Was it because they were coaches on TUF?
It wasnt even for a title either
Plus not a good co main either..Bisping cake walk over journeyman Dan Miller
Jones vs Evans, which had a more better rivalry only did 700K
Jones vs Rampage only did 520K
That's also significantly more than all (4) of Mighty Mouses PPV totals COMBINED
Other fights on the main card
Todd Duffee vs Mike Russo - sub average HW fight
Lil Nog vs journeyman Jason Brilz
No name John Hathway vs Pre Crazy Diego
Another note
UFC 113, the PPV before with the highly anticipated rematch between Machida & Shogun, a title fight
Also with Kimbo
and Kosheck vs Daley on the card
only did 500K buys
A lot of people here have made good points:
Rampage and Shad built things up on TUF. Rampage was a big name. Rashad was pretty big. UFC was doing well generally.
But I actually think the reason that PPV did so well was because of two guys not even on the card:
1) TUF season 10.
TUF season 10 was different and special. It did really, really well. Why? Was it the coaches and their profile? Was it the heat they generated?
Let's look at both of those things:
Heat:
Rampage was good television and Rashad was the perfect foil to all of his antics. Rampage did just enough to make you not like him (bullying the one chubby guy, being generally prideful, etc). He also had great quips and was just generally great in front of the camera. And he was scary. Rampage is a big, scary dude; you know he isn't just all talk. Yet Rashad was not intimidated. Great television. These guys delivered when the eyes were put on them. And the broken door and all the stare downs were gold.
But several seasons of TUF have built up a lot of heat between coaches . . . . (i) CJ and Cody; (ii) Ken and Tito; (iii) Joanna and Claudia etc . . . . Granted, Rampage and Rashad did, as people have mentioned, have a special chemistry together . . . . Cody/Dillashaw had equivalent heat to Rashad/Rampage. But the ratings for that TUF season were pretty low.
http://mmapayout.com/2017/04/tuf-25-episode-1-draws-lowest-ever-rating-for-series/ That season hovered around 400k viewers per episode. It was not the heat.
Profile of the coaches:
No way Rampage and Rashad had bigger profiles than Lesnar, Liddell, Tito, or Rich. Yet TUF season 10 had way more initial interest. Just look at the debut episode ratings for seasons 1-12. Season 10 sticks out like a sore thumb.
https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2011/3/...ratings-history-of-the-ultimate-fighter-first
So if Season 10 wasn't successful based on the heat or the coaches, what was it?
Two words: Kimbo Slice . . . . . He put the eyes on Page and Rashad that season of TUF. His draw was all those two guys needed to sell the goods once they had the eyes on them. Kimbo Slice on TUF season 10 translated into huge PPV buys for UFC 114.
To understand how special a performer Season 10 was, take a look at the fact that TUF season 10 never got below 2.4M viewers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ultimate_Fighter:_Heavyweights
One season later, with huge names in Chuck and Tito/Rich as the coaches (definitely bigger names than Rashad and Rampage at the time), you had almost 700k less viewers for most episodes. The finale only drew 1.6M viewers.
https://mmajunkie.com/2010/06/the-u...include-1-6-million-viewers-for-episode-no-11
Take a look at the ratings provided here for TUF seasons 12 - 16. Never got above 1.7M viewers.
https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2012/10...imate-fighter-ratings-shows-disturbing-trends
Something was going on for TUF season 10. It was Kimbo. He drew the eyes for Rampage and Rashad to deliver the goods. That season of TUF then sold viewers for the PPV.
2) Forrest was supposed to be on the card. He was still a huge draw from his fairy tale on TUF 1. He didn't fight. But he did draw interest to the card while he was on it.
But, really, it was Kimbo. Kimbo Kimbo Kimbo.
