As we await Saturday’s UFC 175, let’s take a look at the headliners and their PPV history.
Chris Weidman
Despite Ronda Rousey’s popularity, it’s Weidman that is on top of the marquee Saturday when he faces Lyoto Machida. Weidman’s PPV and gate numbers have been impressive in his last two outings. Of course, those two fights were against Anderson Silva. Still, the advance appears to be strong and could be one of the biggest of not just this year, but of all time.
UFC 175 v. Lyoto Machida – ?
UFC 168 v. Anderson Silva – 1,025,000 PPV buys
UFC 162 v. Anderson Silva – 550,000 PPV buys
There’s quite a difference between 162 and 168. Obviously, 168 had a better card but it was the rematch versus Silva that everyone was interested in seeing. At 162, many believed that Weidman did not have a chance against Silva. No one knew that Silva would act like he did. Still, Weidman took advantage and the championship. This card may help in determining how big a star he is. While Rousey may help some, Weidman is the main attraction here.
Ronda Rousey
UFC 175 v. Alexis Davis – ?
UFC 170 v. Sarah McMann – 340,000 PPV buys
UFC 168 v. Miesha Tate – 1,025,000 PPV buys
UFC 157 v. Liz Carmouche – 450,000 PPV buys
UFC 170 was disappointing for Rousey as the PPV numbers were lower than her previous two events and the gate at the Mandalay Bay was less than expected. It’s likely that 175 will outshine 170 in PPV buys and gate. But, no one believes that she will lose against Davis. Will the fact that she is an overwhelming favorite hurt buys?
Payout Perspective:
Weidman and Rousey are two of the biggest active UFC stars today. Certainly, having Sonnen-Silva (or Belfort) would have helped this card. How many more buys would it have pulled? Who knows, but it would have brought a lot more buzz to the card. Still, with all of the hype surrounding International Fight Week and the main and co-main event for 175, it’s likely that this card will produce a respectable buy rate. Will it do as well as last July’s event where Weidman won the title? Are the lower PPV buy rates with its bigger stars a concern for the UFC? With tickets being the most expensive this year the UFC should be happy with the attendance and gate. But, it’s the PPV buy rate that most look to when it comes to the success of an event. The PPV business has been down and if the reports that UFC 174 did 125,000 PPVs at best, one would think the expectation for 175 have been reined in.
LeonThePro says
Jason, no prediction?
For a marquee event like this, what is a “success” or “failure” to the UFC in 2014? Certainly they won’t be happy if it does <400k buys. I'm guessing this does 475-525k
Pink Pig says
500,000 is a huge success?
If that was for Pacquiao it’d be considered a HUGE failure.
FightBusiness says
passable would be 600k. anything over 700k would be considered a success.
D says
Fightbusiness is a gaping twat.
tops E says
The ufc is really really getting desperate….rousey is theyre savior hahaha…askin her to be a last mijute replacement for 176 hahahaha….s and p downgrade for nxt yrs credit rating….now her hand is inujured…more bad news
tops E says
Dana was pissed at rogan because he wants to talk to rousey privately in headlining 176…because it would look bad in public how the ufc dictates on its athletes…and how desperate the ufc is in 2014 hahaha
Rob says
@pink pig…you are comparing someone who’s been on ppv for 10 years to someone who just headlined their 3rd ppv ever. I’d say that’s a fair comparison…
Canelo is a better comparison. He did 2.4 million buys last September against mayweather then did 300k. I bet he would love to do 500k. Weidman and Rousey together doing 500k is great considering They’ve only been champions for a year and fighting for less than 5 years.
D says
Not to mention Pacqauio did 475k buys for his fight against Rios.