Skepticism.

That’s the vibe I felt I was getting from some folks about UFC 96 in the week leading up to the event.

Skepticism.

Because Quinton Jackson versus Keith Jardine wasn’t the main event some folks wanted to see right now.

Skepticism.

Because some folks felt that a majority of the undercard was rather underwhelming.

Skepticism.

Which got me thinking: entering Saturday night, what would the UFC have to do to appease those skeptics? Skeptics who were planning on shelling out nearly $50 to watch a show that they perceived as lacking star power?

The solutions are simple ones that are often stated in this very column and executed very well by the UFC: sell, sell and sell the fights and then hope for the best. Tell the viewers the story of a particular fight. Are we seeing an unproven up and comer versus a former title challenger? A battle of wrestlers who also have submission skills? A glorified gatekeeper versus a former champion?

Then there are the solutions that are largely ignored: dig deeper into the stories of these fighters. Provide viewers with features that go more in-depth, beyond the typical, choreographed sound bites that we’re used to hearing.

At this moment, the UFC, and in particular Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan, do a very good job at conveying a fight’s storylines to the viewers during its television shows. But there’s still something missing in shows like UFC 96 – which is, getting to know the fighters beyond the octagon; something that, if done correctly, gives a human side to these men and makes viewers want to invest more time (and possibly money) into watching them fight.

Sure, we’ve gotten to know some of the superstars of the UFC: the Chuck Liddells, the B.J. Penns, the Georges St. Pierres, the Anderson Silvas, to name a few.

But what about the Keith Jardines? We know Jardine is not a gatekeeper, yet he’s not sitting at elite status either. But what else do we know about the man behind that scary noggin? For those of you who watched Countdown to UFC 96 on Spike TV, you got to know him a bit more than the aforementioned description.

However, not everyone who watched UFC 96 also watched Countdown to UFC 96. So why not take a page from the Countdown shows and produce short, Countdown-like packages for each planned televised fight on every pay per view? Honestly, at this point, I can almost predict what each fighter is going to say in the generic pre-fight packages that the UFC currently produces.

Sure, it might cost more to produce these enhanced packages, but investing in the production of them is a long-term investment. You pay now, but reap the rewards later by adding more of an attractive, human element to the fighters. And believe this – if the television side of mixed martial arts was all about the fights, then a show like The Ultimate Fighter wouldn’t exist. The same goes for boxing’s version of that show, The Contender. Characters drive television shows, end of story.

The reality is, the Countdown-style package request is all wishful thinking right now, because the UFC is going to do what the UFC wants to do, when they want to do it and how they want to do it. So, while they continue to fail at selling more of their individual fighters, we’ll break down one area where they excelled at during UFC 96, which is selling the individual fights.

Below is analysis of the five live fights that we saw, with the pre-fight storylines coming in and how the fight was sold during the live telecast.

GRAY MAYNARD VS. JIM MILLER -

Pre-fight Storylines: In this fight, you have two men who are both good wrestlers and submission specialists. Miller has the edge in submissions, while Maynard has the edge in wrestling; otherwise, this is as even as it gets. Plenty of folks believe that these two fighters have tremendous futures ahead of them in the UFC. Who will get closer to that elite status in the lightweight division?

Selling The Fight: The generic pre-fight package immediately sold this fight as one featuring two of the most promising lightweights in the UFC. During both men’s octagon walks, we’re sold on the fact that both men are excellent wrestlers. However, during round one of the fight, Rogan says that Maynard may want to keep the fight standing because of his great right hand. Thirty seconds later, Maynard lands a solid right and leaves Miller with a battered face by the end of the round. Rogan summed up the fight perfectly when he said, “This has mostly been a boxing match with takedown defense for Maynard.” Maynard goes on to win a unanimous decision.

MATT HAMILL VS. MARK MUNOZ -

Pre-fight Storylines: Two outstanding wrestlers – one (Munoz), a former WEC fighter being thrown into the fire in his UFC debut – and the other (Hamill), who better be ON fire in order to keep his UFC career going in the right direction. Of course, you also can’t discount the amazing story of Hamill, who fights at this level while being completely deaf.

Selling The Fight: Both Golbderg and Rogan talked about the fact that both men are decorated wrestlers, which is repeated again in the pre-fight package. Also reiterated in the package is the fact that Munoz is making his UFC debut against Hamill. And of course, Goldberg mentioned during the fight that a movie is being made about Hamill’s inspirational story. This is, of course, about as much as Goldberg and Rogan could get in before Hamill shocked everyone with his head kick/KO of Munoz in the first round. Hamill is the poster boy for P.C.F.T.C’s theory on how fighters help further sell the UFC product. You can never get enough of his story, as long as he’s competitive at this level.  Matter of fact, if the UFC were smart, they should produce a documentary on Hamill themselves before this movie is ever released.

MATT BROWN VS. PETE SELL -

Pre-fight Storylines: Many expect this fight to be a war. The Matt Serra-trained Sell can punch. Brown can do the same, but he also has the more solid all-around game. Brown also trains down the road from Columbus, with Team Jorge Gurgel in Cincinnati,

Selling The Fight: The “war” aspect of this matchup was immediately sold, as Goldberg described both men as having “go for broke” fighting styles. Goldberg also reminded the viewers of Brown’s affiliation with The Buckeye State. Unfortunately, this was a short fight where the story quickly turned to the abysmal refereeing of Yves Lavigne. However, Sell is another fighter that could have benefited from a Countdown-style profile package. The package could have sold his likable (or not, depending on where you’re from) New York personality, which was a stark contrast to Brown’s more laid back, Ohio-like approach to life. And getting to know Sell in a package could have somewhat neutralized his awkward, if not embarrassing post-fight turn on the microphone. Note to all MMA trainers: do not let your fighters get on a microphone after they’ve been TKO’d.

GABRIEL GONZAGA VS. SHANE CARWIN -

Pre-fight Storylines: Carwin is a 34 year old, untested, undefeated (10-0) former college wrestler and football player who is an absolute beast of a physical specimen. Will he make Gonzaga, a former challenger to the UFC heavyweight title, a thing of the past? Or will Carwin not live up to the hype?

Selling The Fight: Rogan quickly sold this fight as “Carwin’s coming out party.” On the plus side, we also saw a pre-fight package that was lifted from the Countdown to UFC 96 show, which was a good thing. In that package, Dana White made it clear that the winner will be at “the top of the heap (in the heavyweight division).” Goldberg and Rogan also note during Carwin’s walk to the Octagon how quickly he finishes fights and the hype that comes with that. Said Rogan: “He’s got a massive amount of potential and a lot of questions are going to be answered tonight.” As for Gonzaga, both men covered his road traveled to this fight, with Goldberg adding, “(Gonzaga) is good at everything.” During the fight itself, there wasn’t a whole lot of time to say much after Carwin appeared to be in trouble early on. Rogan said the most prolific comment on this storyline after Carwin’s first-round KO: “That is a huge, huge victory for Shane Carwin.”

QUINTON JACKSON VS. KEITH JARDINE -

Pre-fight Storylines: Five Ounces of Pain founder and publisher Sam Caplan recently wrote, “Quinton Jackson must defeat Keith Jardine in order to advance to July 11’s UFC 100 where it is believed that Rashad Evans and the UFC light heavyweight title awaits.” In addition, could Jardine pull off what would be considered another upset over a high-caliber opponent? If he does, will he eventually have to fight his friend and training partner in Evans? And which “Rampage” will we see: the focused one we saw demolish Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92? Or the one that lost his light heavyweight title to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86?

Selling The Fight: Before the fight, Goldberg, Rogan and yes, Evans himself, reiterated how Jackson is one victory away at getting a shot at the title. They also played up Jardine’s strengths, which are his leg kicks; something that Jackson had trouble defending when he lost his title to Griffin. Rogan also mentioned something that Countdown to UFC 96 did not: Jackson’s highly publicized personal problems. The pre-fight package is once again lifted from the Countdown show. During the fight, all three men, especially Evans, acknowledged how Jardine’s leg kicks came into play and whether Jackson could survive them. Fortunately enough for Jackson, he appeared focused enough to work through them and secure his title shot with Evans.

A small sample size indeed, but the UFC production team, as well as Goldberg and Rogan themselves, deserve credit for being prepared and constantly reminding those watching at home what the storylines were all about.

ALSO WORTH MENTIONING…

– Was anyone else a bit surprised to see Maynard versus Miller start the televised portion of the card? It ended up being a solid, three-round fight, but going in, it certainly had the potential to be an all out, grinding war on the ground; which, for some fans, isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing of fights to watch. Beginning the show with Brown versus Sell, especially with Brown being an Ohio native, would have been a safer and more action packed way to kick things off.

– Showing Matt Hughes and Ohio State’s own Chris “Beanie” Wells in attendance, plus Jackson-Jardine and Carwin-Gonzaga getting ready for their fights, all were nice little touches to the pacing of the telecast. But the production crew really picked up the pacing by doing two things: 1) adding a “news-like” element to the show by having Frank Mir explain why his injury will delay his rematch versus Brock Lesnar and 2) Bringing in Evans (after Mir) to share his thoughts on his future potential opponents. You couldn’t get a more articulate source than Mir to explain the situation – and if Evans was in-house, why not utilize him with the storylines going on? Good stuff.

– As mentioned above, Goldberg and Rogan did a very nice job on hammering home each fight’s storylines. Both men also did a very nice job at incorporating Evans into the call of the main event. They not only allowed Evans adequate time to give his insight, but also bluntly asked him if he’d ever fight Jardine, to which he replied he wouldn’t. Evans was especially insightful when commenting on Jardine’s effective leg kicks, saying: “Rampage is on ice right now,” which was a reference to Jackson’s wobbly legs.

– Rogan Line of the Night: (On Bayshore, New York’s own, Pete Sell): “He even looks like his accent.”

– Did anyone notice the UFC’s new graphics look? It appears as if they have ditched the red-themed graphics for a slick, gold-themed look. The gold gives the overall graphics presentation a grander, richer feel. Meanwhile, eliminating the red not only gets rid of a darker, duller style, but also disassociates the connection some folks may make between red and blood. And as we all know, the UFC does not want mixed martial arts to be known as a blood sport.

– If you take for granted just how outstanding the audio is on UFC shows, then go back and watch any Affliction or HDNet live cards. There’s no one who does it better. And it’s not just the clear audio coming from fighter’s corner men. Other examples of stellar audio came in the Maynard-Miller fight. In round two, Miller had just received his final warning for low kicks. Seconds after the warning, he nearly landed another one. Angry with himself, you clearly heard Miller shout, “Ahh!” as if he were expecting to get a point deducted. In the final round, Miller screamed “Ahhhh” again as he strained to pull guard on Maynard. And finally, the live audio of Hamill’s amazing head kick was so good that they even replayed it in real time seconds later.

THE FINAL WORD -

Was UFC 96 a sign that the company is looking to turn it up a notch with their televised shows? The new graphics look certainly is a positive thing. And their being open to enhancing storylines by bringing in a Rashad Evans is certainly a good sign.

Is the enhancement of their pre-fight packages next? Will the producers continue to be open to incorporating fighters such as Evans into the broadcasts of future shows?

Only time will tell, but if they do, UFC 96 was a good way to start.

UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson was facing a couple of hurdles entering its telecast on Saturday night.

The first hurdle was subjective. While this writer was not bothered by the supposed lack of star power, there are those who came into the show viewing it as a potential subpar card.

Next was the challenge of producing a well-paced telecast on Spike TV. Despite the bug on the screen that said “Live From London,” this show was tape delayed. The challenges that a tape delayed show on Spike TV faces are a bit different than different live shows on Spike TV.

Both shows must certainly hit a specific number of commercial breaks. However, with a tape-delayed show such as this one, the production team does have the opportunity to tighten up the show in post-production before its airtime. There is also the opportunity to clean up certain kinds of mistakes, such as sloppy graphics and bad shots. This, of course, isn’t the case with a live telecast.

PACING -

Initially, the pacing of UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson was disappointing because of its slow start. Starting off the show with the Josh Koscheck vs. Paulo Thiago fight was a solid choice, if only for the reason that folks/fools like myself expected “Kos” to win in explosive fashion. Yet, we were 14 minutes into the show before the fight started. In addition, it was 32 minutes before the second fight of the night, Chael Sonnen versus Demien Maia, began.

However, the pace certainly picked up, with the Stefan Struve vs. Junior dos Santos fight starting at the 44 minute mark. Unfortunately for Struve, he was officially outclassed by the 45-minute mark. Thirteen minutes later, the Nate Marquardt vs. Wilson Gouveia fight began – and eventually ended with a spectacular finish by Marquardt.

By the time the show concluded, viewers were treated to a Spike TV-record nine televised fights. Six of those fights ended with a KO/TKO, two ended via submission and just one fight, the main event of Diego Sanchez vs. Joe Stevenson, went the distance. The only fight on the card not televised was Paul Kelly’s unanimous decision victory over Troy Mandaloniz.

It’s pretty hard to complain about getting that kind of value, whether you paid for it or not. Therefore, I will complain about a couple of other things.

The telecast went to break after the Marquardt vs. Gouveia pre-fight package, which was essentially lifted from the Countdown to UFC 95 show. However, if they chose to do this, was there a need to waste more time with Bruce Buffer’s introductions after coming back from commercial break? My apologies if you find it necessary for Buffer’s fighter introductions to be televised for each and every fight, but I don’t.

If a more in-depth package just ran that introduced both fighters, did we really need another introduction? I don’t think so. Since the UFC/Zuffa had time to tighten up this telecast before it aired in the United States, they should have come back from commercial to the referee asking both fighters if they were ready to fight. The purpose of the package was to build up the drama before the fight. Some might say showing the package before break was a good teaser to the fight. I disagree – the commercial break, plus the fighter introductions, took the air out of what was a short, but well-done package.

In past columns, I’ve mentioned my idea of starting off a show by going right to the octagon for the start of a televised show. The telecast would begin and you’d hear the referee asking the fighters if they were ready – and bam – we get right to the action.

I would have loved for this show to start off that way, especially since the production team had the opportunity to fine tune things because of the tape delay.

ANNOUNCING -

Joe Rogan is the best-mixed martial arts analyst in the business, hands down. Viewers who practice MMA would most likely agree with his technical assessments of what’s happening in the octagon during a fight. And for those such as myself who do not practice MMA, I have actually learned a few things from him. For example, his breakdown of Maia’s triangle choke submission over Sonnen was like an instructional video.

Rogan is also not afraid to put his analysis “on the line,” so to speak. For example, both Mike Goldberg and Rogan were extremely opinionated in pointing out Thiago’s habit of holding his left hand too low, which in turn left him exposed to Koscheck’s huge right hand.

“Paulo Thiago has some fundamental problems with his striking,” said Rogan. Which, at that point in the fight, was true.

But 15 seconds later, Thiago knocked out Koscheck with a fantastic right uppercut. This is a great example of why this sport is so great. Rogan was spot on in his analysis, yet wrong for one split second, and the result was a huge upset. I would imagine that because of the sport’s unpredictability, some analysts may hold back on exposing a fighter’s flaws, simply because they don’t want to look bad if they end up being wrong. Kudos to Rogan for not falling into that category.

Rogan’s explanation of any referee’s stoppage, but in particular, the Koscheck vs. Thiago fight, also deserves credit. Rogan immediately recognized two things: the disappointment the viewers may have had in the stoppage and the disappointment that Koscheck had. Rogan spoke about why the fight was quickly stopped from the referee’s perspective, saying that while Koscheck seemed okay several seconds after the stoppage, he could have taken severe punishment had the referee not stepped in when he did. That, said Rogan, could have resulted in Koscheck taking unnecessary strikes.

Without doing so in a preachy, obnoxious kind of way, Rogan relayed to the viewers at home how safety for the fighters always comes first.

OVERALL PRODUCTION VALUE -

After the end to the Koscheck vs. Thiago fight, director Anthony “Pasquale” Giordano did a really nice job in capturing a good balance of both Thiago celebrating after his shocking KO and Koscheck reacting in disbelief. It was a no-brainer to stay on the volatile Koscheck after what he thought was a quick stoppage.

