Welcome to another edition of Payout Perspective. This time we take you to UFC 189 which was the biggest event in years for the company taking place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
McGregor wins interim Featherweight title
The gamble for the UFC paid off. Conor McGregor stopped Chad Mendes with just seconds remaining in the second round to win the interim Featherweight title. McGregor was in trouble early as he could not stop takedowns and was being held down by Mendes. But, McGregor was able to escape a guillotine attempt and used his power to KO Mendes.
McGregor actually has a coaching spot on TUF this fall and then it’s likely Jose Aldo. Mendes showed well for himself considering he did not have a full camp. He is still at the top of the list of challengers for the Featherweight title.
Lawler outlasts MacDonald in bloody war
It was the best fight in some time and likely a prime example of why this sport can never gain mainstream acceptance. Robbie Lawler’s lip and Rory MacDonald’s nose exemplified the dedication, discipline, heart and fearlessness it takes to make it to the top of this sport. Although MacDonald was ahead on the judge’s cards, he succumbed to the pain and crumpled to the mat in the fifth round after another shot from Lawler.
For Lawler, Johny Hendricks seems like the next opponent for Lawler. Many have said that this fight may have changed the trajectory of MacDonald’s career forever. We shall see.
Attendance and gate
It was the biggest attendance and gate for a UFC event ever since UFC 129 in Toronto. Attendance stood at 16,019 for a gate of $7.2 million. Dana White stated that ticket sales actually surged after Jose Aldo pulled out of the fight getting the gate over $7 million.
On the secondary market the “get in” price at the start of the Fight Pass Prelims was $665. According to Darren Rovell, the median price paid on Stubhub was $500 which was the highest since Silva-Sonnen II ($450).
Bonuses
Conor McGregor, Thomas Almeida, Rory MacDonald and Robbie Lawler earned the $50,000 bonuses.
Salaries
McGregor and Mendes topped the salaries making $500,000 each. The full list is here.
Promotion of the Fight
The promotion of the fight started with the expensive and well-chronicled world tour with Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor. The Embedded episodes were entertaining as those occurred this past spring. Most of us were hoping that July would come soon. Of course, the fight did not happen and we were given Chad Mendes. More Embedded episodes occurred to promote the fight and even some controversy as it appeared that an episode featuring Conor training in wrestling was edited out. The theory was that it would give Mendes some advantage.
Dana White appeared on ESPN, the Jim Rome and other outlets. Notably, he stated in a radio interview that Aldo would have made $4 million at UFC 189. He also stated on Jim Rome that McGregor wanted to bet him $3 million that he would knock out Mendes. Apparently, he knew what he was talking about.
Sponsorships
This was the first event where Reebok uniforms were exclusively used. Overall, it was not as bad as I had thought although I am sure there are some fight fans that will miss the aesthetic of different sponsors on the shorts as well as fight banners.
The official UFC sponsors were in the Octagon including the movie “SouthPaw,” Draft Kings, Toyo Tires, Harley Davidson, Fram,Bud Light, Corn Nuts, Metro PCS, Musclepharm and Monster Energy Drink had the center.
Reebok presented the Embedded episodes featuring McGregor and Mendes.
In addition to announcing an individual deal with Reebok, Rory MacDonald had a Monster logo on its shorts. Same for Conor McGregor. McGregor also starred in a commercial for Game of War.
Toyo Tires also sponsored Chad Mendes and sent out an eblast about the challenger.
Although it was announced in early June, the UFC announced a partnership with Las Vegas Monorail making it the “Official Las Vegas Transportation of the UFC.” While this seems silly, the fact that so many people from out of town (especially Irish McGregor supporters) likely took it as a method of transportation probably made the sponsorship worth its while.
Odds and ends
The changes in production were subtle but great. While there might be a lot of criticism about spending 6 months and who knows how much money to change the “C” in the UFC, the presentation at the weigh-ins and the actual show were top-notch.
