasons of several proven audience favorites."
• Another Affliction Deal Falls Through - Negotiations with HDNet have reportedly fallen through. The promotion is now less than two months from its proposed first show and without a venue or television partner.
• UFC Targets Show for Latino Audience - El Octagono will debut on Galavision as the UFC attempts to expand MMA's demographic reach outside of 18-34 white males.
• WWE Q1 Results - Wrestlemania XXIV produced $31.3 million in revenue and $7.1 million in profits ($4.6 million net). The event drew 1,058,000 buys (including international).
  

Latest on HDNet v. Zuffa: Resolution by End of Summer Appears Likely

On April 9, a Federal Judge remanded HDNet Fights' declaratory judgment action against Zuffa to Texas state court. The case was officially reopened on April 15 and the proceedings to determine Couture's contractual status are progressing quickly. With HDNet's lawyers reportedly pushing the pace, a resolution of the case by the end of the summer appears more and more likely.

Court records obtained by MMAPayout.com show that Zuffa filed a motion to dismiss on April 21, while HDNet filed a motion for summary judgment on April 23. The motion to dismiss is scheduled to be heard on May 19, while the motion for summary judgment will be heard on June 2. However, details on the case will become increasingly difficult to obtain thanks to Zuffa's motion to seal the proceedings.

HDNet v. Zuffa Remanded to State Court

MMAPayout.com has learned that the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas has granted HDNet's emergency motion seeking remand of its lawsuit against Zuffa to Texas State court. Zuffa removed the declaratory judgment action concerning Randy Couture's promotional contract to Federal Court last month. The ruling represents a procedural victory for HDNet and Couture.

Senior Judge A. Joe Fish issued the ruling this afternoon. The central issue was whether or not HDNet's choice to enter into its contract with Couture through a specially established Nevada entity was proper, thus defeating the court's diversity jurisdiction, or whether it represented collusive manipulation, as claimed by Zuffa. From the order:

However, the court recognizes the danger inherent in second-guessing the motivation behind business decisions. As much as the defendant wishes this case to be an assignment case, there is no assignment here to scrutinize. The burden on the party claiming that it has been improperly denied its statutory right to removal is a heavy one (citations omitted). The timing and circumstances surrounding the formation of the HDNet Nevada entities presents circumstantial evidence of collusive manipulation, but without more the defendant has not discharged this heavy burden.

The cases that Zuffa relies on involve situations where the assignee entity could not demonstrate a legitimate raison d’etre other than for the destruction of diversity. Here, though the circumstantial evidence suggests the plaintiff might have been motivated in part by the underlying lawsuit, as with Ivanhoe Leasing, the court also finds the plaintiff “was also influenced by other factors unrelated to jurisdiction” (citation omitted). This court is confident that the issues between the plaintiff and the defendant can be adequately addressed in state court.

NOTE: A full writeup is available at Sherdog.com.

Fedor-Sylvia Report Raises Interesting Questions

This afternoon Fedor Emelianenko confirmed to Sherdog.com that he will face Tim Sylvia on July 19. The bout will reportedly headline an event promoted by Affliction at American Airlines Arena in Dallas and air on HDNet Fights. MMAPayout.com reported earlier this month that the clothing company had scraped plans for a June debut in Las Vegas and was tentatively planning a July date in Houston.

The report raises a number of interesting questions, but none more interesting than Fedor's contractual arrangement for the event. MMAPayout.com has received multiple unconfirmed reports of an offer worth slightly more than $2 million per fight from Affliction to Emelianenko. Sylvia is under contract to Adrenaline, the successor to M-1 Global which dissolved last month after parting ways with Fedor.

Regardless of the final details, this event appears to have all the makings (two promoters and a third party television outlet/producer) of the first major co-promotional event in MMA history. The bout has storied history, reportedly in the making for several years with Dana White originally offering to send Sylvia to Pride to fight Emelianenko. The bout would also put to rest reports that Emelianenko was "afraid" to fight Sylvia.

The most interested observer of the bout in July might very well be Randy Couture. Assuming a favorable outcome in pending litigation, admittedly a big assumption, Couture hopes to fight Fedor in October of this year. An Emelianenko loss could potentially put that fight in jeopardy, or at the very least take much of the luster of the bout.

