(Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas.)
For nearly two years, UFC 66 — which featured the light-heavyweight title bout between the organization’s two biggest stars, Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz — was the UFC’s best-selling pay-per-view card of all time, with an estimated 1,050,000 buys. Few UFC events even came close to the lofty record, until UFC 91 in November almost surpassed it on the strength of the Couture/Lesnar superfight, bringing in a reported 1,010,000 buys. A month later, the stacked-to-death "Ultimate 2008" card smashed the old record with 1,200,000 buys. And now, if Dana White is to be believed, last Saturday’s UFC 94 show has broken the record again, with an estimated 1,300,000+ pay-per-view buys. That figure even beats the 1,250,000 buys that the Oscar De La Hoya/Manny Pacquiao boxing match pulled down in December.
Could the UFC be a recession-proof business, with a steadily growing base of consumers? Or are the killer numbers for St. Pierre vs. Penn 2 a direct result of the event’s marketing blitz, which included the flashy new documentary series UFC Primetime? And how long will this new record last? Though there are no bonafide superfights on the schedule right now, DW reminds us that we have Mir/Lesnar, Penn/Florian, Rashad Evans‘s first title defense, and Randy Couture‘s next fight coming up, so there’s no shortage of great matchups to be had. Meanwhile, the UFC’s competition is thrilled to get 150,000-200,000 buys, which just illustrates the gulf in success between the top MMA outfit in the world and everybody else.
Unfortunately, not all is rosy in the financial realm of Zuffa. Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta’s Station Casinos empire announced that it would be going through a "prepackaged bankruptcy" to avoid being crushed by the $2 billion in debts it accrued when the company went private in 2007. Station has been one of the hardest-hit casino groups during the current economic downturn, which has greatly affected Las Vegas’s tourism and real estate markets.
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Comments
Thu, 02/05/09 - 12:24
Yeah cause the station has shitty hotels and casinos!!!!
Thu, 02/05/09 - 12:28
yea, there's still a lot of really great fights to look forward to. i wanna see couture vs nogueira.
Thu, 02/05/09 - 12:28
Kadumel is at it again. Listen, it wasn't funny the first time and you didn't get any responses to it. Why try and post it again? Kadumel=LOSER
Thu, 02/05/09 - 12:29
FIRST KNEE GROWS
Thu, 02/05/09 - 12:32
Great interview! LMMFAO!!!!!!!!11!!!!ONE11111UNO!!!111111111!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thu, 02/05/09 - 12:35
@Fenix hahahahahahahaha that shit made me laugh LMMFAO!!!!!!!!11!!!!ONE11111UNO!!!111111111!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thu, 02/05/09 - 12:36
Ben: So why are you such a douche? TUF Guy: Oh, because my dad's one too. Ben: Why are you so angry at the world? TUF Guy: Because I'm ugly and have a small penis. Ben: So why do u post so much if you hate this site? TUF Guy: I think it's because I have nothing else to do, and I'm basically just looking for the attention I never got when I was a kid. Ben: Do you actually train as much as you say you do? TUF Guy: Actually, no. But I do play with my trainset a lot at home. It's great. Keeps me occupied and it's really fun. Ben: So what would you do if someone actually showed up looking for you? TUF Guy: Um, probably apologize and try to make a new friend. That's how I got my wicked train set. My new friend, his name is Serb Guy by the way. He felt so sorry for me that he bought it for me. Ben: I see. So do you have anything you want to say to the potato nation? TUF Guy: Yea, sure. I'm sorry for being such a jerk. I'm really a nice guy. I just have a hard time making friends. I was hoping to get a lot of laughs and meet new and interesting people. I apologize to Old, Bald & Irish, Machete for hands, Kadumel, Serb Guy, and of course you Ben, for my tasteless racist remarks. Sorry if I offended anyone else. Ben: Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us. Any last words or shout outs? TUF Guy: No problem, I wasn't doing anything anyways. I usually just wait for responses from people. Thanks for talking to me and listening to my side of the story. I have no one to shout out.
