By Cassandra Cousineau for LVSportsBiz.com
ONE: Tyson Fury’s Las Vegas Residency
On June 15, Tyson Fury, the lineal heavyweight champion, met up with relatively unknown Tom Schwarz at MGM Grand Garden Arena. In his first fight under a $100 million co-promotional deal with Las Vegas-based Top Rank Boxing and ESPN, the Gypsy King memorialized the moment wearing Apollo Creed’s red, white and blue attire from Rocky IV. His ring walk was complete with showgirls and James Brown’s “Living in America.” “This was the place for Elvis Presley. It was the place for Mohammed Ali. It’s the place for Lady Gaga. [Tyson] is a big entertainer that people love. He’s put his flag down in the city. This is his place,” Top Rank CEO Bob Arum said. Back-to-back victories at MGM Grand Garden Arena first against Schwarz and then Otto Wallin in September set Fury up for a heavyweight bout for the ages against Deontay Wilder on Feb. 22.
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TWO: Deontay Wilder’s Massive Right Hand
The power of Deontay Wilder’s right hand is becoming folklore even though the heavyweight isn’t known for his pure boxing skills. As the Tuscaloosa-born champion puts it, “They have to be perfect for 12 rounds. I only have to be perfect for one second.” On Nov. 23, that one second came in the seventh round. Wilder landed a vicious right hand to stop Luis Ortiz, retained his heavyweight title, and set up a much anticipated rematch with Tyson Fury.
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THREE: UFC Opens APEX Facility Next-door to Headquarters
The newest Ultimate Fighting Championship facility features 130,000 feet of production and office space. During an APEX tour in June just before its grand opening, UFC President Dana White told invited media the space will be used to host fights, produce original content and even non-UFC related events such as concerts and eSports tournaments.
In 2020, the building — once home to Scientific Games — is teed up to create 4K-resolution live productions from anywhere in the world. UFC is said to have poured upwards of $20 million into the new space.
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UFC President Dana White (left) and Terry Booth, Aurora CEO, (right) Photo credit: J. Tyge O’Donnell/LVSportsBiz.com
FOUR: UFC Teams Up with Aurora Cannabis on CBD Study on Fighters
Las Vegas-based UFC is also at the forefront of athlete recovery and pain management. This past summer, UFC announced an eight-year partnership with Aurora, a Canadian cannabis producer based in Edmonton. The two will conduct clinical trials of CBD in current athletes in Las Vegas at the UFC Performance institute involving both athletes and clinical experts. The trials will focus on exploring the benefits associated with CBD use such as pain relief, inflammation, muscle recovery, and mental health. The promotion is also eyeballing the ability to create a co-branded line of hemp-derived topical treatments and product development of items like vapes, candy, and even pens.
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FIVE: Nevada State Athletic Commission Dishes Out Steep Fines, Suspensions for UFC 229 Melee
From the “never seen anything like it files,” UFC champ Khabib Nurmagomedov was relieved of $500,000 by the Nevada State Athletic Commission as a result of his decision to hop over the cage to fight UFC foe Conor McGregor’s friend and teammate, Dillion Danis. He had already mauled and submitted McGregor in the event which took place in Oct. 2018 before initiating an all out melee in T-Mobile Arena. The fine was part of the first order of business in Jan. 2019. McGregor agreed to pay a $50,000 fine and a six-month suspension that ended on April 6.
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Six: Emergence of New Stable of Las Vegas-Based Boxers
When it comes to boxers, Las Vegas has been home to some of the best to ever enter the ring. Names like Leon Spinks, Mike Tyson, and. of course. Floyd Mayweather immediately come to mind. As of late, a new stable of pugilists have chosen to make Sin City home base for training and to live. Marking a new wave of boxers to become locals are heavyweight prospect Michael Hunter, Jessie Vargas, IBF Super Middleweight Champ Caleb Plant, and NABF Junior Welterweight belt holder Blair Cobbs.
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SEVEN: Amanda Nunes Officially KOs Ronda Rousey UFC Era
Brazilian UFC champ Amanda Nunes had already vanquished a list of foes including the iconic woman who paved the way, Ronda Rousey. On July 6, New Mexico’s, “Preacher’s Daughter”, Holly Holm entered the Octagon with Nunes and Nunes caught Holm with her own best weapon — the same perfectly disguised head kick that Holm famously caught Rousey with before scoring a stunning upset in 2016 of the once unbeatable champion, Rousey. Nunes has now beaten every UFC bantamweight champion, every UFC featherweight champion, and every Bellator featherweight champion that has ever held a strap. The Brazilian also became the first two-weight world champion to drop back down in division and defend a belt.
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EIGHT: Showdown Between Boxing at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and Big UFC Fight Event at Madison Square Garden in New York
On Nov. 2, boxing superstar Saul Canelo Alvarez was set to make history at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Alvarez moved up two weight divisions to challenge reigning light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev. On his way to becoming a four-weight world champion, Alvarez was held up by of all things, a UFC fight across the country in New York. Streaming service DAZN, which was carrying the Alvarez fight, made the controversial decision to delay Alvarez vs. Kovalev in order to wait for the result of UFC’s heavily promoted BAMF match between Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz at Madison Square Garden. It was a decision that earned plenty of criticism of DAZN, the streaming service accused of blinking despite Alvarez being its $345 million man. Since the entire undercard had already gone off, there was a 90-inute delay until the main event. In an unprecedented move, Golden Boy head honcho phoned his frenemy, Dana White to acquire permission to show the 10,000 plus fans inside the Grand Garden arena the UFC bout for free on the jumbo screens while they waited. The boxing match finally got going at 1:20 A.M. EST. The prolonged split screens of Alvarez laying down on a bench, and Kovalev sprawled out waiting in their dressing rooms to enter the ring was beyond odd, and something fight fans are likely never to see again due to the PR drubbing DAZN took for the decision.
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NINE: Top Rank Founder/CEO Bob Arum: ‘We’re Throwing Him Out of the Hotel’ after Weigh-in Debacle at Cosmopolitan
Former WBO featherweight 126-pound champion Oscar Valdez was all set to make his super-featherweight (130lbs) debut Nov. 28 at the swanky Cosmopolitan on the Strip. The card had to be changed on the fly after Valdez’s opponent, Andres Gutierrez, came in a ridiculous 11 pounds overweight during the weigh-in a day before the scheduled fight. Promoter and Top Rank Boxing CEO Bob Arum was livid. “I’ve seen a guy two or three pounds overweight, that’s still unprofessional. To come in 11 pounds overweight is a f****** disgrace. We’re throwing him out of the hotel.” Valdez was then scheduled to fight Adam Lopez, who was already on the card. Lopez is the current junior NABF title holder.
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TEN: Nevada State Athletic Commission Allows Real Time Prop Bets with Data-Tracking Technology in Fighters’ Gloves
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) made its Las Vegas Debut in October. Earlier this summer Nevada State Athletic Commission gave the green light to PFL’s tournament style format and its new SmartCage technology. In a nutshell, SmartCage is built as a group of sensors and proprietary technology embedded in the wrist area of a fighter’s gloves and enables the PFL to measure and deliver real-time fighter performance data and analytics. The promotion refers to this live performance tracking as Cagenomics. The grand prize for the MMA league is to create real time prop bets through a gaming partner in the coming months.
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