Couture Litigation Grows More Complex

The legal war between Randy Couture, Zuffa and HDNet Fights continues to heat up with the parties engaged in an increasingly complex set of litigation that includes two separate lawsuits, in Nevada and Texas respectively, and now an arbitration proceeding in Nevada.

On March 7, Zuffa filed for arbitration on Couture's promotional contract, pursuant to the terms of the agreement, in Nevada district court. The action marks the first time that Zuffa has formally made the promotional contract the issue of legal proceedings.

According to Zuffa, the proceeding will "necessarily require resolution of disputes between Zuffa and Couture over key terms of the promotional agreement," including those at issue in the HDNet Fights declaratory judgment action in Texas state court.

The action also continues in Texas. On March 13, Zuffa filed a notice of removal to federal district court in HDNet's declaratory judgment action brought against the company in Texas district court last month. [FULL STORY at SHERDOG.COM]

Fedor Not Under M-1 Contract; More Details on Golden Boy/Affliction Promotion

Today Sherdog.com confirmed a story that has been circulating since last December: Fedor Emelianenko was never under contract to M-1 Global. In fact, despite a public announcement to the contrary in October, Emelianenko's only tie to the company was a letter of intent and a $1.5 million signing bonus. According to Sherdog.com, the highly regarded heavyweight will be completely free of the agreement once his signing bonus is returned to M-1.

Sherdog.com also reported that the leading candidate for Emelianenko's services is promotional partnership involving Affliction and Oscar de La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions.

Adding more intrigue to the story, Kevin Iole of Yahoo! confirmed with Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer that the company, along with Affliction, will promote MMA events later this year. Schaefer told Iole that he is speaking with a "very well known, very well-connected individual" whom Iole speculated was Mark Cuban.

Schaefer said that the new company will offer equity stakes to a handful of established fighters, following Golden Boy's boxing model.

Consolidation is key if the UFC's industry dominance is to be challenged. A partnership between Affliction, Golden Boy, and Mark Cuban's HDNet Fights would be hard for Dana White to dismiss, especially with an HBO and/or ESPN television deal. Such a promotion has the potential to completely shake up an already turbulent, to use Schaefer's word, industry.

Fertittas Join Cuban As Certified Billionaires in MMA Industry

Frank Fertitta III and Lorenzo Fertitta, owners of Zuffa, parent company of the UFC, cracked Forbes' List of the World's Billionaires for the first time this year. The brothers each check in at #897 (of 1062) with an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion each.

The brothers are listed as self made billionaires from casinos and the UFC. The bio:

Father, Frank Fertitta Jr., got start as a dealer for Stardust Casino in Las Vegas. Saw need for casinos aimed at Sin City locals; opened 5,000-square-foot, 100-slot facility away from Strip simply dubbed The Casino 1976. Expanded to include sports book, restaurant, buffet, bingo hall, more gaming; renamed Bingo Palace. Public 1993. With brother [Frank/Lorenzo] and Colony Capital's Tom Barrack, took company private for $9 billion in cash and assumed debt last year. Purchased professional mixed martial arts league Ultimate Fighting Championship 2001; spent $40 million to improve operations, image. Mass appeal came in 2004 with reality TV show The Ultimate Fighter. Stages monthly pay-per-view events; each averages $30 million in revenue.

Mark Cuban, owner of HDNet Fights, checks in at#446 with an estimated net worth of $2.6 billion. Cuban is also listed as a self made billionaire from the technology industry. His bio:

Former bartender launched early Internet audio and video portal Broadcast.com with Indiana University buddy Todd Wagner. Sold to Yahoo in 1999 for $5.7 billion. Used proceeds to buy pro basketball's Dallas Mavericks from Ross Perot in 2000 for $285 million; team has been to playoffs every season since. Famous for courtside antics; has accumulated $1.5 million in fines for mouthing off to NBA referees. Vying to buy pro baseball's Chicago Cubs from Tribune Co. Building media empire: owns film production, distribution, theater firms. Spends spare time writing blog. Recently competed on ABC's Dancing with the Stars.

HDNet Fights Has Contract with Couture; Question is When It Begins

I have a piece up at Sherdog.com with new details on HDNet Fight's lawsuit against Zuffa. The lead:

Last week Mark Cuban's HDNet Fights made headlines when it sued Zuffa, parent company of the UFC, in district court in Dallas. As first reported by Sherdog.com, the suit seeks declaratory relief concerning Randy Couture's contractual status under a promotional contract with Zuffa.

New details of the action have been revealed in the complaint obtained by Sherdog.com. According to the filing, HDNet Fights has entered into a contract with Couture that is scheduled to commence upon the expiration of his Zuffa promotional agreement. At that time, the company plans to promote a fight between Couture and Fedor Emelianenko in Dallas, assuming terms can be reached with the highly regarded Russian heavyweight.

FULL STORY: HDNet Fights Has Contract with Couture; Question is When It Begins

SEE ALSO: Upon Closer Examination: Impact of HDNet v. Zuffa on Couture-UFC Dispute

Upon Closer Examination: Impact of HDNet v. Zuffa on Couture-UFC Dispute

HDNet Fights shocked the MMA industry this week when it entered the legal fray of the ongoing dispute between Randy Couture and the UFC. The complaint has not surfaced yet, but from conversations with those familiar with it and the larger legal proceedings, MMAPayout.com has identified several issues that bear watching.

The most interesting immediate legal issue raised by the suit is the exclusive jurisdiction/venue clause contained by all Zuffa promotional contracts. The clause, a standard feature of contract law, names the 8th Judicial District of Nevada as the exclusive site of any litigation arising out of the contract. Because HDNet Fights is not a party to the contract, it is presumably not bound by the clause, therefore allowing the action to proceed in Texas. However, regardless of the venue, the contract will interpreted under Nevada law.

There are several potential advantages of proceeding in Texas. First, the state is believed to have more lenient legal standards concerning declaratory judgments. The ripeness doctrine in particular is reportedly more plaintiff friendly in Texas than Nevada. Ripeness is a legal term that refers to whether or not an issue is ready to be decided in court.

Another obvious advantage is the shifting of the home field advantage. Lawyers often worry about "home cooking" when one of the parties has strong ties to the local community in which a case is pending, and there is no doubt that Nevada is Zuffa's comfort zone. However, sources have told MMAPayout.com that the judge handling the case in Las Vegas has a reputation for fairness and Couture is expected to receive a fair shake. Nonetheless, in Las Vegas HDNet Fights and/or Couture must find local counsel to battle Zuffa's experienced local attorneys, whereas in Texas, it is Zuffa that will be forced to retain new counsel licensed to practice in Texas.

The biggest advantage of the move may be the systemic shock it represents to Zuffa. Zuffa is used to dictating the terms, timing, and location of its battles. By unexpectedly filing suit in Texas, HDNet Fights surprised Zuffa and put the company on its heels. Essentially, until this point the company has been on the offensive in the Couture dispute. Now it must play defense.

Another significant benefit for Couture that can't be overlooked is legal fees. With HDNet Fights shouldering the declaratory judgment action, Couture stands to save hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees. This also negates the advantage Zuffa has over Couture when it comes to financial resources. Without HDNet's "support," Couture faced the real possibility of being financially strained by the proceedings, providing Zuffa with the kind of leverage necessary to force a favorable settlement and even potentially force Couture back into the octagon. At the end of the day, Mark Cuban, like the Fertittas, can spend whatever he deems necessary in pursuit of a favorable outcome.

It remains to be seen whether the Texas court will accept the case and what Zuffa's response will be. Zuffa could ask for removal to Federal Court under diversity of citizenship, however, that move may be complicated if the company is also registered in Texas. It also seems likely that Zuffa will move to add HDNet Fights and possibly Mark Cuban himself to its lawsuit against Couture in Nevada, using the Texas suit as evidence of a conspiracy to commit tortious acts. Ironically, that move might play into Couture's hands by allowing HDNet Fights to shoulder the financial burden there as well.

If the Texas court does exercise its jurisdiction and ultimately enters a decision in the case, several more complex legal issues may arise. Per the doctrine of res judicata, an earlier resolution of Couture's contractual status by a Texas court would presumably be binding in Nevada. However, Nevada might be reluctant to abide by Texas's interpretation of Nevada contract law under the circumstances.

If Texas and Nevada were to each offer competing interpretations of the contract, the dispute could enter Federal Court for a final resolution. In such a scenario, it seems hard to imagine the Federal Courts enforcing a Texas court's interpretation of a complex contractual issue under Nevada law over a Nevada court's own interpretation.

