UFC Action Figure Hoax Stirring Controversy
Saturday, September 13th, 2008I am as old as dirt I guess. Well, maybe not dirt just yet. But certainly older than I like to honestly admit these days. If you remember watching “Land of the Lost” on Saturday mornings or those miniature auto tags that came in boxes of Honeycomb cereal, chances are you also waited impatiently for a set of plastic Star Wars figures from Kenner Toys in the late ’70s.
Clearly it’s my generation that still fuels a large chunk of the current action figure market. After all, are 9-year-olds really buying R. Lee Ermey dolls and Alice Cooper figures? Probably not.
This leads me to Jakks’ upcoming production of UFC action figures. I recall seeing the prototype of Jakks’ Chuck Liddell and Brock Lesnar figures a few months ago on some afternoon news program that escapes me now. And of course “Round 5 – World of MMA Champions” released a set of cartoon-like MMA action figures this year as well. There was even a rare 3000 count production run of 12-inch Chuck Liddell dolls by MMA Jacked that are apparently sold out of stock.
Pictured Below, the 12-Inch Chuck Liddell Doll
In light of the upcoming UFC-based toys, a prank began circulating earlier today across the MMA forums featuring fake action figures of UFC President Dana White, UFC commentator Joe Rogan and fight judge Cecil Peoples. These figures feature some controversial content and references. It’s not clear who created the prank figure photos or which website first surfaced the story. Some accounts point to the MMA Fiend website as the first to post the phony story but this is not a determined fact. In just a few hours following the circulation of the phony story, numerous sites have removed the prank artwork.
The prank story indicated that the phony action figures were part of the line of toys coming soon from Jakks. But nothing could be further from the truth. And surprisingly, a large number of people took the bait and fell for the prank. RedSweat.com was one of the few MMA sites I encountered that revealed the action figure art as a hoax from the start. One can only assume that threatening e-mails went out to a number of MMA sites today. But, there are free speech rights in the realms of parody. Just refer to the entire existence of Huslter publisher, Larry Flynt. So, who knows what’s really going on with regard to this obvious action figure parody.
MMA Fiend cited a Toy Fair article that stated the following:
JAKKS announced a new deal with the Ultimate Fighting Championship today: a four year license to produce a line of figures and playsets for collectors, to land on shelves next year. I don’t know about you, but I’m already getting my Frankenstein science gear ready, so I can shock ‘em to life and have mini throw-downs in my best friend’s bunny cage. UFC greats Chuck “The Iceman” Lidell and Brock Lesnar will be among the first wave, but for a longer list of who else will appear, check out:
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080610/jakks_pacific_ufc_license.html?.v=1
You’ll notice that the Yahoo link within the Toy Fair announcement is expired. And the original announcement is legitimate. However, the announcement is in no way connected to the phony action figures of Joe Rogan, Dana White and Cecil Peoples. MMA fiend continued to state the following:
In a recent edition of Toyfare Magazine, a Jakks representative confirms that there will be a Joe Rogan action figure by the end of 2009. Here is a direct quote from the mag:
Q: “How the question everyone has been waiting for….will UFC host Joe Rogan have a figure?!”
A: “Of Course. We definately don’t half-ass it. We will go all out. We’re not interested in just doing a representation of the current athletes. Again, our objective is to provide the full experience. If you want to pull Joe Rogan into the Octagon and let Chuck Liddell and Brock Lesner beat on him at the same time, it’s up to you whether Joe Rogan comes out of it alive or not.”
When news hit the UG, Rogan was as surprised as anyone else.
“Why am I always the last one to hear about this shit?”
Full Contact Talk cannot confirm whether Joe Rogan made the statements above. It could be legitimate when considering that Rogan is a stand-up comic. But the statements could just as easily be part of the original action figure prank as well.
Below is a photo gallery containing legitimate UFC action figures as well as the hoax figures. Full Contact Talk in no way endorses the prank figures or the prank story. The fake action figure photos within the gallery below are displayed for editorial purposes only.
