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Bodog fight on the brink of Extinction

748 views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  rufio.e0 
#1 ·
According to several sources within the ailing company, Bodog Fight may be ceasing its fight operations next week.

A subsidiary of billionaire Calvin Ayre’s online gambling empire Bodog, Bodog Fight emerged in late 2006 with a self-titled online reality series. The company expanded aggressively into sponsorship, placing its brand on the cages and rings of several other fight promotions.

Two live events, most notably a clash between highly sought after free agent Fedor Emelianenko and Matt Lindland in Russia, marked Bodog Fight’s only excursions into the realm of pay-per-view. The reality series ran for two seasons on the Ion network
before being taken off the air.

Bodog Fight’s last event as a major sponsor was on Feb. 1, when it partnered with Las Vegas-based Tuff-N-Uff promotions for a show featuring Bodog Fight welterweight champion Nick Thompson.

Since then, the company has announced no new plans for the reality show or live events.

Asked if the company was folding, one executive who declined to be named told MMAWeekly.com, “I can neither confirm or deny that.”

A report from the Wrestling Observer put Bodog’s 2007 losses at $38 million, though that figure could not be verified.

The reality show never gained traction amongst avid MMA fans, who ridiculed its format and Ayre’s playboy image. A July 14 event, “Alvarez vs. Lee,” a live show later repackaged for the reality series, was an attendance disaster.

When asked what Bodog Fight was currently working on, the executive responded, “I’m sitting in an empty office.”


http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=6101&zoneid=2
 
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#2 ·
I'd previously thought they were entirely out of the MMA arena (and business altogether as this article suggests). However, I believe they're still involved in the sport. I recently saw a Strikeforce at the Dome (an HDNet televised fight event) that was sponsored by bodog Fight. So they're still around, I just have no idea what they're doing.

http://www.sherdog.com/fightfinder/fightfinder.asp?search=yes&EventID=6171
 
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