MMAPayout.com: The Business of MMA

UFC 91 Ticket Sales

2008-09-23T13:00:00.000-04:00

Dave Meltzer of Yahoo reports that low end tickets are gone for the big UFC 91 showdown:

All $75 and $150 tickets went quickly on the Internet presale late last week.

All $300 tickets were gone by Sunday, so the only seats left are for $500, $750 and $1,000, with plenty available at the two highest prices. But never fear, you can still get the former $75 tickets for as “low” as $241 from scalpers.

All told, heading into the week, 7,500 tickets were sold for roughly $2.5 million.

Having three shows in Vegas over the span of two and a half months, each demanding premium pricing, may lead to a point of diminishing returns when it comes to the performance of the UFC at the gate. Brock vs Randy should yield a record gate, but possibly at the expense of a lower than the norm figure for the New Year's card, and subsequently the Superbowl card.

The lesser than normal gates for such high profile cards can be mitigated to some degree by the seeming inability to do higher numbers elsewhere, but that wouldn't necessarily be true of the BJ vs GSP showdown. BJ vs GSP could easily do a $5 million gate if held Canada.

The last of the three cards, BJ vs GSP, would seem to be the most at risk, but it does have it's own built-in advantages that may help it overcome a poor showing at the ticket window. Both BJ and GSP are known for having large contingents of fans come into Vegas from their respective homelands to support their favorite sons. Smart money would have promotional efforts being rolled out as we speak, four and a half months ahead of time, in Canada and Hawaii to maximize the turnouts from these two areas.

You Just Earned a PPV....Now read the Fineprint

2008-09-23T11:00:00.002-04:00

Catching up on some of the news that hit during our down time, this particular post on Fight Night from Omaha by Steve Cofield caught my eye:

UFC president Dana White was giddy about the support shown for the event telling the Omaha News-World the city got itself a future pay-per-view event.

It seemed like a statement that begged a follow-up question that never came. Asking the logical follow-up would yield the part being left out......that they probably earned a WEC PPV, not a UFC PPV show.

The event at the Omaha Civic Auditorium drew 9,103 and did an arena record gate of $700,000. Which is great for a mid-level show during the middle of the week for free TV, but for the UFC PPV shows you are looking at a $1.75 to $2 million gate at minimum to even start talking about hosting a PPV. They could play the larger venue in the Omaha area, the Qwest Center, but it is highly questionable if they could do sufficient numbers there. Portland just got aced out of hosting the Randy vs Brock showdown even though that show would have done in the $2 million range, which was no match for a $5 million+ payoff at the gate in Las Vegas. Omaha can't compete at either level, which makes them hosting a UFC PPV nonsensical.

A better fit for Omaha would be a possible WEC PPV, a concept which Dana White recently discussed with Kevin Iole at Yahoo. Omaha and their $700k gate would compare favorably to other non-Vegas venues for the WEC such as Albuquerque and Sacaramento, who have recently hosted cards. If they can get the folks of Omaha to buy in to the WEC brand they probably won't hit the $700k figure, they can do respectable and profitable numbers.

Great Expectations: Can UFC 91 Top 1 Million Buys?

2008-09-23T09:00:00.000-04:00

During the conference call announcing Randy Couture v. Brock Lesnar as the main event of UFC 91, Dana White predicted that the event would do in excess of one million buys on pay-per-view. White’s prediction is rumored to be based on internal marketing research that found the fight was the most anticipated the company could deliver, even more anticipated than a potential showdown between Forest Griffin and Chuck Liddell (that eventually went down in flames courtesy of Rashad Evans) or a dream fight between BJ Penn and Georges St. Pierre scheduled for January.

Of course public predictions, focus groups, and gut reactions aside, the fact remains that only one pay-per-view in UFC history has topped one million buys. That fact alone is enough to make any prediction of one million buys questionable. However, that said, if there is a fight on the horizon that can become the second fight to break the one million buy mark, this is it.

It seems safe to assume that Couture’s two fights last year coming off a similar year long layoff represent a safe baseline. Those fights averaged 530,000 against two opponents who were anything but proven draws. To make things easy, let’s assume that Couture fighting anyone in the UFC is worth at least 500,000 buys.

Brock Lesnar’s pay-per-view debut drew 650,000 buys in February. That is an impressive number standing alone, but beyond the headline, the event reportedly drew 300,000 first time buyers, presumably from the ranks of WWE. If any significant percentage of those 300,000 first time buyers were converted into UFC fans (or at least Brock Lesnar in the UFC fans), then the effect on buy rates moving forward would be dramatic. There is circumstantial evidence to suggest that is the case with Lesnar’s second pay-per-view event reportedly drawing 625,000 buys (with the help of GSP-Fitch) and the noticeable uptick in pay-per-view numbers following UFC 81 which suggests that a number of those first time buyers may have came back to the UFC for more than Lesnar.

