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Who knows if this is just lip service paid at a Japanese press conference, but it's worth mentioning that UFC officials have said they're interested in hitting Japan soon. Here's Asia Executive Vice President Mark Fischer:

“We definitely want to hold a major event in Japan as soon as possible,” he said. “I would say that we’re not ready to announce anything yet but that we’re hoping to have an event later this year or early next year in Japan.”

Backed by a 12-year track record of spearheading the introduction and growth of the NBA in China, Fischer sees the road back into Japan as one that will take time to pave, with particular objectives that need to be met first.

“It’s a step-by-step process. It doesn’t happen overnight,” said Fischer. “We want to build up a good fan base, grow our media exposure, and we want fighters from different nationalities in the UFC before marketing to that nation and bringing in the big event. That big event will be more successful then, and I think that’s what we’re doing here in Japan."

This was all said at an announcement for a new online content deal with TV Bank that will allow the Japanese to watch stuff on their phones. And if the 90s stereotype was that asians loooooved their cameras, it ain't nothing compared to how much they looooove their phones now. So this seems like a good strategy in lieu of a network deal with Japan's big 4 tv networks.

As far as how big of a difference this will make for the company, it looks like fans will actually have legal ways to enjoy the UFC online now. But it still isn't something that's going to allow the UFC to go mainstream and pull in oodles of new fans or anything. Read the Sherdog article for more of the specifics. Like most deals with foreign companies we've never heard of in lands where the people are foreign and mysterious, it's a bit hard to gauge.

Back to more 'We wanna come to Japan' quotes, this time from Fighters Only:

“I think the landscape is very good. I think we all know that it was maybe tainted a little bit by some of the MMA events and things surrounding them that may have gone on up until now, but I think it’s critical that people understand that the UFC is above all that and stands for excellence in the sport,” he said today.

“We want to expand the number of partners we have here. [TV company] WOWOW has been great, for example,” he said.

“By expanding the number of partners in media, consumer products and potentially sponsorships, it will allow us to have that really big event here and expand even more. I think it’ll be a virtuous cycle for us, in taking these steps.”

Fisher shows he knows how to speak Japanese - no dust man tactics, just a promise of a virtuous cycle for great success!

(image via SportsNavi UFC)

Alright, you bastards. Part of 2011 is going to be making these a thing. We've yet to sucker... I mean, convince... any of you to sign up for BetUS by clicking one of these. It's either that or the boss is holding out on me, and that's not really a road I want to go down. I'm sure that lifesize Jake replacement doll cost a lot of money. Real human hair isn't cheap, you know. But again, a plea: it's fucking free. It doesn't take much time at all and the people you talk to are very understanding about poverty - hell, I haven't had any money in the account yet, and I don't get harassed about it. To the arrogant, put your money where your mouth is and buy drinks with your winnings. To the meek, start studying and help us out.To the lazy, FUCKING CLICK HERE.  It literally helps us more than you buying a star.

On to the card (we'll do the main card and mention a couple of the more interesting prelims - it's kind of awesome how deep even the free cards are now post-merger. OH. And BetUS has an awesome thing now that shows you the "action" - the percentage of money being wagered on the most-bet fighter. Very, very helpful for predicting lines moving and seeing where the money's going.

I like that the UFC is experimenting with different ways to share prelim fights with us. Sometimes those experiments are a bit goofy, like having the UFC 125 prelims on ION, the only broadcast network shittier than Mexican soap opera destination MyNetworkTV. Fans had to bust out the rabbit ears or scour the 700+ channel region of their cable package to see if they could find it. But this next experiment seems a lot cooler: watching the UFC on Facebook.

The opportunity to watch two live prelim fights for free from UFC® Fight For The Troops 2 is now only a click away. The Ultimate Fighting Championship® announced today that fans will have the ability to watch two exciting UFC contests on Saturday, Jan. 22 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT by simply clicking the “Like” button on the official UFC Facebook page.

By liking Facebook.com/UFC, fans will gain access to a live stream of the lightweight battle between Cody McKenzie (12-0) of The Ultimate Fighter® and veteran Yves Edwards (39-16-1), as well as a pivotal welterweight clash pitting TUF alum DaMarques Johnson (16-8) against Mike “The Joker” Guymon (13-4-1). Fans that do not have a Facebook account are encouraged to sign up at www.facebook.com.

“I’m always looking for ways to give fans fights for free and this is just another example of that,” UFC President Dana White said. “Facebook is such a great tool for people to stay connected and we’re excited to put two live fights on our UFC page for free.”

Yeah! Talk about a context switch that syncs up with the multimedia catalysts for change! Go UFC for getting behind the bandwidth power curve. Synergies will be leveraged! Empower the end user's performance meta-services! Other corpspeak for ME LIKEY!

Sorry to shit on your whole "bookings" podcast, bossmen, but This. Just. Happened:

UFC President Dana White announced today that former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and number one contender Junior dos Santos will match wits as the coaches of season 13 of the hit Spike TV reality series.

