Will the WEC's Star Power Produce a Successful PPV Event?
by Leland Roling on Jan 25, 2010 2:14 PM EST
in MMA News
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One of the issues that was brought up during last week's Inside MMA show on HDNet, a show that featured current WEC featherweight champion Jose Aldo and his manager Ed Soares, was the possibility of a WEC pay-per-view event this year. Soares was asked about the prospects of a successful event, and names such as Urijah Faber and Jose Aldo were brought up in the discussion. This leads me to the discussion as to what names could produce a successful pay-per-view pull for the WEC, and does the WEC actually have the star power and marketability to produce some solid numbers.
The WEC's general manager, Reed Harris, has already hinted that a showdown between Urijah Faber and Jose Aldo will likely take place in a future WEC event as the headliner, and that event could be the first WEC card to be offered via pay-per-view. Soares mentioned that Sacramento is a great town for the fight to potentially take place due to Faber's following, and it would surely produce increased buys for the event.
The discussion now becomes a question of what other fights are possible in producing a star-studded event powerful enough to draw in a large number of fans. Harris mentioned that a rematch between Donald Cerrone and Benson Henderson for the lightweight title could also take place on the card, adding another title showdown to the event.
ARCO Arena seems like the best venue in terms of making money on the live gate and having an atmosphere that's crazy for the WEC's poster boy, Urijah Faber. But the other match-ups on the card will be instrumental to the success of this card. If we take a look at some of the ratings, it's pretty obvious as to who will need to be featured.
Miguel Torres is easily one of the higher drawing fighters in the WEC as he produced 650,000+ ratings for both WEC 37 and WEC 42. Surprisingly, Jamie Varner has been involved in two successful events in WEC 46 and WEC 38 in which he pulled 640,000 and 700,000 respectively. Brown managed to pull roughly 500,000 viewers in his WEC 36 and WEC 39 performances, although Faber's involvement in WEC 36 can probably account for much of that.
The debate comes down to how the WEC wants to structure the card. Will championship bouts be the huge sell for the WEC? If so, we can count on Henderson vs. Cerrone complimenting Aldo vs. Faber, but WEC 47 has some match-ups that have title implications that could easily translate to some solid match-ups on a pay-per-view card.
Most notably, the bantamweight bouts featuring Miguel Torres vs. Joseph Benavidez and the championship bout between Brian Bowles and Dominick Cruz. If Bowles and Torres both win, we may see a rematch between the two for the bantamweight crown.
If that actually happens, a WEC pay-per-view could feature three title bouts across all divisions. While that sounds like a great plan, ratings do add a little debate to the discussion. A rematch between Jamie Varner and Donald Cerrone might be in the cards considering their first bout produced 700,000 viewers, and bad blood still remains between the two competitors.
What about Mike Brown? I've contemplated a potential bout with Raphael Assuncao as a nice match-up to complement the title fights. How about a bout between Scott Jorgensen and Joseph Benavidez if Torres takes on Benavidez at WEC 47? Anthony Njokuani might be a solid first fight on a pay-per-view with his explosive power.
For the hardcore fanbase, this seems like a pretty good roster of fights for a pay-per-view event, but will casual fans identify with the match-ups and bring their buying power to that type of card? It's tough to say, but the WEC may try to bring some UFC vets into the mix to bolster buys. Jens Pulver is set to return, so that may be an option if he can win. I'd mention Frankie Edgar at featherweight, but that's on the shelf now with his recent ascension to contention status. What should the WEC PPV card look like?
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I doubt I’ll ever pay for a WEC event, hopefully they keep them free or they merge with the UFC.
The mat is my church, the ground is my heaven, Jiu-Jitsu is my religion. And once you hit the ground you're in my world. My world is like the ocean, I’m like a shark and most people don't even know how to swim - Draculino
Two questions spring to mind
What would they be looking to charge for the PPV? If they were after UFC prices I couldn’t see it working.
Why would the event being in Sacramento affect PPV sales? Surely it would only affect live ticket sales, I can’t see how a PPV being in a particular location makes any difference apart from timezone.
by brad23 on Jan 25, 2010 2:22 PM EST via mobile reply actions
It probably wouldn’t affect the sales substantially, but it may have a small affect on area PPV sales, not nationwide. Faber alone on the card should bolster interest nationally. But it wouldn’t boost sales in any significant range having it there. But an increased live gate could help soften a bad PPV buyrate.
