UFC Behind The Numbers, Strikeforce "Fight Camp 360" Set For Nov 3rd Debut, Paradise Warriors Retreat Coming To Chicago (Fedor, Mousasi, Arlovski, Babalu)

UFC 100: (Lesnar vs Mir, GSP vs Alves) in Las Vegas, Nevada:

Attendance: 10,871 (9,793 Sold, 1,078 Comps)
Gate: $5.13 Million
PPV Buys: 1.72 Million
Countdown Average Viewer Ratings: 1,720,000



UFC 101: (Penn vs Florian, Griffin vs Anderson Silva) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:

Attendance: 17,411 (Sold Out)  *First time in Pennsylvania*
Gate: $3.55 million
PPV Buys: 850K
Countdown Average Viewer Ratings: 805,000



UFC 102: (Couture vs Nogueira, Jardine vs Thiago Silva) in Portland, Oregon:

Attendance: 16,000 (~ 10K Sold, ~ 6K Comps) *First time in Oregon*
Gate: $1.92 Million
PPV Buys: 435K
Countdown Average Viewer Ratings: 523,000



UFC 103: (Franklin vs Belfort, Mirko vs Dos Santos) in Dallas, Texas:

Attendance: 17,428 (Sold Out) *First time in Dallas*
Gate: $2.4 Million
PPV Buys: 400K
Countdown Average Viewer Ratings: 382,000



UFC 104: (Machida vs Shogun, Cain vs Rothwell) in Los Angeles, California:

Attendance: ? Estimated 8K as of Thursday (Meltzer)
Gate: ? Estimate of 1.6 Million as of Thursday (Meltzer)
PPV Buys:?
Countdown Average Viewer Ratings: 524,000



Successful UFC Event Outside of Las Vegas or Canada:  $2 Million Gate or greater
PPV Buys Baseline for North American Events: 400K
Countdown UFC Ratings: Yearly average = 676,000. Last year’s average = 613,000.

Source: MMAPayout

From looking at the numbers, UFC 104 will be the first UFC PPV event that may get a significant bump in buys due to the success of TUF 10.  UFC 103 was able to get 400K PPV buys, which was elevated from its original 375K estimate.  Another thing we can notice from the numbers is that the huge momentum that UFC 100 provided to cards that followed is pretty much done.  UFC event gates, attendance, and buy rates have now come back to earth, and most predict that UFC 104 buy rate will also hit around a 400K -500K mark.

On the gate and attendance side, it seems that just like in Portland, the UFC will most likely comp a good amount of tickets for this event.  The average amount of comped tickets for a Los Angeles MMA event is about 3k-4k, so expect an attendance of 12k - 14K fans with about 3K - 4K comped tickets. Meltzer had more on the sales of UFC 104:

On The Ultimate Fighter on 10/7, there was commercial after commercial plugging the 10/24 PPV with the tag line about following Dana White on Twitter to get free tickets for the Staples Center show. We went from Montreal and Las Vegas shows advertising no tickets available to going on the national TV commercial talking about free tickets. They are papering heavily in the market. Last week when White made a public appearance, at first they were going to give away one ticket to everyone who came to see White. UFC gave away the tickets and got contact info and have offered those who came to see White two free tickets. Right now they’ve sold more than 8,000 tickets for $1.6 million, but that’s less than half the place.

Another interesting point is that the UFC has been recently targeting states which were hit the hardest during the recession:  Oregon, California and Texas, which I wrote about in a previous post.  They seemed to have success in Dallas, but have struggled in Oregon and now in California.  It also doesn't help that the Dodgers and Angels have been in the middle of huge baseball playoff battles, the World Champion Lakers have started pre-season, the Los Angeles Kings and Mighty Ducks started their Hockey seasons, and we are in the middle of college football season, where USC Trojan games are always a hot ticket.  The bright side is that the Dodgers did not go into a game 7 against the Phillies, which would have taken the attention of the city away from MMA on that day.  Lots to keep you occupied and entertained right now in Southern California.

Strikeforce: Fedor vs Rogers "Fight Camp 360" Set For Nov. 3rd Debut

MMAWeekly reports:

Citing the critical success of its "Fight Camp 360º: Inside The super Six World Boxing Classic," Showtime Sports on Thursday announced "Fight Camp 360º: Fedor vs. Rogers" in anticipation for the Nov. 7 CBS live broadcast of "Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers."