Despite many uncertainties, one fact is very clear: the entry of HDNet Fights into the dispute significantly changes the equation for all parties involved moving forward.

Special Thanks to Jeff Thaler of FightOpinion.com and JM.

Cuban's HDNet Fights Enters Couture-UFC War

I have a new piece up this morning at Sherdog.com with the latest development in the Couture-UFC dispute, the unexpected entry of HDNet Fights directly into the legal fray. The lead:

The resignation of Randy Couture and his subsequent continuous dispute with the UFC took an unexpected turn Wednesday.

With the mixed martial arts industry focused on the Zuffa v. Couture proceedings scheduled to begin with a preliminary hearing March 4 in Las Vegas, billionaire Mark Cuban and his HDNet Fights company has quietly entered the fray, opening a second front in the Couture-UFC war, Sherdog.com has learned.

On Wednesday, in district court in Dallas, HDNet Fights filed suit against Zuffa seeking a declaratory judgment concerning the contractual status of Couture under his Zuffa promotional contract. In an ironic twist, Zuffa's co-defendant in the suit is technically none other than Couture himself.

FULL STORY: Cuban's HDNet Fights Enters Couture-UFC War

HDNet Fights Announces Partnership with Strikeforce

Yesterday HDNet Fights announced a deal with Strikeforce to provide exclusive live coverage of four events in 2008, beginning with the promotion's 2/23 show in Tacoma, Washington. Key quotes:

“We're excited about this new deal with Strikeforce ™ as they are such a well respected MMA organization," said Andrew Simon, CEO of HDNet Fights. "This announcement reinforces our commitment to deliver a minimum of 24 events in 2008 and the partnership between HDNet Fights and Strikeforce ™ guarantees many great match-ups for MMA fans."

"We are excited about the opportunity to showcase our brand of mixed martial arts on HDNet,” said Scott Coker, President of Strikeforce ™. “HDNet delivers television content to viewers in the highest quality format possible and Strikeforce ™ has worked diligently to produce the finest, world-class fights for mixed martial arts fans. Together, the two entities will be able to deliver a superior product."

Earlier this week HDNet Fights announced a similar deal with the IFL as part of the network's continuing push to become an MMA destination.

IFL Partners with HDNet

Today the IFL announced that HDNet will televise its first three events of 2008. The quotes:

“We are very pleased to be able to offer our fans around the country these next three events live and in HD,” said IFL President and CEO Jay Larkin. “The quality of our broadcasts is second to none, highlighting the outstanding athletes and exciting bouts as we start 2008 in Las Vegas, live on HDNet.”

“The first event we did with the IFL was a great success, and we are very pleased to be able to expand that relationship into the first quarter of 2008,” said Andrew Simon, CEO of HDNet Fights.

Cuban Has High Expectations for 2008

In an interview with Josh Gross at Sherdog.com, Mark Cuban set a lofty goal for HDNet in the year 2008: surpass Showtime's viewership. HDNet currently has 9 million subscribers, up from a reported 5 million earlier this year as the penetration of high definition television continues to expand. Showtime currently boasts approximately 15 million subscribers while HBO, the undisputed leader in premium television, has almost 30 million subscribers.

The network's MMA initiative is a key component in it's expansion plans. In addition to MMA, HDNet also features NASCAR and the NHL, however, according to the piece MMA is the network's most successful programming.

"If It Don't Make Money, It Don't Make Sense:" Floyd Mayweather to MMA?

Floyd Mayweather's manager, Leonard Ellerbe, remarked on Mayweather/Hatton 24/7, "if it don't make money, it don't make sense." Based on a recent ESPN.com report, it appears as though the calculus of Mayweather entering MMA may be starting to add up. The report that Mayweather met with Mark Cuban of HDNet Fights last Thursday to discuss a move to MMA was the talk of the MMA world this weekend.

The odds of Mayweather actually entering the cage in near future seem slim to none, not with another $25 million dollar boxing bout on the table against undefeated Miguel Cotto, however after that bout who knows what the future might hold? If MMA keeps growing and boxing is unable to offer a steady supply of marketable challengers for Mayweather, it is not altogether inconceivable that the money offered by MMA will indeed eventually make sense.

