Gabriel Posted July 29, 2009 Report Share Posted July 29, 2009 For reference, Powerhart... the Dana White Press Conference for Friday had been announced last week. They've been talking to Fedor, no doubt, since then, but there is so much going on right now, that even if The Last Emperor doesn't sign a deal, whatever is announced on Friday will still be huge. That said, I expect Emelianenko's press conference tomorrow will just be him saying "I have signed a contract to fight in America again soon." Then either a UFC announcement on Friday, or an unlikely, but very possible, announcement by Strikeforce that he will compete for them on the 15th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Kiniski Posted July 29, 2009 Report Share Posted July 29, 2009 Sherdog is reporting that UFC has picked up the Rothwell-Gormley bout from the Affliction card and has it set for UFC 104. I'm excited, to say the least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Powerhart Posted July 29, 2009 Report Share Posted July 29, 2009 oh sorry, my bad. But if Strikeforce scored the signing of Emelianenko.. they could jump to a whole new level, perhaps not instantly though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriel Posted July 29, 2009 Report Share Posted July 29, 2009 oh sorry, my bad. But if Strikeforce scored the signing of Emelianenko.. they could jump to a whole new level, perhaps not instantly though. If Fedor agrees to fight in Strikeforce, it will likely just be a one-fight deal so that he can fight now since he's been training, and so that Strikeforce can use him to replace all the fighters who've had to drop out of the supercard. His price tag is probably far too large for Strikeforce to commit to any long term deal, and they're not stupid enough to (I don't think). They've been fairly good about their business model and finances... but if you're paying Frank Shamrock $500,000 to get beat up like a girl, I don't see how they can justify not taking a serious run at signign Emelianenko. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asuka's Gonna Kill You Posted July 29, 2009 Report Share Posted July 29, 2009 No network TV deal just yet... but Uk'rs can rejoice: The American TV giant - owned by Disney - are understood to have secured the rights to broadcast the MMA promotion's biggest events, starting with UFC 101 next month. Following the collapse of Setanta in June, British fans have been left wondering where they will be able to get their next fix of top-level mixed martial arts on TV. Earlier this month, UFC 100 was screened on the defunct Racing World channel after the MMA outfit purchased airtime for the event. But now, well-placed parties involved on both sides of the negotiations between ESPN and the UFC have hinted an announcement will be made by the end of this week. We understand a deal has been agreed between the two parties and UFC president Dana White has called a press conference on Friday to announce the news. ESPN launch their UK channel on August 3 and their cameras will be at the Philadelphia Wachovia Centre to shoot UFC 101 on August 8. Our ESPN source said: "We're on the brink of having lots to share, just waiting for the ink to dry on a couple of things." UFC refused to confirm a deal had been completed but a source close to the discussions did say: "You've got good ears" when we asked for a comment after relaying our information to them. ESPN executives were special guests of UFC president Dana White at UFC 100 and a network TV deal in the United States is also expected to be announced. There are also reports former light-heavyweight champions Tito Ortiz and Vitor Belfort could return to the Octagon as part of White's announcements. ESPN UK will have UFC rights and will air all their shows. Update: "ESPN executives were special guests of UFC president Dana White at UFC 100 and a network TV deal in the United States is also expected to be announced." So yeah.... ESPN UK, ESPN on ABC in the states.... there ya go. And potentially Fedor (looking more likely as hours go by) Awesome news. Just a question for anybody UK wise, is ESPN going to be a same type package deal as what Setanta was in terms of price? I haven't read anything about it anywhere yet, so I'm just wondering how much it's going to cost on a monthly basis and whether it's also still available through freeview. Thanks for the great women insight as well Biggz, enjoyed reading over that and gave me a chance to read up a bit more on the women's state of things (Y) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrilla Posted July 29, 2009 Report Share Posted July 29, 2009 ESPN will be nine pound a month from what I've heard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACCBiggz Posted July 29, 2009 Report Share Posted July 29, 2009 (edited) Thanks for the great women insight as well Biggz, enjoyed reading over that and gave me a chance to read up a bit more on the women's state of things I forget