When you hear the name Setanta Sports, generally, you like me probably think (if you live in the US) of a UK station that plays a lot of soccer/footie/football (or whatever you want to call it), but you’ll also note that they work with our very own UFC.

It has come out that Setanta, the network that blew a ton of money to distribute pro boxing, the Premier League and UFC events has until this weekend to make up for some giant debts or, well, things won’t turn out so pretty for them.

While many here state-side will see this as a glancing blow to the UFC, as let’s face it, it won’t really affect us, it affects many in Europe, just weeks before the UFC is set to try to gain some new turf in Europe, mind you. Hardy/Davis is set for the co-main event at the upcoming UFC 99 in Germany, clearly set to appeal directly to the growing audience in the United Kingdom that the UFC has been pushing so hard to win over.

If Setanta cannot raise the money, 6 days before UFC 99 Setanta Sports will go dark and UFC will of lost one of their biggest broadcast partners in Europe, leaving tons of fans in the dark and UFC scrambling to find a new partner, which at this point will be difficult to come to terms in under a week.

Last year, the glut of martial arts related TV programming prompted me to write An Ultimate Fighter or a Fight Girl in a Fight Quest Against a Human Weapon at a Fight Club Until the Last One Standing is a Contender Asia, or Something. Ouch. So, in 2009, who is left standing? Well, not too many of them.

But we finally have a new entry, as NFL linebacker Dhani Jones has tossed aside his helmet to host a Travel Channel program where he spans the globe to compete in the world’s sports. In the opening episode, Jones laces up the gloves to give Muay Thai a whirl, and it wasn’t too bad.
Read the rest of this entry »

DISCUSS THIS STORY IN THE TOTAL-MMA.COM FORUMS

By Marc Staehling

Originally posted at Nokaut, and then subsequently at MMAmania, and MMAjunkie.com, rumours are swirling that ProElite, parent company to EliteXC is the leading suitor to gain the services of the Russian superstar. While I personally would like to see Fedor end up in the UFC, it appears as if that’s a pipe-dream at this point and in the long run, a spot on CBS might be the best move for the sport of MMA on the whole.

Read the rest of this entry »

Discuss this article in our forums. 

by Lee Casebolt

Two things happened for the very first time last night:

 1) I watched a full hour of BET and, not coincidentally,

2) BET introduced MMA programming with the debut of Iron Ring. Read the rest of this entry »

Discuss this article in the Total-MMA forum!

 By Lee Casebolt

Unless you’ve been living under a rock somewhere, I presume you’ve heard about the deal between the CBS television network and MMA wannabe player ProElite, parent company of EliteXC.  The announcement has garnered a fair amount of response amongst the MMA congnoscenti, ranging from the moderately positive to the outraged.  On the one hand, you have those who see an enlarged market for the sport of mixed martial arts, with all of the opportunities that brings.  On the other, you have those who see Kimbo Slice, face of MMA, and are (justifiably) terrified.

Read the rest of this entry »

Discuss this story in our forums!

By Lee Casebolt

A couple of weeks ago, I finished the second in a pair of articles regarding upcoming title fights and why you should care about them.  Leaving aside my horrible underestimation of one Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for just a moment, you’ll note that I left out all three of tonight’s WEC title fights.  No, I didn’t forget.  I’m just not sure you should care. Read the rest of this entry »

DISCUSS THIS STORY IN THE TOTAL-MMA.COM FORUMS

Are you watching TV and hoping to see a nice roundhouse kick on display? I guess you’re in luck, because long gone are the days when watching Jean Claude Van Damme take on Tong Po in Kickboxer was the only game in town. The best Muay Thai site on the web recently asked, what’s up with all the fighting on TV these days? I love this stuff, but still I’m glad I’m not the only one wondering what it says about our culture that there are about half a dozen of these “true life” fight-oriented shows. In fact, we’ve seen a few new ones debut since Mai wrote that article. It’s not so much that a monster was created in Ultimate Fighter & Contender, both of which seem to be on their last legs. It’s more that we spilled water on a gremlin and ended up with another five of ‘em: all of which have their own personalities.

Anyway, I got sick as a dog recently and had time to watch a bunch of these. A cough syrup replaced my usual beverage of choice, so… please forgive what follows.

Read the rest of this entry »