Welcome to another edition of Payout Perspective. This time we take a look at UFC 175 which was the centerpiece for International Fight Week. The main event from the Mandalay Bay in Vegas had Chris Weidman defending his middleweight title against Lyoto Machida.
Weidman defends belt against Machida
It was a tough title defense, but Chris Weidman did enough to defeat Lyoto Machida and retain his welterweight title. Machida put the heat on Weidman in the championship rounds but Weidman did enough to win. Weidman will face Vitor Belfort next.
Gone in 16 seconds
If there was ever a time where a moment overwhelmed an athlete, the look on Alexis Davis face during the walkout told the story. It took more time for Ronda Rousey to do her mean mug strut to the Octagon than it did for her to finish Davis. The real action happened post-fight when Joe Rogan seemingly received a question to ask Rousey from a producer in the truck as to whether she would fight next month in Los Angeles. At that point, Rousey looked as uncomfortable as Davis did heading to the Octagon. It turns out that Rousey is injured and the UFC cancelled its trip to Los Angeles.
Attendance and Gate
Announced at the post-fight press conference, UFC 175 did 10,044 for a gate of $4.4 million. Dana White had predicted the gate to do $5 million. However, he was slightly off. Notably, the last time the UFC was at the Mandalay Bay (UFC 170) it had a higher attendance but lower gate which reflects the fact that ticket prices were much higher. In fact, according to SeatGeek, UFC 175 was the most expensive ticket of 2014.
Bonuses
Bonuses were the standard $50,000 each and were given to Weidman-Machida for FOTN. Rousey and Rob Font won the Performance Bonuses.
Weidman ($450K + $50K = $500K) and Machida ($200K + $50K = $250K) were the top earners for the night with Rousey ($120K + $50K = $170K) and Faber ($120K) following behind on the pay scale.
Pre-Fight Promotion
It was International Fight Week and beside the array of events during the week leading up to the fight weekend, it was the annual UFC Expo.
It was likely the best Embedded series so far. The short vlogs have been a great replacement for the UFC All Access show.
White took over ESPN’s Instagram account for the weigh-ins.
An email was sent out promoting the Fan Expo and the events this past weekend which had the tag line “Sh**t’s Going Down This Saturday.” Perhaps a little too enthused about the fights.
Sponsorships
The sponsors in the Octagon included Toyo Tires, MusclePharm, UltimatePoker, the EA UFC video game, Corn Nuts, MetroPCS, Harley Davidson, the upcoming movie Sin City and Bud Light in the center.
USA Wrestling owned the fighter prep point as we see more organizations buy space with the UFC. In the past, Tae Kwon Do and Judo have bought real estate during the PPVs.
UFC Prelims
There was some talk about why Urijah Faber was not on the PPV. It would have added another name to sell for the show but he was placed on the prelims as the main event of the prelim card against Alex Caceres. One might infer that putting Faber on the prelims was a way to create enough buzz and promotion for last minute fans on the fence on purchasing the PPV. It could also be that Fox wanted a named-fighter to close out the show for its ratings.
The Prelim show did average 1 million viewers which is much better than the 174 prelim show.
Odds and Ends
-Subtle and overlooked, the weigh-ins for the big events like UFC 168 and this past weekend have a big time feel with the additional stage and screens.
-One of the better fight posters this time around which highlighted the fact it was going to be International Fight Week.
-The big controversy coming out of UFC 175 was Joe Rogan asking Ronda Rousey post-fight whether she would be available for UFC 176 in Los Angeles on August 2nd. It put Rousey on the spot and White looked genuinely upset at the question. In the end, it was a moot point since the UFC cancelled UFC 176 and Rousey could not have fought because she was medically suspended.
-Perhaps the greatest Hall of Fame speech ever came from Pat Miletich this past weekend. It was quick and to the point. Not many can do that.
-Who looked sadder on their walkout this weekend? Alexis Davis on Saturday or BJ Penn on Sunday?
-Should we be concerned that Chris Weidman did not remember anything about the fight right after it happened as he told Joe Rogan in the post-fight interview?
Conclusion
It looks like the initial reports from Dave Meltzer have the show at 500K PPV buys although that is not official.
If we are to follow Google Search data, searches were down for Ronda Rousey from her last fight. The loss of the Chael Sonnen-Wanderlei Silva fight also took away from the buzz of the event. Still, one would have hoped that the combination of Weidman and Rousey would get this card to 450-500K PPV buys. Anything less should be a concern. As alluded to at the press conference, look for Rousey and Weidman to stick together on a card. The UFC probably knows the combination is one of the better shots at a big gate and an above average PPV buy rate.
from MMAfighting (Dave Meltzer):
“But this was a double title match show with Machida coming in as a real threat to Weidman. If such a show does 425,000 buys or less, it’s a sign that UFC’s pay-per-view business has weakened. Boxing’s numbers have been down since the Mayweather-Alvarez fight, where every big show since has been a disappointment. With the exception of UFC 168, so has UFC during the same time period.
