HBO shifting from boxing to UFC!!

[Hairdoo]

OCTAGON FIGHTS COMING TO HBO REAL SOON

New York, NY-Over the past couple of years, and really in the last six months, I’ve told you about Mixed Martial Arts, the Ultimate Fighting Championships, and its rapid rise in popularity. With periodicals like the New York Times, probably the main reason the UFC was (and is) barred in New York in the first place, now penning positive pieces and so on, you just knew that the UFC and HBO were going to come together.

DISCUSSIONS TURNED QUICKLY TO NEGOTIATIONS?



Sources close to both entities have admitted, “off the record,” that discussions soon turned into negotiations. It seems as if an announcement is forthcoming. Although there will be no deviation from the current boxing programming, HBO realizes, as do advertisers, that boxing fans are an older cut of society. The MMA, or in this case UFC, with great numbers of males 18-35 as fans, is where the masses are heading.

CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF BOXING SLICING ITS THROAT

For years, I have tried to wake boxing up. Unfortunately, the sport wouldn’t or didn’t want to listen. That decision on ESPN 2 Friday night is a classic example of why boxing is dying and MMA is thriving. TV analyst, Teddy Atlas, had the fight 118-110 for Naoufel Ben Rabah over Juan Urango. One judge tabbed the main event 117-111, this for Urango. Nobody is going to tell me that the knowledgeable Atlas, who recently released a pretty good book, was 15 points wrong. Not in this lifetime fight fans!

MIXED MARTIAL ARTS HITTING BALL OUT OF PARK!

When 18,000+ showed up a couple of months ago to see Frank Shamrock devour a wanna’ be, Gracie, in San Jose, CA, people in boxing were still in denial. While we know 15,000 showed up for the Matt Hughes-Royce Gracie match a fortnight ago in Los Angeles, we don’t have access to the Pay Per View numbers. That’s one of the things the UFC CEO, Dana White, is real funny about.

WHITE IN THE LAS VEGAS PAPER SUNDAY

Love him or not, White, himself a former amateur boxer, runs the UFC for Lorenzo Fertitta’s Zuffa Sports. Having made inroads like no one could have ever imagined, say three years ago, White has to be given the most credit. While he’s not a guy to cross, there have been those who have clashed with White and left the company. They were welcomed back though, when it became good for business.

NO START UP DATE MENTIONED

I’m told that this will be a multi-fight deal, and that the UFC (White) will be in a position much like a boxing promoter. What puts Dana White and the UFC at such a great advantage is the success of the Ultimate Fighter series on Spike TV. Besides great ratings overall, the show has become the American Idol of Martial Arts. The ad rates that Spike charges have doubled in cost and demand, all because of the strong male 18-35 demographics. That’s the real story here. As advertisers continue to duck boxing, they are flocking to Spike and the UFC.

written by Pedro Fernandez.


oh yeh for boxing the end is nigh...

[Majesty]

MMA shooting itself in the foot is bringing back these old time fighters for their stars to fight because there's no one else in the division thats as good. I would rather see a challenge then watch some one person dominate a division over and over against fighters I never heard of. What's a recent UFC superfight

[Hairdoo]

MMA shooting itself in the foot is bringing back these old time fighters for their stars to fight because there's no one else in the division thats as good. I would rather see a challenge then watch some one person dominate a division over and over against fighters I never heard of. What's a recent UFC superfight

superfights or not at least you get a winner... Don't get me wrong I'm a die hard boxing fan but this article is sadly true. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see MMA in the 2012 Olympics.

[Majesty]

Thing is, UFC needs superfights and champions in a division that can actually fight each other but it seems in each division they have one guy that just dominates everyone else in that one division and thats good enough for them. I would like to see someone actually Rival to Rich Franklin, Rival to Matt Hughes, Rival to Iceman Chuck, Rival to all those guys. In boxing there's at least potential superfights that can happen but the UFC seems content to have one major guy in a division dominate the division in each weight class.. no rivalries and no drama of fighters duckign each other and if there was any ring to settle it in it would be an MMA ring, where's the drama, where's the superfights where's the multiple stars in the same weight class or one above looking to fight each other? Where is it?

[1st rd ko]

not going to happen. whats next? wwe on hbo? no..........

[Majesty]

WWE in boxing as James Toney is getting closer to Yokozuna at this moment.

[ender]

MMA shooting itself in the foot is bringing back these old time fighters for their stars to fight because there's no one else in the division thats as good. I would rather see a challenge then watch some one person dominate a division over and over against fighters I never heard of. What's a recent UFC superfight

New champs taking on old champs is as old as fights themselves .

[Lionheart Lacy]

truthfully- mma is on the rise. most of their fights are exciting, more superfights, the fights jus happen, non of this nonsense about 'down the line....bigga n betta...' what bull.

in mma the fights happen very fast. it doesnt take 2 months to negotiate and two months to train.

ufc is not as exciting as pride but its good, if you think ufc is exciting then you';ll luv pride!!

[AdamGB]

The Olympic committee reluctantly keeps boxing... do you honestly think they are going to add even more contact sports? especially one like MMA?...

[Lionheart Lacy]

i think mma could become a olympic sport.

believe IT OR NOT, IN MMA YOU HAVE ALOT MORE THINGS TO LEARN AND TRAIN THAN IN BOXING.

Ufc on hbo...THATS THE FIRST STEP FOR MMA TO BECOME MORE POPULAR...

why wouldnt it? once every one knows about it and it is well televised, THE FANS WILL GET ALL THE MATCH UPS THEY WANT, WHEN EVER, LESS POLITICAL!

[AdamGB]

you a bigger variety of things to learn... but everybody is only capable of mastering so much... No one will ever perfect boxing, no one will ever perfect even one of the aspects of MMA... boxers will come a lot closer simply because they are focused on one thing... where as MMA fighters are generally average at a lot of things with one of two aspects they excell at.

