UFC on FOX update: Advertising expectations and ?Primetime?

Mixed martial arts has gone from being banned from pay-per-view to a contract with network television in just over a decade. However, there are few groups of people more skittish than advertising executives, Don Draper notwithstanding. Will the sight of blood, a nasty KO or a broken bone keep them buying advertising for the UFC's first foray onto FOX?

According to Ad Week, not at all. Though fighters for the event have not yet been announced, they expect for ad space for the Nov. 12, two-fight card to sell quickly.

One national TV buyer who represents a client that has bought time on Spike TV's UFC programming said he wouldn't be at all surprised to see more mainstream brands begin to line up for MMA events. "Content is definitely an issue, but no one's going into this with their eyes closed," said Kevin Collins, director of national broadcast buying for Initiative. "You're not going to get your traditional Sunday NFL audience, but I expect you'll find a lot of theatrical dollars, as well as QSR [quick service restaurants] and beer."

Those are all areas that the UFC has had success with in the past. Burger King has sponsored the UFC and their Brazilian branch works with middleweight champ Anderson Silva. Budweiser has had a relationship with the UFC for years, which had a famous dust-up at UFC 100 when then-champ Brock Lesnar proclaimed that he wanted a Coors after beating Frank Mir. Several movie promotions have made their way to the Octagon.

Still, the UFC and FOX are taking no chances and are making sure that the UFC on FOX will get plenty of build-up. "Primetime," the mini-series that has followed main event fighters in the weeks heading into their fights, will be turned into a one-hour show that will air on Oct. 30.

The show will air either before or after the NFL game assigned to your market on that Sunday. Pairing it with football will give the UFC the biggest exposure, as only "American Idol" pulls higher ratings on a regular basis, and that shows targets a completely different demographic.

Longtime MMA fans will undoubtedly tune in to see fights for free, but do you expect the UFC to win new fans with this venture onto network television? Tell us in the comments or on Facebook.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/UFC-on-FOX-update-Advertising-expectations-and-?urn=mma-wp6472

Daniel Acacio Bernard Ackah  Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana 

Cerrone get his wish for quick fight with Siver match up at UFC 137

Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone is as hot as a pistol right now. After his quick win over Charles Oliveira two weeks ago at UFC on Versus 5, he told Joe Silva he's waiting for the phone call. Even if there was opening for UFC 135 just six weeks, he'd take the fight.

"I want the Denver card coming up very soon. Hopefully nobody get hurt, but then I hope somebody gets hurt," joked Cerrone. "I told [UFC matchmaker] Joe [Silva], I'm the guy to call. I'll fight anybody, anywhere. I have to back that up."

Well, it won't be that soon, but Cerrone is now booked to take on Denis Siver in late October.

Siver's original opponent Sam Stout had to back out of the fight. There's no official word on the reason, but it makes sense to think that Stout is out because of the recent passing of his brother-in-law and trainer Shawn Tompkins.

Tompkins passed away on Aug. 14. He died in his sleep from a heart attack. The 37-year-old, who worked out of Las Vegas and Canada, was laid to rest on Aug. 19. Stout, 27, is riding a nice streak with two straight wins and 4-of-5.

Now it's Cerrone turn to step in with Siver, who's also been on fire. The Russian fighting out of Germany has won four straight including an upset over Sotiropoulos. Stylistically, this is a dream for fight fans. Cerrone loves to bang it out and Siver, is a very good one-trick pony with an excellent stand-up game.

This is a another statement fight for Cerrone, who was one of the big stars in the WEC, but always had that cloud of doubt hanging over him. How good were WEC lightweights? We get more answers at UFC 137.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Cerrone-get-his-wish-for-quick-fight-with-Siver-?urn=mma-wp6404

Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger 

Cerrone get his wish for quick fight with Siver match up at UFC 137

Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone is as hot as a pistol right now. After his quick win over Charles Oliveira two weeks ago at UFC on Versus 5, he told Joe Silva he's waiting for the phone call. Even if there was opening for UFC 135 just six weeks, he'd take the fight.

"I want the Denver card coming up very soon. Hopefully nobody get hurt, but then I hope somebody gets hurt," joked Cerrone. "I told [UFC matchmaker] Joe [Silva], I'm the guy to call. I'll fight anybody, anywhere. I have to back that up."

Well, it won't be that soon, but Cerrone is now booked to take on Denis Siver in late October.

Siver's original opponent Sam Stout had to back out of the fight. There's no official word on the reason, but it makes sense to think that Stout is out because of the recent passing of his brother-in-law and trainer Shawn Tompkins.

Tompkins passed away on Aug. 14. He died in his sleep from a heart attack. The 37-year-old, who worked out of Las Vegas and Canada, was laid to rest on Aug. 19. Stout, 27, is riding a nice streak with two straight wins and 4-of-5.

Now it's Cerrone turn to step in with Siver, who's also been on fire. The Russian fighting out of Germany has won four straight including an upset over Sotiropoulos. Stylistically, this is a dream for fight fans. Cerrone loves to bang it out and Siver, is a very good one-trick pony with an excellent stand-up game.

This is a another statement fight for Cerrone, who was one of the big stars in the WEC, but always had that cloud of doubt hanging over him. How good were WEC lightweights? We get more answers at UFC 137.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Cerrone-get-his-wish-for-quick-fight-with-Siver-?urn=mma-wp6404

Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves