Another year, another last minute issue with the main event of the International Fight Week PPV. Amanda Nunes was hospitalized and Dana White confirmed that the title fight with Valentina Shevchenko is off.
The UFC issued a release which includes a sentence noting that customers may request a full refund for their tickets.
The new main event will be Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero vying for the interim middleweight title.
Last year, UFC 200 was dealt a huge blow when Jon Jones was removed from the card after he tested positive for a banned substance.
You can expect a rough secondary market for this event even before the main event was cancelled. The get-in price on the secondary market is $87 as of Saturday afternoon per SeatGeek. There are a lot of tickets on Ticketmaster with the get-in at $80 as well as ample floor seats going for $600.
Payout Perspective:
The PPV buy rate will likely take a hit albeit a slight one as while Nunes is an up and coming star and defeated two of the more popular women fighters of recent memory (Miesha Tate, Ronda Rousey) I do not know how much of a draw she would have been. Certainly, having her defending her title would have garnered buys, but I think this card was destined to be in the mid-300s. Without Nunes, just a guess, but it’s likely 250,000 based on the card as it is now.
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