Pro-SOPA editorial may have led to hacking of UFC.com
January 22, 2012
The UFC’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence Epstein wrote an op-ed in Sunday’s Las Vegas Review Journal in defense of the UFC’s position in favor of SOPA. On the same day, the UFC web site was hacked in what is believed to be a response to the UFC’s position on the bill.
In addition to its support of the controversial SOPA bill, Epstein’s editorial argues in favor of the Protect IP Act (PIPA). A bill supported by Nevada Senator Harry Reid – a friend of the UFC.
Overall, Epstein’s piece attempts to find common themes that the reader would agree with (stealing is bad, it hurts the economy and hurts American businesses) before coming to his point that the UFC is against piracy of its PPVs. The piece uses the UFC as an example of a U.S. success story.
Via the Las Vegas Review Journal:
The UFC itself is an example of American innovation. The Fertitta brothers, who are Las Vegas natives, along with their friend, Dana White, co-founded today’s UFC by rescuing a dying company from bankruptcy. They cleaned up the sport by inviting clear, enforceable regulation of fighting events, put their own livelihoods on the line and created a new market (with thousands of jobs) where none existed prior. That is exactly the kind of entrepreneurial engine that our country needs, especially now.
The op-ed also indicates that the UFC “contributes more than $300 million” to the economy. It also argues that there must be a rule of law to regulate online sites from stealing from businesses like the UFC.
Payout Perspective:
The timing of the op-ed piece is interesting considering the SOPA boycott occurred earlier this past week. As a result, a scheduled vote on SOPA this week has been put off. The UFC’s position on SOPA is of no surprise as Lorenzo Fertitta sent a letter of support to the bill’s sponsor last November. The WWE was another company in favor of the legislation.
Still, the placement of the editorial is interesting considering the timing. But the actual intent of the piece lacks persuasiveness. A better use of the editorial would be to acknowledge the strong opposition but assert the reasons why SOPA protects intellectual property rights of many companies including the UFC. It does get into its position a little. But mostly we get a broad American values editorial which carries no weight. While there are certain political lines that the UFC is trying to straddle with its position, it could have asserted its support of the controversial legislation while carving out its reasons. Since a big portion of the UFC’s target audience are those that would support a protest of SOPA, it would make sense for the UFC to explain itself in better detail.
As some believe, Sunday’s “hacking” of UFC.com could have been a result of the UFC’s position. While the UFC will be concerned from an online security perspective, it should also look at it from a PR perspective. For the UFC, this may not be as easy as it seems. The UFC has been aggressive in its stance against illegal streaming and distribution of its fights. In supporting SOPA and PIPA, it sees legislation that can assist in its fight against online piracy. But, opposition to the laws, which include many young, internet savvy individuals – the same people that likely follow Dana White and many other UFC fighters on twitter, utilize social media and embrace the online community oppose the restrictions that would come with the proposed laws. We will see how SOPA and PIPA will evolve and if the UFC will continue to support it.
Torres back after twitter termination
January 5, 2012
MMA Fighting reported last week, Dana White reinstated Miguel Torres after he was let go 20 days prior for an inappropriate tweet.
Torres had sent a quote from FX television show, “Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” which caught the ire of White.
Via MMA Fighting:
A soft-spoken Torres said he visited five different rape crisis centers in the Chicago area, donating money and talking with the people there about the power his words have, even in an off-hand attempt at humor on Twitter, he said
Payout Perspective:
Although this occurred last week, its an interesting case of impulsive administration rectified. Another example of this occurred in October when Nick Diaz was taken off the UFC 137 card after no-showing two press conferences. He was then put back on the same card against BJ Penn.
Certainly, the UFC can do what it pleases in terms of disciplining its fighters. However, Torres’ dismissal appeared not planned out thoroughly. Its debatable whether Torres should have been fired for his tweet after Forrest Griffin had a tweet mentioning rape. But, Griffin is higher in the fighter food chain than Torres. The UFC could have just suspended Torres for a period of time. Realistically, a suspension has the same effect of discipline yet does not have the stigma of a termination. It would have still had the same message to other fighters to be weary of what you tweet.