It's hard to overstate the magnitude of a potential Mayweather crossover. Properly promoted, Mayweather's MMA debut would have the potential to become the most watched pay-per-view not only in the history of MMA, but pay-per-view in general. The event would also have the ability to single handily break the UFC's stranglehold on the industry, launching not only Cuban's HDNet Fights, but an entirely new promotional model more closely resembling the boxing industry.

Of course, we're a long way from such an event becoming a reality, let alone a historic success. For starters, outside of basically risking his career and much of his legacy, Mayweather is accustomed to $20 million payouts, which Kevin Iole points out is slightly more than the payouts of the last three UFC pay-per-view events combined. However, it is not hard to envision a scenario under which a Mayweather fight would make financial sense, outside of the invaluable mainstream publicity such an event would garner. The UFC grossed roughly $20 million on pay-per-view for its biggest event to date, last December's UFC 66: Liddell v. Ortiz at approximately 1,000,000 buys and a $40 price point.

On the pro side of the equation for boxing's best fighter, as Iole points out, even one hand picked win would give Mayweather a foothold in the MMA industry and a platform from which to launch his own promotional efforts. Setting aside the media's rampant cynicism for a moment, it is also at least conceivable that Mayweather is truly interested in a new challenge after dominating boxing for the better part of two decades. A successful crossover to MMA would establish Mayweather as something more than just a tremendous boxer, perhaps the best of his generation, but as a legendary fighter at the vanguard of the fight sport revolution, that may or may not be taking place at present.

That kind of transcendent legacy is something that would likely interest the brash superstar--if the money is right.

Busy December for HDNet Fights

HDNet Fights announced yesterday that HDNet will air the IFL World Grand Prix Finals live on 12/29, head-to-head with the UFC, as well as Fedor Emeilianenko's fight on New Year's Eve in Japan on 12/31 live on HDNet. The promotion will also present its own card, Reckless Abandon, live from Dallas on 12/15.

HDF is doing everything right so far, focusing on slowly building into an industry leader rather than trying to compete with the UFC right away. Mark Cuban's vision, financial commitment, vast connections in the sports and business worlds, and willingness to patiently build the business make the company worth watching in the next 3-5 years. In many respects, HDF looks to be the only current promotion with a chance to emerge as viable competition to the UFC over the long term.

For more see: HDNet Fights: Professional MMA

HDnet FiGHTS: Professional MMA

Mark Cuban made his rumored MMA project official last week with the announcement of HDnet FiGHTS. The promotion will hold it's first card on October 13 in Dallas. Guy Mezger is the most prominent face in the new project, although it's not clear whether he's simply the group's Joe Silva (UFC Match Maker) or something closer to Dana White (public face and prime mover of the company). Others mentioned in connection with the project include: Ed Fishman, Las Vegas promoter extraordinaire of Pride fame, Reed Wallace, President of White Chocolate Management who's clients include Fedor and Rampage Jackson among others, and Ted Ehrhardt, who has made waves in recent months by signing college wrestling stars to train for MMA. Cuban also mentioned Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment as potential business partner, which makes some sense but would no doubt be very controversial in the MMA world.

Cuban said all the right things from a business perspective, indicating that he's willing to invest whatever it takes to be successful and plans to start small. Initially the group will be working mostly with outside promoters, eventually promoting their own full scale events. Mezger has said that the group hopes to be promote 24 shows in 2008. Cuban enters the game with several inherit advantages including his own TV outlet (although HDnet is available in only 5% of homes nationwide), production company, and DVD distributor, as well as, and perhaps most importantly, his own vast personal fortune. As owner of the Dallas Mavericks he also brings instant credibility with the sports establishment that could open doors with mainstream advertisers and media that the UFC has had difficulty gain traction with.

Cuban lauded the UFC's financial success but positioned it as an entertainment spectacle, whereas HDF would focus on presenting MMA as a professional sport. This was supported with a lot of the same talking points that Gary Shaw has followed about the UFC being about the UFC brand, whereas HDF would be about the fighters. Cuban wants to make it easier for fighters to train full-time, specifically mentioning a guaranteed salary that would represent a draw against their purses and health insurance. He also pushed the need for a fighters union.

The IFL has taken a similar approach to compensation on much smaller scale. While these criticisms hold a lot of water for UFC undercarders, the top fighters in the UFC are well compensated and seem very happy with their arrangements. Tito Ortiz's recent resigning, despite personal animosity with White seems to confirm this assessment. There's something to be said for using a salary draw system to balance out the feast or famine nature or getting paid per fight, but time will tell whether fighters prefer the security of the proposed HDF approach or the high ceiling, bonus laden UFC system.

