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UFC 172 does around 350K buys

3K views 37 replies 17 participants last post by  King Daisuke 
#1 ·
According to Meltzer, UFC 171 drew an estimated 300K pay-per-view buys while UFC 172, which featured arguably UFC’s second biggest active star in Jon Jones, did an estimated 350,000 buys. Meltzer talks about some of the issues the UFC is now encountering with their current crop of stars

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That's exactly what I thought it'd get. Bones is a minor draw by himself, and a solid draw with a name opponent. I've stated that no UFC pay-per-view is capable of eclipsing 500K unless it's a really stacked card (on paper). The July 4th one will exceed this due to having two big title fights on it. But otherwise, it will continue to be a crap year for UFC for PPV buys. The next two PPV's will probably combine for 450K buys if they're lucky. Hopefully the PPV buy downtrend continues.
 
#2 ·
Is it just me or is that around 15 million in PPV alone?

Pfft these fighters aren't underpaid at all.
 
#3 ·
Probably a little more than that....BUT UFC loses out on half of that money due to the cable provider. So if it's $55 per buy and they got 350,000 of them, that's $19 million and change, so they made out with $9-10 million. Bones I'm sure got his dues and more.

But when say Barao fights next and the pay-per-view gets like 200K buys, then that'd be like 11 million, and UFC keeps $5-6 million. Which goes more into my theory about why they need a subscription network like WWE.
 
#5 ·
The only reason GSP got such ridiculous numbers consistently is because he got an insane amount of buys from Canada. Even if you are a draw like Anderson or Bones in the states if you don't have an opponent people are either invested in emotionally or believe in as a real threat you probably aren't cracking 500k. Brock was an anomaly. The only way to recreate what happened with Brock would be like a super famous college football player who couldn't make the nfl going into MMA or something like that.
 
#7 ·
That's about the same what Rousey did at UFC 170.

UFC has constantly put up more events in the recent years. So the declining profit per event will be compensated by the number of events. If one event makes 100% and 2 events make 70% each, the 2 events still make 140% together. So as long as the overall profit still increases, UFC brass wont care if profit per event decreases.
 
#8 ·
Not sure offhand of 2013, but here was the previous years:

2007: 10 shows, 4,660,000 buys, average of 466,000
2008: 13 shows, 6,885,000 buys, average of 530,000
2009: 13 shows, 7,755,000 buys, average of 595,000
2010: 15 shows, 8,970,000 buys, average of 598,000
2011: 15 shows, 5,950,000 buys, average of 397,000
2012: 13 shows, 6,025,000 buys, average of 463,000

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So far this year is 1/3 over, and I think they've probably done (ballpark estimate) around 1.1 million buys total. And that was with their two biggest stars defending titles. So the year is 1/3 over, and they are on pace for 3.3 million buys, which is like barely over half of what they did 2 years ago. Granted the July 4th one will do way more than normal and they could have a big one at the end of the year. But overall they'll probably do like 4 million buys this year, which are far cries from even two years ago, and obviously leagues behind 09/10. Hence why I keep pushing for a similar model to WWE Network.

(PS slow day at work)
 
#10 ·
But if they made let's say 4.5 million buys this year on PPV which is being very generous and probably won't happen. That's 247.5 million, so let's say they keep 120 million of it. If you get a million people to pay $10/month for a service that included PPV, then you're even on that. Or 500,000 people to pay $20/month. Plus you could keep 100% of advertising money and what not. And you could charge a different kind of premium for public places such as bars to get the PPV's. I'm just a little fuzzy on how many of their buys come from bars/public places, but I'm guessing it's a good chunk (when it's the Barao type PPV's).
 
#11 ·
And people say boxing is dying.

Rousey and Jones the two biggest draws the sport has right now, are barely drawing over 1/4 of what Mayweather draws. The UFC needs to do a better job with its stars.

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#17 ·
Then why is it not working?

The only fight that is gonna be doing a big number in the near future is Weidman vs Machida. Dillashaw and Baugatinov haven't been built up at all and Aldo isnt a draw.

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#18 ·
Its not working because of the ever increasing use of streams and so on. How many million people are streaming or downloading the next day?

I think the UFC should move their PPV system online for the main fight card too. Sell it for much cheaper, stream if yourself, cut out the cable provider. Have a commercial streaming fee as well. They need to move with technology and move with the times.
If people can stream it well and buy a season ticket for a discount, and this was offered around the world their numbers would increase I would think. Maybe they are testing this with the fight pass now, but its a hugely flawed test only offering fight nights and prelims. The sport isn't big enough yet to just offer the lesser fights/cards and get a realistic perspective.
 
#19 ·
It isn't working because people are tired of paying $55 or whatever it is per event.

Now people just watch the free events or if they really want to see a PPV go to a bar or something to do so. Everyone is only going to pay out the big bucks for those amazing events when they come along.

UFC 172 was not a great card to sell PPV's. It ended up being a great event but this it what the average person would think when looking at the fights.

