UFC on FOX 1 results recap: Was 60 minutes for 64 seconds worth it?
by Sergio Hernandez on Nov 13, 2011 3:30 PM EST
in UFC Results
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Months of anticipation, weeks of analysis and days worth of promotion finally led up to last night (Nov. 12, 2011) and the broadcast network premiere of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Starting off as what could be described as the movie "Bloodsport" come to life and later banned in states across the country, the Las Vegas-based fight promotion has come a long way since its somewhat seedy beginnings.
Last night's inaugural event -- UFC on Fox 1 -- was the culmination of countless hours put in behind the scenes by Dana White and company. Even more so, it was the long sought after payoff brokered on the backs of the men who have stepped inside the Octagon. A litany of shattered and snapped bones, cuts small and large, and a near endless list of other injuries helped bring fans last night's historic moment.
Junior Dos Santos captured the heavyweight title by knocking out Cain Velasquez in four seconds past the minute mark in the main event of the card that Dana White called the most important in the company's history.
However, there was no back and forth action, there was no battle of attrition. By the very nature of mixed martial arts (MMA), fights can end as easily in a matter of seconds as they can stretch out for the entirety of the time allotted to it.
So was the payoff worth it?
When the UFC was left with little other option, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) reality show was birthed and its first season ended with the now myth-like fight between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar. The two light heavyweights battled back and forth for 15 minutes and in their actions, personified everything that is -- and can be -- great about MMA.
We have witnessed a fight or flight moment inside the Octagon before and somehow the fight managed to supersede all expectations. And now we've seen a similar moment end with an exciting knockout, but there's a lingering feeling that it was a bit underwhelming.
But let's be honest.
If not for the enormous amount of hype, scrutiny and pressure attached to the heavyweight title bout, the ending -- quick, brutal and decisive -- would have been completely and wholly satisfying. Seeing the Brazilian loop his devastating hook directly into Velasquez's temple would have brought fans to their feet. Witnessing the new champ finish his opponent off with an unrelenting flurry of ground and pound would have left fans cheering themselves hoarse.
Instead, some are pontificating whether or not the minute-long fight was good for the UFC's bottom line instead of celebrating dos Santos' victory or the fact that the company -- once on the brink of vanishing from the sport -- has joined the likes of the NFL and MLB as a member of the FOX Sports family.
For every casual fan's "Was that it?," there surely is a corresponding "That was an incredible knockout!" A heavyweight Griffin/Bonnar would have been ideal, there's no doubt. It would have been the best possible outcome, but we got what we got and it was a performance from "Cigano" that cements his place at the top of the heavyweight mountain.
Another complaint about the broadcast was the decision to only air the main event when a lightweight bout that was predicted to be a Fight of the Year contender ended up being exactly that. The fight between Ben Henderson and Clay Guida pitted two top 155-pounders looking to secure a date in Japan against lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. Both "Smooth" and "The Carpenter" are notorious for entertaining scraps and more than lived up to their reputations with their three round war.
The fight was not aired on FOX. It instead had to be sought out online via Facebook or on the Spanish language FOX Deportes. In an hour-long broadcast that showcased a fight that ended in a little more than a minute, fans were putting the UFC to task for not promoting the bout onto network television.
But last night wasn't about putting on the type of show that will be what actually ends up on FOX in 2012. UFC's deal with FOX doesn't even begin until January. This show was somewhat of a one-off to hype the heavyweight division and also promote Brock Lesnar's tilt with Alistair Overeem next month.
It was designed to introduce the fan who had never seen UFC before to the raw power that heavyweights possess in their four-ounce glove covered fists. And there was no better way to do that than "Cigano" blasting Velasquez in a minute.
Was 60 minutes worth 64 seconds?
Absolutely.
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Disagree
It would have been more satisfying if there was a little more fight in Velasquez. But it sure is better than watching Fitch.
