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).
  

Friday Afternoon Quick Hits

Three articles worth reading that I haven't had time to cover fully this week:

• 411Mania.com Interview w/ Jay Larkin - A very candid conversation with IFL CEO Jay Larkin on the state of the industry and the IFL.
  
• The Future of Golden Boy Promotions - Opinion and Analysis from CBSSports.com on the future of the company after Oscar de La Hoya retires which might explain the company's interest in MMA.
  
• Kevin Iole Defends the UFC Pay Scale - A defense of the UFC's pay scale, particularly compared to boxing, including some of the most detailed sponsorship figures that have been made public to date.
  

Silva-Jones is Off, But a Crossover Bout is Inevitable

The prospective Anderson Silva-Roy Jones Jr boxing match has been nixed by UFC President Dana White. This week Jones expressed disappointment to the NY Daily News:

I don't see how it could discredit the UFC. The guy has boxed before and he's a tall, slick, left handed fighter. That gives everybody problems. It would be a good fight. As fighters we're supposed to be trying to do things that amaze people and make history. This could have been something that people really wanted to see... I just think it's wrong not to allow him (Silva) to get the opportunity to live out his fantasy to be in the ring with one of his heroes. That's the kind of thing that boxing promoters usually do.

According to a recent edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Silva and his management went into business for themselves on the bout, floating the idea publicly without approaching White. The standard Zuffa contract is exclusive as to all forms of combat sports, making White's approval a prerequisite. White apparently did the calculus and decided the risk outweighed the reward, at least for now (SEE: Crossover Appeal? Mayweather-WWE & Silva-Jones).

A return match in the octagon could be just the stipulation needed to make a high profile boxer v. mixed martial-artist bout a reality. Such an arrangement would in theory provide a split decision result palatable to both sports generating tremendous amounts of revenue. Unfortunately, Jones has no interest in stepping into the cage because he has no wrestling background. However, make no mistake about it, a high profile boxing v. MMA match in a ring/cage near you is a matter of when not if.

HBO Leading Boxing's Resurrection

PhillySportsline.com has a feature on boxing's renaissance under the leadership of Mark Taffet, Senior VP of Sports Operations and Pay-per-view at HBO. Key quotes from Taffet:

"Through the past 18 months there has been a very conscious effort by everyone in any position of responsibility in the sport to do everything possible to keep it on top and restore it to its rightful place in the sports world... TV executives, boxers, promoters, they all made the commitment. There was no specific incident that caused it. It was a confluence of factors that made us all realize, though we weren't taking for granted the position of our sport, things were out of equilibrium."

"The catalyst for the resurgence of 2007 and 2008 in the sport of boxing was the De La Hoya-Mayweather fight. It began a string of fights where the best fought the best month after month after month... Everyone felt so good about that fight, and it felt so good to be a part of the sport where an event that big was taking place, that it became the catalyst and the motivator for the string of fights that followed and continue throughout 2008."

"Whatever the reason, the prevailing mindset used to be that, in a big fight, the winner won big and the loser lost big, but that was an obstacle to promoters continuing to make big fights... The last few years, the guys who don't win in the big fights are still able to get right back in line because the quality of the fights have been so high... You can see an endless series over the next 12-18 months involving some of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. The quality is there, and the desire to keep putting guys together to make the best fights is higher than it's been in years."

Pacquiao-Marquez Draw 400,000 Buys

The preliminary estimate for Manny Pacquiao's March 15 victory over Juan Manuel Marquez is 400,000 domestic buys for $20.2 million according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The number is an all time record on pay-per-view at any weight below 147 pounds. The event also drew a $3.3 million live gate in Las Vegas.

Pavlik-Taylor II Posts 250,000 Buys

The Kelly Pavlik-Jermaine Taylor rematch on 2/16 did 250,000 buys on pay-per-view. The number was considered disappointing, especially in light of speculation by HBO officials the day before the show that the fight could do 350,000-415,000 buys. Bob Arum blamed Taylor's management for exercising an immediate rematch rather than taking an interim fight.

“[HBO] got what they deserved. They keep dealing with a guy (Haymon) who doesn’t have a manager’s license. He’s a so-called adviser. We begged them: Let’s do a tune-up fight (with) both guys on (the same card) and then we’d go in together... You don’t have a fight where one guy gets knocked out on regular HBO and then come back on pay-per-view and ask people to buy it. You don’t do that," Arum told Yahoo! Sports.

