There’s no rest for the weary in the mixed martial arts (MMA) land of milk and honey.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is coming out of the gates like a bat out of hell in 2009, scheduling five events in less than 70 days to start the New Year.
That’s, of course, on the heels of a December that features three events, including the year-end blockbuster pay-per-view (PPV) event, UFC 92: “The Ultimate 2008,” on December 27.
Here is the early jam-packed schedule for 2009:
- UFC 93: “Franklin vs. Henderson” from The O2 in Dublin, Ireland, on January 17
- UFC 94: “St. Pierre vs. Penn 2” from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 31
- UFC Fight Night 17 [Location TBD] on February 7
- UFC 95 from the O2 Arena in London, England, on February 21
- UFC 96 from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on March 7
The only bad news, according to MMARated.com, is that the promotion is unable to hammer out a deal with its cable television provider, Spike TV, to air any of the European-based events for free so early in the year.
That means four of the first five UFC shows in 2009 (UFC 93, UFC 94, UFC 95 and UFC 96) will be broadcast on PPV, which could price out fans who may be unable to afford to watch all the shows because of the current state of the economy.
And that doesn’t even include the Affliction: “Day of Reckoning” PPV on January 24, which features a sick main event fight between WAMMA Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko and former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski.
Talk about bitter sweet.
126 Comments »
That does seem to be getting a little pricey. Good thing I dont pay and go to Hooters to watch it instead.
Mark Cuban saved 750k for selling stock from an mma web site. How much do you think mmamania is worth. He’s gotten 100 times the ads he used to, any computer guys on here with an estimate? I’m seriously very interested in this. No, I’m not interested in making my own web site, I don’t have the patience or time, just curious what kind of coin mania is making! hey mania, did you see my question in the strikeforce weigh in thread?
Easy choice, buy all UFC and forget wasting your money on a Org. thats going under!
agreed, especially when lindlan, little nog and one other fighter literally put me to sleep last time!
Little nog? He smashed moneybag dewees last time. He’s always been an exciting fighter standup and ground. Maybe you’re thinking Negao? Whitehead? Babalu? Goodridge?
could be, all I know is I was so pumped for that card, and it was a letdown…to the extent that I fell asleep. I’ve NEVER fallen asleep during any other event!
I don’t know how you could fall asleep during Fedor fight (but then again even dumber things have happened like the youtube video about a guy getting whacked by his own skateboard)
I am probably gonna buy UFC 92: “The Ultimate 2008,” bcz it’s such an Uber card - but my 2009 PPV allowance goes only to Affliction - Take that UFC & your lame-ass year start cards
I don’t know how you could fall asleep during Fedor fight (but then again even stupidier things have happened like the youtube video about a guy getting whacked by his own skateboard)
I am probably gonna buy UFC 92: “The Ultimate 2008,” bcz it’s such an Uber card - but my 2009 PPV allowance goes only to Affliction - Take that UFC & your lamearse year start cards
lol, where did I say I fell asleep during the fedor fight?
Hey anger Jack, I will buy all the UFC events and will skip the Affliction PPV. Take that Affliction with your lame ass production and recycled fights.
lmao recycled fights…. that is so true
Correct me if I am wrong, but haven’t most of the ppv from Europe had very poor ppv ratings?
How could anyone choose Affliction over BJ Penn vs GSP II.
not choose over, just choose both.
Damn right Roy! Im with you
JV
I don’t know man that last UFC even was pretty boring. I’d say the previous Affliction fight was more exciting than the previous UFC fight (Couture v Lesnar)
KEVIN. i quoted to you about this yesterday, and mentioned that he and tom beard might share a cell togther.(lol) someone mentioned that it is just a civil suit for know, but dont you think it could turn federal like martha’s. cuban’s net worth is well over 2 billion, i do know that much. C-WAR. I AGREE. with 93, Affliction 2, 94 and 95 all happening in about a months time, thats more than what alot of people can afford. Zuffa had planned on having 93 for free, but spike tv wouldnt let them (true story) something to do with it being the 1rst of the year and not being able to afford it? i think all the overseas shows should be free in the states (especially if there’s no title on the line). i think i will have to reaquaint myself with channelsurfing.
