UFC 100 Buyrate

[jmt225]

According to Dave Meltzer:

Dana also pretty much admitted that he's going to have to jump off the Mandalay Bay once they figure out how to do it. He did not give a buyrate figure, but the number we've heard from several sources now both inside and outside UFC is approximately 1.72 million buys.

If this number is accurate, then it puts UFC 100 in the Top 3 PPV's of all time, I think, with Oscar De La Hoya Vs Mayweather at the top, and the second Tyson vs Holyfield fight.

1. 2,400,000 - 5/5/07 - Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
2. 1,990,000 - 6/28/97 - Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield
3. 1,600,000 - 11/9/96 - Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield
4. 1,580,000 - 8/19/95 - Mike Tyson vs. Peter McNeely
5. 1,400,000 - 4/19/91 - Evander Holyfield vs. George Foreman
6. 1,400,000 - 3/16/96 - Mike Tyson vs. Frank Bruno
7. 1,400,000 - 9/18/99 Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad

Pretty unbelievable, huh?

The question is, are you impressed? Do you think the UFC will be able to start pulling these types of numbers regularly, or was this just a one time deal, or do you think Brock Lesnar will be the only one to generate that kind of interests in the product?

 

[Mr. TM]

For anyone that doubts the UFC's ability, this is a big fuck you. The pay per view was $50-$60 bucks, and THAT many people bought it. That is special. The UFC hasn't even been able to break into all the markets available yet in the US, let alone the world, and that many people bought it. Gees.

Thought the card was good, it could be better. GSP draws, that is obvious, and Lesnar draws, that is obvious, and Mir draws, that is obvious, so having all three on a card is great. But all of those men as well as many others like Penn, Couture, Silva, and others draw just as well. They might never get that high, but hitting 1.5 million wont be a hard task.

 

[klunderbunker]

I think it's hard to say. Obviously this card was one of if not the most stacked in UFC history, so that's going to have a lot to do with it. What I've always thought about ratings is this: it's one thing to get people to watch one show. What's impressive is to get them to watch another show. How do we know that a lot of those people paid for the show and liked it? They bought one but will they buy another? Now of course a lot of them liked it, but the second number will go down significantly. it was a landmark show so it's going to have a high buyrate, but I don't think anyone expected numbers like this. I'm impressed indeed, but I'll be more interested in what the company does as a whole when its top two stars aren't on the card. Now if their numbers stay up (obviously not this high) then I'll be very impressed. Either way, this is a great job by UFC and proof taht they're a big deal, at least for one night.

 

[Mr. TM]

I believe that a good portion of new watchers partook in UFC 100. Sure not everyone of them will watch it, but new watchers typically are not buying it. but I also assume that many of those new watchers will now be likely to buy the pay per view for themselves. UFC 101 is a great card, some would easily argue it is better than UFC 100's main card. If my theory is anything, there will almost be a balance for people now buying a UFC event for the first time ever after watching UFC 100 at a friends place later this month, over those who watched if just because of UFC 100's great card and hype

 

[X]

If the figure is true, than hell yes I'm impressed. Everyone knew MMA was on the rise, but to score a number that high would truly be staggering. Boxing is pretty much dead now that MMA has taken such a sizable chunk of that young adult male market, I tell ya, Dana White is the best damn promoter I've seen since Don King. That man knows how to sell a fight.

It's going to be tough for them to keep scoring numbers that big though, especially considering the length between fights for major fighters. You can be rest assured that when guys like Lesnar headline though the buy rate is going to be big. I'm sure when Tito makes his return that'll score a nice chunk of change as well.

 

[jmt225]

As someone who's seen a lot of MMA, I too didn't think UFC 100 was all that great, but the people I was with, who were very casual fans, all loved every second of the event. So, I do think the UFC made some new die-hard fans that night.

I'm sure when Tito makes his return that'll score a nice chunk of change as well.

This is when I think the UFC will have their next big score. I actually wouldn't be surprised if Brock Lesnar gets put on the same card as Tito, as that would be another HUGE deal for the UFC, and would definitely get as covered and hyped as UFC 100 was, ESPECIALLY if it's the December card where Rashad Evans/Rampage Jackson is booked, and there are no big boxing fights that month and WWE doesn't have anything special, either.

Anyway, UFC 101 I think will do quite well actually, while UFC 102 will go back down to normal numbers, and UFC 103, if its not on free tv (which it could end up being), will also do normal numbers for the UFC. After that... your guess is as good as mine. But by then, the UFC could have a new national television deal, and Dana promises when that comes... he's putting some huge fights on those cards, which should do wonders for the UFC I strongly believe.

 

[SavageTaker]

I am very impressed with this number as I was expecting it to be lower than that. I was expecting no more than 1.2 but it just goes to show you how UFC and MMA as a whole are becoming very popular. We are in a horrible economy today and the price for the pay per view like TM pointed out was $50-$60 bucks and there were still a ton of people of people who got the money and ordered the pay per view. If that doesn’t show just how popular the UFC and MMA as a whole have become then I honestly do not what will show it.