The live singing entrances for the main events were an interesting touch.
It was interesting that this fight was not offered in movie theatres like other events before it.
One critique about new UFC production, rounds now noted by filled in marks like balls/strikes in baseball. I like numbers to tell me rounds.
The uplighting and other stage enhancements for the weigh-ins were great. It gave UFC 189 that big fight feel. Of course, the atmosphere with so many Irish there made it feel that much more electric on television.
This was the first event with the USADA drug testing protocol.
It appears that cutmen have lost their sponsor deals when Reebok took over this month but are not a part of the Reebok deal. We will see where this goes.
Mendes has been stopped in two championship fights with seconds left in a round.
I already booked my hotel for UFC 200 which will be in the new MGM-AEG Arena July 2, 2016
1M Google searches for Conor McGregor and UFC 189 related searches. Another 100k for Robbie Lawler.
— Adam Swift (@AdamMSwift) July 13, 2015
Conclusion
Much has been scrutinized about what the PPV buy rate will be for UFC 189. Despite Aldo pulling out late, it appears that it did not hurt PPV sales. The pre-buys for the event appear to be strong which is based on the number of people that purchase the PPV prior to the day of the PPV. The google searches appear strong but the Prelim rating was under 1 million viewers. So, we shall see. My gut reaction is that the PPV did between 550K and 600K buys which solidifies McGregor as a legitimate PPV star.
“My gut reaction is that the PPV did between 550K and 600K buys which solidifies McGregor as a legitimate PPV star.”
Yes, it’s not bad at all, but considering the amount of promo and expectations, anything under 1 million PPV would be a major failure for the UFC. Under 750k would be a disaster all things considered.
Agree with the summary. The only thing I’m not a big fan of is the live performances for the fighter entry. This has been done before by other organizations and I just don’t think it works very well. Foggy Dew, good song choice. Watching some clips on Youtube, the PPV broadcast did not do the atmosphere justice. The chanting for Connor was reminiscence of when GSP fought in Montreal against Serra in UFC 83.
i cant stand mcgregor but……….. he is very good for that division and they can make
money off him. people will buy to see him lose also there are many exciting fights
to be made with him, would like to see him fight aldo, pettis-that would be fun
edgar- the ufc really needs to focus on lw and fw and make some good matchups
there is money to be made there with proper marketing. with jones out , and anderson gone with his roids issues
i think they should focus on these guys for right now.
outside rousey , mcgregor at this moment is the only person they have that can
draw money
there prior 3 ppvs bombed prior to this one
btw – ufc 189 one of the best ppv they have had in years.
Turd, you again don’t know what you are talking about. Weidman is still a big draw. His fight with Rockhold coming up will be bigger than Rousey-Correira. The last 3 ppvs didn’t bomb. Only 187 did. The other two were not high profile ppvs.
The prelim numbers for 182 were bad as well and it still did 800k buys. It is obvious that isn’t some sort of indicator for what the ppv did. We shall find out soon though.
ok weidmans last fight with belfort didnt sell worth a shit. so how is he this big draw you claim he is
It will do more PPV sales than that. Connor had a lot of mainstream press. For him to get big numbers he will have had to draw in non typical ufc fans. Many of those fights might not know prelims are on FS1. This might explain the lower prelim ratings but high Google searches. A noob who sees him on Conan or heard about him from Swartzenegger or U2 tweets or ESPN or Irish word of mouth is going to google him and buy the PPV. They won’t know about prelims and even if they did they might not care. These would be Connor fans not fight fans. As we see in boxing these mainstream people who are following what they think is trendy. That just care about the main event. So I wouldnt be surprised to See this be 800,000+.
Turd, Weidman’s last fight wasn’t promoted for shit, he was placed as the co headliner, no one took Belfort seriously without his peds, and the fight came right after Mayweather’s big fight which took steam off of it.
Weidman vs Machida did over 500k buys when he was the A headliner.
How do you explain that genius?