I don’t know, he may be innocent. 750k isn’t much to him, I don’t get it. yes I read you writing about it, my main point was what is mania worth!
Would you guys rather shell out cash for the Affliction or 94? Besides Fedor whose fight really matters enough that you need to watch it live. I think this second show will do more damage to them than “Banned.” Also b.w. forget channelsurfing and check out sopcast way more stable IMO (Instructions on youtube).
my mac isn’t compatible with most of the live feed sites. I’d have to watch it 20-30 minutes after it’s over, but I’m willing to do that with aa/fedor. as long as I don’t know the outcome, I’m cool with watching it a few minutes after it’s over!
NNR. yeah i saw that too. my answer would be 94 hands down. i think b.j/gsp could be the biggest/best superfight of our era.
UFC 94 also has Machida/Silva (which I hope Thiago pounds Machida out)! So its an easy choice. The only fight worth watching on Affliction is Fedor/AA.
theres alot more than fedor vs aa, i feel sorry for you if you think that.
Yea Roy, theres alot more………. REGURGITATION OF THE SAME FIGHTERS!!!!!
roy, what other fight is more interesting than Silva/Machida on the Affliction card. Affliction cards are for nut-huggers and nut-huggers only, I’m not complaining or saying that it is bad, just saying that the only people who I beleive really look forward to Affliction cards (other than Fedor fights) are nuthuggers and an on-the-fence fan wouldnt look forward to it.
Name one other interesting fight apart from Fedor…
you sound like a ufc nut hugger, i would say people who are excited about affliction are mma fans and people who are not probally only like the ufc, that see you gor vald vs lil nog, barnett belfort sobral lindland cris h, and fedor vs aa can stand on its own with the card filled with no names but that not the case.stick to the ufc your probally not excited about it cause you don’t know any of these fighters.
lol im with ya roy… the “if theyre not in the ufc, theyre not good” ideal on this website is unbelievable
affliction will be my choice……a fedor fight is definitely worth the $…..one good fedor fight is more exciting than almost any ufc fight….you don’t have to deal with all the hype about their wack ultimate fighters. its so commercial…all about the damn reality show. bring pride back!
Yeah, all those events plus Affliction SO SOON after Christmas? Sorry UFC, I’ll catch it at a bar. Not a one will be at the house.
Glad there are all included with Setanta, £13.99 a month!!!
Amen to that…especially as i don’t pay extra for Setanta either!!!!!!!
What is Setanta?
An Irish TV channel that you can pay for in the UK on Satelite TV or some Cable packages. Mainly has Premier League football(soccer), horse racing and golf but also has the rights to screen UFC live in the UK. So we don’t pay for each PPV individually, it is shown as part of a £13.99 month package. (£13.99 gives you approx 6 channels of sport)
i would kill for something like sentanta here in the states. you brits are lucky. how much is 13.99 euros/pounds in american money?
£1=$1.506 at Google exchange rate today. So if my appalling maths is right approx $21.06 a month. Not luck, just not a popular sport as yet in the UK, Setanta were the highest bidder for the contact when it came up.
bout $15 - $16 lol
They got a lot of the boxing too which is cool….am i about to get slated for liking boxing aswel as MMA! ha
i still like boxing as well (not nearly as much as mma) and thats why i mentioned sentanta.
You guys actually watch horse racing and golf? Golf? Really?
Watching grass grow…
Nope, it just comes as part of the package. Couldn’t give a monkeys toss about Horse racing or golf.
just download or go to channelsurfing.net ..
I wish Spike would step up and get at least one of the European PPV cards. I wonder if the UFC could just amend their contract with Spike to allow the shopping of the European cards to other networks, namely ESPN, CBS, NBC ABC FOX. I’ve long thought this should be the route for the UK cards since almost no one wants to pay full price for a 3 pm card.
all overseas events should be free.
