Bleacher Report - Articles by Brian Bemis

Great MMA Web sites: My Top Choices

Brian Bemis — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:27:58 -0400

MMA fans tend to have favorite Web sites that they visit. The main purpose of this article is a) list some of my favorites and b) have you comment on sites you like.

If you are not aware, I actually have an MMA Web site that I am working on now (www.BrawlDog.com). I am not going to rate my own site because I am here to plug the other sites. I do think my site is unique, though, because all the MMA Web sites I am going to list below have RSS feeds on my Web site. I like this because I can go to my site and get all the news from 15, plus other MMA Web sites real quick.

Let me just say upfront that my favorite MMA Web site is www.MMAMania.com. I like the format and the way information is brought to the public. They don't have everything, but they do have the most US information from what I can see.

I am not big on some of the comments that are left because they are childish, but overall, this is my favorite feed.

If you like all the fights through out the world, I would say www.Sherdog.com is the best source for everything. Ease of navigation is OK, but the main thing is it has lots of news.

I am not going to comment on the other Web sites simply because they are all unique and have some good things to offer. I wouldn't list them if I thought they were no good.

So take a peek at these sites and see which ones you like the best for your MMA news.

www.bloodyelbow.com

www.cagepotato.com

www.cagetoday.com

www.fightopinion.com

www.hdnetfights.com

www.mmafighting.com

www.mmafix.com

www.mmanews.com

www.mmaweekly.com

www.themmanews.com

Again, these are the sites I frequent. I actually want to learn about more, so be sure to comment if you know of any MMA sites I don't have listed here. If you have comments about the sites I have listed, be sure to do that as well.

I would encourage all readers to join my group on Facebook. It's called Brawl Dog. Come get yours!

Has Dana White Crossed the Line...Again?

Brian Bemis — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:10:18 -0400

True MMA fans know Dana White the President of the UFC. He is the only man alive that can get good fighters, keep producing excellent shows and tell the world what he thinks with four letter words.

He should actually be in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most consecutive f-words ever. Good or Bad as that may be, Dana White has again crossed the line.

No, he did not lash out at another journalist with his award winning comebacks and cut downs. He did something that he has been doing for years and just raised the stakes even higher.

Let us pause for a moment and think about this. He is a scary individual to engage with if you think about it for a minute.

I am always scared to write about him because I do not want him calling me out and saying, “That no name, ear sticking out, no tan white boy doesn’t know squat.” On the other hand he may say, “That Bemis guy couldn’t write a descent article about being a monkey and he is one.”

It actually keeps me up at night just thinking about all the good material he could use on me. I have a life of mistakes that he could hit a grand slam about, but really, who could not. Heck, whom am I trying to kid, my daughter could call me out and make me look bad on actions alone.

Just to get a little prepared I have started taking 10 minutes a day to perfect my trash talking skills. The problem is its not working very well because all my material comes from my eight-year-old daughter.

I do not think telling Dana White something my eight year old said would faze him to much. Bottom line is he would kick my arse in the battle of cut downs. Therefore, Dana if you read this, be gentle.

So, back to how Dana White has crossed the line. Most people will think this is nothing, but actually, this is huge in my book. The line I am speaking of is an imaginary goal line. He has kicked another field goal, made another touch down and crossed the finish line once again.

This guy amazes me as to how he accomplishes so much for the sport of MMA. I am beginning to wonder if he has cloned himself and all these clones (not clowns) are working in every state on his behalf. I think that is why he shaved his head years ago.

He had clones and it was easier and cheaper to clone a bald guy. All I can say is he has an awesome support staff that knows how to take direction and move with it.

Enough with the long intro to get to the point I am trying to make. Dana White announced that Kimbo Slice would be in the The Ultimate Fighter. I know it is old news, a couple of days have passed and the excitement has worn off. But wait a minute and let me explain why this is important.