Crossover Appeal?: Mayweather-WWE & Silva-Jones

Crossover is the current buzzword in sports management. For today's athletes competitive accomplishments are merely a means to an end. Building a brand, reaching new audiences, and crossing over into the mainstream of American culture is the name of the game. As Matt Walker, agent for Randy Couture and Gina Carano, told FIGHT! Magazine, "most of these athletes at the end of the day want to take the celebrity that they’ve built on the field or through their sports and translate that into other opportunities whether that is business, entertainment, or whatever they may want to do.”

Cases in point: Floyd Mayweather and Anderson Silva. Mayweather is currently engaged in a month long tour of duty with WWE, culminating at Wrestlemania on March 30 in a match with the Big Show, while Silva has made news in recent weeks by challenging Roy Jones Jr to a boxing match. But all crossover opportunities are not created equally.

A $20 million appearance fee was floated by WWE and Mayweather's management as the original justification for Mayweather's WWE deal, but it has now become clear that his actual compensation is probably much closer to $2 million plus a pay-per-view bonus. The only remaining rationale is his manager's stated goal of exposing the boxer to WWE's audience of roughly 5 million viewers each week.

Thus far the mainstream buzz generated by the angle has been low with most of the exposure ambivalent at best. Furthermore, according to a recent marketing study cited in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, only the Jerry Springer show has a more negative image among advertisers than pro wrestling. Therefore it would appear that any benefit gained from WWE would be more than offset by the negative effect on Mayweather's brand of being associated with professional wrestling.

Mayweather's profile has never been higher coming off high profile fights with Oscar de La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, including valuable exposure on the critically acclaimed 24/7 promotional vehicle, as well as a spin on the last season of ABC's Dancing With the Stars. On the heels of that type of mainstream exposure, professional wrestling seems like a step back, particularly with mainstream sponsors.

Silva's challenge of Jones Jr. on the other hand, while certainly risky and perhaps bordering on quixotic, has a tremendous potential upside for Silva and MMA. The first high profile meeting of a martial artist and boxer, whether in the cage or ring, is going to draw significant mainstream interest. Such a contest would legitimize MMA in the mainstream by elevating Silva to the same stature as a legendary boxer.

If Silva were to beat Jones at his own game it would establish MMA as a legitimate sport and mixed martial artists as skilled athletes instead of bar room brawlers in the eyes of the mainstream media. Even in a close defeat, with Silva demonstrating competence in a secondary discipline, Silva and MMA as a whole would be elevated.

The greatest risk of course is an embarrassing loss, particularly a knockout, which would be seized by the established media to paint MMA as boxing's inferior unskilled cousin. That storyline would prove irresistible, despite the obvious fact that boxing is not MMA and Silva is not a boxer by trade. Furthermore, a convincing loss would hurt Silva's air of invincibility, the one thing he has going for him as a draw right now.

The calculus of a potential Silva-Jones boxing match will ultimately be weighed by Dana White, not Anderson Silva. Even if Jones agrees to the bout, the final decision rests with White per Zuffa's standard exclusivity contract clause which covers boxing and professional wrestling in addition to MMA. The proposition is high risk, high reward, which just happens to be White's business philosophy in a nut shell.

Mayweather Lands $20 Million WWE Deal

Floyd Mayweather has signed with the WWE for a match against The Big Show at Wrestlemania. The deal is reportedly worth $20 million.

WWE has made celebrity involvement at Wrestlemania an almost annual tradition. Last year's event did record business thanks in large part to a celebrity angle involving Donald Trump. It will be interesting to see what Mayweather means to WWE on pay-per-view.

New Players, Familiar Faces

Several new players, with familiar faces, have either talked about or announced MMA plans in the last month. Some of the efforts look/have the potential to be more formidable than others. A quick rundown:

• YAMMA PIT FIGHTING - is Bob Meyrowtiz's long rumored project. Promises a new fighting surface with a focus on tournaments and "masters" fights. Seems ten years too late and ten times over the top.
  
• GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS - is reportedly exploring the space. Could be a major player thanks to its close ties to HBO and the sports establishment.
  
• AFFLICTION - the owners of the clothing line are reportedly in the process of putting together a promotion. Shot an Affliction "advertising campaign" featuring a Couture-Fedor stare down that resulted in a subsequent sponsorship ban by the UFC.
  
