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PKW's 07.10.07 MMA News Update
By Kyle Ross

UFC 73 Payouts and Attendance

Courtesy of the California State Athletic Commission. As per usual, no "Fight Of The Night" or "Sub Of The Night" Bonuses are included. All win bonuses, on the other hand, are included.

Anderson Silva ($90,000) def. Nate Marquardt ($24,000)
Tito Ortiz ($210,000) drew Rashad Evans ($16,000)
Sean Sherk ($28,000) def. Hermes Franca ($14,000)
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira ($200,000) def. Heath Herring ($70,000)
Kenny Florian ($16,000) def. Alvin Robinson ($3,000)
Stephan Bonnar ($32,000) def. Mike Nickels ($5,000)
Jorge Gurgel ($14,000) def. Diego Saraiva ($3,000)
Chris Lytle ($20,000) def. Jason Gilliam ($3,000)
Frankie Edgar ($10,000) def. Mark Bocek ($3,000)
Disclosed Fighter Payroll: $761,000

• Official attendance for the show was 13,183. Of that, 8622 was paid. Even with all the comps, the event wasn't really that close to being a sellout, as the ARCO Arena in Sacramento is designed to hold 16,811 for a Mixed Martial Arts event.

• Compared to other UFC PPV events, this overall fighter payroll is a bit lower. Note that Tito Ortiz and Nog's combined salaries account for over 50% of the total payroll. If you were to factor in Anderson Silva's purse as well, the three aformentioned fighters would account for nearly 66% of the overall payouts!

Fan Falls To His Death At UFC 73

Tragically, the worst news coming out of last Saturday night's PPV at the Arco Arena had nothing to do with draws, lack of action, or anything else that did or did not happen inside the Octagon.

According to the CBS affiliate out of Sacramento, Eraldo Cano, age 26, fell over 30 feet from the second level of the arena after walking between the barriers. After being rushed to a local hospital, Cano was pronounced dead at approximately 10 PM. If those times are local, and I believe they are, that means the fall would have occured during the actual PPV telecast.

By all accounts, the incident appears to be a very unfortunate accident.

Random Thoughts

There have been a lot of negative reviews written on UFC 73. Normally, I wouldn't share something like this, and I admit it wasn't the year's best PPV offering (but it wasn't BAD). Most of the criticism centered around the inconsistent officiating, lack of action in rounds 3 through 5 of Sherk vs. Franca, and the way UFC fights are scored. I've brought up the inconsistent stoppages and stand-ups before, which IS an issue. The other criticisms I don't see, although Evans earning a draw essentially on one takedown is kind of bogus.

Why am I writing this then? Because which company would you rather be: Dream Stage Entertainment, who put on PRIDE 32: The Real Deal, or Zuffa? I rest my case. Long-time fans need to realize that big time superstars sell PPV's, not potential fight quality. Chuck Liddell vs. anyone will always draw exponentially more than a Guida-Griffin or even a Sanchez vs. Parisyan. Is that unfortunate? Yes, but it's worked so far for Zuffa, so they ain't changing.

Now that's not to say the UFC can get away with putting on 12 shows like a UFC 55 or a UFC 61 in a calendar year, because that would erode the fan base drastically. However, UFC 73 was nowhere near the hideousness of those events. What it was, was several big-time fighters in big-time fights. Was it the greatest MMA event ever as it was hyped to be going in? No, but why would you put stock in those expectations in the first place? They can't script the fights. Overexposure, not fight quality (or lack their of) is the UFC's biggest issue down the road.

Quick Hits

• Well, it looks as if the plan for Jackson vs. Henderson has changed yet again. Over the weekend, Dana White reportedly stated the the matchup of 205lb. titlists will in fact result in a unified Light Heavyweight Champion. UFCJunkie.com is saying that it's confirmed as well. This was the plan we had originally indicated before an Orange County Register report came in saying neither the UFC or the PRIDE belt would be on the line. After that, Sherdog reported that only Jackson's UFC Title would be at stake. If true, a unification bout makes me increasingly leary about the future of PRIDE.

• Dana White, to almost no one's surprise, told ESPNNews that Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans will have a rematch from last Saturday's draw in the near future. The Newark Star-Ledger is stating that with rumored negotiations ongoing to bring a November PPV to East Rutherford, that may be the site for said rematch. As mentioned in yesterday's news update, a Sean Sherk vs. BJ Penn Lightweight Title bout is also tentatively set for November.

• Mark Bocek has confirmed that he sustained a broken nose during his loss to Frankie Edgar at UFC 73 (Credit: MMAonTap)

• The WEC sent out a press release hyping their 8/5 show in Vegas (WEC 29) that will be co-headlined by two title fights. In a long awaited showdown, Carlos Condit defends his Welterweight Title against top challenger Brock Larson. This fight was supposed to go down at the last WEC show, but was nixed due to a Condit injury. I smell title change. In addition, Paulo Filho's debut for the promotion against Joe Doerkson will be to crown a Middleweight Champion.

• Hockey may wind up being the culprit for the UFC not coming to Montreal in 2007. Another quote of the year candidate from Dana (this to the Canadian Press): "You guys have got too much frigging hockey up there. As soon as you cancel some hockey games, we’ll be up there."

• This is a much better article on MMA that I could ever dream of writing HERE

• From the "I don't believe you department," DSE President Nobuyuki Sakakibara has been quoted as saying that Bodog offered Fedor Emelianenko cash to never work in PRIDE again. In a semi-related note, Pawel Nastula said that PRIDE will be back by Septemeber. (Credit: FightOpinion).

• The CSAC will have an arbitration hearing later this month to settle the dispute between Brandon "The Truth" Vera and his manager, who allegedly turned down an offer from the UFC without consulting Vera.
• UFC vet Marvin Eastman won the IFO Light Heavyweight Title over the weekend, besting Rob Kimmons.