From the standpoint of Torres, he was admirable in doing the right things to try to get back with the UFC. Its good to see someone that makes no excuses and is proactive with their career. Obviously, Torres’ underlying goal in visiting rape crisis centers was getting back to the UFC. However, the interview seems like Torres took away some valuable information.
The good news is that White accepted the meeting with Torres and then let him back in. With social media so much part of the UFC, it would be best if the UFC designed a set of rules for fighters to abide by so as to not get in trouble. Although this may have been hashed over at last year’s fighter summit, it appears that a refresher course may be necessary. As the UFC moves forward with its relationship with Fox, it must present and maintain an image to the new viewer. Standards and practices for fighter behavior should be known and not just subjective. There will be obvious cases where a fighter must go (Paul Daley sucker punching Josh Koscheck), but Torres case seems like the punishment did not fit the crime.
UFC weigh ins provide comedy, branding opportunity
November 19, 2011
UFC 139’s weigh-ins last night provided some comic relief and three overweight fighters in preparation for tonight’s PPV. With some of the weigh-in comedy, one wonders whether the weigh-ins are now a place to work on fighters’ personal branding.
Remember when putting on a Jabawockeez mask to intimidate your opponent at the weigh-ins caused a near riot? It seems like the weigh-ins are becoming much more entertaining than just that.
Here are some highlights from yesterday:
-Danny Castillo wearing a tux which you could zip off from the back scored major points in the creativity department
-Tom Lawlor going Steven Seagal (shooting glasses and all). He also did his best Baron Von Raschke impression during the staredown as he gave the infamous claw. He also sported an XBox 360 shirt. In speaking with an XBox rep, Xbox is sponsoring Lawlor for its launch of the Kinect Sports 2. Demetrious Johnson remains as the only UFC fighter to be exclusively sponsored by XBox.
-Kyle Kingsbury and Stephan Bonnar hammed it up with a WWE-type posedown on the scales. With his patented fanny pack, Kingsbury is Zubaz and doo-rag away from being a 1980s wrestler from the Mid-South region.
-I’m not sure why more t-shirt sponsors of fighters allow the sponsored fighter to throw out free shirts to the crowd at weigh-ins. It gets your brand out there to the fans with the hopes of them coming back to purchase shirts. Of course the other side of that is the crowd is a considerable distance from the fighters. Thus, you get the Rick Story problem as he was unable to reach the crowd with some of his t-shirt throws. Since the NBA is out for some time, could the UFC borrow some of those t-shirt cannons to shoot out into the audience?
-Was Nick Pace confused in what division he was fighting in? Six pounds over really means that he should fight at 145 not 135.
Payout Perspective:
The weigh-ins seemed unorganized in terms of the actual weigh in. Whether there were issues with the scale or operator error, the weigh-ins seemed much more of an issue. Even though there were several fighters overweight, it usually doesn’t stop the pace of the weigh-ins. Also, it didn’t seem like the woman operating the scale knew about the one pound weight allowance as she grimaced each time she had to move the scale.
Similar to how the UFC wants its fighters to use twitter as a way to market themselves, the weigh-ins seem like an opportunity for fighters to promote themselves as well. Yes, the weigh-ins are usually something people pass over as its just guys getting on a scale. But, with a little more personality, it could be something that can be capitalized on in the future.
UFC PPV Start Time Comparison
October 17, 2011
News broke last week that the UFC was planning to move the its PPVs back to a 7pm/10pm start time starting with December 30th’s UFC 141. In April at UFC 129, the UFC moved the start times up to 6pm/9pm to accommodate the east coast viewers.
In Jason’s perspective yesterday, he asked the question, “It would be interesting to know if the breakdown in PPV buys this year led the UFC to conclude that the 6pm start time did not influence PPV buys“.
