I think this will have a tough time surviving. It seems like the UFC has all the momentum going its way.

[quote comment=”148067″]I think this will have a tough time surviving. It seems like the UFC has all the momentum going its way.[/quote]

Yep, too little too late. He’ll back out after he suffers enough of a loss to say “That’s enough of a tax break”

You guys are probably right, but a bad day of MMA is usually better than anything else on tv. Especially in HD!

Anyone know if they will be fighting in a ring or cage?

I don’t know, Cuban’s got a lot of money and I hear he’s been working pretty hard trying to sign Fedor. He takes great care of his basketball players. If he can take good care ( $$$$$$ ) of some mma fighters he might get some top talent and make something of this.

wow congrats on getting 2 guys with losing records in the ufc. not gonna survive with that kind of talent

This might as well be the second coming of the XFL

LIke they said about the mavs never being a good team. Until cuban bought the team, and poured millions into the mavs.
Eric Paulson is a great start. But not a franchise player.
I have a feeling if the UFC doesn’t sign Fedor soon, Cuban will have his franchise player.

So Cuban teases us with Fedor and delivers Sean Salmon…I should play this guy at poker…I guess my only question with Salmon and Eilers is how does Cuban promote their upcoming fights? Every highlight has them getting creamed…

I read the cuban radio message and he taughts and reasons for investing in MMA..I feel this can be a good thing..the UFC is the NBA of MMA..but with Cuban in the mix providing good shows..good fighters..etc..this can end up being something good..for fighters and fans alike. Who knows?? He is trying take something and make it bigger and better out of MMA..I’m with that.

[quote comment=”148100″]So Cuban teases us with Fedor and delivers Sean Salmon…I should play this guy at poker…I guess my only question with Salmon and Eilers is how does Cuban promote their upcoming fights? Every highlight has them getting creamed…[/quote]

Hah good comment … But I dont think they can use UFC footage regardless..

[quote comment=”148081″]You guys are probably right, but a bad day of MMA is usually better than anything else on tv. Especially in HD![/quote]

Agreed! I can see the blood spatter better on HDNet than on Spike.

[quote comment=”148082″]Anyone know if they will be fighting in a ring or cage?[/quote]

Nevermind, I found out in this article. This is a really good read. Long interview with Cuban on his plans.

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=4684&zoneid=2

Personally, I think the cards are stacked against him, but I like what he has to say in this article. I think if he partners up with Fishman like it mentions he may, they have a really good shot of building something. It’s certainly not going to be an overnight success, but if they keep at long enough, and his pockets are deep enough to do that, maybe a few years down the road he might be a contender. He seems really passionate about treating the fighters well, and if I’m a fighter, I want to fight for the organization that treats me the best. I’ve heard a lot of big name fighters (Chuck, Shogun, Hendo, etc) mention they want to be in the UFC because “its the best organization right now” They always say right now. If Cuban builds a legitimate contender to the UFC, and is offering more money, benefits, bigger sponserships, etc. they’re going to go with him. Hell, almost every interview I hear Rampage in he’s mentioning money. Fighter’s contracts don’t last forever. He’s not going to steal anyone away from the UFC right now, but a few years down the line who knows.

I think if anyone has a chance he does. I like what he’s saying and think he has a lot of good points. Plus he has the money and even more importantly, the connections. Dana better not underestimate him. I just wish I had HDNet to see how they do.

For real. I cant even get UFC in HD. Im watching all the UFC events in standard 480I on a 50 inch TV. Its so lame. The fact that this is in HD is one up on a lot of others. UFC needs to make an HBO deal so that its universally HD throughout the United States

[quote comment=”148100″]So Cuban teases us with Fedor and delivers Sean Salmon…I should play this guy at poker…I guess my only question with Salmon and Eilers is how does Cuban promote their upcoming fights? Every highlight has them getting creamed…[/quote]

You promote it with a gurantee that someone’s gonna get the crap beat out of them. Its a thing of beauty. I can see it now ” These guys suck so bad, you are guranteed a world class beat down.”

[quote comment=”148082″]Anyone know if they will be fighting in a ring or cage?[/quote]

I just saw an ad for this and it looked like a caged circle instead of an octagon

This event will be in the cage..but I heard there not ruling out using a ring.