On a negative note, you absolutely, positively need to have Rogan get Koscheck’s post-fight reaction. Koscheck is outspoken and a “bad boy” type of “character” in the UFC. If they couldn’t get him immediately after the fight, then you send a crew to the locker room to get it and roll it in later. Drama sells. If it didn’t, then why does the UFC bother to produce their pre-fight packages? The answer is because it sells a storyline for the upcoming fight. To decide against continuing the storyline for this particular fight was a huge whiff. Matter of fact, not hearing from Thiago, even with a translator, was another whiff. It almost makes you wonder if they shy away from these kinds of post-fight interviews in order to avoid controversy.

To be fair, “Kos” may have declined the chance to speak to Rogan because he was so upset. If this were the case, then tell the viewers at home that.

We may never know for certain why we didn’t hear from the fighters, but shame on the UFC/Zuffa for handling it this way and being lazy in this aspect of the production.

The “Inside The Numbers” full screen graphic put up before the Sanchez –  Stevenson fight was a nice touch. The graphic showed that (entering the fight) Sanchez lands 29% of his takedown attempts, while 50% of Stevenson’s wins in the UFC have come by guillotine choke. We also learned that Sanchez lands 56% of his ground strikes to 62% by Stevenson. Again, this begs the question (all together now): why doesn’t the UFC/Zuffa do this for every fight on every telecast? It literally takes about 10 seconds of time while setting up a fight, and, if done properly, can be a sponsored graphic, which means a company would pay money to have their logo attached to it. Again, the only answer I can come up with would be found somewhere in the uncreative and lazy sections of the Production 101 handbook.

THE FINAL WORD -

The bottom line is, we tune in to see good, entertaining fights, and UFC 95: Sanchez vs. Stevenson delivered with nine of them. How these fights are presented from the beginning of the broadcast until the end isn’t always perfect, but for entertainment purposes alone, this show was a big success.

The production team behind the show certainly doesn’t control the outcome of these fights, but they deserve credit where credit is due for cramming in nine of them – especially after a slow start to the telecast.

Goldberg did a very nice job with his blow-by-blow call, but it was Rogan who once again shined. Rogan is funny and knowledgeable, but most important, ego-free. He took a stance in pointing out Thiago’s flaws, yet didn’t make the story about himself when Thiago effectively told Rogan to “stick it” with his shocking KO. He sided with the referees at a time when the viewers – and even fans in attendance – may have disagreed with certain stoppages. But he did so not because he wanted to be the loudmouth, obnoxious analyst that certain people in other sports have become; but because he’s a fighter himself and understands how important safety is to both the fighters and the sport of mixed martial arts.

As UFC 100 continues to get closer and closer, I personally hope that the production team behind UFC telecasts takes a step back and assesses how they can work towards making that special card a special broadcast. In doing so, they can use it as a springboard to enhance all future televised shows.

There are simply too many missed opportunities taking place in their telecasts. The sport is growing in popularity, the UFC is growing in popularity and more people are watching their televised shows than ever before. And this is all great news. But now, the challenge is retaining those new viewers. And, with constant rumors of the UFC pairing up with such and such network, enhancing their broadcasts in any way possible is important, especially if Dana White and company insist on retaining creative control over their televised productions.

Following up with storylines such as Koscheck after his loss… providing viewers with just a wee bit more information via graphics… enhancing their pre-fight package angles to make them more personalized towards the fighters… these are just some of the improvements that the UFC and Zuffa can execute.

Is it an absolute necessity to do this right now? Maybe not. But we’re all in this for the long haul, and as the UFC continues to expand their horizons, the televised presentation of their shows needs to do so as well.

When watching a live, commercial broadcast of a mixed martial arts event such as UFC Fight Night 17, two things are required: patience and luck.

Patience is for the viewer at home. Unlike a pay-per-view show, the network carrying the event – in this case, Spike TV – is obligated to hit a specific number of commercial breaks for various reasons. Remember, it’s a business, but for that reason alone, the viewer can often get frustrated due to the slower-paced nature of the telecast.

And while those watching shows such as UFC Fight Night 17 require a bit of patience (insert Axl Rose chiming in, “Yeahhhh, yeah….); those producing them also need a little bit of luck.

Luck, as in good, quality fights. Fortunately, UFC Fight Night 17 delivered in this area, which is the main reason why the telecast as a whole was a success.

PACING -

Because a commercial broadcast such as this one faces the challenge of having to hit so many commercial breaks, I’d personally like to see a major change made in the beginning of the broadcast.

It’s a change I’ve also suggested in my “Putting The ‘Fix’ in Affliction” article – shameless plug – but one I’d really like to see, especially for shows airing on commercial television.

Start the show with Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan quickly introducing themselves on camera. Next, have Goldberg toss it to the referee inside of the octagon, who then asks if the fighters are ready. Then, within the first 30 to 45 seconds of the telecast, your first fight begins. If both fighters survive the first round, use the time between rounds to do another introduction and quick preview of the night before getting back to round two.

Of course, this may be wishful thinking, but consider this – it took nearly 15 minutes of the telecast before the first fight of the night began (Anthony Johnson def. Luigi Fioravanti by TKO, round one). It took 34 minutes before the second fight began (Josh Neer def. Mac Danzig by submission, round two); and one hour, six minutes in before the third fight began (Cain Velasquez def. Denis Stojnic by TKO, round one).

Again, business is business and commercials pay the bills, but adjusting the way the top of the show is formatted instantly gives the viewers what they tuned in to see: a fight.

Having said that, Spike TV delivered six entertaining fights (four live, two on tape) to those watching at home. Three of those fights ended in the first round – with the other three ending in the second round.

The only true gripe I had in the pacing department was when Rogan had to take a few minutes to conduct an interview with DEA agent Brian Doyle, who was promoting season two of Spike TV’s “DEA” show. While the reasoning for my gripe was obvious – it has nothing to do with the UFC or mixed martial arts – I must admit, the show actually looks pretty good in a “Cops” kind of way. And if they pulled me in, I imagine they did so with some other viewers, which means that I should just keep my mouth shut and let those at Spike TV do their job.

ANNOUNCING -

Goldberg and Rogan turned in their usual, solid effort last night. But I believe that one particular sequence is worth pointing out.

I’ve always thought of Goldberg as a solid blow-by-blow man, as long as he avoids doing two things: 1) getting overly hyped about a fight, and 2) forgetting that he is not the analyst and that Rogan is.

Both Goldberg and Rogan train in the sport of mixed martial arts. For an analyst like Rogan, it not only makes him more knowledgeable of the sport, but also brings him more credibility with both the viewers and the fighters.

The same goes for Goldberg. Yet, every once in a while, I find Goldberg crossing over the line from blow-by-blow man to analyst. Simply put, his job is to call the shots and let Rogan describe the technicalities of the sport.

However, there are times when Goldberg actually needs to play the analyst role – and while those opportunities are rare, he excelled in it last night and deserves credit for it.

After Neer submitted Danzig with a triangle choke, Spike TV went to a commercial break. When they came back from break, a replay of Neer’s successful submission attempt was shown, with Goldberg – not Rogan – breaking down how Neer successfully applied the choke.

Why was Goldberg doing this opposed to Rogan? Because Rogan was already inside of the octagon with Neer, waiting to conduct his post-fight interview.

It’s not like Goldberg had writers feeding him scripted lines during the commercial break on what happened. And it’s unlikely Rogan had time to discuss the replay with Goldberg before heading into the octagon. So clearly, the producers were confident that Goldberg was able to break down the submission alone, which he did quite smoothly. Good job by Goldberg, and a solid example of how he could display his knowledge of the sport without stepping on Rogan’s toes.

OVERALL PRODUCTION VALUE -

Personally, I think it’s time for the UFC to do an overhaul with their graphics packaging. The color scheme is boring and out-dated, and in addition, the use of graphics on a show like Fight Night 17 seems almost non-existent, beyond the Tale of the Tape and Round/Time Remaining ones.

Also on a negative tip, I have never understood the way the producers and writers have Goldberg set up the top of these shows.

At the beginning of the telecast, Goldberg and Rogan were wrapping up their preview of the night’s main event, Lauzon versus Stephens. Goldberg made a reference as to how the 155 pounders were taking center stage in the main event, which was followed by him saying, “But, some heavyweights will be showcased on a jam-packed card as well.”

The way Goldberg delivered that last line, you expected to segue to the only heavyweight fight of the night, Velasquez versus Stojnic.

Instead, Goldberg continued on, voicing over a quick preview of the Danzig – Neer, Velasquez – Stojnic and Fioravanti – Johnson fights. Which, in turn, made this segment sloppy, confusing and a failure in the flow department.

There were also some technical glitches as well – a rarity with live UFC cards. With about a minute left in round one of the Fioravanti – Johnson fight, there was a time clock glitch, which resulted in it going out for the remainder of the fight. There was also a similar looking glitch with the trunks graphic at the beginning of the Danzig – Neer fight as well. And finally, in continuing my nitpicking quest, there were some bad takes of shots towards the end of the show when they were showing Lauzon in his dressing room after his win.

Of course, as usual with UFC related telecasts, there were several positive notes. The production crew seemed to roll in a good replay of Johnson taking a low blow in what seemed like just a millisecond after it actually happened.

And, unlike Affliction Entertainment, the UFC’s production crew showed why they’re the best in the game when it comes to audio. You can always tell how knowledgeable a crowd is by the way they react during specific segments of fights.  When Danzig avoided danger and regained position in round two of his fight with Neer, viewers clearly heard the Tampa crowd cheering. Another example of the knowledgeable Tampa crowd was shown when they cheered Lauzon getting full mount on Stephens in the middle of round two. There was also great audio of Velasquez and his hammer fists nailing Stojnic, as well as the referee explaining his stoppage of the fight. During the Matt Veach - Matt Grice fight, excellent audio picked up Grice stating his case to the referee as to why the fight shouldn’t have been stopped – a notion that was also supported by Rogan.

THE FINAL WORD -

Overall, while a bit sloppy from a technical perspective at time – and disappointing in the graphics department – UFC Fight Night 17 was a very good, entertaining show to watch.

Goldberg and Rogan were on point, as was the production team when it came to replays and stellar audio. All of these aforementioned elements are critical in complimenting one another and telling the story of the fights – and until another promotion steps up their game and does it better, anytime you watch a televised UFC card, you’re watching the cream of the crop in the world of televised mixed martial arts.

If Affliction Entertainment has a future as a successful promotion in the world of mixed martial arts, then they best get out their tool kits and fix a major problem: the production of their pay-per-view telecasts.

Putting on quality fights – at least through their first two pay-per-view events (”Affliction: Banned” and “Affliction: Day of Reckoning“) – hasn’t been an issue.

However, their fighter payroll, which is reported to be over $6,000,000 combined for those events, is an issue. And, if the company has any chance at financial success, especially with their astronomical payrolls, then they must succeed in two areas: live gate and pay-per-view revenues.

Affliction can keep their pay-per-view numbers on the down low if they choose. Various sources have reported that their latest show, “Day of Reckoning,” sold anywhere from 100,000 to 200,000 buys (FiveOuncesOfPain.com has been told the number right now is 120,000 but that it could increase when late buys are collected by the cable and satellite companies).

But there’s one thing they can’t hide: the production of Affliction’s pay-per-view telecasts is not good. In order for their pay-per-view numbers to increase – and the promotion to continue – changes must be made.

PRODUCTION AND PACING:

Golden Boy Promotions took over the production reigns for “Day of Reckoning.” “Day of Reckoning” was nowhere near the train wreck “Banned” was, but the improvement was more like an F to a C-minus as opposed to an average to good improvement.

In short, Affliction pay-per-view shows are still poorly produced.

When viewers, especially in this economy, are forking over their hard-earned money for a pay-per-view, they expect a quality show. In the world of mixed martial arts and television, that translates to a show that focuses primarily on the fights, without having to sit through dead air and useless segments. It’s about producing and pacing.

Affliction needs major work in those departments.

To appreciate what Affliction’s television team is up against, let’s make a comparison to the UFC and Zuffa’s pay-per-view telecasts.

During a UFC pay-per-view event, the fights are certainly the cornerstone of their telecasts, but there’s also more “business” to conduct. Their production team needs to hit promo spots for things such as future pay-per-views and television shows, as well as sponsor segments (a movie, a poker company, a motorcycle company, etc.).

With Affliction Entertainment, at least for the time being, there are no future events to promote during their pay-per-views. There are no reality shows. And there are far less sponsor spots to hit, especially when your company is a spinoff of a t-shirt company.

In other words, the “rundown” of the show focuses primarily on the fights. Therefore, making seamless transitions from one fight to the next can be challenging at times.

With “Day of Reckoning,” viewers could have watched The Godfather trilogy during the time it took to get from the show’s woeful open to the first fight of the night. For nearly $50, you were treated to that woeful open, the announcer previews of the card, Scott Ferrall and Chuck Zito interviewing Freddie Roach and then the PRIDE-like introductions of all of the show’s fighters, all before seeing anything resembling a fight.

Question: Do you go out to a $50 dinner and expect to get just a glass of warm water 20 minutes after ordering your meal?

Personally, I would have canned all of the above; especially the fighter introductions. I believe that the lineup of the fighters is geared more towards the live audience than those sitting at home waiting for fights to start. It’s overkill, especially if you consider the fact that we’re also going to see pre-fight packages on these same fighters.

The solution is simple and different, especially for a promotion with almost no existing fight history of its own to fall back on: start the broadcast with what I call a “Cold Open Fight.”

That’s right…the broadcast begins, blow-by-blow announcer Sean Wheelock quickly introduces himself on camera along with his partners, Jimmy Smith and Tito Ortiz… Smith quickly introduces the first fight of the night and then tosses it to the referee asking the if the fighters are ready…the bell sounds… and within 30 seconds of the pay-per-view telecast that you are shelling out almost $50 for, you have a fight.

What if this idea had been executed for “Day of Reckoning’”s controversial opening fight, Dan Lauzon versus Bobby Green? Even with Green landing three supposed low blows on Lauzon and the delays that followed, it still would have been a high-energy way to start the night, especially with Lauzon reaping revenge on Green by making him tap out.

Speaking of producing and pacing, how does one make the call to NOT send Ortiz into the ring to interview Lauzon, especially after stating during the fight that Lauzon was “putting on an acting job?” Isn’t this the reason why you’d want to take the time to cut to a post-fight interview? Someone made that call in the truck – and someone failed at capitalizing on what could have been an interesting post-fight segment between the always opinionated Ortiz and Lauzon. Again, with just one card under their belt before “Day of Reckoning,” Affliction producers weren’t dealing with a lot of dramatic storylines coming into this telecast, so not recognizing the opportunity to let one play out was a poor judgment call that can’t happen again.

Another poor judgment call that cannot happen again is staying on shots of a fighter who may be seriously injured. This was the case with the Vitor Belfort - Matt Lindland fight. Lindland, who was knocked out in devastating fashion by Belfort, was shown unconscious on the ground with his legs twitching. Of course, you cannot predict how a human being’s body will react to such a violent act, but making the decision to stay on Lindland for so long, when it was clear that he was very, very hurt, was a terrible decision. Good, experienced crews who’ve done MMA telecasts before know this. If Affliction’s television crew was experienced, then someone simply made a horrible judgment call.

There were other options available, such as cutting back to the announcers while doctors tended to Lindland. It’s the equivalent of an NFL game cutting to a commercial after a serious injury; except this was a commercial-free broadcast. The decision to stay on Lindland could have been devastating – to Affliction, to the sport of mixed martial arts, and most of all, to Lindland, had he been seriously injured. Thankfully, he recovered – and hopefully, such bush league decisions will not be made in Affliction’s next show.

Affliction and its television producers also need to re-think how they present their fighters before their respective fights.

With “Day of Reckoning,” it seemed as if Affliction’s production team was trying to fill as much time as possible with fighter packages and introductions. The decision to go from a fighter package into that fighter’s ring walk (and vice versa, at times) into the ring announcement of that fighter completely brought the broadcast to a halt; especially considering that this was done for each fighter. If the producers were trying to do something different, it was a bad choice. Something different would have been producing fighter packages that resembled anything but a poor man’s rip-off of what the UFC does.

The solution? Keep it simple and get to the fight as soon as possible. Produce fighter packages that include both fighters, followed by each guy making his ring entrance, just like the UFC does. Oddly enough, the producers chose to actually do this with just two fights: Josh Barnett – Gilbert Yvel and Fedor Emelianenko – Andrei Arlovski. If they felt that this gave the two featured fights a “different” look, they were wrong. This is simply a case of Affliction and its producers trying too hard.

