MMA Junkie reports that UFC on Versus 6 set both attendance and gate records for the UFC on Versus series. 9,380 attended the event at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. for a gate of $706,775.
The previous highs for the Versus series occurred in March 2010 (gate $568,125) in Broomfield, Colorado which featured Jon Jones in a match where he broke Brandon Vera’s face. This past March (8,319 attendees), Diego Sanchez defeated Martin Kampmann in a bloody match in Louisville, Kentucky.
UFC on Versus 6 marked the last event in the series which will appear on the channel as the UFC will move to the Fox family in 2012.
Payout Perspective:
These are good number considering the wealth of sports that was available tonight: MLB playoffs, college football and boxing. On Thursday, Reed Harris told the Washington Post that ticket sales were “going well” although he did not disclose the amount. Although the DC Boxing and Wrestling Commission has yet to confirm the numbers, this is a positive sign considering this event was sandwiched between two big UFC PPVs. Its also another indicator that there are still untapped regions that are hungry for the UFC to come to their area. On another note, It will be interesting to see if the television ratings correspond with the attendance figures.
I cant believe that many people payed to watch that show live, the tickets must have been dirt cheap.
Actually seems like a small gate for a title fight…
@Marty michaels,
I think that depends. Comparing the gate to a UFC PPV seems unfair but I understand the point. I think it says more about the fact that the lower weight divisions lack name recognition.
It was a tough night competitively for sports entertainment, on top of being as close to saturated with MMA as fans have ever been before. But hopefully Zuffa declares DC a success. The crowd was lively, and there must have been several hundred Lloyd Irvin camp folks there. Mike Easton had almost two full sections of fans to himself – all in the same shirt. Hope they come back, but then I’m biased being from here. Perhaps they should consider a summer visit when they don’t have a caps game the night before, no one wants to go to the DC Armory for weigh-ins.