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Racists Active in Mixed Martial Arts
By David Holthouse
http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=898
 Melvin "Man-o-war" Costa has a classic Nazi eagle and swastika insignia tattooed across his chest and a prison gang spider web inked on his right elbow.
Costa, 26, also is a convicted felon, self-avowed white nationalist and currently the 10th-ranked light heavyweight fighter in King of the Cage, one of the most popular semi-professional "mixed martial arts" (MMA) combat leagues in America. MMA is the fastest growing sport in the country. Television ratings for its preeminent league, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC, routinely outdraw every other sport except NFL football among men aged 18-34.
Not surprisingly, this rapidly rising blood sport is likewise wildly popular among racist skinheads and other young extremists with a thirst for violence. Many white supremacist online forums have recently established discussion groups devoted specifically to MMA; skinhead gangs across the country are raising money by hosting illegal backyard tournaments; and retired white supremacist cage fighter Mike Buell runs a major MMA training school in Arizona whose logo is a Celtic cross (often used as a white supremacist symbol) and the phrase "Hail Victory" (the German equivalent is "sieg heil").
Costa, however, is the first openly white nationalist MMA fighter to become a Top Ten-ranked competitor in a sanctioned organization like King of the Cage, which is a proving ground for up-and-coming fighters, a select few of whom go on to fame and fortune in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
"A swastika, as far as I hold it true to my own, it stands for the purity of my people's blood," Costa told leading MMA sportswriter Sam Caplan last October. "I do believe in the purity, security, and the survival of the white race. … When I come down that [fighter entrance] ramp and people see me, they know I'm white power." Costa did clarify, however, that he considers himself a white nationalist rather than a neo-Nazi because "[a] neo-Nazi holds Hitler's beliefs to be true down to a T. I don't. I believe in Hitler's point of view as far as racial consonance but I don't believe a lot of [his] things as far as controlling the economy."
By Costa's own account, he was frequently incarcerated for burglary and assault from the time he was 15 until his most recent release from prison in March 2006. His first King of the Cage fight occurred the following April. Costa knocked out his opponent at 1:06 into the first round.
"I don't feel pain. No fuckin' brain, no pain!" he said then. Over the next six months he reeled off three successive knockout victories. Southern California skinheads in full dress — boots, suspenders, bomber jackets — began showing up at King of the Cage events in droves to cheer on the Aryan warrior, whose swastika tattoo, outspoken white nationalist ideology and growing skinhead fan base presented MMA promoters with a public relations dilemma.
Last Oct. 18, shortly after Costa's comments and pictures of his tattoos were republished widely on MMA fan websites, Gary Shaw, the live events president of the parent company that owns King of the Cage, issued this statement: "I try not to allow anyone to fight in the cage or the ring that has anything inappropriate either on their gear or tattooed permanently on their body. And that means either ethnic, or racial, or anything offensive to the general public. I was unaware of the situation but I'm in the process of handling it now. Hopefully, it will never happen again."
But it did, less than two months later. Costa fought in a King of the Cage event held last Dec. 18. For the first time, though, he lost. Davis, for his part, did not return two E-mails seeking clarification on his league's regulation of fighters with "inappropriate" tattoos.
Judging by online forum discussions, Costa's growing legions of white supremacist fans seemed far less concerned with his swastika or spider web tattoos than a third tattoo, circling his navel, that boasts, "I have a small penis." The common theory is that, as one fan said, "He might be going for a bit of sarcasm, depending on the actual size of his penis, given the false stereotype about us."
Be that as it may, Costa says, "At least God blessed me with a strong jaw and a big head."
CBS, NBC could televise mixed martial arts
By Dave Meltzer, Yahoo! Sports
November 30, 2007
CBS and NBC are talking with mixed martial arts promotions about becoming the first major broadcast network to televise the sport.
Nothing is official, but television and MMA insiders expect a deal between CBS and the Ultimate Fighting Championship to be announced shortly.