Another problem that was obvious on “Day of Reckoning,” which also supports the “fill as much time as possible” theory, was the reluctance of the show’s producers to end the telecast properly.

Fedor provided his knockout of the ages, and of course you have to interview him. And of course the viewer expects the announcing team to quickly wrap up the fight and the night in general. But to go to Zito and Ferrall for their analysis of the fight? Really? And then provide the viewers with a useless, long recap of all of the fights that we all just paid up to $50 for and watched with our very own eyes? Really?

The question Affliction’s producers need to ask themselves is, “What reasons are we giving the viewer to keep watching beyond the last fight?”

The answer: “There were none.”

Note to Affliction Entertainment: You’re not fooling the viewers. They know when a show begins and a show ends. Focus more on what comes inbetween that, and you’ll most likely have well-paced shows with good fights that are actually worth paying about $50 for.

THE ANNOUNCE TEAM:

A very positive decision by Affliction Entertainment was to bring in M-1’s announce team of Wheelock (blow-by-blow) and Smith (analyst) for “Day of Reckoning. Wheelock and Smith called the card exactly as they should have, which is professionally and as” a team who has worked together many, many times.

Even more impressive was how they incorporated Ortiz into the equation as the third member of their team. Both Wheelock and Smith allowed Ortiz enough time to show the viewer that, while very, very raw, he certainly has the opinions and knowledge to become a good MMA analyst.

Ortiz was hardly smooth in the analyst role, and he often stumbled upon his own words. But if you throw aside your personal opinions for Tito Ortiz the fighter, whatever they may be, you have to be fair and acknowledge that if he works on his delivery, he’d be a pretty darn good analyst. Also consider the fact that he was joining two guys who’d worked together on numerous occasions, so fitting in was a challenge. Assuming he’s available for their next pay-per-view, Affliction should not only use Ortiz again, but groom him even more as an analyst.

Then comes Tito Ortiz, the post-fight interviewer.

Let’s put it this way…you’re never going to see “The Tito Ortiz Talk Show” following Oprah. Matter of fact, Affliction should never, ever put Ortiz in the position of conducting a ring interview – whether he’s getting booed by the crowd or not – ever again.

From a production perspective, you don’t want the post-fight interviewer to take away from the fighters or interview itself. And almost every time Ortiz entered the ring, he was booed. Whether the booing got to him or not, Ortiz did not deliver. Fighting while being booed is a whole different story than trying to conduct an interview while being booed. When you’re fighting, I imagine you can block it out more. When you’re in the center of the ring and all eyes and ears are focused on everything you say, and not how you fight, I imagine it’s harder.

Also, eliminating Tito Ortiz as a post-fight interviewer will eliminate the possibility that viewers will ever have to listen to these types of lines ever again:

To Renato “Babalu” Sobral after beating Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou: “I wanna tell me what you see. Let’s go ahead and see by the fight, what you saw, in the ring.”

Also to Sobral: “Everybody let’s give a hand to Renato Babalu,’ one of the greatest light heavyweights…of the night.”

Ortiz also didn’t appear to be too comfortable interviewing “Fee-dor” Emelianenko after his fight. Note to Tito: it’s “Fay-dor.”

The solution is to keep Ortiz in the “booth” and bring in somebody else to conduct post-fight interviews. Who that person should be is not my call, but I remember when I first saw Jim Gray on boxing telecasts and how odd it seemed. Now, he’s one of my personal favorites when it comes to conducting post-anything interviews. Gray gets my vote here.

Which brings us back to Ferrall and Zito. Personally, this writer is a fan of both of these men, but not in the roles they served for “Day of Reckoning.” Matter of fact, I believe that both men should be eliminated from future Affliction telecasts, only because the producers didn’t have the slightest clue on how they should use them.

As a sports talk show host, I’m a huge fan of Ferrall. But let’s face it; he’s an acquired taste. The same is true with Zito, who, if sitting in as a guest on a show, is a fantastic interview due to his amazing stories.

The problem with using Ferrall and Zito is that they use none of their above skills for these pay-per-views. Having Ferrall, on “Day of Reckoning,” give the viewer an over-hyped play by play of Babalu getting ready for his fight was completely forced. And having them analyze any fight, especially when you already have Smith and Ortiz doing the same thing, is absurd and unnecessary. It’s almost as if the producers weren’t quite sure what to do with Ferrall and Zito. The solution, to no fault of the twosome: lose them.

AND FINALLY….

Many viewers of Affliction: Banned may recall how awful the audio was for that show. The audio quality improved for Day of Reckoning, but the richness of the packed crowd still doesn’t compare to the UFC’s stellar audio production. On “Day of Reckoning,” one of the first things Wheelock did was describe the crowd as “a frenzied crowd.” The problem was, the audio quality hardly sounded as such; not to mention the fact that the director didn’t even cut to the crowd to compliment Wheelock from a visual perspective. Maybe they weren’t lit properly? Maybe the lack of micrphone placement prevented this from being executed? I’m not sure, but crowd cutaways and top-notch audio are very rare in Affliction Entertainment shows; yet both are crucial elements needed to energize television productions such as MMA shows.

There is absolutely no doubt that those who run Affliction Entertainment understand the importance of producing top-notch, pay-per-view events. But the bottom line is, there’s a big difference between understanding that and then executing it.

Hardcore fight fans may not care how it’s produced, because there’s only one thing they tune in to see: the fights.

Well, without significant improvement in the production of their pay-per-view events, there won’t be any fights left for Affliction to broadcast. Because some of those fans who do care about quality shows won’t continue to spend their hard-earned money anymore. And without that pay-per-view revenue, money will be lost.

Right now, the numbers speak for themselves.

And for a fledgling company like Affliction Entertainment, that could be devastating. The clock is ticking.

Welcome to the latest edition of Post Card From The Couch: UFC 93 Franklin vs. Henderson.

It’s freezing here in New York City. Like watch your breath freeze in mid-air freezing. And that’s INSIDE of my apartment, so I can’t imagine what it’s like outside. Honestly, today is the perfect day to sit on the couch and watch a live, mid-afternoon UFC pay per view.

Of course, the reason behind the 3 p.m. EST start is because UFC 93 is taking place from the 02 Arena in Dublin, Ireland. I wonder – will this be the sporting event where the Irish fans finally loosen up a bit, try a beer or two and become more vocal?

It’s time to break down UFC 93.

ANNOUNCING:

Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan were bringing us the action as usual. Goldberg was Rajon Rondo-like steady in setting up Rogan, who once again, turned in a great broadcast.

Before the show’s first fight, an expected stand-up war between two former boxers, Marcus Davis and Chris Lytle, Rogan was quoting Davis when he said, “The first guy to take it to the ground is a p***y.” Sure, such crudeness probably wouldn’t work on a golf telecast: “Mickelson, like a p***y, is going to play it conservatively and go with the 3-iron as opposed to a driver.”  But, it’s a line that only Rogan could deliver without sounding like he’s trying too hard to be funny.

Rogan’s technical analysis really shined during the second round of the Rousimar Palhares – Jeremy Horn fight. Horn surprisingly got the mount and attempted an arm triangle. Rogan smoothly broke down Horn’s submission attempt in real-time, explaining what he needed to do to finish Palhares. When the move failed, Rogan clearly explained why.

With all of his technical knowledge of the sport, Rogan is also not afraid to let the fan in him come out as well. When reacting to Alan Belcher’s absolutely horrific Johnny Cash tattoo on his left arm, Rogan said, “I got a dog named Johnny Cash, man. I’m a fan (of Belcher’s).” In print, it may not come off as humorous, but in the moment, Rogan has a way of making even the novices of the sport feel right at home when watching a pay per view, because he’s a fan, first and foremost.

Rogan also has a keen eye for the not so obvious. I’m not sure if Palhares was actually crying on his walk to the octagon, but if he was, kudos to Rogan for noticing it. And if not, kudos to Rogan for making me believe him.

Another strength of Rogan’s – being able to relate to the fighters – was also on display before the Mark Coleman – Mauricio Rua fight. Coleman won their first fight in Pride when Rua dislocated his elbow while trying to defend a Coleman takedown attempt. Rua believes it was a fluke, while Coleman maintains he was simply doing his job. Personally, I’ve always looked at it as a freak accident or fluke…until Rogan was quick to point out that Rua may have been the one responsible for his loss. Rogan said, “You can call that fight a fluke, but the bottom line is, Coleman wanted to take him down and did…and Shogun, quite honestly, made kind of a rookie mistake. He tried to catch himself with an extended arm.” Maybe it was Coleman’s arrogance when talking about it that always overshadowed that fact, but until Rogan pointed it out, I’d never looked at it from that angle.

OVERALL PRODUCTION VALUE:

I’m going to delve into an area that in general, only gets a mention when it’s bad: audio.

I vividly remember how horrible the audio quality was in Affliction’s debut pay per view. It was an absolute embarrassment to anyone who has ears. But, with the UFC and Zuffa, we probably take for granted how great of a job they do with audio, simply because they always do such an outstanding job with it. UFC 93 was no exception, with several examples that showed us why the production crew for the UFC and Zuffa are clearly the cream of the crop in MMA.

In an amazing atmosphere like the O2 Arena, stellar audio is an absolute necessity. I can’t imagine what the atmosphere must have been like in person, but the crisp, clear audio of fans cheering and chanting for fellow Irishmen Davis and Tom Egan (versus John Hathaway) was top-notch and deserves major accolades. What if the audio quality had been poor while Davis was getting choked up at the beginning of his post-fight interview with Rogan? It wouldn’t have come off as genuine as it did, especially since Davis was reacting directly to those fans that were cheering for him after his victory.

The bottom line is, you truly got a sense of how big the UFC has become on an international level. Rogan even acknowledged as much, saying, “What an awesome response for Egan…the crowd is going nuts, screaming out his name. That just shows you so much about the growth of this sport.” Of course, Rogan benefitted by being there live, but the fantastic audio production by the UFC and Zuffa supported his sentiments.

The UFC’s excellent audio also provided evidence that Phil Baroni is either blind, the worst corner man of all time or both. Baroni, who was in Coleman’s corner, inexplicably told his fighter this after watching him get dominated and subsequently exhausted after the first round: “You won that round…You’re winning the fight… He (Rua) is hurt…He’s looking for a way out…It’s your war. You got him…It’s a war and your winning….You’re in a war, you’re a legend and your doing awesome.”

Regardless of whether Coleman was even listening or not, there’s a difference between encouraging your fighter and putting his health at risk by flat out lying to him, which is what Baroni did. Remember, no one, including Baroni, had a crystal ball at that time and knew that Coleman would somehow survive as long as he did. We’re only talking about how Coleman looked after round one. Baroni’s responsibility at that point was to protect his fighter at that very moment – not feed him a bunch of BS. You might be reading this and wondering, “Well then, what should have he been saying?”

My answer? Not, “You’re doing awesome.”

Despite Baroni’s comments, this was reality television at it’s best, because people love to see other people being exposed as idiots. That’s why COPS has been on the air for 74 years, with no end in sight. Had a sharp Rua showed up, Coleman could have gotten seriously injured. Then again, had a sharp Rua showed up, he would have finished Coleman in round one, thus eliminating the need for all of us to be exposed to Baroni’s expert advice.

Let me be 110% clear. I’m not judging Phil Baroni, the person. I’m judging Phil Baroni, the corner man. You got the sense that even Rogan felt Baroni was off base after his “instructions” when he said in a half-hearted tone, “Phil trying really hard to pump Mark up.”

I’ve always stressed how important it is to try to interject developing storylines, if possible, during these fights. The producer and director’s decision to cut to Coleman’s corner, while an obvious one, was a home run and gave viewers a sense that if Coleman had any chance to win this fight, he would be on his own.

In the main event, Rich Franklin versus Dan Henderson, Franklin suffered a nasty gash due to an accidental head butt in the first round. Naturally, you have to cut to Franklin’s corner immediately after the round ends to capture the drama of how they’ll treat the cut in such a small window of time. Once again, clean, crisp audio captured Franklin looking at the arena’s giant TV screens and saying, “That’s a head butt that got me.” Right on cue, a replay of the head butt was then rolled in.

Next, a bloodied Franklin said with a smile, “That’s a bad one.” Great producing…great audio…and a great example as to why Rich Franklin is one of the most popular fighters in the UFC.

Finally, seconds after round two ended, they cut to Henderson’s corner and captured him saying, “He’s f***ing tired too.” Bingo. With four simple words, we knew we had two exhausted fighters entering the third and final round.

The reality is, there are viewers who could care less about audio, as long as the fights are good. But for those viewers like myself who want the most bang for their buck, you got it tonight from the UFC and Zuffa.

PACING & PACKAGES:

There’s not much to say about the pacing of UFC 93, only because there wasn’t a ton of filler time between fights. Six fights were shown – with three of them going the distance and one (Coleman – Rua) nearly going the distance before being stopped. Another fight, Alan Belcher versus Denis Kang, nearly went two full rounds; plus, we were treated to Hathaway dominating Egan for nearly one full round. Basically, there wasn’t time to do much of anything but take care of business, plugging future cards and shows and then move onto the next fight.

We all knew coming in that Davis – Lytle would be a Fight of the Night candidate – if not a Fight of the Year candidate. Starting the televised card off with Davis, whom the crowd would get behind, in addition to the action that followed, brought a great energy to the beginning of the telecast.

It was also a good call to not only squeeze in Egan’s fight, despite the loss, but to interview him afterwards. While Egan did nothing in the octagon to merit a post-fight interview, it was more of a courtesy to Dublin’s amazing fans, and another great example for those of us watching here in the United States of how amazing the fans can be overseas.

QUICK HITS:

– Rogan may have been a fan of Belcher’s Johnny Cash tattoo, but when I first saw it, I thought it was an ode to a dead and bloated Elvis Presley.

– Also, Belcher’s upset of Kang, who I personally picked to win, is a picture-perfect example of why MMA is so great. You simply never know.

– Despite my criticism of Baroni, Coleman displayed an amazing heart. But there’s a difference between a past his prime, aging fighter showing heart and two young(er) guns like Davis and Lytle trading blows and showing heart. Watching Davis and Lytle was entertaining. Watching Coleman was, at times, disturbing. Hopefully, this was Coleman’s last fight, because he’s got nothing left to prove.

– If you weren’t familiar with the UFC’s new series, UFC Primetime, I’m sure you noticed the promos for it during the pay per view. UFC Primetime is to MMA what HBO’s 24/7 is to boxing: an unrivaled reality show that takes viewers behind the scenes of specific fights. In this case, it’s the rematch between B.J. Penn and Georges St. Pierre. There isn’t a weakness to this show. It’s shot beautifully, and the storytelling is at a level where you not only want to invest in purchasing their fight, but in getting to actually know the fighters as well. Beyond doing meet and greets at every home in America, I cannot think of a better tool to promote the UFC than this show. Ship the show tapes to those who judge the Sports Emmy Awards, pronto.

THE FINAL WORD:

Overall, UFC 93 was well worth the money spent. We saw some very good fights, but the fighters themselves produce fights, not the producers or directors. It’s the moments mentioned above like the amazing crowd, the Baroni fiasco or the curiosity of Franklin and his cut that keep a televised show entertaining. Which is why I felt that this was a great card to focus on an element of production that often gets overlooked by fans – the audio.

The UFC and Zuffa get it, and most likely, always will. And there’s no doubt that Showtime taking over the production reigns for “Affliction: Day of Reckoning” will make for a significant improvement from Affliction’s terribly-produced first pay per view.

The question is, can Showtime/Affliction produce anything close to the high-quality programming that the UFC/Zuffa constantly provide in shows like UFC 93?

For the sake of competition, I hope so. But the bar has been set high… really high.

A planned vacation by yours truly means P.C.F.T.C. will be taking a short hiatus until UFC Fight Night 17 on February 7th. But, I’d love to get your reactions and comments on “Affliction: Day of Reckoning,” which I will share upon my return.

Welcome to the UFC 92 edition of “Postcard from the Couch.”

I’ve wised up since beginning this column not too long ago. The UFC, regardless of what their competitors (or lack thereof) do, is going to do what they do, the way they want to do it, and when they want to do it, end of story.

Is this a bad thing? No, because the UFC and Zuffa do a fine job of producing their televised events as they are.

However, this won’t stop me from offering my opinions on what I think they could do if they chose to tweak things here and there.