Bones vs Teixeira - Bones is good but should win easily
Johnson vs Davis - Isn't he that ww guy and Davis is boring
Rockhold vs Boetsch - Sounds familiar but can't remember who Rockhold is, Boetsch is ok
Miller vs Medeiros - Miller is tough but who the hell is Medeiros
Holloway vs Fili - Who are these guys

The problem is that this card was just not up to top end PPV quality. To bring in the big numbers you need to have either a stacked card or one must see fight and Jones vs Tex isn't that quality of fight.
 
#21 ·
It isn't working because people are tired of paying $55 or whatever it is per event.

Now people just watch the free events or if they really want to see a PPV go to a bar or something to do so. Everyone is only going to pay out the big bucks for those amazing events when they come along.

UFC 172 was not a great card to sell PPV's. It ended up being a great event but this it what the average person would think when looking at the fights.

Bones vs Teixeira - Bones is good but should win easily
Johnson vs Davis - Isn't he that ww guy and Davis is boring
Rockhold vs Boetsch - Sounds familiar but can't remember who Rockhold is, Boetsch is ok
Miller vs Medeiros - Miller is tough but who the hell is Medeiros
Holloway vs Fili - Who are these guys

The problem is that this card was just not up to top end PPV quality. To bring in the big numbers you need to have either a stacked card or one must see fight and Jones vs Tex isn't that quality of fight.


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That's exactly the problem, Rockhold is a top ten guy whose fought the likes of Vitor and Jacare, he was the former SF Champ, so why do fans not know him? UFC can't promote the fighters anymore and boxing is.
 
#26 ·
Nick's true PPV selling rate is a mediocre 340k... GSP fans are the ones that bought that fight not Diaz fans... And coming off 2 losses Diaz wouldn't be able to draw more then 300k in a non title fight as there is no matches that the people would be that interested to see(hardcores will say Lawler but that won't sell to the regular fans, maybe as a co-main but not as a main event).

Paying Diaz ridiculous amounts of money to come back and fight makes no sense because it sets a new precedence for wages that over a short period of time will quickly cost the UFC more then what they would make off of the 1 or maybe 2 fights they might get out of him before he whines and retires again...

I have said it many times before, bringing back Diaz would be a huge mistake and big waste of time and make the organization look bad. I hope to hell they don't do it unless he comes crawling back and fights at his current contract against a middle of the pack opponent like he should be doing...
 
#29 ·
Sonnen and Kenny both said Nick is worth every penny of what he is asking. So there are at least 2 fairly qualified people who agree with me. In today's MMA getting 300k out of a WW who doesn't even hold a title is gold. No other man could do that or even come close. Rory? Wood? Lombard? Not a chance.
 
#30 ·
The UFC is stupid, greedy, and lazy they spent years using Pride stars instead of making their own, they cut to many guys when they expanded to other divisions and they shouldn't be running a PPV a month.

The question is going to be if Johnson and Barao draw less than 100K, if they happens the UFC needs to kill a division preferably 135.
 
#31 ·
jonnyg4508 said:
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Every single time. :laugh:
 
#34 ·
The little guys dont draw. IDK why, but they dont. A lot of times they are the best fight on the card. The problem when adding the lighter guys was that Urijah Faber couldnt win a belt. If Faber had Aldo's belt and record, itd do wonders for the lighter guys. Faber has a fanbase, metropcs, people wanna see him. Thats why he keeps getting chances at a belt at 20 different weightclasses because the UFC knows that hes the one thatll bring the 145 and unders out of the desert and into the promised land.
 
#35 ·
I think the UFC actually hurt themselves and brought their own ppv numbers down but it's not their lack of marketing. It's that they put on a massive amount of free events and multiple ppvs a month. A ufc card used to be an event with a month of build up and each fight got attention and people would wait the whole time. Now they just don't have time to hype each event like that. Half the cards don't even get commercials. It's not a waterdown card, it's that they put so many events on it's like the nba. No one watches every game they just can't/don't want to. Compare that to the nfl where the same thing is happening now. Games on every night that is starting to show in viewers now imagine if they required you to pay for the good games.

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#37 ·
UFC should have kept WEC going for lighter weight classes including womens and kept UFC with the original 5. Like it or not, the lower weight classes don't draw very well and probably never will. Also Dana White is a shitty promoter. What kind of promoter talks shit about his own fighters as much as he does? What kind of MMA promoter discredits fighters outside of the UFC for not beating UFC fighters then goes and signs them? Even Vinny Mac is a far better promoter than Dana and he promotes scripted sports entertainment.

Also perhaps a decent pay raise would motivate more people to jump into MMA instead of making it to the biggest organization worth a few billion and fighting for $8000 on a card making 8 digits.
 
#38 ·
About Aldo and Barao not being big stars, the first thing they should've done after getting their first main event should have been to learn English. You don't have to be able to debate with James Lipton, just thank the crowd and earn some sympathy points. Get some fans like Greg Jackson says.
 
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