UFC 61 DVD Release Date

According to VideoETA.com, the UFC 61 DVD will be released on March 27, 2007. Finally, the fans will be able to bring home the 2 best fights of 2006:

• Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski 3
• Frank Mir vs. Dan Cristison

Let the countdown begin.

UPDATE: According to Deep Discount DVD..... Ultimate Iceman: Chuck Liddell will be released on the same day. This DVD was scheduled to be released in early 2006, and was delayed.

The UFC Rematch - By The Numbers

On December 30, 2006, the UFC presents Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz 2. It got me thinking about past rematches in the UFC. Are there any type of trends? Is there a better way to predict the outcome? The answers I found were interesting. I only used UFC rematches for research. Which means more then one fight between fighters must take place in the UFC for it to count. For the purposes of this study, I did not include the Couture/Belfort 2 fight due to the weird nature of the ending and the lack of proof it really showed with a legit outcome. All other rematches were recorded. Here are some interesting statistics:

OVERALL

• 31 Total Rematches
• 64.5% of the rematches ended like the previous fight.
  
• 35.5% ended differently then the previous fight. One of those fights is the Shamrock/Gracie 2 fight which ended in a Draw.
  

Now, this is just simple math. However, I wanted to go a step further and see if the length of time between rematches affected the outcome of the fights. And it did.

REMATCH: LESS THAN ONE YEAR

• 13 Total Rematches
• Only 2 created different outcomes (15.4%). The two fights were Lindland/Vitali 2 and Shamrock/Severn 2. The first Lindland fight was considered a fluke by many fans anyways. And the Shamrock fight was the worst in UFC history.

REMATCH: GREATER THAN ONE YEAR

• 18 Total Rematches
  
• 9 Different Outcomes (50%)

This is a MAJOR difference. Basically, if the rematch occurs quickly after the first fight, there is almost no chance for a different outcome. Now let's apply these numbers to the Liddell/Ortiz rematch.... And the possible GSP/Hughes 3 fight:

• This gives Tito Ortiz a 50% chance of beating Chuck Liddell. However, Chuck Liddell is 4-0 in rematches in his MMA career. This gives the statistical edge to Chuck.
  
• This brings new light to a possible Georges St Pierre vs. Matt Hughes rematch in 2007. Does Matt Hughes really want a quick rematch with such small odds of winning?

No matter how you think the upcoming rematches will pan out..... One thing is for certain..... Immediate Rematches in the UFC are not as warrented as they might appear to be.

Here is the overall list of UFC rematches:

• Ken Shamrock vs. Royce Gracie 2
  
• Ken Shamrock vs. Kimo Leopaldo 2
  
• Ken Shamrock vs. Dan Severn 2
  
• Ken Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz 2
  
• Ken Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz 3
• Dan Severn vs. Oleg Taktarov 2
• Oleg Taktarov vs. Dave Beneteau 2
• Pedro Rizzo vs. Tra Telligman 2
• Randy Couture vs. Pedro Rizzo 2
• Randy Couture vs. Vitor Belfort 3
• Fabiano Iha vs. LaVerne Clarke 2
• Don Frye vs. Mark Hall 2
• Don Frye vs. Gary Goodridge 2
• Guy Mezger vs. Tito Ortiz 2
• Chuck Liddell vs. Jeremy Horn 2
• Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture 2
• Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture 3
• Chuck Liddell vs. Renato Sobral 2
  
• Shonie Carter vs. Matt Serra 2
  
• Matt Lindland vs. Phil Baroni 2
  
• Matt Lindland vs. Falaniko Vitale 2
  
• Evan Tanner vs. Phil Baroni 2
  
• Matt Hughes vs. Carlos Newton 2
  
• Matt Hughes vs. Frank Trigg 2
  
• Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn 2
  
• Matt Hughes vs. Georges St Pierre 2
• Andrei Arlovski vs. Tim Sylvia 2
• Andrei Arlovski vs. Tim Sylvia 3
• Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar 2
  
• Rich Franklin vs. Evan Tanner 2
• Frank Mir vs. Wes Sims 2
  

MMA on DVD

Here is a list of upcoming releases:

• UFC 58: Franklin vs. Loiseau - 12/12/06
  
• UFC: Ultimate Knockouts 4 - 12/12/06
• Wanderlei Silva's Greatest Hits - 12/12/06
  
• Pride Bushido 7: Gomi vs. Azeredo - 01/16/07
• Pride Shockwave '05: Silva vs. Arona 2 - 01/16/07
  
• UFC 59: Arlovski vs. Sylvia 2 - 01/30/07
  
• UFC 60: Gracie vs. Hughes - 01/30/07
• UFC 7: Shamrock vs. Taktarov - 01/30/07
• UFC 8: Shamrock vs. Kimo - 01/30/07
• UFC 51 & UFC 52 Combo Pack - 02/06/07

UFC 57 is still only available through UFC.com. The Ultimate Ulimate '95 has been skipped over, as it took place between UFC 7 & 8. Hopefully they release the event at some point. The are no upcoming release dates for the last 3 "Ultimate Fighter" Series.

