Is Tito Ortiz starting a new MMA League?

Every now and then I write an article that's not quite related, yet somehow parallel to our industry. As many of my friends know, I am a huge fan of Mixed Martial Arts - and the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). I have been following this sport since 1993, essentially since UFC 1. I have watched as they broke into the mainstream market with the help of some saavy investing, an aggressive visionary (Dana White), Spike TV, and Direct TV. I have been telling our marketing team for the last 10 years that the UFC will take over boxing without question - and it will be the mainstream fighting sport of the future.

...I'm not sure if our marketing people believed me then -- in fact I would say they thought I was crazy, and obsessed about a sport that would end up nowhere.

Needless to say UFC has broken mainstream, and as I thought ten years ago it has not only gone mainstream but it has become a brand icon with gamers and 18-34 year old males (yet the demographic is expanding further!).

The interesting thing about UFC is they built a brand around the actual fight, but not the fighters. Tito Ortiz has been outspoken about this, as he says "The UFC treats the fighters like S@*T", and he still fights for them. Tito believes the fighters should get a much higher share of the revenue, and somehow I agree and disagree.

UFC was able to pave the way so people like Tito could make a great living, and now this guy is doing things like "Celebrity Apprentice" and dating Jenna Jameson. He's a star in his own right, and he's actually a really great spokesperson for MMA. I would caution Tito not to say things like "The UFC treats its fighters like S*#T" or he could end up in a major lawsuit - not to mention the fact that if not for the UFC he would not be in the same position that he's currently in. Though love him or hate him, Tito kicks ass, and he's an icon in the UFC and in the mix martial arts world.

I have always wanted to sponsor a UFC fighter, and my current favorite is George (Rush) St. Pierre. This guy is an amazing spokesperson for MMA and the UFC brand as a whole. As UFC acquired Pride Fighting (the superbowl of MMA in Japan) last year, there might be yet another interesting twist in the sport. I'm sort of sitting back to see what happens later this year.

So what's the point of this article? Well I believe Tito is playing a role to start up a new fight league, likely with the help of Donald Trump and WWE founder Vince McMahon. Of course this is a wild prediction, but there are many reasons I would say this makes sense. No need to get into detail, but the reasons are becoming somewhat obvious if you understand the dynamics of the sport, the UFC franchise, and the fighters general complaints about compensation.

Needless to say there is room for another fighting league. The UFC seems to be over commoditizing the fighters, and they are running way too many pay per views. The last pay per view was totally useless, and probably the first that I've avoided buying in years --- there was only ONE fight that was worth watching, but I wasn't about to pay $40 to watch BJ Penn destroy Joe Stevenson.

Regardless, if my prediction is correct we will see some major announcement in 2008. Tito Ortiz, along with a few others, will likely be at the forefront. Tito, if you're reading this, feel free to contact me privately to discuss.

Greg Vederman Unboxes Blackbird

Greg Vederman unboxes Blackbird - you really have to watch until the end (the last part is hilarious, a bit over the top perhaps?). If you read PC Gamer in the past you'd know Greg does some pretty funny things - I remember the picture of him in his pink pyjamas - but this video, I can't even begin to describe it. Just check it out ;)

Guitar Hero Rules!

I love Guitar Hero 3, it's amazing how games like Guitar Hero 3 and Rock Band are paving the way for the music industry to monetize their business through video games. I saw this video and had to post it... warning -- not for the faint at heart....

Hyderabad

I wrote this article for CPU Magazine this month - and posted it just before leaving Hyderabad last month. There is so much going on in India at the moment that I could write a book - seriously, my writers block is pretty much gone.

This December through January, I traveled with my family throughout India. We spent two weeks in an extremely modest environment—a roadside Super 8 Motel would be five-star accommodations in comparison. We toured villages where we were welcomed with open arms into modest homes where more than 20 people sleep in candlelit 8-x 10-foot rooms with no air conditioning. They cook in a little courtyard, and restroom facilities are in the back in a ditch with wooden planks. Temperatures hovered around a steamy 32 degrees Celsius, in the middle of winter.