Also, with Rockhold, fans see this as a very serious challenge for Weidman. It should do 500k buys.
Jason,
Can we get an article discussing Fedor’s potential return to MMA with some analysis.
My 2015 prediction on this site included the following:
4. Fedor will fight at least 1 MMA fight
I think it is worthy of a post on MMA Payout as the economic impacts are interesting as well as potential contractual agreement/Reebok deal if he was to join the UFC.
Uh oh, Meltzer is reporting that the early indicators are that this exceeded UFC 182 considerably. The numbers will be up soon. Just goes to show you, don’t follow prelim numbers.
If McGregor did over 1m buys with Chad Mendes, it is fair to say he is the biggest ppv star in combat sports right now. Bigger than Mayweather/Pacquaio/Cotto/Canelo/Lesnar, etc.
Amazing how quickly his stock has risen.
@mmaguru – re live music for entrances. I honestly am not a fan but they did it well. I also think the announcers had to lay out (not say anything) during the main event entrances and let the crowd tell the story. The production truck had to basically mute Goldberg and Rogan.
Meltzer says it is tracking well so if he is correct we might conclude two things.
1. It was all Conor McGregor. No one cared about the Prelims and were already tuned in to purchase the PPV. Usually the Prelims are a way to grab “on the fence” fans from purchasing. So, we might believe that fans already knew they were buying McGregor. Essentially, the equivalent of boxing fans just buying a PPV to see one fight.
2. Similar to one, prelims not a conclusive indicator of PPV success.
I think that is the case Jason. I think prelims are an indicator but not when its a mainstream component at play. Most of the time the UFC events are appealing to fight fans and ufc fans who are loyal and dialed in to the sport. These people will go from prelims right to the PPV. But when there is mainstream appeal which is the only thing that sells the few boxing fights a year on PPV. You get these casual fans who are not into just any fights. This is why half of boxing cards half wmpty arenas and why a PPV can make prelim numbers useless. I’m glad the IfC has a following of real fight fans. It would suck to be like boxing and be dependant on fake fans trying to fit in to sell a fight. But you do need them a few times a year for mega fights. The key is to get them often enough to convert them to true fans. Boxing fails at this. The UFC has not done bad with it. All the big moments in ufc history that brought mainstream attention like TUF, Ken Shameock from WWE, Brock Lesnar, etc. they have been able to draw in a lot of fans for a long run even when those initial factors are gone. They don’t hold on to all of them but the bottom line fan base does get a boost.
Jason,
I remember that way back you guys tried to build a PPV predictor model based on a bunch of different inputs. I seem to remember that the model fell apart and wasn’t very useful. Basically, it was hard to predict PPV buys based on things like arena attendance, google searches, etc. This was before the age of prelims, and I can’t recall now what the exact predictive factors were in the model.
Do you remember what I’m talking about? I wonder if it’s worth dusting off the model. There might be more information floating around these days that we could plug into it.
From Meltzer
The big number, is, of course, the PPV. At press time, it is too early to know. The preliminary indications we have is that it was strong. Based on advanced orders, those in the cable industry believed it would do a minimum of 720,000 buys, and could do well above that. Early indicators are much larger, but at this stage of the game on a show with this level of numbers, you can’t pin anything down closely past it probably did between 700,000 or 1.1 million, which all things considered, is amazing for a featherweight bout.
It was far beyond the 200,000 range that featherweight main events have done in the past. And that was all with a late sub.
Leon….where you at bitch??? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
700+ buys is within the realm of possibility. I’d suggest that 550K and 600K to be the floor, 700 – 750K the ceiling. 800K would be exceptional, however, following the MMA business for many years, pre-orders are not always a good indicator for final numbers. The same can be said for TV pre-lim ratings.