UFC on SpikeTV - 01/01/07

According to the UFC website, a UFC Fight Night Marathon is scheduled for January 1, 2007 from 9am to 7pm. Here is a breakdown (in order) of the events being shown:

• UFN 3 (01/16/06): Tim Sylvia vs. Assuerio Silva
• UFN 2 (10/3/05): Evan TPublishanner vs. David Loiseau
• UFN 6 (08/17/06): Diego Sanchez vs. Karo Parisyan
• UFN 5 (06/28/06): Anderson Silva vs. Chris Leben
• UFN 4 (04/06/06): Stephan Bonnar vs. Keith Jarinde

And on January 17, UFN 7 will be replayed at 9pm on SpikeTV, feature Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock 3.

Where is the love for the Marquardt Salaverry classic from UFN 1? Either way, this will give some fans a chance to catch up the majority of the SpikeTV fights.

MMA: The Splintering of a Sport

In the year 2000, the Ultimate Fighting Championship was sold to Zuffa, owned by Lorenzo & Frank Fertitta III. The brothers had a long history in the sport of boxing, with Lorenzo serving as the commissioner of the Nevada State Athletic Commission from November 1996 to July 2000. At the time, the small and loyal fan base cheered the change of ownership. As a fan of the sport, I feared that the "boxing men" would turn my beloved sport into another version of boxing. I guess it is only ironic that I now feel that Zuffa is our greatest hope in bringing organization and structure to Mixed Martial Arts. Let me explain....

When Zuffa purchased the UFC in 2000, MMA was a sport on the brink of extinction. In the United States, it was impossible to even purchase a UFC PPV unless you owned a dish. In Japan, Pride Fighting Championship was just becoming a popular entity with the famous 2000 Grand Prix taking place and the memorable 90-Minute legendary fight between Kazushi Sakuraba and Royce Gracie. Over the next few years, Pride continued to gain poplarity and the UFC struggled to attraction a mainstream audience.

In 2005, the sport completely changed. The debut of The Ultimate Fighter Reality Series brought in a legion of casual fans, and gave the UFC mainstream access through the cable station SpikeTV. It was a great time for fans of the sport. Over the next 18-Months, the landscape of the MMA scene has changed internationally. The two major companies are now going in completely opposite directions. The Ultimate Fighting Championship is pulling in 500,000+ PPV buys and is trying to break into the international markets in countries like Brazil & United Kingdom. Pride FC's future is in doubt after being removed from free TV in Japan. At the same time, we are starting to see a SPLINTERING OF THE SPORT like has never been seen before. These new organizations are typically being created by non-MMA people who have a lot of money and see an opportunity to cash in on a now popular entity. Here is the list of the bigger MMA organizations that have attempted to break into the sport recently:

• Bodog Fight: Started by Calvin Arye, the billionaire who earned his riches through an online gambling site. It has been reported that Bodog Fight has signed Fedor Emelianenko, the #1 Heavyweight in MMA.
  
• International Fight League: The first MMA "Team Fight League" featured on FSN.
  
• World Fighting Alliance: PPV oriented company, featuring Quinton Jackson, Matt Lindland, Heath Herring, and Ryoto Machida. Rectently postponed the December 9th PPV event.
  
• Strikeforce: California based MMA promotion featuring Paul Buentello, Frank Shamrock, Cung Le, & Josh Thomson.
  
• Showtime TV: Coming in February 2007, fans will now have 4 to 6 fight cards a year on this station.
  