If the UFC and Zuffa wanted a platform to make some tweaks to their televised shows, especially their pay per views, UFC 92 would be the perfect fit. It’s the biggest show of the year and has three main-event caliber fights on the card.

It’s time to break down UFC 92 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in quiet, boring, Las Vegas, Nevada.

ANNOUNCING:

Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan were calling the action as usual. And I have to say; this may have been their best work in 2008.

I’ve always believed that Goldberg’s job was to set up Rogan, plain and simple. Tonight, he did it well. My past criticisms of Goldberg usually come when he talks too much and becomes more analyst than blow-by-blow man. The analyzing is Rogan’s job – and tonight, he served up an A-plus effort.

Rogan was absolutely on-point, doing a fantastic job of providing not only stellar, in-depth MMA analysis, but slickly inserted humorous comments, none of which took anything away from the telecast.

Before Cheick Kongo destroyed Mustapha Al-Turk, Rogan foreshadowed, saying, “He’s (Kongo) an attractive challenger if he wins tonight…especially if he wins in spectacular fashion.” Only time will tell if Kongo gets the Frank Mir – Brock Lesnar rematch winner, but Rogan was spot on. By the way, I’d never used the term “spot on” until I watched Kitchen Nightmares and Hell’s Kitchen with world-famous chef Gordon Ramsay. Feel free to use it, free of charge.

During the fight, Al-Turk accidentally kneed Kongo’s Kongos. Kongo later responded with a not-so-accidental kneeing of Al-Turk’s Turks, prompting Rogan to state, “I’ve seen more guys get hit in the balls…(than) in any other sport in real life.” Rogan says what John Madden wishes he could have said during his heyday: “Boom! He tackled him helmet-first, right in the balls! Boom!”

Rogan’s description and analysis of how Quinton Jackson turned his life around before his rubber match with Wanderlei Silva may have seemed like slight overkill at first. But Rogan clearly did his homework, saying, “This is a different ‘Rampage’…very important to point out.” Rogan went out on a limb, knowing Jackson had been dominated twice by Silva. And like the Kongo fight, was spot on.

From a pure humor point of view, Rogan, when recognizing that Matt Hamill’s corner man was giving him profanity-laced instructions during his fight with Reese Andy, said, “This guy’s been taking lessons from Dana White.” Obviously, Hamill, who is deaf and can read lips, got the entire message, winning by TKO in the second round.

During Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira’s walk to the octagon to face Mir, I stated to my friends how boring Nog’s choice of The Rolling Stones was as entrance music. Rogan, on the other hand, said, “Man, it’s hard to root against a dude who comes in to The Stones.” Well, if you put it that way.

Then Rogan, referring to Nogueira’s near-death experience as a child, added: “They didn’t think he was going to be able to walk again. Now he strangles people for a living.” “They didn’t think he’d bounce back from his torn ACL…now, he makes defenders not only miss, but piss themselves as well….BOOM!”

Goldberg and Rogan also did a very nice job of setting up the Mir – Nogueira fight by reminding viewers just how tough Nog is. Looking back, it made Mir’s stoppage of him even more shocking.

And wrapping up the Rogan love fest, he added this response when seeing that text voters had Forrest Griffin as a big favorite over Rashad Evans: “It’s a lot of Irish gambling money right there.” In other words, Rogan believed the fight was going to be closer than what those people thought. And again, he was spot on.

OVERALL PRODUCTION VALUE:

Aside from a couple of minor issues, the UFC-Zuffa turned in a typical, very solid performance.

Showing the intense weigh-in footage between Silva and Jackson at the top of the show was a good call in hyping up the grudge match, especially for those who had not seen the footage prior to the broadcast.

In the cutaways department, two stood out in my mind: the cutaway of a disappointed Chuck Liddell after Jackson’s KO of Silva and Lesnar’s “You’re next” reaction after Mir’s upset win. Good preparation by the crew and well-timed cutaways, indeed.

Regarding the Evans versus Griffin fight, knowledgeable fans are aware of the gold mine that is the light heavyweight division in the UFC – especially if Anderson Silva decides to return there. I would have liked to see the UFC-Zuffa take an ode from HBO’s boxing telecasts and break down the division, giving the viewers a list of top contenders and potential opponents to the winner of this fight.

There was very good use of the underutilized full-screen graphics before this fight though. As we saw in Griffin versus Jackson, Griffin’s leg kicks can be very effective. He’s also known for being a well-conditioned warrior who will fight into the later rounds. Both of these facts were supported by strong stats, one of which stated that Griffin “lands 72% of leg kicks per fight.” Another stat showed that Griffin’s strike attempts rise as the fight progresses.

With Evans, we learned that in his 18-fight UFC career, he had never attempted a submission. We also learned that Evans, an accomplished wrestler, is successful on 60% of his takedown attempts, with Goldberg adding in that the UFC average is just 45%.

It often boggles my mind at how easy it would be to insert these simple, well-researched graphics for every bout. I get it – the UFC saves them for their main events to give those fights a “main event” kind of feel. But UFC fans aren’t stupid; they know a main event fight from a preliminary fight. So why not utilize these graphics for every televised fight? Rather than choosing to “enhance” one fight, it would enhance the production of them all, even if only by a slight margin. My wish would be to replace the “three-fact bullet point” graphics for non-main event fighters with the full-page ones. Ahhh, one can only dream.

While the replay of Al-Turk kneeing Kongo in the Kongos was slightly botched, the top-notch audio picking up Kongo’s elbows and hammer fists while ambushing Al-Turk’s face was outstanding, especially if you had the luxury of hearing it in surround-sound like I did. It sounded like a young Michael Myers killing his sister all over again in Halloween. Not that I’m bragging. Fact is, I’m extremely handsome and also own a 42-inch flat screen HDTV with a home theater system. Sue me.

On a more negative note, during Rogan’s preview of the Mir – Nogueira fight, footage of the UFC Undisputed video game was abruptly rolled in without any set up, which caused a bit of awkwardness within Rogan’s analysis. It was a minor glitch, but it threw Rogan off slightly and prevented the video game from getting the proper plug they had probably scripted. On a side note, the game looks freakin’ awesome….BOOM!

My Bloody Valentine? In 3D????????

I know I’m being incredibly nitpicky and that advertising money talks, but here we are watching the UFC event of the year, and all of a sudden we’re treated to a useless preview of a useless remake of a 1981 slasher flick? Making it even worse was the fact that the production crew botched the roll-in of the clip by letting what is sometimes known as the “slate” (graphic) appear on-air before the clip rolled. I would have preferred that the UFC-Zuffa figure out another way to use this airtime…like, for example, with some of my suggestions you’ll read below.

PACING & PACKAGES:

I loved having the Jackson vs. Silva fight as the second fight of the night. To the viewer, it immediately hammered home just how big of a card this was, especially because this fight alone would headline most UFC pay per views. Otherwise, I felt that the solid pacing was along the lines of most UFC telecasts.

The UFC-Zuffa also deserves props for producing main-event caliber pre-fight packages before the Jackson – Silva, Mir – Nogueira and Evans – Griffin fights. Like the full-page graphics, I wish they’d enhance their production and do this for all televised bouts.

QUICK HITS:

– Who doesn’t love Wanderlei Silva when he graciously attempts to conquer the English language? Some Wanderlei-isms from the broadcast:

“I want to knock out him” or “I’m going to beat him this time…again.”

– The set up of the Silva – Jackson rubber match, at both the beginning of the show and right before the fight, was a solid example of the UFC making good use of their rights to the Pride FC video library.

– C.B. Dollaway’s after-party plea during his post-fight interview didn’t exactly make me want to party. It made me want milk and cookies.

– What’s Junie Browning think about Frank Mir now?

– How classy is Griffin? During the fight, Evans blew a kiss at him and then grabbed his Rashads (as if he were inviting Griffin to kiss those too). Then Evans destroyed Griffin and took his light heavyweight belt. Yet Griffin greets Evans after the fight as if they’re buddies, like McCartney and M.J. in the Ebony and Ivory video. Athletes in this sport get what sportsmanship is about. Too bad some athletes in other sports often don’t.

THE FINAL WORD:

You really can’t complain about not getting your money’s worth with UFC 92. We saw three main-event caliber fights, and regardless of whether you saw those fights as upsets, one word can be used to describe their outcomes: stunning.

Jackson’s left hook knocking Silva flat out…Mir crushing Big ‘Nog…Evans teeing off on Griffin? Those weren’t just victories – they were victories with a BOOM!

Since it’s the last major card of 2008 and the holiday season, here’s what I would I wish I could have seen from UFC 92:

– This is the biggest card of the year – “The Ultimate 2008” – so how about a Year In Review package? I think this would have worked as a rollout during the credits that Goldberg could have tossed to while wrapping up the telecast. Think One Shining Moment montage/NCAA March Madness on CBS.

– I enjoyed the pre-fight packages before the big-three fights, but here’s a wish list of packages I would have liked to have seen inserted before some of the other fights:

– Why not a package featuring highlights from the top five fights of 2008? This could have been something that UFC fans could have voted on at www.UFC.com for two weeks (or more) prior to the telecast, with the results being revealed during the package.

– The same online voting concept could have been applied to other packages that could have been interspersed throughout the telecast: Newcomer of the Year, Fighter of the Year, Top Five Knockouts of 2008 and Top Five Submissions of 2008. If nothing else, these ideas could have been used for an end-of-the-year special on Spike TV.

It’s easy for me to wish, wish, wish. But in reality, there’s only so much non-fight airtime to insert these packages into. So, what would I have done?

Personally, I would have eliminated the Octagon walks for the non big-three fights and replaced them with these packages, mainly because they’re more entertaining and would have provided a faster pace to the telecast.

Again, these are just wishes, most of which I don’t expect to see anytime soon on a UFC-Zuffa telecast. There’s a better chance that my other wish – re-enacting the “scene” from Monster’s Ball with Halle Berry – will happen before those do. Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed the show. The fights lived up to the hype, and Goldberg and especially Rogan were on top of their game.

Welcome to the latest edition of Postcard From The Couch: The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale.

Before I get into my pre-broadcast thoughts on tonight’s event, I want to quickly express my feelings about the UFC’s recent “Fight For The Troops” show on Spike TV.

Because of the nature of the event, I thought a PCFTC critiquing it would have been inappropriate. However, I want to commend the UFC and Spike TV for their efforts. Right off the bat, the goal of the broadcast was made clear: this night was about the troops, first and foremost. The packages on the soldiers were riveting. Produced features don’t always need to be flashy from a visual perspective, especially if the stories being told are compelling. These stories fell into that category.

Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan also did a tremendous job – not because of their commentary – but because they showed everyone that they’re just like the rest of us: human. They were clearly moved by what they saw, and, assuming you watched and have a heart, so were you.

Kudos to the UFC, Spike and the fighters who participated on the card. Most of all, kudos to those who serve this country. Please continue to support this important cause by going to http://fallenheroesfund.ufc.com.

PRE-SHOW THOUGHTS:

This is The Ultimate Fighter finale, so three of the five fights slated to be broadcast tonight feature fighters from season 8: Ryan Bader vs. Vinny Magalhaes, Phillipe Nover vs. Efrain Escudero and Junie Browning vs. Dave Kaplan. Therefore, I fully expect Spike TV to show the usual flashback sequences, which gives the viewers at home a reminder of what transpired during the season.

If you’re like me and watched the entire season, these sequences may simply serve as a good time to shotgun a beer or ignore phone calls from your girlfriend who wants you to watch the Sex and The City movie with her instead. (NOTE: this is not a real-life issue with me. It’s simply a recurring nightmare that I’ve had every night for the past week.

Now, for those viewers who’ve never tuned into The Ultimate Fighter – and there will be those watching tonight who’ve haven’t – this is a tremendous opportunity to suck them in for next season, which is tentatively scheduled to premiere in early-April on Spike TV.

I’m also particularly interested at how Goldberg and Rogan set up the Browning vs. Kaplan fight. Browning, as viewers of this season well know, was hardly the ultimate fighter. He was an underachiever inside of the octagon and a train wreck. He was, however, the ultimate reality show star.

So, is this simply a one and done for Browning? Is Dana White looking to use Browning for ratings purposes and then cut him from the UFC, regardless of tonight’s outcome? Personally, I hope so – but not because I want the worst for him. Browning, who has tremendous potential, simply didn’t deserve to be on this card in the first place. Giving him the camera time he desired on TUF was his reward. But TUF cameras stopped rolling weeks ago, so I’d rather see a more deserving fighter in his place tonight.

Throwing hissy fits makes for great reality television, but if Browning wins and continues to fight in the UFC, a “hissy fit” could result in negative publicity for not only the UFC, but for the sport of mixed martial arts. Is Junie Browning worth taking that risk on? We’ll find out soon enough.

We’ll also find out if Rogan takes advantage of his opportunity to read Browning the riot act. Rogan trains in MMA, has an idea of the dedication it takes to partake in the sport and is respected by the fighters. If there’s anyone who will criticize Browning’s behavior on TUF 8, it’s Rogan.

Of course, this is only what I expected to see. The following is what I actually saw…

ANNOUNCING:

Goldberg and Rogan were calling the action as usual, and right away, the focus of the telecast turned to Browning.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that a decent percentage of viewers were tuning in to see Browning not only fight, but get his behind handed to him by Kaplan. Personally, I was one of them. Would it happen? And would Rogan tear into him as well?

The answer to both of these questions was a resounding NO.

Goldberg and Rogan certainly didn’t play down Browning’s controversial stint on TUF. Goldberg, before hitting a commercial break, purposely used it to sell the telecast by teasing that “the most controversial fighter in the history of The Ultimate Fighter show” was coming up next. Which, on a side note, is a tremendous way to sell the show to TUF newbies that were watching.

However, the criticism that I was looking for on Browning’s behavior never materialized once they came back from break. It was wishful thinking on my part, but hardly unrealistic to expect. And honestly, I have no problem with the direction Goldberg and Rogan went, only because they did such a fine job in going with a sympathetic angle instead.

Goldberg and Rogan explained that Browning has turned his life around, both in and out of the octagon, since TUF cameras stopped rolling. And, at least Rogan was truthful when saying, “Well let’s be realistic, those antics are what got him here right now. That’s why he’s on the main card. That’s why he’s not on the undercard. And people like controversy.”

Again, not the direction I was hoping for, but they did a fine job of selling the angle they went with. Which, if Browning were to win, would help offset some of the criticism Dana White and the UFC may take if they chose to keep him on their roster.

As it turned out, Browning arguably executed the most complete performance of the telecast. I think it’s safe to say that Junie “The Lunatic” Browning will be back in the UFC.

While Goldberg did a solid job as usual, Rogan continued to show why he’s so top-notch. As someone who is attempting to learn the sport by watching, as opposed to participating, I truly felt as if Rogan was teaching me something tonight. Rogan truly shines when analyzing a submission attempt, and he did so several times in this telecast. He’s not only adept at describing what he is seeing at the moment, but he’s even more affective when adjusting his commentary to the change in action. For MMA novices like myself – and the many others who were watching – this is just a pleasure to watch. Does it mean that I can now execute a rear-naked choke on my mother when she comes to visit for brunch? No. But it educates me and makes my viewing experience that much better.

Rogan did have one rare misstep though. Before the Nover/Escudero fight, Goldberg set up Rogan into talking about Escudero, to which Rogan responded by saying, “…Dana White has said that he looks like Anderson Silva at 155 pounds.” Of course, Rogan had meant to say this about Nover. Goldberg, however, smoothly corrected Rogan without making him look bad. A minor slip indeed – but hey, I’m a perfectionist, alright?

OVERALL PRODUCTION VALUE:

From a production perspective, there was nothing extraordinarily different that Spike TV did in this particular telecast.

But, I did like the Playstation 3 sponsored “Corner Cams” that were sporadically utilized in-between rounds. In a smaller facility like The Pearl at The Palms, the smaller (and very quiet) crowd allowed the viewer to be able to hear the corners more effectively than they would at a bigger, louder venue such as the MGM Grand. Nothing earth-shattering came out of it audio-wise, but remember, this isn’t a scripted event, so it’s worth going to in case a fighter claims to be hurt, wants to quit, or in rare instances, decides to reveal on national television that his opponent’s body blow forced him to crap in his pants. We can only hope. Someday.

PACING & PACKAGES:

My thoughts about pacing are often based on the following question: is the broadcast taking advantage of its airtime in the best possible way?