MMA as a sport has grown in popularity every year for many years. Some indicators show it doubles, triples and quadruples every year. The normal ways it is measured is by the amount of people that tune into pay-per-view events, watch Spike TV, subscribe to HDNet, Nielson Ratings and the volume of fight relative apparel that has sold.

Bringing Kimbo Slice to the table is a HUGE draw to the MMA world. That being said, I am predicting that when Kimbo is aired on Spike TV, that the viewing numbers will double that night. If he wins his bout, Spike TV’s numbers will probably go up 20 to 50 percent every week.

If he continues to win, the numbers could really get big. Like it or not Kimbo brings numbers with him. He brings a completely new audience as well. I do not want to debate here if Kimbo is an MMA fighter or not. Well, maybe a little.

He got a license, so he is an MMA fighter bottom line. Whether he is a top level or will be a top-level fighter is another story. I believe he can do well in the sport if he trains. Can he become relevant and become a legend is really up to him.

Why is this single event so important? It’s simple. The bigger the sport gets, the more programming we get. Do we get fights on every single network once a week? Of course, we do not. The best thing about mixed marital arts as a sport is that it’s year around. There is no break during the seasons.

It is a sport that can be made available anywhere, any arena and any time of the year. This is a fans dream. Moreover, even if your favorite fighter loses a fight there is another fighter on the next card that you do not mind watching.

Bottom line is the more we support all of our MMA promoters and sponsors the more fights we will get to see FOR FREE.

Think of it this way. Have you noticed that we are getting more free fight nights than we did say five years ago. Why is that? Well, MMA has become more main stream and advertisers are basically paying for us to watch them. I could actually see in the future the UFC not needing to do pay-per-views anymore.

Are you reading this? I believe there is a business model, if developed properly, where we could see the day when no one would need to do pay per views any more. The secret is to build the fan base and get the right sponsors.

Already this takes place in football, baseball, basketball, NASCAR and other sports so why not for the MMA community. Do you see them doing PPV’s for any of these sports? Heck no! They have major companies sponsoring them and they have revenue from products, seating and other sources. They even got their own channels now.

This brings me to this. I can actually see the UFC working out a deal where they have there own TV program 24 hours a day. Do you see where I am going with this? It would be an upgraded service that you order just like Showtime or HBO.

Let’s guess at numbers here and see if it works well on paper. Oh, and I am just typing here and have not written this down and figured this out on paper so hopefully this works out and looks good. If not you will never see this paragraph.

Let’s assume an average PPV is one million buys. One million PPV buys equals say $45 million dollars. If they are able to do 12 fight events per year that would be an estimated $540 million gross. I have heard that half of the PPV fee goes to the company producing the show so that drops those buys to $270 million.

Again this is gross with no expenses.

Now say you have 5 million paying MONTHLY customers at $4.95 per month. I personally think this is low but again I am doing this off the top of my head. That’s 300 million a year.

But that’s not all. I have read that there were more than 8.7 million subscribers paying around $8.95 per month to see HDNet just on Time Warner Cable alone. If you are not aware Time Warner axed HDNet this week. See my other post on this.

So taking those numbers of 8.7 million subscribers paying $8.95 per month and what do you get? Well you get a cash cow. That is $934 million a year and this does not include sponsors.

Even if the numbers are cut to half it’s still more than the current revenue. Take it a step further and cut it to a third and you still make more. See where I am going with this

So imagine in the near future being able to see fights 24 hours a day seven days a week. Keep in mind they are not going to be live events of course, but Spike shows reruns just like Jerry Seinfeld and they are getting ratings.

Remember, the UFC owns the rights to past MMA companies. Most notably, when they acquired Pride, they were able to get rights to all their archived tapes. They have all their tape archives as well as the ability to show non-stop programming for a full year without having to duplicate an episode probably.

Therefore, here is where we stand today people. We are in the middle of possibly one of the greatest changes in MMA history. Dana White alludes to some news coming possibly this week. If it’s not this what will it be and if it’s not this when will this happen?