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"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Jan 25, 2010 2:28 PM EST up reply actions
They need to put some UFC gatekeepers on WEC shows. Put them low on the main card or on the undercard. The fact that they are lower on the card then who ever is in the main/semi-main will impart some value in the men at the top of the card. Without relating FW and BW value to fans in terms they already know (worth of UFC fighters), it will be a hard pill to swallow to pay for something they are used to get for free.
Some people think I am a dumb, ugly human being, but really I am a beautiful ape, with exceptional verbal skills.
Mike Brown vs Deividas Taurosevicius?
Scott Jorgensen vs Wagnney Fabiano?
Josh Grispi vs Manny Gamburyan?
Those fights could have a tendency to become ground battles that get drawn out, and we all know casual fans detest that. Down the road, if the first PPV is successful — those types of battles could happen.
Grispi will need to be re-built back up with a comeback fight after his injury, but he will be in the mix in the future.
Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Jan 25, 2010 2:41 PM EST up reply actions
Brown vs. Taurosevicius isn’t such a bad idea for Brown, but Jorgensen vs. Fabiano could be bad. I think Jorgensen is more suited for slugfests in terms of excitement.
Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Jan 25, 2010 2:45 PM EST up reply actions
no
they don’t do anything to promote it. It’s baffling to me that I have never seen a UFC or WEC commerical on a channel other than Spike.
Why not pay for a spot during a football game every now and then? Nascar? WWE?
Goldie: "Michael Jordan-esque in his grappling skills is Travis Lutter."
Rogan: "No, no he's not. No."
admittedly, i don’t watch much TV outside of football and mma, but I don’t remember ever seeing a UFC commercial during a football game. it seems like advertising more during football makes altogether too much sense
Goldie: "Michael Jordan-esque in his grappling skills is Travis Lutter."
Rogan: "No, no he's not. No."
Obviously in order for the WEC to have a successfull PPV they are going to have to have Faber, Torres, Aldo and Brown on the main card. Throw in Pulver while your at it since he has some name value. Charge $19.99 for the PPV and they could maybe bring in 300k buys. As long as the UFC is having a PPV every month I don’t see them drawing big numbers. Faber and Torres are going to realize they are not as big of a draw as they think if people are going to have to order their fights on PPV. This is just my opinion.
Completely different.
First, WEC and Aff are different, WEC has been doing events for a while, they are on tv, they have a fanbase, Affliction came out of nowhere and tried a PPV.
Second WEC would price it about half of what Aff or UFC events are, instead of 50 bucks or more, do it for 25 to 30 dollars.
And they wouldnt have to do 200k plus PPV buys, if they priced it for 25 bucks, stacked the card, promoted it heavily on tv with commercials, had UFC PPV promote it during those shows, did a countdown show for the card on Versus, really stepped up promotion, I think with a stacked card and half the price, they could do 50 to 100k PPV buys.
But really they wouldnt need to do that many buys to make money. Think about it, do it in Arco, sell out 12k plus seats for this card easily, charge 25 bucks, if they did 100k, 2.5 mill, they get what, half th at, with all the tickets sold minus fighters pay, the WEC would come out making money, probably more than they would doing this show on Versus.
Cause what people dont get is it doesnt matter how many viewers a card on Versus does, they get the same money, it could be Cowboy vs Ratliff and do 350k viewers or Aldo/Faber and does 2 millino viewers on Versus, they still make the same amount of money, so if they were ever gonna do a PPV, this is the fight to do it.
Price it half the UFC PPV price, plus people think they would do this all the time, they have to do 7 shows a year on Versus, they have 3 divisions, they cant do PPVs, it would be like once a year or twice max, it would be only the biggest fights.
So this isnt an every month thing. Its one time stacking a huge card. Its worth a try, and if it fails, they never do it again, shit, maybe it would force the UFC to merge the WEC into them seeing that they can never do WEC on PPV and make real money, as much as I love WEC, great fighters, fights, more events, if the UFC added a BW and FW div and merged, Aldo, Faber, Torres etc would all make more money, UFC cards would be so stacked, undercards, Spike cards, PPV, more title fights, it would make the UFC much bigger.
