MMA

BBC criticised for signing MMA deal after failing to put up a fight for cricket rights

Published

9 hours ago

September 19, 2024

BBC criticised for signing MMA deal after failing to put up a fight for cricket rights

The BBC was on Thursday accused of putting cage-fighting before Test cricket after giving mixed martial arts a regular spot on iPlayer.

The licence-fee-funded national broadcaster on Thursday announced a deal with Bellator, one of the sport’s two main promotion companies, to show all of its 2021 events live.

The deal was confirmed a week after the BBC was nowhere to be seen when Channel 4 landed the rights to England’s Test series in India, something that has delivered bumper ratings on what has been the longest form of the game’s first terrestrial outing since the 2005 Ashes.

Steve Brine MP, a member of parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media & Sport select committee, told Telegraph Sport: “This is pretty desperate stuff. We don’t know how much the BBC paid for these rights but I think it will sit pretty badly with Test cricket fans missing out their sport or hardworking local journalists losing their jobs at this time.”

A BBC spokesperson responded: “The BBC caters for all licence fee payers and we are delighted to add MMA to our extensive live sport offering.”

The Bellator deal followed a successful trial last October, in which a cage-fighting event from Paris was aired on the iPlayer — the first time the sport had been shown on the BBC.

Scott Coker, the president of Bellator MMA, said he was “thrilled to be confirming the BBC as our UK broadcast partner”.

“To have every event on the biggest network in the UK is a great opportunity,” said Coker. “We look forward to working with the BBC to bring our exciting roster of talent and our extensive events schedule to an ever-growing audience.”

Ben Gallop, Head of Digital at BBC Sport added: “Following on from the success of the Paris show we are delighted to continue our partnership with Bellator. We look forward to bringing live, free to air Bellator action to both existing and new fans of MMA on BBC iPlayer.”

The first Bellator event of 2021 is scheduled for Friday April 2 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut, USA. The organisation has set up residence there since last year with a Covid testing bubble in place and no crowds in the arena.

The headline bout is a featherweight title fight between the champion Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Freire, of Brazil and the American Emmanuel Sanchez. Three further events will take place in April and May, including a light-heavyweight tournament featuring eight of the leading fighters, among them Bader, Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson, Yoel Romero, the Russian champion Vadim Nemkov, and Phil Davis.

The tournament culminates in October this year, when European events are likely to have returned, Covid restrictions permitting.

Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts league of male and female fighters founded 13 years ago, is owned by ViacomCBS, the US multinational media conglomerate, whose revenue was almost $28 billion in 2019.

Comment: Sport’s scruffy cousin has gone mainstream

By Gareth A Davies

The powerful commercial partnership between Bellator and the BBC is a clear marker of the global growth of a sport which is not yet three decades old.

No longer is MMA the scruffy cousin of the sporting landscape. It has become mainstream. All this just 15 years after the corporation’s sports editors had refused to cover the sport on the BBC website. Time, interest, and growing professionalisation have clearly changed attitudes.

David Green, the head of Bellator Europe, told Telegraph Sport that the BBC’s alignment with Bellator was “a clear statement of intent” and “a ground-making moment for Bellator and MMA as it continues exponential growth with broadcasters and fans”.

Green added: “We’re thrilled to be able to bring live Bellator MMA action to millions of UK homes on BBC iPlayer. To have every event from all over the world available for fans in the UK to watch live is something we have been working really hard to achieve, and to be able to call the BBC home for Bellator in the UK is really a fantastic moment for us and for the sport.”

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MMA

What is UFC, what is MMA and what are the rules?

Published

20 mins ago

September 20, 2024

NewsAdmin

What is UFC, what is MMA and what are the rules?

The Ultimate Fighting Championship, also known as UFC, has become one of the fastest-growing sports in the US and in the last few years increasingly caught the attention of fight fans in the UK, too.

But what is it, how was it formed and what are the rules?