How can this be bad for the sport? It's very simple. These newer organizations are splintering the sport. More than ever, we have Top 10 Level fighters competing with exclusive contracts to a variety of organizations. Based on past history, the majority of these companies end up going out of business over time. Look at the World Fighting Alliance as proof for this. The WFA signed "big fight deals" to fighters like Quinton Jackson, Ryoto Machida, Matt Lindland, and others. At first, this seems like a great thing. Fighters earning more money. How can that be a bad thing? Well, it is. The WFA put on one event, and has now postponed their second event. So now we have fighters signed exclusively to a fight organization that isn't even putting on fights. The UFC doesn't even have a chance of signing these fighters. So instead of seeing attractive match-ups like Quinton Jackson vs. Chuck Liddell 2, we get Quinton Jackson not fighting for over 6 months. How is this good for the sport? And don't blame the UFC for this. It has been reported that Rampage's agent might not have been getting all of the offers to his client (including Zuffa's).

A the end of the day, I find myself rooting for these new organizations to fail. I want to unify the sport. Not splinter it like a cheap boxing knockoff. It is for this reason that I find myself rooting for the Fertitta Brothers and the UFC. I hope they dominate the majority of the competition. I hope these want-a-be MMA organizations lose their money and stop splintering the sport I love. I want to be able to say that we have one World Champion for each weight class. That shouldn't be too much to ask for as a fan of Mixed Martial Arts.

UFC 65 Salaries & Thoughts

Keep in mind that bonuses are given out to these fighters, and the pay announced is not an entire picture of events. Total Announced Fight Purse is $457,000.

UFC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

• Tim Sylvia: $120,000 - Overall, he is paid correctly. He is underpaid based on his record and credentials. He is overpaid based on his PPV drawing power.
  
• Jeff Monson: $13,000 - Monson has made a total of $49,000 over 4 fights in 2006. At first this sounds like a fighter being underpaid. Heck, he had 16 wins in a row. Then you consider that the biggest win of his career is against Branden Lee Hinkle, and his pay seems reasonable.
  

UFC WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

• Georges St. Pierre: $58,000 - It has been reported that GSP has earned between $300,000 and $500,000 through additional pay and sponsors. He has been well taken care of.
  
• Matt Hughes: $75,000 - Like most Monte Cox fighters, he is underpaid for his PPV selling power. With a XYIENCE contract and other incomes probably being given, his overall payday was probably easily over the 6-figure mark.

REGULAR FIGHTS

• Brandon Vera: $40,000 - Correct Pay
• Frank Mir: $36,000 - Greatly overpaid based on his current talents. Could make a case for him making $2k/$2k.
• Joe Stevenson: $24,000 - Typical "Ultimate Fighter" level pay. Made $60,000 over 3 fights this year. That's a good pay day for a Non-Main Eventer going 2-1.
  
• Alessio Sakara: $10,000 - Should give every penny back for falling down like he did.
• Drew McFedries: $8,000 - A solid payday for a last minute replacement.
• Dokonjonosuke Mishima: $8,000 - In his prime, he would be worth at least $25,000 a fight. With his diminishing skills, this is the right pay level.
• Nick Diaz: $24,000 - Not a fan of Diaz, but I can't complain about this payday. He has had multiple UFC fights and should be compensated accordingly.
• Jake O'Brien: $12,000 - Good paycheck consider his
  
• James Irvin: $10,000 - I wouldn't be suprised if he got a bonus for the good show he put on. Technically an ugly fight that at least pleased the crowd.
  
• Antoni Hardonk: $6,000
  
• Sherman Pendergarst: $4,000 - All UFC fighters should be getting $5k minimum.
  
• Josh Shockman: $3,000 - Same as above.
  
• Hector Ramirez: $3,000 - Same as above.
• Gleison Tibau: $3,000 - Same as above.
  

UFC Rankings - December 2006

With the next UFC event not taking place until mid-December, I am posting the December 2006 UFC Rankings.

Heavyweight (265 lbs): Tim Sylvia

1. Brandon Vera
2. Andrei Arlovski
3. Jeff Monson
4. Marcio Cruz
5. Gabriel Gonzaga

Light Heavyweight (205 lbs): Chuck Liddell

1. Tito Ortiz
2. Renato Babalu
3. Rashad Evans
4. Forrest Griffin
5. Keith Jardine

Middleweight (185 lbs): Anderson Silva

1. Rich Franklin
2. Nathan Marquardt
3. Mike Swick
4. Travis Lutter
5. Yushin Okami

Welterweight (170 lbs): Georges St Pierre

1. Matt Hughes
2. BJ Penn
3. Diego Sanchez
4. Karo Parisyan
5. Jon Fitch

Lightweight (155 lbs): Sean Sherk

1. Joe Stevenson
2. Mark Hominick
3. Hermes Franca
4. Spencer Fisher
5. Kenny Florian