By now, you've heard about UFC changing networks, signing a 7 year deal with Fox and its cable cousin, FX. Ultimate Fighter will shift to FX from Spike, Fox will get the Fight Night Live events, and Ultimate Fighter will go live on Fridays, its new night, when it relaunches next year. Dana White is thinking big, and he's looking to unseat the current king of sports entertainment, one Vincent Kennedy McMahon.
Let's not kid ourselves. WWE has been plodding along in recent years, ignoring the so-called competition from TNA, largely because TNA keeps tripping over its own shadows every time they turn around. Dixie Carter has been exposed as a mark for the business, naive and vulnerable enough to allow to over-the-hill guys like Hulk Hogan & Eric Bischoff to run amok, unchecked, especially with Jeff Jarrett's best friend, Vince Russo, as head writer, and he too is way past his prime. WWE is trying to show how it can change, having installed Triple H as its new figurehead frontman, but we all know McMahon is still calling the shots behind the scenes, unwilling to completely let go, and because of that, whatever ideas HHH might have that could save the company are being muted, for the moment.
Of the two promotions on Spike, UFC has been the higher rated ever since TNA replaced WWE as the wrestling promotion on the network in 2005. There has been cross-promotion between Impact and UFC, with video features on Brock Lesnar appearing on Impact, and UFC fighter Frank Trigg doing a stint in TNA as Kurt Angle's running buddy. Of course, Angle still maintains the pipedream of going into MMA himself, but that's all it is now, a pipedream. He's fallen into line with the rest of the older stars, clinging to the spotlight when reality is trying to tell them it's time to move on. And didn't Angle say at one time he didn't want to be that way? Gee, what a shock.
The last time FX had anything close to UFC was the Toughman series, which lasted a couple of seasons a long time ago. As the panel on ESPN's "Around the Horn" brought out on the August 19 broadcast, Fox will do a lot of "product placement" with UFC fighters, sending them to the World Series, the Super Bowl, even guest appearances on "American Idol", to promote the product. That's what made the deal for Dana White. He sees how WWE's stars appear here, there, and everywhere, especially if you're a TV vet-turned-wrestler like Mike "The Miz" Mizanin. White wants a bigger piece of that action. If he can get Lesnar, who had a cup of coffee in the NFL in training camp with the Minnesota Vikings a few years ago, to appear on "Fox NFL Sunday", or have Georges St. Pierre on "Idol", well, more power to him.
The presentation, of course, will be expected to be upgraded to the nth power. They may not have Joe Rogan anymore, especially if he does commit to NBC relaunching his old series, "Fear Factor". Mike Goldberg was courted by WWE, but turned them down. Now, he's in a position where he can stick it to them in the ratings, especially if Fox hits one right out of the park on the first try.
But, we still have some months left before UFC says adios to Spike and, probably also, Versus. Will this bring more people to UFC? You bet. Will this put greater pressure on politicians in places like, say, New York, to finally legalize MMA? Hell, yeah!
Spike, of course, is the big loser, as Ultimate Fighter and UFC Unleashed were two of its tentpole programs for the sports junkies. Impact? Fuhgeddaboutit! They can't get their ratings past 1.3 for more than a week at a time, and they need a complete overhaul from top to bottom before they can be taken seriously, even as that promotion approaches its 10th anniversary. The reruns Spike has, such as "CSI", have been played to death, like most cablers. FX's guilty of this, too, judging from their overplaying of shows like "King of the Hill" & "Married With Children", now no longer on the network, but you don't mishandle sports that way.
WWE is already feeling the heat. The August 30 taping for Smackdown will now be a live broadcast on SyFy, and that restarts the call for the show to be live every week, just like Raw. However, it's already been announced that the program will replay on its regular night (9/2) anyway. McMahon thinks he can have it both ways, but as usual, he's kidding himself. His stubborn refusal to acknowledge competition of any kind is ultimately going to be his final downfall.
I tried watching a UFC video one night that my brother rented, and fell asleep. I did manage to see the two EliteXC shows that CBS put together, with Kimbo Slice headlining. Will I watch UFC on Fox? Remains to be seen, but I know that the curiosity factor will get more people tuning in that first night. That's what Fox is counting on. If they can outpoint WWE right off the bat, a live show vs. a repeat in this case, then maybe they have McMahon squirming. If this doesn't get him to change his thinking, what will?