Thu, 02/05/09 - 12:38
dang that tuff guy is a real loser i mean look at that interview. poor guy. i feel sorry for him bj penns face looks fucked up!
Thu, 02/05/09 - 12:38
Nice post Kadumel! Sounds like clozer must be TUF Guy's boyfriend.
Thu, 02/05/09 - 12:39
HOLY SHIT! If GSP was not greased I guess BJ could have dodged that..... Stupid fucking BJ nut huggers....
Thu, 02/05/09 - 12:40
^ Great interview. ROFL.
Thu, 02/05/09 - 12:43
@ Clozer He did get a response the first time he posted it. you commented too. And it was funny the first time. It was even funnier the second time.
Thu, 02/05/09 - 12:44
1.3 Million times $45 equals 58Mill plus gate. Sounds like the Fertittas should forget about the casinos and bank on the UFC. Just think with all that money Dana White can buy a whole case of Pen Zappers.
Thu, 02/05/09 - 12:45
lyoto should get the first shot against rashad. he looked really impressive against silva and it's obvious that he is trying to become more appealing to the fans. any other fighter by now would be upset if he didn't get a title shot whereas lyoto justs keep saying he wants a title shot but he's willing to compete against whoever white wants him to compete with.
Thu, 02/05/09 - 12:46
That photo looks like it was taken out of an anime fight sequence
Thu, 02/05/09 - 12:46
I love the love that Clozer is giving me. He thinks because he was imitating me recently that I am writing pseudo interviews. Sorry Clozer, but I don't know who the author is. Nice try, troll!
Thu, 02/05/09 - 12:47
CLOZER = TUF Guy posting under another name.
Thu, 02/05/09 - 12:49
so whats the deal with the whole vaseline incident? whats gonna happen CAGEPOTATO??
Thu, 02/05/09 - 12:50
@ Splagger Good point. i was actually thinking that when I read his post.
Thu, 02/05/09 - 12:54
it's a shame none of the awesome fights to come have anything to do with anderson. he's stuck fighting assholes like leites. that's not appealing anymore now that we are getting used to these fucking superfights. no wonder bj wanted to get outta the LW division for a little. it is easily the weakest ufc weight class. DW should focus on bringing in some talent to the MW division. God the ufc really needs to bring in mousasi (the wannabe HW??) and jacare. i'd even love to see manhoef. the number two MW should never be micheal bisping
Thu, 02/05/09 - 12:58
@ Perdew How do you figure that the LW the weakest weight class in the UFC? They may not have as many superstars as the LHW, but that division is stacked with up and coming stars. It is the only division in the UFC where you can even imagine doing a grand prix tournament. With guys like Florian, Sherk, Stevenson, Diego Sanchez, Tyson Griffen, Clay Guida, Huerta (still has one fight left in his contract), Frankie Edgar, all vying for a title shot - it is easily the most competitive division in the UFC IMO. Plus there is still a good chance that we'll see most of the LW division of the WEC absorbed into the UFC in the near future. The weakest divisions by far would have to be MW and HW where you only have to string together two wins in a row to get a possible title shot. It's pathetic that guys like Kongo and Gonzaga can fight one-and-done cans and be considered in the title mix
Thu, 02/05/09 - 01:01
the middleweight division will be a lot more interesting when gsp moves up.
Thu, 02/05/09 - 01:06
BJ properly demonstrates how to take a superman jab. Very nice. (Applause)
Thu, 02/05/09 - 01:10
ufc boasts to be the best, not because they are the most competitive, but because they believe they have the best talent. they need to step it up. none of my favorite LW's are in the ufc aside from bj and kenflo.
Thu, 02/05/09 - 01:13
good point Perdew. it looks light white is trying to bring over some lightweights though. i'm looking forward to that. i too also love hearing kongo say he wants the title.
