Bellator takes big bite at Big Apple
Bellator MMA’s Madison Square Garden debut Saturday is a big statement from the Viacom-owned outfit, as it stockpiles erstwhile UFC stars and enters the pay-perview market with a philosophy closer to that of boxing than the UFC.
“To come out of the gates with the biggest show that we could possibly put together, it lets the world know that Bellator is in the pay-per-view business and we’re here to stay,” said Bellator president Scott
Coker, founder of Strikeforce MMA, which the UFC bought in 2011.
Viacom purchased Bellator in 2011, shortly after the UFC left Spike TV network for Fox. Since then, the deeppocketed media conglomerate has consistently ponied up for any and all name talent that’s come on the market, regardless of shelf life or prospects. Saturday’s top bouts pit Chael Sonnen against Wanderlei Silva — a grudge match the UFC tried to put together several times years ago — and Russian heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko against Matt Mitrione, Emelianenko’s first U.S. bout in six years.
In addition, recent UFC departure Lorenz Larkin is in a welterweight title fight against Douglas Lima, and top-five light heavyweights
and UFC ex-pats Phil Davis and Ryan Bader headline a free Spike pre-show vying for Bellator’s light heavyweight belt.
Bellator also stocked up on supporting cast with UFC ties, hiring announcer
Mike Goldberg, the voice of UFC fights for two decades, to debut Saturday alongside Showtime boxing analyst and former WWE voice
Mauro Ranallo. Those signings ended the Bellator run of Celtics radio voice Sean Grande.
Coker said Bellator is targeting two to three pay-perviews next year, following the “boxing model” — doing pay shows only when the most marketable fights present themselves. It’s a different approach from the UFC, which schedules pay cards every month and then seeks headliners for them.
In Sonnen vs. Silva, Bellator sees the requisite cache. The two infamously threw down on the set of UFC’s “Ultimate Fighter” show in 2014 and taunted each other ad nauseam, but never met in the cage due to a range of snafus related to doping tests.
Sonnen, 40, is coming off a swift loss to Tito Ortiz, after which Ortiz retired. He isn’t backing off the stigma of that loss.
“I lost to the worst guy in the sport, that makes me the worst guy in the sport — that doesn’t sit very well,” Sonnen said. “I made some changes. I’ve had bad days before and I’ve turned them into good days. That’s the way that it goes.”
Silva, 40, hasn’t fought in four years and recently uprooted from from his longtime base in Las Vegas to his native Brazil. He has been cryptic in explaining his desire to punish Sonnen.
“He know what he doing over here, he know what he deserves,” Silva said. “He knows I’m right and he’s wrong. It’s time to pay back.”
Said Sonnen: “He can be right and I can be wrong. He wants to make a case about this? He can have it, I concede. I don’t give a damn, anyway. I don’t like Wanderlei Silva.”
Emelianenko, 40, is coming off a shaky showing against light heavyweight
Fabio Maldonado, who dropped the Russian with a hard punch in a dominant first round. Emelianenko, who recovered to take the next two rounds, said it was only the second time in his storied career he didn’t see a shot coming.
“Something like this happens, and if it happens only twice in your entire career and your life, it’s not that bad,” Emelianenko said through a translator. “To him (the MSG bout) is just going to be another fight, and his entire goal is just to please his fans.”
Staging an MSG card proves Viacom has the clout to keep Bellator on even keel with the UFC in New York, if not in UFC’s Las Vegas backyard, where it has yet to run a show. The relationships are already forged. Viacomowned MTV, for instance, has staged the Video Music Awards in MSG and Barclays Center in recent years.
With pay-per-view in play and more lenient sponsorship restrictions than the UFC, Bellator is expected to entice more high-profile names in the final phase of their careers. Coker said those draws will be cut in on pay-per-view sales.
“They are incentivized to help us drive the buy rates, and the compensation package is similar to other organizations in the pay-perview business,” Coker said.
Conor-Floyd on deck
The mega-fight confirmed last week between UFC’s Conor McGregor and unbeaten boxer Floyd Mayweather
Jr. in 12 rounds of boxing presents a paradox. In many ways, the fight sells itself as a spectacle. But it’s a hard sell in a way that’s central — convincing the public the underdog has a chance.
McGregor has zero experience in pro boxing, while Mayweather is an all-time great who tied Rocky Marciano’s record for undefeated champions at 49-0. It’s the most lopsided boxing headliner this side of Mike Tyson-
Peter McNeeley. But in a conference call last week, we got a glimpse of the promotional game plan for the Aug. 26 bout.
Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe harped on his own fighter’s advanced age, McGregor’s punching power, and even tried to puncture the prevailing wisdom that Mayweather is tough to hurt.
“We all do know all it takes in boxing is one shot, and it don’t have to be a clean shot — a guy with that kind of power, he can nick you and you can be buzzed,” Ellerbe said. “There’s been a few times in fights in Floyd’s career that he might have been buzzed in a fight, but nobody ever knew.” UFC president Dana
White stressed the point that McGregor has been questioned throughout his meteoric UFC rise, and that unlike his MMA duty, the mouthy Irishman won’t have to shoulder the promotional burden.
“This kids eats pressure like nobody I’ve ever seen,” White said. “He’s not sharing the limelight; we’re stepping into Floyd’s world. I’m really excited to see how he handles it that night, I’m really excited to see his game plan, when he starts executing that night . . . I stopped doubting this kid a long time ago.”