Viewers tuning in should realize that those producing the telecast are responsible for hitting a specific number of commercial breaks, so while it’s not always ideal to go to break at certain times, it’s often necessary.

My point is, it’s easy to complain about the pacing of a live MMA event, but there are so many variables that go into it. Having said that, I liked the pre-fight package/commercial break/fighter intros/fight starts flow that Spike/Zuffa executed for several of the fights. Meaning, fighter walks to the octagon were cut out for some fights. Personally, I can live without fighter walks in the following situations: 1) when the event is taking place at a small arena like The Pearl and 2) if it is a non-main event fight.

On the other hand, a couple of decisions negatively affected the pacing.

Going to actor Kevin James after the Browning/Kaplan fight just so he could plug his latest movie and make his predictions on the card was an absolute waste of time. Yes, I understand that some genius out there bought that “advertising” time, hence the reasoning for the segment. It just comes of as WWE-ish. There has to be a more creative way to do that segment.

Rather than have Rogan sit with James and have him bumble his way through his predictions, they should have rolled in a pre-produced one-minute package on James going to train at a gym with a UFC fighter. While he’s certainly not in shape, James is funny, so comedy would ensue, and it would be a more entertaining and creative option, if we are indeed forced to deal with these spots.

The idea of Joe Rogan doing interviews with Forrest Griffin and Frank Mir in the crowd is a great one since they’re two of the more charismatic fighters in the UFC AND they’re fighting in separate fights on the next pay per view card. Spending the first part of it having them talk about being part of The 2008 Video Game Awards? Shameless plug? Sure. Boring? Absolutely.

I also believe that they missed an opportunity to take advantage of a couple of potential features that could have been produced.

Getting back to Junie Browning… the creativity level could have been turned up a notch had Spike/Zuffa produced a pre-fight package on the history of TUF bad boys, such as Chris Leben and Josh Koscheck. With Junie being the latest bad boy, the piece could have looked back at some of the greatest bad boy moments, concluding with the question of whether Browning would turn his life and take advantage of the opportunity he had tonight. Remember, this was on “free” television, so it would have also served as another selling point for The Ultimate Fighter reality show.

Another missed opportunity was the chance to show clips from some of the greatest TUF Finale fights from past seasons. They could have done a “Top 5 Finale Fights” for this show and rolled in the clips throughout the telecast, with the #1 fight (Forrest Griffin-Stephan Bonnar from TUF 1 finale) being rolled in right before the last fight of the night. Again, another selling tool.

On a positive note, the flashback packages on all four finalists fighting tonight were simple, but effective. If I were watching tonight and hadn’t watched this season, I got a clear vision of each fighter’s path to their fights tonight.

QUICK HITS:

David Kaplan walking to the Octagon and dancing to “Tenderness” by General Public in sunglasses and bling was fantastic.

Anthony Johnson’s head kick KO of Kevin Burns: wow.

THE FINAL WORD:

This was hardly a bad telecast by Spike TV/Zuffa. The fights were entertaining, and the call by Goldberg and Rogan was good.

Aspects of the production such as visuals, audio, lighting and graphics were up to par with other broadcasts we’ve seen from the UFC. But my biggest critique has to do with creativity. There’s essentially no competition for them to be concerned about on television, so it’s not as if the folks at Zuffa are constantly worrying about changing what they do.

Having said that, my suggestions about doing other packages have nothing to do with being concerned about competition. It’s about being creative and not content on doing the same thing every time. The Ultimate Fighter is a gigantic part of the well-oiled machine known as the UFC. And it relies on storylines, as well as the fighting, to attract and sustain its viewers. I believe that just a bit more could have been done tonight to showcase what the series is about for those who may not know.

One has to think that the UFC, Spike TV and Zuffa still want to attract new fans. Sometimes, after watching them execute the same approach over and over, I have to wonder if they’re almost daring you not to watch if you don’t like it.

Thankfully, I absolutely love it. I just wish they’d be open to some minor change, little by little.

Overall, a solid B effort.

Thanks for reading. And by the way – my after party is going to be at Sam Caplan’s house. Everyone’s invited!

Welcome to Postcard from the Couch – Strikeforce: Destruction.

I’ve looked forward to this edition of P.C.F.T.C. because it’s the first one I’ve written that hasn’t focused on a UFC event.

Ironically, I came away from tonight appreciating the UFC more than ever.

Strikeforce: Destruction, which aired live on HDNet – and on my 42-inch high-def television with a surround sound home theater system – may as well had been telecast on a black and white TV with three-inch speakers.

And no, I’m not bragging about my television. I’m simply stating that I was adequately equipped to enjoy this telecast in its highest form.

Unfortunately, I spent two hours and 15 minutes watching a flat, unenergetic telecast that, quite frankly, served no purpose being broadcast in HD. You see, high-definition television doesn’t lie. Some of the “entertainers” in the adult entertainment industry say that they actually prefer NOT to see their movies in HD because it exposes their flaws, such as plastic surgery scars and other things that don’t need to be mentioned on this site.

How I know this is not important. What IS important is that my real name IS Lee Gerowitz and not Lee Hammerrod, and that my point is, HD television embraces beauty and exposes ugliness for what it is.

Tonight’s telecast was ugly. I’m well aware of the fact that HDNet/Strikeforce doesn’t operate on the same kind of budget that Zuffa/UFC does. Therefore, I need to make those of you reading well aware of the fact that I really don’t care. My job is to critique what I see, end of story.

And this is what I saw…

ANNOUNCING -

Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten called the action tonight. The best way to describe Kenny Rice in general, I think, is “professional.” He calls it like he sees it, for better or for worse, and he stays pretty level headed. Personally, I’ll take the hits and misses of the more energetic Mike Goldberg. As for Rutten, I don’t mind him on HDNet’s “Inside MMA” show. But on a live card, I’m simply not a fan because I believe he’s more about gimmick than substance. To me, he’s the Chris Berman of MMA on television: enough already with the shtick, thank you.

Rice and Rutten got off to a rough start during tonight’s show. As they were doing a preview of the co-main event, Bobby Southworth versus Renato “Babalu” Sobral, Rice intended to lead Rutten into discussing Southworth while Southworth footage was being played. Instead, Rutten spoke about Babalu almost the entire time over the Southworth footage. When Babalu footage was finally played, Rutten had nothing else to say and Rice wisely filled time. Still, it came off as a sloppy and ill-prepared bit.

Rice, perhaps sensing the overall dullness of the night, also reached when describing Scott Smith’s knockout of Terry Martin by stating, “You will not see a better knockout than that.” Really? I paid $50 to see one last week when Jeremy Stephens went Goose Gossage on Rafeal Dos Anjos’ chin during UFC 91. Smith’s KO was absolutely textbook, but I am sure MMA fans more experienced than I could name 10 knockouts better than that one.

Overall, the announcing was in-sync with the rest of the night. I give it a Blah-plus.

OVERALL PRODUCTION VALUE -

As I mentioned earlier, I looked forward to writing this particular column because it was a non-UFC event. Coming into tonight, I knew the biggest difference I would notice between a UFC event and one that airs on HDNet is the production value.

It’s hard to argue that the UFC, from the second one of their pay per views begins, doesn’t do everything in its power to make their telecast as high energy as possible, whether it’s Goldberg yelling, Bruce Buffer doing his Thriller dance/ring announcements, the lighting, the music, or their tremendous audio and overall presentation.

HDNet, on the other hand, really needs to step it up in this department, and tonight was a shining example of that. Again, I don’t care about how much money they don’t have. One thing I have learned in television is that you don’t always need to be a major network or high-budget production to make something look and sound good.

LIGHTING & AUDIO -

Was this a funeral or a mixed martial arts card? The lighting went hand in hand with the low energy output of the telecast. The crowd was too dark (possibly to cover up empty seats), and aside from several useless cutaways of them, the crowd almost seemed non-existent.

Which leads me into my biggest complaint: the audio. Wow. Paging Mark Cuban, paging Mark Cuban, can you hear me Mark Cuban? No? Well guess what? I couldn’t hear portions of your network’s telecast either.

Crap. I hope he doesn’t delete me as a friend on Facebook now.

Not only were there audio dropouts on several occasions, there was a constant issue with the audio levels in general. Besides being lit too dark, the crowd’s audio was also nearly non-existent. I live in New York City, and I’ve heard audio of neighbors fornicating three floors below me that sounded crisper than what I heard tonight. Also, when music played during fighter introductions, it was almost louder than the announcers. HDNet surely had a feed of the arena audio, so there was no reason why they couldn’t monitor it in a more professional manner.

During the Duane Ludwig-Yves Edwards fight, injured Josh Thomson joined Rice and Rutten to call the fight. Right away, his audio levels were so low that you could barely hear him speak about his toe injury that forced him out of this fight with Edwards.

They even disrupted an interview Ron Kruck did with the beautiful and talented Gina Carano. Kruck was asking Carano about possibly working for Strikeforce or the WEC, and as she was trying to answer, you could hear Rice and/or Rutten’s off-camera audio bleeding through. Thankfully, Carano is the kind of interview you can watch with the sound down and still enjoy it.

However, I will give props to HDNet for letting us see and hear WEC Featherweight Champion Mike Brown instruct Edwards from his corner during round two. I believe that this is a valuable asset to have in case a fight has some dead spots. Corner men are always talking, so it lets the announcers take a breather while giving the viewer another layer of insight to a fight. Otherwise, the audio was absolutely atrocious.

GRAPHICS -

HDNet’s graphics, for an HD telecast, were completely underwhelming. Their graphics should use crisp colors and moving animation that pops out at you on an HD television. Instead, they bore you, and they would even bore you on a standard definition television.

Information-wise, I am personally a big fan of the CompuStrike stats. They don’t tell the entire story, especially in a fight that stays mostly on the ground, but I appreciate the effort as a viewer. I also thought that Rice did a good job incorporating them into his announcing, particularly during the Nik Theotikos-Luke Rockhold fight, when he updated the viewer on the CompuStrike stats during the first round.

HDNet also uses the standard “mini-facts graphic” for each fighter as they enter the cage. These quick facts generally give the viewer good, simple facts about each fighter. However, I didn’t need to know that Luke Rockhold’s “Brother is a Pro Surfer.” They may as well followed that up with a text messaging poll that asked, “Does anyone give a s**t?”

PACKAGES & PACING -

If you watched HDNet/Strikeforce’s show opens and fighter packages and compared it to what the UFC does, you would immediately notice the difference in energy.

Personally, I love the way the UFC kicks off any of their fight cards with their show opens/opening teases. Tonight’s open to the telecast, on the other hand, really set the tone for the rest of the night. It was voiced over and had low energy music – and most of all, you didn’t even get to hear from the fighters. You heard a bad voiceover, but nothing from the fighters. Huh?

The fighter packages completely failed to get a viewer amped for the upcoming fight. It actually made me miss Goldberg’s over the top voiceovers he does for the UFC’s pre-fight packages. But there’s also an obvious difference in the production value of these packages, from the music selections to the shooting and even the editing. This isn’t a money issue, either. This is a creativity and talent issue. These packages did absolutely nothing for me and seemed to serve more as filler than relevant content.

Pacing-wise, I like the idea of what HDNet does by having Jimmy Lennon, Jr. toss to a fighter’s pre-fight package, and then after the package, having the fighter’s entrance to the cage. However, there are a couple of problems here. One is Jimmy Lennon, Jr. He’s great with boxing. But I feel like he doesn’t supply the energy an announcer needs for MMA. I don’t need everyone to be Bruce Buffer. But at the same time, Lennon just doesn’t seem to fit in. The other problem with the pacing is that while the flow is good, once again, the lack of energy just kills it. Lennon is too laid back and you cant heard the crowd anyways due to the poor audio. Get a new announcer and improve the audio, then the pacing would seem even quicker.

QUICK HITS -

The Lina Kvokov-Kim Couture “fight” was disturbing. I truly felt sad for Kvokov, who would basically turn her back to Couture every single time she got hit. I respect anyone who enters a cage, ring or octagon. But this fight should have never happened. Besides general cage experience, I can’t imagine what Couture got out of it.

So Bobby Southworth loses his light heavyweight title in controversial fashion and we don’t get to hear from him? We heard from him at the top of the show before his fight, so why not after the fight? A champion loses his belt and we don’t hear from him? C’mon, people.

Finally, they interview Cung Le, but we never get to see him on camera? Not that I personally needed to see him, but it just seemed awkward. Matter of fact, we didn’t even see Rice and Rutten during their final wrap up of the show…we saw random shots of the arena instead as they spoke. What, they couldn’t find a camera to shoot their own talent with?

THE FINAL WORD -

This was obviously a big card and telecast for HDNet/Strikeforce, but you wouldn’t have known it by watching tonight. It doesn’t take network dollars to produce a high-energy show. As a viewer, I felt like the production was simply going through the motions. The bad lighting, horrible audio and overall low energy were unfortunately the highlights of this card for me.

I now realize why Zuffa/UFC doesn’t ever change its own production values, either. Not that they need to. But, if they can be the television giants that they are while networks and promotions like HDNet/Strikeforce produce cards like this, why should they change? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?

Well, this one’s broke and someone needs to come fix it. Now.

As I have stated in my first two editions of P.C.F.T.C., I am not a mixed martial arts expert. Having become a serious fan in only the past two years, I still have a lot to learn. I also do not practice MMA, which would surely help educate me on the sport. There are writers on this very website – and fans reading this article right now – who practice MMA and are, quite frankly, more knowledgeable of the sport than I will ever be.

Having said that, I believe that UFC 91 has the potential to be one of those events where we look back at it one day and say, “That’s when the UFC changed forever.”

UFC 91 has the potential to suck in a slew of fans that are somewhat similar to myself. While I certainly believe that I have graduated from “basic casual fan status” to “getting better, but still working on it” status, there is no doubt that tonight will be the first time a lot of folks have tuned in for a UFC pay per view, mainly because of the Lesnar curiosity factor.

If Brock Lesnar becomes UFC heavyweight champion tonight, those first-timers could potentially get sucked in for good. And like it or not, THAT is the reason why this main event was made. The potential to bring in a new generation of fans was simply too much for White and Zuffa to resist.

It’s 10 p.m. in wonderful NYC, so let’s begin our in-depth look into UFC 91…

10:00 – 10:14: THE SET UP – Coming right out of the open, our announcers Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan immediately set up the main event, with Goldberg calling Lesnar “superhuman.” Since Couture played the villainous Sargon in “The Scorpion King 2,” handling Lesnar should not be a problem. My pick: Couture by Scorpion Curse in round one.

After the set up of the texting poll, we see a quick Joe Stevenson/Kenny Florian preview, followed by Goldberg saying, “It is indeed a magical night…Randy Couture-Brock Lesnar…and a couple of other good heavyweights on the card as well.” We go to a Gabriel Gonzaga-Josh Hendricks preview, followed by the Rules of the Octagon, leading me to believe that this will be the first fight of the evening. Instead, we see a Nate Quarry-Demian Maia preview package. I’m wondering why they didn’t just go to Gonzaga-Hendricks fight off the smooth segue, but I need to get over it, as Maia and Quarry make their entrances to the octagon and are introduced by Bruce Buffer.

10:14 – 10:17: NATE QUARRY vs. DEMIAN MAIA - Rogan immediately notices Quarry is in trouble by stating, “This is terrible for Nate Quarry.” Rogan is spot on as Maia dominates Quarry, submitting him via rear-naked choke in just 2:13. Great execution by Maia, great explanation of it by Rogan.

10:17 – 10:31: POST FIGHT & GONZAGA vs. HENDRICKS SET UP - After Maia’s post-fight interview and some advertising spots, we get some more main event hype. Couture is shown arriving at the MGM Grand Arena – with his gorgeous wife Kim – at 5:21 local time, while Lesnar arrives almost an hour and a half later. Couture is greeted warmly upon his entrance, while Lesnar’s arrival sends grown men jumping into each other’s arms in fear.

A UFC 92 promo follows – what a card, by the way – and now we see Couture in his locker room grappling with his wife, and Lesnar in his bashing his head through the locker room wall. Ok, not really.

A Gonzaga-Hendricks preview package rolls, followed by their walks to the Octagon and introductions. It must be noted that at 10:29 Buffer did his “Introducing first”/Michael Jackson Thriller move. I don’t care how new school I am or how old school you are….it’s absurd.