 

Fight Camp 360°: Fedor vs. Rogers will premiere on Showtime on Nov. 3 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT.  The CBS Television Network will also make the show available to its 203 affiliated stations for broadcast in advance of the fight.

 

"Fedor is beyond captivating as a fighter, and more so, as a man.  It's a pure joy to film him so intimately as he strives for perfection in life and sport with grace and charm," commented director Ron Yassen, who is embedded in Fedor’s training camp in Stary Oskol, Russia. "While training for this most important match, he kindly opened up his life to us in and out of the ring, without the ego that often comes with being the very best at one's craft."  

The special will feature both Fedor and Rogers.

 

"The response to our inaugural episode of Fight Camp 360°: Inside The Super Six World Boxing Classic chronicling the boxing tournament has been overwhelming," said Showtime Sports General Manager Ken Hershman, who commissioned the project. "Because of the subjects involved – the mysterious world champion set to fight a man living the American dream – we had to turn our lens in this direction."

Below are the air dates and times for Fight Camp 360°: Fedor vs. Rogers on Showtime and Showtime 2:

-Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 9:30 p.m. (premiere) on Showtime

-Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 10:00 p.m. on Showtime 2

-Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 11 p.m. on Showtime 2

-Thursday, Nov. 5 at 10:00 p.m. on Showtime 2

-Friday, Nov. 6 at 10:00 p.m. on Showtime 2

-Saturday, Nov. 7 at 4:30 p.m. on Showtime

(Note: all times ET/PT)

It is also said that CBS affiliates can run the special as well, possibly after a football game on the weekend, etc.  We will have to wait and see how the ratings will be impacted by the "Fight Camp 360" special, but it can only help.  The promotional backing for this event has definitely increased with advertisements during CBS NFL and college football games, Youtube promos, and now a Showtime/CBS November 7th count down show.  It seems that everything is set for Strikeforce and CBS to have a huge night, but questions remain whether they are doing a good enough job in promoting or whether the casual fan even cares who Fedor is.  A lot of questions will be answered in a couple of weeks.

Paradise Warrior Retreat Center Coming To Chicago

MMA Fighters Fedor, Mousasi, Arlovski, Babalu, Werdum and MMA Trainers Tomkins, Miletich, Bormet, Mango part of the PWR All Star Weekend in Chicago.

CHICAGO, IL (October 22, 2009)-  Paradise Warrior Retreat (PWR), in cooperation with M-1 Global, announced today its 14th celebrity-filled retreat to be held on November 7th and 8th in Chicago, Illinois.  PWR 14 will take place around the historic Strikeforce/M-1 Global Fedor vs. Rogers show at Sears Centre Arena in Chicago, Illinois.

While millions of viewers watch the historic Fedor vs. Rogers show on CBS television and live at the Sears Centre Arena, PWR 14 participants will experience an exciting weekend of meeting and learning from legendary fighters and elite trainers from the sport of MMA.   On Saturday, November 7th, former World Champion fighters Andrei Arlovski and Renato "Babalu" Sobral along with world class trainers Shawn Tomkins (Extreme Couture), Pat Miletich (Miletich Fighting System), Sean Bormet (Overtime School of Wrestling), and Dr. Doug Mango (Team Curran) will take PWR participants through a fantasy course of MMA instruction and exhibition at Team Curran Gym in Crystal Lake, Illinois.  Then on Sunday, November 8th, PWR will host a revolutionary luncheon at the Marriott in Hoffman Estates, Illinois entitled "The Morning After," featuring an inside look into the mind of the fighter as Fedor Emelianenko, Gegard Mousasi, Fabricio Werdum, and other fighters from the November 7th Strikeforce/M-1 Global show offer an in depth analysis and discussion of their fights from the preceding evening.  Following the Sunday seminar, PWR fighters and trainers will host a Meet and Greet, offering PWR participants a chance to get a picture and autograph from their favorite MMA stars.   Specials guests from the world of MMA will also appear.

Daily spectator passes to PWR 14 start at $50.  Daily participant passes to PWR 14 start at $200.  Weekend packages including a $100 ticket to the Strikeforce/M-1 Global Fedor vs. Rogers show, lunch, and passes to the Official Fedor vs. Rogers After Party are $500.  Space is limited to 80 participants and spectators.  For more information and reservations to this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, log on to www.paradisewarriorretreat.com or call 1-888-PWR-1001 or (818) 822-3003.  Fighter and trainer appearances are subject to change.