Sonnen became one of the few celebrities to appear as a contestant. The purpose of the show is to determine the show’s best caller. Jim Harbaugh, Tom Tolbert and Jay Mohr have also appeared. Rome has a nationally syndicated radio program with over 200 affiliates in the US, Canada, online and touts 2 million listeners. He has amassed a cult following and the “Smackoff” is a spinoff of the popularity.

Rome was an early convert to the UFC and has had many stars on as guests including Dana White, BJ Penn and Sonnen. Sonnen’s smack talk didn’t focus on Anderson Silva or anyone in the UFC but on other sports including the NFL, NBA and NASCAR.

Payout Perspective:

The contest is subjective as there is no fan vote or poll but is up to Rome and his crew. Rome has monetized this contest so that there are sponsors. Last year, it included a UFC-themed gift package. No word on whether Sonnen gets a prize for winning.  Since the UFC has bought radio time on Rome’s show, one could argue that Sonnen should be disqualified. But, winning the contest is beside the point here.

The underlying value of Sonnen appearing on the show is that Rome promoted his July 7th fight prior to his appearance. It also helps get Sonnen out there to Rome’s 2 million listeners on a day in which a high volume of Rome fans tune in to hear the smack talk. Sonnen’s smack talk amounted to a preview of the hype leading to what the UFC hopes to be the fight of the year. Expect more from the reigning king of smack leading up to July 7.

Jones’ manager, Malki Kawa released a statement in lieu of the arrest:

“I can confirm that Jon Jones was arrested early this morning on suspicion of DUI.  ”While the facts of this situation are still being gathered and situated, First Round Management fully supports Jon and we are asking for fans and media to respect the privacy of Jon and his family during this time.”

Although Jones will go through the legal process to determine the facts surrounding the arrest, TMZ reports that Jones crashed his Bentley into a pole and was arrested at the scene.  He was bailed out by his mother a couple hours later.

Payout Perspective:

Drinking and driving is a serious offense.  While we might say that it was a mistake and a stupid thing to do, many innocent people have died due to drunk driving.  With that being said, there have been many professional athletes that have overcome offenses like this (and even worse crimes) without it affecting their careers.  Will it hurt Jones’ sponsorship opportunities?  It certainly will take him off of any beer ads.  How about the blue chip sponsors?  Depending on the facts of the case and how Jones proceeds with this (legally and from a PR standpoint), it may be just a blip on his screen.  Jones may still have a chance at sponsor deals but he may have to wait a while.  If you look at Ray Lewis and Kobe Bryant, they have been able to overcome off the field/court issues to regain sponsors.  Tiger Woods lost major sponsors and his play has not helped him recover from the misdeeds of a couple years ago.

To a lesser extent, the Jones arrest may hurt the UFC.  TMZ’s main picture of Jones has him adorned in a UFC shirt.  Jones is one of the faces of the UFC and a likable figure that sponsors could gravitate toward.  Remember, he stopped a purse snatcher and then won the world title in the same day.  There aren’t too many American fighters that the UFC could promote.  Certainly GSP and Anderson Silva are draws but Jones is the only true big star coming from the US right now.  Will it hurt the UFC’s quest for blue chip sponsors?  While it could harm the potential for sponsors, I don’t think it would affect it in any way.  It probably would have been a bigger deal if he tested positive for an illegal substance.

It would be in the best interest of Jones to accept responsibility and move forward.  He could cut PSAs about his mistake and the perils of driving while under the influence.  Not sure if the UFC really needs to punish Jones  right now.  It wouldn’t hurt to remind its fighters to be responsible when out and have a driver if they decide to have a little fun.

TNA going live – A lot of changes going on for TNA. First, news that it was moving up an hour starting May 31st, then the big King Mo signing and now TNA is going to be live throughout the summer.

Payout Take: Going live is supposed to promote the time change for TNA but it will be interesting if this will help or hurt the production value of the product. Despite RAW being live most of the time, I am not sure of its overall value in drawing ratings.

RAW going to 3 hours – Perhaps in an effort to trump TNA’s news of going live starting May 31st, the WWE announced that its anchor program, “Monday Night RAW,” is going to 3 hours starting with its 1,000 episode on July 23rd. The news was first reported via tweet through Jon Cena. Cena was rated the No. 1 most influential athlete on Twitter last month.