Now, Do I think they could do numbers like those again? Yes I do. They had a stacked card and I’m sure if they had another stacked card for another pay per view similar to that card then they could get something close to that number or maybe even surpass it. I don’t think that they’re going to be pulling in these types of numbers regularly but I think they are capable of doing it again. I do have to say one more time, I am very impressed because I wasn’t expecting and there’s probably other people who didn’t think it would that number. This has to show everyone that MMA has come far and it’s still continuing to grow.

 

[Marquis]

No way do I think they can pull in these type of numbers regularly. They had 6-7 fighters who headline events on the UFC 100 card, two of which are apparently big draws in their respective countries in GSP and Bisping. The UFC can't afford to have that many headliners on the average card, they do need to fill out other cards. The UFC can draw like this on another stacked card, but on a average UFC PPV? Can't see it happening. I sorta see this like Wrestlemania. The WWE's other PPV's do their usual buy rates, but come WrestleMania it shoots through the roof since it's a stacked event. I see the same thing for the UFC. Average PPV will do the UFC's usual buy rates, then when their yearly stacked card comes they will promote the shit out of it and it will do above average buys. So yes i can see them doing these numbers on a stacked card, but regularly, No.

 

[OIL]

Boxing is pretty much dead now that MMA has taken such a sizable chunk of that young adult male market.

I'm sorry, Boxing is dead? If Mayweather has a match with Pacquiao, that is going to eclipse the number done by UFC 100, with ease. Boxing did go quiet for a while, but it's coming back with Mayweather returning and younger names improving. Although, I won't go more into it as this isn't the thread for it.

Anyway, on topic, they won't do this number consistently. UFC 100 generated that many buys because it was the 100th show, it's always going to gather interest. On top of that, people wanted to see if Lesnar could beat Mir; it was a hugely anticipated fight. This just proves, Lesnar draws. Anyway, they'll still continue to do well, but it won't go anywhere near that number until a huge fight is named. Fedor vs Lesnar? Well, not that Fedor has *****ed out now.

 

[Uncle Sam]

I don't like boxing. That is all.

Well, not all. All on the subject of boxing. Keep up. They promised us that the UFC would eventually be considered one of the premier sporting events in world, didn't they? I know they did; I saw it on YouTube. Y'know, when Zuffa took over - "new vision, new leadership" and all that shit. Looks like they may well have achieved that goal.

On a side note, does this mean that Lesnar is a bigger draw than Hogan? I hope it does. That would be delicious.

 

[X]

I'm sorry, Boxing is dead? If Mayweather has a match with Pacquiao, that is going to eclipse the number done by UFC 100, with ease. Boxing did go quiet for a while, but it's coming back with Mayweather returning and younger names improving. Although, I won't go more into it as this isn't the thread for it.

Mayweather is pretty much the last great superstar of boxing left though. Who's left after him? The young guys may be improving, but the general public doesn't really give a shit. Boxing is heavily on the way out in my opinion, and unless they can build another star, their numbers aren't going to be able to compare to MMA in the future.

 

[Dave]

I think that UFC is going from strength to strength and that the buyrate success is of no surprise to me. I watched the event and I thought that is was a mediocre event overall. The reason ti got those hge numbers were the names that were involved. Lesnar vs Mir was the biggest one and a huge draw. Hell, it's the whole reason that I actually watched the thing. Nevertheless, there was some huge names on the card and it was bound to draw in huge numbers. GSP also draws and having him and Lesnar on the same card is bound to draw in the numbers.

Overall, it a good show but not the best. It was the names and the promoting that brought in the numbers. Now, it can be seen as legit competitor next to boxing and I can even see it surpassing boxing in temrs of popularity if it can produce cards like that every month.

 

[Baller]

I think that UFC is on the brink of surpassing boxing, but this incredibly high number is due to the names in this one. Brock Lesnar vs Frank Mir, Michael Bisping, Henderson, etc.. the names go on and on. The only way we can find out how great UFC is at UFC 101 where the names arent as big as 100 and then we can see how great UFC is.

 

[OIL]

Mayweather is pretty much the last great superstar of boxing left though. Who's left after him? The young guys may be improving, but the general public doesn't really give a shit. Boxing is heavily on the way out in my opinion, and unless they can build another star, their numbers aren't going to be able to compare to MMA in the future.

While Mayweather is the biggest name, you can't just forget about Pacquiao. Before Mayweather returned, he was the biggest boxer, pound for pound. He drew great, great numbers. Boxing has still garnered the greatest amount of money from PPV sales, even in the recession as Mayweather said, getting over $50m for just one fight.

In England Ricky Hatton & Amir Khan are big, and any of their fights gets people interested. There's still big names left and coming up, so don't rule them out just yet. MMA will get bigger, but so will Boxing.