UFC 90 Tanks on PPV; Lowest Buyrate for Anderson Silva

by imapimp08 on Nov 20, 2008 12:17 PM EST Comment 9 comments

Impact Wrestling has the Scoop! What I find interesting is the second part of the article I posted, about how UFC 91 will do in it's attempt to reach 1.2 million buys. I think Dana was mostly speaking positively about the event and why would he under shoot the PPV buys. Look at how 50 cent and Kanye created a stir when 50 claimed he was going to sell so many records more than Kanye. I think it worked, it got people talking more about the event! So how about that economic factor? Or is it just Anderson Silva to blame?

http://www.impactwrestling.com/Content.aspx?ID=22437

The numbers for the Anderson headlined PPV were worse than normal. Silva usually draws in the 330 to 350k range for ppv buys.

This low of a number doesn’t bode well for the predictions of 1.2 million buys for UFC 91. With an unprecedented level of promotion for this Anderson fight generating a drop in numbers, the economic factors seem to be having a negative effect on the UFC PPV buys. The “ten friends, beer, pizza” analogy used as a talking point by UFC brass may sound good but may not be reality in describing the PPV purchasing habits of their customers, judging from these numbers.

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No one wanted to see Silva vs Cote – plain and simple

"My job is a decision-making job, and as a result, I make a lot of decisions." --George W. Bush, The Decider, Lancaster, Pa., Oct. 3, 2007

by lovingmma25 on Nov 20, 2008 1:19 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Yea, I mean he couldn’t even break 350K with Dan Henderson as an opponent.

http://mma4real.net/

by Tha Realness on Nov 20, 2008 1:31 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

To be fair, Henderson isn’t well known in the US either. He may have been in the UFC way back when but 2/3 of the audience the UFC has now hasn’t been around long enough to recognize him or realize that he was in the UFC before.

by Discman2 on Nov 20, 2008 1:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

It is curious to me why Anderson Silva is just completely unable to draw. Every fight is a highlight reel, sans the Cote fight, he’s dynamic, he’s got tons of personality, etc., etc., ad infinitum. Is it that he doesn’t speak English? Is that all it takes for someone to be unable to draw?

by Rundownloser on Nov 20, 2008 1:51 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

The fact is that while Anderson Silva has emerged as arguably the number one pound for pound fighter, he hasn’t notched a victory over a superstar level opponent to give him the rub. The UFC’s biggest money makers:

(1) Chuck Liddell. Chuck was the original UFC star when the company exploded.
(2) Matt Hughes. Same as above.
(3) Randy Couture. Same as Chuck, and add in his magical resurgance in 2007.
(4) Brock Lesnar. Brought in his WWE fame.
(5) Forrest Griffin. Made a household name through his TUF battle with Bonnar, furthered by his fight with TIto, and cemented with his championship victory.
(6) Georges St. Pierre. He was labeled as the ultimate up and comer during the UFC’s initial explosion and his subsequent victories over Hughes cemented that.

And that’s pretty much it. To become a star that’s going to bring in numbers at par with any of these guys, you have to beat one of these guys in dominant fashion. Anderson Silva became a star with his victories over Franklin, but to be fair Franklin’s PPV numbers sit around 300k – 350k as well. The people that make up the difference between numbers like that and the 500k and 600k numbers we’ve come to expect from top fighters aren’t all familiar with guys like Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt.

This is more reason why Chuck Liddell v. Anderson Silva is going to take place.

by dropkick101 on Nov 20, 2008 1:57 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

Absolutely good point, rec’d and should be a fanpost.

by iiowyn on Nov 20, 2008 4:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I’m pretty sure his first PPV with Franklin did 300k. In other words, no progress.

by Michael Rome on Nov 20, 2008 3:49 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Very few fighters in the UFC can draw on name only..

Chuck, Randy, Tito, now Brock. Maybe GSP and BJ. Outside of that, there aren’t many.

But yes, I think english speaking is certainly a must. You have to be able to connect with fans outside of the cage as well IMO.

Plus, the fact that all Silva does is get fed chumps prob doesn’t help much either.

You want to set Silva up as a draw, match him against Liddell in Early 09.

by lbk on Nov 20, 2008 4:15 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I think it is many factors

Not English speaking.
Not highly exposed in the media
No “name” opponents to match with

Best fighters aren’t always biggest draws.

I would like to see a Brazil vs US or some type of gimmick show again.
Maybe having him as a co-headliner in the HW tourney finale would gain some exposure for him.
Definitely agree that the Chuck fight would be awesome.

http://eliotmarshall.com/

by BJJDenver on Nov 20, 2008 5:18 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs