Georges St Pierre will face BJ Penn at UFC 93 on January 31
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UFC® Unleashed™ is a themed hour of the best fights, legendary fighters and previews of upcoming battles. One of the best battles of 2007, Wanderlei Silva vs Chuck Liddell will be showcased.
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With more males between the ages of 18-34 in India than there are people in North America, the eastern nation is fertile ground for a potential MMA event put on the UFC. The country is part of Zuffa’s global plan, and we had a chance to speak with MMA pioneer in India, Daniel Isaacs, about the potential market for MMA in the nation. Isaacs runs Tigers Gym.
The UFC is interested in coming to India. With over 300 million males 18 to 34 in India that’s staggering.
But those are just statistics, business statistics. Not usually practically applicable. (smiles) I’ve been here at ground zero for a while now and i know how difficult it is to promote a sport which is not understood.
How are things different in other parts of the world?
The difference with Japan , Europe and the US is that they went through the ‘evolution’ period during the early UFCs; that hasnt happened here nationally as yet.
How is MMA perceived in India?
People on an average still think that the Great Khali is a ‘great’ fighter. (smiles) And they also think that Jackie Chan, Jet Lie are the greatest fghters that ever lived. (laughs) Stuff like that. But seriously I would love to sit down with the UFC scouts who plan to come down to India and get their foundation laid. Because that would help solve many problems that they would face. You know you can sell anything in India, I mean anything, but you need to have a good understanding of the people and culture locally.
Such as?
The degree of corruption for starters. And most importantly the red tapism and monopoly card played by the ‘recognised’ sports authorities who dont want something like MMA to get in. That’s why I say that the UFC people need to talk to us before they get excited about India. It’s very different here, people are such that they will bow down to a stone idol and give a 10 million donation to the temple, yet they wouldn’t wanna support an orphanage because they think that someones eating the money. Very varied kind of people here great people nevertheless, but different. I love my India. (smiles)
And of course theres the God of all sports in India…Cricket !
And the God of our entertainment …..Bollywood. But there’s definately a way MMA can enter India, on a large scale.
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Fight of the Night: Frank Edgar vs. Hermes Franca
Submission of the Night: CB Dollaway
Knockout of the Night: Rory Markham
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Anderson Silva was able to defeat James Irvin and win via KO in round 1 in his debut at light heavyweight.
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On July 17, 2000 Chuck Liddell knocked out Steve Heath in Friant, California.
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“I think once again, he’s a guy who it’s not fair to come in and be the co-main event. To have one fight and get half a million, it’s not fair to guys like me and guys like [Antonio Rogerio] Nogueira. I know why they try to do this — to get more fans — but there are guys out there who have been loyal to the sport and when stuff like this happens it’s like a slap in the face.”
Source: Baltimore Sun
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From MMA Stomping Grounds:
MMA Stomping Grounds: Has the UFC approached you about any more fights at the light heavyweight level?Ed Soares, translating for Anderson Silva: You know what, right now in his career, what’s going on is he’s the 185-pound champion and he’s got two to three years left in him to fight. What he wants to do is create fights the world wants to see and the fans want to see, so basically if it happens to be at 205, then we’ll fight at 205. If it happens at 185, then we’ll fight there too — nothing’s speculated and nothing’s in front of us, but we’ll take the challenges as they come.
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