UFC President Dana White and Brock Lesnar today appeared on the CNBC program “Power Lunch” to announce a four-year toy licensing deal with JAKKS Pacific® to create and sell collectibles such as action figures.
Chuck Liddell, Lesnar, Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira, Michael Bisping, Anderson Silva and other fighters are expected to be featured along with other accessories such as an Octagon when the products hit store shelves in fall 2009.
Here’s a snip from Jakks Pacific President and COO in a recent press release:
“The UFC is a perfect match for JAKKS, given our extensive expertise in developing and marketing collector driven sports action figures. UFC’s enormous and growing popularity amongst adults, coupled with the extensive roster of physically powerful star fighters, gives JAKKS a substantial base to work with, and should be a powerhouse combination for the line. Our objective is to give collectors an authentic UFC experience.”
This is all likely part of a major licensing and merchandising agreement that the promotion has been working overtime to sell its fighters on — and not all of them are biting. Therefore, if you don’t see your favorite action figure under the Christmas tree or wonder why a certain fighter is excluded then it more than likely means that he did not sign on the dotted line.
Of course, this was not the “major” or “mind blowing” announcement that White has promised to reveal later this week. However, White was approached about what it could possible be while on CNBC and shot down the following conspiracy theories:
- WWE czar Vince McMahon will purchase a minority stake in the company
- UFC will go public
- Floyd Mayweather Jr. is making the jump to MMA
- UFC has reached a television deal with a major network such as ABC
There’s not much left from the rumor mill. White could either be holding back as to not ruin the “big surprise” or he has something fresh up his sleeve that no one truly knows anything about and he will break the news himself.
Whatever it is it better be good … better than action figures (although it’s a pretty cool step forward).
Check out the video of White and Lesnar on CNBC after the jump.
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Dolls huh? Thats a huge deal! People love those things, when I was a kid I had all the wwf action figures. Yes it was still called wwf.
I wanna pose a question to you all. How much of a chance does Timmy have against Fedor? The ring is a huge disadvantage, he won’t be able to press and use the dirty boxing as much. What about experience? For the past 5 years while Tim has been fighting top 10 guys on a consistent basis, Fedor has fought HMC, Mark Hunt, Mark Coleman and Matt Lindland. Thats a freak show, a guy with no ground game (who almost submitted him), an old man and a middle weight. I agree John Fedor is a beast and arguably the best ever, but will the fact that Timmy is no slouch, and Fedor cuts fairly easy, not to mention the inactivity as far as fighting top competition come back to haunt him?
As far as pay goes, I personally think Dana was smart for not signing Fedor. He wants 2 million base pay per fight and wants his red devil guys signed too. From a marketing stand point, he’s not marketable. The average fan has no idea who Fedor is, and if you don’t believe that, look at his ppv buys! He doesn’t speak english, so how can you present him to the average fan? For those of you who will say Anderson Silva doesn’t speak english, you’re right, and when’s the last time you saw him on CNBC or on TUF or in any other promo fashion with the UFC? I respect everyone’s opinions, and these are just mine…whats your thoughts?
Kevin,
So Affliction is using a ring? I have been trying to find out since the fights were announced but i have been outside of civilization for a week. If so they I am sure they made that decision based on Fedor and Rothwell’s success in that enviroment.Just my opinion but I really don’t see any advantages of a ring other than that.
I think they’re using a six sided ring. I know stupid right?
Happy late birthday man . . .
thanks adam, I’m not a CA native…born in MA lived in FL 5 years, been here 2.5 years. Fremont that is. How old are you dude, maybe I’ll have an mmamania party next ppv. Got to ask my boss! lol
Kevin, I can see the Tim/Fedor fight going just like Tim/Nog. If Tim keeps it on his feet he has a big chance to win. After the Nog fight, hopefully Tim did alot of ground work. Regardless of the hate Tim gets he’s no joke for any fighter.
Fedor is much more dangerouse on his feet then Randy or Nogueira. Randy kept tim guessing, Fedor will do the same. Tim is in big trouble. His only chance of winning is by cutts, but I doubt that will be an issue. Tim is a better striker then Fedor, but Fedor has the advantage because Tim willl be so scared of going t6o the ground that it will make Fedor’s striking better. Similar to the Randy vs. Tim fight.
No doubt in my mind that Fedor finished Sylvia!
Tim is going to eat one of Fedor’s patenant divingt lead hand, hooks, then Tim will know he is in TROUBLE!!!
John, how do you figure Fedor is more dangerous on his feet? The only KO’s on his record are to nobodys. All the decent fighters that he’s fought have gone to decision or submission. The ground is Fedors only chance. I for one hope Tim knocks him the F**K out.
wait till after the fight than you will know, fedor is dangerous on his feet, and i beleave is the better striker tim has more power no dout and i don’t think fedor will risk standing with him to long but after the fight alot of peoples minds will change.