UFC president Dana White said he didn't want to discuss a deal that is still being negotiated, but White did say that UFC 80 on Jan. 19 would be a pay-per-view event. It had been rumored that would be the first CBS show if a deal was reached.
MMA insiders believe CBS is looking at a Saturday night prime-time slot. CBS averaged a 4.5 rating in prime time on Nov. 24, a number no UFC event has approached. However, major UFC events such as Ken Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz in 2006 and this year's Dan Henderson vs. Quinton Jackson Pride vs. UFC title unification match have beaten all network programming in the highly sought 18-34 male demographic despite airing on basic cable's Spike TV.
The Henderson-Jackson fight did a 5.7 in that demo. In males 18-49, it beat everything on both cable and network for the day, including a slew of major college football games. The right fight with the right hype could be a strong vehicle for advertisers to target young males, which CBS, an older-skewing network, is looking to capture.
The highest rating a UFC event has ever drawn is a 3.1, for both the aforementioned shows. Otherwise, the highest-rated Ultimate Fighter finals on Spike have done 2.0 ratings. That's a big success for Spike, but it would be a failure on CBS.
While being on network television would in theory greatly increase the audience over Spike, there are other factors. For Spike, a major UFC event is the biggest event on the station and is promoted heavily. That would not be the case with CBS. But the event likely would get far more mainstream media attention, particularly a first-ever type of event.
UFC's balancing act
A network special would be something of a mixed blessing for UFC. A huge match would draw the best ratings, but the company would be sacrificing a lucrative pay-per-view headliner. Still, there is a prestige factor that comes with being on a network, and far more people would see the product than ever before, thus creating the best opportunity to make new fans. White has said repeatedly that a lack of big fights on free television kept boxing from developing its fan base.
Sacrificing one key pay-per-view match to allow the masses to see the product is a solid strategy. But it's important the show does well. If it doesn't, the networks could conclude mixed martial arts doesn't have wide enough appeal to do network-level ratings, as has happened with boxing. Given the unpredictable nature of sports, fights in particular, it is a roll of the dice.
UFC's current deal with Spike TV gives Spike basic cable exclusivity, but UFC can pursue deals with broadcast networks as well as premium cable, such as HBO.
UFC is working on four major early 2008 shows, but there is nothing on the schedule that looks like a potential CBS debut. A Jan. 23 date is confirmed for Spike TV. The Saturday night before the Super Bowl, which is expected to feature a heavyweight championship fight as well as the debut of former pro wrestler Brock Lesnar, is traditionally a major pay-per-view event. A March 1 date headlined by Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson for the middleweight title is also earmarked as a pay-per-view.
While CBS is focused on building a long-term relationship, NBC's interest is more tenuous. The network is looking for programming to fill the 11:30 p.m. Saturday Night Live time slot during the writers strike, the settlement of which could easily spell the end of NBC's interest in the sport.
Ben Silverman, the head of NBC's entertainment division, asked for a full study on the viability of MMA on the network, including contacting key advertisers to gauge their support. The results were positive, and even with UFC, the only group which has consistently delivered good ratings, out of the picture, they've continued talks with other promotions.
According to those familiar with the negotiations, a major issue with the NBC deal as it was structured is that NBC was offering commercial time to sell instead of a flat fee. None of the MMA promotions have the kind of advertising staff to be able to maximize revenue from that type of deal.
For MMA companies that in many cases are already losing a significant amount of money, a network deal would expose their brand to the largest possible audience. In doing so, the company would spend more money producing a major show, but every promoter is trying to reach UFC status, and the opportunity to close that gap is like manna from heaven.
"I come from TV, so we are exploring everything," said Jay Larkin, the CEO of the International Fight League, who previously worked with Showtime. "NBC and others have also been talking to different MMA organizations. MMA will absolutely be on major broadcast television. It is inevitable. It's just a question of who goes first, and at this point it appears it will be CBS with UFC."