• DREAM - will replace Heros as K-1's MMA brand. Is a joint effort between K-1 and the former Dream Stage Entertainment staff that was ultimately laid off following Zuffa's purchcase of Pride. Looks like Japan's new premier MMA brand, however, the market's glory days appear to be behind it.
  
• WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT - Perhaps the most interesting of the potential entrants. Had discussions about acquiring Pride last year and has came up as a potential buyer of the UFC in the Zuffa sale rumors. Dave Meltzer reported in this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the company has recently started another round of information gathering on the MMA industry.
  

Trinidad-Jones Posts 500,000 Buys

Last Saturday's Felix Trinidad-Roy Jones Jr. fight beat expectations, posting 500,000 buys on pay-per-view for HBO Boxing's first event of 2008. The show had been ridiculed, by UFC Vice President Marc Ratner among others, as being several years too late. Jones had been inactive for the better part of three years coming into the fight, while Trinidad had been retired for two and half years.

Similar complaints were raised in 2006 when Royce Gracie fought Matt Hughes and both times Ken Shamrock fought Tito Ortiz. At the time the hardcore fan base blasted the booking as one sided, asking "who wants to see that?" The events went on to do 620,000 and 775,000 buys respectively, not to mention a then record 5.7 million viewers for the final Ortiz-Shamrock fight on Spike.

The lesson is clear: casual fans like to see stars, even if they are past their prime.

UFC Pay-Per-View Business in 2007

The pay-per-view picture for the UFC in 2007 has came into focus in recent months with the release of official pay-per-view numbers from Randy Couture's two fights in 2007, the latest S&P report from November and a comprehensive report in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. When all the buys are counted it appears as though the company will finish the year around 4.9 million buys, down roughly 5% from last year's estimated 5.2 million buys.

UFC PAY-PER-VIEW BREAKDOWN - 2007 / 2006

• UFC 67 - Silva v. Lutter - 400,000
  
• UFC 57 - Liddell v. Couture III - 400,000
• UFC 68 - Slyvia v. Couture - 540,000
  
• UFC 58 - Franklin v. Loiseau - 300,000
• UFC 69 - St. Pierre v. Serra - 400,000
• UFC 59 - Ortiz v. Griffin - 425,000
• UFC 71 - Liddell v. Jackson II - 675,000
  
• UFC 60 - Hughes v. Gracie - 620,000
• UFC 72 - Franklin v. Okami - 200,000
• No June pay-per-view event in 2006
  
• UFC 73 - Ortiz v. Evans - 425,000
  
• UFC 61 - Ortiz v. Shamrock II - 775,000
• UFC 74 - Couture v. Gonzaga - 520,000
  
• UFC 62 - Liddell v. Sobral II - 500,000
• UFC 76 - Liddell v. Jardine - 475,000
  
• UFC 63 - Hughes v. Penn - 400,000
• UFC 77 - Franklin v. Silva II - 325,000
• UFC 64 - Franklin v. Silva - 300,000
• UFC 78 - Evans v. Bisbing - 325,000^
• UFC 65 - Hughes v. St. Pierre - 500,000
• UFC 79 - Liddell v. Silva - 600,000*
  
• UFC 66 - Liddell v. Ortiz - 1,050,000
  

^ = reportedly did 325,000 buys at a minimum
* = MMAPayout.com's projected minimum

YEAR TO YEAR COMPARISON [2007 / 2006 (% Change)]

• Q1 - 940,000 / 700,000 (+34%)
  
• Q2 - 1,275,000 / 1,450,000 (-12%)*
• Q3 - 1,420,000 / 1,675,000 (-15%)
• Q4 - 1,250,000 / 1,800,000 (-31%)
• TOTAL - 4,885,000 / 5,200,000 (-5%)

* - three events in '07 compared to two events in '06

NOTE: In October of 2007, with the pay-per-view picture beginning to take shape, MMAPayout.com forecast that the UFC would do roughly 5.1 million buys. While what we thought we knew has changed greatly in that time span, the forecast still ended up being only 3% off.

CROSS INDUSTRY COMPARISONS [Buys (Estimated Gross Revenue)(# of events)]

• UFC - 4,885,000 ($194.5 million)(11)
• HBO Boxing - 4,795,000 ($239.75 million)(8)
  
• WWE - 2,797,000* (13 events included, 2 outstanding)
  

* price points vary on WWE pay-per-view events

Complete analysis and commentary on these numbers and the state of the MMA industry generally as 2008 begins coming to MMAPayout.com in the coming days and weeks. For now you can read Dave Meltzer's analysis of the Business of MMA in 2008 at Yahoo! Sports.

