I got to sit down and interview Dana White ahead of UFC 140. The event takes place on December 10th in Toronto, Canada and like every UFC event, heavily hyped via social media. Over the past 3 years, Dana White and the UFC have built a very strong social media presence. I wanted to speak to the president of the UFC himself and get some more detail on what he thinks of Twitter and other social… → Read More
You knew something like this was coming as soon as Microsoft announced the Kinect way back when. It’s UFC Personal Trainer, and it’s exactly as you’d expect: flail about in front of your TV while an on-screen avatar carries out the moves. THQ says the National Academy of Sports Medicine helped design the game, and pro fighter gave their input as well. Hearings before the California State Athletic… → Read More
UFC has a tricky relationship with the Internet. The company’s president, Dana White, has said time and again that he believes it will be the future of television and pay-per-view distribution. Sooner rather than later, goes the theory, that instead of calling your cable or satellite provider minutes before the beginning of a pay-per-view you’ll instead go over to your computer (or other… → Read More
UFC has joined the growing list of sports organizations that have gone 3D. This Thursday’s event, broadcast live on the Versus network from Louisville, will be the company’s first 3D broadcast. It’s headlined by Diego Sanchez (seen here looking menacing) and Martin Kampmann. → Read More
NeuLion announced a deal a few days ago to bring “a brand new service for UFC offering the most interactive, far-reaching digital experience yet.” Last night’s UFC 126 was the first pay-per-view event to receive the NeuLion treatment, so I decided to check it out to see what all the fuss was about. Fair warning: There will be spoliers. → Read More
It would appear that several popular streaming sites are being taken down as we speak. One that I’m familiar with, Roja Directa, has a note on its front page saying that its main domain, rojadirecta.org, has been taken down by its U.S. provider. (Dot-org now displays a scary-looking notice from the U.S. Homeland Security Department, while other domains, including dot-com are up and running just… → Read More
UFC has continued its fight against copyright infringement by filing a lawsuit against Justin.tv, the video streaming Web site where, UFC alleges, people can watch its events for free. UFC takes issue with “Justin.tv’s repeated and ongoing failure to meaningfully address the rampant and illegal uploading of video of live Pay-Per-View UFC events by members and users of the Justin.tv website.”… → Read More
A friendly tip to all the UFC fans in the crowd. Spike TV won’t be showing the preliminary fights from tomorrow’s GSP-Koscheck II event. But worry not! UFC itself will show the fights for free on ufc.com. → Read More
“There is definitely going to be an EA Sports MMA 2.” That’s the big news coming out of yesterday’s Figure Four Daily interview with EA Sports MMA producer Jeff Ecker, who said that it’s not “if” but “when” there will be a sequel. So, hooray! → Read More
I’m actually not here right now. I wrote this yesterday while listening to Kanye West’s new album, which I’m still deciding if I like or not. I think my opinion right now is, “Meh, I can take it or leave it.” (I think Big Boi’s album is better, and I’ll never say a bad word about The Roots.) Nicki Minaj’s verse on “Monster” is pretty dope, but beyond that? Whatever. Maybe Kanye… → Read More
Pirates may have had a hard time finding illegal streams of UFC on Saturday night, and that’s because UFC has decided to strike at the heart of the beat: Google. Zuffa, the parent company of UFC, sent Google a notice of copyright infringement (under the DMCA) the other day, asking Google to remove links to sites hosting illegal UFC streams. That way, once 10pm rolls around, it’s not as easy as… → Read More
EA Sports MMA went on sale last week. The first week’s sales? Not too good, which furthers the idea that it’s not mixed martial arts (MMA) that’s hot right not, but rather it’s UFC that’s hot right now. A Cowen & Company analyst has called the game’s sales “more or less DOA at retail.” Ouch. → Read More
On the left, Fedor Emelianenko, probably the greatest mixed martial artist to ever live. I don’t want to hear any arguments on that point, either. On the right, Randy Couture, the UFC star who appears in the game courtesy of a short lived dispute with UFC brass. Throw in some Alistair Overeem, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Fabricio Werdum, and Nick Diaz (and more, of course) and you have EA Sports… → Read More
UFC‘s war against piracy continues, with word that Zuffa, the promotion’s parent company, has filed a lawsuit against an English fellow who is alleged to have provided an illegal stream (~!) of UFC 119. No, it’s not the first time UFC has gone after pirates, and it sure as heck (gotta keep in PG) won’t be the last time. → Read More
Last night was the first big test for the stream police after Zuffa, parent company of UFC, had subpoenaed Ustream and Justin.tv last week for the IP addresses of its users caught illegally streaming pay-per-view events. A quick look around the Internet during last night’s UFC 117 event showed one thing: streams haven’t gone away. → Read More
