Every Wednesday, Administrative Editor Jordan Breen welcomes a member of the mixed martial arts media into “Press Row” on the Sherdog.com blog. This week, Breen is joined by Deadspin contributor Josh Tucker.
With the UFC serving up a pair of cards this week from Atlantic City, N.J., as well as Dublin, Breen and Tucker shed light on why the twin bills are a difficult sign of the times for the world's biggest MMA promotion, the gap in card quality despite Dublin selling out in just three minutes and why Donald Cerrone-Jim Miller is a great example of a current UFC main event despite nearly no publicity. The two discuss why the UFC's cookie cutter approach to promoting individual fights has become completely inadequate with so much MMA on the agenda and why honesty might be the best policy for pre-fight hype in 2014.
Breen and Tucker also wax poetic on the company's inability to make sports fans care about its expanding product, how the UFC's aversion to criticism makes it hard for mainstream media outlets to cover MMA in a way that connects with its viewers, the simple and often crucial role the animated .gif plays in creating viral sports moments and why the UFC surreptitiously finances provocative, thoughtful MMA commentary and hides it from its core audience.
Grab your credential and get a seat in “Press Row.”
The above file can be saved in MP3 format here.
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