You’ve probably already heard, but Tapout cofounder Charles “Mask” Lewis passed away early Wednesday in a tragic car accident. Mask was one of those guys who spent every minute of his life trying to make a difference. His dedication and love for MMA has in no small part brought the sport to where it is today.
MMA photographer Tracy Lee has posted on Sherdog that the Tapout crew would like to deem tomorrow Black Friday. If you’ve got Tapout gear, wear it tomorrow in rememberance. Take a photo of yourself and post to this thread.
Also there is a tribute page as well as a phone line (1-888-6-TAPOUT) where you can record a message for family/friends.
MMA vet Kimo Leopoldo was picked up Monday by the cops in a Tustin, CA parking lot for possession of methamphetamine. Kimo was wearing a Long Beach PD jumpsuit uniform and flip flops which drew the attention of the Tustin five-oh.
I thought I’d take this opportunity to revisit the past of one of the strangest men in MMA history. First, here’s an MMA training video called “Kimo’s Fierce Fighting”. The first minute or so are golden.
And finally a blast from the past, here’s Kimo’s match against Royce Gracie in UFC 3. It’s been a while since I’ve seen these old fights, so it’s really entertaining to watch the hair pulls and head butts.
The UFC is teaming up with Mark Mastrov (24 Hour Fitness CEO) to launch a bunch of branded UFC gyms. From their interim site:
Announcing UFC GYM! Take the World’s top MMA icon, The Ultimate Fighting Championship™, blend it with the Ultimate Fitness Center, and you get the UFC Gym. It’s a dynamic, high energy, MMA and fitness training center that will redefine the way you get results! UFC Gyms will feature:
Premiere fitness & cardio equipment
Group class programming
Personal training
Private MMA training
Octagon discipline instruction
Kids ultimate fitness care center
MMA Cafe
Full locker rooms
I’m no marketing expert, but It sounds a lot like they’re going for a family atmosphere with a brand name that is primarily targeted toward a male 18-35 demographic. I’m just not sure mainstream society is willing to embrace the brand as families just yet.
Another issue I see is the encroaching of the UFC on the personal legacies of martial artists. Many martial artists who have gained a high level of accomplishment eventually move on to open schools and want to pass on their knowledge to future generations. Would Mr. Miyagi teach at a 24 hour fitness?
So far Georges St-Pierre and BJ Penn have been signed to have their names tied to UFC gyms in Montreal and Hawaii. According to the Vancouver Sun, these gyms “will earn them an ongoing royalty payment for use of their names, even if they retire from the sport”.
But what happens to BJ’s own training and fitness center? Wouldn’t the UFC gym cut into his own business? It’ll be interesting to see how this business plays out.
Donald Trump Jr. made an appearance on CNBC this morning to talk up Affliction and respond to Dana White saying that this Saturday’s fight will be the organizations last event. Their strategy? Put together fewer, but better quality fight cards.
That’s why we’re only putting on a few select shows. If we’re going to give someone something, just like our mantra in real estate, we’re going to give them the best. We’re going to put on a great show, not put on 20 shows and say, ‘Well, maybe they won’t tune in, we’ll flood them with volume’ like a lot of our competition. We want to get a great card and have people feel like they got a value out of it after watching the show.
I don’t see them putting out particularly great cards. Yes, they’re decent but I wouldn’t say they’re better than any of the twenty-odd events the UFC churns out annually. They do have decent fighters, but a large percentage of them are borderline has-beens. The Affliction folks need to spend more money into finding, signing, and most importantly promoting new blood or they will go the way of EliteXC.
Move over, BJ Penn, here comes Nainoa Dung. 8 years old and weighing in at probably about 60lbs, Nainoa fights out of Wahiawa, HI. Man, if I could do this when I was in second grade I’m sure the other kids would’ve been a lot nicer to me. I bet none of the kids mess with him even though his last name is Dung. Here’s a writeup on Nainoa at MMA Hawaii. And now a video with Nainoa demonstrating “MMA, his favorite of all the martial art”. Yes, there’s only one.
I’m not exactly sure how I feel about 8 year olds doing MMA. On the one hand it’s good because it teaches kids to really understand what violence is at an early age. My personal belief is that understanding violence is the means to avoiding it. On the other hand, kids may not be able to really exhibit the control that in most cases comes from experience.