10:31 – 10:32: GABRIEL GONZAGA vs. JOSH HENDRICKS - Gonzaga immediately becomes a P.C.F.T.C. favorite due to this Condom Depot sponsorship. A Gonzaga right hand in just 1:01 ruins Hendricks’ UFC debut and Gonzaga is one step closer to becoming the first fighter to have a condom named after him.

Not a lot of fighting so far, but what we have seen has been explosive.

BROADCAST TIME SO FAR: 32 minutes. ACTUAL FIGHT TIME: 3 minutes, 14 seconds.

10:32 – 10:39: POST-FIGHT & BROWN vs. THOMAS SET UP - Rogan presses Gonzaga for a prediction on the main event, to which Gonzaga replies, “I choose the Randy.” Who doesn’t?

BROADCAST TIME SO FAR: 39 minutes. ACTUAL FIGHT TIME: 3 minutes, 14 seconds.

10:39 – 10:46: MATT BROWN vs. RYAN THOMAS - Approximately 93% of the pay per view you have paid to see has been anything but fighting so far. Not entirely the UFC/Zuffa’s fault, but facts are facts. A wise decision is made to go right to tape of this preliminary fight, sans the walks to the Octagon and pre-fight intros. Our first fight of the broadcast that goes beyond round one results in Matt Brown winning via arm bar submission in round two.

BROADCAST TIME SO FAR: 46 minutes. ACTUAL FIGHT TIME: 9 minutes, 17 seconds.

10:46 – 10:57: POST-FIGHT & HAZELETT vs. MCCRORY SET UP - After hearing from Brown, we see two of the Tapout freaks and a promo for The Ultimate Fighter before getting to the Dustin Hazelett-Tamdan McCrory fight preview. For pacing purposes, is there any reason why the fighters couldn’t be in the octagon already coming out of the package? Once McCrory began his walk, we had to wait an additional five minutes before the action began. On a side note, McCrory is probably that guy you DON’T want to scream “Nerd!” at.

10:57 – 11:01: DUSTIN HAZELETT vs. TAMDAN MCCRORY - With 2:23 left in round one, Goldberg says three of four wins for Hazelett have come by submission. About 1:39 later, Hazelett wins via arm bar. Good stuff.

BROADCAST TIME SO FAR: 1 hour, 1 minute. ACTUAL FIGHT TIME: (4 fights, 5 rounds) 13 minutes, 16 seconds.

11:01 – 11:05: POST-FIGHT & SET UP STEPHENS vs. DOS ANJOS - We’ve seen GSP and B.J. Penn in the house so far tonight. Now, we’re greeted by Anderson Silva, possibly the only mixed martial artist in history who can pull off wearing a bright pink sweater. Afterwards, another UFC 92 plug follows before we go right to the action of our second prelim fight of the night. They can’t control the results inside of the octagon, but they do control how to fill time in situations like this. Another good call by the UFC/Zuffa.

11:05 – 11:18: JEREMY STEPHENS vs. RAFAEL DOS ANJOS - After two solid rounds, we’re treated to the “Holy Sh*T Moment of the Night,” sponsored by Depends. Jeremy Stephens just wound up and threw an uppercut that came from the 40th level of hell. Stephens by third round K.T.F.O. Wow.

BROADCAST TIME SO FAR: 1 hour, 18 minutes. ACTUAL FIGHT TIME: (5 fights, 8 rounds) 23 minutes, 55 seconds. So far, I am really enjoying this card. And we still have two great fights ahead of us.

11:18 – 11:33: POST-FIGHT & SET UP FLORIAN vs. STEVENSON - The sound in real time…followed by the replays…hearing the crowd react to the replays…unbelievable. Hey now, Wanderlei Silva in the house. I’m scared. We check in with Couture in his locker room. Then we check in with Lesnar. I’m scared. Then we check in with Joe Rogan and 50 Cent. What? Fitty’s promoting his latest album. I’m still scared. So take Joe Rogan’s advice: “Buy it, don’t download it, bitches!”

It’s now time for the preview package and octagon walks for the co-main event of the evening. The newest member of G-Unit, Joe “Daddy” Stevenson, comes out to Fitty’s classic joint, “Wanksta.”

11:33 – 11:37: KENNY FLORIAN vs. JOE STEVENSON – A nice pace to begin the fight, but more important is the fact that in the middle of the round, we get a TEXT MESSAGING POLL ALERT (#3 of the night)! Couture’s lead is down by 1%, 55-45. About a minute later, Florian submits Daddy via RNC.

11:37 – 11:42: KENNY FLORIAN vs. JOE STEVENSON POST-FIGHT - Seeing Florian’s reaction to the win, which nets him a lightweight title shot against B.J. Penn, was awesome, but not as awesome as him calling Penn out and giving Metallica a title for their next album, “Kill The Master.”

Look who’s also in the house: there’s only one Ricky Hatton! Hatton has a set of twins sitting behind him too. Unfortunately, they’re only 15… and boys. After a brief tease for the main event, we get an extended look at the movie, Punisher: War Zone, which warrants not one comment, before getting to the evening’s main event.

BROADCAST TIME SO FAR: 1 hour, 42 minutes. ACTUAL FIGHT TIME: (6 fights, 9 rounds) 27 minutes, 58 seconds.

11:42 – 11:57: THE MAIN EVENT SET UP - Since this is being billed as the biggest fight in the history of the UFC, I am extremely interested to see what the UFC/Zuffa does right now. For those readers who’ve read the first two editions of P.C.F.T.C., you know I’m big on selling storylines. Like I stated above, there are newbies watching this PPV because of Lesnar. Yes, they’re already watching, which is goal #1, but sustaining their interest in the UFC should be goal #2. Great stories followed by a potentially great, history-making fight can only help matters.

Rather than give us the typical “Why I’m going to win this fight” preview package, give us a package that includes that, but also tells us about the road traveled by Couture and Lesnar in getting to this point. Like Couture, Lesnar is getting a title shot in just his fourth professional fight. Not to mention, we have the old school/new school and potential changing of the guard themes present as well. HBO does a wonderful job with pre-fight packages before their boxing main events. It would be nice to see the UFC/Zuffa go that route.

Goldberg and Rogan begin their pre-fight set up, and we learn via-full page graphic that Couture’s opponents have a combined record of 181-36 and that 14 of his 18 UFC fights have been for a title. If you’re watching and knew little about Couture before tonight, now you know that he’s been in plenty of big fights before…unlike his opponent.

Goldberg finally tosses to the pre-fight package. We hear the fighters explain what they need to do to beat one another. Couture talks about seeing Lesnar now and how it reminds him of himself 10 years ago. Couture says Lesnar is one-dimensional and all straight-ahead. Interesting. Lesnar counters with the predictable “he’s too damn old to be here” comment before the package ends with more “how I will win” comments from each fighter. Did I expect anything different? No. Personally, I had heard all of these sound bites already before tonight. I really don’t think it’s too much to ask for a pre-main event package that is exclusive to those who are paying up to $50 to watch this on PPV.

It’s now 11:47, Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” is playing, and here comes the challenger, Brock Lesnar. Goldberg gives a great fact: Lesnar is the 19th fighter in UFC history to fight for a title with less than 10 fights. I’ve made this point before: if you’re watching this in a loud environment – like a party or a sports bar, you won’t hear it. Putting up a “Brock Lesnar: 19th UFC fighter to get title shot with less than 10 fights” lower-third graphic would visually enhance this great fact. FYI – Goldberg also adds that only three of those other 18 men have been victorious: Mark Coleman, Frank Mir and yes, Randy Couture. Great facts here. Three minutes later, Couture walks to the octagon and Buffer introduces both fighters as if he’s about to break out into “Give My Regards To Broadway.”

11:57 – 12:06: THE MAIN EVENT: RANDY COUTURE vs. BROCK LESNAR - The crowd is clearly for Couture, as the audio picks up, “Randy! Randy! Randy!” chants. As Brock goes in for a takedown in round one, Goldberg smoothly informs us that he’s 7 for 8 on takedown attempts in his career. With 2:10 left in the round, the use of the overhead camera really shows the viewer just how huge Lesnar is when smothering Couture in half-guard. Brock’s back should have a tattoo of its own zip code. Round one concludes at 12:02 a.m.

Round two begins, but not before 50 Cent wags his finger in disapproval. I’m scared. With 3:40 left in the round, Lesnar is cut under his right eye. With just over two minutes left in the round, Lesnar rocks Couture! Couture down, pounded and stopped by Lesnar! We have a new heavyweight champion. Wow.

BROADCAST TIME SO FAR: 2 hours, 6 minutes. ACTUAL FIGHT TIME: (7 fights, 11 rounds) 36 minutes, 5 seconds.

POST-FIGHT NOTE: I watched this fight again this morning, and found it curious that at about 11:50 p.m., after Lesnar had entered the octagon, he pointed to his right eye and asked for more (I’m assuming) Vaseline to be placed underneath it. This is the same eye that was later cut in round two by Couture. It could be just a coincidence, but I am curious if Lesnar had injured that eye in training and had concerns about it entering the fight?

12:06 – 12:13: RANDY COUTURE vs. BROCK LESNAR POST-FIGHT - This is not a religious statement. I want to make that 150% clear. But in one of the greatest post-interview lines I have personally ever heard, Lesnar, in his post-fight interview with Rogan, looked up to the sky above as if he was speaking to God and said, “God Bless You.”

Brock Lesnar, the new UFC heavyweight champion, is indeed superhuman. The man just blessed God. Wow!

FAST-FORWARD: Due to the number of fights shown, we’re going to hop ahead a bit. The broadcast could have ended after the main event and I know I would have felt as if I got my money’s worth. However, the UFC/Zuffa gave us two more preliminary fights on tape: Jorge Gurgel – Aaron Riley and Mark Bocek – Alvin Robinson. That’s every fight on the card, folks.

I could try to research whether this has happened before with a UFC PPV – and if it has, write as if I knew that already. But as of this very moment, I don’t want to know. All that matters is that I saw a lot of good fights, making it hard to complain about not getting your money’s worth tonight.

THE WRAP: Nine fights and two hours and 56 minutes later, UFC 91 is a wrap. Overall, I believe that the broadcast was a solid A effort. Goldberg and Rogan were excellent. We saw slickly executed submissions, an uppercut for the ages and history made. Will we look back at this event as the one that changed the UFC forever as far as mainstream media coverage is concerned?

I think so. As I write this, I am watching live, post-fight coverage (at 2:00 a.m. EST) of UFC 91 on ESPN’s internet-only MMA Live show. According to the webcast, it’s the first time ESPN has actually built a set on-site to cover an MMA event. Sure, it’s not the same as getting coverage on SportsCenter, but it’s a significant achievement that was once reserved for just major boxing matches. It’s only a matter of time before this coverage is integrated onto SportsCenter.

Which brings us back to Lesnar and the future of the UFC. If CBS backed an over-hyped, Kimbo Slice-led promotion on its network, how soon will we see a network jump into bed with the UFC now that Lesnar is the champion? Lesnar was a major draw during his WWE days. Can you imagine a network promoting Brock Lesnar, especially as heavyweight champion? I sure as hell can. Yes, I understand he’s got a huge task ahead of him regardless of who he fights next, but that’s a ways down the road, giving the UFC ample time to get a deal done.

In my first two editions of this column, I was very vocal about wanting more graphics incorporated into UFC/Zuffa’s telecasts. Most MMA purists who read my ideas hated them because they deemed them as unnecessary. I’m a realist. I realize that ideas like those would almost never be incorporated into a UFC telecast. But my point was and continues to be this: the sport is changing as we know it; so those who’ve followed it since it’s glory days need to embrace change along with it. You may not like my specific ideas, but trust me, change is a happenin’.

I’ll leave you with an alternate idea then. ESPN offers their amazing Gamecast for almost all major sports. As many of us fantasy geeks know, it’s an amazing way to follow a sports event online, but in pure graphic form. It includes up to the second stats, charts, play-by-play action and literally makes you feel as if you’re watching the game. I think it’s time for the UFC and its website – or even through a partnership with ESPN – to begin doing this. A UFC Gamecast could offer a blow-by-blow description that is supported by statistics, charts, polls and everything else you find with the other sports. Imagine following it on your laptop while watching a card. The play by play describes the move as you’re watching it on your TV. It’s another way to educate the newbies too.

Thanks for reading – and I look forward to your feedback.

FINAL UFC 91 PPV STATS: BROADCAST TIME: 2 hours, 56 minutes. ACTUAL FIGHT TIME: (9 fights, 17 rounds) 64 minutes, 21 seconds.

Welcome to “Postcard from the Couch” – UFC 90: Silva vs. Cote.

Before we get to the action, I would like to thank those of you who commented on or emailed me about the first edition of P.C.F.T.C., which covered UFC 89: Bisping vs. Leben. Some enjoyed the read, while others were extremely critical of my in-fight graphic suggestions and Bud Light Lime as my beer of choice. Regardless, I just want to say – pardon me, I’m just finishing this soothing, refreshing Bud Light Lime – that I truly appreciate your feedback, so please keep it coming.

With EliteXC now biting the dust, we’re reminded yet again that there’s essentially one game in town: the UFC. Does that mean they should stand pat on how they approach their televised events? No. Sometimes, change can be good. Other times, though, change is unnecessary.

Will this be the broadcast where we see something different?

Now, straight from my couch in New York City, it’s time for UFC 90: SILVA VS. COTE.

(Times presented in hour/minutes)

10:00 – The pay per view portion of UFC 90 is officially under way and I’m $45 poorer. However, in New York City, $45 is a cheap Saturday night. Plus, I don’t get billed for another 30 days. So as far as I am concerned, until then, it’s free.

10:03 - Out of the show open we see the obligatory “WE are sold out from….” shot, and Mike Goldberg starts things off with some excellent Anderson Silva facts:

1. 7-0 in the UFC
2. No fight has gone longer than two rounds
3. Silva has not gone the distance in four years

Rather than see a talking head spew out these facts, I would rather see a split screen of Silva highlights on the left and those stats on the right. For one, it enhances those good statistics/facts. And two, it’s better eye candy for those who are watching it without being able to hear it, which can be the case if you’re at a party, a bar or simply deaf.

10:04 – Rogan, breaking down the main event, says about Cote: “He (Silva) is facing a guy who’s got the three most important qualities in MMA: heart, balls and power. Patrick Cote has all three of those in mass.”

Basically, Rogan just said that Cote has massive balls. Classic Rogan line, and kudos to him for A+ use of the word “balls.”

10:06 - Goldberg appears to be tossing to a pre-produced, voiced over package breaking down the other fights, saying, “Top to bottom, it’s gonna be another great night inside the octagon.”

We then see a mini-package voiced over by Goldberg on the Fabricio Werdum/Junior dos Santos fight, followed by the “Rules of the Octagon.” This began a confusing sequence as a viewer. I was expecting to see the other televised fights included in the Goldberg-voiced package. Because we didn’t, I then expected to come out of the rules portion with the Werdum/dos Santos fight, since it was the sole fight featured in the package. Instead, they went right to the Sean Sherk/Tyson Griffin pre-fight preview package. Huh?

If I were a betting man, I’d say this might have been a mistake. If it wasn’t, it was certainly an odd way to lead up to the first fight of the night.

10:10 - As Griffin approaches the Octagon, a graphic pops up with three Griffin-related facts: Strong Wrestling Base, Heavy-Handed and Well-Rounded. At the same time, Rogan supports the graphic by commenting on how every time they see Griffin, they see “another new and improved facet of his game…especially his striking.” Good stuff.

10:11 - Sherk reaches the octagon, and we learn via graphic that Sherk has fast takedowns, underrated striking ability and is a cardio machine.

Goldberg and Rogan have not mentioned this yet, but I believe that this would have been the perfect time to mention that Griffin’s last five fights have gone to the cards, while Sherk hasn’t finished an opponent in the UFC in nearly six years.

Mentioning these facts right before the fight began would have been a solid set up for a Goldberg, “Everyone should get their money’s worth tonight with this one” line.

Personally, I think this may be the equivalent of a 9-3 slugfest between the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings at a snow-filled Solider Field. Since I mentioned that, I might as well make a prediction: Sherk via decision.

10:14 - DVR REWIND ALERT!!!! We have a classic Bruce Buffer moment. As he is saying, “Introducing first” he quickly turns from his right to his left, leading with his left arm and elbow, as if he were the lead monster dancer in Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video.

I never thought I would say this, but my “Knockout of the Night” already goes to Bruce Buffer, who apparently just TKO’d a ghost via elbow strikes.

