Will UFC return to Denver? UFC 150 and 135 revisited

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to get to go to two UFC events here in Denver. UFC 135 Jones vs Rampage and UFC 150 later. As everyone can probably remember, 135 was one of the most hyped events in the sports history. It was a decidedly "big-budget" affair, even receiving acknowledgement from ESPN in it's pre-fight buildup.

Of course, 135 appeared to be a massive sellout from what I could tell. About a year later UFC 150, Edgar vs. Henderson II (the infamously bad decision for Bendo). Also a very good card with a championship fight, but not nearly the kind of pizzazz that 135 possessed. A friend of mine got us the tickets, as he was comped an ENTIRE SECTION OF TICKETS.

I found that to be kind of depressing, because just from what you hear out of Dana White, it doesn't sound like the kind of situation that would exactly compel the UFC to hurry back to Denver for another event.

Has anyone ever heard any direct comment about this? Because I remember being surprised at how sparse the crowd was for 150 even with the comped tickets. It ended up being kind of full by the time Ceronne fought about two/three fights before Edgar, but it was a definite contrast from the Bones/Rampage fight a year before.

 

I think that spooked them on Colorado---which to that point had been a pretty loyal market for them. I bet they'll come back but I figure it'll be for a much smaller venue with a much smaller risk attached to it.

 

Yeah, I agree, but I think it will take some doing. I can almost hear Dana White at the roundtable in my head:

Feritta: "So.. UFC 202. How do you feel about Denver?"

White: "Fuck no. Remember 150? That even had a championship fight and we comped half the tickets. No way."

 

Cincinnati is on thin ice as well, I can assure you.

 

If they do go back to Denver, they need to avoid putting heavies on the card. Having 265lb dudes fight at altitude was not a great idea.

 

I'm not sure what city wouldn't be on thin ice with brown and silva headling ?

 

It was supposed to be Franklin/Nogueira or something like that.

 

Yeah, those Browne/Broughton and Rothwell/Hunt fights ended up being the worst fights on the card. Maybe there's something to that.

(edit) somehow I got it in my head that Browne and Rothwell had fought, not far off though.

 

That would have helped and brown vs silva co main event.

 

I don't think Cincy was a place they really had high hopes for anyways. Could probably go to any other 2-3 locales in Ohio and pull a better gate.

 

UFC 150 was a shitty card. Yeah, it had a title fight on it, but other than that it had Cerrone/Guillard which is a really good fight, but the co-main event on a PPV? I don't know about that.

After those two fights, you had guys like Ed Herman (because he fights out of CO), Buddy Roberts, and Justin Lawrence on the main card of a PPV and you're trying to sell out the Pepsi Center with that? LOL.

CO has supported past Fight Nights up in Broomfield and UFC 135 very well. The UFC just badly overestimated the drawing power of Bendo/Edgar II with that fight card. Hell, the event only did something like 200k PPV buys. It was a shit card. Blame the UFC for putting together a lackluster card, not CO.

 

Hunt/Rothwell was a huge gasfest but a somewhat entertaining one. We nearly had ADCC Hunt!

 

Good point. Can't argue any of that.

 

Yeah I went to that UFC 150 show it was awesome, my only UFC show and had my boy Bendo on it. But that card was rough.

It was less then 2 years ago, 9 people remain from that card. 11 have been cut.

 

UFC 68, Columbus Ohio, sold over 19,000 tickets...record at time...
UFC 77, Cincinnati Ohio, sold over 16,000 tickets...
UFC 82, Columbus Ohio, sold over 16,000 tickets...
UFC Fight Night 40, Cincinatti, only sold 6,000 tickets

Columbus is a much better city for a PPV than Cincinnati anyways. But UFC waited 6 f*cking years to come back to Ohio, and when they did it was a 1/2 ass Fight Night card. That card would have sold the same no matter where it was. It should have been in a small arena to begin with.

UFC will continue to sell less tickets anymore, due to economy, watered down events, and the fad/trend is over as well...

 

The high altitude definitely changes the fights and not just HWs. I thought the high altitude was a big factor in Bendo slowing down and deserving the loss against Edgar.

 

It was booked as a Rich Franklin retirement deal. When Lil Nog turned the fight down and Franklin decided he'd prefer to work on his business, it was left to the wolves. Sides its all bout TV rights fees for them on these Fight Nights.

 

tweet dana instead

 

Surprised that UFC stopped going to Columbus, Ohio for the Arnold weekend in early March, that seemed like such an easy slamdunk guaranteed sell out.

 

I seem to remember there being some Strikeforce related issue there.