June 4, 2007 Observer Newsletter: UFC 71 recap, WWE Draft incoming
UFC is facing a variety of different forces at the same time. Over the past week, the major players in the sports media, both Sports Illustrated and ESPN followed the lead of the Los Angeles Times, the Houston Post and Las Vegas newspapers in covering UFC as a major national sport.
The company received unprecedented coverage leading up to, and following, UFC 71 from 5/26 in Las Vegas. Even compared with the 12/30 record-setting show, it was like night and day when it came to the amount of reporters and television stations covering the event. ESPN not only covered the weigh-ins on its news show live, and then aired highlights on Sports Center, but had features the day before, day of and next night, treating Chuck Liddell as if were an A-list sports celebrity. Liddell was interviewed by newspapers and TV stations all over the country.
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Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.