mma / Columns

411 Fact or Fiction MMA: Will UFC Run New York Twice in 2016?

March 30, 2016 | Posted by Wyatt Beougher
Dana White UFC, UFC 249 WWE Image Credit: UFC

Welcome back to another week of the 411 Fact or Fiction MMA annual tournament, and I’m your host, Wyatt Beougher! Welcome back to the fourth week of the tournament, and we’re going to close out the month (and kick off April) with the quarterfinal bouts from the East bracket. If you’ve missed them to this point, the aforementioned brackets are here:

As I mentioned, we’re continuing with the quarterfinal action, with today’s bout moving over to the East side of the brackets, where top seed and defending tournament champion Jonathan Butterfield will be taking on Alex Rella, the only competitor to score an upset in the preliminary round. Today, they’ll be discussing the UFC’s plans in New York, Fedor again saying he’s open to negotiating with the UFC, and more. And if you missed any of the action and want to catch up, you can find all previous tournament bouts at the links below. Voting is closed for all previous contest bouts, but this is the first of two editions this week for you to vote on!

–2016.03.07: Preliminary Round – #4 Eric Moore vs #5 Dan Plunkett, West Bracket – closed
–2016.03.09: Preliminary Round – #3 Mark Radulich vs #6 Jonathan Solomon, West Bracket – closed
–2016.03.11: Preliminary Round – #2 Dino Zee vs #7 Stewart Lange, West Bracket – closed
–2016.03.14: Preliminary Round – #4 Robert Winfree vs #5 Alex Rella, East Bracket – closed
–2016.03.16: Preliminary Round – #3 Todd Bergman vs #6 Evan Zivin – closed
–2016.03.18: Preliminary Round – #2 Lorenzo Vasquez III vs #7 Jeffrey Harris – closed
–2016.03.23: Quarterfinal Round – #1 Todd Vote vs #4 Eric Moore – closed
–2016.03.25: Quarterfinal Round – #2 Dino Zee vs #3 Mark Radulich – closed

TALE OF THE TAPE
RED CORNER
Jonathan “Butters” Butterfield (#1 Seed, East)
Interviewer/Columnist, 411 MMA Zone
1-1-0

VS

BLUE CORNER
Alex “Little Mac” Rella (#5 Seed, East)
Contributor, 411 MMA Zone
3-4-1

1.) The UFC will not run two events in New York in 2016, as Lorenzo Fertitta has stated was their goal.

Jon Butterfield: FICTION I would say I almost certainly expect this to happen. The legalization of MMA in New York is a massive deal, not only because it means the sport is regulated and legal across the entire United States, but because of the massive appeal the sport will have hosting events in great stadia with such storied history such as Madison Square Garden. Clearly the biggest beneficiaries of this move are the UFC, who have long lobbied the passing of this bill last week (as has, it should be pointed out, many other promotions and figureheads).

What’s more, at least from what I’m aware of, the rules and regulations should be in place long before the year is out, and unless I’m making a glaring oversight, the UFC will have the entire final quarter or potentially more, to make things happen. Given how committed the UFC have been towards this particular cause, I’d be stunned if they didn’t try and carpet bomb New York state and a major PPV event at MSG alongside a potential Fight Night card elsewhere would more than whet the appetite.

Put it this way, if my surname is Fertitta or White I’m making the biggest possible deal out of this and two cards really doesn’t sound too outlandish or over the top. I guess it all hinges on dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s, but yeah, I expect this to happen.

Alex Rella: FICTION This could totally happen in a couple different ways. There is plenty of time to plan out two different New York City events for the end of the year. They could have events consecutively or nonconsecutively at any point from August to December. UFC 201-205 all need locations and there are plenty of Fight Night shows in between. I think it would be ideal to hold Fight Week at the end of December in New York City. UFC 205 could be held in MSG, a Fight Night card could be in the Barclays center, and a TUF Finale or other Fight Night card could be held in any of the smaller facilities in the market. Then there are so many facilities to hold the fan expos, the Jacob Javits Center would be perfect for this. NYC is the largest market in the country and since it’s new and exciting, they could definitely successfully hold two events.

Or they could take another route. It’s natural to sometimes only think of New York as Manhattan and the city itself, but New York is a huge state with multiple different markets. Buffalo, Albany, Rochester, Syracuse, and other cities could run a successful event. So the UFC could run one event in MSG in November and a December event in one of the other markets. So yes, I do think the UFC will run two events in New York and I do think it would be a good move.

2.) AXS TV CEO Andrew Simon is correct in questioning how much UFC Fight Pass actually benefits promotions like InvictaFC that air their events on the service.

Jon Butterfield: FACT From a literal standpoint, yes, he’s absolutely right to question how much being on UFC Fight Pass actually benefits those promotions. Any decision on that scale has to be questioned. That’s the boring, straight forward answer. But what Andrew Simon does not seem to possess, however, is much in the way of facts to really challenge those companies and how they’re operating. Simon simply speculates about how beneficial such deals are, he doesn’t cast aspersions about the in’s and out’s of the finances of companies like Legacy or RFA or even Invicta, other than to accept they seem financially healthy and are presently thriving. Well that’s got to be a good sign, hasn’t it?