At 425,000 to 500,000, the show would do about what it should given lower expectations, since the loss of Sonnen vs. Silva took away a key component. If it beats 500,000, it will counter the idea that PPV is a fading business, and it would show fans will buy big UFC shows, but it’s the lineups and main events this year that are the reasons for lower numbers.”
500k is a good number for the UFC in 2014. So so for years before. I don’t agree that 500k “will counter the idea that PPV is a fading business.”
Leon,
I agree. 500k is only good in today’s PPV environment. We would have expected more from a show like this in previous years. Two title defenses of two of the most marketable UFC fighters on the active roster? You have to figure this does 650k or more a couple of years ago.
Diego, this is true to an extent, but I believe we are going to see Weidman’s ppv numbers start to go way up. Keep in mind, Machida has never been a big draw. Even when he fought Jones a few years ago, they only did 480k buys. That was also with Ortiz, Mir and both Nogs on the undercard.
dirty sanchez
Leon– Haha what are you talking about “since Mayweather vs Canelo Boxing has been down”. Anything is going to be down from a earth shattering record (2.5 million ppv buys) Mayweather received 850k ppv buys against a guy everybody knew he would beat. Pac did 750k with NO undercard. These guys did 500k with two STARS in their Prime in fights no one knew who the winner would be. PATHETIC. ITS OVER ITS OVER ITS OVER ITS OVER haahhahahahhahahahahahahaahahah
@FightBusiness I was quoting Dave Meltzer.
Damm know there are 4 trolls
UFC 175 would take 520,000 PPV buys to equal the revenue of Carl Froch vs. George Groves 2.
Think about the international revenue boxing draws.
Topps/Sampson enters a new chapter to his life……pink pig.
Fightbusiness again with your idiotic comments. Mayweather has failed to break 900k in 2 out of his last 3 ppvs. The last boxing ppv to hit even 900k buys was that fight back in September. The numbers across the board are down ppv wise. Look at Cotto-Martinez….300k. Martinez-Chavez Jr did 475k in 2012. Pacquaio’s last 2 fights were 475k and 750k-against a guy in a popular rematch.
Also, people don’t typically buy boxing ppvs because of the undercard. It is different than mma from that perspective.
UFC 175’s numbers aren’t in yet, but if they did 500k that isn’t bad considering Machida has never been a draw and even when Rousey headlines, she only has averaged around 400k buys. By the way, another reason why you are an idiot is that Weidman probably isn’t in his prime and also those circumstances don’t automatically equal a big buy rate. This was only Weidman’s second title defense. How long did it take GSP and Silva to hit 500k for a ppv they headlined? Anderson Silva fought Dan Henderson in a fight where the odds were pretty even and the ppv only did 325k buys. That was also in Silva’s 3rd fight after winning the title.
Once again, you don’t know what you are talking about and you are an idiot.
copulating..
Also remember that many people were against Weidman getting a title shot vs Silva because he was unknown and hadn’t had many fights. His last fight before Silva was on fuel with few viewers. So this was only his 3 rd fight in the spot light. Add in the fact there is tools still claiming his silva wins were flukes. It will take a few fights before he becomes credible in the eyes of the masses and people pay to see him. The front running bandwagon fans are still riding the fence. When they come in the PPV buys will go up for Chris. Still should get 500K buy range.
Yeah, he also said he wants to fight again in 2014. If he fights on the December card against Belfort, that will do much more in buys than this card did. At least 700k. Machida just can’t draw a really big ppv even as a B.
This guy Weidman is the real thing! If they can find him exciting opponents he could be huge! How amateur is Dana and the UFC for fighting in the cage after the Rousey fight, reminds me of some low rent boxing card lol. I say Rousey has less then 3 fights left and she’s gone, she looked bloated and fat and I suspect a work, yea a work. Who did they get her to fight a makeup girl who works backstage for Fox??, give me a fucking break Dana!!!!!! Dana is blowing it by kissing her ass, she will walk away from mma soon enough. Faber had one of the most exciting fights, I have always liked his style, great heart, and a superb wrestler. Lets see what the PPV numbers are.
Sal, you always one up yourself with stupidity.
Yeah, the Rousey fight was a work. That is why Davis was basically seizuring in the middle of the cage not letting go of the ref for a minute after she was ko’d. Hey genius, this girl wins by armbar nearly every fight, it would be a million times easier to fix a fight by giving up a sub, rather than someone knocking your brain into oblivion. You are probably one of the morons that claimed the Weidman-Silva fight was a work too. Dummy.
Sal get off the drugs dude
Ronda Rousey… AhahahahahhahahH
Ronda Rousey… AhahahahahhahahH
My sources say they did 460K. Not bad for Rousey.
D you’re just a naive idiot who believes anything Dan white says. Ha just reviled Rousy had a cyst on her hand and is in need of knee surgery, she also broke her hand in the fight which tells me that she could have been out of shape and they knew it and worked a complete tomato can for her to fight. That women was no fighter look at the fight closely she had no idea what she was doing and didn’t belong in a ring a cage or any real fight. Looks like Rousy will be out for a while. Just my opinion but if you think that women was a fighter you need to watch way more MMA fights.