Payout Take: Good way of using social media to filter its news. I like how the WWE utilizes its social media so that the end user feels as though there is value for following the likes of John Cena. As far as going to 3 hours, I understand the RAW receives good ratings, but how much is too much for one night? WCW did this during the Monday Night Wars and at a certain point there’s too much filler during a three hour block.

Brooke Hogan signs with TNA and Ashley Flair signs with WWE – News came down that Brooke Hogan is following her dad’s footsteps by signing on with TNA. Although she will not be in the ring, she will be an executive with TNA and develop its female talent. Flair’s daughter has signed a developmental deal with the WWE where she will train as a wrestler according to Dave Metzler.

Payout Take: It sounds like Hogan will be in a Stephanie McMahon sort of role and will eventually become involved in some way with the story lines in front of the camera. On the other hand, Flair’s signing has many speculating that Ric Flair will return to the WWE. What these two signings show is that wrestling is the family business for so many wrestlers. Hogan’s signing will deliver more impact (no pun intended) to her organization sooner. Her aspirations to be a singer/actress have now translated into being a performer for TNA. For TNA, it’s another sign that it is making a major attempt to be competitive with the WWE.

Via MMA Junkie:

Chan Sung Jung: $34,000 (includes $17,000 win bonus)
def. Dustin Poirier: $14,000

Amir Sadollah: $48,000 (includes $24,000 win bonus)
def. Jorge Lopez: $6,000

Donald Cerrone: $60,000 (includes $30,000 win bonus)
def. Jeremy Stephens: $24,000

Yves Jabouin: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Jeff Hougland: $8,000

Igor Pokrajac: $34,000 (includes $17,000 win bonus)
def. Fabio Maldonado: $11,000

Tom Lawlor: $24,000 (includes $12,000 win bonus)
def. Jason MacDonald: $19,000

Brad Tavares: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Dongi Yang: $12,000

Cody McKenzie: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus)
def. Marcus LeVesseur: $6,000

T.J. Grant: $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus)
def. Carlo Prater: $10,000

Rafael dos Anjos: $32,000 (includes $16,000 win bonus)
def. Kamal Shalorus: $11,000

Johnny Eduardo: $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus)
def. Jeff Curran: $8,000

Francisco Rivera: $12,000 (includes $6,000 win bonus)
def. Alex Soto: $6,000

Payout Perspective:

Korean Zombie only made $34,000 but cashed in with 2 bonuses with a reported total of $114,000 for the night.  Cerrone avenged his loss to Nate Diaz and that loss doesn’t look too bad now considering Diaz’s victory last week.  Also, Amir Sadollah received a slight bump in pay as he’s getting $24K + $24K win whereas his past couple fights he was at $20K/$20K.

In an email correspondence to MMA Payout, a representative from state representative Tom Newell’s office stated that after extensive research and legal analysis of the issue, an attorney on behalf of the Athletic Commission concluded that the law could not be successfully defended.

Representative Newell is sponsoring SB1533, a bill that would grant the Oklahoma Athletic Commission $200,000 to fund combat sports in the state. “SB1533 Oklahoma Athletic Commission PPV law is assigned to a conference committee with language deleting the unconstitutional fee.  We don’t anticipate having any problems,” stated Representative Newell in an email to MMA Payout.  Thus, despite striking down the tax, SB1533 should pick up for the loss of the tax revenue.

Below is the fiscal analysis from the Conference Committee Report from today:

The measure deletes the State Athletic Commission’s Gross Receipts Assessment as it pertains to certain telecasts and pay-per-views.  Prevailing legal opinion is that these assessments are unenforceable therefore; the measure brings current statutes into conformity with the prevailing legal opinion.  The Commission expects to loose (sic) approximately $240,000 annually in revenue as a result of the assessment no longer being collected; however this fiscal impact is not a result of HB 2746, but a result of the legal determination that the assessment is unenforceable.  The measure has no direct fiscal impact on the State Budget or Appropriations

Payout Perspective:

MMA Payout will have more on this news in the coming days.  It may have boiled down to an analysis of the Dormant Commerce Clause as it affected interstate commerce.  According to representative Newell’s office, the tax had been thoroughly examined by the state’s attorneys to determine the constitutionality of the law. The good news is that based on SB1533 it looks like combat sports will continue in Oklahoma.

The 10,000-seat arena at the Patriot Center was half full with the official attendance at 4,592 with a gate of $343,175.