For the sake of simplicity, let’s assume that Lesnar can deliver 300,000 buys from outside of the company’s core audience. That put’s UFC 91 at 800,000 buys. What are the missing ingredients needed to put the event over the top? Mainstream media exposure, which the fight is almost certain to receive, and a dedicated big ticket marketing push from the UFC, which the event is already receiving.

The question is what is that push worth? Only two previous events have received the magnitude of the mainstream push anticipated for Lesnar-Couture: UFC 66: Liddell v. Ortiz II and UFC 71: Liddell v. Jackson II.

UFC 71 was given the big event treatment on ESPN during Memorial Day weekend with a push that led to a euphoria surrounding the event’s pay-per-view potential. White publicly stated that weekend that he expected the fight to do one million buys on the strength of the mainstream exposure. Ultimately, the event drew only 675,000 buys, perhaps offering a cautionary tale on the value of a mainstream push. Without the ESPN rub, based on Liddell’s track record, that event was likely to do in the 500,000 buy range, meaning ESPN was good for 175,000 extra buys.

UFC 66 is something of a different animal to get a hold of analytically. The event received a similar, if not greater and more sustained, push. However, setting a benchmark for the event without the hype is more difficult. Liddell and Ortiz were the company’s two top stars and were guaranteed to draw big numbers with or without the mainstream push. Given that Ortiz and Shamrock drew 750,000 buys at UFC 61 earlier in the year without the benefit of much of a mainstream push (at least not that I recall), it seems fair to say that the added mainstream push was worth somewhere around 250,000 buys.

Assuming that the same level of effect for the push of Lesnar-Couture, combined with Couture’s baseline of 500,000 buys and Lesnar’s added 300,000 buys, that would put UFC 91 at between 975,000 and 1,050,000 (ironically the number drawn by UFC 66).

This number will be closely watched not just because of the great expectations surrounding the event, but for what the number will say about the current state of the sport. Given the decline of the broader economy this year and UFC’s flat pay-per-view numbers, the event will provide an interesting heat check for the MMA industry. Is MMA still hot enough in the mainstream to pop a big number or has the industry cooled slightly in the middle of what appears to be a prolonged consolidation phase in its growth cycle.

Donruss Announces Red Alert Trading Cards

2008-09-22T15:00:00.002-04:00

Exclusive Red Alert 3 Trading Cards Featuring MMA Superstars Randy Couture and Gina Carano

Free With Pre-Order of Red Alert 3 on Xbox 360

Available now at GameStop, pre-order your copy of Red Alert 3 for Xbox 360, and you’ll receive two limited edition Donruss Red Alert 3 trading cards when you pick up your game. These awesome cards from the trading card industry’s leading manufacturer, Donruss, feature two of the biggest stars from the world of Mixed Martial Arts, UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy “The Natural” Couture as Allied Commander Warren Fuller, and undefeated EliteXC superstar Gina “Conviction” Carano as the deadly Soviet Commando Natasha. These cards will only be available at GameStop stores nationwide and online, while supplies last.

"We have done several promotions over the past two years with EA, exposing their audience to trading card collecting," said Carl Braun, Director of Games for Donruss. "It’s obvious that a very high percentage of trading card collectors play video games but we also know the video game player is an ideal trading card collector. With Command & Conquer Red Alert 3, one this year’s biggest releases, and MMA being the fastest growing sport in the world, this was a great way to work with EA again to bring collectors closer to Gina Carano, Randy Couture, and Command & Conquer.

Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 ships this fall on PC and Xbox 360. Mr. Couture and Ms. Carano will star in the Command & Conquer franchise’s trademark live-action movie sequences, alongside a diverse group that includes a host of award-winning actors, action stars, science fiction legends, up-and-coming starlets from around the globe and mixed martial arts fighters.

The cast of Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 follows (in alphabetical order by last name): Gemma Atkinson (the UK’s Hollyoaks), Tim Curry (Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Hunt for Red October), Andrew Divoff (LOST), Kelly Hu (X2, The Scorpion King), Jenny McCarthy (Scream 3, former Playboy Playmate of the Year), Ivana Milicevic (Casino Royale), Jonathan Pryce (Pirates of the Caribbean), J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man, Juno, Burn After Reading), Autumn Reeser (The OC, Valentine), Peter Stormare (Prison Break, Armageddon), George Takei (Star Trek, Heroes), and two of the most recognizable names in competitive mixed martial arts Randy “The Natural” Couture (former UFC Heavyweight champion) and Gina “Conviction” Carano (Undefeated Elite XC fighter, American Gladiators).

