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).
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