“all?” why? are the U.S. events ALL free in europe? I agree, the UFC should give back to the loyal fans, but with more shows going to europe, ALL is not going to happen!
The only reson they should be free or discounted is if we do not have the option to watch them live….. which seems to only be the case when they are free. So no they shouldn’t be free strictly on location of event.
I understand, have a ppv option, but the “replay” a few hours later free on spike? I don’t know if that would work! I know I can’t go online pre event (overseas), I made that mistake once, and it ruined the event for me!
Even when the card is for free, you still have to option of buying the PPV live. Also, the Casino in Niagara Falls plays the UK fights live and usually the sports room is pretty dead at 3pm.
I don’t know where you are at but here in south Texas with time warner we do not have the option to get it live when they are free. The ppv will air at 2 or 3 whenever it is and then re-air at a normal ppv time.
they did it “live” on ppv at like noon here, but then you could buy it at 7 too. they’ve never had it free and live on ppv in the same day. They couldn’t do it! If spike pays to air it free, they can’t also sell it on ppv! you’re mistaken Darryl, you’re thinking of when you could buy it live, but it wasn’t free too!
Sorry Darryl, “I don’t know where you are at but “… Niagra Falls= duh. Anyway here we don’t have the option to watch them live if it is free on spike later that night. If we did I would gladly pay to not have to sit through commercials and be able to see it as it happens.
I only had like 15 minutes and came to this thread. I could have better spent my time reading a DishNetwork Blog!
It’s not just the fact that they are delayed. But most overseas events are really lacking as far as the fight card goes. I mean, Bisping vs Leben is ultimate fight night main event material, not full price ppv main event material.
I agree, but Spike said that the oversea events cost a ton to broadcast, and Spike doesnt want to blow most of its budget at the begining of the fiscal year
ROY. i just stated this above and i agree! overseas with no title shot in the afternoon should be free! the ufc was planning on airing 93 free, but spike nixed it. boo spike.
yeah if there going to due free events anyway just make the euro ones free, personally those are the few i generally don’t buy.
you did it again roy, it’s do not “due”
Dew free events, duex free events, dooh free events…. just a couple of other exaples of when the sound “\ˈdü\” can be spelled wrong
lol thats good, now do lose!
the spell police is on duty today
it’s not so much spelling as context, and it’s more funny than anything. the classic is obviously john and loose! We tell him (daily) yet he still fails to spell it right!
Come to think of it, I have never seen John use it in past tense. Would it be “loost”?lol
I can’t stand the ignorance - it is Spike TV’s fault that they were not willing to spend ton of cash on overseas UFC broad-cast.
I guess It’s also Spike TV’s fault that Dana White said - Phuck it - let’s make the ppl pay for it.
The only reason we do not have mma on tv is bcz Dana White cannot fill his money coffins fast enough with Cable mma shows - after all his genius bznzman with a question: “Why provide free MMA shows if you can charge for it ton of money on PPV?”.
Wow, I’ll tell you what, the economy is affecting everyone, if you think it’s not affecting you, you’re very misinformed! This is a tough one! I have a little bit of money, my cable bill is at LEAST 260 every month. I get a ppv and usually a few movies (last night was clone wars), they are 50 cents more than blockbuster, but in HD, so it’s worth it. If it’s 2 events per bill, I’ll get them all, but and extra 90 bucks is a lot of money to some! I’ll put it out there, if anyone in the bay area (regulars on this site) wanna come watch it at my place, I’ll have a mmamania viewing party for one of the events. Hopefully I’ll be at Penn/st pierre with stinky. If I have to cut an event out, it will be affliction, not because I’m not excited to see the main event, but because of how bad the production was in the last event. Dana needs to come up with a network or cable plan, more fighters=more events, but he is definitely pricing a lot of fans out. The networks and cable channels have to realize the UFC knows what they’re doing, and not demand control of production! That is the main deterrent the UFC is facing, t.v. wants control of production!
