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‘Rampage vs. Tito’ Ticket Sales Confirm That Bellator Is Pretty Much F*cked, You Guys

4K views 44 replies 21 participants last post by  GDPofDRB 
#1 ·
By Matt Saccaro

The ticket sales for Bellator’s November 2nd pay-per-view debut are bad — basically as bad as they could possibly be less than a month out from the card.

On Friday, MMAJunkie’s John Morgan tweeted that the PPV had sold only approximately 1,700 tickets, with another 2,000 on consignment. Matt Roth of MMAMania noted just how dire the situation really is. He pointed out that the venue can hold over 13,000 people, meaning that Bellator would have to sell in the neighborhood of 10,000 tickets in less than 20 days to secure a sellout. That probably isn’t going to happen — not even if Tito Ortiz and Rampage Jackson became giants like in the awful trailer for the PPV.

Bjorn Rebney better be prepared to get a job at his dad’s Winnebago dealership; winter is coming for Bellator. Nobody is going to attend their PPV, and it’s probable that, at an expected price between $35-45, nobody is going to purchase their PPV either. Nobody gives a **** about their product and their titles are considered worthless. If the UFC stacked three title fights on a card, you’d expect success, even if it were the titles for the three lightest weight classes. But with Bellator, which is offering three title fights on its PPV (although one is a dubious interim title), nobody knows or cares. Hell, we’re a site whose fanbase is comprised pretty much of entirely hardcore fans, and judging by the front page poll, a third of you never even watch Bellator. If they can’t get the hardcores, what ******* chance do they have at getting the casual fans to drop money on this PPV?

Even more concerning is a recent report from MMAPayout about Bellator 102, which UFC “star” Cheick Kongo headlined. The show’s gate was only $73,410.43. A paltry 1,482 people attended the show but nearly half of those tickets (604 of them to be precise) were comped. Now, are you ready to be really amazed? Let’s look at the salaries.

Kongo made $60,000 for his fight against Mark Godbeer, who made $15,000. So the main event alone accounted for more money than the entire show made in ticket sales. The total salary payout for the entire card, including Kongo and Godbeer, was $308,000.

Subtract the gate from the salaries and you get $234,589.57 — that’s what Bellator lost on the show, or at least that’s the amount of money that Bellator needs to make up through sponsorships and other deals. “Well Viacom is rich and can take a loss on Bellator,” you say? True enough, it seems at first that Viacom could pull off the whole Ted Turner-WCW thing, but Viacom already paid $50 million for an inferior product and a Dana White lookalike. And that product is proving that it’s not financially sustainable. How much longer will Viacom decide to keep the sick man of MMA on life support?

It’s rare, but we’re going to have to agree with Dana White here: There’s no value to Bellator. The promotion still features some insanely talented fighters, but financially, they’re worse in the shit than Enron or WaMu. Get ready for Dana to add another name to the tombstone.
http://www.cagepotato.com/rampage-v...that-bellator-is-pretty-much-****ed-you-guys/



Dana walks happily down the street
With his brim pulled way down low
Ain't no sound (From Bellator) but the sound of his feet
Check books ready to go
Are you ready hey are you ready for this? (Yes)
Are you hanging on the edge of your seat? (No)
Out of the doorway the fighters rip
To the sound of the beat yeah

Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
And another one gone and another one gone
Another one bites the dust
Hey I'm gonna get you too
Another one bites the dust
 
#2 ·
Tough biz! They're getting publicity from Dana and that's what's keeping them afloat. I don't think they have a bad product, simply inflated in value.

Now SF was pretty legit. They built that from the ground up. I still wonder what they sold it for.
 
#3 ·
Hahaha take that you shitty scumbag mediocre company, rampage and tito being without jobs again will be great and eventually when it folds all the lighter weight class talent can be in the UFC.
 
#5 ·
If true, they are in some rough shape. I'll be honest, I've watched Bellator maybe twice at best, and I don't even think it's been that many times. I have a lot to do in my life and when I'm not working/taking care of business, I have many hobbies that take up my time. My MMA time is basically just the UFC these days, I don't watch other promotions. I'm sure there are many like that.
 
#11 ·
Yes, the UFC is successful in drying out the viewership for other promotions. You get an UFC event almost every week and including the prelims that's usually a 4-5 hour show. Then there are the post- and pre-fight shows for people interested. So people who don't have that much time available would have to chose what to watch and the UFC is just better at advertising their events with their market power alone.
 
