Wednesday, May 25, 2011 at 5:11 PM 
Today is Tuesday, May 24, 2011, and it is a landmark episode for MMAjunkie.com Radio. Not only is it episode #997, but it is also the #1 episode of MMAjunkie.com Radio being live on Cable TV! Fight Now TV, which is available primarily on the East Coast through Cablevision, airs 24-hours a day, seven-days-a-week and is a combat sports-themed channel. Although the distribution is currently limited, Fight Now TV is looking to expand their viewership in the future. If you are on the East Coast and have Cablevision, check out channel 464. http://mmajunkie.com/news/23707/fight-now-tv-launches-today.mma
It is amazing how far MMAjunkie.com Radio has come in just over 4 years on the air. The show was originally named TAGG Radio, with Frank Trigg and Gorgeous George hosting and Goze producing. What took the show to the next level in my opinion is when they established a relationship with MMAjunkie.com, and eventually becoming MMAjunkie.com Radio. In my opinion, that acquisition by MMAjunkie.com not only propelled the radio show to where it is today, but it has also been huge for the website which is evident by the multiple “Best MMA Media Source” awards from The Fighter’s Only Magazine MMA Awards. Many of the interviews from MMAjunkie.com Radio get turned into stories posted on MMAjunkie.com.
It was a no-brainer for TAGG Radio to join the MMAjunkie.com family, and an obvious choice to change the name from TAGG to MMAjunkie.com Radio was made. With that, spawned an extended community from the OST (Old School Tagg) crew of listeners, to Junkie Nation, which spans across Facebook, the radio show, mmajunkie.com forums, and Gozejitsu.com.
Based on where MMAjunkie.com Radio is today, it is hard to believe that there was a time when GG thought about hanging it all up and shutting down the program. That is where MMAjunkie.com editor-in-chief and co-founder Dann Stupp aka Stann Dupp stepped in. They had already been somewhat associated with TAGG Radio, but the new partnership took their relationship to the next level. Here is what Dann Stupp had to say about his early days as an MMA fan, to being the man in charge at MMAjunkie.com:
“ When I started the site in 2006, I was working in the Cincinnati Reds front office. I loved the job, but my interest in MMA had grown pretty strong by that time. I wasn't putting my journalism degree to full use, so I figured I'd do a little MMA blog for my own amusement. It turned out to be the perfect topic at the perfect time. With a one-man writing team, I opted to focus solely on UFC and called the site UFCjunkie.com. Surprisingly, I was getting 1,000 visitors a day within a week of the launch. (We now get about 600,000 per day, but the site had already surpassed my expectations when we got to 1,000.)
With co-owners and co-founders Tom Cummins and Eric Foster, UFCjunkie.com found its stride. I left my Reds job, and we eventually became MMAjunkie.com once we expanded our coverage. At the time, very few sites were covering MMA in a serious manner, and even fewer did so with any real sense of journalism. I think a real key was doing on-site coverage and bringing in legit journalists such as Steve Sievert, Sam Caplan, Kyle Nagel and eventually the likes of John Morgan (the single biggest and best hiring in the site's history), Steven Marrocco and our many freelancers and contributors. We also partnered with Yahoo! Sports, which gave us some credibility as the number of MMA news sites exploded.
During those times, we had a partnership with TAGG Radio. We'd help them promote the show, and then we'd recap the best interviews for stories on MMAjunkie.com. The more I got to know Gorgeous George, Goze and Frank Trigg, the more I liked them. When I started the website, it was often a very lonely endeavor. Few of our colleagues offered any help or sense of camaraderie, and some even tried to tank our reputation. But both the feedback from the readers and the types of friendships we made with the TAGG guys kept things fun. So when George mentioned they might have to quit doing the show for financial reasons, it only made sense to bring them under the MMAjunkie.com banner. We ultimately worked out a deal, and it's been one of our best decisions yet. We now have a great and interactive radio show, TV show and podcast. I also now consider those TAGG guys some of my favorite people. They just fit with my and the site's overall objective: to celebrate and enjoy the sport rather than tearing it down.
At the end of the day, I get to write about the most entertaining sport and fascinating industry I can think of. And I get to do it with people and readers I consider good friends. It's not a bad way to make a living.”
With the new expansion of MMAjunkie.com Radio now airing on TV, there really is no limits to where the program and website can go. There will be growth in the MMAjunkie.com community, as well a growth in the viewership that the Radio show/TV show covers which can only be seen as a positive for all involved. I feel that people like Gorgeous George, Goze, Jenny (JRTlover), John Morgan, Steven Marrocco, Dann Stupp, and everyone else that helps make MMAjunkie.com what it is today are a big part of growing the sport of MMA to become more mainstream. They will tell you that although they do make a living within the sport, they are fans first.
Thank you for reading the Ph1sh Bowl. I am going to try to write some more this week as I am in Vegas, detailing some of the fun activities that we will be doing. If anyone is interested in participating in the week/weekend’s festivities surrounding Show 1000 and UFC 130, please feel free to join us (email goze@mmajunkie.com for questions). This is what we have planned:
1000th Show Schedule
Wednesday
- 9:30 pm BJ's Brewery Dinner/Opening Ceremonies
- 10:45 pm Bowling at Red Rock
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Thursday
- 11:30 am Gunstore Shootout
- 2:00 pm Full Court Basketball Game at UNLV
- 5:00 pm Xtreme Coutures to watch pro practice
- 7:00 pm Possible Dodgeball Game
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Friday
- 9:00 am MMAjunkie Radio's 1000th show
- 1:00 pm Texas De Brazil Lunch
- 4:00 pm UFC 130 Weighins
- 7:00 pm Tuff-N-Uff at the Cox Pavillion
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Saturday
- 9:00 am Mandalay Bay Breakfast Buffet (Shut up Fedor's Sweater!)
- 11:00 am Manchester United Vs Barcelona in the Mandalay Bay Sportsbook
- 3:00 pm UFC 130 Viewing party at Xtreme Couture's
- 9:00 pm MMAjunkie Radio 1000th show party/Closing Ceremonies (We have two places in mind just waiting for conformation)
Reader Comments (3)
Even though Stann Dupp snubbed my fine journalistic work for his site, I have great admiration for the man. He is as legit as they come in the mma media, and I am so very glad that he gave GG and Goze a home. Another true Horatio Alger story.
Thanks for you share it!!!!!!!
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