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With all this talk of the social media hype for the Rousey fight, I thought it'd be interesting to speculate how well UFC 190 did on PPV, using previous PPV's as points of comparison, comparing it to previous Rousey PPV's and previous Brazil PPV's, since Brazil PPV's typically don't sell as well.
It's said that Rousey has a bigger mainstream appeal than Conor McGregor, and that she's more well known and more famous than him, but he's more popular with the audience that actually buys PPV's, and due to this, he does bigger PPV numbers. I agree with this. Anyway, here's some benchmarks to compare UFC 190 with:
UFC 168 (1,025,000 buys)
Ronda's fight with Meisha Tate after TUF 18. The headliner on this event was the big Silva/Weidman rematch on the New Year's Las Vegas card, so obviously this is unfair to compare to the Bethe fight, and UFC 190 won't beat this.
UFC 189 (950,000 buys)
I've included this just because it's the other big UFC star's recent PPV. As well as McGregor/Mendes, the card had the Robbie/Rory title fight and was arguably a better card overall, and in Las Vegas on Independence Day weekend, again making it an unfair comparison with UFC 190. But if UFC 190's PPV buys matched the social media hype, then it'd beat UFC 189, and obviously that'd be a huge success.
UFC 184 (590,000 buys)
This is the first realistic goal for UFC 190 to aim to beat. This is Rousey's most recent fight against Cat Zingano and her best-selling fight. It did much better on PPV than people expected and was a big success. It was an American event at the Staples Center, so if 190 beat this then that'd be huge.
UFC 175 (545,000 buys)
This was Rousey's fight against Alexis Davis. It was in Las Vegas on the Independence Day weekend card, headlined by Weidman/Machida coming off Weidman's win in the Anderson Silva rematch. The fact that UFC 184 did better than UFC 175 just speaks to how successful UFC 184 was. UFC should be very happy if they can beat 545k buys with UFC 190.
UFC 157 (450,000 buys)
This was Ronda's debut against Liz Carmouche, co-headlined by Machida/Hendo. There was a lot of hype for this event because it was the first women's fight in the UFC. It was at the Honda Center in Anaheim. While this did fewer buys than 175 and 184, it'd still be good if UFC 190 could beat this number. I think this is the first benchmark on the list that UFC 190 has a good chance of beating.
UFC 153 (410,000 buys)
This is the best-selling PPV that has taken place in Brazil. If Ronda can beat 410k buys then she'd take that record. It was in Rio and headlined by the Anderson Silva showcase fight against Stephan Bonnar. The main event was originally intended to be Aldo/Koch, but an Erik Koch injury changed that to Aldo/Edgar, then Aldo got injured and they ended up doing Aldo/Edgar at a later date. The Anderson fight very likely did better than what Aldo/Koch or Aldo/Edgar would have done, which is good considering there was no title on the line. I think the UFC would be happy if UFC 190 beat this.
UFC 170 (340,000 buys)
This was Ronda's fight with Sara McMann, and had the Olympian vs Olympian hype on a card also featuring Daniel Cormier against injury replacement Patrick Cummins. It was in Ronda's regular late February PPV slot, but in Vegas instead of Southern California. I think this was a disappointing number at the time. Even though 190 was in Brazil, it should still aim to beat 340k and the UFC should be disappointed if it doesn't.
UFC 134 (335,000 buys)
This was Zuffa-owned UFC's debut in Brazil. It featured Anderson Silva vs Yushin Okami and took place after Silva/Sonnen 1 and also after Silva front kicked Vitor in the face, both of which helped raise Anderson's profile and also the popularity of the UFC in Brazil. Considering that, and also that UFC hadn't yet fallen too far from the 2008-2010 peak, I think 335k was a disappointing number. Like with UFC 170, it'll be a disappointment if UFC 190 doesn't beat this.
UFC 142 (235,000 buys)
This featured Aldo/Mendes 1 and took place in Rio in January wedged inbetween the New Year's and Super Bowl Las Vegas cards. It's Aldo's best selling of his three Brazil fights. Obviously Rousey is a bigger star than Aldo and should be beating these numbers.
UFC 163 (180,000 buys)
UFC 179 (180,000 buys)
163 was Aldo vs Korean Zombie and 179 was Aldo vs Mendes 2. Both took place in Rio.
UFC 147 (140,000 buys)
This took place in Belo Horizonte, and was the only Brazilian PPV to not happen in Rio. It featured the Wanderlei Silva vs Rich Franklin rematch, and as you'd expect is the lowest-ranking fight on the list.
So, what numbers do you think the UFC would be happy with for UFC 190, and what numbers do you think it'll do? I think they should be aiming to set the record for a Brazil PPV by beating 410k buys. They should be extremely happy if it can beat 500k buys. They should be disappointed if it fails to beat UFC 170's 340k buys. I predict about 400k buys.