The Donruss Trading Card Company is a leading manufacturer of sports and entertainment trading cards, produced under the Donruss, Playoff, Leaf, Score and Americana brand names. As the second oldest trading card company, Donruss has established a well-deserved reputation in the realm of sports collectibles. Donruss is known for pioneering the Rookie Card phenomenon and manufacturing the finest, high-end trading cards available at any price.

Fight Night 15 Payouts

2008-09-22T14:43:00.001-04:00

Nate Diaz — $40,000 ($20,000 to show, $20,000 to win)
Josh Neer — $9,000
Diaz defeated Neer via split decision

Clay Guida — $26,000 ($13,000 to show, $13,000 to win)
Mac Danzig — $15,000
Guida defeated Danzig via unanimous decision

Alan Belcher — $26,000 ($13,000 to show, $13,000 to win)
Ed Herman — $16,000
Belcher defeated Herman via split decision

Eric Schafer — $12,000 ($6,000 to show, $6,000 to win)
Houston Alexander — $13,000
Schafer defeated Alexander via submission (arm triangle choke) in round one

Alessio Sakara — $34,000 ($17,000 to show, $17,000 to win)
Joe Vedepo — $3,000
Sakara defeated Vedepo via knockout (head kick) in round one

Wilson Gouveia — $36,000 ($18,000 to show, $18,000 to win)
Ryan Jensen — $4,000
Gouveia defeated Jensen via submission (armbar) in round two

Joe Lauzon — $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
Kyle Bradley — $4,000
Lauzon defeated Bradley via technical knockout (strikes) in round two

Jason Brilz — $6,000 ($3,000 to show, $3,000 to win)
Brad Morris — $4,000
Brilz defeated Morris via technical knockout (strikes) in round two

Mike Massenzio — $6,000 ($3,000 to show, $3,000 to win)
Drew McFedries — $16,000
Massenzio defeated McFedries via submission (kimura) in round one

Dan Miller — $10,000 ($5,000 to show, $5,000 to win)
Rob Kimmons — $5,000
Miller defeated Kimmons via submission (rear naked choke) in round one

Total Payroll:$307,000

Courtesy of MMAMania.com

Lorenzo: Philippines in May 09

2008-09-22T14:11:00.002-04:00

"We're hoping that we can organize something for the summertime, maybe around May. But as I said before, there are a lot of things that goes into that, but definitely, we're going to be here in the Philippines as soon as we possibly could."

- Lorenzo Fertitta, commenting to ABS-CBN on the timing for a debut show in The Philippines

Anderson Silva Contemplating Retirement: The Business Impact

2008-09-22T13:05:00.003-04:00

Michael David Smith at MMAFanhouse comments on the rumors going around the net that Anderson Silva may be contemplating retirement:

I suppose I can see where Silva might feel that way: He has completely cleared out the middleweight division in MMA, to the point where there really aren't any good fights left for him at that weight, and he has suggested that he'd like do new things, including fight Roy Jones in a boxing match. Maybe, at age 33, he's just ready to move on.

Losing a top three pound for pound fighter will hurt the sport, but Anderson taking leave of the UFC would have a negligible effect on business. As great as Anderson has performed in the Octagon, his performance at the box office has been almost inversely proportional.

While researching the PPV numbers for our most recent segment on Inside MMA segment, Anderson's lack of PPV punch jumped out. Measuring PPV draws since the explosion of MMA in early 2006, Silva has been a consistent under-performer on PPV. Anderson Silva has averaged 337,500 buys when heading up a PPV. The shows without him in the line up did an average of 525,238, a drop of -37.5%.

It may be hard to believe but the UFC PPV buying public looks to go out of its way to not buy Anderson on PPV, judging on the numbers. Even a nondescript card like UFC 78, headlined by Rashad Evans vs Michael Bisping, did better on PPV than everything on Anderson's PPV resume, barring his fight against Travis Lutter.

His under performance wouldn't be such a bad thing if he weren't scheduled to receive a large bump in pay after renegotiating his contract at the beginning of the summer. When factoring in base pay, PPV percentages, and bonuses, Silva will make a low seven figure salary when performing on PPV. Paying Silva like he is a PPV draw when he isn't is going to be hard to explain when guys that DO draw come up for renewal and are being offered comparable numbers.

