Whatever works for advertising. Although I'm not a fan of MMA although haven't really watched much of it I admit, I realize it's very popular and is a sport with a huge viewership and following among young people.
Although maybe a hockey team and MMA athlete might make more sense with the fighting and that. 
Remind me Boycott the Halftime Show…
This is no Sport it human Cockfighting
It should have stayed outlawed in Ontario.
when they come out
I am going down to get a hotdog and not coming back up till 3rd Qrt is underway
The Fact we are ina partnership with someone in MMA is Reprehensible
I am Dis-appointed as a Ticats Fan we are supporting anything to do with MMA
IMO Humancock fights for Profit should be not be allow on Ontario
Makes me sick it in Ontario. :thdn:
Not a fan of MMA but I think this is a great move, as it gets the team exposure that would be almost impossible with more traditional forms of advertising.
I will say MMA isn't as violent as I thought from what I have watched from it and even my wife who hates fighting in general sort of likes it.
Look, hunters can take a gun and go shot animals to death legally. MMA is not like that at all, has refs etc. Those who put down MMA as not humane I hope are agains't hunting and killing our fellow living partners in the animal kingdom or else you're hippocrites IMHO.
If people want to watch two muscular men tightly embracing each other on the floor thats their business, not that theres anything wrong with that. History shows when the people demand blood sports the barbarians aren`t far from the gates.
Deerhunter,
Im not hating on you and Im not going to attack you like some others do, but you deserve a "come on man..." with your replies to this post and other posts that are about topics you don't like. There's the argument about just giving your opinion on a topic/why bother posting about a topic that you don't enjoy. Where you deserve the "come on man...." though is when you go all out on people who in your opinion "attack" players when they simply criticize players.....but then you yourself attack and put down people who act contrary to the way you feel they should or are simply involved in things you don't like.
For example, obviously its fine that you don't like NASCAR...but do you really have to say "their all just a bunch of grease monkeys?" Seriously, you need to pay more attention if your going to criticize things, in your defense, maybe its been awhile since you've watched an MMA fight and it WAS pretty brutal when it started out....but now a days, the second a fighter stops defending him self the fight is stopped and if a fighter starts bleeding profusely like you describe, the fight is also stopped and doesn't continue until a licensed doctor gives the go ahead. You say its just your opinion but then you take a cheap shot at something.
So....come on man! lol
I was reading that Lowes, Home Depot, and Menards - three of the best-known home improvement stores in the US - sponsor top teams in the Sprint Cup division in NASCAR. So why not?
Deer, watch car racing on a big screen with loud speakers blaring, it's cool. And I'm not even a racing fan but get jacked when I turn on the home theatre system and do this.
I admit I am very opinionated and vocal on my “pet peeve” issues, but what I never do is tell others in these forums what they must think or feel. I also never verbally attack anyone personally for having a differing opinion than I do…in other words, I never personalize a debate. Again, I do have very strong opinions on certain things and I love engaging others in strong debate…as long as things don’t get personal.
Now, even though I have a massive dislike for this thing called MMA (and I’m not alone), I can see why it might be a good marketing partnership for the Tiger-Cats and I’m cool with that. Just because I don’t enjoy a certain product such as MMA, it doesn’t mean others can’t. 
To keep the debate interesting and informative, the list below is what's known in boxing as the "Marquess of Queensberry" rules. My great-grandmother's nephew (James Corbett) was the first World Heavyweight Champion to win the title under these rules and was known as the Father of Modern Day Boxing......mainly, the big change was going from bare-knuckles to gloves and with more rules designed for safety. My main argument against the MMA stuff is that it is a regession in my opinion, there a participant's safety and health is being compromised in favour of more violence and blood for the sake of marketing and money. Yes, one could accuse me of being biased because of the ancestral boxing blood (no pun intended) in my family, but it's not that at all.....I'm not even a big traditional boxing fan to be honest.....I just don't like the violence and free-for-all mentality of MMA. 8)
1. To be a fair stand-up boxing match in a twenty-four foot ring or as near that size as practicable.
2. No wrestling or hugging allowed.
3. The rounds to be of three minutes duration and one minute time between rounds.
4. If either man fall through weakness or otherwise, he must get up unassisted, ten seconds be allowed to do so, the other man meanwhile to return to his corner; and when the fallen man is on his legs the round is to be resumed and continued until the three minutes have expired. If one man fails to come to the scratch in the ten seconds allowed, it shall be in the power of the referee to give his award in favour of the other man.
5. A man hanging on the ropes in a helpless state, with his toes off the ground, shall be considered down.
6. No seconds or any other person to be allowed in the ring during the rounds.
7. Should the contest be stopped by any unavoidable interference, the referee (is) to name the time and place as soon as possible for finishing the contest, to that the match can be won and lost, unless the backers of the men agree to draw the stakes.
8. The gloves to be fair-sized boxing gloves of the best quality and new.
9. Should a glove burst, or come off, it must be replaced to the referee's satisfaction.
10. A man on one knee is considered down, and if struck is entitled to the stakes.
Can you say melodramatic?
:roll:I am intitled to why I feel about MMA Your welcome to Support it
I Won’t
The Fact we are ina partnership with someone in MMA is Reprehensibleas I've expressed in no uncertain terms, I am not a fan of MMA and for the reasons I've stated, but my own views on the "sport" does not mean that I don't think this is a smart marketing move by the Ticats. In fact, it may turn out to be brilliant given the sudden flooding of the MMA crowd with Tiger-Cat hats and other merchandise which will get the brand onto the streets of Ontario and beyond. Marketing gurus salivate over these types of opportunities.
