(PHOTO: Dean Lister on right will fight for LHW title in MFC)
All the fans know the UFC and all the press report on them but where do those
fighters come from? What else is going on now? Perhaps most
importantly what shows should fans watch to see tomorrow’s stars
develop? The Declaration of Independents is a monthly snapshot of what is
going on in the non-UFC or “independent” scene.
The 2009 Nielsen ratings November sweeps for television runs from October 30th
until November 26th or in regards to MMA ran from Strikeforce on Showtime
November 6th through UFC 106 on November 21st.
In that time UFC held UFC 105 free on Spike and the UFC 106 pay-per-view
as well as the previously recorded TUF 10.
Also in this time frame were Strikeforce’s CBS debut November 7th,
Sengoku 11 on HDNet, and WEC 44 on Versus.
At this time little ratings information is available but most insiders
are looking at this run to set up 2010 not only for expanding broadcasting but
also for increased sponsorship revenues and hopefully fighter paydays. Bellator were the only show that had
television distribution this year to sit out the sweeps however considering
their return in April debuts on NBC one can bet the mortgage they will pull out
the stops for the April sweeps.
For the most part the smaller independents are done for the year as shows without
television can’t bank on a live gate during the holidays. Several shows such as Shine Fights and UWC
have announced shows tentatively scheduled for January but no further
information is available. Between WEC 44
November 18th and UFC 106 November 21st sixteen shows took place around the
world however most were rather small with Wilson Reis, Tara LaRosa, Pat Curran,
and Luis Palomino being the biggest draws off TV. Biggest live event this coming weekend is
King of the Cage in NM while December 4th’s Ring of Fire card is shaping up to
be very interesting with Duane Ludwig among others.
Here is a list of confirmed MMA events on TV and the internet for the next five
weeks:
December 3rd Tachi Palace Fights 2 (expected but unconfirmed to stream on Sherdog)
December 4th M-1 Challenge semi-finals pt. 2 (HDNet 8 PM)
December 4th MFC 23 (HDNet 10 PM)
December 5th UFC The Ultimate Fighter 10 finale
December 12th UFC 107 (pay-per-view)
December 19th WEC 45 (Versus)
December 19th Strikeforce (Showtime)
January 2nd UFC 108 (pay-per-view)
January 9th Called Out MMA 2 (webstreamed on Sherdog)
Televised shows:
Bellator-The second season of Bellator Fighting Championships starts April 8th. At this time no fighter details are available
however a press release was issued stating the series will air on NBC, Fox
Sports Net, and Telemundo. Meanwhile the
’09 vets continue to pick up fights with Luis Palomino and Wilson Reis being
the most recent to take fights elsewhere.
Dream-Having wrapped up their 2009 season on October 25th at this time there is
no further information available.
King of the Cage (KOTC)-Live events take place November 28th in NM, December 12th
in MI, and December 17th in CA. On Dish Network currently “Gate Keepers” from
August 1st is airing as a pay-per-view.
M-1 Challenge (M1C)-The 2009 season is about to wrap up with the finals on
December 3rd, not to be confused with HDNet’s broadcast of the archives which
airs the semi-finals second bracket on December 4th. No word is available on if the finals will
webstream live or when HDNet will air them.
2010 season isn’t expected to start until spring.
Maximum Fighting Championship (MFC)-HDNet have confirmed December 4th’s show
will air live. In the main event Dean Lister faces Thales
Leites for the light heavyweight title stripped from Trevor Prangley.
Sengoku-Having wrapped up their 2009 season on November 7th at this time there
is no further information available.
Strikeforce-arguably the biggest news of the year has been Strikeforce which
recently made their CBS debut and held a show on Showtime on the same
weekend. Next up the Dream-affiliated
show end the ’09 season with a return to San Jose December 19th featuring Josh
Thomson vs. Gilbert Melendez for the lightweight title.
World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC)-one month after WEC 44 November 18th comes WEC
45 December 19th with a main event of Donald Cerrone vs. Ed Ratcliff. WEC 46 takes place January 10th with Jamie
Varner vs. Ben Henderson for the lightweight tile.
Xtreme Fighting Championships (XFC)-The Tampa-based promotion hasn’t held a
show since September 5th live on HDNet and have none publicly scheduled however
there is an open fighter tryout January 16th.
Webstreamed shows:
Ring of Combat (ROC)-GoFightLive are currently still airing ROC 27 November 20th
as a pay-per-view. No details are
available on the next ROC show.
Shine Fights: September 4th was a successful webstream and great card for
this up-and-coming promotion. Next show
is tentatively scheduled for January.
Ultimate Warrior Challenge (UWC)-Look for UWC to focus on the flyweights in the
near future including their tentatively scheduled January show.
Wild Bill’s Fight Night-Atlanta’s hotbed for up-and-comers holds a show December
18th. The show is expected to be
webstreamed outside GA.
