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Wed Jul 09, 2008 11:45 am EDT

Does ESPN's MMA coverage have credibility issues?

By Steve Cofield

UFC can't be pleased with on-again, off-again MMA coverage from ESPN. The Big Lead pointed out that UFC 86 got almost no face time across the ESPN family of networks and on the web this past weekend...So Why Did ESPN Ignore UFC All Weekend? 

Are the stodgy, old school corner offices in Bristol still not sold on the sport? Or is it simply that Dana White didn’t want to play ball with ESPN last year, and when the two couldn’t reach a partnership, sports fans - that’s you guys - get stuck with Spelling Bees and Hot Dog Eating contests and MMA is relegated to the ‘other sports tab’ on the front page of ESPN’s website.

ESPN's website did post a fight recap story but was a reporter actually in Las Vegas for the fight?

Now there's a controversy brewing over the .com's chief MMA content provider, sherdog.com. Sherdog is not credentialed to UFC events and now one fighter, Phil Baroni (pictured), is accusing the site of making up quotes in a Rampage Jackson-Forrest Griffin reaction story. Nice pickup by Fightlinker. Baroni reportedly said this to Mike Sloan of Sherdog:

"I don’t know how two judges gave Forrest that first round, man. That’s some bulls—. I thought Rampage clearly won the fight. That first round could have been 10-8 for Rampage!"

Baroni responded on a mixedmartialarts.com forum:

"First off I never gave my opinion on the fight being scored wrong to anyone esp a reporter from Sherdog. I never spoke to any media about my opinion the fight. I think its bullsh*t that Sherdog quoted me.

First off I think the fight was a great one. Second I feel the decision was a fair one. I think Forrest is an inspiration and fought his heart out. His career is an inspiration and story book. He did a great job fought like a true champion against Rampage and his entire career. He deserves to be UFC champion and I take my hat off to him.

On the other hand Rampage fought his heart out as well and will be back, He has come back from alot worse an himself is a great fighter an inspiration. I think the fight was a great battle of wills. Both guys gave it there all and Im proud to be friends with both of them.

Thats my opinion on Forrest Griffin and Rampage Jackson. I'm in England now and just wanted to address this stupid article on Sherdog. Again I never made those comments and am proud of both fighters and there efforts. I hope to fight with as much heart an courage this weekend in England."

Sherdog is standing by Sloan, saying he did get the quote directly from the bombastic Baroni:

Sherdog.com's Mike Sloan said Baroni gave this quote in person and on the record Saturday night shortly before doing an on-camera interview regarding his upcoming Cage Rage bout. However, Baroni has since denied offering this opinion on the Jackson-Griffin fight being scored wrongly, saying the decision was "a fair one."

Who's changing their story? Sloan or Baroni? Baroni is a bit of a whack job and we heard from an ESPNRadio1100 host who was seated near Baroni at the event, that he wasn't exactly of right mind. Pauly Howard, the afternoon host at ESPNRadio1100, said Baroni's state appeared altered as he went off on an anti-semitic rant during the event:

CLICK BELOW TO LISTEN TO HOWARD ON BARONI (ESPNRadio1100 UFC 86 post-fight show):

The official who was screamed at by Baroni was telling the same story following the event in the media room

Who knows if Baroni gave the quote to Sherdog? The bigger story here is ESPN's reputation. As long as Sherdog is refused access to UFC events and has to sneak around the venue, these he-said, she-said situations could become more common.

UPDATE: Let's spell this out more clearly. ESPN.com does not have a staffer who covers the world of MMA. It's chosen to use a third party content provider in Sherdog. Sherdog is now being accused of making up quotes. Baroni is a jackass, so who the hell knows if the quote is true or not? If it is made up, I'm sure ESPN.com wouldn't be happy to find this out.

It's about time ESPN beefed up its in-house coverage. And before this turns into a "Yahoo is bashing ESPN" thread, remember that my M-F radio job is on ESPNRadio1100 in Las Vegas.  