Mark my words MMA will never become an Olympic sport... in the Olympics, boxing is more like fencing its so watered down... and a lot of the committee still wants to drop it... they will not take more combat sports on and I doubt MMA would work at the level the Olympic committee would want it diluted too...

[Lionheart Lacy]

ok maybe it wont become an olympic sport.

boxers will come a lot closer simply because they are focused on one thing... where as MMA fighters are generally average at a lot of things with one of two aspects they excell at.

in mma you could a fighter who is feared for their striking and has crap ground game, he will e taken tdown and submitted. then you get grapplers who are crap strikers, the striker will kepp the fight standing and knock the grappler out.

You often get great fighters like WANDERLEI SILVA and Fedor and nog, who are good at everything, striking and grappling, these guys are almost impossible to beat.

thats why there are exciting match-ups. when you get two fighter who are all rounders but their core is stand-up,... YOU ARE GUARANTEED A STAND UP WAR!!!

^^^^its alot more interesting thn boxing at times...^^^^

after saying this it may seem that i dont like boxing but infact i am a solid boxing fan, i can never miss a fight.

i wont mind seeing a good boxer go up against a good mma fighter...it'll be interesting!

[BoxingGorilla]

Boxing seems to sputter along to the die-hard fans who obsess over the outcomes and post religiously to an internet messeage board, but to the average fan it's pacing is perfect.

If there were any more PPV's a year than there are now you would need part-time employment to pay for them. It's hard enough to dodge your wife or girlfriend in order to see all the fights that are on now, more fights means more fights.

Spider-Man 3 comes out next May. I have waited a long time for it and have a long time left to wait, but when I am basking in the glory of it's opening credits the wait will seems all too worth it. It's the same for boxing, isn't it?

I think the long negotiations add to the seriousness of boxing. Sure, some of the fighters are out of shape and that's their problem. If they want to go in at a disadvantage it's their own foolish choice. Still, it's a career so they pick and choose.
MMA on the otherhand seems less like a career and more like a pastime. A "come one;come all" type of affair where you "step right up and test your skills." The times I have watched MMA I felt like they picked the fighters out of a mob who had gathered out back.

I think MMA may come into it's own but it isn't a threat to the already established sport of boxing. Boxing fans may start watching MMA but they will not abandon the sport they love to do it.

[frozensolid_702]

OCTAGON FIGHTS COMING TO HBO REAL SOON

New York, NY-Over the past couple of years, and really in the last six months, I’ve told you about Mixed Martial Arts, the Ultimate Fighting Championships, and its rapid rise in popularity. With periodicals like the New York Times, probably the main reason the UFC was (and is) barred in New York in the first place, now penning positive pieces and so on, you just knew that the UFC and HBO were going to come together.

DISCUSSIONS TURNED QUICKLY TO NEGOTIATIONS?



Sources close to both entities have admitted, “off the record,” that discussions soon turned into negotiations. It seems as if an announcement is forthcoming. Although there will be no deviation from the current boxing programming, HBO realizes, as do advertisers, that boxing fans are an older cut of society. The MMA, or in this case UFC, with great numbers of males 18-35 as fans, is where the masses are heading.

CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF BOXING SLICING ITS THROAT

For years, I have tried to wake boxing up. Unfortunately, the sport wouldn’t or didn’t want to listen. That decision on ESPN 2 Friday night is a classic example of why boxing is dying and MMA is thriving. TV analyst, Teddy Atlas, had the fight 118-110 for Naoufel Ben Rabah over Juan Urango. One judge tabbed the main event 117-111, this for Urango. Nobody is going to tell me that the knowledgeable Atlas, who recently released a pretty good book, was 15 points wrong. Not in this lifetime fight fans!

MIXED MARTIAL ARTS HITTING BALL OUT OF PARK!

When 18,000+ showed up a couple of months ago to see Frank Shamrock devour a wanna’ be, Gracie, in San Jose, CA, people in boxing were still in denial. While we know 15,000 showed up for the Matt Hughes-Royce Gracie match a fortnight ago in Los Angeles, we don’t have access to the Pay Per View numbers. That’s one of the things the UFC CEO, Dana White, is real funny about.

WHITE IN THE LAS VEGAS PAPER SUNDAY

Love him or not, White, himself a former amateur boxer, runs the UFC for Lorenzo Fertitta’s Zuffa Sports. Having made inroads like no one could have ever imagined, say three years ago, White has to be given the most credit. While he’s not a guy to cross, there have been those who have clashed with White and left the company. They were welcomed back though, when it became good for business.

NO START UP DATE MENTIONED

I’m told that this will be a multi-fight deal, and that the UFC (White) will be in a position much like a boxing promoter. What puts Dana White and the UFC at such a great advantage is the success of the Ultimate Fighter series on Spike TV. Besides great ratings overall, the show has become the American Idol of Martial Arts. The ad rates that Spike charges have doubled in cost and demand, all because of the strong male 18-35 demographics. That’s the real story here. As advertisers continue to duck boxing, they are flocking to Spike and the UFC.

written by Pedro Fernandez.


oh yeh for boxing the end is nigh...

this mma stuff is a fad
its going to take a lot more than ufc to dethrone boxing

[bigragu]

MMA shooting itself in the foot is bringing back these old time fighters for their stars to fight because there's no one else in the division thats as good. I would rather see a challenge then watch some one person dominate a division over and over against fighters I never heard of. What's a recent UFC superfight

the only superfights are happening in PRIDE...not the UFC.....and as for MMA taking over boxing ...That will never happen.......the UFC hasn't seen a dime from me since UFC 4..........