I personally think they should use the ring if they are really trying to develop it into a recognizable to the mass public professional sport. I think the stereotype that its human cockfighting is too closely associated with the cage to the mass public.

I’m really not trying to make any kind of Pride vs. UFC statement, but in my opinion even with the spectacle Pride put on, it appeared more like a professional sport to me than the UFC does and one of the biggest reasons I feel that was is because of the ring.

I do recognize both as professional sports, btw.

His name is Eric Paulson. His name is Eric Paulson. His name is Eric Paulson.

[quote comment=”148102″]I read the cuban radio message and he taughts and reasons for investing in MMA..I feel this can be a good thing..the UFC is the NBA of MMA..but with Cuban in the mix providing good shows..good fighters..etc..this can end up being something good..for fighters and fans alike. Who knows?? He is trying take something and make it bigger and better out of MMA..I’m with that.[/quote]

PhilQNY: I agree with that. What channel is HDNet?

Mark Cuban is rich enough to do whatever he wants. He would actually be a better owner for the UFC. He would definitely have the dough to get every fighter out there and then some. I think I read somewhere that he owns the Dallas Mavericks as a hobby.

i would rather have my business run by cuban than dana white

i think this has a chance

The reason I think this may work is because Mark Cuban hates to lose. He loves to be successful. He’s somewhat of an egomaniac and loves to succeed… plus he’s got money out the ass. I can see him doing whatever it takes to sign some of the top talent out there. And George R made a good point…he pretty much made the mavs a good team himself. So… I definately think it could happen

[quote comment=”148135″]His name is Eric Paulson. His name is Eric Paulson. His name is Eric Paulson.[/quote] ha! ha! i get it. good reference

As much as everyone doesn’t want to believe it. Mark Cuban is the real deal. Everything he does seems to go well and if how he treats his basketball players is any indication of how he will treat his fighters there are going to be some interesting things happening in the next 6 months to a year. Plus he sounds sincere about the sport. He might turn some heads with the amount of money he is going to pay his fighters.

Cuban a guy who has enough money to burn a wet mule and is not looking to hord all of the cash flow. I believe he will spread the wealth with his fighters.

There is an article in MMAWeekly about with Cuban. http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=4684&zoneid=2

All I have to say is that the UFC better watch out for this guy. If they don’t you might see fighters who are only signed for 1 or 2 fights moving when their contracts are up. There are a lot of really good fighters in the UFC right now but if Fedor goes to Cuban the heavyweight division might suffer. You know Silvia will stay in the UFC because he is afraid of Fedor. I had to throw that one in there.

Confused. I;ve had DirecTv for a while and Friday night every other, or overy third Friday night there is MMA instead of boxing under the Friday Night Fight title…..maybe MMA everyweek instead of boxing? who knows, any MMA is better than nothing…..

I heard he also signed Andy Wang and Gabe Ruediger. That should be lovely.

[quote comment=”148152″]I heard he also signed Andy Wang and Gabe Ruediger. That should be lovely.[/quote]

Gabe eats Wang’s cake..and Wang cries us a river.

cuban is a great and smart business man, it would have to be better than bodog or some other run of the mill fight. does anyone know where the fight is going to happen, not when but where

[quote comment=”148160″]cuban is a great and smart business man, it would have to be better than bodog or some other run of the mill fight. does anyone know where the fight is going to happen, not when but where[/quote]

The American Airlines Center in Dallas. The same place that the Mavericks play. He owns the building.

Here is the fight card so far:

Erik Paulson vs. Jeff Ford
Jason House vs. Freddy Espiricueta
Justin Eilers vs. Justin Howard
Anthony Lapsley vs. TJ Walberger
Pete Spratt vs. Sammy Morgan
Sean Salmon vs. Leopoldo Serao
Liam McCarty vs. Ivan Jorge
Sunia Filikitonga vs. Joel Traves

who cares

Gabe eats Wang.