Here’s our guide on what you need to know.

What is UFC?

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is a mixed-martial arts promotion in which a series of fights take place around the world, also known as fight nights. It calls itself the “premier organisation in MMA”.

Mixed martial arts, of course, is nothing new dating back more than 5,000 years.

But UFC brings together some of the world’s best mixed martial artists, fighting each other at different weights with a main event taking place once a month. There are more than 40 events each year.

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Football

'Schillaci was a man who lived for goals'

Published

21 mins ago

September 20, 2024

NewsAdmin

'Schillaci was a man who lived for goals'

Italian football expert Mina Rzouki remembers Salvatore ‘Toto’ Schillaci, who has died aged 59.

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MMA

Conor McGregor ‘to address US Congress in rights campaign for MMA fighters’

Published

41 mins ago

September 20, 2024

NewsAdmin

Conor McGregor 'to address US Congress in rights campaign for MMA fighters'

There have also been complaints about lower-ranked UFC fighters being awarded title bouts simply based on their ability to sell television pay-per-view subscriptions, which is a core element of the UFC’s income in the United States.

Despite losing in the 10th round against Mayweather, McGregor has indicated that he may box again, and a handful of other UFC fighters have expressed an interest in lucrative one-off boxing bouts.

Legal experts have been discussing in the media whether McGregor is now a boxer in the eyes of the law, and thus entitled to the protection of the Act, or if he will lose that protection when he returns to the UFC.

FIGHTER SAFETY

Epstein told Reuters that the UFC does extensive work on fighter safety and welfare and is as transparent as possible when it comes to contracts.

He rejected the notion that match-making based on independent rankings could improve the sport.

“We have been successful for one reason and one reason only – we put on the fights the fans want to see,” Epstein explained.

“That’s where we have a problem with what Congressman Mullin wants to do.”

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MMA

Michael Bisping ridicules Georges St-Pierre's prospects of UFC victory in New York

Published

1 hour ago

September 20, 2024

NewsAdmin

Michael Bisping ridicules Georges St-Pierre's prospects of UFC victory in New York

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Michael Bisping has ridiculed Georges St-Pierre’s ability to make the step up in weight ahead of their UFC middleweight championship bout next month.

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Football

Martin Odegaard: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says captain’s ankle injury ‘quite significant’

Published

1 hour ago

September 20, 2024

NewsAdmin

Martin Odegaard: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says captain's ankle injury 'quite significant'

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says captain Martin Odegaard has suffered a “quite significant” ankle ligament injury.

The midfielder limped off during Norway’s Nations League win over Austria on Monday, 9 September.

Odegaard had gone down in pain after hurting his left ankle following a foul by Christoph Baumgartner midway through the second half.

He returned to Arsenal for an MRI scan and missed his side’s 1-0 win at Tottenham in the north London derby on Sunday.

“The scan showed some damage around the ligaments in the ankle so we are going to miss him,” said Gunners boss Arteta before his side play Atalanta in the Champions League on Thursday.

“It’s something quite significant so we are going to lose him for a while. Hopefully not months.”

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MMA

Tony Ferguson calls out UFC champion Conor McGregor

Published

1 hour ago

September 20, 2024

NewsAdmin

Tony Ferguson calls out UFC champion Conor McGregor

Tony Ferguson has called out UFC champion Conor McGregor after landing the interim lightweight belt in Las Vegas.

The 33 year-old defeated Kevin Lee with a third-round triangle choke submission at the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night.

While still in the octagon, the 23-3 fighter addressed McGregor as McNuggets and said he was going to “kick the ass” of the Irishman.

“You better come and f*****g defend that belt. Defend or vacate,” he added.

McGregor is the reigning UFC lightweight champion after defeating Eddie Alvarez in November 2016 in New York.

But the Irishman is yet to defend the belt, having taken on Floyd Mayweather Junior in August at the same arena which hosted UFC 216 on Saturday night.

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