"If [GSP] stands up in the middle the cage after he wins a fight and says, 'hey, I wanna fight Nick Diaz', I'll hop the cage and I'll get up in this motherfuckers face and I'll say, 'what's up, let's do this shit.' You know what I'm sayin? But if I said something like that, I don't think he'd get up out of his seat." — Nick Diaz, April 2010
aboslutley worth it!
no matter what it was the fight most people have been waiting to see for about 2 years now. everyone wanted to see cain/jds/carwin touch gloves and we’ve seen 2 out of those three fights happen. and this was the one i really wanted to see and it was free. i didnt turn to the fox cahnnel until about 8:35 because i knew thats when the fight would probably start so i didnt even tune in to see what the first 35 minutes were all about.
im glad this fight happened and to make it free why complain?
the issue from the start was having only fight, in the heavy weight division all it takes is one clean shot from many of these guys. It wasn’t as exciting as many of us suspected it could be but thats MMA especially with a skilled power striker like JDS.
"I felt like I was getting raped by Freddy Mercury"-Tank on losing to Dan Severn
Bendo vs Clay CLEARLY should have been included in the broadcast
Big time slip up on the part of Zuffa IMO
JDS is going to be champion for a while isn't he? Damn...JDS vs Overeem would be crazy, but will Brock spoil that ish?!?
But anyway, unless Dana White was on his period I think we all know how he felt about it from the press conference
Dana is a bad actor, and his whole body language said he was pissed off at Cain and disappointed that the fight was a flop.
"If [GSP] stands up in the middle the cage after he wins a fight and says, 'hey, I wanna fight Nick Diaz', I'll hop the cage and I'll get up in this motherfuckers face and I'll say, 'what's up, let's do this shit.' You know what I'm sayin? But if I said something like that, I don't think he'd get up out of his seat." — Nick Diaz, April 2010
Dana was not happy the fight went as it did, he wanted a war and not a one minute fight even though he stated different before
I think he is a fan of Cains as well and Dana has a hard time hiding his true feelings, against Brock he showed he was routing for Cain with his pre fight interviews I seen.
"I felt like I was getting raped by Freddy Mercury"-Tank on losing to Dan Severn
I think he is more interested in the fact that Cain is Mexican.
Pretty much the only Mexican that is relevant at this point, and the Mexican audience is huge. I am sure he would love to get that audience to become more interested in the sport. He didn’t really need another Brazilian champ. Those are a dime a dozen. ha
by naturalshadow on Nov 13, 2011 5:24 PM EST up reply actions
WE GET IT
They should have shown Hendo-Guida
WRITE ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE
I am the WAMMA Light-Heavyweight Champion
Now with more defenses than Fedor
A lot of my friends were disappointed with the fight
“That shit was weak” said one of them. FUCK THAT. JDS came out with great boxing as always and landed a pretty devastating blow to put Cain out. Just because it wasn’t a brutal-chin-connected-flash-KO people thought it was lame.
If there is anyone that deserves criticism it is Cain. He was out for 13 months, coming off of a serious surgery, and he looked like shit. His gameplanning fell through, his hands did him no service, You can’t come in vs JDS like that. Not to mention Cain looked nervous the whole time, he couldn’t take the pressure.
I always picked JDS to win but Cain didn’t even make it competitive.
Please stop with the BULL SHIT
enough with this, everybody knows it was not worth it, yes for MMA fans as myself the fight is what it is, it wasn’t a bad fight, it was a good knock out, but this event was not just for fans who already know about the UFC and MMA, this event was TO GET NEW FANS INTO THE UFC, IT WAS TO GO MAINSTREAM, and that’s why there was so much hype for hours and hours, everything was hyped for a war, for goodness sakes even before the show began they gave a discretion message warning of great excitement to come, well i’m sorry 1 fight lasting 60 seconds on a 1 hour program filled with hype IS NOT HOW YOUR GOING TO GET NEW FANS TO THE SPORT.
so please fuck off with all this stupid bullshit white washing and just admit it was a fuck up and move on.