Bonuses for the night were $40,000 each:

Fight of the Night:  Korean Zombie/Dustin Poirer
Submission of the Night:  Korean Zombie
Knockout of the Night:  Tom Lawlor

Obviously, it was the Korean Zombie’s night.  Both KZ and Poirer put on a great fight for the fans.  Apparently, it was fortunate that Tom Lawlor received the bonus and fight earnings.  According to Cagewriter, Lawlor has borrowed money from friends and family the past year and a half to get by while waiting for a fight.

Payout Perspective:

It’s hard to compare UFC on Fuel 3 with the prior 2 when it comes to gate and attendance.  The first UFC on Fuel scored 7,120 fans for a gate of $406,000.  But that card was headlined by Diego Sanchez and Jake Ellenberger.  For Ellenberger, he was fighting in his hometown so there was more a draw from the local fans.  The second Fuel card was held in Sweden and received big numbers (15,428/$2.23 million) since it was the first time the UFC came to the country.  Also, it featured local product Alex Gustafsson in the main event.

Despite the attendance on Tuesday, I think the smaller setting and college campus atmosphere is a good idea for the UFC.  It attracts its targeted demo and the young fans will sure to be excited about the fights.  It could potentially attract sponsors to do on campus promotions in hyping the events.

Via MMA Junkie:

February’s UFC on FUEL TV 1 event holds the all-time UFC-FUEL TV ratings record with 217,000 viewers, and April’s UFC on FUEL TV 2 show ranks second with 197,000. However, UFC on FUEL TV 3 topped all four of the cable channel’s previous preliminary-card broadcasts for UFC on FOX and UFC on FX events from earlier this year.

Payout Perspective:

An impressive main event, but unimpressive ratings.  This may be due in part to the Tuesday night viewing audience and the fact it went up against the NBA and NHL playoffs.  Another problem may be that the event started early on the west coast.  With prelims on Facebook starting in the late afternoon Pacific time, it forecloses on an audience.  Conversely, having the fight on too late may hurt east coast viewers and the actual attendance at the fight since it was in Fairvax, VA.

Despite the ratings, it was a good test to see the type of audience it could receive on a Tuesday night.  This may come into play with future programming choices.  I still see Tuesday night as a viable option for live programming during the week as more often than not it would not compete with other events.

The ratings up the season 6 average to 152,500 from 150,500.

Bellator 67:  165,000 viewers
Bellator 66:  109,000 viewers
Bellator 65: 163,000 viewers
Bellator 64: 175,00 viewers
Bellator 63:  140,000 viewers
Bellator 62:  175,000 viewers
Bellator 61:  108,000 viewers
Bellator 60:  169,000 viewers

Payout Perspective:

A nice two show streak of ratings for Bellator as 68 was the third highest for the season.  It will be interesting to see if the ratings sustain for the final two weeks of the season as it features the semifinal and final rounds of its tournaments.  A stream of 160K plus viewers to end the season should be seen as a sign of improvement although the overall season average may not be better than prior seasons.

The fights were available online on via live stream for $9.95 with Diaz as the selling point for the card.

Cesar Gracie explained on his web site (via MMA Weekly) that Diaz’s absence at the event was due in part to mishandling of the event.  The crux of the explanation was that Diaz wanted to grapple with a jiu jitsu practitioner and not an individual aspiring to be an MMA fighter.  According to Gracie, it was represented that Estima was not training for MMA.  However, it was relayed later that Estima was planning to be an MMA fighter.  Also, Gracie explained that Estima was having issues making weight which apparently was the last straw.  Despite no-showing, Gracie stated Diaz donated money to St. Jude’s Childrens Hospital in the amount of money he would have made for the superfight.

Payout Perspective:

No-showing this past weekend probably hurt the Nick Diaz brand.  But, then again, this behavior is normal for Diaz.  Gracie’s explanation sheds some light on what could have been the problem causing Diaz not  to participate Saturday.  Certainly, Diaz’s absence hurt the event as many relied on his appearance — sponsors, vendors, fans in attendance and those purchasing the live stream online. Diaz’s explanation is plausible and his demand not to meet a grappler aspiring to be in MMA makes sense from Diaz’s point of view.

From a public relations perspective, it seems like Diaz, not Gracie, could have made the statement about the reasons for not appearing.  Regardless of the management of the event or the promises given about his opponent, many people relied on Diaz to appear at the event.  Even if he were to decline participation and just show up to sign autographs and/or conduct a demonstration it would save face.  With the no-show, it continues the stigma that Diaz does not play the game and hurts future appearance opportunities.