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90 Comments

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  1. mhizzle05
    1. Posted by mhizzle05 Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:17 pm EDT

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    Is there a reason why Sherdog isn't allowed to have UFC access?
  2. MICHAEL J
    2. Posted by MICHAEL J Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:22 pm EDT

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    Being a huge mma fan and watching for a long time now i think Forrest won that fight.i had thought that Jackson would win but he clearly didnt. Anyone that thinks Rampage won that fight is crazy.I would have rather have seen Jackson win because I like to see champs that last a long time.fighters that keep winning and winning.
  3. Wreckinball
    3. Posted by Wreckinball Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:43 pm EDT

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    Does anybody really care what Phil Baroni thinks. Why would a reporter, worth his/her salt even consider interviewing this has been? If you have more losses than wins, you should probably find another line of work.
  4. Freemind
    4. Posted by Freemind Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:33 pm EDT

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    Some people's opinions shouldn't be quoted....sorry, but Phil Baroni is a hack.
  5. ransdellave
    5. Posted by ransdellave Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:29 pm EDT

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    Hey Steve. Your colleague at Yahoo, Kevin Iole, recently wrote a feature story centered entirely on Thiago Alves' parents being bankers. Alves' parents were bakers, not bankers. That made for a good laugh, but as a fan, I must ask: Does Yahoo's MMA coverage have serious credibility issues too?
  6. urwrecked
    6. Posted by urwrecked Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:45 pm EDT

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    ^
    I dont know about MMA and credibility, but as far as boxing, they have a clear bias for MMA.. It is ok if you are a fan to be obvious in your preference, but it would be nice to see some objective journalism from those that run these things. Also, I have noticed tons of typos. Who proof reads this stuff?? Hello boys.. Throw on the spell check.. Banker, Baker, Quaker, Faker, Shaker, SubmissionMaker...
  7. Cofield
    7. Posted by Cofield Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:34 pm EDT

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    responding to ransdellave...I think you know the answer. You're on the site and I'm sure you still read all of Kevin's stories. He made a mistake and owned up to it. This definitely wasn't about trashing Sherdog. If you noticed I did call Baroni's credibility into question as well. The bigger issue that the post is pointing out, is about access and coverage of UFC. Bottomline is that ESPN should be giving more coverage to the sport. Isn't it curious that there is no MMA full-timer on the ESPN staff? Sherdog does a good job but issues arise when you have to cover events from afar. Don't you think?
  8. Kauz
    8. Posted by Kauz Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:02 pm EDT

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    Well I can say this...I really dont care about Baroni and I dont care that ESPN doesn't cover MMA. There are plenty of other sources that I can get info from. If ESPN would rather have a whole spectacle on the HOT DOG EATING contest more power to them.
  9. HeyNow
    9. Posted by HeyNow Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:28 pm EDT

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    Well sherdog is not a legit news source...It is interesting that they do not have access considering most of the coverage comes from fans pretending to be reporters.
  10. T money
    10. Posted by T money Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:16 pm EDT

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    Its common knowledge among hardcore fans that sherdog and Dana White have a beef. The UFC pulled press passes from ALL internet sites back in August 2005 for UFC 54 ( Liddell vs. Horn)
    sherdog reported some results of TUF 4 before the 4th season aired on spike TV. UFC didn't take too kindly to that.
    compared to mainstream media's coverage of MMA, sites that have been around since day 1 like sherdog should be applauded for their coverage of the sport.
    This blog made i it seem like you were mocking sherdog for not having backstage access? They still get the job don't so i don't see the problem
    Hey, if UFC can't get coverage on the Worldwide leader maybe they need to take a strong look at their Public Relations & Marketing department. This is a big market that the UFC can't crack.
  11. beerandraiderfan
    11. Posted by beerandraiderfan Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:04 pm EDT

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    Who is the douche with the hot chick in the picture? Is it the column author? And why is the article title refer to ESPN, but then most of the article is about Phil Baroni?
  12. g e
    12. Posted by g e Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:24 pm EDT

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    beerandraiderfan: Since you admit to being a raider fan, which means you're slow, we'll spell this out nice and easy for you. Sherdog and Baroni had issues. Sherdog is ESPN.com's MMA content provider.
    Try to keep up.
  13. urwrecked
    13. Posted by urwrecked Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:45 pm EDT

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    ^
    Lmfao.. ahahah. I am a Raider Fan. But dude does shame me... Go Raiders.!!! I think......
  14. MMAFREAK
    14. Posted by MMAFREAK Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:38 pm EDT

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    this was a very ADD article. i thought it was supposed to be about espn ignoring the ufc and mma not about "psycho" phil baroni.
  15. Richard M
    15. Posted by Richard M Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:59 pm EDT

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    ESPN has become very lame in it's reporting. Being a huge MMA fan I find it disappointing the only time UFC or even Elite XC gets any air time is when Kimbo or Liddell fight. I will find it very interesting come July 19th to see what ESPN actually does? Will they give air time to one of the great heavyweight fighters of all time Fedor with his affliction fight? Or will they give the rising star of the UFC Anderson Silva the talk he deserves? Oh wait thats gonna be the day Brett Farve sends an e-mail to the owner of the Packers saying he's still not sure if he wants to come back! Give me a break I will still come back to yahoo, mmajunkie, and mmaweekly for my MMA update!
  16. ransdellave
    16. Posted by ransdellave Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:29 pm EDT

