The Third "CBS EliteXC Saturday Night Fights" Event Posts Huge Increases Over its Prior Edition in Viewers and All Key Demographics
The third CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS mixed martial arts event was Saturday's #1 program on both broadcast and cable in adults 18-34, men 18-34 and men 18-49 (tie), according to Nielsen live plus same day ratings for Oct. 4.
For the night, the prime time mixed martial arts event placed first in adults 18-34, men 18-34 and men 18-49 (tie) against such other sporting events as the Major League Baseball playoffs (cable), college football (cable and broadcast) and a competing mixed martial arts cable telecast.
CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS (S) (9:00-11:20PM) posted a 2.7/05 with 4.56m viewers, 2.7/10 in men 18-34, 2.7/08 in men 18-49, 2.9/08 in men 25-54, 2.0/07 in adults 18-34, 2.0/06 in adults 18-49 and 2.1/06 in adults 25-54.
Compared to the last CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS (July 26, 2008), CBS was up +59% in households (from 1.7/04), +75% in adults 25-54 (from 1.2/04), +100% in adults 18-49 (from 1.0/04), +150% in adults 18-34 (from 0.8/04), +93% in men 25-54 (from 1.5/05), +108% in men 18-49 (from 1.3/05), +170% in men 18-34 (from 1.0/05) and added +1.99m viewers (from 2.57m, +77%).
Big John McCarthy has said so long to the Fight Network … and it doesn’t sound like it was on the best of terms.
His farewell post is a heartfelt goodbye to the coworkers he’ll miss (including original President/CEO Mike Garrow, color commentator Mauro Ranallo and radio host/producer John Pollock), as well as a big “F” you to “all the higher ups that have taken over the Fight Network over the last year” (okay, so he doesn’t say “F” you, but rather “shame on you” — he is, after all, a family man).
Big John’s departure is just the latest name to leave the network — he joins Loretta Hunt, TFN broadcaster JT McCarthy (no relation), and others — following months of shakeup at the company, which involved new ownership and new management.
His departure will no doubt fuel emerging rumors that the Fight Network could go off the air … and soon. Whatever the case, you might want to read McCarthy’s post while it’s still made available.
And for all you diehard Big John fans out there, this could be the break you’ve been waiting for. He hints at a possible return to refereeing — even at a return to the UFC:
“A few people have said that I have attacked the UFC. That is simply not true. I have never said anything bad about the UFC. I spent 14 years of my life trying to build up the UFC and make people understand how incredible the fighters of MMA were. I considered myself very lucky in the fact that I was able to be around the UFC for as long as I was, and you never know maybe I will go back to refereeing and someday work another UFC.”
Let’s hope he hasn’t burned any bridges with Dana White (even though it is the athletic commissions that choose refs, not the promotions).
Former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Stann will not be able to fight on the December 10th UFC FIGHT FOR THE TROOPS show which is to be held at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Sources close to the fighter today confirmed to Fiveouncesofpain.com that an injury to the fighter’s foot would not allow him to fight in his scheduled bout with Steve Cantwell.
Kimbo Slice and Andrei Arlovski each took home $500,000 for their bouts Saturday at EliteXC “Heat” at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida.
Slice was upset in the “Heat” main event, losing via technical knockout to last-minute replacement Seth Petruzelli a mere 14-seconds into the fight. Petruzelli earned $50,000 for his surprise knockout victory.
Arlovski, a former UFC heavyweight champion, defeated former IFL heavyweight champion Roy Nelson via second-round KO in their featured main-card matchup. Neson earned $80,000 in the loss.
EliteXC welterweight champion Jake Shields earned $50,000 for his successful title defense over Paul Daley, who received $12,000.
Gina Carano took home $25,000 for his main card victory over Kelly Kobold, who received $6,000 for the loss.
Benji Radach earned $30,000 for his knockout of former EliteXC champion Murilo Rua, who received $35,000 in the losing effort.
The total disclosed fighter payroll for the CBS-broadcast event was $1,318,000.
“Heat” drew an official crowd of 9,414, including 7,723 paid, for a $826,433 live gate.
For complete EliteXC “Heat” fighter salaries continue reading…
The salaries listed below represent the official fighter salaries as reported by the promoter to the athletic commission and do not include some bonuses, fees, or sponsorship payments.