Following the season, which begins filming this month and begins airing on March 30, Lesnar and dos Santos will then match fists in the Octagon later in 2011.

So, let's see: Brock never wants to fight again, Brock never wants to fight for a title again (for the record, it appears this bout will not be a five round interim title match, but it's sure as hell the shortest path between Lesnar and a title fight), Brock doesn't want to take tough fights - months of Schaudenfreude-laden kvetching (or, if you prefer, pointless putrid prolific pussified premature pontification) laid to waste by a single conference call.

Piece of advice to the rest of the blogosphere: know... something before you start calling a guy a bully with no heart, or writing off a 5-2 fighter with four wins against elite-level competition as "done". Or, you know, keep doing that - I can always use the material and personal satisfaction of not carrying around a shovel so I can bury people when they stumble.

The UFC's Fight for the Troops card is locked in and this year the company has decided to add to the charity drive by setting up a website where you can donate out of the goodness of your heart or bid on some cool shit, with all proceeds going to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. The coolest 'item' up for grabs: "Dinner with UFC Octagon Girls at UFC Event!"

Ever wonder what it would be like to have dinner with the stunning UFC Octagon Girls? Well, here's your chance. Bid now for the opportunity to dine with the Octagon girls at an upcoming UFC event. Package includes airfare, hotel accommodations and tickets to the UFC event.

(North American events only)
(airfare included for US travel only)

It sucks that this is only for North American events. Doing this in Abu Dhabi would be pretty pimp, plus the laws there are pretty cloudy about what happens when you whip your dick out, lay it on the table, and say "Ready for the main course?"

Bidding starts at 2000 bucks and will probably go up past anything you can afford. But if you're really jonesing for some face time with the Octagon girls, Chandella does work at a Playboy club in Vegas and there's a crawlspace under Arianny porch where you can watch her without any pesky police intervention.

Other cool items up for auction:

The Ultimate VIP experience - dinner with Dana, Arianny, and 'Greats' (I wonder how long till Chuck Liddell realizes he's the new Ronald McDonald of the UFC). You also get to hanging out all week and backstage with a UFC fighter of your choice during their fight week. I suggest betting on their opponent and spending the week undermining your fighter's confidence with subtle doubts and insults.

Bo Jackson Signed Kansas City Royals Jersey - Pretty impressive considering no one has seen or heard from Bo in over a decade

One of those UFC Custom Camaros - direct from the warehouse full of unsold UFC custom camaros
Real Life Ghost Hunter Experience - As if it wasn't bullshit enough on television, see how these frauds do their thing by joining them for 'a complete paranormal investigation.' Be prepared for such thrilling adventures as Water Pipes Making Noise, Animals Moving Around in Forest, and my personal favorite, Dark Aura and Sulfur Smell *FART*

Credit to smoogy on the UG.

I know.  It's a funny picture.  If you're a Shogun Rua fan, the memory of the Iceman laying melted in a puddle is probably a positive one.  Today, we were told that this image wouldn't be repeating itself, as Chuck Liddel announced his retirement and subsequent ascent to VP of business development for Zuffa.  No sleeping on the job, Chuck.

Every athlete that holds on for too long and ends up leaving a lot of fans with memories of futility instead of success will forever be compared to those that did it in the past.  Jerry Rice as a slow Seahawk, Willie Mays as a hobbled Met, Brett Favre as a sexually explicit Jet and feeble Viking.  The numbers, however, speak for themselves.  Chuck had one of the longest, most consistently difficult winning streaks in MMA during the last decade.  He went 2-1 against Randy Couture, knocking him out of the weight division and out of the cage itself for a time.  He twice KO'ed Babalu and Tito Ortiz at the height of their powers.  However, Rampage proved to be his stylistic nemesis, taking his belt after derailing his PRIDE run, before Chuck lost a close split decision to Keith Jardine's awkward leg kicks.

He won the much-delayed (and finally facilitated by the death of PRIDE) superfight against Wanderlei Silva in a fight that seemed to sap what was left of his chin for future bouts.  He was outpaced and ultimately coldcocked by an ascending Rashad Evans, dropped his guard just enough for Shogun to plug him, and was a mere ten seconds away from a doctor-awarded TKO victory over Rich Franklin (by virtue of having broken his arm earlier in the round) before succumbing to his killer instinct and leaving himself open.

I'll remember both of these things when I remember Chuck Liddell.  The fact that his last three losses came to two guys on their way to the belt and another truly great fighter.  His amazing streak in defense of the LHW belt.  Knowing what was coming when he fought and being excited when it happened anyway.  Playing as him over and over and over again on the first PS3 Undisputed demo.  Most of all, I'll remember the desire to finish that marked both his wins and his losses.  Hat tip to you, Chuck.  You were a wrestler that used your wrestling so you could punch people in the face.  And you were great at it.

