It was Bellator MMA’s big debut in New York City as it returned to PPV with the long-awaited grudge match between Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva. Scott Coker stated that the mid-200,000 (buys) would be respectable.
However, the PPV card disappointed with 95,000 buys.
The event also featured Fedor Emelianenko as he faced Matt Mitrione.
The PPV was split with fights, dubbed as “Bellator 180” airing on 2 different networks and featuring Ryan Bader against Phil Davis. The MSG event drew 12,133 with a gate of $1,630,314. The television portion aired on Spike TV and Country Music Television drawing a combined 901,000 viewers.
According to an ESPN story, Viacom’s investment in the event was “20 to 30 times more” than anything put into Coker’s previous “tent pole” events. The investment came with expectations and based on the PPV numbers did not deliver.
Bellator’s first try at PPV garnered 100,000 buys in 2014. While the box office did well, the PPV numbers had to be a disappointment considering the belief that the company’s formula of using former UFC stars to headline a Bellator event drew big numbers (e.g., Ortiz-Bonnar). But, the company foray into PPV still has to be fine tuned as the first two tries have not been good.
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