Seth Petruzelli ($50,000) def. Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson ($500,000)
Jake Shields ($50,000) def. Paul Daley ($12,000)
Andrei Arlovski ($500,000) def. Roy Nelson ($80,000)
The controversy from EliteXC “Heat” has now become even more widespread as F4WOnline is reporting that Ken Shamrock was also being paid to stand up with Kimbo Slice:
For what it’s worth, we heard in the days leading up to the fight that Ken Shamrock was being paid to stand with him as well. It’s a pretty shady way of doing business, and while it’s not outright working the fight it is attempting to give one man an advantage — or a perceived advantage, as did didn’t help Kimbo one goddamn bit — over another.
The news comes on the heels of Seth Petruzelli disclosing that EliteXC also paid him to stand and trade with Slice. Only time will tell if anything comes from all of this, though, regardless of the ultimate outcome, this situation, coupled with Jared Shaw’s over-the-top reaction to Slice’s loss, paints a very poor picture of the struggling promotion.
The UFC's latest European roster addition will make his octagon debut at January's UFC 93 event in Dublin, Ireland.
Ivan Serati (10-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) has been added to a fight card that currently features a main event of Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson and a co-main event of Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Mark Coleman. It's the UFC's initial foray into the country.
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) learned of the booking from Serati's manager, Alex Burzotta.
No opponent has yet been confirmed.
Serati, a former pro boxer, signed with the UFC in September. Debuting in 2006 on the European circuit, he made an explosive start to his career by stopping his first five opponents with strikes. Not a single opponent survived more than 60 seconds.
However in his sixth career bout, at an April 2007 Cage Rage event, Serati suffered his first loss -- a first-round TKO to former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort (17-8).
However, Serati has rebounded and is currently on a four-fight win streak. He's stopped all four opponents in that stretch -- with three of the wins coming in the first round.
Serati becomes only the second Italian (Alessio Sakara) to compete in the world's premier MMA organization.
MMAjunkie.com learned of the booking from Serati's manager, Alex Burzotta.
In the words of one Robbie Lawler, welterweights Anthony Johnson and Kevin Burns are penciled in to “run it back” after their fight at UFC Fight Night 14 ended in controversy earlier this year.
MMAmania.com can confirm that Johnson and Burns are set to rematch at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 8 Finale at The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, on December 13.
“Rumble” lost to Burns via third round technical knockout in their first encounter; however, video replays of the stoppage show that Johnson was felled by an unintentional eye poke and not an uppercut.
The referee in charge of the action, Steve Mazzagatti, unfortunately did not have the benefit of watching instant replay and called a halt to the 170-pound bout.
Johnson eventually had to undergo eye surgery to repair a damaged retina. He and his management, meanwhile, filed an appeal to have the technical knockout loss overturned and ruled a no contest.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC), however, was unable to grant the request, indicating that the regulatory body did not have the legal authority to change the result.
Immediately following the post-fight press conference for EliteXC and CBS’ Saturday Night Fights this past weekend in Sunrise, Florida, I was able to catch up with EliteXC Vice President Jared Shaw to discuss a number of pressing topics coming out of the fight card.
During the course of the interview, Shaw addressed his reaction towards referee Tony Wragge following the stoppage of the Kimbo Slice vs. Seth Petruzelli main event; the process in which a replacement was chosen and if canceling the event was ever under consideration; his feelings about Ken Shamrock being medically disqualified; and more.
Sam Caplan: At what point were you alerted that there might be a problem with the main event?
Jared Shaw: It’s tough for me to say. I got a call, I want to say, around 4:30 or 5:30, that there may be a problem. I ran down (to the arena) and found out that Shamrock had hurt himself. We had waited for him to come here because we didn’t know. Ken’s a gamer — a showman and a fighter — so we didn’t know. It could have been psychological warfare against Kimbo. He could think that we would tell him there’s no fight and then he would show up with no laceration. Or, how bad was it? Could we pull this fight off? We definitely wanted this fight to go.
