Stephen J

Metal Head. Record Collector. Pitbull dad. MMA Fan & Manchester City fan. Mostly random tweets of video games & MMA news.

[Ben Fowlkes @benfowlkesMMA]

There are just so many ways for this event to turn out to be deeply weird. You might think you’ve considered all those possibilities but nope you really haven’t.

[Luke Thomas🏋️‍♀️ @lthomasnews]

I've seen at least one legitimate media member saying they saw the tweet before it was deleted. This is bonkers.

[MMA Junkie @MMAJunkie]

Scott Coker is returning to MMA promotion with a new league that he says is "about returning to what matters: the integrity of competition, respect for the athletes and sharing their remarkable journeys with the world."

Full story ➡️ https://t.co/0KAa4zjB1g

[Danny Segura @dannyseguratv]

Massive success for MVP and Netflix. They hit 17 million.

There's clearly a market for MMA on Netflix and its wider/more casual audience, but it needs big names. This should make stars double think about signing these 8 or 10 fight deals with the UFC.

[Stephen J @StephenJRHW]

@paramountplus Fuck Zuffa where was Celtic vs Heart match earlier today you nimrods #ParamountSucks #Celtic #Heart

[Stephen J @StephenJRHW]

@paramountplus explain why you removed the Celtic vs Hearts final from your streaming platform?

Woke up early to catch this match & you have no solution but removing it.

This alone is worth cancelling my subscription... reach out to me directly.

[John S. Nash @heynottheface]

Rick Beato - “Why Only Rich Kids Make It In Music Today” https://t.co/22fIuCDnmT

[Shooter McGavin @ShooterMcGavin]

May The 4th Be With You

[Danny Segura @dannyseguratv]

Solid work from @lthomasnews & @PabloTorre.

I don’t think anyone has ever looked at the entire picture before, at least in this format. We’ve all talked about isolated moments along the way, but this really encapsulates how UFC became the most politically sporting organization.

[The New Republic @newrepublic]

Trump Was Telling UFC Fighter How Hot He Is as Iran Talks Fell Apart https://t.co/bEehYcz7P8

[Stephen J @StephenJRHW]

@lthomasnews - I know you’re a fan of the band Harms Way… this is not the type of news I’d want to tag you in but figured you may want to know…

[HARDLORE @hardlorepod]

It is with heavy, broken hearts that we share that our beloved Bo Lueders has passed away.

He will be remembered for his unwavering empathy and compassion for his friends & family and his magnetic, inimitable presence on & off the stage.

We kindly ask for grace and privacy as we navigate this extremely difficult time.

For those struggling with depression or urges to self harm, help is always available. We’re not in this alone.

Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 988.

[Chuck Mindenhall @ChuckMindenhall]

Oh yes, the old eye for an eye

[kasey @kaseyklimes]

the murder rate is falling for the same reason that the birth rate is falling,

and also why there's fewer bands forming and lower church attendance, why teens are less likely to get drivers licenses or participate in team sports, why brick and mortar retail is in a death gasp, why we're in a "sex recession", why shared living spaces in new apartments are smaller, why volunteering rates are at their lowest in decades...

all of these things require or enable people to be around other people—and that's not happening any more.

[Stephen J @StephenJRHW]

@lthomasnews add this the “Why not to use Amtrak” list

https://t.co/R43qbFrTFQ

[Drop Site @DropSiteNews]

An Irish immigrant with a valid US work permit has been held in ICE detention in Texas for nearly five months despite having no criminal record, the Irish Times reports. Seamus Culleton, who has lived in the US for over 20 years, is married to a US citizen and was in the final stages of a green card application when he was arrested in September. He describes detention conditions akin to a “concentration camp,” limited access to outdoors, and constant hunger. A judge initially approved his release on bond, but the US government later blocked it.

His lawyer says the case is highly unusual and reflects arbitrary enforcement by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE did not respond with comment on the story at the time of publication.

(Photos from Irish Times)

[Ed Krassenstein @EdKrassen]

Many of you may have missed this, but the little boy who Bad Bunny handed his Grammy to at the Super Bowl was Liam Ramos!

Amazing!

[Stephen J @StephenJRHW]

@MainCardMinute Sssssiiiiiiiiickkkkk

[Danny Segura @dannyseguratv]

Im still thinking about this.

[AFeldmanMMA @afeldMMA]

❗️The UFC just DOUBLED bonuses.
But did we just return back to 2011?
Here’s the full context.

UFC just announced:
💰 All bonuses are now $100,000
🔥 Every finish now earns an additional $25,000

That’s a good thing. Fighters deserve more.
But context matters.

Looking at actual bonus history, not one-off promo events:
📈 From 2010–2012, the most common performance bonus was $65K–$75K
📍 In 2011, the most common bonus was $75,000
🧊 Since 2014, the standard bonus has been flat at $50,000 for over a decade

Here’s the inflation part people miss.
💸 $75,000 in 2011 = about $110,000 today

So the new $100K bonus is not some historic leap forward. It is roughly a return to 2011 levels in real terms.

Yes, there have been special-event spikes:
🎯 UFC 100 paid $100K
🎯 UFC 129 paid $129K
🎯 UFC 300 paid $300K
…and a few others. But those were random promotional moments, obviously not the baseline.

What matters is the standard, and that baseline was effectively cut and then frozen for more than a decade while the company exploded in value.

Now the business side 👀
📺 The FOX / UFC deal was around $100M per year.
📺 The ESPN U.S. media rights deal was around $300M per year
📺 The new Paramount U.S. media rights deal is about $1.1B per year

That is roughly +$800M per year in new U.S. TV revenue, a 267% increase from ESPN to Paramount.

And roughly a 1000% increase per year in US TV revenue since the 2011-2018 FOX deal.

Let’s include the new finish bonus too.

In 2025 there were 280 finishes across UFC events.
💥 280 finishes × $25,000 = $7.0M per year

Now combine everything.

📅 43 events per year
🏆 4 bonuses per card
📈 Bonuses doubled from $50K to $100K = about +$8.6M per year
🔥 Finish bonuses add about +$7.0M per year

Total additional spend comes out to roughly +$15.6M per year.

And compared to the TV money?
👉 That is still just over 1% of the annual increase from the U.S. media deal with Paramount alone.

So yes, it is a positive change.
But financially, in the context of the UFC’s business, this is far from an impactful change

[Stephen J @StephenJRHW]

@lthomasnews got another recommendation for ya

https://t.co/NfwgXKGbfk