http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=8981 WATCH OUT DANA WHITE AND THE UFC, I HAVE SEEN IT FIRST HAND BEING FROM DALLAS MYSELF, HOW MARK CUBAN CAN TURN THINGS AROUND, AND THE UFC NEEDS TO WATCH OUT FOR THEIR FREE AGENTS AND FIGHTERS WITH CONTRACTS THAT ARE ABOUT TO BE EXPIRING. CUBAN WILL GO AFTER THEM FULL FORCE AND PROBABLY GET FIGHTERS, INCLUDING THE LIKES OF FEDOR. ONE THING I DONT AGREE WITH THOUGH IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS ARTICLE WHICH STATES GETTING RID OF RING-SIDE BIMBOS. HAHAHA

To me the money the UFC fighters get for the PPV events is a travesty compared to other sports. Would luv to see a breakdown of where the money is going. If it is true that they are getting raped I would think it to be easy to sway a few big names to get the ball rolling.

Lets see what cuban does with scoring and the athletic commissions.

I think competition will be a good thing.

This is what happens when you let your fighters smoke bongs on Spike TV. Integrity does matter.

MMA can benefit from an opposing force to the UFC. Now that the pride is gone. I just don’t know how wide-spread is HDnet and how many viewers can there be.

Everyone is talking about the endless pockets of Cuban, well Zuffa owns the UFC and Zuffa is owned or owns also the Station Casino Resorts. I think there is 6 or 7 station casinos in Las Vegas alone. Money is not the issue win it comes the underpay of fighters in UFC, it has to do with a philosophy that when fighters start making large paydays they will become more pickier on who and when they fight. I hope they get paid better but there does need to be some rational behind it!

What’s up with HDNet anyway, well Comcast cable I should say. I have Comcast and I have every single channel. For some reason when I went to put on HDnet, it wasn’t there in my channel guide anymore, but it used to be, and I have watched some crappy MMA on there in the past. I am going to have to give Comcast a call and see whats going on. Did anyone else experience a similar issue???

[quote comment=”148182″]What’s up with HDNet anyway, well Comcast cable I should say. I have Comcast and I have every single channel. For some reason when I went to put on HDnet, it wasn’t there in my channel guide anymore, but it used to be, and I have watched some crappy MMA on there in the past. I am going to have to give Comcast a call and see whats going on. Did anyone else experience a similar issue???[/quote]

We will need a separate thread for comcast cable. Been having problems since they took over. High speed cable down weeks at a time, HD channels not broadcasting in HD, hours to get thru on the phone only to reach a rep that is 350 miles from the problem. GOOD LUCK

even if I had that channel I wouldn’t waste my time watching it.

[quote comment=”148180″]MMA can benefit from an opposing force to the UFC. Now that the pride is gone. I just don’t know how wide-spread is HDnet and how many viewers can there be.

Everyone is talking about the endless pockets of Cuban, well Zuffa owns the UFC and Zuffa is owned or owns also the Station Casino Resorts. I think there is 6 or 7 station casinos in Las Vegas alone. Money is not the issue win it comes the underpay of fighters in UFC, it has to do with a philosophy that when fighters start making large paydays they will become more pickier on who and when they fight. I hope they get paid better but there does need to be some rational behind it![/quote]

No one ever said that the UFC doesn’t have vast amounts of money. It just so happens that competition in a now major emerging market takes a lot of money. Which Cuban has in comparison to other promotions. The point is that a lack of money will not be the down fall of Cuban’s organization. It will be a lack of major signings.

As for the money factor with the fighters. The article in MMA Weekly has a few very good highlights. Cuban is talking about taking the sport of MMA in a whole new direction. He is talking about making sure that when fighters sign a contract they are guaranteed that money no matter what happens to them. If they sign a 1 fight deal and end up fighting 5 or 6 times their purse each time will be increasingly more. He is also talking about setting up a fighters union similar to other major sports. He is looking at the big picture which might sway some talent.

He is trying to bring integrity to the sport of MMA so that people begin to take it seriously. Plus he is very close with ESPN and we all know who that is. If he gets them to start pushing his organization his possibilities are endless. We all know ESPN is still on the fence about MMA and if Cuban can laso that giant watch out.

Damn, I’m surprised at the mostly negative reaction to Cuban’s startup league. Sure, it could fail like any other new business. But I’m not about to bitch about more MMA on TV. So they’re not stars, so what. Once Cuban gets his feet wet, he has the money to either sign existing stars or develop new ones. I’m more than happy to see other leagues compete against the UFC. It helps raise fighter salaries and prods UFC to put up good cards.