I hope AA beats the HELL out of Fedor, easier said than done but really i would like to see him go down, then the talk of Fedor vs. Couture or even now i’m hearing Fedor vs. Lesnar, will stop.
me too man
Dream on
Fedor vs Couture was all hype, fedor would’ve whooped him. No problem. As for Lesnar, He has power and size, but not the skill set yet, not for a long time. Neither of those fights interests me overall.
huh 93 will probably bomb big time now. who wants to pay for that one and then 2 weeks later pay for the “good” one.
I pay gladly for all of them…. well me and my boys do. The thing is regardless of who is on the card ,you never know what you are going to miss. Look at all the people that were saying how bad 91 was going to be and ….BAM. One of the best cards in a long time.
Agreed - it is still a card of 5 fights, with Hendo, Franklin, and Shogun.
I’m sure kitsunex also only goes to the movies when Tom Cruise is headlining.
LOL
91 was good only because all the previous on this year suked really bad.
It was the first UFC ppv this year that you got almost your money’s worth
Actually I have to disagree Anger Jack, I thought it was a really good card without making a comparison to any other. But that is my opinion
good for you that you can afford to spend $90 on PPVs within a 2 week period. i can’t so i’ll be hedging my bets by going with the card with better fights on paper.
Kitsunex, I meant no disrespect. I was just stating how you never know what you are going to miss. I for one have to find anyway possible to watch them all. I understand the money thing believe me but it actually only cost me about 5 bucks each time….plus beer and food, of course.
But kitsunex you positioned your statement as “who wants to pay for that one” and we answered most of us and then you get offended……lol
Anytime there is a UFC fight I end up watching it somehow. Beer and food is always included.
I’d do anything to choke out Lindsay Lohan……….in my bed……..heyyyyyyooooooooooo!
i’m just stating, that for the average consumer, when they look at the two cards, if they have to pick one, are going to buy 94 instead of 93. Because the 2 cards are going to be so close together, i’m sure the buy numbers for 93 are going to be low.
I see what you are saying, so have a buddy pick up 83 and you pick up 84. Or go to Hooters, Boston Pizza, or a ripper and let them pick up 83.
Hey guys it’s not like you watch a PPV on your own right? Just share the cost with like 4 friends and you’re good. And if you do watch it alone for some reason then just wait 2 hours after the event and download it.
i do unfortunatley. most people i know are not into mma(even my friends who like sports) like me. i get tired of answering a bunch of dumb questions about what’s going on, so i almost always watch them alone. whaaaa.:(
I’m with you bw. I have a hard time finding people willing to split the costs with me. I’ve had a couple UFC nights at my place, but I only can do that every few months or so.
same here, which is why i sometimes have to pick and choose which events i get to see.
I always chip in to watch the events.
MANIA, I think that it would be a great idea to start a thread where maniacs that can’t afford every PPV by themselves, but would like to watch in a group, can post what state they are from, and what ever happens , happens.
I don’t know how responsible you’d be if ‘wildman’ or someone KO’d and then choked out everyone at the party all at one time with one arm tied behind his back, but I’d imagine that you can put some kind of disclaimer or something.
Or, we can begin here.
I live in CT and have a steady group of at least 4 people that chip in, so its never more than $10. Some PPV’s got more people so it costs less. Fellow Maniacs are welcome - with my permission of course!
Im from Philly, and NONE of my friends really watch mma. I usually watch them alone or with my brother. My Friends would watch the fights, but they dont know anything about mma, so they tend to piss me off! I would rather watch it alone, then with half ass fans. Anyone ever want to get together for an event….Get at me!
Actually all the UFC events are free to watch live in Sweden :>
But i almost never watch it because of the time difference, it airs 4AM here
im moving to sweden1
no shit…. That’s f#cking awesome to be able to watch them for free without ripping anyone off.
PSYCO78. plus dont forget the bikini team.
oh yeah…… the women there tend to pretty damn hot too! I am packing my bags now.
I heard Sweden is the number one place to go on vacation to get laid…………
thats one thing i love about living in the uk is setanta any of you uk fans going to ufc 93 or 95
any ideas for UFC 100…looks like HW, LHW, WW or LW (maybe both) AND MW titles should be OK to go for July….Thoughts?
thats the rumor, all 5 titles will be on the line, possibly in NY. i think both of those would be big if’s, but it would be awesome to see it happen.