10:16 – Round one, and Griffin is carrying Sherk on his back while walking him across the Octagon. He’s doing this with a look on his face as if he’s searching for a place to lie Sherk down and tuck him into bed. This is one of those moments you find difficult to explain to casual fans when they ask, “What’s going on?”

10:18 - A “Couture vs. Lesnar” graphic pops up. And I am instantly reminded of how pumped I am for this fight. Are you?

10:20 - A very solid round one concludes. Goldberg asks about Griffin, “How many shots to the body like that is he going to be able to take?” Between now and the first minute of the second round, I would love to see a stat stating how many body shots Sherk landed. Also, as long as this fight lasts, I’d like to see how much time these two accomplished wrestlers are spending on the ground versus standing up.

10:26 – Round two. Griffin lands a nice left, prompting Goldberg to scream, “Are you kidding me!?!” Really, Mike?

10:27 - Round two concludes. Excellent fight to kick things off. Is anyone wondering how Saw 5 is doing this weekend?

10:33 – Fight over. Solid fight, with Sherk getting the nod via unanimous decision. Lucky call #1 by me.

10:36 - We see that text voting has 79% of fans in favor of Silva over Cote. I wonder what percent of the 21% are Canadian?

10:37 – There’s a quick Rachelle Leah in Playboy mention. Personally, I think I speak for a lot of men when I say that I wouldn’t have minded a small feature about her being in the issue. Maybe Dana and Co. feel it’s a cheap way to sell his product? Thoughts?

10:38 – We have a promo for UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar, that starts with “The biggest fight in UFC history.” Is it? I would love to hear the opinions of others on this. If it is, what fills out a Top 5 list? Let the hype begin.

10:40 – We see another Werdum/dos Santos pre-fight package. Some internet scribes find this to be a mismatch coming in (with Werdum as the heavy favorite). But, in trying to build up the fight, Goldberg says that dos Santos has not allowed an opponent to escape the first round.

10:47 - As Buffer is introducing the fighters, I’ll predict Werdum via TKO in round one.

10:48 – Hey, Magnum P.I. is in the house! Actually, it’s UFC legend Dan Severn.

10:49 – Wow! dos Santos stops Werdum with a vicious right uppercut! Fight over! Great replays show a slight left jab setting up the knockout punch. Goldberg and company deserves credit for their first-round fact nine minutes ago.

10:51 – Rogan over the replays of the KO: “Look at his (Werdum’s) ears wiggle!” (Best Marv Albert voice) “Joe Rogan…on fire!”

10:54 – TEXT VOTING UPDATE: We learn that Silva has now lost 5% of the votes so far, as “only” 74% of the voters now believe he will defeat Cote. Ironically, cell phone usage in Canada is up 198.7% tonight.

10:55 – According to my count, we now see the third Courture vs. Lesnar promo of the night. And that is not a complaint.

11:02 – “Harley Davidson…the only motorcycles worthy of being in the octagon.” It’s only a matter of time before the UFC goes Undertaker-style and has a fighter ride a Harley to the ring, right?

11:03 - As Buffer does the intros to Gray Maynard/Rich Clementi, I have absolutely no idea who will win this fight. But I’ll go with Maynard via decision.

11:07 – As Maynard executes a nice take down in round one, Goldberg, on cue, reminds us that he is a three-time All-American wrestler. Simple, but effective.

11:11 – Round two…another takedown by Maynard. I appreciate Maynard’s ground skills, but I would also appreciate it if a “Saw 6: Coming in 2010” graphic would pop up.

Also, those of us at home don’t have the option of picking a hot girl in the stands to stare at during this fight. The slow pace here is a golden opportunity for the UFC/Zuffa to pick up the pacing. Not that corner men are hot, but if you brought up the corner men in a small box during slower moments, it would prevent Goldberg and Rogan from having to provide filler for “dead” action. After all, Couture is in Maynard’s corner.

11:21 – Fight over, and a missed opportunity to enhance the fight with better production goes by.

11:23 – Buffer announces the decision, Maynard by UD. Two out of three for me. I am officially a mixed martial arts expert.

11:25 – TEXT VOTING UPDATE: After once dominating the polls with 79% support, Silva is at just 68% now as the main event nears. Riiiiiight.

11:26 – The Alves vs. Koscheck pre-fight package rolls. Personally, I’m a fan of Koscheck and his arrogance and willingness to play the “bad guy” role. I’ll go out on a limb and say that this may be the televised fight of the night because Koscheck won’t be able to resist going toe to toe with Alves. My prediction: Alves by TKO in round two.

11:28 – Nice job again, as Rogan talks about Koscheck’s wrestling background while a graphic says that he is a “College Wrestling National Champ.”

11:35 - Round one…The Pitbull rocks Koscheck. Is it me or does Alves look HUGE? Koscheck is back on his feet and appears to be willing to stand up.

11:38 - Couture vs. Lesnar pop up graphic alert! It’s at least the fourth promo for this fight tonight. And I’m still excited.

11:45 – Round two…as Alves is avoiding a Koscheck takedown against the cage, Rogan gives some great technical analysis on how Alves is doing this. This is where Rogan is at his best, because to common fans, it simply looks like they’re at a stalemate against the cage. Rogan is the KRS-One of MMA, always providing “edutainment.” I’m guessing just three to five people possibly got that reference.

On another note: my prediction goes down the toilet. And we’re going to round three.

11:52 - The fight ends. Koscheck shows great heart, but is simply out-gunned by a stronger Alves. UFC/Zuffa always excels in the replays department, and tonight is no exception, as Rogan walks us through shots that show Alves overpowering Koscheck. Alves is the winner via UD.-

11:57 - Another Rachelle Leah/Playboy promo is followed by Goldberg doing a strange Silva/Cote segue to a Transporter 3 preview. Saw 5….Transporter 3….what is it with the UFC and sequels? And Transporter THREE? Really?

11:59 – It’s now time for our main event of the evening. As Goldberg and Rogan set up the fight, we see a nice, easy to read, full-page graphic on Silva stating that he connects on 69% of his strike attempts. Rogan mentions, but we do not see it on the graphic, that the UFC average is 35%. The graphic also says that Silva has outstruck his opponents 624-249 (in his MMA career).

Cote is also given the full-screen graphic treatment, with two facts stating that he has a 50% success rate on strike attempts and has ever been knocked down.

Look, I get why they’re waiting to use graphics like this until the main event. Simply put, it gives the production more of a “main event” type of look and feel. However, these kinds of graphics are so simple to do for EVERY fight, so why not do this for the entire broadcast?

12:01 – TEXT VOTING UPDATE: The viewers are now supposed to believe that just 64% of the texting audience thinks Silva will beat Cote. This is down 15% from just one-hour and 25 minutes ago. Is Sarah Palin in Silva’s corner? Or are a lot of people up north just drunk texting right now for Cote?

That fraudulent update was followed by a nice preview package on the fight. If you’ve watched the fantastic Countdown show then you’ve basically seen it already. Still, a nice and necessary touch for those who hadn’t.

12:04 – As Cote enters the octagon, my final prediction of the night is Silva by highlight reel KO in round one.

12:09 – The “three-fact” pop up graphic on Silva comes up. Goldberg reads a solid fact: Anderson Silva is the most accurate striker in history of the sport. Why not say this over the graphic 10 minutes ago when you had numbers that backed up your statement? Sloppy.

12:12 - Buffer: “It’s tiiiiiiiime!!!!” Ironically and simultaneously, the camera quickly pulls out to a very wide shot of the crowd and octagon.

12:16 – The main event is under way, and with 3:00 left in round one and both fighters still feeling each other out, you almost expect Cote to just stop and say, “Okay, go ahead, do it now” to Silva.

12:17 – I’m pretty disappointed that Condom Depot isn’t in the house tonight.

12:20 - As round one concludes, I’m wondering if 1) Silva is actually bored and just trying to get some work in or 2) If he actually respects Cote’s power. You truly get the feeling that at any moment, Silva can push the “Destroy Opponent Now” button and finish Cote.

12:21 - Another prediction bites the dust, as round two begins.

12:24 – Good fact by Goldberg that Cote is about two minutes away from becoming the first man to take Silva to the third round in his UFC career.

12:26 – We’re shown Cote in his corner after the second round. And the UFC/Zuffa blows it by not putting up a graphic over Cote that compliments what Goldberg said two minutes ago. Doing this serves a few purposes: one, it builds up the drama more in the fight; two, it makes Cote appear to be more of a threat (than what he really is); and three, it reinforces what Cote just accomplished. Remember, if a viewer is watching this in a loud environment, they can’t hear Goldberg. If they look up and see this fact appear on screen, they may think, “Well, we have a fight here.”

12:28 – We’re in round three, and all of a sudden, Cote goes down with what appears to be a blown out right knee. Replays confirm in graphic fashion that this is likely the case. Silva is the winner by TKO in round three. Tough to watch.

12:33 – Good job having Rogan talk to Cote after hearing from Silva, but a classless gesture by those folks in the crowd who were booing Cote at the beginning of the interview.

12:35 – The pre-fight package to Thales Leites vs. Drew McFedries rolls, and we have a BONUS FIGHT ALERT! No complaints here, considering the disappointing ending to the main event. And, seconds after typing this, Leites wins via submission/rear naked choke.

12:45 – As Goldberg and Rogan continue to wrap up the night, Rogan finally explains (on air) why he is wearing the full beard. Rogan explained that he is doing this in tribute to the late Evan Tanner, even adding, “That’s why I look so goofy.”

Unfortunately, I was completely unaware of the reasoning behind the beard last week and proceeded to poke fun at Rogan for his new look. Of course, it was all in a joking manner, but this week, I owe him the props he deserves for the tribute.

12:48 – After two hours and 48 minutes, it’s a wrap!

This wasn’t the most action-packed card you’ll ever see. And the ending to the main event was certainly disappointing.

Did the telecast itself correlate with that? In a way, yes.

Like I said earlier, the UFC is, for all intents and purposes, the only game in town now. There’s essentially no competition to compare their product to. And they know they provide a good product. But, I continue to believe that it can be better, particularly in the graphics department. I understand those viewers who don’t want to be overwhelmed with graphics during a fight. But, they need to enhance their in-fight storytelling by providing more MMA-style statistics, whether it’s in between rounds or at the beginning of rounds. Their graphics presentation is too inconsistent; every fight should have had statistics like the main event. There’s absolutely no reason why they can’t do this.

Otherwise, I felt that the pacing was solid, especially with three fights going the distance. And we did get to see one bonus fight. Nothing exceptionally negative stood out for me when it came to Goldberg; but I must add, Rogan was excellent. He threw out some great lines, provided excellent technical insight and capped the night off by showing his connection to the sport and its fighters; first with Cote’s injury and then with the Tanner tribute.

Overall, a solid B+ broadcast, but with a D in the graphics department.

Thanks for reading – and until next time – I’ll see you right here, on the couch.

Welcome to the first edition of “Postcard from the Couch.” The goal of P.C.F.T.C. – that’s right, I’ve already declared it good enough to abbreviate – is actually quite simple.

P.C.F.T.C. will break down and analyze the television production of selected, televised MMA events in a “minute by minute” (give or take a few) format.  My hope is that my analysis, along with my sporadic doses of humor, will make this an enjoyable read. Of course, I won’t know this unless I hear from you, so please feel free to email me. I want to hear your thoughts, both good and bad, as well as any suggestions or questions that you may have for me.

Professionally, I am a producer who has worked in television production since 1992. A big part of my television background comes from the world of sports. Two of the most influential places that I have worked at are ESPN and ESPN Classic, amongst others.

But most important is the fact that like you, I have become a huge fan of mixed martial arts. Two years ago, a friend and co-worker of mine, Richie Wilson, introduced me to the sport. At ESPN Classic, the majority of my work was boxing-related. Like boxing, it takes some effort to follow MMA because of the multiple organizations and weight classes within the sport. For the record, MMA is nowhere near the mess boxing is when attempting to follow it. However, because MMA also combines a wide variety of combat techniques, learning about those techniques certainly takes some time…especially if you’re a couch potato like me.

Without further ado, below if my full review of UFC 89.

I’m going to begin with an adjective often used by those with the bad teeth and bland food across the pond: splendid.

Splendid as in, “It was a splendid idea for the UFC to air this card for free on Spike.” In this economy, anything with value that’s offered for free is a rarity. After all, did you really want to pay $50 to watch Kelly Pavlik versus Bernard “The Executioner of Boring Fights” Hopkins tonight on HBO PPV?

Here’s my theory: if I wanted to pay $50 to watch a bunch of holding, I’d buy a ticket to go see my favorite football team, the Cincinnati Bengals, play. Oh wait, I did that last weekend at Giants Stadium. Hmmm. I think I’ll go with UFC 89.

(Times presented in hour/minutes/seconds)

9:00:00 – It’s that bone-chilling, spine-tingling show open again, which begins with Brandon Vera using the “Winning’s not everything. Winning is the only thing” clichÈ. Can anyone tell me what this means? OK, it’s not everything. Which means there are other things that are meaningful, right? But it’s the only thing – meaning, there’s nothing else. And if it’s the only thing, then it’s everything isn’t it? Excellent…five seconds into the telecast and I am already lost, like Heroes on NBC or Lost on ABC lost.

9:01:41 - Chris Leben says, “When I hit people they go down.” Foreshadow alert?

9:02:14 - STEMM’S “Face The Pain” kicks in. Couldn’t think of a better song that’s great for fighting montage but would be terrible as a single on the radio.

9:03:20 – Show open ends and we open with the obligatory wide shot of the sold out crowd at National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, England. Lighting is perfect since I see no signs of yellow teeth anywhere in the crowd. By the way, National Indoor Arena may be the most generic name ever for an arena. Can’t wait to see what National Outdoor Stadium looks like. Or National Outdoor Domed Stadium With A Retractable Roof.

9:04:10 - Holy mother of Moses, it IS Moses! Joe Rogan is going for the full-bearded look. It’s going to take a while for this to settle in. Goldberg and Grizzly Rogan preview Bisping/Leben and Brandon Vera/Keith Jardine, Then, a pre-recorded voiceover track by just Goldberg rushes through previews of Paul Taylor/Chris Lytle, Sokoudjou/Luiz Cane and Paul Kelly/Marcus Davis. Zuffa obviously is doing this to save time and get to the first fight as soon as possible, but I wouldn’t mind hearing from Rogan on the three other fights.

9:06:20 – Commercial break #1

9:09:54 - And we’re back with Goldberg introducing the Marcus Davis/Paul Kelly preview package that he also voices over.  The best tidbit we learn is that Davis used a new training regimen for this fight that has supposedly made him “faster and more lethal both standing and on the mat.” We’re about to find out if this holds true.

9:12:35 - Marcus Davis introduced. Graphically, they show his MMA record and where he’s fighting out of. They also show his height and weight again, even though we saw it just a minute ago during the Tale of the Tape. I wouldn’t mind seeing a graphic showing his fighting style, for example, instead of something we just saw a minute ago. Unfortunately, this is a pattern the UFC does all of the time. Give us more.

9:13:40 - The fight begins. We learn that tonight’s round clock is sponsored by the movie Saw V. Is it me or does it seem like there is a new Saw movie every other week?

9:15:48 - Look, I appreciate that Goldberg does his MMA homework, but we’re now two minutes into the fight and I feel like he’s already falling into his analyst mode. If there is one pet peeve I have about Goldberg, this is it. I’ll take this over coming off as clueless any day, but it’s almost as if Goldberg is trying to let the viewers know, “Hey folks, I know about the sport too.” My advice: call the shots, keep it simple and set up Rogan.

9:17:14 - With 1:28 left in the round, Rogan mentions that Kelly appears to be attempting a guillotine. To me, this is a perfect example of how Zuffa could enhance their telecasts and educate the more casual fans who are watching. You already have your clock on the lower left of the screen and the Spike TV bug – which is fooling no one by saying “Live From England” – on the upper right. Why not use the upper left or lower right of the screen to put up a simple “Guillotine Attempt #1: Kelly” graphic? Think of it as the equivalent of when hockey games use a “Power Play” graphic. Doing this would allow the more casual fan to read what the move is while seeing it at the same time.

9:18:50 - Round 1 ends…commercial break #2.

9:21:24 - We come right back to the beginning of Round 2.