I wondered the same thing, so I though I’d take a closer look at the numbers and try comparing buyrate averages leading up to the April 30th change to the subsequent events that followed.
So here I compared the buyrate averages from the 7 events prior to the change to the 7 events that followed.
UFC 121 to 128 covered the period between November 23 2010 and March 19 2011. The estimated average number of buys over this stretch was approximately 576,000. In comparison, UFC 129 to 135, which covered a time period between April 30 2011 through to September 24 2011 had an estimated 414,000 buys. That’s a decrease of 28% after the start time was moved up to 6pm/9pm at the end April.
NOTE: If we exclude UFC 121, we see a drop of approximately 17% after the change to 6/9pm (498k pre/414k post)
Payout Perspective:
It’s hard to say for certain if this is the primary reason for the drop. There was a rash of injuries and health issues in the spring which effected main events and many argue that an over saturation of the product is causing consumer fatigue. But the move by the UFC signals they feel strongly that the change is having enough of an impact on their product that they are willing to revert back to the original start time less then a year after making the change.
Payout Analysis: The Strikeforce Death Knell?
October 12, 2011
Zuffa created a subsidiary called Forza LLC to control Strikeforce who was taken over from Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment in March of this year. Since then, there’s been much debate as too whether Zuffa/Forza will continue to operate the promotion or just kill it off.
Strikeforces’ television contract with Showtime expires mid-February 2012 and both sides have been relatively quiet as to the future the promotions programming on the network. However, UFC President Dana White recently commented on the Strikeforce/Showtime situation at the UFC 135 pre-fight press conference:
“Who knows what’s going to happen? The way this thing works is, it depends on Showtime. The ball’s in their court. They need to decide whether they want to keep Strikeforce around or not”
Showtime has yet to comment on their plans moving forward. They do have an option to extend the deal through 2014, however, the ball that’s been left in their court doesn’t have much of a bounce left.
Over the past 5 months Strikeforce had their top draws cherry-picked by the UFC, an impressive list that includes former Strikeforce heavyweight champ Alistair Overeem, former welterweight champ Nick Diaz and Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Dan Henderson. It’s almost certain the Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez will join them. By hollowing out the promotions champions, Zuffa’s actions speak louder then words and Showtime should be getting the message now loud and clear.
So is there even a business case left for keeping Stikeforce around in 2012? Using the publicly available data we took a closer look at the performance of the two Strikeforce ownership groups, Silicon Valley, and Zuffa/Forza. We sampled data from the last 9 events under Silicon Valley ownership, between October 9 2010 to March 25 2011 that included 5 major tier 1 events and 4 smaller tier 2 Challengers events. We compared the average TV Ratings, Attendance, Gate and Payroll to the first 9 events under Zuffa ownership, between April 1 2011 and September 23 2011 that included 4 major tier 1 events and 5 tier 2 events.
Payout Perspective:
In the midst of losing their top talent, the rough estimation is that Strikeforce has seen TV ratings dip 5%, attendance drop 32%, live gate profits down 11% and an increase of 26% in fighters payroll since Zuffa took control in March 2011.
From Showtimes point of view, the ratings are stagnant and Zuffa is (or has) impeded the ability for Strikeforce to improve upon their ratings. Showtime is drawing approximately 2.5 times more viewers with boxing programming then with Strikeforce. M-1 Global, who also broadcasts MMA events on Showtime will air their next to last event on October 14th. With no word on a Showtime/M-1 contract renewal, perhaps Showtimes focus will shift solely back to boxing leaving the MMA programming by the wayside.
For Zuffa, they’re in a position where they have just signed a huge network television contract for the UFC with FOX, which includes distribution on the cable channels FX and Fuel TV. Plus, Spike TV appears set to continue broadcasting UFC content, counter-programming or not, throughout 2012. So for Zuffa’s primary brand there’s no shortages on the television front. There has been zero push for Strikeforce since the ownership change and none look to be in sight. The numbers aren’t terribly good and there is no momentum, I see little benefit for Zuffa to continue their support for Strikeforce. It’s plausible they would continue to broadcast Strikeforce on Showtime in an attempt to help limit potential competition but I think if Showtime is to continue with MMA programming, it won’t be under the Zuffa/Forza/Strikeforce banner.