The Number One Heavyweight Has A Book Out

2008-09-22T11:00:00.002-04:00

Victory Belt Publishing came out last week with an instructional book authored by top heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko. The book tries to give the reader a comprehensive look at Fedor's keys to success, judging form the following product description:

In Fedor, the undefeated, undisputed heavyweight MMA champion of the world unveils for the first time his trademark striking and grappling techniques through descriptive narrative and more than 2500 step-by-step color photographs. Detailing dozens of throws, punching combinations, cardio workouts and ground and pound techniques, this book leaves no stone unturned.

Victory Belt has put out similar instructional books in the past featuring such MMA stars as Randy Couture, BJ Penn, and Karo Parisyan. You can pick up a copy of Fedor for yourself at Amazon.com, among other online retailers.

Expanding the Base: UFC, Affliction Trying to Broaden MMA’s Demographic

2008-09-22T09:00:00.010-04:00

In this election year, “the base” is an often repeated phrase. In politics, a candidate’s core supporters form his base. The challenge faced by Senators McCain and Obama in the race for the Presidency is to maintain the support of their base while expanding their appeal to a broader constituency, namely the independents who will decide the election.

The “politics” of MMA are no different. MMA has found a solid base of its own in the form of the 18-34 male demographic that comprises the vast majority of the sport’s current niche following. That demographic has been the foundation of MMA’s growth over the last three years, but for the industry to continue to grow the sport’s appeal must expand further into the mainstream of American culture. The UFC and Affliction are both aggressively courting the crossover audience necessary to broaden the sport’s reach beyond 18-34 males, but the companies have identified decidedly different target audiences for expansion.

The UFC’s initiative is built around former WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar and the company is banking on his crossover appeal to WWE fans to propel his UFC 91 showdown with the returning Randy Couture to the top of the pay-per-view charts. The pro wrestling crossover has been well documented by MMAPayout.com, as has the company’s public embrace of the theory, at least by Zuffa’s UK President. The company is reportedly planning a cross-promotional effort with WWE and TNA similar to the one that proceeded Lesnar’s octagon debut in February. Those efforts helped draw 650,000pay-per-view buys, including a reported 300,000 first time buyers which presumably were largely pro wrestling fans.

Affliction has chosen to target a different potential crossover audience through its partnership with Golden Boy. Many have intuited that boxing and MMA fans are natural crossover audiences, however, the data to this point has not bore that out. Boxing traditionally draws an older demographic which Affliction hopes to attract through mixed MMA and boxing cards. Boxing also draws better among minorities than MMA which is generally viewed as a young white male demographic. It remains to be seen how receptive boxing fans will be to MMA (and vice versa), but the promotional power of Golden Boy gives Affliction its best chance to crossover into the sport’s demographic.

The respective approaches illustrate a deeper difference in philosophy by the two companies. The UFC has clearly staked itself as an entertainment brand, while Affliction has leaned more toward a traditional sports promoter. Entertainment/profitability come first, sport comes second. That philosophy explains why Ken Shamrock fought Tito Ortiz twice in 2006 and why Lesnar, and his 2-1 MMA record, will face Couture for the Heavyweight Title.

Affliction on the other has spent considerable money to assemble the best available mixed martial-artist, regardless of their potential as draws, with the goal of promoting the best (i.e. most competitive) fights. Despite the inclusion of entertainment elements like live musical performances on its events, the company has focused on the athletic/competitive aspect of MMA over the pro wrestling style hype that the UFC has built its success on.

The bottom line is that at some point, MMA's audience has to become more than just 18-34 white males if the sport is going to fulfill the aspirations of its proponents. That demographic is good enough to make the UFC a sustained entertainment brand, perhaps on par with WWE, a staple of cable and pay-per-view television that enjoys periods of increased popularity every ten years or so but is largely relegated to a devoted niche audience. But it is not enough to create the next NASCAR or NFL, a lasting sports brand entrenched in mainstream popular culture.

Iceman in The Philippines Follow up

2008-09-21T16:25:00.004-04:00

You can check out video of Chuck's Filipino tour at the UFC website. They also have a write up on his visit as well a conversation with Lorenzo Fertitta on possible shows for the UFC in The Philippines for 09.

A show in the Philippines, the home of boxing superstar and national icon Manny Pacquiao, is a no-brainer for the diehard fight fans of the nation, whom Fertitta describes as having “a deep understanding of the sport.” Summer of 2009 is being projected for the UFC’s initial foray into Southeast Asia, with the plan not only to showcase the company’s established stars, but to also give the event a local flavor.

“It will be a combination of bringing over some of our stars and then hopefully having some local Filipino fighters, and maybe bringing in some of the guys from Japan and South Korea,” said Fertitta, who believes the UFC’s success in the country can be boiled down to a couple key elements.

