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UFC Cancels Jones-Henderson Show

Uh oh, this is NOT a good sign for UFC.


They were actually throwing around rumors about Hendo's knee on the radio show this morning, and apparently they were true.  The fact that the undercard for this show was so ridiculously weak due to product saturation and injuries that the entire SHOW had to be cancelled should hopefully be a wakeup call for Dana.  Probably not, but if ever there was a sign that they need to cut to 8 PPVs a year or less, this is it.    

Comments

  1. I never thought I would say this or even think of saying this but it would not surprise me if UFC is no longer in existence ten years from now.  Dana White, too much exposure, too many PPV's and a terrible television contract with FOX.

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  2. At least they conceded, and didn't attempt a garbage show for the sake of it.

    Still, whoops.

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  3. Slight T-Jack:

    OMG Jobber123... I remember when you had like 60 posts and no profile pic. I put you over and now look at you. Out-posting Drunk Murphy and Chin's kids.

    Let the backlash begin.

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  4. "Probably not, but if ever there was a sign that they need to cut to 8 PPVs a year or less, this is it."

    We've been saying that about the WWE since, I dunno, whenever the split-branded PPVs ended? Dana has made the same mistake that Vince made - overexposure.

    Dana has a tougher road because Vince has years of WWF/E & general pro wrestling history to keep him afloat. UFC runs the risk of being a very successful fad.

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  5. Nah. Even with the problems they've run into lately, UFC is still making a lot of money.

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  6. Why not just move the thing to free TV?

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  7. Well I mean  you don't want to interfere with Fuel's packed schedule...

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  8. I think he actually tripped the spam filter from so much posting the other day, which is why everyone's posts started disappearing for a while.  

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  9. LOLOL....

    The comedy writes itself.

    Now he is Jobber123: Master of Burials!

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  10. Agreed.  I can't dispute you on that.

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  11. They should have been doing this to begin with on some of the injury cards.  I think Faber/Barao was a wakeup call for the company.  Bad card with bad fights that left a rotten taste in everyone's mouth.  

    Still this will likely create some serious heat on Jones.  Jones/Sonnen would have sold at least 500,000 buys and would have been an easy squash match for Jones (Sonnen's only chance is winning by decision and he's not good enough to take Jones down sooo....).  Between his DUI and this, he's not making any friends at all.  He's getting real close to Anderson Silva territory where he can't be cut because he's so dominant but the second he stops winning...

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  12. Ugh, what a crappy situation.  I lost a little respect for Jones for turning down Sonnen.  Not that Chael deserved the title shot, but Jones could have saved the day. 

    Anyway, I could see how people think these cards are weak if they don't follow closely, but there were some fights on this card I was really looking forward to.  Sometimes the best fights on the card are ones you don't expect.

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  13. Lost a ton of respect for Jones. He seems like way too much business man than fighter.

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  14. That's like a baseball pennant race or something.  Watching Jobber go from last place to first place in a matter of weeks.

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  15. Yeah. I think that UFC may lose in popularity in the next little while if they don't fix up they're overexposure but they've made the company into a genuine sports entity. Before I responded to this post, I read the news of UFC 151's cancellation on several top sports sites.

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  16. They have to cut down the shows, all of them, PPVs, TV cards, etc. The roster is dropping like flies.

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  17. I want to disagree but PRIDE went from juggernaut to gone in about 2 years due to their TV problems and yakuza involvement. 

    The UFC could easily die off in the US if someone drops dead in a big match or if it comes out that fights are fixed.  To Dana/UFC's credit, their fights are much less likely to be fixed than any other major organization basically ever in MMA (UFC likely hasn't had a fixed fight in 10 years) but really all it would take is an insinuation from someone that would do serious damage.  If Mayhem or Sonnen ever decide they want some attention they could cut about 1/4 of the value of the UFC just by giving 1 interview to ESPN. 