Cain-JDS smart move for UFC
September 5, 2011
With last week’s announcement of Cain vs. JDS as the match November 12th for the UFC’s network debut, the UFC is putting its faith in the Heavyweight championship to catch casual viewers. Its a smart move.
While the decision may take away PPV buys from UFC 139 in San Jose, it makes a good first impression with network television. First impressions are everything and a solid matchup for viewers was essential. Not only does the UFC want to make a splash with its first fight on network television, it will be competing with Pacquiao-Marquez III despite the promise that the Cain-JDS matchup will be over before Pacquiao enters the ring.
The UFC is selling the fight as an asset to a Saturday night of fights. It will serve as the de facto lead-in to the boxing PPV Saturday night. UFC has made it clear that its Fox debut will not interrupt fight fans from seeing both MMA and boxing main events the same night. While it will compete with the undercard of the boxing PPV, its hard to say that most casual fight fans tune into for a Pacquiao undercard. This will make the creation of the Cain-JDS undercard much more intriguing. Does the UFC put up a solid undercard with known commodities? Henderson vs. Guida. Or, does it feature younger up and coming fighters (e.g., Rory McDonald, Edson Barboza) and push the likes of Henderson-Guida for UFC 139? Despite the Pacquiao main event, a strong Cain-JDS undercard could provide solid ratings and Zuffa could claim an overall win November 12th despite viewers tuning in to see Pacquiao.
Top Rank Boxing is targeting Pacquiao-Marquez III as the biggest PPV buy of Pacquiao’s career. Pacquiao-Mosley drew a reported 1.3-1.4 million buys depending on the source. In the past, he’s done 1.25 buys in fights with Oscar de la Hoya and Miguel Cotto. (H/t Bad Left Hook) Is this a subtle message that Bob Arum wants to steal the night? It would be no surprise based on his distate for all things MMA and Dana White’s comments directed toward him.
For the UFC, White is seeking ratings higher than Kimbo Slice’s last Elite XC win against James Thompson in May 2008. MMA Mania reports that Slice’s KO of Thompson (remember the exploding ear) garnerd 6.12 million viewers with a peak of 6.51 million viewers. The Kimbo-Roy Nelson fight on TUF 10 received 5 million viewers as TUF 10 received the best ratings in seasons. As an aside, for as athletic and gifted fighters are in the UFC, the fights of a backyard brawler garnered the highest ever ratings in MMA. Does this say anything about the sport of MMA? About the perceptions of the public of the sport?
The marketing of the November 12th fight on Fox has already started. Promos have been pushed during MLB games on Fox this past weekend, there will be a Primetime special after NFL Football on October 30th and Fox promises a “tailgate” party as a lead-up to the fight in Anaheim.
Via MMA Mania:
…FOX today promised levels of promotion the likes of which the world’s largest mixed martial arts organization has never seen before. That includes a red carpet and tailgate party complete with celebrities and the big time feel you’ve come to expect from major sporting events like the Super Bowl.
A “Super Bowl” like atmosphere? This is a good sign for the UFC as Fox is looking to put the full force of its marketing machine behind November 12. That’s a lot of pressure for just one fight. Hopefully Cain-JDS raise their level of skill to match the expectations. But, an injury to either one can prove to be disastrous for all parties involved. Is there a backup plan if either Cain-JDS gets hurt in training? Certainly this has to be an issue considering the number of injury replacements that were needed on cards this summer.
As for the logistics, there’s a lot of details that need to be hammered out.
