Looking Back Before Looking Forward Part I
Bikers Don't Like MMA
Josh Gross Oct 19, 2004
Bikers Don't Like MMA
Well ... that's been my experience. Hey, I was 10 feet away when some poor guy was stabbed at the Morongo Casino "Ultimate Athlete" riot a couple of years ago. So when the IFC announced its event in Sturgis, South Dakota the weekend of the 64th Annual Motorcycle Rally, I was, to put it mildly, skeptical.
In one of the more embarrassing promoter-related situations I can remember, the IFC, along with numerous musical acts including B.B. King, Grand Funk Railroad and .38 Special -- boy, they sure know how to party in Sturgis -- were called off when local promoter, Ron Rose, turned tail and ran after a dismal showing at the box office. Turned out that the Harley-Davidson enthusiasts went to Sturgis for the bikes and babes, not brawls -- at least the sanctioned variety.
Headlined by former King of Pancrase Nathan Marquardt and highly-regarded Jeremy Horn, the IFC, considered by many the third best card of August behind the PRIDE Grand Prix finals and UFC 49, was dead in the water; and IFC president Paul Smith was left scurrying in a last-ditch effort to find another venue for the fights.
Lost as a result was a tape-delayed pay-per-view (including hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential revenue), one of the better middleweight fights of the year, and the time and energy of fighters and their camps.
But, hey, at least no one was stabbed.
Well ... that's been my experience. Hey, I was 10 feet away when some poor guy was stabbed at the Morongo Casino "Ultimate Athlete" riot a couple of years ago. So when the IFC announced its event in Sturgis, South Dakota the weekend of the 64th Annual Motorcycle Rally, I was, to put it mildly, skeptical.
In one of the more embarrassing promoter-related situations I can remember, the IFC, along with numerous musical acts including B.B. King, Grand Funk Railroad and .38 Special -- boy, they sure know how to party in Sturgis -- were called off when local promoter, Ron Rose, turned tail and ran after a dismal showing at the box office. Turned out that the Harley-Davidson enthusiasts went to Sturgis for the bikes and babes, not brawls -- at least the sanctioned variety.
Headlined by former King of Pancrase Nathan Marquardt and highly-regarded Jeremy Horn, the IFC, considered by many the third best card of August behind the PRIDE Grand Prix finals and UFC 49, was dead in the water; and IFC president Paul Smith was left scurrying in a last-ditch effort to find another venue for the fights.
Lost as a result was a tape-delayed pay-per-view (including hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential revenue), one of the better middleweight fights of the year, and the time and energy of fighters and their camps.
But, hey, at least no one was stabbed.
