<!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600"
o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f"
stroked="f">
<v:stroke joinstyle="miter"/>
<v:formulas>
<v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"/>
<v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"/>
</v:formulas>
<v:path o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect"/>
<o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t"/>
</v:shapetype><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_1" o:spid="_x0000_s1026" type="#_x0000_t75"
alt="Description: Macintosh HD:Users:spencershangkuan:Downloads:ufox1_pc_016.jpg"
style='position:absolute;margin-left:0;margin-top:0;width:245.65pt;height:162pt;
z-index:251658240;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square;
mso-width-percent:0;mso-height-percent:0;mso-wrap-distance-left:9pt;
mso-wrap-distance-top:0;mso-wrap-distance-right:9pt;
mso-wrap-distance-bottom:0;mso-position-horizontal:left;
mso-position-horizontal-relative:text;mso-position-vertical:top;
mso-position-vertical-relative:text;mso-width-percent:0;mso-height-percent:0;
mso-width-relative:margin;mso-height-relative:margin'>
<v:imagedata src="file://localhost/Users/spencershangkuan/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0clip_image001.jpg"
o:title="ufox1_pc_016.jpg"/>
<w:wrap type="square"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->Dana White is sweating bullets. The boss of the UFC knows how important tonight is to MMA and the future of the UFC. Tonight is a reminder of how far MMA has come, how it has exploded in the less than two decades since Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, purchased the promotion and built it into the staple name that it is today.
Tonight’s card was built for possible fireworks. The choice to place the Heavyweight title in the UFC’s network debut on Fox was not made lightly. The public has always been fascinated by heavyweight combat competition and boxing has given us very little to be excited about since Lennox Lewis left the ranks. But then the reason for the UFC’s success, as Dana White well knows, is dependent on one thing: the casual fan.
The decisions that Zuffa has made have all centered on what would be best for its business. They knew that success and money was not going to come from the people that know what an omo-plata is; it would come from the person that watches MMA because they find it thrilling. Whether that means a reality television series that features as much footage of young men getting drunk and doing practical jokes as it does fights, or fighters on pay-per-view slugging it out for knockout of the night, it doesn’t matter.
As MMA has struggled for legitimacy, the UFC has watched any attempted competitors to its dominance fail while the UFC continued to grow by leaps and bounds. From the buyout of Pride Fighting Championships in March of 2007 and Strikeforce in March of this year, to the bankruptcy of Elite XC in October of 2008, tonight is a culmination of shrewd moves and patience on the part of Zuffa. Dana White knows they can’t afford to have a ho-hum heavyweight fight. Otherwise, the “hey what’s this” person flipping the channel may not pause to look and could be lost forever.
LOOK FOR A NEW EDITORIAL SERIES BEGINNING SOON: THE BUSINESS OF MMA