Via MMA Junkie:
Admittedly for the UFC, there are a lot of things to work out with the promotion’s first effort on FOX: Where the show will air internationally, how it will look, what first-time fans can expect in the way of an introduction to MMA, and, don’t forget, the bulk of the fight card.
If nothing else, tuning into Fox to see how the UFC product is presented and how it differs from Zuffa’s presentation will be of interest to UFC followers. Another issue is to see how receptive the UFC is to Fox’s input on its broadcast. While everyone is friends right now, we shall see what happens the first time the UFC and Fox disagree.
White claims ESPN hates the UFC
August 20, 2011
In response to a tweet, Dana White wrote that ESPN has always hated the UFC. He clarified this tweet with another one stating that Jim Rome was the only good thing about ESPN.
It appears that the reaction is due to ESPN cancelling White’s interview promoting UFC 134.
Via MMA Mania:
Sounds like an awfully strong reaction over a cancelled interview and perceived lack of coverage. Perhaps there is more to the story that we don’t know? After all, ESPN airs “MMA Live” each week, which features stories revolving mostly around the UFC.
This is even more odd when one considers how much coverage ESPN dedicates to sports that routinely air on FOX networks, such as football, both college and pro, baseball and auto racing. And if White wanted more coverage for the UFC, wouldn’t it be a bad idea to make disparaging remarks about “Worldwide Leader in Sports?”
Payout Perspective:
Typical response by White? MMA Mania is correct in writing that the reaction is over the top considering how much ESPN has covered the UFC. Not to mention Stephan Bonnar and Rashad Evans are mainstays with MMA Live and the networks has provided coverage of many UFC PPVs. It is also included it in ESPY nominations too. Also, the MMA page on ESPN.com is predominantly UFC-Strikeforce news. And, of course, the appearances by White and UFC fighters on Rome is Burning.
Perhaps its the glee of the Fox deal, but White’s comments seem blown out of proportion. Could ESPN be blowing off White as a passive aggressive way to get back at the UFC for the Fox deal? Maybe. This seems a little like when Spike played the premiere of UFC 132’s Countdown midday. But here’s an example of the ills of the social media. Think before tweeting. Telling ESPN off doesn’t help keep a relationship with Rome is Burning. After all, Rome is on ESPN.
On a broader scale, the Fox deal will be interesting to see if the UFC will need to reign in some of its language. In addition, what will the UFC do if a homophobic or sexist slur is made during a broadcast? Will it be “business as usual” or will there be a need to address the situation?
FOX Deal May Be Just What New York Needs
August 20, 2011
I am certainly not alone in my view that the reported seven (7) year Fox/UFC deal is monumental for the sport of mixed martial arts on a number of levels. As Kevin Iole points out over at Yahoo!, Dana White is a winner because he has fulfilled a dream of taking the UFC to network television, Fox is a winner because it is tapping into a sport that appeals to the highly coveted 18-34 demographic, but “[n]o one, though, will benefit more than those who have turned the sport into what it is: its fighters.”
Perhaps this is implicit, but let’s not forget about the fans of the sport that will now be exposed to a better, more refined production that will be available, as I understand, almost every day of the week. Add to this the increased exposure the sport will receive with people who are otherwise not familiar with its intricacies, and I think the fan base should grow exponentially in the coming years.
For me (and many New Yorkers) I believe there is also significance to this deal that should not be overlooked – indeed, it should be capitalized on. As you may recall, on November 17, 2010, I wrote an article for MMA Payout, A History Lesson (or History’s Lesson) on Mixed Martial Arts in New York, where I traced the history of the sport and the circumstances that ultimately led to the ban on the sport in New York in 1997. In this article, I pointed out that the key to reversing the ban, in my view, was to increase exposure through, inter alia, the mainstream media to convince the public that this sport is not what it once was.