The KJ Noons Debacle

2008-09-21T13:01:00.005-04:00

When I got the press release late Friday night, saying that KJ Noons had been stripped of the EliteXC lightweight title, all I could do was stare at my computer screen and shake my head. Knowing the parties involved, this has become a no-win situation where both EliteXC and KJ Noons' management end up with egg on their face.

Certainly based on a July, 2008 appearance on HDNet's Inside MMA, Noons seemed to have no problem stepping back into the cage with Nick Diaz. Below is a 5-minute excerpt from the show including Noons pointing to a picture of a bloodied Diaz from his last fight and calling it a "masterpiece."

In a more recent interview, Noons told ThrowdownTV's Gary Alexander:

"It's about contracts and what's going on with EliteXC. I don't think I'm being
taken care of as the champ. It's not a matter of being scared to fight a
guy I already fought. I want that fight. But I don't think I'm being taken
care of as the champ."

Based on both these statements, it seems highly unlikely that Noons is ducking Diaz - a guy he already beat. However, given EliteXC's souring financial situation and Noons' apparent dissatisfaction with the offers made by EliteXC, it seems that money is the key sticking point.

But that's not the impression that EliteXC's Director of Fighter Operations Jeremy Lappen gives. In the press release announcing that Noons was stripped of the title, he is quoted as saying:

“We are stripping KJ of his championship belt for refusing to defend against
Diaz. It’s a very unfortunate situation but we cannot have belt-holders who
refuse to fight the top contenders. We want champions who will fight
anyone, anytime, anyplace."

Based on the statement it seem as if Noons is being stripped for an outright refusal to fight Diaz, not for underlying financial issues. Given how many times Noons has gone on the record about how he wouldn't mind facing Diaz, EliteXC has certainly made a bit of a misstep, characterizing one of its young stars as a coward.

Certainly other fighters in EliteXC are taking notice of how this situation is being handled and we'll be left with a sour feeling about the whole situation.

However, EliteXC is not the only guilty party in this mess. It seem that Noons' manager Mark Dion is the one who does not want Noons' to get back in the cage with Diaz. In an August interview with MMAJunkie he went on record sayng:

"As far as Nick Diaz, he's not the No. 1 contender out there. To [EliteXC] he is.
He's the number one (for getting) eyeballs to (watch) them. They're pushing on
eyeballs versus a career move for a champion like KJ. KJ is really not the one
who gets anything out of the fight. Diaz does and so does ProElite."

Is that really the case? KJ Noons gets nothing out of appearing on live national television? Possibly beating Diaz, a name recognizable to UFC fans? In front of an audience of millions? Sometimes not everything boils down to dollars... or sense.

In that same interview Dion says he feels that Eddie Alvarez is the rightful number contender. Alvarez is under contract with both DREAM and EliteXC. Having just produced a feature on Alvarez for HDNet's Dream 6 broadcast, I can tell you he is dying to fight in front of a US audience.

Given the way Dion has handled the situation, he may have gotten Noons stripped of his title and stripped of his chance to fight Alvarez. It's now far more compelling for EliteXC to have Diaz fight Alvarez for the vacant title and try to license some of the DREAM footage of Alvarez's stellar showing in their lightweight tournament, where an injury kept him from fighting for the DREAM lightweight title and nearly $100,000 in prize money.

That's not to take away anything from KJ Noons, who is an exceptional fighter with movie star looks. The exposure alone on a CBS card could have done a lot for his career.

If money really is the central problem here, it should not have been too hard for Dion to make a few phone calls and get something like "CondomDepot.com" slapped across Noons shorts on national TV to make-up for EliteXC's cash deficiencies.

While MMA fighters earn every penny of their paychecks, they also have to be realistic. On the national stage it seems that fighters are demanding more, while promotions can afford to shell out less. Too many in the industry are swallowing that inaccurate pill that says "MMA is the fastest growing sport in the world." It's simply not true. The UFC is the fastest growing MMA sport in the world. The rest of the promotions are playing catch-up.

Fighters and their managers need to understand that not every promotion is bathing in the same presumed cash surplus that the UFC has. If fighters continue to take the non-UFC promotions for all their worth in each fight, there may not be many non-UFC promotions left.

Iceman Leading International Efforts

2008-09-21T12:13:00.003-04:00

UFC has made no secret that they look to possibly do a show in The Philippines at some time in the 2009 calendar year. Leading up to that end, they have been sending over fighters to do press and public workouts to help increase the visibility of the UFC in the country. Previous workouts have been held by Fil-AM star Brandon Vera.

The UFC look to have pulled out the big guns as well, as Chuck Liddell is currently in The Philippines doing press and public workouts to bolster these efforts. Filipino website/news bureau ABS CBN News details Chuck's adventures:

Mixed martial arts (MMA) fans crammed the Atrium area of the SM Mall of Asia Sunday afternoon to catch a glimpse of Ultimate Fighting Championship star Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell while doing an open workout.