It was an amazing experience. Not only were all the people we met gracious, but they were also seemingly content with their lives. The village children were overjoyed as I took pictures of them with my digital camera and was instantly able to show them the results. It became clear that the children of these villages are voracious learners; when given an opportunity to study, they eat it up. They dream of something bigger, and believe it or not, none of the children we met had ever seen a digital camera.

My father-in-law lives in Hyderabad, India, and has founded about 13 colleges and schools there, mostly for the underprivileged. We went to one of the colleges to check out the computer and mechanical engineering programs, as well as various other departments. He introduced me to a number of professors, and in the process they asked if I could do a talk there for their graduating class.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to speak about at first because I really didn’t know much about the audience, but as I met a few of the students coupled by what we saw in the village, it started to become clear.

When you think about IT in India, two things naturally come to mind: call centers and database development. But there are other vastly unexplored areas.

So I spent a few days on and off campus talking to people, researching online, and touring here and there. I was very impressed by what I found, both in terms of the base of knowledge in the area and the pragmatic way in which the people we met go about solving the problems they face.
Pollution is a huge problem there, and I met a professor who made it his life’s work to research new ways to power motor vehicles. His Air Car runs completely on air, recycling the air via the exhaust back into the system, and currently uses a small tank of compressed air. The inventor wants to swap out the cylinder of air in favor of an air pump, or as he described it, a breathing apparatus that works like a lung. The concept may seem way out there, but he has a working model and it’s quite impressive. Although it is only a 5hp model, it would be simple to create a 20hp prototype using a similar method.

A car that runs on air, you say? That is correct. I daresay anything is possible, and this was just one of a few research projects that I got to see firsthand. After much deliberation, I knew what I would talk about in addressing a group of Hyderabad graduates. I wanted to give these students something to think about going forward. They are living in a society that’s highly commoditized and are naturally put into positions where their talents are used as a commodity to compete against richer countries. While this can be a highly profitable business, it can also be bad when the people end up commoditizing themselves and devaluing their own work.

So my talk consisted of a few ideas that many of us could stand to keep in mind:

• Find something you’re passionate about and make it your area of expertise.

• Find a problem that needs solving in your area.

• Don’t fall into the trap of commoditizing yourself.

• Don’t face a giant head-to-head; rather, find ways to complement the giant’s strengths so that eventually you will have the potential to exit or partner.

• Constantly revisit your strategy and see if it makes sense. (Thanks to Mike Perkins for this one!)

Well, that’s it for this month. I took some great pictures of our expedition that you can view at vdhd.zenfolio.com.

Props to the team at CES!

I just noticed that our community team registered online at Youtube under the “HPBLACKBIRD” username. They took some great videos at CES featuring our very own Kristin Reilly, Mark Gerberman, Tyrell Kumlin, Greg Vederman, and more.

I would encourage you all to check them out –

I wanted to take a minute to thank the team for doing this, it was the first CES that I've ever missed. I was really disappointed that I couldn't be there, but I really had a great time in India and Dubai. Seeing these videos made my absence at CES a bit less painful as well :)

Here is a link for those of you who aren’t used to using Youtube.

38 Studios -- They're coming up!

Hello everyone - well, I just returned from 5 weeks away in India and Dubai - (what better way to cure my writers block). As I returned I was emailed by a friend at 38 Studios. Curt Schilling did a great interview with Ten Ton Hammer, and I wanted to share it with everyone. Obviously I want to thank Curt for the plug!.

38 Studios is truly a unique company, and when Curt talks about his benefits package he's not kidding. This is why I like Curt - his philosophies on how he treats his staff and builds his team are very much in line with my thinking. I do believe this is the next major chapter in his life, and when their game finally launches I think it's going to completely revolutionize the MMORPG industry.

Check out 38 Studios here!