In the case of this event, there was a lot of interest in the Aldo vs Connor fight. Much of that excitement deflated quickly after Aldo was injured. We could be looking at a situation where PPV orders will be top heavy. There is casual fan interest in Connor, but not as much as some people on this site believe. He is not as big a star as Rhonda is in the US, and the US market is the one that matters most with respect to PPV purchases.
@mmaguru – We should have a post about Fedor it this weekend when I have time. My “real” job has been keeping me busy.
@Diego – The predictor you speak of may actually predate me. I will ask Jose or Adam.
I don’t know about you guys but I usually by a PPV day of the event. Based on the information, we’re talking about people that purchased the PPV the day or week before the event which, outside of Pac-May, is unheard of. I doubt the UFC could get any numbers from people that purchased the PPV early on Saturday.
mmaguru, a few things- those aren’t just based off of prelim ppv numbers. They are also based on satellite ppv buys and initial buy information. Look at the wording above:
“Based on advanced orders, those in the cable industry believed it would do a minimum of 720,000 buys”
The 720k number was based solely on advanced orders, he then follows by saying:
” Early indicators are much larger, but at this stage of the game on a show with this level of numbers, you can’t pin anything down closely past it probably did between 700,000 or 1.1 million, which all things considered, is amazing for a featherweight bout.”
He is clearly stating that the numbers that are coming in- not the pre-buy rates, are much larger.
Meltzer reports the numbers the following Thursday typically unless the fight bombs. I’ve heard everyone involved in the combat sports ppv production point this out: White, Schaeffer, Espinoza, Ellerbe, Arum, etc. Show me one time where Meltzer made a report of ppv buys a following Thursday and then radically changed his figure. The most I’ve ever seen his numbers swing following his initial report is around 100k and since he gave a wide range here, there is no doubt it was most likely well over 700k considering that would be if everything that was showing them initially was off.
This fight was very big. The Fertittas/White/Joe Silva wouldn’t have been taking a celebratory drink with McGregor backstage after the fight if they didn’t think they hit it out of the park.
Also, Rousey may have more mainstream appeal in terms of being in movies/tv/etc, but in terms of selling a ppv, in no way, shape or form is she the number 1 star. Conor McGregor now is. If the low end number at this stage of the game is 700k against Chad Mendes as a replacement, how on Earth can anyone compare anyone else’s numbers with his. When he fights Aldo, it will destroy UFC 100 in revenue and eclipse it in buys without question. White was talking about building a makeshift arena on the strip for the fight. It will be massive. What was Aldo’s biggest ppv? 330k and that was with Edgar. McGregor can sell a massive ppv with a low profile opponent like Mendes. That means he is not only the biggest mma ppv draw right now, but he is also the biggest combat sports draw- Mayweather has 1 fight left and if it goes to ppv probably won’t break 800k buys. Pacquaio could only hit 800k with Bradley in a popular rematch. Canelo-Cotto won’t outdraw McGregor-Aldo and McGregor is the heavy A. He’s the biggest ppv star period right now in the US and the world.
LOL Delusional even if it did 1M there’s still lots of chances for a 2015 BOMB.
Weidman will NOT do 500k. Let’s bet on it now if you have any balls. Of course not you dick tailed the last bet.
And… you lost LOL.
“This fight was very big. The Fertittas/White/Joe Silva wouldn’t have been taking a celebratory drink with McGregor backstage after the fight if they didn’t think they hit it out of the park” – DforDelusional
This is funny. Ironically we do NOT now how much the UFC spent in promoting this fight in comparison to other PPVs. It could of been 5x more or 25x more – we will never know…
Delusions of grandeur from the UFC’s highest paid blogger in nickels.
how sad is it that the UFC has to constantly bring up boxing and mayweather to get attention.
OINK!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! The shameless one, Leon the Schmo Returns!!!
How does it feel to eat crow again, you stupid fucking idiot, HAHAHAHA!!!
What’s that 1-5 this year now? Pathetic. Who would continue to post after being owned, over and over again? You are getting as bad as Sal now. This is just overkill with being dead wrong with your idiotic delusional analysis and horrible predictions.