9:23:20 - Kelly shoots in for the takedown. Another example of how it couldn’t hurt to see a takedown-related graphic. It could be as simple as “Takedowns: Kelly 1, Davis 0.” Again, just another way to enhance what we’re seeing inside of the octagon.

9:24:05 - Grizzly Rogan states, “Marcus Davis has a solid guillotine,” my imaginary “Guillotine Attempt #1: Davis” graphic pops up and before you know it, Paul Kelly is tapping out.

9:24:30 – Goldberg teases the official decision after commercial break #3.

9:30:02 - In the post-fight interview with GrizzRogan, Davis says, “Can I say something real quick?” I’m praying that he makes a comment about Rogan’s new look. Instead, we learn that Davis made a friend in the opponent he just submitted.

9:30:37 - We go to commercial break #4 learning that Marcus Davis has made a new friend. Awwww. See? Mixed martial artists are people too.

9:31:37 - We come back for the obligatory “Oh-my-God, there’s-the-fighters-in-the-main-event-arriving to-the-arena-that’s-so-cool!” shot.

9:32:05 - Commercial break #5. Just a note: we’ve had one fight in 32 minutes of airtime so far.

9:35:40 - Back from commercial, it’s time to toss it to the Paul Taylor/Chris Lytle preview package.

9:39:26 - Taylor/Lytle begins.

9:39:30 - We are once again reminded that Saw 5 is sponsoring the clock. I just got a text message saying that Saw 6 through 10 will all be shot and completed by the main event.

9:40:00 - A shot of the back of Lytle’s trunks reveal my favorite sponsor in the history of sports, Condom Depot. You can’t be sponsored by Condom Depot and not get laid. Good for you, Chris Lytle.

9:40:40 - The magic of Wikipedia comes through again. Lytle is married with four children. Now the Condom Depot sponsorship is making total sense.

9:44:23 – End of Round 1, commercial break #6.

9:47:00 - Back from commercial break for Round 2, we, the viewers, are given just half a second to look at the breasts of the Octagon girls. Someone in TV land is not doing his or her job correctly.

9:48:20 - GUILLOTINE ALERT! Insert “Guillotine Attempt #1: Lytle” graphic, pronto!

9:49:15 - Paul Taylor with the nice takedown. Casual viewer: “Daddy, isn’t that tripping?” Chuckling Daddy to son/casual viewer: “No son. That’s a legal move known as a takedown. See, it even says “Takedown: Taylor” on the screen.

“Gee, Dad,” says the son. “Thanks for teaching me that.”

“Don’t thank me, son,” says a smiling Dad. “Thank the UFC.”

9:50:46 - Lytle gets caught with a low blow and is moments away from losing his Condom Depot sponsorship.

9:52:33 – Commercial break #7 interrupts Joe Rogan as he was attempting to give us his thoughts on the end of Round 2. So far, the clear winner here is Condom Depot.

9:55:04 - The third and final round begins with a touch of gloves. Again, we appear to have missed some of Goldberg and Rogan’s comments coming back from the break, because we start with Rogan reacting to something Goldberg asked by saying, “Yeah, this would be a huge feather in his cap if he can pull it off. But that’s a big if.” That’s the bummer of having a tape delayed telecast as opposed to a live, commercial-free, PPV event.

9:55:13 - I just cracked open a Bud Light Lime – which has no affiliation with me or this website – but is quite simply the best beer in America.

9:55:45 - Quick jab: great audio of Lytle punishing Taylor with some bombs to the body.

9:58:33 - By the way, where are the obligatory Mandy Moore shots? What, she couldn’t afford to fly over the pond? They couldn’t get a Guy Ritchie, George Michael or low-end member of the royal family instead? Boring Brits.

10:00:02 - Fight over and we go to Commercial break #8.

10:02:47 - Back from the break with a replay from the end of the fight.

10:04:07 - We get a tight shot of Taylor, expecting to see his hands raised once Bruce Buffer reads the decision. But oh my, Lytle gets the gift decision! Solid job by Zuffa/Spike capturing Lytle shaking his head as if he didn’t deserve the decision, all while Taylor stands a few feet away in total shock.

10:04:40 - Rogan interviews Lytle. No questions about getting a gift decision in England? No interview with Taylor on his shock and disappointment about the decision? Boo.

10:05:45 - We go to a pre-taped interview Rogan conducted with Anderson Silva. With UFC 90 one week away, I understand the reasoning behind this. However, with two fights and eight commercial breaks in just over one-hour of airtime, did you need to see this? Personally, Goldberg could have plugged UFC 90 and said to check out Joe chatting up Anderson Silva, go to UFC.com. Again, I understand the reason for doing this, but it didn’t tell me anything I didn’t know already – which is that Anderson Silva is one bad mo-fo who may conquer his opponents, but not the English language.

10:07:48 - We go inside the locker room of Bisping, who is caught making out with Madonna, followed by Leben in his locker room. Leben, sporting Axl Rose-like cornrows, is shown laughing at himself in the monitor.

10:08:26 - Commercial break #9.

10:10:27 - Back from break, we begin with the Sokoudjou/Luiz Cane preview package.

10:14:10 – The fight begins, and Goldberg points out the wrap on Sokoudjou’s right knee, saying, “It may just be protection Joe, perhaps from a previous injury. We’ll find out, won’t we? Or maybe we won’t.”

The knee wrap may have been a last second addition in the locker room, but it could potentially play a major role in the fight. To me, you’ve got to do your homework before the fight. And I have to think that “Do you have any nagging injuries?” would be a question you ask in pre-fight production meetings with the fighters. Sure, the fighter could lie, not wanting to give anything away, but at least Goldberg could have said, “We spoke to Sokoudjou before the fight and he said he was healthy.”

10:14:45 – Sokoudjou uses that very leg for an inside leg kick, followed by a head kick. Now the question is, will Cane see if that leg can TAKE a kick?

10:15:00 - Condom Depot in the house again!

10:16:00 - Cane finally tests Sokoudjou’s right leg with a kick, but Sokoudjou continues to use the leg with counter kicks. Boy, I’d still like to know if he’s doing all of this with a bum knee. Maybe we’ll find out in the post-fight interview?

10:19:12 - Round 1 concludes, followed by commercial break #10.

10:21:43 – Round 2 begins.

10:22:12 – The action is stopped as Cane literally kicks Sokoudjou right in the testicles. This is followed up by the replay of the night, which shows the shot in slo-mo, including Sokoudjou having the wherewithal to not only take a kick to the groin, but also turn to the ref and raise his hand as he asks for a time out. Cup or not, if that were me, my only thoughts would be, “I’m dying, help me….please….just kill me now.”

10:23:20 – The man has a wrap on his right knee and just got kicked in the nuts, yet Sokoudjou just executed an explosive, leaping body kick. Someone just give him an ESPY for courage right now.

10:25:50 - Rogan addresses the Sokoudjou right leg issue by stating, “I’m surprised Luiz Cane isn’t attacking the legs more.” Goldberg follows by saying, “Well, if there’s any doubt about that right leg it seems to be just fine.” Wrong. Throwing kicks with the wrapped leg is one thing. Absorbing blows with it is another. Cane has yet to test the leg. Will Goldberg eat his words, with 1:40 left in Round 2?

10:26:39 - Cane catches Sokoudjou with a knee, pounds him on he ground, and the fight is stopped.

10:26:53 - Just as Cane starts to celebrate, we cut to commercial break #11

10:30:27 - We come back from break with Sokoudjou still being treated, followed by different replay angles of the stoppage.

10:31:27 - Luiz Cane is announced as the winner by TKO. Rogan then interviews Cane, who, according to my translation, said, “Who is this bearded man they call Joe The Rogan?”

10:34:00 - Commercial break #12.

10:35:00 - We come back to Joe Rogan conducting a pre-taped interview with Anderson Silva’s opponent next week, Patrick Cote. I’ve been to Montreal a few times, and for some reason, the French Canadian accents on strippers didn’t bother me as much as it does on Cote, as well as Georges St.-Pierre. DANK YOU, BYE, SEE YOU!

10:37:25 - We go back to the locker rooms of Bisping and Leben. This time, Leben reveals that Dave Navarro has also influenced him by sporting his black-polished fingernails. What’s next? Different colored eye contacts like Marilyn Manson?

10:37:44 - Commercial break #13.

10:40:45 – Back from the break, our next bout is the co-main even of the evening, Keith Jardine/Brandon Vera. Both fighters desperately need a win. However, if Jardine ever decides to go into acting, he should consult Ron Perlman (Hellboy, Sons of Anarchy) on how ugly actors get work.

10:41:00 - The Jardine/Vera preview package rolls. I predict an early finish to this one….Vera by TKO, Round 1

10:42:50 - Coming out of the package, Goldberg says, “A little Black Eyed Peas!” Rogan wisely stays silent.

10:43:03 - We get our first fighter entrance of the night with Brandon Vera. Visually, not exciting, but at least it allows Goldberg and Rogan to set up Vera’s story, which is that he’s in the weight class he belongs in and appears to be in excellent condition.

10:45:19 – Jardine begins his entrance to the octagon. It ain’t pretty.

10:46:23 - Well looky here…a rare graphic that gives us some insight as to what kind of fighter we’re about to watch. We see a graphic that states that Jardine has “92% accuracy on body strikes.” Which is a simple way of telling us that he’s a good body puncher. If you’re good at attacking the body, that can open up the upstairs region of an opponent and set them up for a knockout. So let’s see if Jardine goes for the body versus Vera. Unfortunately, because we don’t see enough of these kinds of graphics on UFC telecasts, it makes this one come out of left field. More…more….more!

10:47:00 – Goldberg gives us some more good statistics on Jardine: he lands 90% of his body kicks and 92% of his total shots to the body, which we already knew. Why not combine these two stats into one graphic and have Goldberg address them when the graphic was up? Just a bit of sloppiness here.

10:47:25 – Again, great info by Goldberg: per fight, Jardine throws the most leg kicks in UFC history. And again, rather than look at Jardine for all of this time, how about a full-page graphic that lists all of the stats Goldberg just rattled off? It tightens up the presentation a bit and would also add a graphical element that, as I said earlier, the UFC and Zuffa don’t utilize enough of.

10:47:31 - We see a Jardine graphic stating that he is well-rounded, has good cardio and is an intelligent fighter. Good, simple stuff that should be shown for every fighter in every fight. If I didn’t know this info about Jardine I’d think he was just another really ugly guy who likes to fight.

10:49:34 – Jardine is introduced. This dude was just born to get hit in the face.

10:49:50 - Jardine becomes even more disturbing as he executes the latest trend in MMA fights, the tweakage of the nipples. A top 10 disturbing moment in television history for sure.

10:50:29 - Round 1 is on. Jardine with the takedown. Please insert imaginary “Takedown: Jardine” graphic. Thank you.

10:54:18 – By my account, we see a wide shot of the octagon during a fight for the first time in the telecast. I always love these shots, because they really establish the octagon as a whole and also make it appear much bigger than it actually is. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen it enough so far, which is why it jumped out at me so much.

10:55:10 - Jardine gets caught! Will my prediction ring true? Vera gets caught! Oh well.

10:55:47 - Commercial break #14 as a solid Round 1 concludes and my prediction falls flat on its face. I knew I should have tweaked my nipples before I typed that.

10:58:16 - Back to the action as Round 2 begins.

11:03:35 - Commercial break #15 saves us from watching more of what was a rather boring Round 2. Which brings up another point about the use of graphics with pertinent information. There was clearly not as much action in Round 2 as in Round 1. How about some in-fight Round 1 statistics, followed by Round 2 statistics that represent how the action has slowed down?

11:06:06 - We’re back with the third and final round.

11:10:41 – Thank goodness Rogan asked Goldberg who he thinks is winning this fight, because I was just wondering the same thing as the fight winds down. Should be interesting, as we get ready to go to the cards.

11:11:21 - The fight concludes and we go to commercial break #16.

11:13:40 - We come back from the break with replays from the end of the fight, followed by the fighters waiting for the decision to be announced. Finally, the decision is read: Jardine by split decision, which reflects Goldberg and Rogan’s sentiments that this would be a tough fight to call.

11:15:40 - Good replay and post-fight question by Rogan in asking Jardine if he was hurt by a shot to the knee that he took early in the fight. Jardine responded by saying it took him out of most of the second round, hence our reason for his inactivity. Rogan once again proving why he is the best MMA analyst on television.

11:17:40 - Commercial break #17.

11:19:12 - Back from commercial, it’s time for the main event. Goldberg and Rogan set up the fight. Bisping is in his back yard and in phenomenal shape. Leben is a different man than the one we saw during his appearance on The Ultimate Fighter.

11:21:25 – Building up the main event even more, a more in-depth preview package is rolled in. Unlike the previous preview packages that included generic, clichÈ-esque voiceover lines by Goldberg, this one lets just the fighters do the talking. I’d like to see this done for all fights on the UFC’s televised cards. Cut out Goldberg, let the fighters do the talking and go a bit more in depth than the typical lines we hear in these packages.

11:24:20 – Good informational graphic on Leben: he has power in both hands, he’s durable and a majority of his wins are by KO. Translation to viewers: he loves to fight.

11:26:01 - It’s now time for the homeboy Bisping, to make his way to the octagon. Nice shots of Bisping trying to pump the home crowd up.

11:27:38 - Another solid graphic lets us know that Bisping’s a fast starter, throws punches in bunches and is hard to hold down. Now, a casual fan can be watching this and assume, “Hey, sounds like fists are gonna fly. This ought to be a good one.” Mission accomplished.

11:31:08 – Bisping is being introduced – and I can’t help but wonder what he’d act like on a sugar high. To say he is pumped is an understatement. He might become the first man to cause a gravity shift via fist pumping.

11:31:30 - Rogan: “That’s the loudest 10,000 people I’ve ever heard in my life,” as the camera pulls back to a wide shot of the stoked crowd. A complete lie, but nice.

11:32:05 – The main event’s fight clock is now sponsored by Saw 26 – and the fight begins!

11:34:35 - With 2:20 left in the first round, it’s a good time to note that audio-wise, you really get the sense that the Brits are trying to rally behind Bisping. Had Affliction’s pay per view crew been working this event, we’d need sign language interpreters to help us hear the crowd.

11:37:05 - A great first round concludes as we head to commercial break #18.

11:40:14 - Round 2 begins…great crowd, great fight so far.

11:42:30 - Another low blow stoppage, this time because of a leg kick by Leben. And of course, the obligatory, “Man, he got kicked square in the nads” replay.

11:44:20 – Another random thought as we have just 1:30 remaining in Round 2…this fight has barely gone to the ground. It couldn’t hurt to see a statistic backing this up.

11:46:05 - Round 2 ends and we go to our 19th commercial break.

11:49:05 - We are back for our third and final round. Again, would love to see some CompuBox-like statistics at the beginning of the round here.

11:52:30 – Goldberg sets up Rogan, stating that Leben needs a knockout. And of course, what does Leben do? He takes Bisping down to the ground (TAKEDOWN GRAPHIC ALERT!) with just under two minutes left in the fight. Both Goldberg and Rogan point out that he scored with the takedown, but it may not be enough. Good stuff.

11:54:20 – Fight over and we go to our 20th and final commercial break.

11:57:03 - Back to the octagon for the decision: Michael Bisping by unanimous decision

Midnight - After post-fight interviews with the two gracious fighters, it’s a wrap!

Make no mistake about it, the UFC/Zuffa produce the best-televised cards in the sport of mixed martial arts. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement, and tonight’s telecast was a perfect example of that.

The best way to attract new viewers is to pull them in with storylines. It’s the main reason why The Ultimate Fighter reality show exists. The UFC/Zuffa, as the leading MMA promotion in the world, needs to cater more to the casual viewer if they want the sport to continue to grow, especially on television.

So while the presentation looked good as usual, I’m still waiting for the UFC/Zuffa to step if up and give us more storylines, whether it’s more personal pre-fight packages or enhanced in-fight storylines. Graphically, there’s so much more they could have done tonight. Don’t wait until the last two fights to present us with more graphics and statistics. Be consistent and sprinkle them in throughout the telecast.

Finally, you couldn’t help but get annoyed with the constant commercial breaks. Just remember, the card was free and even Spike TV/Zuffa/UFC need to pay the bills. It’s simply a part of the television business.

Thanks for reading – and until next time – I’ll see you right here, on the couch.

Lee Gerowitz is a producer who has worked in the television industry since 1992. He can be reached at leebubba at nyc.rr.com with any questions or comments.