Fedor is better on the ground, but he had Mirko backing up on the feet.
and mirko got knocked the f**k out from gonzaga.and gonzaga is a joke. how r u goin 2 say fador is better on his feet then randy john.they never fought same guys. ufc has best fighters in the world.and tim fought um all. im not a tim fan. the barely making the show ufc guys r damm good compared to the rest… tim wins by knock out!!
fedor is faster and is better technique wise and throws better combinations. tim has better one punch ko ability and is better w/ knee strikes and leg kicks imo, but fedor is hard to hit and in the past has proven to have a great chin. i still think this is gonna be a great fight and alot closer than some think, but i can see fedor catching him sometime in the later rnds 3-5?. im assuming that fedor will be in top shape and will be the fodor of past w/ this ananlysis, if not he could be in for a long night.
Without that cage to help him–I don’t know if Tim is going to be able to keep it on his feet. He seems to spend a great deal of time leaning his opponents against it–the ropes will not be as forgiving.
Great question and I’m interested to see how it unfolds myself. I like Tim, but I’m kind of hoping Fedor pulls it off. I would like to see Capt America get the fight he wants and hopefully make it worth his while….just my $.02.
Who knows? The ring might work even better for Tim. He has a good sprawl. The octogon allow guys to circle out of situations. If Tim can use his reach and implement some footwork he could corner Fedor in a ring, he could force Fedor to come straight out at him and walk into a big shot and just sprawl when needed. He did it well against Nog. At least until….
Good post Kevin..I think Fedor will come through and beat Tim Sylvia..it won’t be pretty..and may not be quick/easy..but Fedor has the winning attitude..winners find a way to win..granted I critize him as much as the next MMA fan on his opponents and not fighting as often as most feel he should..but he is still Fedor. Tim will have a shot to prove me and someone else wrong. July 19th.
As far as Fedor’s marketability, I agree with you. While it would have been cool if Dana and Fedor could have come to some kind of mutually beneficial agreement, it doesn’t make sense for either party to take a hit if the actual deal isn’t worth it for them.
As for the Sylvia/Fedor fight, the ring would definitely favor Fedor. You also make a good point about the level of competition faced between the two in their last few fights. While Fedor went up against the opponents you already listed, Tim went up against Big Nog, Brandon Vera, Randy Couture, Jeff Monson, and Andrei Arlovski.
Still, I don’t like Sylvia’s chances in this fight. Three of his four losses have come via submission, while that’s how the majority of Fedor’s wins have come by. And I don’t see Fedor falling for Sylvia’s strengths and getting knocked out by Tim, especially since I haven’t seen Sylvia really push the pace to finish a fight since he knocked out Arlovski in their second bout. And when he tried to do that against Nogueira he got swept and submitted for it, though he was probably winning the fight up until that point.
If it was in a cage, I’d feel more confident about Sylvia effectively utilizing his size and reach advantage to keep Fedor at bay and squeeze out a decision, which I think is his best shot at winning. I guess we’ll see when the time comes.
you know what I like about mania compared toother sites, is an intelligent question with great responses. On sherdog, these morons get these “keyboard” belts, and think because they have 3000 posts, that somehow their opinion is better than a guy with 3. I like the fact that the other day I saw a guy who admitted he was a new fan, asked a question, and nobody berated him or put him down, we all simply answered his question. Keep it up guys, and that is why mmamania is my spot for ALL things mma!
You mean you don’t like seeing :
“Your just and idiot”
johndoe- riding shotgun in Kimbo’s war cadillac
War Fred Ettish
lol no or how bout ban…he’s a whitebelt. Just lame. I’ve never written on sherdog, and half the shit is recycled over and over!
LOL
(lol @ war cadillac)
Very well put Kevin, I couldn’t agree more! I used to regularly visit almost a half a dozen mma sights religiously, and over the last 6 months it has come down to one, and only one, and thats mania, boyeeee! When I go to parties or if I can’t afford the PPV and go to a bar, talking to so many “fans” is downright painful. Some of them can’t understand why THESE fighters do not stomp their feet when the punch?!? So to all the MMAmania admins and faithful, informed, and true fans/posters, thank you so much, from the bottom of my bloody fighter’s heart, thank you!
You’ve gotta be freakin’ kidding me! Who cares?
Not me
i care deeply.
LOL
HI!
I don’t know if this is bigger news than Budweiser or not.
glad i wasted my time watching cnbc for that info..
domt care! And to think I got my hopes up.
Big news? More like Big Deal.
Its either there getting there own channel, or maybe there going to make catchweight fights.
my afternoon siesta is ruined
………..
my mind remains intact.
does the fact that GSP’s name isn’t mentioned lend more weight to tito ortiz’s assertion that GSP is unhappy with financial/behind-the-scenes stuff with the UFC?