“Weidman will NOT do 500k. Let’s bet on it now if you have any balls. Of course not you dick tailed the last bet.
And… you lost LOL.”
HAHAHAHA!!! He knows he’s fucked and is attempting any way possible to save face at this point. This is really eating away at you.
What’s funny is how delusional you are. I never bet you and that was literally the only ppv prediction you made that was correct so far this year. Most people would just roll with it and end the debate, but you pathetically continue to argue because you have no shame. HAHAHA!
I have no reason to bet, come the end of the year, you will be Leon the Schmo permanently.
We don’t know how much they spent on that fight, but boy did they look happy when they weren’t even aware the cameras were around them. Also, they know this will set up the biggest fight in UFC history, which you are extremely lucky will arrive 2 days after the new year. If not, we’d be looking at 7-8m buys for the year.
LEON THE SCHMO……getting ready! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Oh and one more thing, if this hit 1m buys, that would mean I would need 900k buys between 5 ppvs. Unless Johnson headlines all of those ppvs, they are hitting that number. You’re fucked and you know it. HAHAHAHAHA!!!
Weidman-Rockhold…..500k
Rousey- Correira……400k
Gus- Cormier…….300k
“how sad is it that the UFC has to constantly bring up boxing and mayweather to get attention.”
How sad is it that mma websites are littered with boxing trolls?
MMA fans don’t give a shit enough about boxing to troll on their sites.
Biggest spending by the ufc according to dw…..hahahahahaha
Yup and one of the biggest fights for them revenue wise as well.
If this event ends up doing 1 Mill, it will be impressive since it will mean that McGregor can carry a highly successful PPV all by himself, I was expecting much lower when Aldo pulled out, but it is looking like they could have put ANYONE with McGregor and still make it a success. You also have to wonder what is the base for the UFC to turn a profit on this money sucking event, what I am hearing is that even with a 1 Mill buy it is looking tough for them.
It’s also funny how crazy is to predict PPV’s, on one hand you have fighters that get an insane amount of mainstream coverage like Rousey, her events have hit a combined 1.5 Mill google searches with the 2nd most watched prelims in FS1 history and yet those numbers don’t really translate into big PPV buys.
Looks like the UFC is taking a page out of the Boxing playbook since it is getting to that point where people only give a sh*t about the main event, & this event proves this was a 100% Connor-buy and nobody cared about anything else; not the UFC with its lame subpar upgrades, not the prelims, not the crappy Reebok deal, not the main card, just McGregor, he should wise up and realize he doesn’t even need the UFC.
“d on July 16th, 2015 8:47 AM
If McGregor did over 1m buys with Chad Mendes, it is fair to say he is the biggest ppv star in combat sports right now. Bigger than Mayweather/Pacquaio/Cotto/Canelo/Lesnar, etc.”
HAHAHAHAHA.
Easily the dumbest statement you have ever said.
It was only two months ago when Mayweather-Pacquiao did 4.4m+ ppv buys and your dumbass is over here parading McGregor and his 500k-700k ppv mark.
Theyll come out and say he did more but in two months you’ll see this website secretly add UFC 189 630K on to there payout sheet just like they did the last 3 ppvs.
“d on July 16th, 2015 2:26 PM
satellite ppv buys and initial buy information.
Based on advanced orders, those in the cable industry believed it would do a minimum of 720,000 buys
Pacquaio could only hit 800k with Bradley in a popular rematch. Canelo-Cotto won’t outdraw McGregor-Aldo and McGregor is the heavy A. He’s the biggest ppv star period right now in the US and the world.”
McGregor is the biggest ppv star right now? Mayweather-Pacquiao did 2.2m on those satellite numbers alone. Yea but McGregor is biggest star right? Fuck outta here moron.
Also Pacquiao-Bradley II was not a popular rematch at all. Bradleys name actually was hit hard by beating Pacquiao in that first fight which I scored a draw but most ppl scored as a win for Pacquiao.