But that puts IFL, whose primary goal is cutting financial losses ($17.5 million in the first nine months of 2007), and Elite XC ($20 million over that same time period) in a quandary: A network deal would give their brands more exposure than ever, but they will have to pay even more to get it.
Those two groups, along with M-1 Global, have engaged in talks with NBC. It has not been confirmed whether San Jose-based Strikeforce has as well.
World of Mixed Martial Arts Hits Windows PC
12/06/07
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is hot stuff. Sure, it started out with some "white trash" flavor, but since those early days, mixed martial arts has developed rules, a mainstrema following and pay-per-view events. So it's not surprising that there's a mixed martial arts videogame available today for PC gamers.
Called World of Mixed Martial Arts, the PC game is available now via digital download from Grey Dog Software. World of Mixed Martial Arts isn't just a free-for-all punch fest, though; it's a full-on mixed martial arts simulation.
World of Mixed Martial Arts allows players to manage contests between fighters from a variety of backgrounds. Players take control of an MMA company and are in charge of just about everything related to its operation, including hiring fighters, setting matches, marketing and so on.
World of Mixed Martial Arts includes many realistic features, such as fighters improving and declining in skill as their career progresses, shocking upset victories and losses, injuries sustained both during fights and during training, competitors switching training camps to help their career. Heck, players will even encounter people holding out for more money during contract negotiations.
Found this news story and thought people here would be interested: ----- NBC Explores Airing Martial Arts Shows
by David Goetzl, Monday, Nov 19, 2007 7:45 AM ET 
NBC HAS BECOME THE LATEST network to hold talks about airing mixed martial arts programming early next
year, if the "Hollywood" writers' strike continues. A source said the
network may link with one of the many operators of MMA events to air
either prime-time specials or slot the few-holds-barred programming in
late-night.
The reality programming, of course, would not require any members of
the writers' union for production. NBC did not immediately return calls
seeking comment.
The interest in MMA programming is coming from NBC's entertainment
division and would seem to fit with Ben Silverman's (the network's new
entertainment head) penchant for high-concept reality series. MMA
--where contestants can use a range of techniques from kicking to
punching and beyond, which some consider a sport, others
entertainment--is booming amid a young male audience.
MMA, however, contradict NBC's carefully cultivated image as the
network with high-quality programming targeted at upscale urban
audiences. A previous effort in the pugilistic area, "The Contender,"
proved to be a flop.
Then again, throughout the 1980s, NBC aired "Saturday Night's Main
Event," a late-night wrestling series produced by what's now known as
the WWE. In 2006, the network resuscitated the franchise for two
prime-time specials. This summer, NBC ran two more in the series' old
"Saturday Night Live" spot. "SNL" has been in repeats since the strike
began, so an MMA special could offer an alternative.
It's not clear which MMA operator NBC would ultimately cut a deal with.
Possibilities run the gamut from brands such as newly formed M-1 Global
to K-1 to the International Fight League (which airs on FSN and
MyNetworkTV). On Nov. 3, MyNetworkTV aired a live IFL event; its deal
is not believed to be exclusive to MNTV.
One thing appears clear: NBC won't be airing the most popular MMA
events, which come from the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The UFC is
in advanced negotiations to air specials on CBS in the first quarter if
the strike continues, the source said--adding that a deal could close
as soon as this week, facilitated by Viacom network Spike, which holds
UFC cable rights.
UFC President Dana White seems eager to take advantage of the writers'
strike to offer his programming on a broadcast network. "We're talking
to a lot of different networks right now," he says. UFC did not provide
further comment.
UFC on CBS would be a curious fit, since MMA appeals to a younger and
male audience; CBS tends to skew more to the 25-to-54 demo. Word of the
negotiations between CBS and UFC was first reported by the Los Angeles Times. CBS declined comment.
Besides FSN, a slew of cable networks from Versus to Showtime to HD Net offer MMA programming.
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