And assuming BJ doesn’t beat GSP either, wont be defending two titles in one night.
I guess that rumor would depend on BJ beating gsp, But I agree that would be a bad ass night.
The moderation of this site is so random…. anyway b.w., I was saying that that i think that rumor would depend on the outcome of BJ and GSP’s battle. I agree that it would be awesome for it to happen though.
I am going to do a moderation test…. i repeat it is just a test
PSYCO. i agree. alot would be hanging on the gsp/bj fight and that moderation sucks.
wow this is awesome, the more UFC the better. looking forward to fights helps me get thru the semester.
DOES ANY ONE HAVE THE UFC 95 NEWSLETTER PRESALE PASSWORD
they haven’t sent out an email as far as I know…
does anyone have the ufc 95 presale password
UFC 95 PRESALE PASSWORD
4 months ago, everyone was crying about the gas prices. “The world is coming to an end” we were told. How would we even function at $5 a gallon. So now it’s back down to $2. Get a jar, save the difference, watch UFC. Or don’t, just stop whining allready.
lol. true. the economy is bad here in the states, but its even worse in other countries. gas is $1.65 where i live! (MO)so i aint complaining.
The UFC is going to lose a lot of money with UFC 93 with a fight of 2 over the hills (Coleman Henderson) and a Could of been the greatest (shogun) but lost to the eventual champion (forest) who won by punching the air and huffing for five rounds…
I am still smarting over the Franklin/Okami PPV two years ago, worst ever.,.
me too. that was the worst ufc ppv ever imo and 1 of the few times were i felt cheated by the ufc.
Bisping/Evans UFC 72 i think was the worst imo
ufc 78 dude
EMAIL DANA WHITE VIA HIS MYSPACE PAGE AND TELL HIM YOU WILL NOT PAY FOR UFC 93! It might seem lame or futile but he is such a tweaker he might actually read them…
we get it v.good compared to you folks across the pond $44.99 a ppv! my misses would kill me
I will go to a bar to watch those fights…what a waste!…
You limey bastards…haha just kidding man I know when I heard about Sentenna sports or whatever I was pissed…
im surprised that ufc isnt going to lock horns with affliction and promote an event the same day. whats this . . . is dana slipping
they will probably re-air 91.
its a tough card to compete with…Dana isn’t overly worried about a promotion that has 2 cards a year when the UFC has 15 cards all of which are at least decent…
Who cares? These fights are affordable. Go to a bar that shows it for free (not that hard to find) and spend $20 on beer and food; or get 8 of your friends (you do have 8 friends right? lol) and spend $20 on the event, pizzas, wings, and beer.
Definitely watching the Affliction we will have to see about the ufc ones.
92 and 94 are gunna be worth the money but 93 and affliction will be better for channelsurfing
UFC 93 is being shown live via Spike as per the organization’s website.
Seriously? Where did you hear that?
Im from scotland so i have the benefit of setanta which is great as we get live ufc events, TUF, boxing like clazaghe v jones, uspga events, premiership football and lots more. However you guys in the states have to remember that for us to watcha live ufc event from the states we have to wait up until like 3am and 4am just for the event to start!!!!
Im more than willing to do it as ufc is pretty much my main interest these days, but its not like its easy to plan to sit up until that time.
i think iv bought my first tickets for ufc 95 i cant wait!! Im just unclear as to how they confirmed them as i did not have to give a password or anything?? considering they dont open to the public until 21/11/08?? Does anyone have any idea if this sounds right or should i be contacting them again??
Thanks guys!
they couldnt hammer out a deal I dont buy it.
I will not be spending one red penny on any of these events but I will watch them all.
Hey Kevin I have a Mac too and all streams are working for me. You need to install this http://perian.org/
They call it the swiss army knife for Quicktime which will let it play most all formats. It’s also free and open source.
Anyway I may skip buying UFC 93 or go to a bar and watch it. Dan Henderson is boring to watch.