+1
"If [GSP] stands up in the middle the cage after he wins a fight and says, 'hey, I wanna fight Nick Diaz', I'll hop the cage and I'll get up in this motherfuckers face and I'll say, 'what's up, let's do this shit.' You know what I'm sayin? But if I said something like that, I don't think he'd get up out of his seat." — Nick Diaz, April 2010
how do you expect the ufc to fit a 3 rounder and a 5 rounder into 1 hour? they needed to explain the ufc to new viewers, they needed to tell them about who was fighting. if you want to blame somebody, blame fox.
Song of the week:: Alizee - Gourmandises http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sazw6NG9Asw&feature=related (the song (please clone her(looking at you scientists) ) )
Zuffa has done a lot of good things for both the UFC and mma in general, but they really fucked up what should have been a great moment last night. They picked the wrong fight to represent them on the national stage and it bit them in the ass badly. I’m not saying they should have aired any of the prelim fights but they definitely should have chosen a different main event.
Statistics show suicidal people are a hundred percent more likely to kill themselves.
You know, some days I forget that I have a memory.
I think Shogun vs Hendo or Jones vs Machida should have been used for this show instead.
Statistics show suicidal people are a hundred percent more likely to kill themselves.
You know, some days I forget that I have a memory.
by I.AM.miSTAKen on Nov 13, 2011 4:09 PM EST up reply actions
^^ you are not mistaken
"10thDegreeWhiteBelt is my hero, Cain is over-rated, and I would bang Dos Santos' wife. GO REDSOX!"
by wooly shambler on Nov 13, 2011 4:12 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Fuck yea it was worth it. What a bunch of winey ass bitches most of you are. You got a $50 ppv for free and a damn good ko
It wouldnt have matter what Cain did or didn do, he was bound to get ko’ed. the best Cain beats the worst JDS 1 outta 10 times.Kongo exposed his chin back in the day and JDS finishes.
I like bacon...
#1 Quinton Rampage the Dragon Slayer Jackson fan for LIFE..FTW!!! Nick Diaz would mop the floor with GSP and the fight with Sheilds confirms it!!!
The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other bastard die for his" I hate Jon Jones..No mas la raza!!! JDS Bitches
by Big-dawg on Nov 13, 2011 4:12 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
The best Cain beats jds 6/10 times
"10thDegreeWhiteBelt is my hero, Cain is over-rated, and I would bang Dos Santos' wife. GO REDSOX!"
by wooly shambler on Nov 13, 2011 6:33 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Lol
Just like he did sat? Pfft..
by dragonassault on Nov 14, 2011 5:59 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I must have seen a replay
Cause I caught the last round of the Henderson/Guida fight when I got to the bar.
I didn’t pay attention to the hype and didn’t realize there was supposed to be one fight broadcasted. If you’re going to do it I think heavyweights are a BIG mistake. Thief fights can either end quick or they get tired and it’s a boring/horrible fight. This probably would not be the case with Cain because of his cardio, but a one sided beat down where Dos Santos is gassed is probably not what the doctor ordered either.
I thought it was a good fight and I wasn’t disappointed at all.
by Shadyone33 on Nov 13, 2011 4:14 PM EST via mobile reply actions
The fights
God Damn iPhone auto correct
by Shadyone33 on Nov 13, 2011 4:17 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
iPhone sucks
They’re the Microsoft of 2011
"If [GSP] stands up in the middle the cage after he wins a fight and says, 'hey, I wanna fight Nick Diaz', I'll hop the cage and I'll get up in this motherfuckers face and I'll say, 'what's up, let's do this shit.' You know what I'm sayin? But if I said something like that, I don't think he'd get up out of his seat." — Nick Diaz, April 2010
TOLD ya ALL
Junior Dos Santos is more dangerous, more capable, and more deserving champion than Cain Velasquez. It’s funny that now each Cain fan blames injury for his fall but I believe Cain was just pure afraid to face Dos Santos. Junior Forever!!
