UFC reserves dates in Dublin, London Manchester

scudzilla

DrPhilG wrote: »

Poor oul Marshall got a bit of a toasting on facebook since then though.

What a load of crap about venues. When the agreement with Setanta involved a guaranteed 4 events per year, they had no problem with venues. Now all of a sudden venues are damn near impossible to book?

Aye right.

I seen yer post on Marshall's FB, chipped in my 2cents worth, not that it'll do any good at all.
We aint gettin an event this year, that was a given as soon as they announced Dan Hardy was fighting in the U.S, as on the back of 3 losses he would have been the ideal candidate to headline a UK event :rolleyes::rolleyes:

DrPhilG

scudzilla wrote: »

I seen yer post on Marshall's FB, chipped in my 2cents worth,

That was the plan!

Loved what yer man said though (Welsh fella, can't remember his name) about his friend being a PRO at a major arena and basically said that Marshall was full of crap.

the_doctor199

I do get the feeling that Marshall does his best, he is in charge of international events so wants as many events as possible outside of N. America. I think he can only do his best, the big decisions come from Vegas unfortunately.

DrPhilG

the_doctor199 wrote: »

I do get the feeling that Marshall does his best, he is in charge of international events so wants as many events as possible outside of N. America. I think he can only do his best, the big decisions come from Vegas unfortunately.

I've always said to Marshall that I appreciate that he can only do what he can.

Unfortunately he has become a yes man, feeding us crap all the time and it's gone way beyond reasonable.

- TUF didn't air in the UK and Ireland until almost a week after the US release. MZ's excuse was that "these TV deals are more difficult than they seem". Really? so it was too difficult to secure a TV deal in the 3 months between the end of TUF 12 and the air date of 13?

- The excuse being given now for the lack of a UK/Ireland event this year is that "venues are hard to secure". As I mentioned, one of the fellas from Fight Club who responded to my facebook post is friends with a guy in the industry and he told his friend what MZ was saying. His friend replied that MZ is a complete bluffer, giving the example that Duran Duran recently had to cancel a load of arena dates but were able to arrange new venues within a few weeks. Plus like I said before, there was no issue securing venues when 4 events a year was a contractual obligation, yet now it's damn near impossible for some unknown reason?


I know MZ has limited authority etc, but it's getting very tiresome being flat out lied to. If DW or MZ just turned around and admitted that they had to concentrate on other markets and didn't know when they'd be back here, then fine. I'd be a bit annoyed but at least it's the truth. It's these ridiculous elaborate stories about Paddy's day in Ireland, 4-6 Fight Night events a year, Scotland in March, Liverpool in October, blah blah blah.

:mad:

SDTimeout

Guys, don't mean to be a preacher but you could go to a local event. I assume a lot of you do but really my opinion on the local scene has changed this past year. Seeing some fights that would easily make it onto a UFC card.

Mellor

unknown13 wrote: »

Yes, they promised many times.

When?
They've only said they will be back, but hey never set a date AFAIK?

SDTimeout wrote: »

Guys, don't mean to be a preacher but you could go to a local event. I assume a lot of you do but really my opinion on the local scene has changed this past year. Seeing some fights that would easily make it onto a UFC card.

Great point btw

scudzilla

Mellor wrote: »

When?
They've only said they will be back, but hey never set a date AFAIK?

That to me is a promise which they've failed to keep, Dana said at one of his Q&A's, in Newcastle i think, that the UK would be having cards of the same standard as the U.S and will also be having championship fights.

On top of that all the promises made by that muppet Marshall Zelazknik on his Facebook page, i think you get the drift

Mellor

i'm not defending them, I'm jsut sayign they never said they'd be back in 2010/2011 or what ever. I imagine they'll eventually get back, and to them that'll be their promise kept.

The same standard of cards was never going to happen. Not unless a european champion or maybe no1 contender comes about.
Bring back Bas Rutten imo

DrPhilG

They have never set a specfic date, but DW has said many times "we will definitely be back this year" and not followed through.

As Scud said, Dana White said that UK events would have the same quality of card, that was 3 or 4 years ago and has been proven false on a number of occasions.

The point I made in the previous post though, is that the real issue right now is the amount of fluff and nonsense being spouted by MZ. He apparently said on ESPN that there would definitely be at least 1 event late in the year and possibly another in the summer. Both fell through.

Before that he said we'd get 4 to 6 events in 2011, nothing.

Now he's saying that the reason for the lack of events is the difficulty of getting venues, lies.

Just because nobody set a deadline of definitely having an event on a specific date, doesn't mean we're not being lied to and treated like idiots.