Maybe Charlie Sheen needs some Tiger-Cats gear also to go with his Tigers-Blood theme 
I love to see a Charile Sheen Day at IWS
Bring him in to Flip the Coin and Do Half Time… :thup:
Winning
I think this is a brilliant peice of marketing, and creates a huge ammount of visibility and credibility for the organization, and the league. Why do I say that? because only large, credible businesses can afford to put their name on a fighter.the young generations recognize that, and like to support things that have that credibility and cultural visibility. So not only is it brilliant from a marketing stand point, you could almost say sociologilcly it's very, very intuitive. :thup:
It's two fold at that! Hominick said “It's good to know you have an army behind you.? - I'll be following his results because I feel like he's part of our team, and I bet alot of black and gold faithfull will be doing the same thing. :rockin:
I don't like MMA fighting. (there, i said it) It's just not my thing.
But to call it "Human Cockfighting" well... hey, you wanted to make a comparison, so let's run with it!!!
In cockfighting, (let's call them) the combatants:
1 - Don't have a choice - But strangely, MMA fighters not only enjoy it, but train rigorously and invest huge ammounts of their time. so.... No, it's not like cockfighting there.
2 - Are bred for the sole purpose of fighting - man, i hate to sound like a broken record but, MMA fighters choose to become involved - as adults no less!!! so, I guess again, it's not like cockfighting.
3 - Matches are fought (most often) untill one of the two Chickens is dead - Maybe there has been a tragedy, maybe there has been some catostrophic injuries but i have to point something out... It's a fighters choice!!! and then, even if they DO lose, it's not going to cost them their life. so... again, it's really just not like cockfighting. :oops:
People always have, and always will entertain themselfs through compitition. It's part of our humanity.
anyway... my post summed up: great work by the bob young team! everyone else, just needs to loosen up a bit.
and for all those spoutting "UMUGUD we should spend this on players" it's advertising... and doesn't count towards the cap.
Anthony Calvillo has been working out with MMA coaches all off season. Can't wait to see how he looks. I think there is no better all around training right now then MMA.
It’s actually thanks to an ex-CFL commish that MMA was sanctioned in Ontario. The fact is, in 2007, the Ontario Government said there was “no way” they would EVER sanction the sport of MMA in Ontario. They continued this hard-line stance until 2010 when the UFC hired Tom Wright. Tom had many existing relationships with many Government officials and all the stakeholders who would inevitably be responsible for sanctioning the sport.
Through education and cooperation they were able to make it happen. Tom remains employed with the UFC today as Director of Operations of UFC Canada. Because of this, look for many more UFC/CFL cross promotions.
actually, the Six Nations territory has hosted MMA events for the past few years at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena on the reserve
[url=http://christinasears.wordpress.com/2008/02/18/iroquois-mixed-martial-arts-helping-bring-mma-to-ontario/]http://christinasears.wordpress.com/200 ... o-ontario/[/url]You’re right but those events aren’t sanctioned events. Those events are actually really dangerous. There’s a lack of doctors, medical staff, certified referees, and security.
I hope that this whole thing didn't involve Jeff Joslin, who has been promoting to get MMA and UFC into Ontario for quite a while. I've always admired Jeff's father, Rick Joslin, for his original Karate & Kickboxing school on Concession Street, but this whole MMA thing takes it all too far. I don't believe that there is any real "martial arts" in MMA at all. I hope Jeff isn't being misguided by this crazy "sport". Meanwhile, I always thought that the Ticat organization was trying to promote the Ticats as a family sport organization. Getting involved in MMA certainly diminishes this image that they've been trying to build. Scott Mitchell and his clan should really be re-thinking this whole ill-fated idea.
Meanwhile, I've been thinking about taking my son to his very first Ticat game this season. We were thinking about the game against Toronto here in August. Fortunately, that's not the same game as the MMA Day they're planning against Saskatchewan in July. We're going to have to think hard about whether we feel that the Ticats are truly promoting a family atmosphere for the fans both during the games and outside of game-times. It's pretty disappointing. 
Same can be said about football.
Leading medical experts at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE) at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) reported today that nine-year NFL veteran, former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Tom McHale was suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease caused by head trauma, when he died in 2008 at the age of 45.In addition, the CSTE has discovered early evidence of CTE in the youngest case to date, a recently deceased 18-year-old boy who suffered multiple concussions in high …
…The discovery of the initial stages of CTE in an 18-year-old should move the discussion of football’s concussion crisis toward youth football… It is morally and ethically wrong to allow our children to voluntarily suffer this kind of brain trauma without taking the simple educational steps needed to protect them."…Lisa McHale, widow of Tom McHale, said, "What’s even more disturbing to me, and the reason I am here, is that Tom is not alone. His is now the sixth confirmed case of CTE among former professional football players. Bearing in mind that only six former players, over the age of 25, have been tested for CTE, I find these results to be not only incredibly significant, but profoundly disturbing. And I just can’t conceive of anyone thinking otherwise. I have 9 and 11-year-old boys who are just beginning to play Pop Warner football. In light of Tom’s situation and the findings on the high school football player with the initial evidence of CTE, I now question their involvement in a sport that had been so important in our lives