A different kind of question is, is UFC Fight Pass really the right platform to get those companies to the next level? When you talk ‘global MMA’, some of the biggest hitters in history that come to mind are PRIDE, DREAM, Sengoku, ONE Championship, Strikeforce, Bellator, WSoF, and even the likes of M-1 Global and Affliction (briefly as they lasted). Those are bigger companies paying bigger stars bigger money, whereas most of the promotions on UFC Fight Pass are (or at least have been) second- or third-tier companies who generally operate as feeder leagues to the bigger boys. That’s not to try and run those guys down or anything, they seem to be doing a fantastic job right where they are – somewhere in the middle of the pack.

It all really comes down to your level of ambition, and perhaps more importantly, your financial muscle. Is UFC Fight Pass the right platform for Rizin FC? Absolutely not. Any outfit that sees themselves as any kind of competition the UFC, no matter how remote your chances of overcoming them, should be smarter than to sign a deal with a company that ensures your product lines THEIR pockets. But if that isn’t your goal, or at least perhaps your current goal, then who’s to say it’s a bad call or a bad idea? Andrew Simon doesn’t say it’s a bad call, he simply raises the question – do they really benefit sufficiently? For me, it’s a good question, but slightly redundant without the requisite facts.

Alex Rella: FICTION UFC Fight Pass and the smaller promotions that air on the network have a mutually beneficial relationship. UFC Fight Pass needs content to keep subscribers happy and these promotions need an avenue to air their fights. It is incredibly difficult for these smaller MMA promotions to find ways to air their shows. It’s unlikely a network will pay them to air their events and a pay-per-view format doesn’t work that well either. I enjoy Invicta and Titan FC, but I wouldn’t pay to watch them separately. This way the UFC pays these smaller promotions and that money goes a long way in keeping them going. I don’t think Invicta would be able to survive without the Fight Pass deal. It also sets up a business partnership between the UFC and these smaller promotions. Rather than ruthlessly purging them of their best fighters, the UFC is now more likely to respect them and compensate them for their talent taken.

3.) Donald Cerrone would submit Conor McGregor if the two met in a fight, just as Cowboy has claimed.

Jon Butterfield: FACT Hmm, tough one. As defending 411 Fact or Fiction tournament champion, my cynical side is saying “big up Conor, it’s easy votes!” – but I actually think Cowboy would submit Conor, but boy what an awesome fight it would be!

The really, truly great thing about Conor is he does not seem to be remotely intimidated by anyone. His confidence is, to date, unshakeable. In a rematch against Nate Diaz for example, I doubt Conor sees any reason to consider that he might not win, and he probably feels the same about everybody else. He’ll do his pre-show ritualistic character assassination, and then he’ll fight like a Celtic hero-in-the-making in an effort to back up every word. Most often, he’ll succeed. I think he’d have a decent shot at landing more on Cerrone that he would take, but again, we saw that last time out didn’t we?

For me, Cerrone would win simply because Cerrone can not only take punishment (unless it’s to the body, from a viciously powerful kickboxer…), he can dish it out on the feet AND is streets ahead of McGregor on the ground. While Conor can seemingly finish anyone at 145 in pretty short order, fighting legit tough guys with better rounded games at higher weight classes isn’t really a recipe for success. Having said that, I’m the kind of idiot who has bet against Conor in the past and made a complete ass of himself, so… you know…

Alex: FACT I’ll say yes, but I wouldn’t bet on it. I see the logic in it as Cerrone is an excellent grappler as most of his wins have come by submission and McGregor was just submitted by Diaz. Throw in the huge size advantage and yes I can see it happening. The only reason I’m not 100% behind it is that Cerrone likes to come out and strike. I think it is also entirely possible that McGregor catches him with a body shot that Cerrone has been susceptible to in the past. If I had to pick a winner, I would go with Cerrone by submission. I just wouldn’t want to put money on it.

SWITCH!

4.) While Luke Rockhold is seemingly dismissive of Chris Weidman going into their rematch at UFC 199, there is little chance it actually costs him when the fight rolls around.

Alex Rella: FACT Rockhold is just talking trash and still a little upset that he didn’t get his desired fight against Belfort. Rockhold has never been dismissive or unprofessional in the cage, so I see no reason why he would start now. Rockhold has never had a lax attitude while fighting and he would be a fool to not take Weidman seriously. Especially since his loss to Belfort, Rockhold has been a straight up killer in the cage. I highly doubt anything he says will change how he fights when the time comes.

Jon Butterfield: FACT Rockhold stated that he doesn’t feel “threatened” by Chris Weidman, and feels he’s the better boxer and the better grappler and that nothing is going to have changed on that score. The only thing he feels has changed is Weidman’s demeanour, and it seems Rockhold is putting that down to soreness and frustration, though I could be putting words in his mouth. He’s operating from a sound logical basis given that Rockhold took Weidman apart in the first fight, but while a lot of people (victors especially) have a tendency to expect results to basically repeat themselves like real life is some kind of simulator bound to certain statistical normalcies and percentages, I’m not a big believer in history echoing itself where so many variables apply. The UFC cage acts like a microcosm for that truth, and I’d like to remind anyone who assumed JDS was infinitely better than Velasquez on the basis of the whitewash that was their first fight what happened the second and third times they fought…Yeah, someone’s going to come back with “JDS got exposed as having a puncher’s chance”, but Velasquez fought poorly in the first fight and got it wrong, period. JDS was the beneficiary of that performance, but not the next two times.