OK, there’s all sorts of misinformation about The Cube floating around on here, so I’ll try to clear some of it up. I’ll start by saying that I live in the greater Dallas metroplex and have been a Mavericks fan since their inception in 1980, including the lean years. I also got the chance to interview Cuban when I was a sportswriter at a local non-major newspaper.

No. 1: He does not own the AAC, although at times he may act like it. It is a publicly funded building that the Dallas Stars use as well as major musical acts, WWE and right now I think Ringling Bros. are in town.

No. 2: The Mavericks are not a hobby to him. Otherwise he wouldn’t get fined for screaming at officials for being corrupt, even though they apparently are. He loves the team and does everything he can to help them win.

No. 3: If Cuban sinks his teeth into this I can all but guarantee it will be successful. He was a broke-ass before developing the technology to listen to sports broadcasts over the internet and selling it to Yahoo for billions. He took the Mavs from 20 wins a year to getting screwed out of a championship. He is making more millions with his HDNet. And now he is getting into MMA when it is starting to become hugely popular. This venture will be a success.

No. 4: He is a regular guy who loves talking to the fans and drinking beer. He just happens to have several billion dollars.

If Mark Cuban can’t build a brand with anything better than Sean “kick me in the head” Salmon and Gabe “lard ass” Ruediger, his rocket has fizzled on the launching pad.

Is this some kind of sad joke?

Cuban should buy IFL and roll it onto his HDNET

I wouldn’t count Mark Cuban out. Money always talks. Seriously Cuban could easily lose what 100, 200, maybe even more, millions of dollars and not dent his empire? Lets just look at the guys he can get. He signs a few free agent big names(Lesnar, Fedor, Barnett) a few former UFC guys, and “steals” a couple of UFC guys after there contracts expire(Tito and Arlovski come to mind right away.) And he has quite a talent pool, and PPV names, to start off. He could even “create” his own “MMA reality show” to make new stars. Heck its his network so he could even have his own “MMA Access” show to get his stars over. Lets not forget the press the guy will get as well. Cuban enters MMA and it hits ESPN, every Sports tv show, every MMA and soports internet site and about every Sports paper in the country.

He’s definitely a huge threat to the UFC. ESPN is basically the gatekeeper to MMA being recognized as a “professional sport”. He has the connections with ESPN. I’m sure they are more willing to work with him, than a prez of a org that drops the F-bomb every interview he appears in. DW is the face of the UFC. How can it be perceived as a pro sport when the prez isn’t professional himself?

Cuban isn’t going to sign a few big names, have a couple shows, and all of sudden its an overnight success thats competing with the UFC. It will take time, and he knows that, he’s already stated that.

I personally don’t believe the UFC will ever be on the same pedestal as the NFL, NBA, or MLB because of who their leader is and all the reasons Cuban mentioned in the MMAweekly interview. I do however think Cuban has a chance to take it to the next level and get it up there with football and basketball.

Justin Eilers did defeat Kimbo Slice in a street brawl. haha

Salmon, Gabe and Wang are hardly top level fighters, but they have name recognition among millions of fans. That’s enough to get attention, which will turn into more viewers.

[quote comment=”148218″]Justin Eilers did defeat Kimbo Slice in a street brawl. haha[/quote]
That’s how a honky eats.

[quote post=”3315″]If Mark Cuban can’t build a brand with anything better than Sean “kick me in the head” Salmon and Gabe “lard ass” Ruediger, his rocket has fizzled on the launching pad.
Is this some kind of sad joke? [/quote]

What do you expect him to do, sign Randy, Rampage, GSP, Liddell, Hughes, and Silva away from the UFC all at once? Its a brand new thing for him. Give him time. Read PW’s post. I am pro-Cuban for sure, in whatever he does! He is just an average person that happens to have billions of dollars because of a huge internet deal. He is not some rich snob that was brought up to be a rich snob by rich snobs. If he didn’t have heart and determination in seeing his product succeed, you wouldnt see him on Sportscenter just about every day, even when its not basketball season. If he thinks something is right or fair, he opens his mouth. NO WAY IN HELL would the Bisping/Hamill decision last more than a minute in Cuban’s league.