Support your providers. Watch Spike TV. Buy the sponsors products. Email the sponsors and tell them you appreciate your support of the MMA world. Support HDNet.

Let’s get the word out and we all benefit in the end. If we just sit around thinking everyone else will do it then we will always have to pay $50 PPV fees and try to find videos on-line showing fights that took place.

Dana White has crossed the line and I can’t wait to see what he does next. Maybe he will create a new Children’s book in his future or write a book on the four-letter words he uses so much. Either way, it appears that what every Dana White does, he does it well and seems to win.

Time Warner Cable Is Delusional: Dropped HDNet

Brian Bemis — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 01:37:06 -0400

I am constantly amazed at the business decisions that professional corporations make. Recently, Time Warner Cable axed HDNet. Any true fight fan knows that HDNet produces more MMA programming events than any other company.

The events they show are of high quality and keep the MMA community up-to-date about events that ALL true mma fans want to see. They show events all over the world versus just the UFC and Showtime fights. HDNet is the premium channel for all real fight fans.

Just this week, I was about to watch one of my favorite shows called Inside MMA. This show features my long time friends Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten. We all went to different schools to together. That's a joke by the way. Just seeing if you are awake.

Much to my surprise there was this cheaply made insert screen that said, "HDNet is no longer available. However, we now offer two new channels on our HD Tier: Smithsonian Channel HD and MavTV HD."

Well that is just great! Time Warner cancels their program lineup without notice to their "Loyal Customers"? We deserve better than this from a cable company. Have they lost their mind? I mean, HDNet is the only reason I even had HD. Oh, and if the channels are in HD why couldn't you at least put the notice in HD Time Warner?

According to www.Multichannel.com, Robyn Watson, Time Warner Cable Director of Corporate Public Relations was quoted as saying, "There's a limited appeal for the programming. In a world with more than 100 HD channels, being in HD is not enough. We are adding other channels in HD to give our customers more choice."

Well, first of all I think her title is way to short. Gosh, how many people have a title that long? Second, let me just pick this small statement apart; which is actually smaller than her title. "There's a limited appeal for the programming."

If that statement is true then why did they put a third-class show with the same type of programming in place of HDNet? Hello...Open mouth and insert foot!

Now I don't have the big title or the big education so I am just talking here (writting actually) and trying to understand this statement and what they have done. I tuned in to Time Warner's "Alternative Channel" MavTV.

They had a featured fight with poor lighting that appeared to be in my back yard. When I saw it I immediately rushed to the back of my house to see if they were really in my back yard.

So my statement to Time Warner Cable is this. Are you saying that fight fans don't want QUALITY HD fight programming because their is no appeal for this, but there is a huge demand/appeal for fights that have poor lighting and appear to be in my back yard?

That's like saying there is no demand for a car with four wheels and we are just going to sell people cars with one wheel. How ridiculous does this sound?

My philosophy is pretty simple in life. You provide the best product and some will appreciate it and some want. Apparently Time Warner does not appreciate high quality programming that is geared to one of the fastest growing segments in society.

That's right, MMA is one of the fastest growing sports and HDNet is the only company that has done their best to provide all the top level fights that are not on PPV (that's pay-per-view for those that don't know what PPV stands for).

I guess it's time to send a statement to Time Warner how all of us fight fans feel about this. I am in the process of cancelling my service and going to another provider. This not only includes my HD programming, but my Internet as well.

I believe if they lose enough people they will think less about long titles for their employees and focus on the customer's wants and needs.

As for me, I am done with them. I will find service that supports the efforts of HDNet. And if you are not aware, HDNet is owned by Mark Cuban, another personal friend of mine. That's another joke.

In closing, think of it this way. If programming of this caliber is taken off a network, it throws MMA backwards. We lose ground in getting MMA events sanctioned in all states, shown on many channels and drive the cost down by shear numbers.

