2009-09-08T11:17:29-04:00 2008-10-22T14:52:01-04:00 0 2008-10-22T14:52:01-04:00 1 0 10 0 <p><strong>Brandon Vera</strong> supposedly took a year off from competition in the UFC because of "management problems." At least, that's what <em>Countdown to UFC 89 </em>claimed. But as <a href="http://mmapayout.com/2008/10/the-zuffa-freeze-out-and-unintended-consequences/"><span style="color: #810081;">MMAPayout</span></a> reveals, Vera's absence was a marketing experiment by Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC.</p> <div class="photo_container image_right"> <div class="photo"><img src="http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/brandon-vera-fc.jpg" alt="Brandon-vera-fc" width="298" height="223" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes">Brandon Vera, Courtesy of Zuffa</div> </div> <p>The "Zuffa Freeze Out" entails stacking the majority of a fighter's bouts at the start of his contract while leaving one for the end. The approach is supposed to <em>increase negotiating power with the threat of holding out the fighter until nearly the end of the contract before giving said fighter their last fight. </em></p> <p>In short, a fighter is slashed of potential income opportunities (fights, sponsorships) and his value should he decide to leave the promotion. But, as MMAPayout points out, while the UFC can use various marketing strategies to enhance a fighter's reputation, the organization can do little to alter his skill level. And the latter seems to be <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/mma/10/19/ufc.89.post/index.html"><span style="color: #810081;">what's hindering Vera at this point</span></a>.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>Such a layoff is particularly detrimental for a fighter like Vera, who had a limited number of career fights at the time he was under the "Zuffa Freeze Out". While such a freeze out would seem to hurt their own product, the strategy looks to be here to stay. Varying from the strategy would put them at risk of putting to the free market a fighter that would be fresh from the Zuffa hype machine ready to be snapped up by a competitor to reap the benefits.</em></p> <ul> <li>&nbsp;The Zuffa Freeze Out And Unintended Consequences (<a href="http://mmapayout.com/2008/10/the-zuffa-freeze-out-and-unintended-consequences/"><em><span style="color: #810081;">MMAPayout</span></em></a>)</li> </ul> <!-- --><!--[if gte mso 10]> <mce:style><! /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} > <! [endif] ></div> <div class="photo_container image_right"> <div class="photo"><img src="http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/elitexc-fcblog.jpg" mce_src="http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/elitexc-fcblog.jpg" alt="Elitexc-fcblog" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes">Seth Petruzelli and Kimbo Slice, Tom Casino/EliteXC/CBS</div> </div> <div mce_tmp="1"><strong>Showtime Not Quitting ... Yet<br /></strong>Don't expect Showtime to get out of the MMA business. According to an email statement by Showtime to SI.com:</div> <div style="padding-left: 30px;" mce_style="padding-left: 30px;" mce_tmp="1"><em>ProElite officials have advised us that they will not be able to put on the EliteXC event scheduled for exhibition on SHOWTIME on Nov. 8. In view of Showtime's leadership role in sports programming, including boxing and mixed martial arts, we intend to explore other opportunities." </em></div> <div mce_tmp="1">Rumor has it that Showtime would like to return to the more traditional role of an independent broadcast partner rather than an equity shareholder. CBS, meanwhile, has remained silent, though it's believed the network would like to continue its <em>Saturday Night Fights</em> brand, and the loss of EliteXC as a partner won't discourage it from doing so.</div> <div mce_tmp="1"><strong>Fighter Lockdown</strong><br />Perhaps the most interesting bit of information from this mess deals with the contracts of ProElite's fighters. One of the managers I talked to said Elite might not be able to free fighters right away as CBS might have a right to the contracts. The network had a promissory note with Elite which didn't get paid. Like a lien on property, their only assets to collect are the fight contracts. This contradicts suggestions on Tuesday that fighters under contract to ProElite before it went belly up would likely be free and clear to negotiate with other promoters.</div> <div mce_tmp="1"><strong>Latest on "Standgate"</strong><br />Despite <strong>T.J. Thompson</strong>'s very public and potentially damaging comments about EliteXC executives paying <strong>Seth Petruzelli</strong> to stand with <strong>Kimbo Slice</strong>, no one from the company has been willing to respond on the record. The belief among those executives involved in the Oct. 4 fiasco in Sunrise, Fla., remains they did nothing wrong, and there's no reason to fear the current Florida State Athletic Commission investigation.</div> <div mce_tmp="1"><strong>Elite Excessiveness</strong><br />One final example of ProElite's opulence: Nearly every office inside the company's L.A. headquarters had a hi-def TV hanging on the walls.</div> <div mce_tmp="1">&nbsp;</div> <div mce_tmp="1">&nbsp;</div> </mce:style></P></P> <div mce_tmp="1">&nbsp;</d--> http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/976/28/thumb/nicki_jhabvala.jpg 5 NY Nicki Jhabvala New York 97928 16702 <p><strong>Brandon Vera</strong> supposedly took a year off from competition in the UFC because of "management problems." At least, that's what <em>Countdown to UFC 89 </em>claimed. But as <a href="http://mmapayout.com/2008/10/the-zuffa-freeze-out-and-unintended-consequences/"><span style="color: #810081;">MMAPayout</span></a> reveals, Vera's absence was a marketing experiment by Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC.</p> <div class="photo_container image_right"> <div class="photo"><img src="http://img.fannation.com/upload/si_blog_post_images/brandon-vera-fc.jpg" alt="Brandon-vera-fc" width="298" height="223" /></div> <div class="photo_attributes">Brandon Vera, Courtesy of Zuffa</div> </div> <p>The "Zuffa Freeze Out" entails stacking the majority of a fighter's bouts at the start of his contract while leaving one for the end. The approach is supposed to <em>increase negotiating power with the threat of holding out the fighter until nearly the end of the contract before giving said fighter their last fight.</em></p>