Now I just need to call Comcast and find out why I no longer have HDnet and I did 2 months ago….

I hear babalu is a free agent.

REGARDING THE MMAWEEKLY INTERVIEW…

MMAfan1981 posted a link to a Cuban interview on MMAweekly, but when I click the link it says “members only”. Can someone copy/paste the article or find another way of linking to it so others can read too?

[quote comment=”148194″]Damn, I’m surprised at the mostly negative reaction to Cuban’s startup league. Sure, it could fail like any other new business. But I’m not about to bitch about more MMA on TV. So they’re not stars, so what. Once Cuban gets his feet wet, he has the money to either sign existing stars or develop new ones. I’m more than happy to see other leagues compete against the UFC. It helps raise fighter salaries and prods UFC to put up good cards.[/quote]

There are still a lot of fans who are UFC fans only. Doesn’t make any sense to me. I guess if this fails and and they were bad mouthing it all the time they can feel like they are on the winning team or something.

[quote comment=”148165″]who cares[/quote]

Obviously you do since you took the time to read the article and blogs ….

[quote comment=”148139″]Mark Cuban is rich enough to do whatever he wants. He would actually be a better owner for the UFC. He would definitely have the dough to get every fighter out there and then some. I think I read somewhere that he owns the Dallas Mavericks as a hobby.[/quote]

I have to agree with you C-War .. A lot of people don’t see it like that.

Lets not forget that Cuban is the Ultimate crybaby. He is always bitching and crying, complaining. Whats gonna happen when things dont go his way. He does have the ability to make it work, but Justin Eilers and Sean Salmons is a weak ass start!

[quote comment=”148237″]REGARDING THE MMAWEEKLY INTERVIEW…

MMAfan1981 posted a link to a Cuban interview on MMAweekly, but when I click the link it says “members only”. Can someone copy/paste the article or find another way of linking to it so others can read too?[/quote]

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=4684&zoneid=13

If that doesn’t work, just go to http://www.mmaweekly.com and its the “MARK CUBAN SETS HIS SIGHTS ON MMA” link.

AWESOME. Thank you Steve! much appreciated!

WOW! Todays mma threads where horrible. I wanna hear some real fights announced, like who Noguerra, Arlovski, will fight next?

or if the Sakuarai vs. Karo fight will really happen.

[quote comment=”148236″]I hear babalu is a free agent.[/quote]

He wont sign Babalu he was quoted pretty much saying that in his interview. My post above has the article link and it is a great article at that.

I find it odd that, on a regular basis, Mark Cuban makes a complete ass of himself both in the print and viewable media
(i.e. any Mavericks game), but you guys commend him like he’s the consumate profesisonal?

In contrast, Dana White drops the F-bomb too regularly and he’s unprofessional and not worthy to promote MMA events? Is there really that much difference between the two?

Not saying DW is God, but he (and the rest of the Zuffa folks) have made some pretty good decisions up to this point. Perhaps Cuban is just jumping on the bandwagon because he see Zuffa raking in the dough and he wants a piece of the action.

[quote comment=”148265″]I find it odd that, on a regular basis, Mark Cuban makes a complete ass of himself both in the print and viewable media
(i.e. any Mavericks game), but you guys commend him like he’s the consumate profesisonal?

In contrast, Dana White drops the F-bomb too regularly and he’s unprofessional and not worthy to promote MMA events? Is there really that much difference between the two?

Not saying DW is God, but he (and the rest of the Zuffa folks) have made some pretty good decisions up to this point. Perhaps Cuban is just jumping on the bandwagon because he see Zuffa raking in the dough and he wants a piece of the action.[/quote]

No one is saying that Dana and Zuffa are not great for the sport of MMA. I mean look at what they have a accomplished in so little time. A big reason is the great fighters and fights that they have produced. No one is down grading the UFC for it’s efforts. They are definitely the force in the MMA culture.

The whole point that is being made here is that the UFC better take Mark Cuban seriously or they could have real competition.

As for their professionalism I would have to say that using the F-Word in every other sentence is rather extensive. Especially when they are trying to market the sport as legitimate, professional, and hosting real athletes.

