Thursday, March 4, 2010
Hargrove / Sports ESPN Blogger: Will Strikeforce's "Low-Watt" Nashville Ticket Draw Network Viewers?
Posted by Brantley Hargrove on Thu, Mar 4, 2010 at 10:16 AM
Mixed-martial arts blogger Jake Rossen over at ESPN.com asks a legit question: Does Strikeforce's Nashville debut in April at the Bridgestone Arena have a card with enough starpower to light up a primetime slot on CBS?
I'm a casual MMA fan myself. If my girlfriend isn't in the room and I stumble across a good fight, more often than not I'll watch it. But the only fighter on the card I recognize is Dan Henderson -- an aging veteran of Pride and Ultimate Fighting Championships, as well as a former Olympic wrestler with cauliflower ears and a face with enough scar tissue to resemble a topographical map. After losing the feared Russian Fedor Emelianenko to the Strikeforce event slated for May, the utterly unproven but fascinating entry -- Heisman Trophy winner and celebrated NFL running back Herschel Walker -- bowed out because he hadn't had time to prepare for the fight.
Because I live here, I'll probably end up tuning in. But what about the rest of the country? Are the other entries -- Shinya Aoki, Gilbert Melendez and Gegard Mousasi -- enough of a draw to net the kind of ratings a primetime slot demands?
As Rossen points out, UFC has a brand that draws viewers -- even to bouts between relative unknowns. Strikeforce, with Nashville as its sophomore event, does not. And, of course, let's not forget the noxious CBS debacle that was EliteXC, whose headliner was a hulking, back-alley brawler and YouTube sensation named Kimbo Slice. (Apparently back-alley brawling doesn't translate well into multiple-round professional fights where conditioning and stamina are kind of essential.)
I watched that fight. The hype was high, the talent level low. MMA fans I know considered it an affront to the sport. Thankfully, EliteXC went the way of the dodo.
I really do hope CBS's second stab at breaking into MMA fandom isn't so ill-fated. The serious, dedicated fans -- the fans who'll keep coming back -- prefer skill over name recognition and hype. But when you're pushing novelty names like Herschel Walker and celebrated but overly seasoned fighters like Henderson, it worries me.
Comments (8)
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You close by saying you are worried about CBS pushing novelties, yet the April card does just the opposite with 3 great title fights.
You do realize that Henderson is a top 5 middleweight, and would probably be a top 10 light heavyweight if he moved up. His opponent, Jake Shields, is ranked 6th.
Shinya Aoki is the number 2 lightweight in the world and is facing number 10 Gilbert Melendez.
Mousasi is another top five fighter, and his opponent, King Mo, is a fringe top ten prospect.
It is clear that while these names may not be well known to the tribal tattoo "i trane UFC" crowd, you do a great disservice by suggesting these world class fighters are mere novelties or are somehow washed up.
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Well said, Kris. There is not a name mentioned in the above article that I don't recognize. If I can't attend the event, I will certainly tune in to CBS to watch.
But the massive, snug Affliction-T wearing crowd is the crowd you need to appeal to. Like it or not, they represent a great chunk of the demographic.
You misread the article, though. Nowhere is it said that any of the fighters on the card are novelties. Herschel Walker, who won't be fighting in Nashville, is a novelty. And I don't think it's off base at all to suggest that the other fighters are too obscure to draw the kind of primetime crowd this show needs in order to succeed. The brand is unproven.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I suspect going with a major network is a bad idea.
That Henderson guy that you say is aging, just cleanly KO'd Wandy and Bisping in the past couple of years. Yeah, those UFC headliners. Nothing but top fighters on this card, and most are calling it one of the best cards of the year.
So, Strikeforce has novelty acts like Walker, yet the UFC is featuring Kimbo and recently signed James Toney...riiiiight!
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Greetings! I want to say gracias for an interesting post about a something I have had an interest in for many years now. I have been lurking and reading the entries frequently and just wanted to express my thanks for providing me with some insterestin articles. I anticipate reading more, and taking a more active part in the conversations on this site.
i agree with this statement, their isn't enough name recognition for the card, although its free so i think alot of people will still watch, because its free.
as for dan henderson, he knocked out wanderlei silva in what seems like decades ago and also when pride was still a working organization, also he lost both of his titles in his first two fights in the ufc, dont forget the lackluster hendo vs franklin fight which i still beieve he didnt deserve to win, and in the bisping fight he was supposed to win, and even with that win, no one wants to see anderson silva bust up dan for another win, so i can see why he left to fight in a lower promotion to be a big fish in a very small pond. with drawing power like anderson silva, gsp, and brock lesnar just to name a few, i doubt the ufc will miss hendo.
as for strikeforce and its supposed attempt to steal some market share from the ufc, strikeforce is not set up to benefit the company, alot is made of how much money fighters recieve, but you have to understand a brand needs to be built and take it more and just a billion dollars. Think of major sports brands like the MLB, NFL, and NBA, wich rake it hundreds of billions of dollars, allowing them to pay their big stars retarded amounts of money. the ufc is an established brand with more ranked and pound for pound fighters in the world. and its very true, without the success of the ufc taking mma from toughman obscurity to mainstream sports, we wouldnt even be having this conversation, and strikeforce wouldn't exist.
im gonna watch, because i like mma, although i feel after 3 cards strikeforce will not have as appealing cards because of their extremely mediocre fighter stable.
I am really glad that Fedor is finishing his 2-nd and 3-rd Strikeforce contracted fight - maybe he will then sign with UFC...