Well thank god he shot down the Vince Mcmahon theory cause that was some scarey shit right there…
yeah, having the most successful promoter ever on your side would be HORRIBLE.
……
that announcement is coming on thursday, and why not have the most successful promoter/marketer on your team!
I think he was being sarcastic.
Vince is a great marketer, but in all honesty, is wrestling still bringing in the same type of ratings it was in the Stone Cold and Rock days?
I think it was pretty clear to all that this wasn’t going to be a major mind-blowing announcement and more of a business announcement (especially since it was on cnbc)
does no mention of GSP lend weight to Tito’s theory that GSP is unhappy with the financial/behind-the-scenes situations with the UFC?
no…….titos a liar
Also, there is another company that makes action figures of fighters that some already have contracts with. Hughes, Rampage, Tito, and Randy all have their own figures out.
Well it might help to pay fighters more money and separate themselves from the other orgs by having substantial pay days for it’s fighters. Right now they are the top paying org for sure but this could propel them and sway the big names to ink longer bigger contracts.
Having said that I for one will not be purchasing dolls.
they’re not dolls, they are collectables. Funny thing is, the main purchaser of these will be grown men. I for one will not be one of those losers. I may purchase them for my son though!! lol
Collectables kevin? Only for people who collect dolls. lol I can seriously picture some people on here playing with them while the fights are on as if they were 8 years old again.
Haahaa, me neither! What a joke – do we really need a press conference with Brock Lesnar for that!?
Dude, do you even know what a press con is? That was not a press con.
I’d get my nephew a Roger Huerta toy. Gotta show him a Latin role model. That guy has had a hard life.
My guess is that it is Chuck Liddell vs. Anderson Silva.
That announcement wouldn’t seem to have a 5 year impact.
i hope theres a wandy doll, so i can make him “fuck chuck”.
You are one twisted senorita . . . I like that.
That was the funniest thing Ive ever heard. Wandy comes into the octogan all hard and says he wants to “f**k Chuck” I fell out laughing.
Haha, I wonder if Jardine had a second to think about that when he was in that “rape choke”. In all seriousness, I am so glad Wandy has worked hard on his English.
Jardine probably said f**k it, let him KO me rather than face it awake. But yea learning english is the best thing he could have done.
That announcement will have a 3-4 year impact if Anderson does well. That’s how long it’ll take him to clear out the division, if this fight is happening and he wins.
I’m not convinced it’s a fight announcement. I remember something was said about none of his team knowing about it yet and renting a place to tell them first. Surely that’s a bit much for a fight announcement…?
Why? There is no bigger announcement than some sort of super fight or signing a major fighter, but I can’t think of one unsigned fighter that would warrent a major announcement. I refuse to believe it will be some more bullsh%t that makes them all richer.
there are definitely bigger announcements than fighter signings or super fight announcements. what was the biggest news of last year? Ufc purchasing Pride.
my guess is that its going to be something along those lines. maybe the resurrection of Pride or a weekly live show. something that brings the mma more into the mainstream. that’s what dana would think of as huge. i mean crap they didn’t have a press con for the signing of any of their fighters of the last year. nog, shogun, even brock.
I guess I should have said no bigger announcment to ME… But the Pride aqusition was essentially having multiple signings at once because you knew they were coming.
There is just too much competion now with Affliction and Elite XC. IMO Dana needs to step it up. Dana has shot down every other rumor. That leads me and my eternial optimism to believe it will be a super fight. Chuck vs Anderson… Come on!!!
Dude, Elite is NOT competition. They’re a joke.
Will the Brock Lesnar doll have an authentic Brock Lesnar Dirty Dildo chest tattoo?!
i used to love playing the wrestling action figures,but that was a long time ago. but as soon as these things come out ill probably start making the joe rogan commentary while a plastic rampage slams a GSP,lol HES ROCKED, lol never to old to play with action figures
lol, i’ll get them to decorate my cubicle at work with.
i would like to see mayweather get his ass handed to him. hope he moves to ufc & i would like to see him fight joe lauzon for his first fight. lauzon would OWN him.
anyone ever thought it could be more weight classes? That would effect the sport for the next 5 years.
That’s what i think it is. I think they are going to merge the UFC and the WEC. They pick up two weight classes there and some star power.
This is actualy a big deal. It’s their way of introducing MMA on the next younger generation. Guys are goign to buy these for there kids and teenagers and that’ll spike their interest in the sport to assure that the UFC has new fans in the upcomign years.
What if the BIG Thing is that they are going to start letting their fighters fight in other promotions, and let others fight in the UFC? Have some sort of UFC MEGA PPV with UFC vs. Whomever with UFC doing the production and getting a chunk of pay from others since their fighters will be in it?