There aren't a lot of journalistic responsibilities bloggers like me have to follow, but one good rule of thumb is you shouldn't take quotes out of context or ignore a larger overall point of view because you found a smaller segment of a conversation that fits a more interesting narrative. I don't know if this is what's happened regarding quotes from Dave Meltzer on Brock Lesnar's future or if Dave Meltzer is just backtracking now that people are losing their shit, but here's what's been attributed to the Meltz:

Lesnar reportedly hasn't talked with anyone from UFC or answered their phone calls since losing the UFC Heavyweight Title to Cain Velasquez last month. Sources also say that Lesnar hasn't began to prepare for his next UFC fight and hasn't trained since losing to Velasquez.

It's said that Lesnar has lost some interest in MMA and has been been re-considering his future in the sport after his loss to Velasquez and the beating he took in the win against Shane Carwin before that.

And here's what he's saying now:

"Brock Lesnar. Oh my God! I didn't say he was never going to fight again. I thought I made it pretty clear that I expected him to fight once next year or maybe even twice. It's amazing how things get blown out of proportion."

I have no idea what was really said because Meltzer's site has a paywall and who the hell is gonna give money to an MMA website for more content???? So most of us have to rely on the re-reporting of other sources and that doesn't always work very well. What can you expect? This is a sport where a conversation between Vitor Belfort and Mike Tyson about the possibility of Tyson maybe coming in and helping him train becomes 'MIKE TYSON IS TRAINING VITOR BELFORT'. Well no, there's no evidence that he has, but that's what's been repeated several times.

Standard & Poor's is the big dawg amongst financial analysis companies and they regularly provide credit ratings that give investors an idea of how risky investing in a business is. Since 2007, Zuffa has been rated as BB-, which means 'more prone to changes in the economy'. In non-creditor speak, that means Zuffa looks stable barring a shift in the economy (lol yeah right USA #1) or shift in consumer taste (aka this all turning out to be a fad).

Now S&P just upgraded Zuffa from BB- to straight up BB and included a bunch of interesting info on how the company makes it's money to justify the switch. Here's some of that via MMA Payout:

-Specific mention is made of the UFC-WEC merger as potential source of incremental ticket and ppv sales growth.
-The volatility of consumer tastes and preferences continues to be a slight concern as these may impact PPV revenues, but the report also cites the development of new fighter talent and regulatory acceptance as additional risk factors.
-However, the company’s strong EBITDA margin and healthy cash flow conversion rate are reportedly sustainable over the near to intermediate term and partially off-set concern over volatility in PPV earnings and risk factors mentioned above.
-The report reinforces that 75% revenues are event-related; PPV buys account for nearly 60% of all PPV event revenue while gate and sponsorships account for the rest.
-The remaining 25% of revenue comes from live and taped broadcasts on SpikeTV, merchandise, and digital media revenue; much of that is broadcast revenue, but an emerging portion is merchandise and digital media.
-EBITDA margins are expected to track within a consistent range in the future, even with expansion into new markets like Brazil.
-Liquidity remains strong due largely to limited capital spending requirements.
Debt: $50 million credit facility expiring in 2012; $425 million term loan due in 2015.

Considering how much money the UFC rakes in off PPV, it's pretty impressive to hear that it only accounts for 60% of the money made off an event. We all know about the UFC's great gate sales, but this shows what kind of sick, sick sponsorship money the company has rolling in. I wish there was more of a breakdown of the non-event chunk that makes up digital media and merchandise ... I'd love to know what kind of dough the UFC makes off locking it's prelims up in that terrible vault of theirs. Considering money isn't a concern but 'development of new fighter talent' is, you'd think prelims could do more than net the company 2$ a pop from a tiny number of hardcore fans.

Y'all remember that period right before his fight with Matt Hamill where Tito Ortiz turned into a total company yes-man, right down to the t-shirt he wore to the weigh-ins that read 'Dana White is my Hero!' After a meh decision loss, his career was hanging by a thread and Dana was there ready to cut it, but I guess all that sucking up made the difference. Instead, Ortiz was granted a stay of execution until March 19th when Lil Nog will finish him off in Jersey.

But what happens after that? Now that he knows a t-shirt and declarations of love and respect won't save him, Tito isn't afraid to say he'll take his robo-spine elsewhere:

"I'm gonna fight no matter what. Win, lose or draw, I'm gonna fight no matter what. I'm healthy now. I've got a new back, a new neck. I went through major back surgery, major neck surgery and I wouldn't have done that if I wasn't serious about my career. I'm only 36-years old and I believe I still have at least 3 or 4 more solid years of fighting."

Unfortunately for Tito, there's not exactly a large number of places left to go where he can make a quarter mil per fight like he does in the UFC. Affliction is long dead. Japan is out of money. Bellator is all about cheap prospects, not guys who peaked 10 years ago. And Tito already dicked Strikeforce around for half a year as part of his last scheme to get back into the UFC. Although I suppose that doesn't count them out. Strikeforce is the kind of place that always seems to be looking for more over the hill guys with the wrong kind of name value to blow their cash on.