PS, I do attend local events, that is irrelevent. I could attend my local football team every week, doesn't mean I wouldn't love to go to a United match now and again.

scudzilla

Just put out by ESPN

The UFC is unlikely to be heading to the UK during 2011 as originally planned, Marshall Zelaznik regretfully revealed to ESPN.

Zelaznik had begun the year with the ground-breaking plan of bringing "four-to-six events" to the UK, anticipating that he could deliver a handful of Fight Night cards over the course of 12 months. Even now, that remains the UFC chief's long-term dream.

However, he always pointed to major obstacles that needed to be overcome, primarily finding suitable dates and venues, and then matching them with the demands of relevant TV partners.

Those obstacles forced the UFC to rein in its ambitions earlier in the year, with Zelaznik working around the clock to create an event on October 15, most likely in Liverpool or London. "We had three good venue options," explained Zelaznik to ESPN.

The UFC chief was so close to making that card take place that he even announced on the ESPN UFC Podcast that there would "definitely be at least one event in the UK this year".

However, problems emerged in May when the UFC's US TV date was forced to change to a different, specific date, where misfortune would dictate no suitable venues in the UK were available. In one swift changing of the goalposts, the UFC went from having three venues to none.

As a result, Zelaznik admits the chances of a 2011 event now stand at "less than 20 per cent", but he is still looking into every possibility, in order to find a solution that is growing increasingly unlikely.

"We are left with trying to convince our [TV] partner to move the date or look to other locations. That is where we are now.

"There is, if I were to put a percentage on it, less than a 20 per cent chance that we will be able to bring an event to the UK this year. We are all gutted over it and the fans who are being so vocal should know we hear them and we will continue to work hard to satisfy them."

Linky : http://www.espn.co.uk/ufc/sport/story/95133.html



Does he really think of us as fools? He's basically saying there's no Arena in the UK that could accommodate them, complete and utter bollox

kainer2

scudzilla wrote: »

Just put out by ESPN

The UFC is unlikely to be heading to the UK during 2011 as originally planned, Marshall Zelaznik regretfully revealed to ESPN.

Zelaznik had begun the year with the ground-breaking plan of bringing "four-to-six events" to the UK, anticipating that he could deliver a handful of Fight Night cards over the course of 12 months. Even now, that remains the UFC chief's long-term dream.

However, he always pointed to major obstacles that needed to be overcome, primarily finding suitable dates and venues, and then matching them with the demands of relevant TV partners.

Those obstacles forced the UFC to rein in its ambitions earlier in the year, with Zelaznik working around the clock to create an event on October 15, most likely in Liverpool or London. "We had three good venue options," explained Zelaznik to ESPN.

The UFC chief was so close to making that card take place that he even announced on the ESPN UFC Podcast that there would "definitely be at least one event in the UK this year".

However, problems emerged in May when the UFC's US TV date was forced to change to a different, specific date, where misfortune would dictate no suitable venues in the UK were available. In one swift changing of the goalposts, the UFC went from having three venues to none.

As a result, Zelaznik admits the chances of a 2011 event now stand at "less than 20 per cent", but he is still looking into every possibility, in order to find a solution that is growing increasingly unlikely.

"We are left with trying to convince our [TV] partner to move the date or look to other locations. That is where we are now.

"There is, if I were to put a percentage on it, less than a 20 per cent chance that we will be able to bring an event to the UK this year. We are all gutted over it and the fans who are being so vocal should know we hear them and we will continue to work hard to satisfy them."

Linky : http://www.espn.co.uk/ufc/sport/story/95133.html



Does he really think of us as fools? He's basically saying there's no Arena in the UK that could accommodate them, complete and utter bollox

I think he might be right

To do a full UFC show properly and to make some money on it i would reckon they would need 10,000+ capacity and be in an area that is logistically viable.

Like it or not there aren't too many places in the UK that could deliver a big UFC event right now and probably even less in Ireland. And the big venues are booked up in advance and they have to work with the TV companies who may not have free dates either. Then there are flights, hotels, booking crews and working around their North American schedule too. This situation could get worse next year in the UK cos of the Olympics.

Any promoter on this board will tell you that booking an MMA show is not easy...multiply that by a 1000 (or so) and then you got the UFC

DrPhilG

kainer2 wrote: »

I think he might be right

To do a full UFC show properly and to make some money on it i would reckon they would need 10,000+ capacity and be in an area that is logistically viable.

Like it or not there aren't too many places in the UK that could deliver a big UFC event right now and probably even less in Ireland. And the big venues are booked up in advance and they have to work with the TV companies who may not have free dates either. Then there are flights, hotels, booking crews and working around their North American schedule too. This situation could get worse next year in the UK cos of the Olympics.