People didnt want the rematch because most felt Manny won the first fight decisively. So get your facts straight on that.
Also anyone with a brain knows that the UFC was on the brink of imploding.
McGregor has saved them for the moment. They know this.
So instead of having that end on UFC 189 when Aldo destroys him, they thought, why not have Aldo sit out. Let McGregor drop Mendes at the last moment and well ride this high until December where Aldo will smash him.
Now a possible Mir-Fedor match up is being talked about and Rousey is still dropping Mayweathers name. Floyd thought some softball player called him out on TV. Apparently he still doesnt know who Ronda is.
UFC gots a lil spark going but its not long lasting.
One tidbit I forgot to include in the “odds and ends” section was that the UFC weigh-ins drew 178K viewers despite starting late on FS1. Golf and soccer aired on FS1 and FS2 with golf ending late.
This is going to be great when Conor starts to squeeze the ufc for more money bahahha he will walk wait and see!
“HAHAHAHAHA.
Easily the dumbest statement you have ever said.
It was only two months ago when Mayweather-Pacquiao did 4.4m+ ppv buys and your dumbass is over here parading McGregor and his 500k-700k ppv mark.
Theyll come out and say he did more but in two months you’ll see this website secretly add UFC 189 630K on to there payout sheet just like they did the last 3 ppvs.”
Hey retard boy, two months ago was a long time ago in terms of how this pertains to my point. Gayweather only has 1 fight left on his contract, he is retiring in the Fall. The only way he has a huge fight again is if he fights Pacquaio and it ain’t happening. Also if it did hypothetically it wouldn’t do what it did originally which was over the 3m marker, not 4. How many ppv buys would Gayweather do with Berto? 750k? McGregor most likely just beat that easily with an equally, low profile opponent. Pacquaio did 350k buys against Algieri another low profile opponent.
You enjoy lying because you are a delusional mutant. Meltzer said 700k-1.1m range. And that is for a fight which included a last minute replacement that is a non draw. This fight was completely McGregor.
“They’ll say he did more”. Who is they you fucking idiot? MMAPAYOUT gets the numbers directly from Dave Meltzer. He has never changed his numbers drastically like that. You just make shit up as you go along because you are such a nutjob.
“McGregor is the biggest ppv star right now? Mayweather-Pacquiao did 2.2m on those satellite numbers alone. Yea but McGregor is biggest star right? Fuck outta here moron.”
You need to research what the past, present and future tenses are when people make statements. Also you need to do some basic fact checking because again, you are sourcing boxing promoters. Gayweather-Pacquaio is over and done with. They aren’t fighting again. Gayweather wants to take it easy with his last fight and not risk a loss, then simply retire and attempt to promote fights. He’s done. He knows that fight will bomb as a ppv which is why he’s probably going to have it on CBS.
“Also Pacquiao-Bradley II was not a popular rematch at all. Bradleys name actually was hit hard by beating Pacquiao in that first fight which I scored a draw but most ppl scored as a win for Pacquiao.
People didnt want the rematch because most felt Manny won the first fight decisively. So get your facts straight on that.”
There was a ton of investment and hype into that fight. You are an idiot. People lost interest in Pacquaio because he was ko’d by Maquez and because he lost to Bradley. That’s what happens when you lose, your stock can’t sell like it did before. His fights with Rios and Algieri were horrible failures in ppv- getting 475k and 350k buys. McGregor just destroyed those numbers with a low profile opponent as well.
“:Also anyone with a brain knows that the UFC was on the brink of imploding.
McGregor has saved them for the moment. They know this.
So instead of having that end on UFC 189 when Aldo destroys him, they thought, why not have Aldo sit out. Let McGregor drop Mendes at the last moment and well ride this high until December where Aldo will smash him.”
