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Torch Flashbacks
RETRO: Dana White talks to Torch about fallout from Vegas disaster five years ago, backstage notes
By Wade Keller, MMATorch.com editor
Mar 5, 2008, 02:08
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INTRODUCTION: Today, we are reprinting our UFC Newswire from the Sept. 30, 2001 Torch Newsletter including comments from UFC president Dana White days after the UFC event where almost everything that could go wrong did. Also, some backstage notes from the UFC event I attended as credentialed press and comments from fighters.
UFC NEWSWIRE
Originally Published: September 30, 2001
Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter #673
Fallout from Friday Problems: UFC president Dana White, five days after the Friday event, told the TORCH that he is in better spirits already and working hard on putting together the complete line-up for the Nov. 2 PPV.
Friday's event going off the air eight minutes early may not be the disaster that it appeared to be last week. "The fans have been great," he said regarding the main event running over. He said he didn't know how extensive the refund requests would be, but indicated that it didn't look like it would be a financial disaster.
White said that there aren't any reliable cable estimates yet that would give indications of whether they are going to reach their goal of 100,000 buys, but he did say that DirecTV buys were up 41 percent from last time. He attributed the increase to the exponentially larger advertising budget that went into Friday's event.
One bright spot coming out of last Friday's debut in Las Vegas is the live crowd. "We are happy and proud we sold out Mandalay Bay," White said at the post-event press conference, looking for something positive coming out of the event. Everyone was also pleased there were no serious injuries coming out of the event, although Gil Castillo joked he didn't want the media to take pictures of him because his face looked so battered after his loss earlier against Dave Menne.
UFC 34 Line-Up: The main event for UFC34 which takes place Nov. 2 in Las Vegas, Nev. at MGM Grand, as mentioned in this week's cover story, is set at Randy Couture vs. Pedro Rizzo in a Heavyweight Title rematch from earlier this year. Carlos Newton (pictured above) will defend his Welterweight Title against an opponent to be named. Newton told the TORCH last Friday that his opponent would be Anderson Silva, but Silva has since pulled out, so they are looking for a new opponent. The charismatic Newton is getting second billing on all posters for the Nov. 2 event. On the undercard, Caol Uno will face B.J. Penn, while six other matches have yet to be finalized.
UFC Notebook: Overheard: "I did my job. I threw punches," Jens "Little Evil" Pulver told other fighters before the press conference began... Security guards backstage at Mandalay Bay were trying to post themselves in position to watch the fights on the monitors or through the curtain... Robert Smith, all-time leading rusher of the Minnesota Vikings who retired earlier this year, was present at UFC. He didn't make his presence known to UFC officials ahead of time. He sat about 15 rows deep on the floor... Carmen Electra was at the event sitting front row... Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro was also in attendance... UFC crew members were overheard saying that singer Jay-Z was at the show, but he was never officially spotted... UFC Champion Randy Couture and Shoney Carter were among the non-scheduled fighters who appeared at the show. Carter told the TORCH that he has resumed training following an injury. He blamed himself for the injury he suffered, saying that he didn't stretch out properly before beginning a workout... Vitor Belfort did not appear at the show as originally planned. UFC president Dana White told the TORCH that Belfort's doctors originally advised him not to travel due to the arm injury he had suffered. White said Belfort contacted him the day before the show to say that he was willing to appear after all, but organizers passed, citing last minute travel expenses would be around $12,000. No one doubts the legitimacy of his injury... Chuck Zito of HBO's "Oz" fame was in Tito Ortiz's corner during the main event... Tickets went on sale for the Nov. 2 MGM PPV last Saturday, Sept. 29, and about 4,500 tickets were sold. The arena is set up for about 12,000. The arena capacity is 16,000, but the elaborate entrance staging cuts off a large segment of the arena... The paid attendance for Mandalay Bay was 9,000, with tickets priced at $30, $60, $100, $200, and $300...
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