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•  Dana White is in the news again, of course. The self-promoting UFC President is on the cover of the new edition of The Improper Bostonian.

• White is also a focal point of the story entitled Today Spike TV, Tomorrow The World! in the new issue of TV Week.

• You can read reporter Chris Pursell's entire story here: UFC:  TVWeek - News.


• The article states the following:

Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White, long dissatisfied with life on the fringe, has now set his sights on the world.

 

What is perhaps the fastest-growing sports franchise in the country -- mixed martial arts knocked both boxing and World Wrestling Entertainment from atop the pay-per-view perches in 2006 -- will undergo a significant test of its popularity next month when the league makes its first foray into broadcast syndication with the debut of the series "UFC Wired." It will also finalize a deal with HBO for a series of fights, and counts among its projects the return of Spike TV's hit "The Ultimate Fighter" and two upcoming PPV-style fight cards, one in London Sept. 8 and the other in Anaheim, Calif., Sept. 22.

"Our strategy right now is global," Mr. White said. "We're at a place in the U.S. where it's going to keep getting bigger and bigger as our fan base grows. I think that will especially be true once our syndicated series launches. But we are now in 150 countries with a powerful product that everyone understands. What we want to do now is take our events to these markets and create the first global pay-per-view with people from all over the world buying the fight."

With "UFC 75: Champion vs. Champion" taking place in London Sept. 8, the company is opening doors to do that. In addition, Mr. White said plans are in the works to take the UFC series "Live Event" on a world tour, with four stops in the U.K. and additional stops in continental Europe, Australia, Japan, Korea, Mexico and Canada.

"We have only started to tap the Hispanic market," he said. "That's the group that has kept boxing alive these past few years because they love watching fights. So we have big plans to get South America involved over the next few years."

The UFC, a private company owned by U.S. sports promotion firm Zuffa, broke the 1 million PPV-buy mark last December for the first time ever, according to analysts, on the strength of a match featuring Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz. One report said the company had a total gross PPV take of nearly $223 million in 2006, more than boxing or the WWE has ever earned. Some estimates place the value of the privately held company around $1 billion, although others think it is closer to $750 million.

Set to boost company revenue in 2008 will be the launch of UFC's first videogame since the beginning of the decade, which is expected to be released in the early part of the year.

With the success of the UFC, a slew of other MMA leagues have hit the circuit, including the International Fight League, which airs on MyNetwork TV in prime time (and boosted the network's ratings, particularly among men 18 to 49, a demographic that grew from a 0.2 to a 0.8 Nielsen Media Research rating in its first month), and BoDog fights.

However, the UFC has become known as the staple of the sport, particularly after acquiring rival Pride Fighting Championships earlier in the year. That acquisition set up the London PPV bout, which pits UFC heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson against Pride champion Dan Henderson in a title unification match.

The Sept. 22 PPV event in Anaheim will be headlined by a bout between Mr. Liddell and Keith Jardine.

"They had really good timing," said Deana Myers, senior analyst at research firm Kagan. "I think not only was the public tired of the WWE, but the UFC has good product that was able to capture audiences."

Brand Evolution

She noted that a lot of work would have to be done before the UFC would be able to pull off worldwide PPV events, including pinning down international platforms.

One deal Mr. White says won't take long to complete is the UFC's programming agreement with HBO, noting, "It will happen." He said the HBO series of fights would be used to complement programming on Spike (which has exclusivity on the UFC on basic cable) and the PPV events.

"What we're doing is going to get guys started on 'The Ultimate Fighter,' where they can then progress to a show like 'UFC Fight Night' before landing on HBO. HBO would then give them the opportunity for a title shot on PPV," he said.

"The Ultimate Fighter" marked a milestone for both the UFC and Spike, with airings of the series beating both baseball and National Basketball Association games on a regular basis. In fact, the three-hour finale of the fifth season in June won the night among men 18 to 34 and men 18 to 49 on broadcast and cable.

"The power of television has been simply incredible for this brand," said Brian J. Diamond, senior VP of sports and specials at Spike TV. "When we debuted 'The Ultimate Fighter' in 2005, we were able to bring in not only hard-core fans but casual sports fans as well as fans of reality. The whole sport kind of took off from there, and it's been a fantastic relationship for both parties."

Mr. Diamond noted that the channel is in talks to extend its agreement with the UFC, which expires in 2008, and said there have been internal discussions to expand Spike's UFC programming -- which can vary from five to seven events depending on the month -- in new ways.

The launch of syndicated series "UFC Wired" from Trifecta Entertainment this fall marks the league's first foray into broadcast television. The series is currently cleared in more than 85 percent of the country, with many major-market stations carrying it in early access or prime time, according to Trifecta President Hank Cohen.

"Mixed martial arts are becoming such an important mainstream sport, not only to fans but to television, it makes sense the next evolution of the brand is to be seen in broadcast," Mr. Cohen said. "Right now they are putting the little things in the show that they really didn't have to do, and that speaks to the quality of the organization."

