A Public Apology Was Nice, UFC 99 on Spike TV Would Be Better
by Michael Rome on Apr 23, 2009 3:49 AM EDT
in MMA News
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After the debacle of UFC 61, the UFC was in a quandary. Over 700,000 people bought a show to see Ken Shamrock fight Tito Ortiz, and the fight was stopped early. To make matters worse, Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia had one of the worst main events in UFC history. After five rounds of hell, the show felt like a disaster. A bunch of new fans bought a show for the first time, and they got a turd.
The UFC responded by giving fans a Tito vs. Ken rematch for free on Spike TV. The show did a huge rating, and a few months later they set their buyrate record at UFC 66.
We've debated Anderson Silva's performance here extensively, and reasonable minds can disagree. However, there is a lot of anger out there among fans. I am not the only one that had a casual fan tell me they would never pay to see Anderson Silva again. Even worse, there was a general feeling of disgust in the bar I was at following the conclusion of the show. In such a horrible economy people have to make hard choices about where to spend their money, and with a Lyoto Machida main event next month, there is a possibility they could have two major boring main events in a row. To make it up to people that feel ripped off, they should put UFC 99 from Germany on Spike TV.
As a European show, it probably won't do great on PPV to begin with, and the main event is guaranteed to be exciting. Putting Wanderlei Silva on television would be a real treat. The card is barely PPV worthy, but it is fantastic for a free TV card.
This isn't exactly the same as what they did in 2006, but the situation is different. Back then, casual fans wanted a finish between Tito and Ken. Right now, the last thing they want to see is another Anderson fight, and if that really is his new style then putting him on free TV is an even bigger risk.
Even with this on free TV, they still are on pace to have 12 PPV shows this year. The UFC is one of the only businesses in America doing well at the moment, but a business dependent on customer loyalty can see its fortunes change quickly with a decline in quality. UFC 99 should be free.
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agreed...
because I feel it’s mostly “hardcore” fans who are truly excited to see UFC 98 as is… so 99 would be a great free card.
The UFC is greedy. No way they give up that moolah for free TV. As for the main fight:
I guess you can look at the fight a bunch of ways.
1. Wand. wins and transitions down to 185 to be a contender (IMO the best result for the UFC)
2. Franklin decisions Wand (so Franklin cant win the belt at 185 but probly wont beat the elite at 205)
3. Franklin knocks out Wand (Wand will have gone like 1-5, Ken Shamrock territory)
4. Its a draw/ Split decision where they’re so close to each other no real winner emerges
In all honestly, this fight reminds me of Shamrock vs. Diaz: Entertaining to the fans but not much else.
Herring vs. Cain is the most important fight contender wise because Herring is the gatekeeper of that division.
Hardy/Davis is okay. Swick/Saunders too. The only undercard that appeals to me is Struve/Stojnic just because I want to know if it was Struve’s nerves or Dos Santos’ awesomeness
The UFC is greedy is a bogus argument. They’re like any company, they seek to maximize revenue, but also look to the long term. They probably sacrificed 15 million in the short term doing Tito-Ken 3 on free TV, but gained a huge amount of good will. This is a company rolling in it, they make a lot of decisions based on long term profit, not short term. See: Chuck Liddell retiring.
by Michael Rome on Apr 23, 2009 4:24 AM EDT up reply actions
This card is probably going to blow away 97 for enjoyment alone. So often fans forget that the UFC is popular because it’s fun, not because we find out who is the true number 6 middleweight. This is a dream fight between two huge names from the UFC and Pride, and the winner will get a huge boost. It is meaningful.
by Michael Rome on Apr 23, 2009 4:26 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
I guess each fan has his own different level of enjoyment. In some ways, watching two midgets or grannies fight can also be entertaining but I digress. The UFC is first most in the entertainment industry and then the sports business. I do like coming away from each fight with a clear progression of talent. The UFC is “greedy” is more of a stereotype I’ll admit but I stand my position that they won’t put on a free Spike TV card.
i wouldnt say greedy-
but as long as they think they can recoup some money or make a profit off this show using ppv obviously its their right to do it. if fans hate paying for these cards its easy to watch it on the internet or to do something else with your saturday afternoon or night. if it happens enough theyll stop doing it. if you want to pay to see some dutch dude thats built like rik smits punch a fat man in the face because its the ufc, its your 50 bills.
Well said!!!
I agree with that 100%….. the complaining about the Anderson Silva fight is wearing very thin…
Life isn’t fair, you’re not always going to get your “money’s worth” with everything in life… no one would be able to appreciate the true wars and awesome fights if we don’t see some flaming piles of shit from time to time.
by Gunslinger20 on Apr 23, 2009 8:41 AM EDT up reply actions
It’s a great idea but I have a feeling they’re going to try and offset the massive cost of their first show to Germany.
I think it would set up a war between the W and A Silvas (assuming W wins vs Franklin of course).
I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if they don’t put it on Spike though, might not even be enough time to set it up on Spike in all honesty.
no
absolutely not…
you set this ridiculous precedent and the fans will just expect more and more concessions for every perceived bad card.
life involves risk, if you can’t handle the risk of maybe “feeling” like you didn’t get your 50 dollars worth, it might be time to call it quits.
let’s all just move on.
Nice idea, but you have to remember that the UFC does not control SpikeTV’s programming budget or schedule.
