MMA Weekly reports that 1,876 fans attended the Strikeforce Challengers 17 event held on July 22nd for a total gate of $42,987. Of the 1,876 attendees, 1,418 were comped tickets for the fights at The Pearl at The Palms Resort in Las Vegas.
Via MMA Weekly:
Strikeforce Challengers 17 pulled in a crowd of 1,876 for a total gate of $42,987.50. There were 458 tickets sold for the event, while the majority, 1,418, were complimentary tickets. That left 98 tickets on the table as unsold.
In comparison, the TUF 13 finale in June drew an attendance of 2,035 with $440,150 in gate receipts. While there were more unsold tickets to the finale, 107, the paid attendance hit 1,583 with just 452 complimentary seats.
Payout Perspective:
As MMA Weekly points out, it may be unfair to compare the Challenger series with TUF since the TUF Finale has the television show as a vehicle to promote the fighters on the card. In addition, the card is supplemented by UFC fighters. Its unlikely Zuffa is too concerned with losing money on the Challengers series live gate and is using it more of a farm system for Strikeforce. Moving the Challenger series to Vegas can be seen as a way to cut travel costs for the series as well.
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