Most of the MMA fans started gathering at the Atrium as early as 2 p.m. The crowd began roaring at 3:45 p.m. when they saw the 6’2" Liddell climbing into the ring.

Liddell, who beat the likes of Tito Ortiz and UFC legend Randy Couture, showed the "moves", mostly based on Kempo karate and Koei-Kan karate, to the delight of local MMA fans.

The crowd even went nuts when the former light heavyweight champion greeted them "Mabuhay".

Even grown men, most of whom trained in martial arts, suddenly acted childlike upon seeing their UFC hero.

"Elated po, napakasaya," said Jayson Guijano when interviewed about Liddell’s visit.

Guijano said he is a Shotokan Karate second dan black belter and Liddel is his Number 1 UFC idol. "Idol ko talaga si Chuck ever since," he said.

After the exhibition training, some of Liddell's fans climbed into the ring for autographs.

Liddell was very accommodating, signing his name on almost everything that was brought before him, including beer cans.

Renzo Gracie - Legacy Trailer

2008-09-21T11:49:00.004-04:00

Before the site went down we mentioned the documentary Renzo Gracie Legacy that will debut soon at the US Sports Film Festival. Above is the trailer for the movie, which judging from the clip looks to be quite good. The film will also available on DVD on November 12th at renzogracielegacy.com. Once the full service site is back up look for an interview by MMAPayout.com's Andrew Falzon with Legacy director Gethin Aldous.

Fight Night and TUF 8 Ratings and Qtr Hrs

2008-09-21T07:30:00.003-04:00

UFC Fight Night

9 PM
.94
1.09
1.24
1.18

10 PM
1.43
1.50
1.40
1.74

11 PM Overage
1.69

Overall Rating for the Show was a 1.35, by MMAPayout's calculation.
UFN did a 1.6 in M18-49, a 1.6 in M18-34, and an average audience of 1.8 million viewers. The viewership peaked for Diaz’s victory over Neer in the main event with 2.3 million tuning in.

TUF 8
1.44
1.26
1.11
1.11

Following the live fight, the premiere of “The Ultimate Fighter 8” ranked #1 in cable in M18-49 (846,000) with a 1.5 rating. Overall, the premiere earned a 1.2 household rating, a 1.5 in M18-34, and an average audience of 1.6 million viewers.

MMAPayout.com on Inside MMA: PPV Draws

2008-09-20T19:16:00.012-04:00

Adam Swift looks at the PPV Draws for UFC: Past, Present, and Future.

Apology for the Outage

2008-09-20T13:38:00.001-04:00

Dear Readers,

The stock market wasn’t the only victim of a crash this week. As many of you know from personal experience, MMAPayout.com has been down for much of the week. The outage is the result of a server switch gone awry and I offer my apologies to our loyal readers for the inconvenience. As you can see, we’re still recovering, but please bear with us as the new site is recovered.

My thanks to those who emailed and called to check on the status of the site. Your support is vital to our success and your affection for the site is heartening to say the least.

So things should be back to normal soon enough. In the meantime, thanks again for your patience and support.

Sincerely,

Adam Swift

The Odd Man Out This Week

2008-07-17T16:00:00.000-04:00

With Affliction and the UFC getting most of the online hype, EliteXC is quietly starting up the hype for their July 26th card. Above is the promo that CBS started rolling out heavily last weekend. The spots were prominent during CBS's weekend sporting events. The media window this time is much shorter, with most of the heavy lifting (i.e. brand-building) being done before the first event. The EliteXC promo is being extended out into other CBS programming as we get closer to the event.

EliteXC and Affliction running on back to back weekends show that both have some of the elements needed to compete with the UFC, but neither have the full complement of tools to fully threaten the UFC's stranglehold on MMA. EliteXC has the right media connections with deals with Showtime and CBS, but they lack a strong roster of athletes and they have a hard time monetizing their product since they don't run PPV's. Affliction has a strong roster of athletes but lack the necessary television to promote their product and drive people towards the PPV.

Where's The Trump Media Onslaught?

2008-07-17T14:00:00.000-04:00

With just a few short days before the debut Affliction card, the much heralded media icon Donald Trump's promotional efforts on behalf of Affliction look to amount to not much. Much was made of Trump's entering into a partnership with the Affliction Clothing company, with Trump being seen as an avenue to media outlets by which to market the Affliction: Banned PPV. For the most part these avenues haven't materialized.