"UFC Wired" will feature the best bouts from the history of the UFC as a measure to introduce the sport and its fighters to the mainstream public. The series will be hosted by former "Fear Factor" host Joe Rogan, who emcees UFC fare on pay-per-view.

"These are going to be fights that millions of people have never seen before," Mr. White said. "By learning about the sport as well as about our fighters, people are going to be interested in the next fight. I like to think that that's one way we can reintroduce ourselves to the public, who will surely learn to love this sport as much as I do."

 

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• Tito Ortiz's girlfriend Jenna Jameson has caused an enormous amount of talk with her continuing weight loss. Many months ago, Jenna attributed the weight loss to the stress of her divorce. But now Jenna has appeared in a bikini, and her weight loss is even more dramatic than people realized.

• Our coverage of the media starts with TMZ, which reported Jenna Jameson Is Weightless. You can read the entire article here: Jenna - TMZ.com .

• Celebrity Pictures and Gossip, which has practically a frame-by-frame slide show of Jenna on the beach, wrote that Jenna looks like one of the Simpsons. You can read the entire story, and see all the pics here: Celebrities Pictorials and Gossip - Jenna Jameson Bonny Ass In A Bikini.

• The never-subtle Egotastic website wrote Jenna Jameson's Bikini Is Filled With Plastic, And So Is Her Face. Ouch. That was a bit harsh.  The story, which can be accessed here (Egotastic! - Jenna Jameson's Bikini ), states I don't know quite how to say this, so I'm just going to say it. Jenna Jameson is dead and has been replaced by an evil cyborg clone that likes to dance on the beach in a bikini with her dog. Or at least I think that's what happened, because I can't think of anything else that would explain the way Jenna Jameson looks.
  
  Oh wait, maybe she's just gone crazy and thinks that being anorexically skinny, getting a bucket full of fat injected into her lips, and having her eyes pulled back around the other side of her head is actually a good look. No, it's got to be the evil cyborg clone thing. Or maybe she's a real life Simpsons cartoon.
  
  All I know is Jenna Jameson looks very scary. I, for one, am glad she isn't doing porn movies anymore, because I think they'd have to put her in the Shemale section now (or the Daffy Duck section, if they have one). Also, notice the tape that's keeping her over-inflated breasts up for the photoshoot she's doing. I guess even silicone starts to sag...
  
  More Jenna Jameson bikini pictures after the jump, if you can bear to look.

• Hollywood Tuna reported on Jenna's bikini scandal here: Hollywoodtuna » Blog Archive » Jenna Jameson Bikini Pictures . Tuna reported  I don’t know what Jenna Jameson is doing in her bikini, but it looks like some f$%ked up form of exercise I’ve never seen before. Maybe it’s the reason why she’s so skinny. If it is, Jenna’s got to stop. She’s venturing near Nicole Richie skinniness, and I’m not digging it. Now I know Jenna is going through a nasty divorce, as she stated on her MySpace page a few months ago, but I think what she needs is a good rebound and some privacy. For instance, someone who’s not in the public eye, has a massive libido, and doesn’t leave his parent’s basement very often. Gee… I wonder who that could be?

• The vicious celeb website www.Idontlikeyouinthatway.com reported on Jenna's bikini display with their own not-so-flattering commentary, stating I remember an episode of Wife Swap where one of the wives only ate sun rays, or some shit like that. She would just stand outside in the sun and was convinced all the UV rays she soaked in were enough for a balanced diet. So I'm guessing Jenna Jameson saw the same episode and thought that was a good idea because she looks like a leather strap with a mouth. And these pictures confuse me since I'd almost rather have that dog lick me than that piece of driftwood that used to be Jenna Jameson.

• Celebslam has a ton of pictures and even more harsh criticism here: SUMMER IS HERE, PART 73 · Celebslam: They're Better Than Us.

• The notoriously harsh website Celeb Slap! commented This woman was once a symbol for both feminine power and extreme hotness. It’s so sad. Here's the link to their entire critique: Jenna Jameson Bikini Craze | The Real Juice That Celebrities Would Prefer Not To Spill! - Celebslap.com.
  
   
• Celebrity Warship reported on Jenna's bikini beach romp, which you can read here: Death On Sticks.
   
• Here's a question that we've been asking for months. Obviously, not "all is right" with Jenna right now. Either it's depression, or her eating habits, or she's just not on the right program. Whatever the case may be, there's obviously problems. How can Tito Ortiz, with one fight left on his UFC contract, with constant daily battles taking place with Ultimate Fight head honcho Dana White, concentrate on his fighting career when his girlfriend is dealing with these issues? This has to be affecting Tito, who is still one of the biggest attractions in MMA.

• |f you find any more coverage of Jenna's controversial time on the beach in Malibu, please email me at the address listed on this page.