#6 ·
I try to pay attention to Bellator's fighters, but I don't have the time and when I heard of this main event, I knew the end was nigh.

The UFC is what they've always claimed to be now. If, as a pro fighter, you're not in it or publicly trying to be in it, you're not relevant to the bulk of MMA's audience.

Whether you agree or not is irrelevant, UFC is top and cemented as such for the foreseeable future, because other companies are suffering.
 
#8 ·
I think anyone that hasn't paid attention to Bellator is really missing out. I also think that anyone that watches just the UFC is really missing out. It's almost like the people that refer to MMA as UFC. Bellator is a great product with great fighters and right now they currently have the best LW on the planet fighting for their promotion.
Some of the best fighters in the World are in Bellator and if it wasn't for contract BS the UFC would snatch up a good number of those guys in a heart beat. There are plenty of fighters in Bellator that would be instant contenders and instantly in the UFC top 10 rankings. Anyone that thinks Michael Chandler and Pat Curran aren't elite world class fighters doesn't know what they hell they are talking about.
 
#9 ·
I don't think it's about how good fighters are or not, it's about the amount of time someone wants to spend watching MMA and how well known the promotion itself is.

Casuals certainly aren't showing up to watch it, all they know is the UFC or perhaps all they want to watch is the UFC, it's the NFL of MMA after all.

There's a good portion of "hardcores" who don't watch it either like myself, simply out of the fact that our MMA time is better spent in the UFC than elsewhere. There's tons of divisions in MMA now, tons of fighters, tons of events from PPV events to free events, it's a lot to cover. Especially when you have other hobbies/things to do that take up as much if not more time.
 
#10 ·
Bellator runs things opposite of how the UFC does.

The UFC pits the best fighters it can find against fighters with a near to equal skill level.

Bellator handpicks the biggest draws they can find and feeds them cans, in a series of mismatches, to build them up. Similar to how japanese organizations used to feed their fighters cans to make them look more skilled and exciting than they actually are.

If you look at the finish rate for Bellator its ridiculously high.

Their finish average could be as high as 70% to 80% for every show they put on.

Very few decisions or even battles where one guy is canceling the other out due to the large disparity of skill level in matchmaking.

In that sense, Bellator is kind of boring. They're not giving their prospects the fights they need to build them up, improve their skills or help them gain valuable experience. They're only feeding them a series of mismatches to make their prospects look a lot better than they are.

If Bellator's top guys make it to the UFC, it could be the first time in their careers they'll face decent competition.
 
#26 ·
LOL please. I'm sorry you are stuck up Dana White's ass so far you think anyone without the magic 3 letters on the gloves are scrubs. But those of us that actually watch the sport of MMA(you probably refer to the sport as UFC) can see there are clearly world class fighters outside the UFC that are better then the majority of guys currently in the UFC. I'm sorry you can't grasp this concept. Half of the best smaller weight fighters(below LW) are not in the UFC.
But then again it's much easier to echo Dana White with "Just Bleed" written on your forehead.
1. If someone disagrees with you & cites valid reasons for it.
2. Stereotype them as being a "casual" mma fan?

:laugh:

If you're going to disagree, you might try responding to what I said, as opposed to fabricating a fairytale caricature that doesn't even exist.

You and Trix are both wrong. Hit is right, it's absolutely pathetic that some people around here seriously cannot get into a debate without throwing insults back at each other or insinuating that the other person isn't a "true MMA fan".

This kind of stuff is being put to a stop around here. Don't reply to someone if you can't be civil, that goes for both of you and everyone else.
If I were a mod, I would say: "let him say whatever he wants". I won't be offended or upset over anything he types on a message board.

If I did cross a line by saying he isn't the brightest lightbulb, I apologize for that. I'll avoid that type of thing in the future.

Nuh uh, you're changing your argument there.

It's true that Askren and and Lombard have faced very little UFC caliber competition. But that's because most of the UFC caliber competition, especially at the higher weight classes, is in the UFC.

Your original statement, which isn't logically supported by this argument at all, was that Bellator was feeding these fighters "mismatches" and "cans" in order to build them up. if you want to support that statement rationally, you'll have to point to a fighter that was on the Bellator roster or available to them, and for some reason didn't make it to the tournament.
Hehehe.