It's said that Rousey has a bigger mainstream appeal than Conor McGregor, and that she's more well known and more famous than him, but he's more popular with the audience that actually buys PPV's, and due to this, he does bigger PPV numbers. I agree with this. Anyway, here's some benchmarks to compare UFC 190 with:
UFC 168 (1,025,000 buys)
Ronda's fight with Meisha Tate after TUF 18. The headliner on this event was the big Silva/Weidman rematch on the New Year's Las Vegas card, so obviously this is unfair to compare to the Bethe fight, and UFC 190 won't beat this.
UFC 189 (950,000 buys)
I've included this just because it's the other big UFC star's recent PPV. As well as McGregor/Mendes, the card had the Robbie/Rory title fight and was arguably a better card overall, and in Las Vegas on Independence Day weekend, again making it an unfair comparison with UFC 190. But if UFC 190's PPV buys matched the social media hype, then it'd beat UFC 189, and obviously that'd be a huge success.
UFC 184 (590,000 buys)
This is the first realistic goal for UFC 190 to aim to beat. This is Rousey's most recent fight against Cat Zingano and her best-selling fight. It did much better on PPV than people expected and was a big success. It was an American event at the Staples Center, so if 190 beat this then that'd be huge.
UFC 175 (545,000 buys)
This was Rousey's fight against Alexis Davis. It was in Las Vegas on the Independence Day weekend card, headlined by Weidman/Machida coming off Weidman's win in the Anderson Silva rematch. The fact that UFC 184 did better than UFC 175 just speaks to how successful UFC 184 was. UFC should be very happy if they can beat 545k buys with UFC 190.
UFC 157 (450,000 buys)
This was Ronda's debut against Liz Carmouche, co-headlined by Machida/Hendo. There was a lot of hype for this event because it was the first women's fight in the UFC. It was at the Honda Center in Anaheim. While this did fewer buys than 175 and 184, it'd still be good if UFC 190 could beat this number. I think this is the first benchmark on the list that UFC 190 has a good chance of beating.
UFC 153 (410,000 buys)
This is the best-selling PPV that has taken place in Brazil. If Ronda can beat 410k buys then she'd take that record. It was in Rio and headlined by the Anderson Silva showcase fight against Stephan Bonnar. The main event was originally intended to be Aldo/Koch, but an Erik Koch injury changed that to Aldo/Edgar, then Aldo got injured and they ended up doing Aldo/Edgar at a later date. The Anderson fight very likely did better than what Aldo/Koch or Aldo/Edgar would have done, which is good considering there was no title on the line. I think the UFC would be happy if UFC 190 beat this.
UFC 170 (340,000 buys)
This was Ronda's fight with Sara McMann, and had the Olympian vs Olympian hype on a card also featuring Daniel Cormier against injury replacement Patrick Cummins. It was in Ronda's regular late February PPV slot, but in Vegas instead of Southern California. I think this was a disappointing number at the time. Even though 190 was in Brazil, it should still aim to beat 340k and the UFC should be disappointed if it doesn't.
UFC 134 (335,000 buys)
This was Zuffa-owned UFC's debut in Brazil. It featured Anderson Silva vs Yushin Okami and took place after Silva/Sonnen 1 and also after Silva front kicked Vitor in the face, both of which helped raise Anderson's profile and also the popularity of the UFC in Brazil. Considering that, and also that UFC hadn't yet fallen too far from the 2008-2010 peak, I think 335k was a disappointing number. Like with UFC 170, it'll be a disappointment if UFC 190 doesn't beat this.
UFC 142 (235,000 buys)
This featured Aldo/Mendes 1 and took place in Rio in January wedged inbetween the New Year's and Super Bowl Las Vegas cards. It's Aldo's best selling of his three Brazil fights. Obviously Rousey is a bigger star than Aldo and should be beating these numbers.
UFC 163 (180,000 buys)
UFC 179 (180,000 buys)
163 was Aldo vs Korean Zombie and 179 was Aldo vs Mendes 2. Both took place in Rio.
UFC 147 (140,000 buys)
This took place in Belo Horizonte, and was the only Brazilian PPV to not happen in Rio. It featured the Wanderlei Silva vs Rich Franklin rematch, and as you'd expect is the lowest-ranking fight on the list.
So, what numbers do you think the UFC would be happy with for UFC 190, and what numbers do you think it'll do? I think they should be aiming to set the record for a Brazil PPV by beating 410k buys. They should be extremely happy if it can beat 500k buys. They should be disappointed if it fails to beat UFC 170's 340k buys. I predict about 400k buys.
