The Zuffa myth lives on
A few weeks ago I mentioned the alternate version of history that was first noted by Zach Arnold and which seems to show up in articles about Dana White and the UFC. Well, that alternate version of history has shown up again in an article about the UFC's PPV buy rates:
Errors like these are so consistent I have to believe that Zuffa's PR people are feeding reporters at least some of these "facts." With all Zuffa has done to make the UFC and MMA grow, they ought to provide reporters the actual facts rather than these easily disprovable myths.
By the way, according to the article the UFC reportedly averages between 200,000 and 350,000 PPV buys per show and 2 million unique website viewers per month.
update 6/20: Eddie Goldman agrees.
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Once Zuffa purchased the franchise from Meyrowitz, it immediately imposed rules to make the sport more appealing to state athletic commissions and cable operators. The sport has outlawed such moves as eye gouging, biting and kicks to the crotch. Much like boxing, the UFC emphasized weight classes and allowed referees to stop matches at their discretion.Other than the fact that biting and eye gouging were never allowed in the UFC, referee stoppages were added somewhere around UFC 2 or 3, SEG brought in weight classes years before Zuffa bought the UFC, SEG implemented virtually all the other current rules before Zuffa bought the UFC and New Jersey sanctioned MMA (and scheduled the first UFC in the state) before Zuffa purchased the UFC, the history is totally accurate.
In 2001, Zuffa was able to convince boxing-friendly athletic associations in New Jersey and Nevada to sanction UFC fights. That same year, In Demand LLC began to distribute UFC events. Currently, 22 states sanction UFC events, according to White, and the company’s events are fully distributed across cable and satellite.
Errors like these are so consistent I have to believe that Zuffa's PR people are feeding reporters at least some of these "facts." With all Zuffa has done to make the UFC and MMA grow, they ought to provide reporters the actual facts rather than these easily disprovable myths.
By the way, according to the article the UFC reportedly averages between 200,000 and 350,000 PPV buys per show and 2 million unique website viewers per month.
update 6/20: Eddie Goldman agrees.
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Jeff - This wouldn't be a problem if reporters did the proper research. The facts are out there, and they're not that hard to find. Reporters just need to double check their sources.
Posted by Luke | 6/20/2006 1:46 AM
Most mainstream media, and especially print, have little use for facts. They do not want to spend the money on proper research. That makes it easier for them to propagate their agendas, which are usually making people docile and obedient to the kind of people who are their stockholders. why has not one of these mainstream types contacted me about the history of UFC? I know a lot of these guys, too.
Posted by Eddie Goldman | 6/20/2006 7:02 AM
MMA forums are also replete with fans that perpetuate the myth that you highlighted. Pretty much the only rule that the Zuffa owned UFC instituted that I can think of is the one that came about from the Duane Ludwig-Genki Sudo fight.
Posted by Anonymous | 6/20/2006 10:20 PM