Still, I think Rockhold WILL win again, albeit I expect a rather different, closer fight, and I think he might even be right when he says he expects a more emotional fight (and again, probably right when he says that’s not necessarily going to help Weidman). All in all Rockhold comes across as measured and confident rather than dismissive and indolent, and to be fair I can see why. I’d have liked Weidman to come back after a win or two, but with Romero basically tossing his opportunity in the sharps bin (get it?), I see why this fight has been made.

5.) In spite of Fedor Emelianenko again saying he’s open to negotiating with UFC and that he wants a rematch with Fabricio Werdum, there is no chance the Last Emperor signs with Zuffa at this point in his career.

Alex Rella: FACT It just isn’t going to happen and you’re an idiot if you think otherwise. Last year was Fedor’s last chance to sign with the UFC and he opted for Rizin FF instead. There’s nothing wrong with going to Rizin and people he’s done business with in the past, I’m just tired of hearing about a UFC deal that will never come. Fedor is 39 and he has multiple fights left on his current deal. He’s going to sign with the UFC at 41? I don’t see it happening and I don’t even care that much if it does happen by some slim chance. The two sides will never come to an agreement. Fedor fans should just enjoy his return on the smaller stage and forget these delusions of grandeur. He’s never coming to the UFC.

Jon Butterfield: FACT While it’s definitely wrong to say the boat has sailed on a Fedor-UFC deal given that any deal would almost certainly make both parties money, and that’s really all that matters, Fedor’s apparent willingness to fight elsewhere (and currently for the former PRIDE CEO over at Rizin) is really the biggest hindrance. It just depends what Fedor is demanding from Zuffa, and what he’s been demanding in the past has been too much for UFC to bow down to. Now especially they’re just not going to give him huge cuts of PPV revenue, and they almost certainly won’t give him an instant title shot either – though the latter would be infinitely more likely if they did indeed offer him a crazy deal. They’re not going to bother wasting time on tune up fights if Fedor is on a huge pay packet.

The only real possibility for this to go down is if Fedor effectively accepts more standard terms. Given his historical stance and apparent opinion that headliners should earn a large proportion of the money they are drawing, I don’t see this happening. The “what if” questions will continue to be asked.

6.) Chuck Liddell is correct: for as dominant as Jon Jones has shown himself to be inside the Octagon, he is capable of so much more.

Alex Rella: FACT Jon Jones is already in the discussion for greatest fighter of all time and he could still accomplish more. At only 28, he defended the UFC light heavyweight title 8 times, has defeated a long list of great fighters, and has never truly lost. If he can stay out of jail, Jones is likely to win his light heavyweight title back and he could even make a run at the heavyweight title if he wanted to. Jones is capable of becoming the all time greatest fighter in so many different ways, but it’s unlikely to happen since he can’t keep his shit together.

Jon Butterfield: FACT There’s no question Jon Jones is capable of more. While he’s been largely flawless, the one thing he hasn’t done is take more risks. The guy has shown he can outstrike the most competent of world class kickboxers, he can out-think the wiliest of veterans, and he can out-grapple the slickest of Jiu Jitsu players. At one point, Jones basically looked like the perfect fighter, and whatever holes his game held, he hid them so well he looked nigh-on invincible.

But the one thing Jones never really did was let it all go. I’m not saying Jones was afraid of taking risks, that notion is preposterous, but he also never really focused on winning as quickly as he could or making the kinds of scary statements he was clearly capable of. Some of his fights (Rampage, Belfort, much less his decision victories excluding Gustafsson) just went on longer than they needed to as Jones dominated and controlled fights comfortably. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but Chuck being Chuck, when a shark smells blood… well, you know the rest. Those blistering finishes, THOSE are what Jon Jones is capable of – and yet instead ‘Bones’ has favoured a methodical, foolproof approach that just isn’t as scintillating to behold.

But by god, it’s scary!

So who won? Did Alex score another upset or was Butters able to ride the momentum of a first-round bye into the semifinals? You’ve got until midnight eastern on Monday to vote, so make sure you make your voice heard!

And that’s it for today, but we’ll be back on Friday for the other East bracket quarterfinal! As always, if there’s anything you’d like to see featured in a future edition, leave your statement in the comments and I’ll add it in. Let me know what you thought in the comments or on Twitter. And please, be sure to vote!

Also, follow 411’s various and sundry zones on Twitter for your daily 411 fix!

411 Wrestling Zone Twitter
411 Movies/TV Zone Twitter
411 Music Zone Twitter
411 Games Zone Twitter
411 MMA Zone Twitter

More Trending Stories

article topics :

411 Fact or Fiction (MMA), Conor McGregor, Donald Cerrone, UFC, Wyatt Beougher

More Stories

loading