More fighters for the UFC game, more divs for TUF, more coaching options for TUF, two new divs worth of prospects for TUF, deeper cards, could even seen title fights on Spike, why not a FW or BW title fight on Spike to give fans who dont know them a shot at seeing how great they are.
Then by having these divs in the UFC, more fighters from japan would come over, some wont leave cause if they leave Japan for the US they dotn think the WEC is a big enough show, even though its the biggest in the US for BW and FW, maybe the money isnt big, but if the UFC had these divs, thats the big time, so guys like Hioki, or Sandro or Kid etc could be more willing to come to the UFC if they had these divs, and the UFC could pay them what the the WEC couldnt.
So you could get more talent from Japan to jump to the UFC.
I think it would work out better all across the board if the UFC merged the WEC into it.
You’d get a few solid LWs to add to the mix, Ben, Cowboy, Varner, Roller, Njokuani, Shalorus, I think it would be great.
No PPV would ever go without a title fight, more cards could have two title fights, it would just be huge.
Imagine in May with SHogun/Machida, Daley/Kos, Belcher/Cote, Kimbo, imagine adding Faber/Aldo to the card as well?
So if they do a WEC PPV and it fails, maybe it could get the UFC to merge the WEC into it later on.
Just a friendly tip:
Try to shorten your posts, man. I know you probably don’t care, but I tend to skip your posts since they are huge walls of text. I’m sure others do to.
You don’t have to care what I say or if I read what you write, I’m just giving you a bit of advice. Enjoy BE.
"Someone is WRONG on the internet. What do you want me to do? LEAVE? Then they'll keep being wrong!"
-Randall Munroe
No I dont care, if you dont want to read what I write cause its too long, then dont, its not gonna stop me from giving my opinion about something.
Not to be a prick, but if you want to hear knowledgeable comments about MMA, then I suggest you read what I write,. But if its too long for you, then dont, fine with me.
Fair enough.
Perhaps we were destined to be be ships passing in the night…
"Someone is WRONG on the internet. What do you want me to do? LEAVE? Then they'll keep being wrong!"
-Randall Munroe
I won't pay for it
Dana has made it clear that the UFC is the real deal and everything else is a joke. I’ll be trusting him on this. If these guys & weight classes deserved my money they’d be in the UFC already.
WEC sounds like something Vince MacMahon made up.
by asa on Jan 25, 2010 3:14 PM EST reply actions 4 recs
Can someone flag this for stupidity? I would but I’m on my phone.
by ufc4 on Jan 25, 2010 3:19 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Flagged it
for awesome.
"Someone is WRONG on the internet. What do you want me to do? LEAVE? Then they'll keep being wrong!"
-Randall Munroe
It’s not a problem with potential star power… Faber would sell as much as BJ if he were in the UFC. It’s just the branding problem and market realities.
The WEC so far has a slightly better overall penetration than strikeforce does on showtime but the viewers on showtime are already predisposed to paying for content (showtime being a premium channel)… unfortunately showtime cant sell a ppv so the likelihood of wec making it is slim to none.
Which is a good thing because the easiest way to sell a product you’ve been giving away for free is to “repackage” it and the the best way to repackage the wec assets is to fold it into the UFC.
My thinking is, since the WEC ppv will produce bupkus anyway, I’d use it counter program the strikeforce ppv with the wec ppv so people have to choose between the two (very few will buy both). This would hurt more than a UFC ppv counter programming it would because the purchasing pie – that night – for the most part would get split without the risk of increasing it.
The only problem is there would be someone with a name that rhymes with “peed barris” using this and the poor numbers as an excuse to still hold onto his pipe dream.
I agree some people are going to have a hard time purchasing a product that they are use to getting for free.
You don’t pay for the sex, you pay for her to leave afterward
Some people think I am a dumb, ugly human being, but really I am a beautiful ape, with exceptional verbal skills.
by szucconi on Jan 25, 2010 5:00 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
HIIIIIYYYYOOO!!!!!