I’m guessing the announcement is that Dana’s just found out he’ll be a special unlockable character in the UFC 2009 video game.
a real snooze!
there’s a story on the main ufc site about various other merch deals (Bic lighters, credit cards, etc). I bet that is Dana’s big announcement.
My new guess is they got sanctioned in NYC and locked up Madison Square Garden.
how rare would a kalib starnes figure be.
that depends on how fast you are. in order to get you’ll have to catch it first.
His doll comes complete with a set of PF Flyers
HAHAHAHAHA thanks kit, I was having a rough day and that just made me tear up with laughter! It made me also consider, how awesome would it be if his figure was just footprints?
I just hope he doesnt come out and say “i just saved a ton of money by switching to geico”
Dear Jakks folks,
A couple of quick questions:
1) Will the Rich Franklin action figure come with a beat-to-hell and bandaged up Jorge Gurgel figure attached to his butt (if so, will the action figure version be removable)?
2) Will the Tito business/action figure have removable trunks with attachments for various stages of the herpes simplex virus?
3) Are there any plans to release a Dan Henderson figure with REAL belts, or will they just be Pride belts you have to throw away when you open the packaging?
4) Will the Sean Sherk action figure, as rumored, be 3 inches shorter than the others?
5) Will my friends or neighbors be able to steal my Randy Couture action figure and play with it even if I already PAID for it?
6) Will the Dan Simmler action figure make loud unsettling moaning noises when I tip it over?
7) Any plans to release a Dan Miragliotta action figure? I’d like to send it sailing down my driveway at full speed like I used to do to the GI Joe figures I didn’t like, just to look at their hideous friction-burned face afterwards.
Skeleton Key that is exactly what I was thinking about the Gurjel doll. I hope they package it with ketchup so you can apply blood to give it a real effect!
Perfect description, perfect!
8)Will the anderson Silva figure come with Rich Franklin holding on to silva’s pocket T’BAG style?
They need to have a Frank “read naked joke” Trigg doll. Maybe another doll choking him out from behind, with a replaceable head for the many occasions.
rear naked, not read naked.
great post man.
funny skeleton
but this announcement is Ghey
Yeah, that was pretty funny, right down to sailing Dan down the driveway.
WHAT A JOKE…
The UFC has Dolls and other promotions are getting prime time deals on major networks.
Oh, and Bisping should not be considered one of the top guys in the sport, since he’s only had fights with bums.
A joke? Tell me, what is the only promotion that continually makes money? Oh, that’s right, the UFC. Go watch IFL on Fox. Oh wait, they’ve gone under! You know what the second best promotion is? WEC. Guess who owns them? Zuffa!
Aw… You said “after the jump”
Worst blog cliche ever. Doesn’t make any sense
the round 5 figurines are much better. http://www.round5mma.com
why the f**k is brock lesner a figure lesner hasnt done sh*t and i hate him
You hate him? Well, I guess Dana may need to reconsider then.
also i f*ckin knew that mma would explode and betray us all with kimbo and lesner people who dont deserve any fame and ufc selling out to everything whats next ufc hookers that may occur since its legal in vegas
You might be right about Kimbo, but some of the most dominant fighters have come from a wrestling backround. So Lesnar will be a beast in the near future.
Dana White is a tools. A mind blowing deal are you f-ing kidding me. So the UFC’s main demographic is men ages 18-49 and I fall in that range and do you think I’m going to go out and buy A f-ing doll. What are they thinking? If my buddies who watch these fights with me, came over to my house and saw I had a Chuck Liddell action figure. I think they would kick my ass and call me a homo. Way to go UFC keep up the good work!!
This snt the mind blowing deal dude, thats thursday . . . TOOL! I bet if Dana said UFC is free forever, no more PPVs, you and a bunch of panzys like you would still think Dana is a tool. Nothings good enough for you guys.
Truth.
Seriously, you hang out with people who would call you a homo for owning a chuck liddell action figure? I bet they think chuck is a homo for letting his kids paint his toenails, and probably also think ground fighting is homo, as well as hating on minorities and collecting trans ams on cinderblocks. Dana white is a business man supreme, it would be awesome if he bought out your trailer park.
Wow i didn’t think a joking statement would get such great replies. sorry just trying to have fun. have fun with your dolls oops action figures . i have to go now my trailer park needs me.. we’re making a bon fire tonight with some old tire….smores anyone?
what if the surprise was that he was doing an event in japan or brazil? that is mind blowing and would show the compani is goin global over next 5 years
i don’t think its the announcement but when the hell are they gonna give more info on the ufc ps3/xbox game? i thought they were suppose to do it at ufc 84? did i miss somehing?
they should make a doll of chuck on his knees giving dana oral pleasure,,cause thats the only reason he gets important fights anymore
great logic, and great research champ. He has a fluke against jardine and lost to quinton who is reigning. That MUST mean chuck blows dana right?!?! Think before opening that fecal spout.