Jimmy Smith Out As Bellator Color Commentator

[mime]

Might have to wait until Rogan quits though. They have enough guys doing it already. Jimmy is one of the best though, Rogan has praised him and said he told Dana to try to get him (this was a couple years ago on JRE though, when he had Smith on).

yeah i think this is the most likely scenario if it does happen. usually the ufc would not hire someone bellator let go but given enough time and if rogan quits and recommends him, jimmy is good enough that he could get that spot there but who knows

 

[beefcake180]

Unfucking real. Pretty much as disrespectful as UFC kicking Goldie to the curb. Arguably moreso because Jimmy has been the ultimate company guy for Bellator for years.

 

[007]

Came to post this
I guess adding Mauro & Goldy was costly in a bad fiscal year for Bellator.

I heard Schaub and maybe Frank Shamrock to replace

 

[orangecuse]

Seems like a cost cutting move to move. I consider him the voice of Bellator.

 

[flyingscissorsheelhook]

I think this is a loss for Bellator

 

[Go Go Plata]

I thought Jimmy Smith signed a long term contracr. I wonder what happened.

 

[FrankieNYC]

I thought Jimmy Smith signed a long term contracr. I wonder what happened.

They said "came to terms" so usually that means he was bought out at a % & in doing so, he is free to work elsewhere (non competes)
Otherwise Bellator would still be paying him (unless he gets released for a contract breaking issue)

 

[WallyBear]

They lost millions on the PPV & ratings are down (how they make money is TV advertising) while payroll went up (all the HW & ex UFC guys they signed)

The PPV did 95k & Coker himself said it needed 250k & he hoped for 300k

They easily could have lost $10m on the PPV alone
MSG is the most expensive arena in the world to rent & do TV from
Unions & OT are a killer

True, I forgot that the PPV "bombed" that hard and when you factor in the things you mentioned, it has to be a significant financial loss.

Do you know if Viacom has to publish financial statements about their subsidiaries (wiki lists Bellator as a subsidiary)?

 

[FrankieNYC]

True, I forgot that the PPV "bombed" that hard and when you factor in the things you mentioned, it has to be a significant financial loss.

Do you know if Viacom has to publish financial statements about their subsidiaries (wiki lists Bellator as a subsidiary)?

No they don't break it down that far publicly, but financial statements do get made (but I never saw a dedicated Bellator one)

Plus the way its set up, it will be tough to get a true accounting

Basically bc Bellator is owned by the network, they can play with what expense/profit goes where to make things look better

 

[method115]

Please god go to the UFC. Jimmy Smith is the man.

He has all of Rogan's positive qualities, with none of the negatives.

Does he know BJJ? I've missed hearing someone who knows what the fuck is going on when it comes to BJJ. Tired of listening to Cormiers nonsense, "He's getting his base!".

 

[FKA]

Love bellator but this is absolutely fucking retarded.

Absolute epic fail by bellator.

 

[method115]

They lost millions on the PPV & ratings are down (how they make money is TV advertising) while payroll went up (all the HW & ex UFC guys they signed)

The PPV did 95k & Coker himself said it needed 250k & he hoped for 300k

They easily could have lost $10m on the PPV alone
MSG is the most expensive arena in the world to rent & do TV from
Unions & OT are a killer

I can't believe Viacom thought they would pull anywhere close to those numbers in PPV. If they had Kimbo on it I could see why they would think they might get that much (I wouldn't expect them to) but I could understand their reasoning at least.

 

[FrankieNYC]

I can't believe Viacom thought they would pull anywhere close to those numbers in PPV. If they had Kimbo on it I could see why they would think they might get that much (I wouldn't expect them to) but I could understand their reasoning at least.

Sadly it sounds very similar to what Coker did with SF

They were making money & a solid #2 to UFC.
They had a great niche & fans liked the alternative.
Then Coker feels he can challenge UFC & talks the parent company into a hi-risk scenario (SF was Fedor)
They lose money & then Coker tries to make it up with a Grand Prix

The GP & financial losses were the last straw with SF

Hoping its different now

 

[method115]

Sadly it sounds very similar to what Coker did with SF

They were making money & a solid #2 to UFC.
They had a great niche & fans liked the alternative.
Then Coker feels he can challenge UFC & talks the parent company into a hi-risk scenario (SF was Fedor)
They lose money & then Coker tries to make it up with a Grand Prix

The GP & financial losses were the last straw with SF

Hoping its different now

lol holy shit your so right I never even saw the resemblance. Coker is literally doing all the exact same things slightly different order. Except in SF I think they backed out before Coker talked them into a PPV.

 

[FrankieNYC]

lol holy shit your so right I never even saw the resemblance. Coker is literally doing all the exact same things slightly different order. Except in SF I think they backed out before Coker talked them into a PPV.

The guaranteed money for Fedor & the co-pro with M1 was the beginning of the end for SF
Coker famously thought Fedor's expense would pay off

His biggest downfall as a promoter is that he is a mark for big names & thinks like some on here do & that what hardcore MMA fans like is what casuals want

 

[JayPettryMMA]

I expect Viacom to want to unload Bellator in the next year or two.



Couldn't find a good font for Bellator's name so in light of their failures I replaced their font with comic sans.

 

[method115]

His biggest downfall as a promoter is that he is a mark for big names & thinks like some on here do & that what hardcore MMA fans like is what casuals want

Agreed he always does this. The funny thing is it's the home grown guys he has that always brings me in when I tend to ignore other promotions. I could careless about some fighter who was in the UFC and now he's in Bellator.

 

[GueseGuy]

They lost millions on the PPV & ratings are down (how they make money is TV advertising) while payroll went up (all the HW & ex UFC guys they signed)

The PPV did 95k & Coker himself said it needed 250k & he hoped for 300k

They easily could have lost $10m on the PPV alone
MSG is the most expensive arena in the world to rent & do TV from
Unions & OT are a killer

You’re not taking into account international expansion. Bellator gets paid and makes money from international tv deals and tv revenue from all these countries. I think they are expanding their revenue streams so there should be no cause for concern. I bet they’re doing fine.

 

[GueseGuy]

Wow this is terrible news. Bellator is going down the shit hole at an alarming pace. First the trash women’s mma, then the trash cards, and now this? Unbelievable. Bjorn where are you?

 

[AronaBeatsJones]

Big loss for Bellator.

There's very few things about the Bellator brand that gives it its own flavour, and Jimmy Smith's voice was one of them.

In that respect (and ironically), this is somewhat equivalent to UFC getting rid of Goldberg, and losing that UFC flair that he brought to the broadcasts.