    Having said that, their business model is pretty solid as is.  Their PPVs do "disappointing numbers" that are still over double what WWE is doing and they're collecting money from Showtime and Fox hand over fist.  They have expansion options for Europe and Asia that are mostly untapped and/or under served and they could always just sell their rights to ABC/ESPN if the Fox thing doesn't work out. 

    As long as the only problem they face is bad business they'll be perfectly fine.  There are just too many outside variables that could harm them to make me 100% certain about their future though.

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  18. Great point.  I also thought PRIDE was going to be around forever.  That's why I am kind of worried about UFC.  

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  19. The UFC has enough fighters and enough championships that a schedule of one PPV and one free card (on FOX/Fuel/FX whatever) per month is perfectly manageable.  The UFC got greedy and tried to have three PPVs in August and September, which lead to a one-fight show (UFC 150), a cancellation and now the one in Toronto in September that looks decent thanks to Jones/Machida but before was looking pretty barren with just the unproven flyweight titleists on top. 

    I think the UFC was already responding to the trend of "one big main event and a nothing undercard" by loading up forthcoming events.  The PPV in Brazil in October is stacked with big names, the next FOX card in December is stacked and the PPV in late December is looking big as well.  Wouldn't surprise me to see the November PPV in Montreal get at least one big co-main event added as a failsafe in case St. Pierre or Condit gets hurt at the last minute.

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  20. If anyone's following this, the heat is coming in on Greg Jackson instead of on Jones (for now). 

    Dana quotes:
    "Greg Jackson should never be interviewed by anybody again, except by a psychiatrist"
    "I'm very confused by his whole fuckin business plan.  I don't give a shit what Greg Jackson thinks.  Guy is a fuckin weirdo, man"I believe he's slightly upset at the situation.

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  21. no ones as business as "terry"

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  22. Well, in all fairness, Jackson is a little strange.

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  23. scott you should make a contest first poster to 3,000 gets an autographed pair of your boxers ....  I could see Mr. Chin going into hyperdrive with the "kids" for that.

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  24. he no sells, than hulks up and makes 20 posts at once!

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  25. 12 PPVs a year is fine. Not sure where 8 is coming from. That wouldn't be nearly enough for the company's roster.

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  26. Anderson Silva has nothing to apologize for.

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  27. I don't know. It seems unreasonable to me to expect the world champ to take a fight against a new opponent on 8 days notice. I don't blame him and personally i'd rather see the machida rematch. Jones fucking zombie strangled him in the last fight. This one should be pretty good.

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  28. I think a lot of people when they call the card "weak" are referring to it from a business standpoint. Outside of the Jones/Hendo match you didn't have the starpower needed for a decent FX card, let alone a PPV.

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  29. Damn super underdog Sonnen vs Jones would have been cool too. I mean I understand Jones' point of view but come on if you win that fight, which he would have you look like the ultimate badass taking on all comers

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  30. If your supposed to be the best fighter on the planet, you should be able to beat a 185 guy moving up on 8 days notice. And the funny part is that Jones doesn't even want to fight Machida either.

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  31. Woah sorry about that Scott. First time I was able to watch Raw live and be near a computer (can't type that much on a phone) and I noticed how close I was so I just decided to go for it.

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  32. Great point about PRIDE. I think UFC would survive in some shape because it does have a solid cult following but they may have to cut way back and become far less mainstream than they are now. It sucks that last show on fox bombed in the ratings because thats about the best product UFC could put out for mass consumption.

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  33. All Jobber needs is this.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU9Uwhjlog8

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  34. In all seriousness wouldn't it better to just have the two hours on FX BE the show that night, rather than canceling it altogether? I suppose anyone who paid huge money for ringside would be pissed if Jake Ellenberger vs. Jay Hieron was their main event, but I would think it's more lucrative to have basically a house show than scrapping it.