Would Bellator bring Jon Fitch to their organization to create a deeper welterweight division?

What about Yushin Okami or any of the UFC's recent firings?

Do they find the best fighters of each division and try to put on the best fights. Or, do they have a select few big names with a drastically lower level of competition to set them against?

I'll give you a hint. Cheick Kongo and Lavar Johnson are the only fighters they picked up. And they only did that because they lack heavyweights with notoriety.

For them its not about having stacked divisions. Its about targeting one or two big names for each division and then avoiding having them fight real competition.

Bellator doesn't have a stacked roster. They avoid bringing in big names who might upset their select few number of stars.

This is why their finish rates are so high, and the fights seem so "exciting". Its because there are a few fighters with skill and the rest are cans. The skillset disparity leads to people being blown out of the water 10 seconds into the first or second round on a regular basis.
 
#27 ·
Hehehe.

Would Bellator bring Jon Fitch to their organization to create a deeper welterweight division?

Do they find the best fighters of each division and try to put on the best fights. Or, do they have a select few big names with a drastically lower level of competition to set them against?

Bellator doesn't have a stacked roster. They avoid bringing in big names who might upset their select few number of stars.

This is why their finish rates are so high, and the fights seem so "exciting". Its because there are a few fighters with skill and the rest are cans, and the skillset disparity leads to people being blown out of the water 10 seconds into the first or second round on a regular basis.
Jon Fitch, yeah, he's a good fighter. remind me again how he became available to Bellator?

Oh yeah, because the UFC cut him. even though he was widely considered one of the top WWs in the world at the time. Guess they don't want the best fighters either.

Or maybe he carries a price tag that he just isn't worth, especially to an organization that would have to market a fight between him and Askren.

He was also cut pretty recently. Askren has had only one fight since. You're grasping at straws.

ETA: Yushin Okami is a better example. We'll see what happens with him. But the fact remaind that the UFC cut him for their own reasons. And Bellator might have similar reasons for not signing him. if you want to point to a difference between Bellator and the UFC, you'll have to do better than a fighter neither organization wants.
 
#12 ·
The Chandler/Alvarez fight is the only fight I am interested in. No way am I paying to see it though. Especially when no other fight on the card is interesting to me at all. I wouldn't mind seeing King Mo knocked out again, but I imagine he will wrestle this time and not be stupid. So he will get the title shot Bellator wanted him to have to begin with.
 
#23 ·
When people who straight up don't even watch Bellator and will tell you that arrive in threads like this for no other reason then to talk down about what is happening outside the UFC in the world of MMA, I observe an opinion that might of been formed out of ignorance. I think that can lead to problems with some who don't like people communicating what they observe in these types of conversations contributions on the matter.
 
#30 ·
Whenever I watch bellator I tend to agree with Trix. Same thing with strikeforce, they had entertaining cards but it was mainly due to the drastic mismatches in skills. Not to say one guy was awful and the other a world beater, more both org. Outside of the ufc are filled with one dimensional fighters, so matching a striker with no bjj against a black belt, so it is more likely there will be a finish regardless of who wins, either a take down and sub or a KO.

I've said this before as well, I often feel like bellator is a clear down grade in product, not just the fighters either but just the whole thing, it feels very much like the ufc did not too long ago, with all the blood spats and nu-metal. It's still seems to be catering to the just bleed casual fan, ironically, it is only generally getting the hardcore.

I enjoy bellator but honestly sometimes I feel like the production is higher on an axis Tv show like mfc. WSOF is not too bad either, though it doesn't really have the highest sample size.

Sent from Verticalsports.com Free App
 
#45 · (Edited)
If a replacement and Rampage are willing to compete then Chandler vs Alverez can be bumped to the main event, Curran v Straus and Lawal v Newton can also be pushed up like almost everyone in this thread desired to be the case since people here like good fights over drama/hype and names. Problem is 205 is one of the thinnest divsions in MMA today. Janitor, Paul Buenatello, Luis Cain, Joey Beltran, Trevor Prangley and Jason Brillz are viable and available options, but a fight at this stage with any of them short of Prangley might have to be HW. I'd be more inerested in Frank Shrock coming back now that his braces are off then Ken stepping in here. Mo Lawal vs Rampage... If they make that happen I'll probably get banned from this site.
 
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