"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.

Envelope Math: The Fortunate 50

Sports Illustrated just released its fourth annual Fortunate 50. The list ranks the top 50 earning American athletes based on salary, winnings, bonuses, endorsements, and appearances. On the strength of their record setting pay-per-view fight in May, Oscar De La Hoya checks in at # 2 with $55 million in total earnings while Floyd Mayweather comes in at # 21 with $20,250,000.

Tiger Woods paces the list at $111,941,827 (including $100 million in endorsements), while it took roughly $15 million to crack the top 50. 25 basketball players, 12 baseball players, 5 football players, 3 NASCAR drivers, and one women's professional golfer round out the list.

For comparison's sake let us engage in a little envelope math to see how MMA's top earner, widely believed to be Chuck Liddell, compares. To be clear, this is an almost entirely speculative exercise. MMAPayout.com estimates Liddell's 2007 earnings to date, not including endorsements and appearances, at roughly $2.7 million based on:

• 5/21 - lost to Quinton Jackson - $1,707,500 ($500,000 guarantee, estimated $1.2 million pay-per-view bonus*)
• 9/22 - lost to Keith Jardine - $1,032,500 ($500,000 guarantee, estimated $532,500 pay-per-view bonus based on 400,000 buys*)
• * - assuming Liddell's pay-per-view bonus scale is similar to Randy Couture's

Conservatively, Liddell stands to make an additional $1 million for his 12/29 fight with Wanderlei Silva (based on a loss and 400,000 buys). That would put Liddell at $3.7 million for the year, not including endorsements, appearances, or undisclosed bonuses, not to mention $1.5 million in win bonuses (Liddell's contract is $500,000 guaranteed per fight, plus a $500,000 win bonus) he would have left on the table (assuming an 0-3 record). $6 million total earnings for 2007 is not an unreasonable estimate based on the above assumptions.

In the best case scenario, Liddell could have earned as much as $6.7 million in the octagon in 2007 based on the following assumptions:

• An average of 630,000 buys per fight, the number he averaged over his last four fights prior to his 9/22 fight with Jardine. Assuming that buy rate would have held up if he hadn't lost to Jackson.
• Assuming a 3-0 record resulting in $3 million in earnings

Taking into account undisclosed performance bonuses, endorsements/sponsorships, and appearance fees in addition to the above assumptions, it is not impossible to imagine Liddell taking home over $8 million in total earnings in a best case scenario.

NOTE: As the title of "Envelope Math" suggests, the exercise above regarding Liddell's salary projections is almost purely speculative with the resulting estimates representing nothing more than educated guesses.

Are Boxing and MMA Actually Competitors?

There is growing evidence suggesting that the boxing v. MMA storyline, while convenient and intuitively true, may not be factually supported:

• SecondsOut.com reported that research showed that only about 20% of those in attendance at UFC events have ever attended a boxing match, and that those that had tended to return to boxing.
• Dave Meltzer reported that the LA Times recently reported that the cable companies found in a survey that only 3-5% of people who had ordered a boxing pay-per-view in 2007 had ordered a UFC event.
• According to Meltzer, in 1995 the UFC internally believed that 50-60% of its audience came directly from pro wrestling. Boxing was not considered competition unless it was Tyson because of his crossover appeal. As evidence, Meltzer pointed out that when the UFC went head-to-head with WWE Raw in 2005 there was a significant quarter hour swing between the two programs.
• The lack of competition is further evidenced by the fact that the TUF 6 Finale did a 1.87 rating v. Mayweather-Hatton, peaking at 2.10 with 2.9 million viewers going head-to-head with the Mayweather-Hatton fight itself.