Any promoter on this board will tell you that booking an MMA show is not easy...multiply that by a 1000 (or so) and then you got the UFC

No offense, but absolute cobblers (from Marshall).

There are so many people who have highlighted MZ's nonsense on facebook if you read the comments. Aside from the earlier comments about Duran Duran rescheduling arena events at short notice, there's another comment from a guy who follows an ice hockey team who play at the Nottingham Arena (10,000 plus). He says that if any other company wants to book the arena, the hockey team's game is rescheduled, even as close to 2 weeks out.

And the biggest reason for me that this is BS is simple. When the UFC had a deal with Setanta that forced them to put on 4 events a year in Europe, it was accomplished without a hitch. It's a bit too suspicious that when there is no contractual obligation, booking arenas suddenly becomes the hardest job on earth.

Anakin.S

kainer2 wrote: »

I think he might be right

To do a full UFC show properly and to make some money on it i would reckon they would need 10,000+ capacity and be in an area that is logistically viable.

Like it or not there aren't too many places in the UK that could deliver a big UFC event right now and probably even less in Ireland. And the big venues are booked up in advance and they have to work with the TV companies who may not have free dates either. Then there are flights, hotels, booking crews and working around their North American schedule too. This situation could get worse next year in the UK cos of the Olympics.

Any promoter on this board will tell you that booking an MMA show is not easy...multiply that by a 1000 (or so) and then you got the UFC

The UK & Ireland does not have a big enough MMA fan base to fill a stadium/arena with 10,000 plus.

All the top shows in Ireland very rarley, if ever sell out and I'd say over 80% of the people attending have connections to clubs/fighters on the card

DrPhilG

Anakin.S wrote: »

The UK & Ireland does not have a big enough MMA fan base to fill a stadium/arena with 10,000 plus.

Are you serious? UFC 93 sold out like lightning and would do so again.

In London, the O2 holds about 17,000 and has had attendances of;
16,235 - UFC 75
15,327 - UFC 85
13,268 - UFC 95 (low attendance but bear in mind the horrendous card)
17,133 - UFC 120 (Expo weekend)

Also did just short of 17,000 for 105 in Manchester.

Anakin.S

Ok, so I obviously don't have a clue what I'm talking about with UFC.

DrPhilG

Anakin.S wrote: »

Ok, so I obviously don't have a clue what I'm talking about with UFC.

Didn't mean to sound like I was having a go, I honestly thought you might have been being sarcastic!

The UFC is a huge brand. Bear in mind that the local crowds are generally either friends and family, affiliated to the club or die hard fans.

What the UFC is able to attract is all those hardcore fans plus the casual fan who recognises the name and watches on TV but hasn't a clue that there even is a local scene.

Anakin.S

Didn't think you were having a go.

Your point about local fans is what I was trying to get at.

MrStuffins

kainer2 wrote: »

I think he might be right

To do a full UFC show properly and to make some money on it i would reckon they would need 10,000+ capacity and be in an area that is logistically viable.

Like it or not there aren't too many places in the UK that could deliver a big UFC event right now

This is complete and utter codswallop! Every major city has at least 2 huge venues. That doesn't even include the hundreds of sports stadia with over 10000 capacity that it would be possible to book! I mean, you could have a show in Rochdale and still have a capacity of 10000.

Anakin.S wrote: »

The UK & Ireland does not have a big enough MMA fan base to fill a stadium/arena with 10,000 plus.

All the top shows in Ireland very rarley, if ever sell out and I'd say over 80% of the people attending have connections to clubs/fighters on the card

This is wrong also. The tickets for UFC 93 sold out in less than a week.

Off topic, am I the only one getting tired of people going into the UFC threads and preaching about local shows?? You're too cool to like the UFC, we get it!

If i went into a "Bring The Rolling Stones back to Dublin" thread and said "Lads, forget them. You can go to see local bands. They're really good too" i'd be told to F*ck off!

Richy06

Anyone who likes or supports the local MMA shows are all UFC fans too. It's not a case of trying to be too cool for everyone, it's just people trying to spread some awareness is all.

MrStuffins

Richy06 wrote: »

Anyone who likes or supports the local MMA shows are all UFC fans too. It's not a case of trying to be too cool for everyone, it's just people trying to spread some awareness is all.

Well i'd like to spread awareness for some things too, I just bring it to the appropriate places.

Richy06

A thread of people wanting a fix of live MMA/UFC on an MMA forum is a pretty appropriate place, I think.

MrStuffins

Richy06 wrote: »

A thread of people wanting a fix of live MMA/UFC on an MMA forum is a pretty appropriate place, I think.