Regrettably, New York politics is a tricky beast, i.e., even though the votes are there to pass the bill that would legalize mixed martial arts, the political process (if we can call it that) has derailed the bill year-after-year. This is not dissimilar to the political situation in the late 90s where the votes were there to make the sport illegal but the then Senate leader was preventing a vote on that bill. Ultimately, the New York Times jumped on the legality of what it deemed barbaric and this and the resulting public reaction led to a complete 180—mixed martial arts went from legal to illegal virtually overnight.
Now (as then) I think the commitment by Fox, a major network based out of New York, to the UFC and mixed martial arts can help shine the light on, and expose, the superficial, strawman arguments of the opposition, e.g., Assemblyman Bob Reilly. Once the public understands the sport—and New Yorkers understand that the state is losing money to neighboring states because it fails to sanction a sport that is not only legal in 45 states but is on network television, the pressure to put the bill to a vote should overwhelm any purported countervailing forces at play.
While I realize Zuffa tentatively plans on doing the first Fox event in Anaheim in November, New Jersey would be a solid option to show both Governor Cuomo (and New Yorkers) that mixed martial arts is here to stay both in our backyard and on network television. This could be monumental for New York as the budget process gets underway.
Fight Lawyer
Justin Klein is an attorney at Satterlee Stephens Burke & Burke LLP in New York City where he concentrates his practice in commercial litigation and represents clients in the fight industry. He regularly addresses current legal issues that pertain to combat sports, including efforts to legalize MMA in New York, at his Fight Lawyer website. He is a licensed boxing manager with the New York State Athletic Commission as well as the founder and Chairman of the Board of the New York Mixed Martial Arts Initiative, a non-profit organization that gives inner city youth the opportunity to experience the emotional and physical benefits of martial arts training. Justin lives in New York City where he trains in jiu jitsu and boxing.
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Bellator turns down Marquardt
July 17, 2011
Earlier this week Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney stated that middleweight free agent Nate Marquardt “just isn’t a good fit” for Bellator. Marquardt’s rejection is just the latest problem in the career of one of the best middleweights in the world.
Via MMA Junkie:
Rebney confirmed he and Marquardt, as well as the fighter’s representatives, discussed the possibility of a Bellator deal. However, he declined to comment on the specifics of the discussions and wouldn’t reveal the exact stumbling blocks. Admittedly, though, it was worth a shot.
Payout Perspective:
Its interesting that Rebney turned down the deal knowing that Bellator’s Ben Askren and Hector Lombard have called out Marquardt. Speculation is that money was the likely “stumbling block” for Marquardt to come to Bellator. While Rebney did not rule out a superfight with Askren/Lombard, he indicated that despite Marquardt’s pedigree, he’d have to enter the Bellator-style tournament to earn a shot at Lombard.
On another note, its interesting to see the MMA community beat up (via social media) a guy that’s been caught and punished. Even Dana White called him a “nice guy” despite giving Marquardt his walking papers (via social media no less). I don’t recall that many fighters calling out Chael Sonnen with his situations (TRT and legal issues). Could it be that fighters knew that if they called out Sonnen he would return verbal grenades and then some a la Keith Olbermann?
So what should Nate do next?
- Fight Back…Or “tweet” back. He’s already engaged in a twitter war with BJ Penn. Another fighter critical of Marquardt. While this strategy is entertaining to read as it unfolds, there’s little value to sending hate tweets to all your critics.
- Shift Focus. In a way, Ben Askren, Hector Lombard and BJ Penn have helped Nate Marquardt. While each has called out Marquardt, it has given him the opportunity to shift focus.
Also via MMA Junkie:
Some of the fighters that think they’re so cool and tough by kicking a guy when he’s down. As far as my career, this has been one of the worst times of my life, and these guys are calling me a cheater and talking crap. I’ve taken note as to who those guys are, and I’m going to come for them. Eventually, I’ll get them. I don’t care if it’s in a superfight or if they want to come down to my gym. I’ll beat them up for free.
Good fire from Marquardt. The TRT issue is over, he’s no longer suspended and he’s setting his sites on people that have tried to kick him while he’s down. While the quote has a hint of LeBron James, he can refocus the attention on fighting.