A Boxing Fan Looks at MMA

Thomas Hauser, a well known boxing writer and biographer of Muhammad Ali, recently wrote an interesting feature at SecondsOut.com, A Boxing Fan Looks at MMA. The feature checks in at almost 5,000 words and is well worth reading in its entirety. The basic premise is that boxing is in trouble despite it's big year and that MMA is rising, although the two can co-exist. Some of the highlights:

• "It's easier for the average person to identify with MMA than with professional boxing,” Donald Zuckerman (an early MMA entrepreneur) said ten years ago. “There are more than 15,000 martial arts dojos in the United States, and the number of gyms devoted to boxing is diminishing. Every few years, Hollywood produces one boxing movie, but there are dozens of martial arts films annually. Most people have never engaged in a fight with regular boxing rules. But at one time or another, even if it was only on the playground in grade school, virtually everyone has engaged in some form of fighting."
• Popularity in terms of Google hits: 1-De La Hoya, 2-Pacquiao, 3-Mayweather, 4-Ortiz, 5-Liddell, 6-Couture, all significantly more popular than Hopkins, Pavlik, and Klitshcko.
• "Success sometimes breeds resentment, and UFC has its share of enemies. Rival promoters have grumbled about anti-competitive acts such as the alleged use of financial muscle (e.g. advertising dollars) to discourage media coverage of competitors’ events. They also claim that UFC marketing includes papering the house for promotions and giving cash to buyers who go to stores and purchase multiple copies of UFC DVDs. One competitor expresses his feelings with the observation, “You can’t spell ‘fuck’ without a U, an F, and a C.”"
• "UFC has a marketing line: “Boxing is your grandfather’s sport.” But research shows that only about twenty percent of those who attend UFC events have ever been to a boxing match, and these people tend to return to boxing. On the other hand, there’s a progression from pro wrestling to the UFC that occurs when a wrestling fan is around age eighteen. If boxing could get these fans to attend a boxing match, they might like it."
• "HBO (which televises virtually all of boxing’s major pay-per-view fights) says its studies show that undercards have little effect on PPV buys. Maybe that’s because fans have been conditioned to expect lousy pay-per-view undercards. That’s a great way to build a fan base: “You, the buying public, don’t care what’s on the undercard, so we’re going to save money and show you boring one-sided fights.”"
• "HBO is trumpeting the fact that 2007 has seen a year of record-high pay-per-view buys. But it has also been a year of record-low HBO World Championship Boxing ratings. Moreover, there has been little correlation between the license fees that HBO pays for fights and the ratings they get."
• "UFC is already in negotiations with Yahoo to distribute its matches over the Internet on a pay-per-view basis. Eventually, pay-per-view boxing will move to the Internet in a significant way. But when it gets there, it will find that MMA has beaten it to the punch. And the danger for HBO is that, if it doesn’t change quickly, its boxing program (and much more) could be eclipsed by new technologies the same way that IBM was eclipsed by Microsoft."
• "Sooner or later, UFC will experience a similar tragedy. Indeed, there’s a school of thought that, while professional wrestling controls the production of its telecasts so fans will forget that wrestling is fake, UFC controls its telecasts so fans will lose sight of the true nature of the physical damage being done. UFC’s cameras rarely linger on a combatant who is bleeding profusely or lying unconscious on the octagonal matt."
• "More managers and agents are coming into the MMA business, which means less profit for promoters. Randy Couture is nearing the end of his career. Chuck Liddell has lost his last two fights. Tito Ortiz hasn’t held a belt in four years. Few, if any, mainstream sponsors want their logo on a ring canvas that’s splattered with blood."

FULL ARTICLE: A Boxing Fan Looks at MMA

Flash: Early Mayweather-Hatton Numbers Well Below Expectations

Dave Meltzer is reporting that the preliminary numbers for the Mayweather-Hatton pay-per-view came in at 850,000 buys, well short of the 1.5 million buys projected by Golden Boy Promotions.

UFC Out Promoted, But Not Outperformed

Without the benefit of the critically acclaimed 24/7 series, last night's Mayweather-Hatton fight might have been nothing more than a boring, disjointed boxing match saved by a stunning finish. However, the hype of Mayweather/Hatton 24/7 transformed the fight into a satisfying experience with a lively crowd of English invaders and a compelling, if slightly boring, build towards a hot finish in the 10th round. Credit where credit is do, outside of a mind numbing undercard, boxing delivered last night and this year.

Mayweather-Hatton was a strong punctuation, although perhaps not an exclamation, on a big year for boxing. At this point it is clear, crystal clear, that reports of boxing's demise were greatly exagerated. But in watching the fights at a large social gathering, including fans of boxing and MMA as well as the uninitiated, one thing was clear (at least anecdotally): while boxing may have won the night and even the year, MMA is winning the war.

Boxing has become something hard to fathom, far removed from its primal nature. Actual "fighting," that is the exchange of punches, has now become the exception rather than rule, replaced by the clinch. Mayweather-Hatton was largely incomprehensible to those unfamiliar with boxing and un-relatable, even boring, to those who didn't have the benefit of 24/7 to provide characters to care about.

