TheStarched

In 2017, Jason House said it was “just too tough for me” to watch his first client vs client UFC fight. On tomorrow's UFC card, Iridium has three client-vs-client fights. So from client-vs-client fights to taking a percentage of discretionary POTN bonuses, how are the fighters' best interests being looked out for? By 2022, House said Iridium represented approximately 115 UFC fighters, a number that’s seemingly only grown since, representing approximately ~20% of the current UFC roster. I’m not suggesting anything improper about the fights themselves, but genuinely curious how fighters are comfortable looking across the cage and seeing their own management team representing the person trying to beat them? How do you promise two opponents you’re fully behind them and fighting for their best interests when their interests directly conflict? A manager’s job isn’t just securing fights. It’s negotiating compensation, matchmaking, and career opportunities, both inside and outside of the cage. Every decision to accept an opponent, push for more money, or advocate for the next booking requires putting the individual fighter’s interests first. But perhaps the craziest part is what House said on the JAXXON Podcast. When Rampage Jackson asked whether Iridium takes a percentage of UFC fight-night bonuses, House confirmed it does: “If I’m gonna come home with half my money when you lose, then when you win, I should be able to eat as well.” Taking a commission on negotiated purses is one thing. But what exactly earns a manager a percentage of a discretionary performance bonus awarded for what a fighter physically accomplishes inside the cage? Lawyers face strict conflict of interest rules. NFL and NBA agents operate under union certification and conflict rules. Even boxing has federal protections governing promoter-manager relationships. MMA has no comparable industry-wide framework. And how aggressively can an agency representing over a hundred UFC fighters negotiate against the promotion it depends on to keep those fighters booked? The UFC doesn’t need to coordinate anything for those competing incentives to potentially work in its favor. None of this proves wrongdoing. But transparency about commissions doesn’t resolve conflicts of interest. One card. Three fights. Both sides under one agency. Just a smaller picture example, but genuinely curious who is independently advocating for each fighter?

My next fight is one of the last in my career. They say Prates is too dangerous for me and Morales is too good for me. So I want to face the best of them and prove to the world once again who is the best in world.

A Nebraska businessman sold his company for $500 MILLION, got bored, and walked into a casino. In one year he lost $127 MILLION. The casino kept giving him vodka and painkillers in a candy box to keep him at the table. He sued them for it. They fined the casino $225,000. – Terrance Watanabe spent 25 years building Oriental Trading Company – His family's party-favor import business in Omaha, Nebraska, into one of the largest mail-order retailers in America. – In 2000 he sold it. His net worth was around $500 MILLION. – Then he had nothing to do. – He discovered a Harrah's casino across the river in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Started going to pass the time. – By 2005 he was flying to Las Vegas regularly. By 2006, he was living there full-time. – Steve Wynn noticed him at the Wynn casino and called him into a private meeting. – He could see that Watanabe was a compulsive gambler and an alcoholic. – He banned him from the property not wanting to violate Nevada law, which prohibits casinos from letting visibly intoxicated people gamble. – Harrah's called him the same week. They offered $12,500 a month in airfare, Rolling Stones tickets, $500,000 in gift store credit, and 15% cash back on any table losses over $500,000. – They gave him a free three-bedroom suite at Caesars Palace and he accepted. – 2007 Terrance Watanabe bet $825 MILLION across Caesars Palace and The Rio. – The largest amount ever wagered by a single individual in Las Vegas history. – He lost $127 MILLION of it. One man generated 5.6% of Harrah's entire Las Vegas gambling revenue that year. – Casino staff kept him supplied with his preferred vodka at all times. – When he became addicted to prescription painkillers, staff delivered Lortabs to him at the table hidden inside boxes of candy. – He sometimes played for 24 hours straight and once lost $5 MILLION in a single day. – At one point he played three blackjack hands simultaneously at $50,000 per hand. – His sister showed up at Thanksgiving 2007 and had no idea what had happened. She took him home to Nebraska. He went to rehab. – When the lawyers started tallying the losses, the real number wasn't $127 million. After Harrah's was forced to hand over their internal records, it came to $204 MILLION. – He sued Harrah's for $20 MILLION, claiming they had kept him intoxicated to keep him gambling. The Nevada Gaming Control Board opened its own investigation. – The casino was fined $225,000 for allowing him to gamble while visibly intoxicated. All criminal charges against Watanabe were dropped as part of a global settlement. The terms were confidential.

MGM's Las Vegas resorts made $70 million less profit this summer than last summer. Strip room rates crashed 10.6% in September. Revenue dipped only 2%, but earnings fell 12%. CEO Bill Hornbuckle blames record-high jet fuel prices and plane tickets to Vegas costing 45% more.

UFC Fight Night: Dallas January 16, 2027! @ufc put me in with the big beast @Thebeast_ufc Derrick Lewis please 😊✌🏽 😎 there will be a finish 100%

If I’m the UFC, I’m announcing as many blockbuster 2027 fights as possible before 2026 ends. Start with Gaethje vs. Volkanovski. Build toward Topuria vs. Makhachev, a Pereira heavyweight superfight, and potentially another McGregor return. The strategy is bigger than generating headlines. Give Paramount a full calendar of marquee events to market months in advance. Give sponsors premium inventory to buy. Give fans fights to anticipate and storylines to follow. Instead of promoting individual cards 6–8 weeks out, turn 2027 into a year-long marketing campaign, with each major announcement creating another news cycle. For $TKO, it’s about selling the entire UFC calendar rather than just the next event. The biggest fights should feel like major sporting events long before fight week.

Today marks 90 days since Usman Nurmagomedov last competed for the PFL. He is now free to negotiate with the UFC as his exclusive negotiation period with the PFL expires.

نود التنويه أنه تقرر نقل عرض "WWE كراون جول" إلى موقع جديد، وسيتم استرداد كامل قيمة التذاكر لجميع المشترين، على أن يُعاد طرح التذاكر للجميع خلال الـ48 ساعة المقبلة. We would like to inform you that “WWE Crown Jewel” has been moved to a new venue. All ticket holders will receive a full refund, and tickets will be re-released to everyone within the next 48 hours.