K-1's FEG responds to UFC/Pride Alliance

[smoothsake]

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/...3679&zoneid=13

Looks like they will be doing an event in my backyard on June 2. Royce Gracie and Hong Man Choi are announced as participating.

[Spirit]

I guess this is what to expect for some time... buy outs and deals

[sublimo]

Gracie was the best but he is getting old...

[schuyler]

He's three years younger than Randy Couture.

[rsobrien]

also nowhere near the caliber of competitor as Captain America

[schuyler]

I think he is, but not quite as well rounded as Couture. I dunno, I like seeing the 'older' guys kick the crap out of the young, up and comers.

[Sonik]

I dont think FEG is doing a good job. the card so far suck if not for Royce Gracie vs Kazushi Sakuraba (wich may be boring as hell for some).

[Martin H]

I have no idea how FEG thinks it is going to fill the LA Coliseum with the card given so far. http://www.k-1.co.jp/k-1gp/top775.htm Choi is not exactly a spectator magnet in the US. Royce might attract a few viewers, by few Americans even know who sakuraba is.


Nor do I have any idea how a fan is supposed to see what is going on in the ring.


The place has a 92,000 spectator capacity.
The most spectators to a MMA event in the US so far is 19,079.
LA Coliseum is just too huge for martial art competitions.

What fightcard can k-1 and its allies come up with the potential to drag even a fraction of that many MMA fans? How the **** do they expect to fill the arena to the capacity?????

[Spirit]

I'm not sure they are trying to fill it, this maybe a marketing ploy what do you think
Go Big , think big. If you build it they will come

[Martin H]

I just hate to think about a arena made for 92,000, with a audience of 6-7,000 rattling around inside.

[Spirit]

Originally Posted by Martin H

I just hate to think about a arena made for 92,000, with a audience of 6-7,000 rattling around inside.

I have to agree, though we don't know the mind set of the marketing behind such a move....
Are they trying to make a point or is it blind ambition to fill the seats???

[smoothsake]

Martin H, yes you are absolutely right! Being a season ticket holder to USC Football (not soccer, but American football) I go to the Colliseum many times a year. The capacity is about 90,000 and there is NO WAY that any MMA event will even fill 15% of the stadium. Plus a ring will look awfully small in the center. Choi may bring out the L.A. Korean-American community... and surely Gracie is a household name... but the Colliseum is a bad venue for this event. They should have chosen the Staples Center (where the LA Kings, Lakers, Clippers play).

[vapor]

Staples Center does make more sense....but the LA Coliseum just sounds cool.....they will have to have some spot on camera work going on, so that they don't pan out and show an empty areana....

But, if they want to fill seats, and will fly me to LA, I will go see it!!

vapor

[smoothsake]

I got my ticket and will be there with my Kyokushin senpai. Although there is a rumor that Sakuraba and Che Hong Man are not fighting due to injury... we'll see.

http://www.hero-s.com/dynamite-usa/index_en.html

[kakatootoshi]

Rumor confirmed.
Choi said in the press conference that his cerebal tumor and hemorrhage were caused by "Giant Syndrome". He is replaced by Kim Min Soo, who fought Mighty Mo this March and lost.

For Sakuraba I think he has passed the medical check (he was also delayed by the memorial day holidays) and is now okay to go.

OSU!

[Sonik]

Kim Min Soo vs Brock Lesnar now?! I think Kim is gonna lose again!! Why do they keep insisting on this guy? Only because he's korean? Anyways i think this event wil suck aside from a couple of good fights. Don't see how they will fill in the entire stadium.

[smoothsake]

I thought it was a good event, given that I paid $10 to go. Anything more than that would have been a waste of money. I had excellent seats that out rivaled seats on the floor that cost over $100. I had a clear elevated perspective to the ring and there was a monitor at eye level above the ring that showed the ground action. Folks with the $100+ seats on the floor were clearly uncomfortable and the venue was just not accommodating for a fight.

Some personal thoughts on Sakuraba and Gracie... The crowd was clearly there in support of these two legends and gave a very promising standing applause as both fighters entered the ring, but the fight was so anti-climactic. They looked way past their respective primes. Very little action from the 38 year old Sakuraba and the 40 year old Gracie. No flare, no showmanship. It was a clear let down after 15 minutes of fighting. The crowd quickly dispersed after the decision was announced and FEG made the huge mistake of keeping Lesnar's fight as the last event. Half the crowd didn't stay for it.

Total attendance... I'm guessing 15K, maybe 20K. Rumors abound that it was 54K but there is no way. I also hear that FEG only sold 1K tickets and gave away something like 90K tickets for free. My guess is that they will need to rethink this strategy before they do another US MMA event.

Best fight... Yoon versus Manhoef. The Dutchman beat the crap out of Yoon in the 1st round and I feared doctor stopage because Yoon's right eye was a purple pulp and was nearly closed. Yoon turned it around in the 2nd round and won by armbar submission. It was amazing.

OSU!

[Sonik]

I think this was the worst MMA event ever. Yes they seriously need to rethink their strategy. They should also know that the european and american audiences are diferent from the japanese and korean. They should have learned that most westerners do not apreciate guys like Bob Sapp, Hongman Shoi, Stefan Gremlin...They should study the market first before doing this kind of move. They're trying to mix the Pro-Wrestling and NFL fans with MMA fans. Not good. By the way if it was up to me aside from changing the MMA matches (by bringing in better fighters) i would also add K-1 matches with top K-1 fighters. That would be a smart move. Not this crap.