Early UFC 226 pay-per-view estimates are under 400,000 buys

Besides the Lewis fight it was a pretty solid fight card... bet my buddy 20 bucks I took Francis didn’t really think there was a winner .... shit happens tho
 
The heavyweight division hasn't drawn big numbers since JDS was champion. There's simply not much interest in it.
 
I haven't had cable in a decade. $70 a month with commercials? Fucking laughable. Their business model is dying as well.
Yeah, I don’t even understand how my parents do that shit anymore. There’s better free content on YouTube and that shit has adds too. Fucking cable lmao
 
im speaking on why it didnt sell 700k ppvs. if they thought this was gonna be like 217 they're mistaken. this card and 225 had a lot of exciting fights and names on it for hardcore, regular ufc viewers.

to reply to what you're saying - yes its apparent WME has no clue whats going on and i think they are clueless as to why the ppv's arent selling. they've gone the stack the ppv and up and down with top 10 fighters and 2 title fights etc. (like 225) - and it did like 300k guys. they did 220 with the heavyweight and light heavy belts on the line and they did like 300k again. they're throwing shit at the wall to see what sticks. they have no idea how to run an mma organization or to help it grow.
Sad state of affairs. Maybe actually promoting their events would help? Since promotion is WME's forte. Actually taking talent and making stars out of them.

They need to put a huge star on network TV. The UFC has squandered the obvious for a long time now. Their worries are about their stars bringing in PPV money that they get immediately, but aren't planting seeds for the future. Can you imagine how many viewers FOX would get if UFC put Conor in a main event? People that don't normally tune in would watch that shit for sure, it's free. You put your big stars on free TV to bring in new fans...and the overall product starts to receive more attention. It's the Kimbo Effect. He still holds the record for most watched MMA fight, bc people gave a shit about him and tuned in. You put a Conor type on free TV, could have been Ronda, hell, even Brock, people will tune in. Make the undercard a bunch of sacrifices to the JBG, and your fan base will begin to grow.

They should put me on the payroll. I will straighten out their problems, make them a ton of money, fuck all of their wives, and take the money and run. Ffs.
 
did anyone expect more than that? Dana White has been running the UFC into the ground after his daddy left.

I expected about 500-600k. Cormier and Miocic on their own have never been huge draws.
 
How much would a 400,000 ppv buy card do if no one pirated and everyone bought? Any guesses? Over 2mil?

The thing is, that rests on the assumption that people would buy the fight card if they couldn't pirate it. I wouldn't. I'd just wait and watch the clips later on when they were uploaded to the internet.

The UFC has a problem with overpriced events. I remember when I started watching UFC PPV events, the cost was like $39.95 (~2005-2006). Now they cost what, $65 online??? And HD versions from your cable provider, which you need to buy with an HD TV, cost even more.

The UFC should be tying their PPV prices to wages. If wages stagnate then so should the price of their PPVs. If anything this is a symptom of a bad economy. I used to pay to watch UFC PPV events because I could afford it. But in the past 10 years, wages haven't risen dramatically and cost of living (food + real-estate) has sky rocketed. I just can't afford to pay $65 to watch a UFC event now.

People can only afford such luxuries if they have disposable income, or the interest is sufficiently. Certainly some interest in the UFC has waned, but I'd argue the economy is at least 50% of the problem.
 
The blame has to at least partially go on Ortega for refusing a replacement fight. They could've called it an interim title fight since Max has pulled out of the last few fights and his future is uncertain, then the card could still sell better with the idea that there's two title fights.
 
There is no combination of fights the UFC can put together with their active roster that can do more than 500 k I guarantee you.

Even if they put every belt on the line and put it into 1 PPV it still wont crack 500 k imo

They literally have zero stars/draws in any division. And no GSP nor Conor counts because they are both retires/inactive.
 
If the best HW fight in years struggled to get 400k that REALLY doesn't bode well for the stacked 227 card with a 135 headliner and 125 co-main. That's a shame because if it holds up I think 227 is a better card than 226 (bc of the cancelled Holloway/Ortega championship fight)
 
that what happen when Hollywood cucks run a fighting business
 
It's due in large part to streaming. I happen to know quite a few "casuals" who were very interested in 226. And almost all of them were bragging about streaming the fight as opposed to buying it. I was going to buy it for the first time in a LONG time, but chose to watch it at one of said casuals house instead after the Holloway / Ortega fight fell through. We even talked about it during the fights, mentioning how pissed we would be if we were the UFC, at just how many people were streaming the fights instead of buying them.
They need to change with the times and offer an online network deal. 100 bucks for a 6 month commitment. Or something along those line. Include ppv events. It's an outdated business model. Unless you can get a super big fight that happens once every 2 to 3 years.
 
Now that we've had our first super mega star in Conor, it will be like boxing. Expect these numbers to be par for the course except for when the few megastars fight.

Sidenote: UFC fighters are dumb as hell for not demanding more money. They should go on strike.
 
Only Brock, Conor, Jones or possibly some big name from another sport (Floyd) would generate over 500-600K these days.
 

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