Thu, 02/05/09 - 01:16
ufc are some greedy fucks they need to pay they're fucking fighters thats like 30 million dollars profit and the fighter payouts like 1 or 2
Thu, 02/05/09 - 01:18
@ creamy i agree with you about kongo and gonzaga being out of their element when thinking of a title shot, although i love hearing kongo say "i want the tittle". that shit is hilarious. but considering talent rich as opposed to competitive, the LW division is weak. just look at the CP power rankings. how many ufc fighters are in their divisions top 10? i'm considering wec fighters to be under the ufc banner for this. HW-5 of 10 LHW-9 of 10 MW-7 of 10 WW-8 of 10 and LW-3. all of the the ufc lightweights would look like shit if aoki, alvarez and hansen came over
Thu, 02/05/09 - 01:33
Im sure the face full of fist bj just received in the picture had something to do with vasaline too...lol
Thu, 02/05/09 - 01:40
So the jap mob went belly up and PRIDE folded, let's see what's gonna happen if the wops go under. Always go with the chosen people when you are dealing with money, just ask Fedor's management.
Thu, 02/05/09 - 03:55
@ Perdew Point taken about all of the talented lightweights outside of Zuffa. Although, they now have 4 in CP's Power Rankings since Diego is dropping down to LW. Granted Zuffa doesn't have some of the best in the division but that's not entirely their fault. I think it's only a matter of time before Eddie Alvarez signs with them, but Hansen and Aoki would rather stay put in Japan. I mean where else could Aoki get away with fighting with his magic pants? And I still disagree with you about them not having great talent in this division. Sure most of them aren't top 10 fighters yet, and they might lose to those LW's outside of Zuffa, but give them time. Who would have believed that KenFlo would be ranked 5th a few years back? Most of the fighters in this division are in their mid 20's or younger. This divisions best years are still ahead of it IMO and I can't wait!
Thu, 02/05/09 - 04:19
creamy, tru tru tru . I do like the young LW's a lot and they obviously show great promise a la kenflo, good point. we both see what the other is saying. they just can't put on too many card carrying fights as of now. I'm not exactly jumping out of my pants to watch stevenson vs sanchez as a main event...but it is for free. IMO the MW and WW divisions are the only reason the 95 card has any strength.
Thu, 02/05/09 - 04:33
I hate stupid f'in comments like this.. ~~~ Sodak Says: Thu, 02/05/2009 - 13:16 ufc are some greedy fucks they need to pay they're fucking fighters thats like 30 million dollars profit and the fighter payouts like 1 or 2 ~~~ If you are a fighter and you want more money, go to another organization. The UFC is the only org on firm ground right now, and that is because they realize it is goddamn stupid to pay their fighters75% more then the total amount that gets brought in. Only fight org that will survive is the UFC and that is because they know how to run a business. Now shutupand you and your boyfriend can go back to doing tests with vaseline to see if it really makes it too slippery for another dude to mount your back when you are face down on the carpet.
Thu, 02/05/09 - 05:04
Do you you Fuck Stick's know how long it takes to get accurate PPV numbers? It takes weeks sometimes months too. This is just propaganda coming from Dana White's mouth. Also if UFC 94 is the most watched PPV ever that's a shame because the entire card was a huge letdown with a completely one-sided main event. I'd have rather seen GSP/Fitch 2 than the GSP/Penn rematch.
Thu, 02/05/09 - 05:30
that's the dumbest thing i've ever read. you only think that now. going into the gspvpenn fight you know you got wet. there is no way before that fight you were thinking you'd rather see fitch get dominated again.
Thu, 02/05/09 - 08:00
@Perdew You're a fucking moron if you think that the GSP/Penn card was worth the money!
Fri, 02/06/09 - 01:32
The GSP vs. Penn was good but the real money maker was seeing Lyoto finally get a KO...the only KO of the night.
Fri, 02/06/09 - 05:21
No "prepackaged bankruptcy" could hold a candle to my momma's homemade bankruptcies.
Mon, 02/09/09 - 04:54
This was the most overhyped overrated card I can ever remember. Thank christ I watched it online and didn't shell out 45 dollars like a lot of dumb asses did.
Mon, 02/09/09 - 10:32
How about this...me versus you...thats right you...the stupid person reading this...i will F u up...then your girl...then Dana...im coming for you
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