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).
  

Fight Promoter U

Renown fight promoter Roy Englebrecht is now accepting enrollments for the fifth session of his famous Fight Promoter University which will take place November 21-24 in Irvine, California. Scheduled speakers include:

• Roy Englebrecht - owner of California's third largest boxing promotions company and former COO of Golden Boy Promotions.
• Richard Schaefer - CEO of Golden Boy Promotions.
• Armando Garcia - Executive Officer of the California State Athletic Commission

Click here for more information.

Affliction Update

MMAPayout.com has received unconfirmed reports that Affliction's promotional effort will move forward despite the collapse of a potential partnership with Golden Boy. The company's first show is now believed to be tentatively scheduled for July in Houston. Originally the promotion, with Golden Boy, was rumored to be targeting a June debut in Las Vegas.

The promotion is rumored to have signed a number of major fighters to non-exclusive contracts, although none have been announced, lucrative enough that multiple sources have told MMAPayout.com that the payroll of an event featuring all of the company's contracted fighters could far exceed the average UFC payroll.

Adrenaline MMA

Yesterday Monte Cox announced the formation of Adrenaline MMA, the demise of M-1 Global, the release of Fedor, the signing of Tim Sylvia and Ben Rothwell, and the promotions first event in a pair of press releases:

Adrenaline MMA replaces M-1 Global; Fedor becomes a free agent

NEW YORK -- Executives at M-1 Global announced today they have started a new promotion called Adrenaline MMA and will begin promoting major events in the U.S. beginning in June.

Adrenaline will replace M-1 Global in the U.S. immediately. The change also includes the release of Russian fighter Fedor Emilianenko, who is free to seek fights elsewhere.

Monte Cox is the President and CEO of Adrenaline MMA. Bob Clark is the COO and Brian Patton is VP responsible for sponsorships and endorsements.

Adrenaline signs MMA heavyweight standouts Sylvia and Rothwell

NEW YORK -- Adrenaline MMA announced today that heavyweight stars Tim Sylvia and Ben Rothwell have signed multi-fight contracts with the newly-formed promotion.

Sylvia (24-4) is a former 2-time UFC heavyweight champion, while Rothwell (31-5) was undefeated in the IFL for the champion Quad Cities Silverbacks.

Sylvia, 6-foot-8 and 265 pounds, has fought 13 times in the UFC and defeated top performers like Jeff Monson, Andre Arlovski (twice), Brandon Vera, Ricco Rodriguez and Assuerio Silva.

"Adrenaline is a new promotion, but it allows fighters to fight for other organizations... that's huge," Sylvia said. "I've got 3 to 4 years left and want to fight as much as possible, so this is the perfect choice for me at this time."

Rothwell, 6-5 and 265, has won 13 straight bouts, including all 9 of his IFL fights.

"Adrenaline will give me the chance to take things to the next level," Rothwell said. "I'm ready to see how I fare against the best heavyweights in the world."

Sylvia and Rothwell both train at Miletich Fighting Systems in Bettendorf, Iowa.

. . .

According to MMAWeekly.com, the promotion will hold its its first event on June 14 in Chicago at the Sears Centre. Jeff Monson v. Mike Russow is already signed for the show.

Golden Boy Walks Away from Affliction Partnership?

MMAPayout.com has received unconfirmed reports that Golden Boy Promotions has walked away from a rumored promotional partnership with Affliction Clothing due to control issues. Affliction's promotional effort has made a splash in the industry this year, reportedly signing several high profile free agents to lucrative contracts with large signing bonuses in addition to potentially working with Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions.

It should be noted that MMAPayout.com has been unable to confirm the reports at this time. As a result, the above report should be considered rumor or informed speculation at best. It also bears mentioning that business situations such as this one are very fluid and can change quickly.

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.

BET's Iron Ring Debuts March 18

BET's MMA reality concept Iron Ring, featuring hip personalities as owners of teams, is set to debut on March 18 at 11PM. From the press release:

BET introduces IRON RING, a half hour weekly series that showcases mixed martial arts, the fastest growing new sports format in entertainment. With $100,000 in prize money up for grabs, these skilled competitors go toe-to-toe in the IRON RING using the combined fighting techniques of jiu-jitsu, judo, karate, boxing, kickboxing, and wrestling in teams owned and managed by Ludacris, Nelly, Floyd Mayweather, T.I., Lil Jon and Dipset. From competitive team tryouts and grueling practices to the final face-off at the live championship, IRON RING not only exposes the hardcore sport of mixed martial arts, but also explores the human element by providing insight into the lives of the fighters and coaches.

Mayweather was reportedly forced to pullout per the terms of his WWE deal.

New Twist on MMA: FiteSelektor Puts the Audience In Control

Welcome the latest in a series of new entrants in the MMA industry, FiteSelektor, an innovative concept set to debut in Dubai on March 13. The event will feature four first round fights of a tournament with a twist, the match-ups will be determined by SMS voting (aka text message).

"FiteSelektor aims to transform the Martial Arts Industry through it's creation of a multimedia concept, viral campaigns, web communities and interactive gala events," FiteSelektor's Junayd Bouniss told MMAPayout.com. "The event aims to entertain audience both inside and outside the ring."

The tournament will continue later this year in other parts of the Middle East and South Asia. The winner will be awarded $75,000 in prize money.

Confirmed fighters include Micheal Knaap (Netherlands), Nikolay Onikienko (Russia), Alexev Veselovzorov (Russia), Andre Fyeet (Surinam), Kristov Kulak (Poland), Florian MÖller (Germany), Christian M'Pumbo (France & Congo) and Alexander Gustafsson (Sweden).

For more information, including a promotional video, visit www.fiteselektor.com.

Affliction and Golden Boy

A busy day in the MMA industry continues with news that Matt Lindland has signed a contract with an unnamed fight promotion. MMAWeekly reports that Affliction is a primary partner in the deal with Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions as a partner.

Rumors have been circulating in the industry for several months regarding Affliction's entry as a promoter, dating back to December when the UFC first flirted with the idea of banning the clothing line from it's events. The company eventually allowed Georges St. Pierre to wear his signature Affliction shirt at UFC 79, but subsequently banned the label.

In recent weeks speculation has centered on a partnership between Affliction and Golden Boy, predating the latter's stated interest in MMA.

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.