The media blitz by The Donald on behalf Affliction hasn't amounted to much. The initial press conference listing his inclusion in the project, a short conference call, and yesterday's appearance on the Howard Stern Show are in sum the efforts he has contributed to hyping the PPV, a paltry amount by any standard.

With the rumor being that Trump was given an equity stake in the company as opposed to actually investing, Trump looks to have put about as much time as he has money into the venture.

Notes From 7/15 EliteXC Conference Call

2008-07-17T10:00:00.001-04:00

Doug DeLuca addressed a variety of issues on the 7/15 EliteXC conference call. On the time overages from the last show and plans to avoid it this time:

On a serious note, look we know we went over and we were I think prepared to go a little bit over, but it did go excessively over and it's not going to happen again. I mean, the one thing that I think we -- CBS and the SHOWTIME production team and ProElite -- did when we walked away from that is that we listened to what all the fans were saying, the hardcore and the casual and the new fan. And the main complaint I believe was the pacing.

I mean, everyone thought it could have moved much quicker, everyone wanted to get down to the business and get down to the fights much quicker, and that's something that we're just very, very cognizant of going into this one.

On ticket sales for the event:

So we expect it to be a sellout. It will be a sellout. That stadium will be full. It seats 10,000 people. We'll probably have it scaled somewhere between 8,000 and 9,000 but it will be full and the ticket sales are going great. I mean, they're right on track. We have a meeting about it today to get a report.

After the last two weekends ago, (right before the) holiday weekend, things were going as planned but not gangbusters and then right after the holiday weekend things picked up amazingly.

On sponsors buying ad-time on the show:

Greg Delong: Doug, was CBS able to increase the price of advertising for this show because of the success of the first one?

Doug DeLuca: I think they definitely could have. I think the name of the game again is slow and steady. We want long-term partners. Nobody's looking to make a quick hit. I don’t know for sure, but from what I've been told in the discussions I've had, the advertising went as well as it did the first time and we're going to be full slate. The advertisers all came back, and everyone was very, very happy with the first event. I don't believe prices were raised, but I don't know for sure.

DeLuca hinted at more TV possible for EliteXC:

I can't talk too much about it now, but we're probably going to announce another broadcast deal pretty soon with a cable network that will do similar to what you're saying -- where you'll see all our brands in action. Our exclusive partner in reality TV, Mark Burnett, a reality show guru, and ProElite are constantly working and developing reality shows around the sport.

He Addressed the rumor that EliteXC may buy the IFL:

Eddie Constantine: Doug, is there any truth to the rumor about the IFL acquisition?
Doug DeLuca: No, no truth to the rumor at the moment.

On a possible UFC network deal:

Doug Jeffrey: Doug, if the UFC is able to get a network television deal, how does that impact MMA and your role with CBS?

Doug DeLuca: I mean, it's great for the sport. It just gives a bigger platform for more fighters and for more MMA to be seen around the country. Look at the sport of professional football -- it's on what, five different networks? You can see it in various places. ProElite is behind what's good for the sport, what's good for the fighters, and ultimately what's good for the fans. So, I think that's fine. It's competition. I welcome competition. Like in a sport or in business, competition is good. We're not going anywhere, they're not going anywhere, and, again, as long as it's good for the sport I think it's great.

Inside MMA: UFC to Buy IFL

2008-07-17T09:30:00.003-04:00

A Senior Producer at HDNet's Inside MMA tells MMAPayout.com that the IFL will be bought by the UFC.

MMAPayout.com has confirmed talks between the IFL and UFC. More details as they become available.

The Rampage Effect: Booking the LHW Division in Light of Jackson's Arrest

2008-07-17T08:00:00.006-04:00

The recent developments in the personal life of Quinton Rampage Jackson will certainly have an affect on the business plans of the UFC over the next half year. Either through a suspension or legal proceedings, Rampage is more than likely out past the end of the year. The following scenarios are put forth on that premise.

A November fight with Wanderlei Silva or a December rematch with Forrest are almost certainly out of the question. With a Chuck Liddell win (giving a Liddell vs Griffin match-up), Rampage could have been slotted into a possible rematch with Wanderlei. The re-match of Forrest vs Rampage would have a built-in audience stoked by a somewhat controversial decision. Either would have been better than average PPV draws but neither look plausible this calendar year given the circumstances.

With the deck shuffled, Joe Silva looks to have a few options with how he books the rest of the year. To borrow a poker term, most of the UFC's stack will be pushed to the middle, hoping that Chuck Liddell will overcome Rashad Evans. Chuck represents the biggest money match possible for the traditional big box office New Year's Eve card. While it won't match the one million plus buys that Chuck vs Tito II did in December 2006, it has the potential to do above the 650,000 buys that Chuck vs Wanderlei did last New Year's Eve.