I don't blame it on the injury
Id still pick cain in a rematch , he just approached the fight wrong IMO . You don’t fight fire with fire early on where the other guy has a bigger flamethrower with all his fuel still left.
"10thDegreeWhiteBelt is my hero, Cain is over-rated, and I would bang Dos Santos' wife. GO REDSOX!"
by wooly shambler on Nov 13, 2011 6:35 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
If Guida v Bendo ended up being a flop, would anyone be talking about it?
Hindsight is 20/20. Given the option of only one fight to air, Cain v Junior was the right choice.
by seagalblackbelt on Nov 13, 2011 4:23 PM EST reply actions
we all knew it would end quickly
You knew that Cain and Dos Santos were going for the home run so I knew it would end quickly. did you see Dos Santos destroy Carwin?? I knew he would beat him in stand up unless Cain connected hard. I think the whole fox thing wasn’t really that great for me. I don’t think the mainstream was impressed with what they saw. This is the best match up?? It lasted a minute. It was a bunch of fluff and product placements for 59. If I was not a fan I would be critical. We all know that watching an entire card is what makes MMA the best watch. Dana Whites commentary was most interesting. He was right. I think he was one of the mainstream recognizable faces and he was trying to educate the public. He brough Lesnar on there who I think is terrible. He should have had Randy Couture. They should have maybe educated the mainstream about MMA a little more.
by jlbryant on Nov 13, 2011 4:25 PM EST via iPhone app reply actions
I enjoyed the fight
mind you i live in canada and we actually got to see bendo vs guida, and didn’t have to watch the pre-post fight shows. But even if i did watch the pre-post fight shows i wouldn’t have cared. We got to see a heavyweight title fight FOR FREE!! People got to stop compaining!! I went nuts when JDS ko’ed Velasuz
I can't believe people are whining over this! Unbelievable...
Thank you Big-dawg, I agree with your setiments 100%. Whiney ass bitches is an understatement by alot of what I’ve heard. Someone stated they would have rather paid for a PPV and watch all the fights. Guess what assholes (to who think this) go to radioshack and by a cable for $20 and hook you pc up to your tv and you could have watched all of the fights. If you spent less time bitching you might have figured that out, last night was the first time I’ve done it, because I couldn’t miss the bendo vs. guida fight. I was suprised by the video quality as well. And if your whining about this could have been better for the casual fan to get more into it… why do you give a fuck. If you love the sport who gives a shit if others do or not… it’s gonna keep growing regardless.
it's going to keep growing?
lol, enough with this recycled line, UFC PPV’s are down, so on what basis is it ‘growing’? just repeating yourself saying oh it’s growing doesn’t make it so, last night’s event couldn’t even beat kimbo’s debut on CBS! give me a break.
Bro, do you know how much content they put out now. Every year it has grown.
PPV’s per event may be down but if you look at PPV’s over the entire year they’re up. Yes, that’s true, look it up, I would consider that to be growing… pretty sure the industry is growing.
Kimbo averaged 4.3 million with a peak of 6.5.
This had an average of 5.7million and the peak is obviously expected to be MUCH higher not to mention the head way they’ve made in Brazil and the very fact that they are on Network TV, how are these things not growth? The stupidity of fans NEVER ceases to amaze.
The mistake was not airing the Guida/Bendo fight immediately after JDS/Cain...
The main event was scheduled to be 25 minutes, but only lasted a minute….the Guida fight lasted the full 15…there was plenty of time to air that fight immediately afterwards to fill the time instead of filling the rest of the 24 minutes with nothing but fucking commercial after commercial after commercial after commercial….the whole point of last night was to introduce the masses to the UFC right? So how did forcing people to sit through 83738373 commercials after the 1 minute fight introduce people to the UFC? It didn’t…there was plenty of time to show a prelim fight afterwards…cause showing beer commercials and burger king commercials and taco bell commercials isn’t helping the uneducated fan being introduced to the UFC for the first time learn anything about the sport when there was plenty of time for them to be watching the Guida fight
sigs are gay
Completely agree that...