***
This week’s MMAterial Facts:

- Spike TV pulls a page out of the Antonio Inoki playbook with King Mo (Fight Opinion)

“What Spike TV is trying to accomplish with King Mo is an interesting experiment, one that they probably decided to emulate less on what happened in Japan and more on what’s happened with Brock Lesnar & Kurt Angle’s goofy deulsions of wanting to cross-over between the two industries. Lesnar being the #1 UFC PPV attraction immediately signaled the huge cross-over between pro-wrestling fans and MMA fans. MMA attracts less ‘real sports’ fans and more wrestling/entertainment fans. So, naturally, Spike TV put two and two together to try to pull off the experiment they are about to attempt here with King Mo.”

- Nick Diaz’s wild weekend in review: No shows Brazilian jiu-jitsu superfight against Braulio Estima (MMA Mania)

“But perhaps there’s more to the story. In fact, Diaz’s biggest supporter in the media, Middle Easy, has spent the better part of the past two days going to bat for him and proclaiming the promoters of the event were shady. There was also a weigh-in snafu with Estima, who apparently missed weight the day before but was able to make weight the day of the contest.
…
And somewhere in between someone was trying to switch up the rules. Or something like that. That’s what he said or she said or they said or someone said and somehow speculation became fact and vice versa and the entire ordeal is one big mess.”

- Phil Davis Vs. Chad Griggs Placed On UFC On FOX 4 Card (MMA Convert)

“Phil Davis will look to rebound from his first career loss in August when he takes on Chad Griggs.
…
The UFC announced the bout Monday for the August 4 UFC on FOX 4 card. The event will take place in Los Angeles, with Hector Lombard vs. Brian Stann set as the main event.”

- Dustin Poirier: ‘Fans Can Expect Everything From Me, Even The Kitchen Sink’ (FightLine)

“Right now I feel like I am the best I have ever been technically,” Poirier told FightLine.com. “I know I am still growing as a fighter, but this is the best I have ever felt mentally and physically. I’m ready to do battle, my nutrition, my workouts are at their peak right now. I’m ready for a main event fight and to go five rounds. I feel like I am a faster, more technically sound striker than Jung and I’m sure he believes the same things. I feel like I can out-wrestle him, my BJJ is just as good as his if not better, I feel as though I match up really well against him.”

- Gegard Mousasi out until at least November with torn ACL, has 6-7 fights left for Strikeforce (Five Ounces of Pain)

“I had one fight left. Then I was hoping maybe to go to the UFC after that, but then they offered me – they said we’re going to give you a new contract. So I signed for another six fights. Now I have a six (or) seven-fight deal, I believe, in Strikeforce,” explained Mousasi. “(Zuffa) said the Strikeforce fighters were going to stay with Strikeforce. And that’s the thing that it was, so we signed again.”

- Busy Week Awaits Zuffa (5thRound)

“After enjoying a brief 10-day hiatus, Zuffa, LLC comes storming back with a vengeance this week. The world’s most prestigious mixed martial arts promotion will be hosting a pair of shows on two different coasts within a 96-hour span.
…
“UFC on FUEL TV: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier” takes place Tuesday inside Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia. The freebie fight card is headlined by a pivotal featherweight affair between Chan Sung “The Korean Zombie” Jung and Dustin Poirier.”

- James Wilks announces retirement from MMA: spinal injury  (LowKick)

“Wilks told MMAjunkie.com: “It must have been from rugby because I was asked when my neck got broken, and I said I’d never broken it, and then they showed me the X-ray.”
…
The doctors advised him that he has severe spinal stenosis, which results in an acute narrowing of the spinal canal and that he would have a “significantly high risk of paralysis” if he resumed his professional fighting career.”

- Vinny Magalhaes selling M-1 championship (TheFightNerd)

“I will stray from chronicling the entire feud between M-1 light heavyweight champion Vinny Magalhaes and M-1 Global, but it seems that Vinny is now auctioning off his championship belt to the highest bidder on eBay. As of 11:30 PM on Sunday night (when I am writing this), the belt is going for $710, with nine days left to bid.”

- Georges St-Pierre Says He Is Open to Headlining UFC Event in January 2013 (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

“I’m at the last stage (of recovery). I’ll be back pretty soon,” St-Pierre said during an exclusive interview with Showdown Joe Ferraro on UFC Central.
…
St-Pierre said he hopes to make a full recovery by November, which could see the champion headline UFC 150 in Montreal.”