A few things (sorry it’s long):

#1 Dana gets slammed by a lot of keyboard warriors for being “unprofessional”. Guess what? Mark Cuban is even worse.

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?dist=newsfinder&siteid=google&guid={2814E751-F453-4839-A5D8-F8A654B61487}&keyword=

“Cuban, an Internet billionaire, has earned a reputation for acting like a grown-up version of the most obnoxious little kid in the sandbox. He rants and rants. He has been fined more than $1 million since purchasing the basketball team in January 2000, a figure which includes a tab of a couple of hundred thousand dollars in this postseason alone.”

“When game 5 ended, Cuban ran out on the court to get in the face of referee Joe DeRosa, “then stared and screamed toward commissioner David Stern and a group of league officials, from the court, then the stands,” ESPN.com (TICKER:DIS) noted.”

“The guy should either grow up already or take his ball and go home.”

#2 The Fertittas are better business men than Mark Cuban. Cuban created and sold an internet company for billions. The Fertittas had a one-floor casino they inherited from their father, and grew and nutured it into the 5th largest gaming empire in the US, and it boasts the largest profit margin of any gambling company. They know how to plan long-term and expand and grow a business from the ground up. Cuban has money, but it’s unknown he can grow his small venture into a competitor for the UFC. In order to so, he’ll have to clash heads with the Fertittas, who definately know how to run a business extremely well. Read about them below.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2006/11/01/8392010/index.htm

#3 Mark Cuban is going to have a hell of a time pulling the top guys away from the UFC. They’re getting paid very well, and will only make more as the UFC grows. Some of them are very loyal to the UFC and won’t leave regardless of money (Couture, Franklin, Liddell, Hughes, etc). He may grab some mid-tier guys by severely over-paying them, but they will be extremely hesitant to leave the biggest name in the business for an upstart company that doesn’t have a name and may not even be around in a few years. You won’t see 2nd string NFL players leave for the XFL. And don’t think for a second that the UFC doesn’t take care of their fighters. From the article in #2.

“To make up for that kind of pressure, the Fertittas keep people around by doling out big rewards. When they hired White, they gave him 10 percent of the company. Gerber says that at the last UFC title fight, when Renato “Babalu” Sobral went down by a TKO in just 95 seconds to Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell, he saw the Fertittas run to the ambulance taking Sobral to the hospital to slip him a bonus check.

“You see him open the check, and all of a sudden he’s got tears in his eyes,” Gerber says. “All they said was, ‘You’re a champion, and we’re going to see you again.’ They take care of their people.”"

Good luck Cuban, you’re going to need it. The UFC is not messing around, they are the real deal and they know how to take care of business. It was no accident that they got to where they are today.

he should sign babalu

fedor vs babalu would get some pub

MMAFan 1981 — “Mark Cuban is the real deal. Everything he does seems to go well”

Think Benefactor. Within a year this attention whore’s pathetic attempt at climbing aboard the mma wagon will fold…

Congrats to Justin Eilers. I really thought after his scary ACL? tear, I thought he would be done for a long long time.

I am glad to see him trying to make a name for himself once again, remember, this guy was one scary dude in the UFC for a little bit. He has had some bad luck against some really good fighters, but he is a decent fighter and glad to see him make a name for himself once again

[quote comment=”148293″]MMAFan 1981 — “Mark Cuban is the real deal. Everything he does seems to go well”

Think Benefactor. Within a year this attention whore’s pathetic attempt at climbing aboard the mma wagon will fold…[/quote]

[quote comment=”148196″]OK, there’s all sorts of misinformation about The Cube floating around on here, so I’ll try to clear some of it up. I’ll start by saying that I live in the greater Dallas metroplex and have been a Mavericks fan since their inception in 1980, including the lean years. I also got the chance to interview Cuban when I was a sportswriter at a local non-major newspaper.

No. 1: He does not own the AAC, although at times he may act like it. It is a publicly funded building that the Dallas Stars use as well as major musical acts, WWE and right now I think Ringling Bros. are in town.

No. 2: The Mavericks are not a hobby to him. Otherwise he wouldn’t get fined for screaming at officials for being corrupt, even though they apparently are. He loves the team and does everything he can to help them win.