Last night across the Las Vegas strip, the UFC delivered a slightly more understated card. The event featured none of the bells and whistles of Mayweather-Hatton, but delivered a more entertaining show none the less. The event featured one, possibly two, match of the year candidates including Roger Huerta in another star making performance in a come from behind victory over Clay Guida and Jon Koppenhaver v. Jared Rollins.

Unlike Mayweather-Hatton, both matches were easily understood, even by those unfamiliar with the rules, and quickly enthralling, luring viewers in on the strength of the sport, the action alone, absent the high priced promotional tactics of 24/7.

There is the uncomfortable truth that boxing must face: MMA is immediately more understandable than the sweet science. It is what boxing was, or at least what we used to think boxing was, the purest expression of the ancient truths of violence, competition, and masculinity. So while boxing may have fixed its promotional flaws, it may have revealed a deeper disconnect in the process. One that not even 24/7 can fix.

Mayweather/Hatton 24/7

WorldHipHopStar.com has the complete Mayweather/Hatton 24/7 series to get you geared up for tonight's fight:

• Episode 1
• Episode 2
• Episode 3
• Episode 4

Let's Get It On: TUF 6 Finale v. Mayweather-Hatton

This Saturday's live finale of The Ultimate Fighter 6 will go head-to-head with the second biggest boxing event of the year as Floyd Mayweather puts his World Welterweight Championship on the line against Ricky Hatton in a battle of undefeated fighters (38-0 and 43-08 respectively). Both events get underway at 9PM eastern, on Spike and HBO Sports pay-per-view respectively. The UFC telecast should wrap-up just before the boxing main event heads to the ring.

The UFC event will feature rising stars Roger Huerta and Clay Guida in the main event. This is the UFC's Latino poster boy's first trust test inside of the octagon. With the company rumored to be interested in heading south of the border as early as May of this year, a Huerta loss would be bad for business. In the co-main, Mac Danzig and Tommy Speer meet in the finals of The Ultimate Fighter 6 welterweight tournament. The live card is rounded out by three undercard bouts pitting Team Serra v. Team Hughes one last time.

Perhaps in a nod towards the UFC's promotional style, Golden Boy Promotions has loaded up the Mayweather-Hatton undercard by boxing standards with former Super Middleweight Champion Jeff Lacy returning to the ring to face Peter Manfredo Jr., star of season one of The Contender. The WBO World Junior Featherweight title will also be on the line as Daniel Ponce de Leon defends his title against Eduardo Escobedo.

It will be interesting to see what kind of number the UFC does. This season of The Ultimate Fighter has struggled in the ratings, failing to build any momentum heading into the finale, but the live TUF Finales usually do well regardless. The previous five TUF Finales have averaged a 1.8 rating. The TUF 5 Finale did a 2.0, however, that number is misleading as it featured Pulver v. Penn, a pay-per-view quality main event. The TUF 4 Finale did a 1.1 rating without a marque main event.

The Mayweather-Hatton numbers will also be watched closely by those in the boxing and MMA industries. Golden Boy Promotions is expecting 1.5 million buys, however, all bets are off in light of the largely unknown dynamic added by the highly successful 24/7 series. Earlier this year De La Hoya-Mayweather was expected to do 1.5 million buys only to explode for 2.4 million buys on the strength of 24/7.

Mayweather Could Set PPV Record Against Hatton

Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports has a great piece on the business and buildup of December 8th's Mayweather-Hatton fight. Key notes:

• The fight sold out in roughly thirty minutes for a total gate in excess of $10 million. Additionally, 18,000 closed circuit tickets have already been sold in Las Vegas.
• All other revenue streams are running at about 60% of the business Mayweather-De La Hoya did in May. You may remember that fight as the most successful ever.
• Golden Boy expects the show do to roughly 1.5 million pay-per-view buys. Iole reports "that would make Mayweather Jr. the first non-heavyweight ever to sell more than 1 million pay-per-views in back-to-back fights, as well as the first man to 4 million in one calendar year."
• Mayweather has the chance to generate more than $200 million in pay-per-view revenue for 2007. As Iole said, "the kid who was dogged for an inability to sell out a small arena in his hometown might all of a sudden have become the most valuable property in the sport. He's learned fabulously well how to sell a pay-per-view show."

The whole piece is well worth reading if for no other reason than the Roger Mayweather quotes.