Il Loco
22-01-2009, 12:28
Despite solid ratings for Spike TV's first installment of the three-part "UFC Primetime: St. Pierre vs. Penn II" series, at least one participant was apparently unhappy with how he was portrayed in the piece.
A source close to the show on Tuesday told MMAjunkie.com (http://mmajunkie.com/) (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com
(http://www.mmajunkie.com)) B.J. Penn recently shut down a taping and interview session for the series and no longer wants involved in the project.
Penn was apparently unhappy with how he was portrayed in last week's debut of the series, which hypes a Jan. 31 UFC 94 main event fight between the Hawaiian fighter and UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre.
Penn, the UFC's current lightweight title-holder, looks to become the first-ever UFC fighter to hold two belts simultaneously when he fights for St. Pierre's title at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
"Primetime," a nearly $2 million project that airs in 30-minute blocks on Wednesdays from Jan. 14-28, follows each fighter as he prepares for the fight.
During the Jan. 14 debut, Penn was sometimes portrayed as a fighter who didn't take his training too seriously – a reputation that's long dogged the 30-year-old fighter.
In the latest taping segment for "Primetime," Penn cut short taping just eight minutes into an interview, the source said.
A message left with Penn's publicity representative wasn't immediately returned.
The second installment of "UFC Primetime" airs tonight at 10 p.m. EST/PST on Spike TV.
Last week's "Primetime" debut scored a scored a 0.73 household rating (http://mmajunkie.com/news/13728/ufc-primetime-st-pierre-vs-penn-ii-highest-rated-countdown-show-ever.mma) and had an average audience of 880,000 viewers during its initial run at 10 p.m. EST/PST. An immediate replay that aired at 10:30 p.m. EST/PST scored a 0.53 rating with 614,000 viewers.
It currently ranks as the highest-rated "UFC Countdown" show in UFC and Spike TV history
A source close to the show on Tuesday told MMAjunkie.com (http://mmajunkie.com/) (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com
(http://www.mmajunkie.com)) B.J. Penn recently shut down a taping and interview session for the series and no longer wants involved in the project.
Penn was apparently unhappy with how he was portrayed in last week's debut of the series, which hypes a Jan. 31 UFC 94 main event fight between the Hawaiian fighter and UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre.
Penn, the UFC's current lightweight title-holder, looks to become the first-ever UFC fighter to hold two belts simultaneously when he fights for St. Pierre's title at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
"Primetime," a nearly $2 million project that airs in 30-minute blocks on Wednesdays from Jan. 14-28, follows each fighter as he prepares for the fight.
During the Jan. 14 debut, Penn was sometimes portrayed as a fighter who didn't take his training too seriously – a reputation that's long dogged the 30-year-old fighter.
In the latest taping segment for "Primetime," Penn cut short taping just eight minutes into an interview, the source said.
A message left with Penn's publicity representative wasn't immediately returned.
The second installment of "UFC Primetime" airs tonight at 10 p.m. EST/PST on Spike TV.
Last week's "Primetime" debut scored a scored a 0.73 household rating (http://mmajunkie.com/news/13728/ufc-primetime-st-pierre-vs-penn-ii-highest-rated-countdown-show-ever.mma) and had an average audience of 880,000 viewers during its initial run at 10 p.m. EST/PST. An immediate replay that aired at 10:30 p.m. EST/PST scored a 0.53 rating with 614,000 viewers.
It currently ranks as the highest-rated "UFC Countdown" show in UFC and Spike TV history