A few days ago we learned that the UFC had subpoenaed Ustream.tv and Justin.tv for the information of people who had ilegally streamed pay-per-view events. Having spoken to these people in the past, I knew they weren’t sitting around in their offices, rubbing their hands together as intellectual property was being violated all over the place. No, these are legitimate businesses looking to… → Read More
If this were the AP, the following would be the lede to this next story: “UFC President Dana White wants to put pirates in a kimura.” (That, of course, assumed the AP funny lede guy even knows what a kimura is!) Man, those soft ledes are terrible. Moving on… yeah, Dana White is upset at pirates. The promotion has subpoenaed Justin.tv and Ustream.tv, demanding to know the names of people who… → Read More
Hopefully THQ has learned that you can’t release UFC games like you would Madden. For one, there’s not enough year-over-year change in UFC to warrant a new game. The same fighters who were main-eventing last year (Brock Lesnar, Georges St. Pierre, Anderson Silva, etc.) are main-eventing this year. There’s no excitement of seeing, I don’t know, Brett Favre put on a Vikings jersey. → Read More
Word on the street (Wall Street, that is) is that UFC Undisputed 2010 didn’t sell nearly as well as the previous game. There could be a few reasons for that, chief among them that people already had their UFC thirst quenched, so to speak. It was genuinely exciting to play a game with the modern roster (the last game before UFC Undisputed 2009 came out in 2004). The question now becomes, is the… → Read More
UFC President Dana White believes the Internet is the future of television, so this Roku deal makes all kinds of sense. Beginning with next week’s pay-per-view, UFC 114, Roku owners will be able to stream live UFC events right to their TV. It’s in HD, too. Nothing but the best for you guys! → Read More
Come May 25, you’ll be able teach that punk Anderson Silva a lesson. Well, on your Xbox 360 or PS3, that is. → Read More
I had myself a bit of a field trip yesterday, going over to Reebok’s fancy gym on Columbus Avenue in New York to try out their new ZigTech shoes. The name alone implies, well, tech, which would explain my presence there. Bonus: I got to interview former UFC light heavyweight Chuck Liddell. Truly an awesome day. → Read More
All that talk of UFCnot “getting” the Internet? Yeah, it’s time to put that idea to rest. The company’s longtime TV partner, SpikeTV, launched ultimatefighter.com earlier today, a place where mixed martial arts fans can watch the entire Ultimate Fighter library online. For free. Let that sink in—still think Dana White hates the Internet? In addition to serving up all 231 fights in the… → Read More
Breaking news: UFC is popular. THQ has revealed that it sold 2.5 million copies of UFC: Undisputed, its fighting game based on the UFC license. And now you know why EA is making EA Sports MMA: big, fat cash. → Read More
One of the arguments “in favor” of illegal UFC streaming just became a little bit harder to defend. The company signed a deal with China’s sohu.com to broadcast events online there. The first event to be streamed will be UFC 109: Relentless, headlined by Randy Couture v. Mark Coleman. No prices were announced. → Read More
So I woke up this morning and logged straight into World of Warcraft, as I do every morning except Tuesdays, what with the stupid “realm maintenance” nonsense. I sold a couple of Netherweave Bags. I logged off, and soon after began another day of CrunchGear. Meanwhile, Jens Pulver, who was the UFC’s first 155-pound champion, was doing the same thing. Well, except for the CrunchGear part—he… → Read More
We now know when UFC Undisputed 2010 will be on store shelves: May 28. Well, for the UK, that is. I do believe the North American release date is May 25. Beyond that, what’s known about the game? Not a damn thing, baby! → Read More
Do not expect UFC to look the other when it comes to online piracy of its various pay-per-view events. Dana White, the company’s president, recently told the Vancouver Sun that he and the UFC will do whatever it takes to eliminate piracy. “It’s gonna cost us a lot of money, but guess what, it’s gonna cost them [pirates] a lot of money. It’s gonna get to the point where it’s like, fuck it… → Read More
It’s been a running theme for the past few years, and as more and more people get faster Internet connections, and as video compression technology continues to improve, we’re going to be hearing a lot more about it. I refer, of course (of course!), to illegal streams of live sporting events. Whether you’re firing up TVAnts on Sunday to watch Arsenal take on Aston Villa, or trolling USTREAM for a… → Read More
Terrible news, friends. It looks like UFC has chosen not to renew the contract of famous ring girl Logan Stanton (and Natasha Wicks, bit she’s not germane to this here story). Her contract ended with UFC 107, which took place last week. Rumor is that she’ll be replaced by former Playboy Playmate (is Playmate a proper noun?) Chandella Powell. There’s a tech angle here, believe me, and it has to do… → Read More
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