Guida vs. Bendo should have been on the schedule… that fight is as close to a sure thing as in terms as fireworks as it gets. Personally I bought a cable to hook my pc to the tv and watched fights on facebook for the first time due to that fight not being on the schedule.
Are you guys really telling harcore fans not to be whiney bitches about a sport they love, and them not wanting it to go in the wrong direction?
This whole reaching a broader audience is dumb. Everyone knows what MMA is unless you have lived under a rock since they started tuf. People who they are trying to attract are the people who have already passed judgement on it and don’t want to even give it a chance because they think its savage. I understand they want to go mainstream. But with dana telling the fans to shut the fuck up about there only being one fight televised and if you wanted more then you should have bought a fucking ticket… Is dana really willing to treat his hardcore fans like shit when there are still other organizations to watch, in order to gain a few casual fans who will only watch every once in a while? People say don’t bitch the fights were free on facebook, ya but everyone would much rather watch them on tv without having to go by an hdmi adapter, considering my cable bill is $260 a month for cable to see the other “free fights,” atleast 1 ppv, showtime for strikeforce, internet for the “free fights,” and now I have to get fuel also… I can understand what danas trying to do with the sport. But for all of us harcore loyal fans and customers who the ufc wouldn’t have even made it this far without, to say stuff like that, like our opinions don’t matter. That’s a bitch move by dana…
by KCmmaBadBoy on Nov 13, 2011 4:44 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Can't say I don't agree with most of what your saying...
I’ve been a hardcore fan when this shit was still basically underground and they were having to fight in Alabama. My cable bill also looks like yours and I’m a little pissed about having to get Fuel tv or atleast try. As far as Dana’s comments, I think they were out of frustration because he new he should have got that bendo vs, guida on the FOX show.
right but
If dana can’t deal with the pressure and stress behind bringing the ufc into the mainstream, then maybe he should find someone who can take the pressure… For a guy who talks so much shit on bob arum. Saying that all they want to do is make money right then and not plan for the future. Doesn’t make since to talk to the loyal fans like that, considering no matter what we will still love and buy the sport in the future. I’ve always liked dana and his attitude, but not on this one since I spend over $3,200 a year to make sure I can see anything that the ufc puts on. Should have bought a fucking ticket? I would but I can’t afford a ticket, plane flight, and still keep up on my cable bill… Dana owns 10% of the ufc, if he wants to break into the mainstream and while treating the hardcore fans like shit. Someone needs to inform him that no one is irreplaceable
by KCmmaBadBoy on Nov 13, 2011 5:07 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Waaaaahhh...
Boo Hoo. I don’t mind free fights…and you know what? I don’t buy PPV’s anymore. The ufc puts on too many fights a year and have made it too expensive too enjoy the sport. So i watch it illegally. I don’t have showtime or fuel, i will just make due on the internet. Can ya really blame me???
KC gets it
"10thDegreeWhiteBelt is my hero, Cain is over-rated, and I would bang Dos Santos' wife. GO REDSOX!"
by wooly shambler on Nov 13, 2011 6:37 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Hell no
I had to go to work at 630 and I cpactually thought they were gonna start the fight by then. All I got was commercials, fox theme music, Brock saying he wanted to fight Cain again, and the player bios. Was soooooo pissed.
by UltimateHuggingChampionship on Nov 13, 2011 7:28 PM EST reply actions
It was a bust IMO. I had 12 buddies over who had never watched the UFC and they all asked…. an hour just for 64 seconds, couldn’t of there been another fight ? Bendo Vs Gudia should of def been on there! Big dissapointment I thought.
by BrockLesnar Budlight on Nov 13, 2011 8:21 PM EST reply actions
Yeah.
Nobody ever complained about a Mike Tyson fight being too short(for which you usually had to pay) so why are people complaining about this fight(which was free)? Tad anticlimactic, but DAMN, that shit hit with IMPACT. BIG NOG IS AVENGED!!!
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