No. 3: If Cuban sinks his teeth into this I can all but guarantee it will be successful. He was a broke-ass before developing the technology to listen to sports broadcasts over the internet and selling it to Yahoo for billions. He took the Mavs from 20 wins a year to getting screwed out of a championship. He is making more millions with his HDNet. And now he is getting into MMA when it is starting to become hugely popular. This venture will be a success.

No. 4: He is a regular guy who loves talking to the fans and drinking beer. He just happens to have several billion dollars.[/quote]

Do you know who Mark Cuban is? Just in case you didn’t know here is a link to his Forbes 500 page. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/10/07billionaires_Mark-Cuban_IXMB.html

Sorry, the previous comment was meant for btk.

“Justin Eilers and Sean Salmon are former UFC veterans that always put on great fights.”

Sean Salmon always puts on a great fight? It’s obvious Mark Cuban doesn’t know MMA and didn’t see Sean in the Octagon. Sean are you lying on your resume again??

All this means is more dilution of the mma talent pool. right now he’s just getting c level fighters but mma has cheap labor costs and he’s going to end up getting top end talent.

[quote comment=”148277″]#1 Dana gets slammed by a lot of keyboard warriors for being “unprofessional”.

#2 The Fertittas are better business men than Mark Cuban.

#3 Mark Cuban is going to have a hell of a time pulling the top guys away from the UFC.[/quote]

Nice post IceMuncher. You and I clearly come from the same perspective.

I know one thing I am not complaining…all this means is more fights on TV.

[quote comment=”148131″]I personally think they should use the ring if they are really trying to develop it into a recognizable to the mass public professional sport. I think the stereotype that its human cockfighting is too closely associated with the cage to the mass public.

I’m really not trying to make any kind of Pride vs. UFC statement, but in my opinion even with the spectacle Pride put on, it appeared more like a professional sport to me than the UFC does and one of the biggest reasons I feel that was is because of the ring.

I do recognize both as professional sports, btw.[/quote]

I kind of agree. I was listening to Sherdog interviewing Nick Diaz, and part of his reason for leaving was his dislike of the cage. He said it favors the stronger guy too much. If you think about it, what does the stronger, and not as accomplished striker always do when they are in trouble? They clinch and push the other guy against the cage. I think the UFC should have a mix of ring and cage matches. It would add yet another element to the game.

[quote comment=”148354″]I know one thing I am not complaining…all this means is more fights on TV.[/quote]

That’s a good one Tony! I have to agree with you there!!!

Oh brother, another skunk trying to stink up the place. Another moneymaker trying to buy his way into something he knows nothing about.

How many advisors did you hire, Mark? Kill yaself.

2nd rate fighters in HD = polished turd.

Hey guys, yesterday I listened to that radio interview with Mark Cuban. On there he gave out his email address. So, I decided to send him an email, and drop a little plug for ufcmania.com

I sent the email at 5:15pm, and got a response from ‘him’ in my inbox this morning. ‘He’ replied at 9:15pm. So it wasn’t an automated email, but I wonder if he really read it and responded, or most likely, some assistant did or something. But in his interview he did say something like he’s really been checking his email as of late, and trying to respond to most of them.

Here is the email I sent him:

Mark,
>
> I am truely excited about you starting your own MMA organization. I am
> a
> HUGE fan of MMA, but I am just sick of Dana White. To be honest, I
> don’t
> think that the Bisping/Hamill issue would have lasted more than a
> minute with you in charge.
> I can just picture you jumping into the cage/octagon, grabbing the mic,
> and saying “are you kidding me, Bisping you lost, Hamill you won.
> That’s
> it. Judges, you are fired”. I mean the decision turned the British
> fans
> agains the British Bisping. It was unbelievable! Thank you for coming
> to
> the aid of MMA, it needs you.
>
> If you happen to have a free second (highly doubtful), check out
> http://www.ufcmania.com Its not about UFC exclusively. Not much new today,
> most was about you! It would be awesome if you could chime in. Just
> let
> them know that ViolentMike sent you!
>
> Thank you Mr. Cuban!!

And the email I got back was:

saw the site, thanks for the email

and you are right, no chance i would jump in the ring