Welcome to another edition of Payout Perspective. This time we take a look at UFC 181 which took place at the Mandaly Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada
CM Punk signs with UFC
Usually we start off with the main events, and there were two very good ones, but the big news coming out of the PPV was the announcement that Phil Brooks (the artist formerly known as CM Punk – the WWE owns the trademark and we’re not sure if terms of his settlement included continued use of the name) has signed with the UFC. Brooks is 36 and has no formal experience in MMA unless you count his training in BJJ and Kempo. Recently, Brooks talked about a variety of health issues he had while in the WWE as well as the indication he has had a lot of concussions (12 or 13 per the Cabana podcast). The concussions do not even count the ones that were not medically recorded. We will definitely talk about this more but as it relates to business, this is a calculated risk for the UFC. It should bolster a UFC for the sheer curiosity from former WWE fans.
Lawler edges Hendricks for UFC title
Robbie Lawler started and finished the second fight with Johny Hendricks in a flurry. And it might have been the last flurry in the end that solidified the win for Lawler. Maybe Hendricks fell into the same trap of confidence as he did when it appeared that he had defeated GSP. Hendricks had turtled up in at least two rounds allowing Lawler to seemingly pound away at him. Even if the blows did not hurt, the appearance made it seem that Lawler had the advantage. In the end, Matt Hughes had the opportunity to put on the belt for the new champion.
Although a third fight would make sense, Rory MacDonald was in attendance and should be the next in line to challenge for the belt.
Showtime crisp in title defense
Anthony Pettis is good. That’s an understatement. Despite a shaky first round against Gilbert Melendez, Pettis took advantage of a shot from Gil and quickly secured a guillotine. He’s now subbed Benson Henderson and Gilbert Melendez with ease. It’s clear that Pettis is the tops of this division. Pettis is athletic and quick and if he avoids significant injuries (wrote this before news of his hand), he can be a force in the UFC.
Up next for Pettis should be Khabib Nurmogomedov who showed up at the press conference to ensure Showtime knew who he was.
Attendance and gate
MMA Junkie reports the attendance and gate at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The attendance announced post-event was 9,617 for a gate of $2.488 million. The last event at the Mandalay Bay was UFC 170 in February 2014 for Ronda Rousey-Sara McMann. That event drew 10, 217 for a gate of $1,555,870.
Promotion for the Fight
UFC Embedded was the main driver once again and offered some good background on Hendricks-Lawler and Pettis- Gil. It also covered the Pettis Wheaties box cover announcement and the Reebok uniform announcement. Hendricks’ sponsor, Bass Pro Shops, received some exposure as Johny was seen shopping for a rifle at the outdoor sporting goods store.
The UFC released Hendricks-Lawler I online which one must consider was one of the best fights of the year.
UFC 181 sported a comic book theme with the fight poster. A nice change from the usual face offs.
UFC 181 was slated for movie theaters once again.
Sponsorships
In the Octagon were Wargaming.net, Alienware, Matefit.me, Fram, Musclepharm, Metro PCS, Harley Davidson, Air Force Reserve (a Robbie Lawler associated sponsor), Toyo Tires and Bud Light in the center.
Johny Hendricks had a new sponsor for the fight, Zak Products, an official NASCAR sponsor.
Giving out a few pairs of autographed fight shorts. RT & follow @ZakProducts @VicKeller to… http://t.co/IMWKOp8UE5 pic.twitter.com/5EZVAEA33G
— Johny Hendricks (@JohnyHendricks) December 3, 2014
Hendricks and Pettis, already sponsored by Reebok, wore the brand into the Octagon. Perhaps the Pettis walkout shirt is a glimpse of what to expect from the brand in July.
Dynamic Fastener made its presence known in the Octagon. Hopefully, viewers will figure out what it does before it goes away in July.
Harley Davidson had a promotion where the winner of the Travis Browne-Brendan Schaub fight won a Harley. For those that didn’t watch, Browne won the motorcycle.
Odds and ends
Raquel Pennington-Ashlee Evans Smith ending was a cliffhanger of sorts since FS1 cut to commercial as Pennington had the choke on Smith and it was not clear what had happened. I recall the same thing happening with Dan Henderson-Shogun Rua.
Great wins for Todd Duffee and Josh Samman, the latter with a great headkick KO of Eddie Gordon. Gordon wore a legalize MMA shirt into the Octagon as he fights out of Matt Serra’s gym in New York.
There was some foreshadowing about 181 by Dana White on the Jim Rome Show.
.@danawhite says Anthony Pettis is the sport’s best pound for pound. And that he’ll talk UFC with CM Punk: http://t.co/HuAiqJ8eYi — Jim Rome (@jimrome) December 6, 2014
Another interesting question in light of the Reebok deal.
What we really want to know about the @Reebok @ufc deal is whether or not @joerogan will still be able to wear his own t-shirts…
— UFCONFOX (@UFCONFOX) December 6, 2014
Urijah Faber took what is becoming a normal spot as the final bout on the UFC Prelims. It’s interesting that he’s becoming a mainstay in this position but according to Dave Meltzer he chooses to be on FS1 rather than PPV because more people watch. It makes sense considering he is a name, can draw viewers to the FS1 prelims and is a good bridge to the PPV telecast.
Interesting that they dropped the lights for Pettis-Gil but not for Hendricks-Lawler.
The production for the promos for UFC 182 and UFC 183 were great and showed more of a entertainment edge to them.
A good read on referee Mark Smith, who is a retired Air Force pilot. Only coincidence that Air Force Reserves was a sponsor on the Octagon mat.
