4 out of the last 5 UFC PPVs (UFC 212, 213, 215, 216) have failed to sell more than 167K PPVs

[Sean Long]

Over. Satu. Ration.

I used to look forward to the UFC. Now it's 'is anybody I REALLY want to see fighting Saturday?'

I get it. The Fertitta's HAD to take that payday. They were offered over a THOUSAND times what they paid for the UFC. But WME, so far, has NOT shown they understand where the value lies in what they purchased. The NFL doesn't even allow the APPEARANCE that Canadian football is somehow on the same level. And speaking of Canadian, how did all the really good Canadian fighters wind up in Bellator?

The Bell Center was an unlocked bank vault for the UFC. Now you're finally down to giving GSP what he wanted to get back into that market. WME was supposed to know the entertainment industry in a way that a washed up boxing promoter and a couple of casino owners didn't. So far, I ain't seein' it.

You are wrong because WME (William Morris Endeavor) will begin cross promoting the UFC by using big name Hollywood stars that are their clients to help promote the UFC. Some current clients are Amy Adams, Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba, Kevin Bacon, Christian Bale, Javier Bardem, Sacha Baron Cohen, Paul Bettany, Helena Bonham Carter, Juliette Binoche, Benjamin Bratt, Toni Collette, Miranda Cosgrova, Willem Dafoe, Michael Douglas, Jenna Fisher, Ricky Gervais, Jack Black, Steve Carell, Matt Damon, Robert De Niro, America Ferrera, Tina Fey, James Franco, James Gandolfini, Gael Garcia Bernal, Jennifer Garner, Paul Giamatti, Topher Grace, Rebecca Hall, Goldie Hawn, Emile Hirsch, Anthony Hopkins, Dustin Hoffman, Kate Hudson, William Hurt, Hugh Jackman, Diane Keaton, Keira Knightley, Shia LaBeouf, Jessica Lange, Diane Lane, Hugh Laurie, Jude Law, Denis Leary, Diego Luna, John Malkovich, Josh Lucas, Julianna Margulies, Frances McDormand, Ewan McGregor, Sienna Miller, Viggo Mortensen, Edward Norton, Chris O’Donnell, Ellen Page, Ryan Phillipe, Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Poehler, Edgar Ramirez, Alan Rickman, Adam Sandler, Jason Segel, Charlie Sheen, Patrick Stewart, Ben Stiller, Barbra Streisand, Tilda Swinton, Karl Urban, Mark Wahlberg, Ken Watanabe, Rachel Weisz

 

[JSN]

This so called auperfight era is turning casual mma fans into casual boxing fans.

 

[Kumason]

Some fans act like they have stock in the UFC.

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

Very poor numbers, but I'm not surprised, the cards are getting worse and worse and not a lot of exciting elite fighters to watch

 

[Thuckey]

I feel like people are buying less because there is so much MORE of UFC these days. More divisions means more events and there are so many events people can pick and chose which ones they want to pay for.

 

[Paladin]

http://mmapayout.com/2017/10/ufc-215-and-ufc-216-ppv-buy-estimates-do-not-impress/

UFC 216 – 120,000

UFC 215 – 100,000

UFC 214 – 850,000

UFC 213 – 125,000-150,000

UFC 212 – 167,000

These buy rates are low mainly due to the multiple failed fights.. Nganou JDS, Werdum Beast, Borg MM.. etc

This did contribute to lower PPV sales, but I don’t think if all fights had stayed intact, sales would have doubled

 

[Post Mortem]

Easy to just watch, online, for free.

 

[giusti825]

217 Will Do great.

Don't think a card with gsp ever did less than 600k

i think part of the problem is less build up and advertising.....

i used to remember seeing tons of ufc ads during commercials.....not as much anymore.....that really is important when your target sales audience is the casual fan.....

 

[MMAart]

It's the casuals who keep the UFC alive financially you might want to show some respect to the people who are bringing in the money

All fans are important. The hardcore fans are the ones that made the UFC what it is today through all the years of support since the early days.

But lately, the new UFC owners have been alienating the hardcore fanbase for short term gains by protecting fighters and giving out undeserved title shots while not letting legitimate contenders fight for the belt.

Just as many posters have pointed out, casual fans might buy one or two big cards, but it's the hardcore fans that consistently buy the PPVs. The decline in the sales of the regular cards showed that the hardcore fanbase is losing interest.

 

[MMAart]

This. I won't buy any card where the belt isn't being defended against a top contender so punting on Bisping/gsp and any Connor bs not tony fights. Belts need defended and champs need to fight at least twice a year. Money fights once the division cleaned out.

Exactly. I would also add that if they want money fights, that's perfectly fine, but strip the title and let them fight money fight while giving the title fights to the legitimate top contenders.

 

[UFC=Pride]

I think it's a bit to watered down now too many events.

 

[Fluffernutter]

Needs more superstars.

Or freak fights.

 

[AusMMAfan]

Yeah it's been a pretty shitty year. 214 was exciting and I'm looking forward to 217 and that is about it. Two good cards in a span of several months..

EDIT: There were a couple of good night cards in there.

 

[Rivait_15]

Obviously they have set deals with ppv companies with their pricing but some cards just flat out are not worth 60$ How the fuck is 215 worth the same price as 217 ? It's just shit value. No one would pay the same price to go to a CFL game as an NFL game.

They should revamp fight pass put all but 3/4 would be ppvs on it, reserve those remaining ppv cards to be stacked as hell 800+k buy quality.

Also agree marketing has gone by the wayside used to see ton of ppv promos now zero unless watching a fight night. ppl tuning into see random newcomers on fight night card aren't the ones the advertising $$ need to influence to buy the next ppv.