MMA News Discussion Thread

[Cory]

yep , you got to like that he self aware about what people are thinking about this fight.

my hope is he can get the fighting out of his system , heals up and comes back to wrestling one day. Still think he got a lot left to offer .

Especially when before it was really just him and Daniel Bryan for indy guys that deserved a push....now the landscape has changed outside of the booking/writing side that pissed him off. Balor, Owens, Zayn, Cesaro, Aries, Rollins, Neville, Harper, Samoa Joe he may want to reunited with his old buddies.

[Cory]

Un. Der. Whelming.

[Jon]

Un. Der. Whelming.

Please tell me you didn't think Brock was going to stand and bang with him....

[Cory]

Nope, I thought Hunt was gonna catch him early.

Clearly the boring fights were poor matchups stylistically, but I dont think Dana is too happy that the billed greatest card in UFC history will go down as an average PPV.

Everyone remembers 100 with the Hendo KO of Bisping and Brock mauling Mir...200 is maybe Miesha's gusher before she quit.

[Cory]

then again for it being an average PPV with all of the drama and changes maybe he'll be content.

Cain's KO and Nunes KO we're great, most of the bar wasn't too happy with the Aldo/Edgar fight but I personally had that or the Sage fight as my fight of the night it wasn't as good as it could/should have been but Aldo was INCREDIBLE tonight.

DC and Brock fights were snore-fests, as expected if you told me DC and Brock we're winners of their fights.

But damn, Nunes made Meisha quit....didn't even have the choke locked in and she was tapping, wonder if Meisha trained with Sage for the fight.

[Gravedigger]

Please tell me you didn't think Brock was going to stand and bang with him....

Yeah... Brock's job was to win, not have an entertaining slug fest.

[The TeeJ of Philly]

Seeing Anderson silva not in shape made me sad. Like seeing Dawkins in a Broncos' jersey sad.

But Brock remains the co-captain of Team Earth vs Team Aliens along with James Harrison.

[Cory]

and no fight of the night award kinda says it all.

[Jon]

Nope, I thought Hunt was gonna catch him early.

Clearly the boring fights were poor matchups stylistically, but I dont think Dana is too happy that the billed greatest card in UFC history will go down as an average PPV.

Everyone remembers 100 with the Hendo KO of Bisping and Brock mauling Mir...200 is maybe Miesha's gusher before she quit.

Cormier and Brock had to do what they had to do to win the fight. DC/Spider fight was extremely boring. But I didn't think the Brock/Hunt was that boring. Brock was fucking him up with his G&P, not sure why the crowd was booing. Wasn't like he was laying on him to waste time. He was doing some major damage. I was really impressed with Brock, because after he looked gassed in Round 2, I thought Hunt was going to get to him... but Hunt just was not able to close the distance because he was so scared about being taken down.

But I really enjoyed ALL the fight pass fights. The Sage fight was entertaining and his arm bar escape was really impressive. TJ/Assuncao fight was pretty good technical fighting. TJ/Cruz rematch is going to be awesome. Gast and Big Rigg was a really entertaining slugfest. Hendricks gassed again and he needs to find a better way to diet or I dunno, because moving to MW wouldn't be a good move for him I think. And Pena/Cat was a great fight.

On the main card, Cain was terrific. I quite enjoyed the Aldo/Edgar fight. Aldo looked like a man on a mission. McGregor cannot beat that Aldo... period... unless he catches him early again. Felt bad for Edgar as I really thought this was going to be his time, but he couldn't get in any type of rhythm. Like I said DC/Spider and Brock/Hunt were not barn burners, but they were what I pretty much expected. The Nunes win... that was crazy. I really didn't give her much of a chance against Tate and she straight up fucked her up. Maybe that Tate weight cut had more effect on her than I thought it would. Because you were right Cory... she pretty much gave in at the end there.   

All in all... I thought it was a really enjoyable night of fights. And given that the main event was removed two days before... I thought it was a successful night for the UFC.     

[Cory]

Sorry Jon.

[Jon]

Ugh... most undeserving title shot ever.

[Black Death]

brock is a freak of nature ... he pretty much beat up a top ten heavyweight after not being in a actual fight in two years.  unreal

We all got to get old, Anderson Sliva is still one of greatest fighters to every get into the octagon and nobody can take that away from him. Plus he took the fight on three days notice , huge props to him for that.

[Duckman]

From Wrestling Observer:

After months of speculation, the UFC has officially been sold.

The New York Times reported late Sunday night that the combat sports organization had been sold for over $4 billion to a group led by William Morris Endeavor (WME) and International Management Group (IMG).  WME/IMG is the same group that Jeremy Botter reported UFC being sold to a few weeks ago.

The papers for the sale were signed on Saturday, the day of UFC 200. The official announcement is expected to be made as soon as Monday.

WME/IMG, which represents talent including Dwayne Johnson and Ronda Rousey, beat out a conglomerate that included China Media Capital.

Among the financial backers of the deal are said to be Silver Lake, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and the investment firm of Michael S. Dell, who will become minority owners. Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell head WME/IMG.

The Times also reported WME/IMG has gotten financial backing this year for a major sale from SoftBank, a Japanese telecommunications firm and Titan Fidelity.

This marks the second sports property WME/IMG has taken over after purchasing the Professional Bullriders league last year.

The news of the sale was inevitable, but there was some uncertainty over what percentage of the company would be sold and whether Dana White would stay on with the change in ownership.

Both CBS 8 and TMZ confirmed that White will remain in his role as UFC president and that the Fertitta brothers will maintain a small stake in the company. White also told Brett Okamoto of ESPN that his role will be unchanged with him retaining a stake in ownership.

CBS 8 will have exclusive interviews with White and Lorenzo Fertitta on Monday morning.

ESPN's Darren Rovell first broke the news that the UFC was for sale in May. And after initial denials, it was widely reported that a bid of over $4 billion from the WME/IMG group had been accepted in June.

The Fertitta-led Zuffa corporation originally bought the UFC for $2 million in 2001 and were in charge of the promotion during its rise to national prominence.

Zuffa had just broken ground on a new campus that was to be its headquarters as well as a state-of-the-art rehab center and training center for its athletes in Las Vegas.

White and Flash Entertainment also had a minority stake in the company and are slated to get a massive payoff with its sale.

White reacted to the sale on Twitter with a smiling face emoji.

[Cory]

White responded to whether Rogan was staying on with a thumbs up, so that was my only concern with the sale that he was staying on and that looks like the case.

[Flins.]

I hope there is a change within the matchmaking though. I wasn't sure where the UFC was heading these last few years. They introduced the kits, re-packaged the production and introduced official rankings in an attempt to legitimise the sport... but at the same time maintained hokey matchmaking that MMA was built upon. It is stuck between the two and needs a clear direction. I am happy with either of them, but I have found the UFC stale these last few years. With McGregor being the only reason to tune in, imo.

Their stars are dropping quicker than they can market the next lot. GSP, Silva, Jones, Rousey. They could do with a shift in marketing as well. They need to find another way of getting these out there, rather than relentless pressers. Rumble Johnson should be a guy that people know outside of MMA! Might help if they'd didint have a CEO who publicly chastised his fighters on a regular basis.

And then of course there is the fighter pay...