We had a meeting with him when he arrived and we then right back with him to his dressing room. The commission looked at him and he had a laceration and they weren’t going to let the fight go. And that’s honestly where it stopped. He wanted to fight but his private doctor didn’t want him to fight. (The commission) said “no” and we had to make that move right away to figure out how we were going to save this event. Sam Caplan: If Seth Petruzelli hadn’t taken the fight and if maybe Aaron Rosa hadn’t been a viable backup option, would the card had to have been canceled if there was no fight featuring Kimbo?
Jared Shaw: No, we would have went on with the card. We would have offered fans their money back and I’m not positive, but I believe we had even offered fans their money back because the opponent had changed. Not one fan wanted their money back, which shows you what a big sell Kimbo Slice is. But I think we did fine and it was a great card.
Further proof of the UFC’s global expansion, season nine of Spike TV’s wildly popular series, “The Ultimate Fighter,” will feature 16 American and 16 British fighters competing in the middleweight (185 lbs) and welterweight divisions (170 lbs). The fighters will once again have to fight and win a preliminary bout to advance into The Ultimate Fighter house.
An open casting call for the new season will be held for British hopefuls on October 20 in London and a casting call for American fighters will be held October 27 in Chicago.
In London, the information is as follows:
DATE: Monday, October 20, 2008 VENUE: Earls Court Exhibition Centre LOCATION: Warwick Road, London, SW5 9TA TELEPHONE: +44 (0)207 370 8539 REPORT TIME: Fighter registration begins at 9 AM GMT; Tryouts at 10 AM GMT.
For the Chicago casting call:
DATE: Monday, October 27, 2008 VENUE: Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare Hotel LOCATION: 5440 North River Road , Rosemont, IL 60018 TELEPHONE: 847-671-6350 REPORT TIME: Fighter registration begins at 9 AM CT; Tryouts at 10 AM CT.
Contestants must be over 21 and able to compete at either 170 or 185 lbs.
Production for “The Ultimate Fighter: U.S. vs. U.K” begins in Las Vegas in January and the new season will premiere on Spike TV in April. The 32 up-and-coming mixed martial arts fighters will compete to win a six-figure contract with the world’s preeminent mixed martial arts organization, The Ultimate Fighting Championship.
UFC President Dana White will once again serve as host for “The Ultimate Fighter.” Coaches will be announced at a later date.
Johnny Rees (10-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has agreed to replace Luke Cummo and will fight Steve Bruno (11-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at the Dec. 10 "UFC Fight Night 16: UFC Fights For the Troops" event.
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) learned of the change over the weekend from a source close to Rees. The bout was first reported by fiveouncesofpain.com.
The fight is expected to be finalized this week.
UFC Fight Night 16, which airs live on Spike TV and serves as a fundraiser for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, takes place in conjunction with the Fort Bragg military institution in North Carolina.
The reason for Cummo's departure for the card wasn't immediately known.
His replacement, Rees, was one of many newcomers who debuted with the UFC after the organization put together a July 19 'UFC: Silva vs. Irvin" card to counter Affliction Entertainment's debut pay-per-view event. Rees, who began his career with 10 consecutive victory fighting for the Indiana-based Legends of Fighting (where he was the organization's welterweight champ), suffered a first-round submission loss (via triangle choke) to fellow UFC rookie Nate Loughran in his UFC debut.
All of Rees' 10 victories have come via stoppage -- eight via submission.
Saturday's "EliteXC: Heat" broadcast, which aired on CBS live from the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla., drew 4.3 million viewers, according to early ratings information available to CBS executives.
The numbers were similar to the first "Saturday Night Fights" broadcast in May, which drew a solid average audience of 4.85 million viewers, and they were up sharply from the second EliteXC-CBS broadcast in July, which flopped with approximately 2.6 million viewers.
These latest numbers do not include the final 20 minutes of the "Heat" broadcast (the event ran past its two-hour timeslot), so the numbers should increase slightly when the night's main event is factored in.
However, despite the solid rebound in ratings, the latest "Saturday Night Fights" installment finished behind ABC's college football offerings, FOX's latest episode of "America's Most Wanted," and NBC's repeat of a "Law & Order: SVU" episode.
Full ratings for the event will be available on Tuesday.
"EliteXC: Heat" featured late replacement Seth Petruzelli's 14-second TKO upset of Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson, as well as victories for EliteXC welterweight champ Jake Shields, Andrei Arlovski (in a featured Affliction bout), top female star Gina Carano and Benji Radach.