No, they don't want a fix of live MMA, they want a UFC show.

I don't wish to drag this thread off topic which is why I used Spoiler Tags, so i'll leave you again with my analogy! If there was a thread of "Bring The Rolling Stones back to Ireland" and I went there and said "Lads, go see some local bands instead, they're awesome too" i'd be told to take a hike.

Someone starting a thread on The Rolling Stones does not equal them wanting a fix of live music, they want a fix of The Rolling Stones.

kainer2

MrStuffins wrote: »

This is complete and utter codswallop! Every major city has at least 2 huge venues. That doesn't even include the hundreds of sports stadia with over 10000 capacity that it would be possible to book! I mean, you could have a show in Rochdale and still have a capacity of 10000.



This is wrong also. The tickets for UFC 93 sold out in less than a week.

Off topic, am I the only one getting tired of people going into the UFC threads and preaching about local shows?? You're too cool to like the UFC, we get it!

If i went into a "Bring The Rolling Stones back to Dublin" thread and said "Lads, forget them. You can go to see local bands. They're really good too" i'd be told to F*ck off!

LOL...What venue in Rochdale has a 10,000 seater arena that could hold a world class sporting event ! Seriously the UK (i don't know about Ireland) is devoid of viable venues. And it's also a logically nightmare to fly people into most places from the US. e.g. You couldn't do a UFC show in the South West corner of England as how would they get there !

Also the UFC did struggle to sell a little in the UK during the recession. Their event in Feb 09 in the O2 drew 13,000. Down from 17-18.

People forget too there is a big UFC following in the UK and Ireland. Not a big MMA following

MrStuffins

kainer2 wrote: »

You couldn't do a UFC show in the South West corner of England as how would they get there !

Same way you can do a show in the North East corner of England.

Also the UFC did struggle to sell a little in the UK during the recession. Their event in Feb 09 in the O2 drew 13,000. Down from 17-18.

Could have something to do with the fact that the card was more like a Fight Night card. Rampage v Hendo for the Unified title is a hell of a long way away from Sanchez v Stevenson

People forget too there is a big UFC following in the UK and Ireland. Not a big MMA following

Which would warrent more shows surely?

the_doctor199

kainer2 wrote: »

People forget too there is a big UFC following in the UK and Ireland. Not a big MMA following

This is very true, I've always wondered how a Strikeforce show would do in the UK.

As a sidenote, I've read all the articles that there is no UK show this year, have any of them mentioned if a European show is still possible?

Forest Master

MrStuffins wrote: »

That doesn't even include the hundreds of sports stadia with over 10000 capacity that it would be possible to book! I mean, you could have a show in Rochdale and still have a capacity of 10000.

List the possible venues in the UK that the UFC could run a show in then.

MrStuffins

the_doctor199 wrote: »

This is very true, I've always wondered how a Strikeforce show would do in the UK.

As a sidenote, I've read all the articles that there is no UK show this year, have any of them mentioned if a European show is still possible?

UFC know how to market! A Strikeforce show would probably go down as a "UFC presents: Strikeforce" and they would put some recognisable names up there. They're play on the "Former UFC Champion" thing that SF used to love doing before Zuffa took over. I think it would do quite well!

MrStuffins

Forest Master wrote: »

List the possible venues in the UK that the UFC could run a show in then.

I will in my ballocks! What am I, a f*cking statistician?

Also, Just because i'm not arsed in listing ever possible venue, soes not mean they don't exist!

Xlami

I still think they're is a huge demand for a UFC show in the UK. Just look at the figures for the last few BAMMA cards.

Howhich Vs. Watson 5,292
Reid Vs. Watson 5,438
Daley Vs. Shirai 6,178
Watson Vs. Rua 6,500c.

BAMMA put on good cards and are excellent at marketing their events but as was said there is a difference between UFC and MMA fans. Knowing that their will not be and UFC card this year, I expect the next two BAMMA cards to be very popular and I hope they put on good cards. As their position strenghtens the UFC will be in a position where they cannot just throw together a card and expect people to attend because of the brand name. Fans are becoming more and more educated on what good fights and good fighters are. I think the success of BAMMA will lead to the UFC being in a position where they have to put big names on the cards to sell out. I also feel with the progress of CW and CC that there will someday be a similar situation in Ireland.

Forest Master

MrStuffins wrote: »

I will in my ballocks! What am I, a f*cking statistician?

Also, Just because i'm not arsed in listing ever possible venue, soes not mean they don't exist!

Then list 1 alternative venue in the UK they could run.

And why do you keep using spoiler tags?