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    I do read Iole's articles, but that doesn't stop me from wondering whether he can say whatever he wants about the UFC when the site he works for sells UFC pay-per-views. When he comes out and bashes EliteXC, people wonder about his motives, even if it's unwarranted. That's the definition of a credibility issue. So obviously issues can arise when you're too close to your subject matter, too. I could care less if you trash Sherdog or ESPN or whoever, they probably deserve it more often than not, but I'm not sure how covering the UFC from afar has anything to do with interviewing Phil Baroni, who doesn't even fight in the UFC.
  17. Farthammer
    17. Posted by Farthammer Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:07 pm EDT

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    Baroni is an arrogant, steroid-addled hack. ESPN is possibly the worst thing on earth besides MTV and Reality TV. While coverage of MMA on ESPN would increase exposure, it is not necessary for the sport to thrive. I like things the way they are; I can get coverage and information anywhere I need it.
    I personally thought Rampage won, but it was such a good, close fight that it doesn't bother me they gave it to Forrest. I like both fighters. What WILL bother me is if they don't schedule an immediate rematch, and instead give Machida or the winner of the Liddell/Evans fight a shot at Forrest before Rampage.
  18. G-rizzle
    18. Posted by G-rizzle Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:08 pm EDT

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    haha comment # 14 classic. Why will ESPN rather show a hotdog eating contest than to follow some MMA? surprises me the sport is rising and lots of general sports fans are interested in MMA. Then again i agree with comment 12 ufc needs to take a look at their public relations and marketing department.
  19. urwrecked
    19. Posted by urwrecked Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:45 pm EDT

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    A lot of you guys are bashing ESPN for not more coverage of MMA.. But I am sure ESPN knows their demographic. I know MMA is really important to many of you, but as a mainstream sport, regardless of what delusional Dana White says, it is still not anywhere near a headline event for the casual sports fan. I hate to say it, but the casual fan is more likely to watch Kimbo fight bums than buy a ppv UFC card. After the last UFC card I cant blame them.. Dont be myopic. Try to see the big picture.
  20. g e
    20. Posted by g e Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:24 pm EDT

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    Generally speaking yes, wrasler. But in this specific situation the only other thing going on in was the hot dog eating contest. It's not like people are saying MMA should get more attention than the Super Bowl.
  21. Gary
    21. Posted by Gary Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:06 pm EDT

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    ESPN is great... if you like games and highlights of the Yankees and Red Sox. Their coverage stinks. It is clear to me that they have chosen to intentionally ignore MMA when they continue to report results of third tier boxers at the Mohegan Sun.
  22. tjh
    22. Posted by tjh Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:56 pm EDT

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    My name is Borack Obama and I endorse this ad
  23. philyslam
    23. Posted by philyslam Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:10 pm EDT

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    Just give them some time and you will see Thursday night fights turning to MMA fight night. Its just going to take a few years. Im just excited to see the Affliction show! Some of the best heavyweights in the world!
    Oh yea why is yahoo MMA section not saying much about this Affliction show? Seems as though they are pumping up the free UFC show the same night. To me the free show card is weak and Ill be glad to shell out 40 bucks to see a great card like the Affliction one. Ive never seen such a heavyweight card before.
  24. scott s
    24. Posted by scott s Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:38 pm EDT

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    Sherdog is the third party source for ESPN's coverage. Most MMA fans know this. Yahoo as stated by a couple of others seems to be a little bias as far as coverage that slants heavily towards the UFC. The fact that they offer the UFC pay per views can also put there credibility in to quest (of course you can read most of their articles and see this). The rift between Sherdog and the UFC was mostly between Josh Gross the old executive editor of Sherdog and Dana white. He currently works for SI.com and I wonder if they will be getting credentials also? I find Sherdog to be very credible. Maybe the UFC should rethink their policies for marketing and they will get more consistent coverage on ESPN and other news venues. But the fact of the matter is that Dana White is a control freak and this will probably never happen.
  25. DominantSelf
    25. Posted by DominantSelf Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:17 pm EDT

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    Have you guys actually been on the ESPN site? I do agree they do not cover it on TV as much as I would like to see, but they do have an online show called MMALive and it tapes a new show once a week. If you guys get on there and watch this thing it will be put on TV. SO GET ON THE SITE AND START WATCHING MMALive. Staring KENNY FLO!

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