Welcome to another edition of Payout Perspective. This time we take a look at UFC 254 which took place on Saturday on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi as the promotion ended its second stint this year in the Middle East.
Khabib retires after submitting Gaethje
Khabib Nurmogomedov ended his UFC career with a submission victory over Justin Gaethje in the second round of their matchup. After the fight Khabib ceremoniously took his gloves off and set them on the mat. In his post-fight Octagon interview he retired stating that he could no longer fight without his father who passed away earlier this year of COVID-19.
Nurmogomedov will go down as one of the best ever in the sport of MMA. At 29-0, his undefeated streak is one of the most impressive considering he fought some of the toughest in his division: McGregor, Poirier and Gaethje.
His submission via triangle choke was one of the slickest transitions you will see and displayed why he was so effective in the Octagon.
While combat sports is rife with fighters returning to fight (e.g., GSP, Oscar de la Hoya, Roy Jones, Jr. and Mike Tyson) its likely Khabib will stay retired and possibly continue to help his training partners with their careers.
As for Gaethje, his loss should not diminish his place in the division. He’s still at the top and should face the winner of the Conor McGregor-Dustin Poirier fight to clarify the lightweight champ. Of course, Michael Chandler will soon be brought into the conversation as a contender as well.
At an event where a lot of fighters could have received bonuses including Lauren Murphy, Phil Hawes and Alexander Volkov, it was Khabib that led the roster of $50K winners with his mounted triangle sub. Also winning a bonus was Magomed Angkalaev with his first round stoppage of Ion Cutelaba. Fight of the Night was awarded to Nathaniel Wood and Casey Kenney.
Promotional Compliance Pay
Khabib Nurmagomedov: $40K
Justin Gaethje: $40K
Robert Whittaker: $15K
Jared Cannonier: $10K
Alexander Volkov: $5K
Walt Harris: $10K
Phil Hawes: $3,500
Jacob Malkoun; $3,500
Lauren Murphy: $5,000
Liliya Shakirova: $3,500
Magomed Ankalaev: $5,000
Ion Cutelaba: $5,000
Tai Tuivasa: $5,000
Stefan Struve: $20,000
Casey Kenney: $5,000
Nathaniel Wood: $5,000
Shavkat Rakhmonov: $3,500
Alex Oliveira: $15,000
Da Un Jung: $3,500
Sam Alvey: $15,000
Miranda Maverick: $3,500
Liana Jojua: $3,500
Joe Alvarez: $4,000
Alexander Yakovlev: $5,000
Sponsors
TR2 Tactical Respirators, which supplied the masks that the fighters wore which made them look like Bane from the Batman series was a major sponsor this event with time in the Octagon and presenting the Embedded series. The UFC also included Oura as a sponsor in the cage
In addition, Toyo Tires, UFC Fight Pass, Monster Energy and Speedway convenience stores shared a post, Abu Dhabi, Devour Frozen Foods, Jimmy Johns, TR2 Tactical Respirator II, U.S. Air Force, EA UFC 4, Guaranteed Rate, P3, Call of Duty’s new video game update Cold War was also on the mat. Finally, Monster Energy held the center of the Octagon.
P3 and Call of Duty had their promo copy read before the Khabib-Justin fight.
Howler Head, a company selling a brand of whiskey, was prominent during the telecast as it sponsored the tale of the tape.
UFC Arabia had the fighter prep point. The app was the only way that fans in that region could access the PPV.
Also, of note was Justin Gaethje promoting Trojan Condoms on his own social media channels.
I protect myself inside the Octagon, @trojancondoms keeps me protected outside. #ad #ProtectYourselfAtAllTimes #TrojanCondoms #UFC254 pic.twitter.com/P9cr2DUMEk
— Justin Gaethje 🇺🇸 (@Justin_Gaethje) October 20, 2020
He also promoted EA UFC 4 which granted access to Brock Lesnar as a playing character in the video game for those that played the free trial this past weekend.
The fighters in #UFC4 just got even scarier. Play @easportsufc for FREE this weekend only 👀 🎮 pic.twitter.com/ocvRQOG1IT
— Justin Gaethje 🇺🇸 (@Justin_Gaethje) October 22, 2020
Odds and ends
Khabib had a broken toe/foot right before the event and his fight camp had several training partners go down with the mumps. Regardless, Khabib persevered which is a testament to his mind and heart.
There was also a very quick weigh-in by Khabib.
Michael Chandler received a segment on the PPV where he was highlighted an interviewed. He was the scheduled backup for the main event in the case either fighter had to drop out. Fortunately, that did not happen. However, the
Lauren Murphy gave solid arguments as to why she should receive a title shot at Valentina Shevchenko and I believe if she gets by Jennifer Maia at UFC 255, Murphy deserves the next shot. Not to mention, Murphy came up with a solid finish in her fight.
Sportico ran an article about how the UFC may be giving up short-term money in order to appease its regional interests. This would not be the only time that a card from the Middle East aired during the day. The Andy Ruiz-Anthony Joshua rematch aired midday from Saudi Arabia and last year’s Khabib-Dustin matchup aired during the day. Remember, the fights on Fight Island usually start early morning to appease the North American audience. Since Khabib is such a big draw in the area, it made sense to have the card in the evening in the middle east.
BT Sport had a touching cartoon which paid respects to Khabib Nurmogomedov’s deceased father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, who passed away of COVID-19.
There were over 2 million google searches for Khabib-Gaethje on Friday in anticipation of the fight. It surpassed the 1 million searches for ‘Borat’ as his subsequent movie came out.
Payout Perspective:
Despite the prelim ratings being quite low, this had to be one of the most anticipated fights this year. Dana White noted (as he always tends to do) that the metrics for the fight were trending higher than the Conor McGregor-Khabib fight a couple years back. With that statement, one might anticipate an announcement on the numbers soon. I would think that this fight gets to 1 million worldwide buys and its unlikely we will get a definitive answer of how many in the U.S. bought the PPV. Khabib is very popular overseas and knowing that this would be his first fight without his father it likely drew some curious casuals.
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