- Sign with a regional promotion and thereby take a paycut. Its easy to tell Marquardt to take a paycut, since we aren’t affected by it financially. But, if there is any chance to return to the UFC. he has to show that he is willing to start from the bottom once again. Even though Bellator turned down Marquardt, there are still some promotions out there that would be willing to give “the Great” a shot. With that being said, Marquardt and his reps would have to pick a promotion where the competition is decent.
- Lay low for a while and stay mum. The most passive strategy of them all. But, people will forget about the steroid stigma. The only problem with this is that people will forget about how great a fighter Marquardt was prior to the TRT issue.
Will Faber vs. Cruz carry UFC 132?
July 1, 2011
UFC 132 will be the first PPV headlining the Bantamweight division since the UFC-WEC merger. The big question will be whether or not Urijah Faber and Dominick Cruz will be able to attract the UFC audience.
The matchup has some heat considering it is for Cruz’s UFC-WEC Bantamweight title. In addition, there is bad blood between the two and Cruz is looking to avenge a lost to Faber. The Countdown show did a great job in detailing their history. Unfortunately, the debut ran on Spike TV during the day Wednesday. Regardless, the big question will be whether viewers buy the PPV?
You could call Faber “Mr. WEC” as he was the face of the organization prior to its merger with the UFC. Many of the big WEC events occurred in Sacramento, Faber’s hometown, and many of the main events involved “The California Kid.”
Taking a quick glance at Faber’s draw in the WEC:
WEC 52: Faber vs. Mizugaki: Versus rating – 570K
WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber: WEC’s PPV – 175K buys
WEC 41: Brown vs. Faber: Versus rating – 1.3 million
WEC 36: Faber vs. Brown: Versus rating – 497K
WEC 34: Faber vs. Pulver: Versus rating – 1.5 million
Compared to Faber, the champion does not have the same appeal. Of course, he has had limited chances:
WEC 50: Cruz vs. Benavidez 2 – Versus rating – 316K
WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz – Versus rating – 373K
Prior to the WEC merger, few lightweight fighters found themselves at the top of a UFC PPV card. Aside from BJ Penn, the Lightweight division does not have the following as other heavier divisions. The last UFC PPV with lightweights as headliners was January 1st when Frankie Edgar defended his Lightweight title against Gray Maynard. While the contest was an exciting 5 round war, it did not equate into a high PPV buy rate. Notably, half of the people in attendance were comped tickets. Obviously, there were factors which could explain the less-than stellar buy rate (college football bowl games, recovering from New Year’s Eve) and comped tickets (hotels buying tickets for its high limit players that came for NYE).
UFC 132 will take place during a holiday weekend but shouldn’t experience the same distractions as UFC 125. The only competition for viewers would be the heavyweight boxing match between David Haye and Wladimir Klitschko but since the fight occurs during the day (the fight is in Germany), UFC 132 has the fight community’s attention.
132’s undercard should support the main event as it provides some compelling matchups. The Leben-Silva matchup should be a slugfest and its almost guaranteed that one man will be knocked out. Also, fans may see the very last fight in the UFC for Tito Ortiz.
Payout Perspective:
It will be interesting to see the buy rate for the PPV. Despite Cruz being the champ, most fans are cheering for Faber. Faber is a marketable figure as exemplified by many of his endorsement deals which include a mainstream ad campaign for K-Swiss and regular appearances on the Jim Rome radio show. Cruz is a relative unknown and if he defeats Faber, the UFC will need to ratchet up the marketing efforts to sell Cruz against other bantamweights. Certainly there are other quality fighters in his division, but aside from Faber, could the casual viewer name one?
With the infusion of the WEC lighter divisions and the introduction of the 125 pound division, one can only wonder whether these divisions will ever headline a PPV. Or, will they just be support for a PPV card. It could be that the divisions will be used for Fight Nights and other televised events with the UFC’s next TV partner (or its own network).