The UFC's insistence on exclusive contracts also came under fire. Cuban indicated that he wouldn't ask for exclusivity and that HDF would focus on "defining [fighters] as pro athletes and letting them develop their personal visibility and careers." “The way the contracts are structured, they don’t know when they’re going to fight or if they’re going to fight again, and unfortunately some folks hold their next fight over their head using it as pressure to extend a contract or using at pressure for any number of things and that really puts these guys in a bad position."

The UFC's use of exclusive contracts to me is a key factor in the growth of the sport. Unlike boxing, UFC is able to guarantee the fights the fans want to see. They also provide stability which allows the UFC to build big fights step by step, leading to bigger draws and better pay day for fighters. For fighters, exclusive contracts give promoters an incentive to protect fighters' futures rather than merely focusing on the next fight with no regard to whats best for the fighter's career in the long term.

One of the most interesting, and perhaps valid, critiques of the UFC was on the sponsorship front. The UFC's greatest business failure has been the inability to attract blue chip sponsors which Cuban attributed to the Ultimate Fighter reality show which presents fighters as drunk and out of control. "That’s not going to get you a deal with Nike and a sponsor. That’s going to make you one of any number of guys who have 33 different names tattooed on their shorts. There is a market for the spectacle that the UFC and WWE created, but there’s also a market for serious athletes who wants to be treated seriously and who wants to be perceived as being a serious athlete, who wants to be full time at their craft.”

Cuban seemed to suggest a sponsorship model more akin to major professional sports leagues with league wide deals rather than the current model of individual sponsors. He specifically talked about working on an apparel deal with Nike or Addias. Cuban said that while fighters might not get paid under such a deal in the beginning, just the association with a respected brand would help establish fighters as professional athletes.

One of the most interesting names to surface in relation to the project is Vince McMahon. McMahon, and in particular his son Shane, has been rumored to be interested in getting involved in MMA since the UFC's rise. There is some evidence to suggest that the UFC's growth has been negatively correlated WWE's decline, specifically in the pay-per-view arena. A case can be made that without the strong lead-in of McMahon's WWE Raw for the first season of the Ultimate Fighter, the UFC as we now know it would not exist.

Cuban portrayed McMahon as a master promoter who can put together world class events, within the parameters of presenting a professional sport, while Cuban brings creditability to McMahon as a legitimate sport promoter. McMahon is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished promoters in the world, but he has failed miserably outside of pro wrestling, including his only attempt at legitimate sports, the incredibly short lived XFL. However, his experience promoting live events and television productions is second to none.

It will be interesting to see what HDF ultimately evolves into. Cuban specifically made the point that the effort would be a process and in the beginning they're interested in learning what fighters want and what they can do provide a better platform for fighters to demonstrate their talents. To me the idea of promoting a more legitimate sports model is interesting, but I'm not sure it has the potential that the UFC's brand center approached does.

There is no doubt that there is a core MMA fan base that is most interested in the fights, but they are a small, albeit devoted, group. They understand the technical aspects of fighting and are interested in who the best in the world is. They want to see the best fighters regardless of boring or unmarketable they are. They complained when Tito Ortiz got a shot at Chuck Liddell after beating Ken Shamrock twice. This group will find a more professional, no frills sports presentation very appealing.

The hardcore fan base is important, but the growth driver for the UFC, and MMA in general, is the causal fan. They were introduced to the sport during the The Ultimate Fighter boom. They watch for the stars, guys with dominant personalities. They'd rather watch a bad fight between two stars than a good fight between two unknowns. Getting this segment interested is the difference between doing 250,000 buys for GSP-Serra and Silva-Lutter and doing 1,000,000 for Liddell-Ortiz. This group is into the spectacle atmosphere of the UFC.

This of course raises the million dollar question facing the business today, namely are we in the middle of an MMA boom or a UFC boom? Is it the sport that's growing in popularity or is it simply the UFC brand? Until someone other than the UFC manages to gain some traction (let alone make some money), I think you have to go with the latter rather than the former. But it took Zuffa four years to turn around the UFC so we're probably not going to know the real answer to the question for several more years.