UFC 178 ticket demand marginal

MMA Payout has learned per online ticket search engine SeatGeek that the average price on the secondary market for for UFC 178  is $249 which is a considerable boost from UFC 177.  However, with UFC 178 still not a sellout as of the time of this writing; people could still purchase tickets at the box office or Ticketmaster.

The ticket demand may be misleading when bringing up the fact that headliner Demetrious Johnson’s last fight drew one of the lowest average ticket prices on the secondary market in 4 years. This time around, ticket prices on the secondary market are up 83%.  But put into perspective, UFC 178 is the second least expensive ticket for a UFC event at the MGM Grand.  Only UFC 173 (Dillashaw-Barao) averaged a lower ticket price.  Notably, 4 UFC events at the MGM Grand averaged over $500 per ticket.  Anderson Silva was the headliner in 3 of those events.  The other was GSP-Hendricks.

The get-in price for Saturday is $89.15 with the most expensive ticket on the primary market at $841.35.  Up to date ticket information can be found at SeetGeek’s web site.

Payout Perspective:

Although a very competitive card, UFC 178 is not a sellout as of the day before the event.  The increase in ticket prices from UFC 177 to UFC 178 should be directly attributed to the fact that Saturday’s event is in Vegas versus Sacramento.  The lower ticket averages and lagging demand on the secondary market appear to occur when the under 155 lb weight classes are headlining.  Again, Johnson is headlining a card where there seems to be more buzz for the two co-main events (Cerrone-Alvarez and Poirier-McGregor). We will see where the attendance and gate end up.