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  35. Jones has absolutely NOTHING to gain from accepting the fight.  If he beats Sonnen, he beat an undeserving, undersized, unprepared challenger who has zero credibility at LHW in 2012.  So even if he wins, BFD.  Meanwhile, Sonnen has everything to gain: he looks like a badass for moving up to LHW, on short notice, without any preparation and beating the unbeatable champ.

    Dana is acting like such a petulant child (NO WAY~!!!).  He's bitching about Jones being selfish because the rest of the fighters will miss a payday?  Nothing's stopping DANA from paying them.  If it's that big a deal to him, he'd pay them out of his own pocket.  Why is it Jones' responsibility to make sure everyone else gets paid?  He's in a sport that is always 1-on-1; go figure a fighter would think of themselves.

    BTW is there any reason Machida can't fight Sept. 1 but will be ready to fight Sept. 22?  Is it a commitment issue or is Sept. 22 moving it up already to where the 1st is too far in advance?

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  36. I see it the opposite way: if Jones wins, who cares?  He would be expected to beat a middleweight who wasn't training for a fight.

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  37. co-sign 100%, well put sir.

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  38. I wonder if this means that Scott will finally have money to purchase a TNA PPV...

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  39. No need to apologize.  Mad props for showing how much you care about THIS BUSINESS of blog comment posting.

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  40. For Machida.. he may have had a 30 day non-contact suspension from his FOX fight a few weeks ago.   Other options: he said he couldnt be ready in 8 days but could be by the 22nd or Jones wasnt going to accept any last minute changes

    As for paying them, I assume the UFC will pay them their "show money" but there is still the loss of win bonuses, post fight bonuses and sponsorship money they wont receive.   

    Not blaming Jones for saying no for the reasons you stated and like Scott said, if Zuffa wasnt trying to milk an entire PPV just to watch Jon Jones and had built a solid undercard they couldve saved the event... but they didnt and Jake Ellenberger vs Jay Hieron was gonna be the main event

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  41. Jones's "thing" seems to be making money.  He's lukewarm on fighting Machida again because the first card didn't draw enough and he doesn't want to put his title/reputation on the line for something that won't make him much money.  It's not even speculation, just his own words.

    And of course that doesn't make sense since Chael Sonnen = buys.  Even though he's illegitimate and only has 8 days to make a story out of himself, it's Chael, he can definitely do it.  Chael/Jones probably draws more buys and more cash than Hendo/Jones.

    So if the guy's whole schtick is doing what it takes to make money and be a star, having Chael Sonnen fall into his lap is one of the greatest things imaginable.  Not only is he going to make money, he's going to come off like a super-face against the super-heel that is Chael.  It's probably driving Dana nuts that Jones is turning down this huge wad of cash since it's not like Chael is good enough to earn a shot at 205.  This is Jones's only bite at the apple while it's still tasty.

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  42. UFC is now officially boxing, politics has taken over... I agree with Scott that they badly need to cut down on events, especially with their TV events oversaturating the market and watering down the cards.

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  43. According to Dana, Machida was already en route to Brazil when this went down.  

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  44. Have you SEEN the UFC on Fox 5 card?  The Lightweight Championship, a #1 contender Light Heavyweight match, and BJ Penn making his return against a total beast.  Don't know if I'd call that lackluster.  I don't think there was a bad fight on "Fox 4", and 1 was the Dos Santos/Cain event.  

    I'll grant that the 2nd and 3rd events didn't live up to their potential, but getting 3 out of their first 5 right isn't a bad way to start their network TV venture.  

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  45. I know nothing about training for MMA, but what's with all the injuries lately?  Do these guys just need to learn how to train safely?  I know there's a lot more to MMA than boxing, but you don't see this problem with big-time prize fights. 

