My latest feature on the NBA is now up on
@SBNation
! 👀
New RELOAD OR REBUILD breaks down what’s next for the former champs and top seeded teams that are off to Cancun early:
“I’m not political,” says the guy who blatantly turns his sports promotion into a campaign arm every election cycle, and is literally in a media tour to promote his candidate.
Dana White unsurprisingly trashed Ngannou, saying he just wants to fight lower level opposition, and again using his tired "doesn't want to fight" at this level line he's used for just about everyone he doesn't want to pay.
Hey
@jakepaul
, you’ve repeatedly talked about how much you care about low UFC revenue share, right? So how much will UFC fighters get from your brother’s deal?
Dwayne Johnson announces film based on the incredible life of MMA legend Mark Kerr.
@TheRock
will produce and star in the biopic about the former two-time UFC heavyweight tournament champ, who battled a lot of personal demons in his career.
So the news is out. Nate sold Bloody Elbow and the entire staff was laid off
I see BE is still running, but I’m no longer Managing Editor and it won’t have the team that built it
They also deleted not just my business/finance/law posts, but everything I wrote the last 15 years
So Sanchez admitted that family members brought up concerns he’s being conned, and he has cut ties with them to stay “loyal” with Fabia.
He says the anti-Fabia “agenda” has been pushed so hard, even his family members are believing the UFC’s lies, so he has now “disowned” them.
Joshua/Ngannou was extra sad because it really highlighted the sorry state of UFC pay, where the biggest stars have to completely handicap themselves in a different sport just to finally get paid what they’re worth.
Since UFC made the comparison themselves, here are the important numbers 👇🏽
Revenue split:
NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL: 48-50%
UFC: 13-18%
MINIMUM salary:
NBA: 1.1M-3.2M
NFL: 750K-1.6M
NHL: 775K
MLB: 740K
UFC: 10K
TKO president Mark Shapiro declares UFC now one of the 4 major sports:
“UFC is now not only mainstream, but it’s one of the four majors. The ratings on ESPN and ESPN2, apples to apples against the NHL — even including the playoffs, we dwarf them”
Just watch how Oliveira easily deals with these calf kicks, and it makes it even more funny that people panicked and thought they should be banned.
Sports evolve and athletes will always keep adjusting with the current meta game.
Goes from denial to moving goal posts to questioning the source instead of just admitting when he’s obviously very wrong.
Also a good reminder that it’s not “research” if you’re really only looking for sources that confirm your warped views and biases.
If a UFC champ still has lung issues monthsss after getting COVID, I guess all these random "healthy" dudes who "don't need" masks or vaccines have nothing to worry about right?
14 years with
@BloodyElbow
, 8 as Managing Editor
This has been my dream job, but I just got my 30 days notice.
BE will no longer be "supported" as part of Vox's latest cuts. I'm gutted as I grew up with the site, but I’ll always be proud of my team & its place in MMA journalism
UFC is making an insane amount of money, with profits that exceed literally every other fight promoter in the world… combined.
Meanwhile, fighter pay has dropped even more and their revenue share might just be the worst it’s ever been
Uhhh, so Kadyrov just executed a UFC vet that was in his inner circle, and Chimaev has since filled that role? And this is all very normal and things should all go smoothly now right?
While I was away on vacation, The Guardian published my investigation into the death of Abdul-Kerim Edilov, the former UFC fighter and Kadyrov loyalist who became deputy PM of Chechnya.
According to my sources, Edilov was executed on Kadyrov's orders.
Worked on this BE exclusive with
@heynottheface
:
We were able to transpose and identify payouts from several top UFC stars based on (what they thought would be vague) filings from the antitrust lawsuit.
Details here:
“Whoever the champion is in boxing, gets the lion’s share of the revenue. Here (in UFC) it’s dispersed around everyone.”
Translation: Here, we keep the lion’s share and 500 or so fighters get to split the remaining 13-17%. I swear this is better than corrupt boxing!
I applied for a green card many years ago and had several vaccines jabbed in both my arms, all in one day! (I remember it clearly, because I hate needles lol)
This has been going on forever, but guys like Rogan act like it’s partisan politics and pretend this is a new crazy idea
"They're dumb, they don't understand history." - Joe Rogan on people calling for vaccine mandates
"To the contrary, vaccination requirements, like other public-health measures, have been common in this nation." - unanimous, all-GOP 7th Circuit panel (appointed by Reagan & Trump)
I also just saw that entire BE archive from
@heynottheface
&
@ZidanSports
were also wiped, along with more business/crime/politics posts from others
I’ve been proud of our decade+ of unique work & investigative pieces, but absolutely heartbroken for my team and how this unfolded
Spent the last two weeks working on this BE exclusive with
@heynottheface
, and we were able to uncover the likely payouts of 33 (!) former UFC champions.
We also crunched up some eye opening stats on the UFC payouts from the class period
Dana White likes to brag about how UFC “reinvests” in the sport
But documents show that UFC owners went beyond just profit, and took out hundreds of millions from the company every year—to pay themselves.
Latest from
@heynottheface
on
@BloodyElbow
:
How I want lightweight to be handled after
#UFC257
:
1. Let Khabib retire
2. Leave Khabib alone!!
3. Poirier vs Oliveira for undisputed title
4. Chandler vs Gaethje
5. McGregor vs Diaz 3
6. Hooker vs Tony Ferguson
Not too opposed to minor shuffling, but 1 & 2 are non-negotiable.