the site which I pasted that from, all credit goes to them. Virgin Media and ESPN Announce Channel Deal Ahead of Premier League Football Season Sports fans can now get ESPN channels as part of Virgin Media’s XL pack for no extra cost LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Virgin Media (NASDAQ:VMED) and ESPN today announced that the new ESPN channel will be available in both standard and High Definition (HD) to Virgin Media’s 3.5 million digital TV customers from 3rd August. The ESPN channel will offer live Barclays Premier League and Clydesdale Bank Premier League football as well a wide range of international football and top quality sports. Customers who subscribe to Virgin Media’s XL TV pack will be able to watch ESPN and ESPN HD at no additional cost. As part of the deal, these subscribers will also receive ESPN Classic, featuring the greatest moments of UK and European sport. Dedicated sports fans who are on Virgin Media’s M or L pack will be able to subscribe to ESPN and ESPN HD for a great value price of £8 a month if they already subscribe to any combination of the Sky Sports channels, or £10 a month if not. As a special introduction to the new ESPN and ESPN HD channels, Virgin Media will make these ESPN channels available to all of its digital TV customers, for no additional cost, during August. Mark Schweitzer, chief commercial officer of Virgin Media, said: “This agreement solidifies Virgin Media’s place as the home of TV entertainment and is unquestionably the best value TV deal for sports fanatics. We’ve got all the sports content you’d expect and adding the new ESPN channels to our line-up will mean our customers can watch all the football action they want.” Mr Schweitzer added: “We’re always looking for ways to go the extra mile for our customers and we think this market beating offer does this in spades as well as providing a sweetener for the start of the football season. We are extremely proud to have partnered with ESPN, which is the world’s leading multimedia sports entertainment company.” Lynne Frank, managing director for ESPN in Europe, Middle East and Africa said: “We are delighted to add Virgin Media as a new distribution partner and to offer millions more sports fans ESPN’s compelling mix of Barclays Premier League and Clydesdale Bank Premier League football, as well as the best of international football and top quality sports. The plan to make the channels available to Virgin Media’s XL customers will help ESPN better serve sports fans in the UK. It’s an exciting season ahead and we look forward to bringing our new channels, ESPN and ESPN HD as well as ESPN Classic, to as many sports fans as possible.” ESPN’s new channel ‘ESPN’ will launch on 3rd August in both standard definition and HD. It will showcase 46 live Premier League football games during the 2009/10 season and 23 matches for each of the following three seasons. ESPN will also show 30 live and exclusive Clydesdale Bank Premier League games each season across the UK and Ireland, starting with the 2009/10 campaign this August. The channel will also broadcast other top international sporting events, which will be announced shortly. The first live Barclays Premier League game on ESPN will be Everton versus Arsenal with a 5:30pm kick off on Saturday 15th August. If this is big news it may deserve it's own thread. Oh, and you'll also get MLS games from the states, enjoy. Also, I'm not sure how long this deal has been known - this article was from about two hours ago. Which, from all accounts, makes the ESPN on ABC deal look even more likely now that there is a release of information for ESPN in the UK. Edited July 29, 2009 by ACCBiggz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACCBiggz Posted July 29, 2009 Report Share Posted July 29, 2009 The same guy who wrote the report that they were finalizing a deal says: "Second source close to Fedor Emelianenko confirms "intense negotiations" between fighter and UFC, declines to say it'll be done by friday. Just filed an update on ufc-fedor negotiations. They continue but are complex and will likely drag past ufc friday conference call. And M-1 still says no Fedor in UFC without co-promoting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitzy Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Paul Daley signed with UFC. Good addition, especially to add to their UK cards. I can see them putting him against Marcus Davis real soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACCBiggz Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Here we go; I fucking hate M-1: - The UFC offered Fedor a 6 fight, 30 million dollar contract. That's 5 mil a fight - The UFC offered Fedor an immediate title shot - Lesnar/Fedor would be the biggest PPV in MMA history (we assume), and the UFC offered M-1 Global a cut of the PPV on top of Fedor's purse. - Fedor was free to wear as many M-1 logoed items as he wished. - The UFC also relented on allowing Fedor to compete in combat sambo. Apparently, for good or bad, M-1 refuses to sign a deal unless the UFC agrees to co-promote. From Dave Meltzer via Watch Kalib Run: The only thing we can say on the subject is that two different sources have told us negotiations between UFC and Fedor have fallen through again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LL! Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Paul Daley signed with UFC. Good addition, especially to add to their UK cards. I can see them putting him against Marcus Davis real soon. Marcus Davis will kill that bitch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Kiniski Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Fedor needs to just cut ties with M-1 at this point. He is at the point to where it is hurting is reputation more than helping his career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriel Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Fedor needs to just cut ties with M-1 at this point. He is at the point to where it is hurting is reputation more than helping his career. Fedor IS M-1. He's a partial owner of the company. What they're trying to do, is strong arm the UFC into presenting them as an equal, so that when Fedor does retire or leave, M-1 Global becomes an instant player in the MMA race. As it stands, they're a bit player, who happen to have one thing that everybody wants, but that very few people want bad enough to take the bag of garbage that comes with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plubby Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Can someone explain to me (as someone who knows of Fedor only as a name) who M-1 is, why they have any say...and what exactly co-promoting is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACCBiggz Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Can someone explain to me (as someone who knows of Fedor only as a name) who M-1 is, why they have any say...and what exactly co-promoting is? M-1 is a promotion company, per say. They have say because Fedor's manager is in control of it (and apprently Fedor owns a portion, is that right). As far as co-promoting... imagine WCW at its height with the nWo, and the WWF is struggling of course and they say, "Hey, you can use Bret Hart for your next PPV as long as it's WCW and WWF present Starrcade". And then the WWF gets 50% of all revenue from event. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZJ Penn Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 Ugh. M-1 are fucking idiots. And now I know it's going to really grind my gears when after Lesnar next fights they release an interview all: "We still recognise Fedor as number one and are very open to a Lesnar fight". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACCBiggz Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 UFC on ESPN UK confirmed The ESPN UK channel will launch on Monday August 3rd on Sky Channel 417 and in High Definition on Sky Channel 443. “ESPN’s aim is to serve UK and Ireland sports fans by bringing the very best of both domestic and international live sport to their living rooms. We are delighted to add UFC… to our growing portfolio of live sport,” said Jeroen Oerlemans, ESPN’s Vice President, TV Channels Europe, Middle East and Africa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IJS Posted July 30, 2009 Report Share Posted July 30, 2009 So the UFC isn't on Setanta in Ireland anymore? Or is this just the UK? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZJ Penn Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 Tito Ortiz has more or less said that he's re-signed with the UFC to be announced today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitzy Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 (edited) From the UFC Media Conference Call today - During a media conference call today, UFC president Dana White confirmed Ortiz has re-signed with the organization. No debut date has been set, but Ortiz hopes to fight before year's end, and White said it could be against Mark Coleman. - Following the demise of Affliction Entertainment, Vitor Belfort (16-8 MMA, 7-4 UFC) has signed with the UFC, replaced Dan Henderson (25-7 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and will fight Rich Franklin (25-4 MMA, 12-3 UFC) in the main event of UFC 103. Okay, a better main event, but I thought Vitor was being brought in to be the next middleweight challenger for Anderson Silva? Reason for the change? "Fans didn't like it, so we changed it," White said. White also said that Henderson will now most likely get the Middleweight title shot instead. Also, LC Davis vs. Javier Vazquez has been moved to WEC 42. Good additions to WEC. Two more Affliction fighters find a way into UFC as Dan Lauzon returns and will most likely face Rafaello Oliveira at 103. Edited July 31, 2009 by Fitzy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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