Is big names not fighting going to be a staple of the ESPN era?

S

superpunch

Banned
Banned
Joined
Oct 17, 2015
Messages
21,164
Reaction score
4,680
Common thought is that PPV buys are way down with the paywall and app wall in place. That means less PPV sales. That means less PPV points for champions and big name fighters. We see Conor hardly fighting, Cejudo retiring, Brock Lesnar staying in the WWE, etc. Are these guys canaries in the coal mine for what is to come?
 
More stars are bound to come around like Izzy. Not sure how the PPV structure will evolve over time. I think UFC will eventually adopt the subscription service like WWE network.
 
GangGangGang said:
More stars are bound to come around like Izzy. Not sure how the PPV structure will evolve over time. I think UFC will eventually adopt the subscription service like WWE network.
Click to expand...
I don’t think Adesanya is a star
 
yup. all the champs see is money fights since conor made his millions

now everyone thinks its the norm.
 
superpunch said:
Common thought is that PPV buys are way down with the paywall and app wall in place. That means less PPV sales. That means less PPV points for champions and big name fighters. We see Conor hardly fighting, Cejudo retiring, Brock Lesnar staying in the WWE, etc. Are these guys canaries in the coal mine for what is to come?
Click to expand...

Yes. The big fighters are going away. Just like Bork Laser walked away. He wouldn't take PPV points and wanted full dollars up front because he knew PPV is done.

The ONLY reason Conor still fights in the UFC is because he worked out a deal to have Proper 12 plastered all over the octagon, making up for money lost by ESPN and their paywall cutting into PPV numbers.
 
ZaphMMA said:
Yes. The big fighters are going away. Just like Bork Laser walked away. He wouldn't take PPV points and wanted full dollars up front because he knew PPV is done.

The ONLY reason Conor still fights in the UFC is because he worked out a deal to have Proper 12 plastered all over the octagon, making up for money lost by ESPN and their paywall cutting into PPV numbers.
Click to expand...


We had a sig bet. Pay up Justin Ferguson vs Tony Gaethje PPV buys
 
MileHigher said:
That’s not really up for debate at this point.
Click to expand...

In the context of Izzy being a PPV star, I think it surely is.

No doubt Izzy has had a big pop culture boost in some areas, but its being reported that UFC 249 did an estimated 700k+ buys, and Dana has gone on saying how it crushed 248.

We've heard nothing about 248 being a big PPV success, and its being reported that 700k buys for 249 is substantially more. So that means Izzy can be a popular guy on Instagram without the ability to sell many PPV buys.

I don't think his stock went up having a staring match with Romero either. Talk about a stinker.
 
rjmbrd said:
In the context of Izzy being a PPV star, I think it surely is.

No doubt Izzy has had a big pop culture boost in some areas, but its being reported that UFC 249 did an estimated 700k+ buys, and Dana has gone on saying how it crushed 248.

We've heard nothing about 248 being a big PPV success, and its being reported that 700k buys for 249 is substantially more. So that means Izzy can be a popular guy on Instagram without the ability to sell many PPV buys.

I don't think his stock went up having a staring match with Romero either. Talk about a stinker.
Click to expand...

Give it some time. He’s just getting started.
 
I haven't ordered a PPV since before the ESPN+ only PPV deal, and I would always order to watch Jon Jones and GSP.

If Brittney and Arianny were to start fighting, I might reconsider.
 
MileHigher said:
Give it some time. He’s just getting started.
Click to expand...

I think Izzy has the potential to become a PPV star, for whatever is left of the PPV market, but its pretty clear that is not what happened at 248 regarding sales.

Further, having a starring match with Romero was probably healthy for his brain but bad for his name recognition. Nobody was talking about that fight the next day and sharing gifs on reddit, other then to make fun of it.
 
The one time I bought a PPV was Sonnen vs Silva 2, I was super hyped. I cant imagine any match getting me that hyped again, and I don't understand why people pay to watch human cockfighting.

Inb4 the "watching with friends" nonsense.
 
richardjohnson said:
I don’t think Adesanya is a star
Click to expand...
Dude got over 1million instagram followers within his first year in the ufc. He is at 2.5m and thats more than 99% of mma fighters. I feel thats a decent indication of popularity. I know you can buy fake followers but its easier to go by comment count and likes. Izzy is pretty popular my man.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
1,262,841
Messages
57,190,099
Members
175,574
Latest member
BroScienceTalkatWork

Share this page

Back
Top