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  46. It's easy to say "the UFC has too many PPVs", and on one hand I agree.  But on the flip side, without PPVs for the younger guys to be showcased on, it's harder for fighters to work their way up the ranks to become bigger stars.  Yes, there's the FX, Fox & Fuel TV cards, but everyone wants the Fox cards loaded with established names, and the FX & Fuel shows just don't have the same swagger as a PPV. Guys like Chris Weidmann & Rory MacDonald need the bright lights of PPV to give them credibility to eventually be seen as headliners.  

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  47. UFC on FOX 2 had name value, but lackluster fights.  UFC on FOX 3 lacked the big name, but turned out to be on helluva show.

    That said, UFC on FOX 5 will be epic, IF everyone stays healthy...

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  48. It's different than wrestling though.  In MMA, guys aren't really known UNTIL they're in a title fight.  I had zero idea who Jon Jones was before the fight where he won the belt, and the same can be said for a lot of other guys (Benson Henderson, Frankie Edgar, etc).  I learned about him in the build-up to the title fight.

    So the thing is, the guys earn their spot with wins... and once they get a shot, they have to make the most of it.

    Although I do think that 1 PPV a month is plenty, and that the Ultimate Fighter seasons should build to a WrestleMania level event each time.

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  49. I like the way you think. But its not quite wrestling booking. Sonnen vs Rampage would be a cool fight

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  50. I wonder what Sonnen's answer would've been if, instead of replacing Henderson in a title fight, he had been asked to fill in for a 3rd-from-the-top LHW fight vs. someone like Shogun or Rashad on 8 days notice with no title implications.  Does anyone think Chael takes that fight?  Offer anyone the opportunity to win the Holy Grail of their sport without having to earn the shot and they'd jump at the chance.  Think the Cleveland Browns would say no to playing in the Super Bowl if it were moved to tomorrow?

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  51. The injuries were always there. The difference is that now fighters are under Zuffa-purchased insurance, including while training. So while before if they got hurt, they still fought so they got paid, now they are willing to pull out because the insurance will take care of the injury.

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  52. Dana needs to stop beating around the bush and tell us how he really feels.

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  53. True, but with WWE it's far worse because you are seeing the same guys perform week in and week out on TV *and* PPV, as opposed to UFC where even if you get 12 PPVs a year, it's spread out over weight classes and rosters.

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  54. Yes! This! People don't have any idea how much work goes into training to beat a chosen opponent.

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  55. And now if things weren't crazy enough, Machida has turned down the fight against Jones.  So the new main event of UFC 152 (or is it 151 now?) in Toronto will be Jones defending the LHW title against....Vitor Belfort?!  That's right, Vitor stepped up and is getting the match, and thus is now not facing Alan Belcher in Brazil in October.

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  56. Plus the fact that Anderson Silva offered to fight on the 151 card against another LHW.

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  57. Nope. 151 is being stricken from the records.

    Can you say "Clusterfuck" 

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  58.  What people are also forgetting is that this card HAD a big co main event, but lost that one to injury as well.  It;s not like this was a one-card fight from the beginning.

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  59.  "Offer anyone the opportunity to win the Holy Grail of their sport
    without having to earn the shot and they'd jump at the chance."

    Machida turned it down. As did Gustafsson.

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  60. Anderson Silva is freaking awesome.

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  61. Machida's shot would've been earned, which is the difference.  If he loses, he won't get another one for awhile.  Gustafsson is also close to earning a title shot.  Both have a lot to lose by taking the fight on short notice.

    Sonnen has zero credibility at LHW so if he loses, he hasn't lost any ground.  He would've needed 3 wins at LHW to even be considered #1 contender according to Dana so if he loses to Jones...he still needs 3 wins at LHW.

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  62. I realize everyone stopped caring about this seven months ago, but it still grinds my gears that they didn't just make this an FX show headlined by Hieron vs. Ellenberger, with prelims on Fuel. The show was going to be on Labor Day weekend, and a lot of people were coming in for it. They always say the card's subject to change. I just think that since they spent the advertising money and ended up paying the fighters, might as well have still staged a show.

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