MMA can only survive and thrive if you support companies like this. To see some of the up and coming shows check out http://www.hd.net/insidemma.html.

My hopes in sharing this article with fight fans is to alert you that MMA programming is available and you can get it with other providers. You will see some of the best tournament fights, as well as some of the best fighters in the world outside of the UFC.

So be sure to check them out and remember it's better to drive on four tires versus one. Time Warner believes in a different set of standards for themselves and their customers and HDNet continues to give their best no matter what they say.

Frankly, the reason I don't want to use Time Warner Cable anymore is simple. "There's a limited appeal for the programming."

UFC 99: The Comeback Or the Big Attack

Brian Bemis — Tue, 26 May 2009 09:44:29 -0400

Looking to the future at the next round of fights I begin reflecting on the styles of the fighters. The main event with Rich Franklin and Wanderlei Silva is a difficult fight for me to call.

Given Franklin's defeat with Muay Thai expert Anderson Silva and now facing another muay "fat knee in your grill" thai expert like Wanda the odds are stacked against him. But hold on. Rich Franklin is no slouch himself. When he turns on the heat he can slug like the best of them. What will win this fight patience or brawl? Let's break it down.

First off if it were me looking across the octagon at Silva I would be in big trouble. With his trademark rolling of the hands and that "I am going to eat you look" I might want to reconsider and hop the fence.

Franklin, on the other hand has very good speed and has great punching angles. I believe he can beat Silva with long punches and side steps. Wanderlei tends to plant himself and use his power from that position while he comes forward. Franklin on the other hand if he can move and pop he could weather the storm.

There are really two types of fans reading this. You either like Silva or your like Franklin. Two very distinct personalities exist here. So for me to critique the fight is stupid to most because fans don't use reason sometimes when picking a fighter.

They pick them because I saw them at a live event and got an autograph, their aunt lives in the fighters home town and many other reasons. But look at the facts here. Franklin could be considered the underdog in this because of Silva's known aggression.

If I were a betting man I think Franklin can pull the fight off if he moves. If he tries to stand with Silva I don't know if his core is strong enough to compete with Silva.

Push comes to shove we know that Silva will hunt you down. Even when being hit he has no problem with stalking. Check out some past fights of Franklin and you will see a resemblance of Chuck Liddell in his style. He can move backwards and continue to clock his opponent.

Either way this should make for an exciting three minute fight. I just have this gut feeling that it want go further than the 1st round.

So in wrapping this up I would rate this UFC card as an eight. I guess we are so used to action pack stars on the card that getting less than five great fights is just not good enough.

I do see big attacks from most bouts. Cain Velasquez likes to keep a fast pace. Mike Swick wants to get in your face. Marcus Davis says "Try Me". Spencer Fisher moves forward. Paul Taylor is relentless. Mostapha Al Turk is pressing the fight. Paul Kelly likes to brawl.

What's your take on how Franklin vs. Silva is going to play out?

Who Can Beat Lyoto Machida?

Brian Bemis — Tue, 26 May 2009 04:55:08 -0400

The fighters are in the octagon. One is moving around with purpose, while the other appears to be stumped as to what to do. A couple of smirks shows he is perplexed. One wrong attempt and—bam—he's down.

No answer in sight and dropped to the floor. Next round a few strategically placed shots knock out an opponent that has never been knocked out. Yeah, I am talking about the Rashad Evans—Lyoto Machida Fight.

Who can beat Machida? I am not a coach by any means, but I believe the only person or thing that can beat Machida will have to possess the following criteria:

He must be able to take multiple hits upside the head.
He must be able to move forward after taking multiple hits upside the head.
He must be able to repeat moving forward and taking hits up side the head for the entire fight.

All jokes aside, this guy is not really scary but crafty. He's a brawlers worse nightmare. He will make the average fighter look really stupid. He does it with such ease that it reminds me of a magician doing a magic trick.

