[By: Kris Karkoski | Apr 9, 2008]

From Sherdog:
Mauricio Rua is recovering in Brazil after surgery a few weeks ago on his knee.
“The surgery was very quick, lasted 50 minutes, was quiet,” Rua told Sherdog.com. “Now I hope for healing and I think here in about two months I can return to training slowly, very cautiously.”
The Brazilian light heavyweight ruptured the ACL [...]

[By: rulacrusbal | Oct 15, 2007]
The UFC's Future as a Television Property

The UFC’s future on television has been in the news lately with the collapse of negotiations with HBO, reports of a $100 million Spike extension in the works, and Dana White’s statement that the company is “going to make another big announcement about (TV) that is going to blow people away.” Speculation is widespread that [...]

[By: rulacrusbal | Oct 12, 2007]
Xyience Announces 3-year Extension of UFC Sponsorship

Yesterday Xyience announced a $12 million dollar funding effort as well as a three year extension of its exclusive sponsorship with the UFC. Xenergy is the official energy drink of the UFC. Quotes from the key players:
“XYIENCE has been a long time sponsor of the UFC(R) and we look forward to our future endeavors together [...]

[By: rulacrusbal | Oct 9, 2007]
Details on Zuffa's New Capital Structure

After consulting a pair of accounting professionals, we now have a better understanding of the actual financial structure in place at Zuffa as detailed in two separate Standard & Poor’s reports released this year. The company has secured two loans, totaling $350 million, which should provide a sound financial footing through at least 2015. Zuffa [...]

[By: Kris Karkoski | Oct 5, 2007]
UFC-HBO Negotiations End, No Deal In The

Extended talks between the UFC and HBO have ended more than one year after they began with no deal in place to air UFC events on the premium channel:
“After lots of discussion it became apparent that the business model doesn’t make sense for either one of us. So we agreed to go our separate ways,” [...]

[By: rulacrusbal | Oct 5, 2007]
The Big Picture (in Buzz Words & Bullet Points)

It’s easy to lose sight of the forest for the trees in the information age. So I thought I’d take a quick look at the big picture, where the industry was last year, where it is this year, and where it looks like its heading next year:

2006 - GROWTH - UFC buyrates triple; EliteXC, IFL, [...]

[By: rulacrusbal | Oct 4, 2007]
Trouble in Paradise: Are the UFC Natives Getting Restless?

The honeymoon may be ending for the UFC and its top fighters. Dave Meltzer reported this week on two separate situations that suggest emerging tensions between Zuffa and its top stars. The first, touched on earlier this week, is the reliability of the pay-per-view estimates the company gives its top fighters. The second is the [...]

[By: rulacrusbal | Oct 1, 2007]
A Look Behind the Curtain: Zuffa's Finances Come Into Focus

As a privately held company, Zuffa is under no public reporting obligations. As a result very little financial information is made public. The numbers that do see the light of day are carefully screened and released only when convenient to tout the growth and success of the UFC brand. As result the company’s financial status [...]

[By: Kris Karkoski | Jun 1, 2007]
Zuffa, WEC Close to Signing Top Middleweight Paulo Filho

14-0 mixed martial artists Paulo Filho has nearly reached an agreement with Zuffa owned World Extreme Cagefighting on fighting for the organization. The deal was first reported in Tatame and says Filho will compete in 3-4 events in the organization starting as early as July.
The Brazilian Top Team member is a top 5 middleweight fighter [...]

[By: Kris Karkoski | May 25, 2007]
UFC-Pride Deal Unofficially Finalized

The deal to sell Pride’s assets to UFC owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta has now been finalized according Sherdog.com. The news comes more than 3 weeks after the sale was supposed to be finalized on May 1. In a pre-UFC 71 call with the media on Thursday UFC President Dana White denied the news.
The status [...]