There have been a number of times in the past where they tried to put one of their European shows on cable rather than PPV and SpikeTV has declined to pick it up for budgetary reasons. Even if the UFC wanted to put UFC 99 on cable, there is no guarantee that SpikeTV would cooperate.
It shoulda been like that in the first place. But does Spike have a slot open for them? I was under the impression that the UFC was gonna have 99 on Spike but Spike said no.
"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito on Belfort at Affliction:DOR
Why would Spike turn down an event like this? They stand to make good money from ads.
The UFC has basically built Spike into the station it is today. They better not play hour after hour of old CSI episodes instead.
No one wants to pay for a tape delayed event anyhow. If Spike is resistant to this kind of request from the UFC, maybe Dana needs to think about finding a station that will “bend” to suite a cash cow like the UFC. Not to mention the fact that if not at this point, then sometime soon, the UFC will out grow the cable channel. Bottom line, lots of potential fans don’t get cable.
I don’t know why they’d do it, but they’ve done it before.
"I see him beating Anderson Silva. I see him picking him apart. Him at a 131 years old...(trails off)." - Tito on Belfort at Affliction:DOR
by Rundownloser on Apr 23, 2009 12:57 PM EDT up reply actions
They do it because SpikeTV is given a budget by Viacom, and a good way to get fired in a shitty economy is to come in over budget at the end of the year. Spike has always been reluctant to take on ‘extra’ UFC shows early in the year. They are usually much more accommodating at the end of the year when they knw they have some room to spare in the budget.
That being said....
There is prolly little to no chance it will happen (free on Spike). I actually think the card is being overlooked. No big-time contenders or champs, but some very very interesting fights.
These 3 fights could all be Fight of the Night or KO of the Night…
Silva vs. Franklin
Swick vs. Saunders
Davis vs. Hardy
Plus we get to see Cain V. vs. some real competition. IMO a win over Herring puts him in the “heavyweight waiting room” with Carwin and Kongo.
Wow
How nice of you to volunteer UFC just piss away millions of dollars in this economy. Orttiz-Shamrock 3 happened on Spike because it led to the buildup of Ortiz-Liddell 2, the biggest money MMA match ever at the time. They were spending some money to make a ton. There’s no such benefit to doing the same with 98.
UFC 100
Sure there is. What better way to hype the biggest event in UFC history (MMA history), then to plug it excessively during a free event on Spike?
If a casual fan was planning on buying 100, then he may be second guessing this decision after paying to see the last event. The UFC would do well to offer an event from Germany for free given the “live broadcast” issues. This won’t do well in PPV numbers anyhow. They don’t have to make it up to us for a perceived poor main event, but it sure wouldn’t hurt. Otherwise the fallout from 97 could potentially effect the PPV buys for UFC 100.
If Spike can’t do it for them they always have the UFC website to offer the fights on. Plus this is a card that is full of fighters that could use some more exposure to become larger draws in their future fights.
Who knows, maybe UFC 98 will be off the charts awesome and this could just blow over and be forgotten.
Forget that just make 100 free.
Now that I think about it forget PPV, I want everything free. I’ll even suffer through real commercials instead of the normal Mike ‘used car’ Goldberg “product introductions”.
I felt this way before Anderson Flopped
I don’t know why, but I think that if the UFC is doing a show over seas, they should always make an attempt to give it to the US fans for free. I know that other coutrie’s fans probably feel the same way vice versa with the US shows, but look at our main events compared to over seas main events. Theirs are honestly a level or two above the fight night mains. Besides that, this site and others do a fantastic job of giving the results before the show has time to air in the states. So by that time the outcome is already free to us, why not showcase more fights and fighters back to the demographic that pays the bills?
I'll chime in...
I’ve really fell off the site for a few months after some dissapointing shows. I can be honest when I say I haven’t missed a buy since Sherk VS Hermes and this is the first time my Fiance and I have decided to probably stop having viewing parties for every fight. I sometimes spend over $100 a month on these shows and this last one on top of the GSP VS BJ fight being an ultimate nightmare. I was excited GSP won, but dissapointed BJ wasn’t more of fight for him and Casuals hardly liked seeing BJ tooled after me hyping it as being such an evenly matched fight.
all you gotta do is...
Yeah, the casual fans I watched GSP v Penn with were not impressed by Penn’s performance. They thought I was stupid for thinking Penn was anywhere near GSP’s league. I knew GSP would win, but who knew he’d destroy Penn like that?
Anyway, back on topic, I think putting this card free on Spike would definitely be worthwhile for the UFC. The Silva fight wasn’t just bad, it was brutal. An exciting free Wandy brawl would wash the bad taste out of our mouths for sure.
I love me some Sexyama!
Yes, I concur fully
Sup brohams, Goodwill is a very important asset for a company like the UFC. They would go a long way in building it with an extra free event. 99 is a perfect opporitunity opporitunity to make up for the damage that was recently done to their “good name”. The sooner they announce that, the sooner the fans will have somethign to get jazzed about. I think a casual UFC fan would be MORE inclilned to buy 98 if they knew they would get a free one next month, right? I know for damn sure that i’m not buying 99.
“and with a Lyoto Machida main event next month, there is a possibility they could have two major boring main events in a row”
dude, have you seen Machida fight lately? He tooled Ortiz, and knocked out Silva. He opens up more and more with each fight. He’s hardly boring. You better get used to him, because he’s gonna have the belt for a loooong time. But yes, ufc 99 should be free, I feel cheated out of my $44.95 from 97
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