If you look at Machida's previous fights, he appears to be getting more focused, more precise, and has a pretty scary stance that says "Come Get Yours" (my trademark for brawldog).

Can you imagine looking into his eyes; and he is one arm to the left, one to the right you swing and then he's on your side? Mr. Elusive is his name. I thought Anderson Silva did it the best, but Machida does it in slow motion, and it works for some reason.

As I look at the UFC roster, I can honestly say that I don't see anyone who can match his skills, as of today. If you are not aware, it is rumored that Rampage will be fighting him next, and they will be on the next Ultimate Fighter show.

Rampage is a great fighter, but if he doesn't tuck that leg in he will be gone quickly. He does have an aggressive style which is in his favor. I believe whoever beats Machida will have to be in his face constantly. If you sit back and wait you will be dinner.

So, with several months to go before that showdown, Rampage will have a chance to watch him train a little. I just hope Rampage practices some bowling, ping pong, horseshoes, or something else so that when he does compete on the Ultimate Fighter he will win that event.

If he wins that event this could scare Machida...now you know I am joking.

So what is it going to take to beat Machida? I would love to hear what you got to say.

Lyoto Machida Defeats Rashad Evans: A New Era in MMA

Brian Bemis — Tue, 26 May 2009 04:14:14 -0400

Has MMA reached a new level? Will good fighters now not be good enough to beat the very best? Will the elite fighters be so far advanced that title holders destroy every opponent with ease? These are questions I have been thinking about since Anderson Silva came onto the scene.

Just look at Rashad Evans face as he hit the ground against Lyoto Machida. This was not your typical lucky shot and he was knocked out. This loss was comprised of a series of well place shots, with plenty of power to rock an opponent like Rashad Evans.

Never knocked out before you would expect other opponents to do more damage than Machida. However, Machida has such a unique style and appears to effortlessly take opponents down, move out of the way of kicks and strikes as well as avoid "fist in face collisions".

Let's step back and take a look at Rashad's improvement over his last 10 fights. Yeah, you can say what you want, that he is not liked and his antics in the ring are uncalled for, but before this knockout loss it had not happened before.

Rashad had been placed in the octagon with some very high profile fighters and had overcome two weight divisions with wins. He developed a style that worked for him and he improved with each fight. How was he just "schooled" so to speak and made to look like a beginner?

Is Machida a man or machine? I don't think he has been hit more than five times total in any fight. Silva is elusive as well. What has prepared them to be the best and have a distinct way of winning? Why have they excelled above the rest?

Machida's style has not been a favored one by a long shot. Even Dana White, UFC's President, had words regarding this style in the past. He believed the style was lacking excitement and a good show. I think what we witnessed this weekend is a look at the future and what could be one sided fights for years to come.

In the beginning I have to admit I thought it was boring to see Machida fight. I have to say I am a huge fan now and can't wait to see how he continues his quest to better his record. This could end very quickly with one well placed punch right up the side of his head or he could be the title holder for many fights.

Either way I would like to see Machida and Anderson Silva fight. I think if Machida defends his belt twice and Silva still has his belt this fight would be a huge draw.

So my point is this. MMA fighters like Machida, Silva and Fedor are people that have surpassed the average fighter. They have found a formula for success and it has put them a notch above the average fighter.

How long will these guys hold titles and when they are beaten, if ever, what level of fighting are we about to witness? Sure people like to see knockouts, but at the end of the day a well planned strategy that is executed flawlessly wins the fight and the chess match so to speak can be a very interesting fight.

MMA started as a brawl. Progressed to one speciality like wrestling, boxing or Jiu-Jitsu. Then fighters started adding the extras and learning two or three things to be competitive. Now we are in an era where diet, exercise, training of multiple disciplines and understanding oxygen levels is becoming the norm.

I don't know about you, but I believe that the MMA world is about to turn the corner and in the next three to five years we will see a new breed of fighter. Super human? No, but very lethal, dangerous, entertaining.