MMA Junkie reports that the TUF 17 Finale drew a live attendance of 5,549 for a live gate of $569,000. The event was held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
The main event had Urijah Faber defeating Scott Jorgenson. But the Fight of the Night went to Cat Zingano and Miesha Tate as Zingano KO’d Tate to win the coaching spot opposite Ronda Rousey on TUF 18 which will be on Fox Sports 1.
The number of comps were not revealed.
In addition, the bonuses (via MMA Junkie) were $50,000:
Fight of the Night: Tate-Zingano
KO of the Night: Travis Browne
Submission of the Night: Daniel Pineda
Payout Perspective:
Unlike other Finale events, this show had its share of good fights highlighted by Cat Zingano defeating Miesha Tate. This event improved over the TUF 16 Finale which was held at The Hard Rock (2,500 attendees, $318,525 gate). The move out of The Palms may have helped the TUF Finales with attendance and gate figures (although no comps were revealed). Of course, the hype of Zingano-Tate and the TUF Finale may have added to the interest.
Props to Gastelum. Looks like he could easily make 170 but he’s not an easy night for most fighters at 185.
Awesome night of fights. Props to Gastelum indeed; the tenacity he showed will serve him well in today’s UFC, win or lose. The Tate/Zingano fight is exactly why WMMA belongs on main cards in the UFC. Hopefully this weekend’s event will deliver just as much action since I’ll be there!