Conclusion
UFC 181 was one of the best cards of the year. From the Prelims to the main event, it came through with action fights, KOs, submissions and a surprise announcement. Does that mean it will cash in with PPV buys? Google searches were high on the search terms UFC and CM Punk in the U.S. as both were trending 3rd and 6th respectively with over 100K searches each. While this does not necessarily equate to buys (e.g. Manny Pacquiao registered over 500K searches yet scored a reported 300K PPV buys), we should see UFC 181 doing well and above this year’s PPV average. Look for somewhere between the 400-500K range.
This card was excellent and we are seeing the next big star in mma in Anthony Pettis. This guy is clearly the best fighter in the world now p4p. He is as good a finisher as Anderson Silva, only he is doing it against stiffer competition and using much better technical skills. No one is beating this guy anytime soon. His only flaw is his injury concerns.
As good of a fighter that ant is. They still couldnt sell 10k. What a pathetic joke! Ppv will be crap too
good card i had friends over that never watched UFC before and liked it. Oh another great sal comment pathetic loser.
Saldaqueef. The attendance is always an irrelevant figure. The ppv and gate revenue are. That is the free lesson of the day idiot.
Here is a lesson, asses in seats and views is everything fuck tard! nothing else matters! All your bullshit is hysterical. The gate is an indicator that there were 4k empty seats for the worlds best P4P MMa fighter. Shows how irrelevant this card was as far as fans wanting to see it. PPV will be a joke and sponsors look at all this you idiot! 9k is the new 20 k hahahahaha 2 world champs and shit attendance! The gate figure is bullshit also because they count face value for all the casino comps you moron!!!!
Here is a lesson, you are a fucking retard who isn’t aware of how a business operates. It doesn’t matter if 10 million people show up for a fight or if 1 person shows up for the fight, if the 1 person pays more than the 10m, promoters will go with the 1 guy, moron.
PPV will be a joke? Nice try. This ppv got a lot of interest because of the dual title fights. I wouldn’t be surprised if it did around 450k buys. Sponsors pay a fraction of what the public who buy the ppv and tickets do. You need to ditch the Bob Arum wacky gay promotional education and learn how a business actually operates.
The gate figure is bullshit to a boxing homo who sucks the crusty dick of a fag promoter like you. They do not count the comps as paid attendance dummy.
You smell like turds.
Sal get a life your anti comments on every single ufc post is annoying
Baha. 2 world champs fighting. The best p4p fights and all anyone is talking about is cm punk bahahahaha. D get real you are beyond full of shit its embarrassing. Ha 9k is a joke and we all know it and so does zuffa fuck tard
Casino comps are counted as paid face value you stupid fuck. You have no clue and never will bahahah. And there is a difference between ufc comps and casino comps idiot. Go get a real job and see how business really works you academic fuck tard
Anti why dont you post something intelligent at least d trys to bahahah
More embarrassing is someone who can’t comprehend basic revenue pros and cons.
If the casino is paying for the comps, then it doesn’t matter shit for brains. You need a lesson in literally the lowest level of business practices. You have no clue how a business operates. You were probably an usher at the MGM 30 years ago who acts like he was part of a promotion when in fact, he doesn’t understand the difference between state and federal taxes. What a career moron.
You smell like backed up a toilet that’s been unflushed.
*smell like a*
You dont have a fucking clue as to what you are talking about shit bag. You are a joke its luaghable at your non knowledge of entertainment production. Even with all the comps only 9k bahahahaha they cant even give it away. Bahahaha
Casinos dont pay full price for tickets in their own building especially when there are thousands of unsold seats you moron. Typically if a show sells out then at settment there might be points added to the promotor on casino comps. Also in vegas it is not rare for other casinos in the area to get comps too. The way things are going for the ufc they are comping the shit out of shows to try to draw revenue from merch, concessions, and overall promotion of their product. Also the more asses in seats the more they can chalk up to spomsor views. Also its a tv ppv show so they comp it out to fill seats for appearence. Geeeez you are a fucking idiot. But its not your fault i doubt youve ever been to movie theater in your shit country and pathetic existence. Go work in the ent industry for a few years before you talk out your ass and show what a complete idiot and non experienced fool you are, 9 k is a fucking joke. Cm punk was the main event bahahahaha
First off, when you go to insult someone, you may want to utilize spell check because you look like a retard misspelling words left and right.
The total gate what they received was in full revenue. They have to disclose that information to the athletic commissions for tax purposes. I could care less what other drivel you bullshit yourself on. That figure is accurate.
Also, once again, because you have autism- the sponsor views/sponsorship money is NOTHING compared to the ppv buys/gate revenue. The ppv alone for this event will net them probably over 10m. The sponsorship money was literally a fraction for that and would also be for any boxing event of similar prestige. You can’t see this because you are a fucking idiot who is hell bent on being Bob Arum’s stupid, gay intern. If you knew for a second how a business actually operated, you wouldn’t be fabricating all of your bullshit numbers, theories and smelly laced idiocies. Anyone who would keep focusing on attendance rather than revenue like you, just proves how unbelievably retarded they are. Sal likes free shows where tons of people show up. Businesses like shows where people pay a lot of money and could care less how many people are there. HAHAHAHA!!
Hendricks was small and chubby for the fight. I guess he’s off the peds as I guess he was afraid he would be tested. Him and lawler started slowing down and sweating profusely midway through the first round. Aweful fight. Very embarrassing.
Another thing. They do count complimentary tickets. Nobody showed up for the fight and ppvs will be low. The ufc needs star power since GSP left. They haven’t found it yet.