In the event that Liddell loses to Evans, well, all bets are off at that point. Rashad would have an undefeated record with a win over Chuck Liddell, but it would be hard to imagine him getting the nod to headline one of the biggest events of the year. Rashad has the perfect record and the TUF pedigree that would seem to make him a star but it just hasn't happened. If Rashad were to get the shot they would more than likely move Forrest vs Rashad off the New Year's card and slot in the much anticipated GSP vs BJ Penn match as the main event with Mir vs Nog as the sub main.

Two other possibilities for that shot, Lyoto Machida and Thiago Silva, are being paired up at UFC 89 and would likely be unavailable for the big year end card. Anderson Silva would be an idea, but The Spider has stated he has no intentions of staying at 205. Which brings us to.....

Wanderlei Silva. In the absence of a Forrest-Chuck fight, this would likely be the biggest 205lb fight they could make for the end of the year show. Since his re-entry into the Octagon, Wanderlei has gone just 1-1 but in those two fights he has made quite an impression on the UFC fanbase. The second round of his fight with Chuck is the stuff of legend, and he put on a star-making performance in his demolition of Keith Jardine. Wanderlei's charisma and entertaining fighting style seem to transcended any language barrier there might be for the Brazilian fighter.

The question is would Forrest and Wandy fight each other? Both operate out of the Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas and train with each other on a regular basis. Given how promiscuous training is becoming, people are going to have to start fighting people they've trained with. Fighters in this day and age are like bees skipping from flower to flower (the individual camps) cross-pollinating their game. It is going to become increasingly hard for guys to avoid someone they have trained with. In the end money talks and the match that will draw the most money will win out, intra-camp politics be damned.

UFC and Affliction Talk

2008-07-16T16:00:00.002-04:00

MMAPayout.com special contributor Todd Martin sits down with Wrestling Observer Newsletter contributor Ben Miller to discuss and dissect the upcoming UFC Fight Night and Affliction cards. Listen here.

Todd will also be appearing as a panelist on this week's edition of Inside MMA.

Fight Biz Quote: Joe Silva II

2008-07-16T14:30:00.000-04:00

"What's the new hook that we can get people into the dojos with?" Silva said of an attitude that has disgusted him in the past. "Now you have Tae Kwon Do schools and they (say), 'Yeah, we have grappling.' " They're looking to appeal to the consumer, and the consumer is watching UFC on TV, on Spike TV and on pay-per-view."

--Joe Silva from Florida Today, commenting on why the established martial arts community has embraced MMA.

Graffight to Sponsor Credeur

2008-07-16T14:00:00.000-04:00

It seems like the rubber is starting to meet the road over at Graffight. They are starting one of the key marketing efforts for any MMA apparel company: sponsoring fighters. Gary Ibarra gives us the lowdown:

Last week I was on the road when I received a call from a person who’s turning out to be a trusted friend in the business, Jake Hattan from Denaro Sports Marketing who called me with a really good opportunity. He told me that the shirt sponsor for Tim Credeur had canceled on him last minute and if I was interested in creating some pre-launch buzz this would be a good way to do it. He gave us a really good deal so we decided it was worth the money. Tim was a semi-finalist on this past season of T.U.F. Look for our signature Graffight Logo shirt on Tim as well as his corner men on July 19th when he takes on Cale Yarborough on Spike TV.

Best of luck to Credeur and Graffight on the upcoming Fight Night card.

Cung Le To Appear on ESPN July 16

2008-07-16T12:00:00.000-04:00

SAN JOSE , Calif. — Reigning Strikeforce World Middleweight (185 lb. limit) Champion, Cung Le, will appear live on the national cable network show, ESPNEWS’ ‘The Hot List’ on Wednesday, July 16 at 5:10 p.m. EST (2:10 p.m. PST).

During the interview, Le, who has appeared repeatedly, of late, on the wildly popular Strikeforce on NBC weekly mixed martial arts (MMA) series, will share his thoughts on the explosive growth of MMA, where he feels the sport is headed and its rumored Olympic potential.

Le has quickly established himself as one of the most exciting fighters in the sport of MMA. His third round TKO of legendary champion, Frank Shamrock, which aired live on SHOWTIME on Saturday, March 29th, earned the Vietnamese-born fighter the Strikeforce (www.Strikeforceusa.net) world title and marked his greatest professional victory to date.

Le has been touted as Hollywood ’s next big martial arts film star. His role in the forthcoming release, Fighting, co-starring Terrence Howard, will mark Le’s debut on the silver screen. Le was also recently cast in the silver screen adaptation of the smash hit video game franchise, Tekken, slated for release next year.