Yesterday, I won my MMA debut. There’s always a lot I could work and improve on — like maybe to try not to bleed a lot the entire fight 🙃 — but it was a great experience.
Beyond grateful to all my coaches and training partners for getting me ready for every scenario.
Look at how the media in attendance are still playing this charade, pretending they don’t know what’s going on, when they themselves signed those very contracts too.
🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
Diego Sanchez has been hospitalized and is dealing with very serious COVID-19 complications. Despite blood clots and pneumonia, the long time UFC vet also says he’s still not ‘sold’ on vaccines.
BREAKING: Bloody Elbow infected at least 79 people across 9 schools, and killed one person, who didn’t attend the wresting tournament.
Oh wait, that was COVID! And it’s still there even if I don’t write about it!
🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
Sponsors? Not allowed!
Exhibition bouts even years after retirement? Not allowed!
Associating with Krause because of his shady gambling? Not allowed!
Associating with a genocidal warlord with US sanctions? Oh they’re “contractors,” who am I to tell them what not to do?
Here are just some of my features from the last few months alone that were part of the thousands they wiped.
I think our team produced great work at Bloody Elbow, and I'm gutted that the brand we've worked so hard to build for the last 15 years was just sold and thrown away.
*GSP moves up a division and beats the MW champ after 4 years out*
Silva: GSP is scared! Only likes easy fights!
Also Silva: Can I fight the guy 30 lbs lighter than me, who just lost?
🤷🏻♀️
Quick fact check:
Slap didn’t beat Call of Duty, which is top 5 on all free games (shocker, I know). It’s not even in the top 200.
In sports, it didn’t beat FIFA (
#9
), and it’s not number 1. Slap is currently number 111.
🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
People are getting so upset at my shitposting lol
Point is that many think Jake Paul isn’t serious about change and only talking about UFC pay issues for clout/personal gain, and I was wondering if he’d keep the same energy when it’s his brother that invests in the same system.
As of 2017, ONE FC has accumulated losses of S$92.6 million. If it wasn’t for mysterious “barter transactions,” total revenue would also be down from the year before after lower ticket sales and sponsorships.
They still claim to have massive growth and a billion dollar valuation
I’m limping to the airport with sore shins and elbows, but we did it! Third round KO at Bangla Stadium!
Full credit goes to the great coaches at Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA in Phuket. I’ll have more on this soon on
@BloodyElbow
, but this has been an experience I won’t ever forget 🇹🇭
I call bullshit. "In competition" window is different from the actual fight. Lots of drugs aren't banned, but can't be taken in between rounds.
Oxygen is allowed at all times too, why not bring in tanks for everyone in between rounds? Even sugary drinks are illegal in the corner
Re Hardy’s inhaler per
@JeffNovitzkyUFC
: Inhaler likely contained Albuterol or Salbutamol. Those drugs are allowed at all times, not to exceed 800 micrograms per 12 hours (each puff is around 90 micrograms). Per
@danawhite
Mass commission approved use of inhaler
‘Think of the shadow! Shadow!’
I transcribed Diego Sanchez’s bizarre corner advice on Saturday night, along with the conversations leading up to the disqualification. Coaches and commentators also put the ‘guru’ on blast.
Just an update on
@BloodyElbow
: Vox gave us all an extra month’s pay and stay with the network, while we transition and work on migrating the site.
There will be more to announce soon, and hopefully we can still have you all support us on our next steps, but BE will continue on.
What’s that,
@Twitter
? You’re telling me, we can now quote tweet puppy gifs with more even more puppy gifs?!?
That’s the second best news this little guy heard today. 🐶
I went over dozens more of UFC contracts from the antitrust lawsuit, and sorted through all the clauses and legalese so you don’t have to.
I rounded it all up here with easily digestible contract details from many of UFC’s biggest stars:
Certified diehard since before some fighters were even born!
Don't sleep on President Trump's MMA Fandom!
#UFCUnfiltered
available NOW on
#UFCFIGHTPASS
!
Fun fact: The Lakers are literally paying almost a third of the 2012 all-stars for the 2022 season.
LeBron, Melo, Westbrook, Rondo, Dwight, Gasol… and Luol Deng.
@dc_mma
No one said Ngannou isn't your guy, but did you not say this, on video?
“I gotta be honest man, I’ve heard whispers that all the things that Francis is dealing with, outside of the actual fight, may be taking its toll a little bit mentally. I’m not sure, but we will see.”
Cole Smith on first UFC paycheck: This sport sucks. It’s bullshit that someone in the NBA who doesn’t even touch the court is getting 600 grand, while I’m out here fighting my ass off, and I’m getting 10
MMA fighter Xu Xiaodong defeated and exposed fake kung fu guys and the Chinese government legit Black Mirrored him for it.
His social credit was slashed. Now he can’t board flights or trains, and likely won’t be allowed in most hotels as well.
I'm listening to Schaub's podcast (for work, definitely not for fun) about him getting COVID-19 and now starting to recover.
His logic is basically like "I drove stupid, got in a car crash but didn't die! LOL I'm right, who needs seatbelts even?!"
Throwing knees on the ground, fence grabs, and numerous others infractions. Firas Zahabi points out how ‘McGregor got away with so many fouls’ against Khabib