No, anyone who is a boxing troll is desperately praying that the UFC will implode. The reality is they bring in far too much money annually for that to happen. You want to look at implosion, go check out what is going down with banner boxing promotions and PBC. They are all taking a hit now because of PBC’s entrance into boxing. PBC loses millions per card with no hope of increased ratings in sight. Top Rank/GB are flipping out suing PBC because they have to burn tons of money to keep up with PBC. De La Hoya was considering coming out of retirement out of desperation. Arum was self destructing as well.
You are such a moron- yeah Dana and co. conspired to have him fight Mendes- a guy who everyone that follows the sport was viewed as a much worse match up stylistically for McGregor than Aldo and a much lower profiled fight. You are such an idiotic nut job.
“Now a possible Mir-Fedor match up is being talked about and Rousey is still dropping Mayweathers name. Floyd thought some softball player called him out on TV. Apparently he still doesnt know who Ronda is.
UFC gots a lil spark going but its not long lasting.”
Mir-Fedor isn’t going down, Fedor is signing with Bellator.
Rousey called out Gayweather after he insulted her before claiming he didn’t know who she was. Anyone who claims they don’t know who Rousey is at this point, is in denial. She’s all over the media/tv/movies, etc.
CONOR McGREGOR #1 COMBAT SPORTS PPV STAR!!!!!!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!
“This is going to be great when Conor starts to squeeze the ufc for more money bahahha he will walk wait and see!”
He should. Look what he just did. That was 99% McGregor.
McGregor could have 4 ppvs this year and still not touch Mayweathers 1 PPV.
Floyd Mayweather #1 PPV Star in ALL sports.
More delusions. Floyd Mayweather WAS the #1 ppv star. Out with the old and in with the NEW!!! HAHAHAHA!! McGregor kicks Floyd’s ass with comparable caliber opponents. HAHAHAHAHA!!! Eat that gay boy!
The real question is, how long will it take for it to sink in to boxing fans that there will be no more Gayweather ppvs? That will be devastating to them because there is no one to replace him. HAHAHAHA!!
There’s no way McGregor made $3 PPV when Jones gets $1-2 a buy.UFC will not piss off other fighters like GSP and Jones when and if he comes back”by paying McGregor more.There not that stupid. McGregor is the cash cow right now but if prob when Aldo beats him his value will decrease and when Mendes after he trains properly beats him then his value will be finished.enjoy it while it lasts.
Conor made $1 a buy.No chance he made more.Mendes made 0.50 a buy.
These guys are delusional it’s messed up.WOW!
Watch what happens when GSP returns.His next fight will break some records.
NO AS MUCH AS I DISLIKE MAYWEATHER HE IS THE NUMBER 1 PPV SELLER OF ALL TIME.UFC ITS BROCK LESNAR WITH 1.6 MILLION BUYS UFC 100.I DONT THINK UFC 189 WILL BEAT 1.6 MILLION BUYS BUT U NEVER KNOW..ACCORDING TO FRANK MIR ASWEĹL AS MAN OTHERS INCLUDING ME BROCK LESNAR IS THE NUMBER 1 PPV RECORD HOLDER NOW.NOT MCGREGOR.LOOK IT UP.
Mendes dropped 35 lbs in 10 days by starving himself and trying to train for the fight.he was weak and it showed. NO STAMINA AND WEAKER PUNCHES AND HE STILL TOO MCGREGOR DOWN 3-4 TIMES.IMAGINE WHAT HE WUD DO WITH A FULL CAMP AND I’M A MCGREGOR FAN.THESE ARE FACTS.TRY DROPPING 35 LBS IN 10 DAYS.IV.DONE 25 IN 2 WEEKS AND FELT LIKE CRAP.FELT WEAKER. LIKE A ZOMBIE.MENDES IS A BEAST.
YEAH Mendes is a real low profile opponent that he’s ranked Number 1 in THE WORLD.LOL WOW!!!!!
Other than the UFC fans not too many people know who McGregor is??That’s what I heard on Irish radio stations.Cud be true.Also Canada and the U.S are the only two countries that by ppv stuff???I hope this is not true.There are 375 Million people in U.S and Canada and only 1 million buys????Not too many people watch what we watch I guess.
No even if Conor did a million ppv buys HE IS NOT THE BIG GET PPV START RIGHT NOW IN MMA OR COMBAT SPORTS.ITS STILL BROCK LESNAR AT 1.6 MILLION BUYS.THIS IS A FACT NOT JUST YOUR ASSUMPTIONS THAT CONOR IS THE BIG GET PPV START. NO HE’S NOT.
“YEAH Mendes is a real low profile opponent that he’s ranked Number 1 in THE WORLD.LOL WOW!!!!!”
In terms of ability and rank, yes, he is very good. No question. In terms of marketability, he is not a draw. That is a fact. Look up his numbers. Aldo will be a much bigger sell because he is the champ who hasn’t lost in 10 years. Albeit, even Aldo isn’t a huge draw, but still bigger than Mendes who was a replacement.
“Other than the UFC fans not too many people know who McGregor is??That’s what I heard on Irish radio stations.Cud be true.Also Canada and the U.S are the only two countries that by ppv stuff???I hope this is not true.There are 375 Million people in U.S and Canada and only 1 million buys????Not too many people watch what we watch I guess.”
Irish newspapers say otherwise. He was front page on all of them the following day after the fight. Sinead O’Connor said she never heard of UFC before she sang there but heard of McGregor. Also, Australia and varying other countries buy UFC ppvs- just depends on who is fighting. Some Irish had to depending on if they had the subscription that carried the fight or not. If you are saying only 1m buys is a small number, you don’t know this subject very well. That is a very big number for a fight, not to mention of course it had a replacement opponent.
“No even if Conor did a million ppv buys HE IS NOT THE BIG GET PPV START RIGHT NOW IN MMA OR COMBAT SPORTS.ITS STILL BROCK LESNAR AT 1.6 MILLION BUYS.THIS IS A FACT NOT JUST YOUR ASSUMPTIONS THAT CONOR IS THE BIG GET PPV START. NO HE’S NOT.”
You strike me as someone like most of the trolls on here who can’t comprehend past or present tense. Brock Lesnar hasn’t fought in mma in 3 and a half years. Also, even when he was fighting, if he was fighting against someone as low of a draw as Chad Mendes, he wouldn’t be doing 1.6m buys.
Here are Lesnar’s headlining ppv buy rates:
Couture…..1.01m
Mir……………1.6m
Carwin……..1.06m
Velasquez…900k
Overeem…..535k
Notably Velasquez drew only 900k for a title fight. That very well may be less than McGregor in an interim title fight with a replacement opponent.
McGregor is easily the number 1 ppv star in combat sports right now. Gayweather is retiring and won’t draw another big ppv. Pacquaio is washed up and can’t do big numbers unless he fights Gayweather which won’t happen. Lesnar is long retired.
By the way, Mendes didn’t have to cut 35lbs in 10 days. You made that up. I saw him right after they announced he was fighting, he was in shape. Also even if he wasn’t in shape, I doubt he would even weigh 180lbs. He’s 5’6″.
Good ppv good fights. D reading all your posts you need to get laid and get off the internet, get a life dude.
Hello Jason!!
If UFC 189 did 550k to 600k as you estimate…I’d submit that would be a relative bust-o.
I truly believe that the Welterweight Title as sole main event would have done a minimum of 400k buys. This number is pretty easy to arrive at based on recent actual numbers from both Lawler and McDonald. Perhaps closer to 500k buys.
550k to 600k would mean McGregor (and, Mendes) added only 50k to 200k unique (or, in accounting terms: accretive) buyers.
I suggest that this is nothing to write home about. If the real number is 700k or higher then that would begin to impress.
MMAfag, I bang women, you bang dudes. You need to get off the internet with all your aliases.