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms, turning every good thing to rust.
by Anthony Pace on Jan 25, 2010 7:36 PM EST up reply actions
The best card they could make would be
6 fight main card
Aldo vs Faber for FW title
Hendersen vs Cowboy for LW title
Bowles vs Torres for BW title
Varner vs Njokunai
Brown vs Gamburyan
Jorgensen vs Page
Prelims (Possibly air two fights on Versus before the PPV)
Shalorus vs Roller
Grispi vs Visher
Assuncao vs Garcia
Price it for 30 to 35 bucks, you cant tell me that isnt worth it.
Now the problem is they have to do cards on Versus, you do all title fights and all there stars on a PPV, they wouldnt be able to do a Versus card for two or three months.
So now way they do all these fights on one card. So limit it.
iF they could pull this card off. Maybe either hold Cowboy/Hendersen for Versus or give Njokuani or Roller a title shot instead. Then do Cowboy/Varner for the PPV and give roller a title shot on Versus
Aldo/Faber for FW titel
Torres/Bowles for BW title
Varner/Cowboy
Jorgensen/Page
Brown/Gamburyan
Grispi/Visher
Shalorus/Njokuani
Thats a card def worth a PPV.
I actually like Jorgensen/Page.
Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Jan 25, 2010 3:37 PM EST up reply actions
agreed.
and Shalorus/Njokuani? Oh sweet baby Jesus the concussions.
by inadvertentgroinstrike on Jan 25, 2010 3:42 PM EST up reply actions
^ awesome.
Urijah Faber vs. Jose Aldo
Miguel Torres vs. Brian Bowles
Donald Cerrone vs. Benson Henderson
Mike Brown vs. Manny Gamburyan
Jamie Varner vs. Anthony Njokuani
Scott Jorgensen vs. Damacio Page
Kamal Shalorus vs. Shane Roller
Josh Grispi vs. Brandon Visher
Raphael Assuncao vs. Leonard Garcia
I’d pay for that card… although I almost want to see Cerrone/Varner II with some massive lead-up
Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
by Leland Roling on Jan 25, 2010 3:48 PM EST up reply actions
Exactly my point.
I dare any real fan who watched MMA to tell me that this card right here isnt worth a PPV?
Honestly, its worth a 50 bucks, just like a UFC PPV.
If they gave you three title fights, and the rest of this card.
Only problem is shit, look at the last fight listed, like the what, 9th fight, Assuncao/Garcia, that is a great fight, and it would be a fight that probably wouldnt be seen.
So shit, what if they said 50 bucks for the PPV, but it will be 4 hours and you will get to see the whole card? Do a total 10 fight card and for 50 bucks you get 4 hours and see every fight, with three title fights?
I’d do it in a second.
So find one more fight to add to this card.
How about Mizugaki vs Wagnney Fabiano?
No way it goes four hours, too many extra costs involved.
by ufc4 on Jan 25, 2010 4:18 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Too bad there aren’t enough fans like you…
It’s a great card but great cards alone dont sell ppv’s. This wec ppv is like telling your kid to go ahead and touch the hot stove so he gets some religion without having to endless hours convincing him.
The wec operates very efficiently and is managed very well. Big ups to R. Diddy… but it’s over. At one point it was good to have around to ride along the UFC wave… it just doesn’t make sense anymore.
Unless the UFC on versus bombs (does less than faber vs pulver in relative ratings) and the wec ppv does real well I dont see how this trajectory changes.
I for one . ..
would pay $50 to see aldo and faber duke it out.
I think that the WEC can break onto the PPV scene with a little help from the UFC. Since they’re sister companies I assume there aren’t huge impediments to a cross promotion. I would suggest a gradual approach:
Take one of the WEC’s top and most entertaining fighters say Torres and have him fight someone from the WEC on one of the UFC cards. The fight is guaranteed to generate interest; Torres is awesome and his fights are always entertaining — Torres will see his star become an order of magnitude brighter as Goldberg ordains Torres the greatest 135 lb fighter ever in the history of the universe and space and time. Torres now could much more plausibly headline a PPV.
The UFC also could send a fighter to the WEC. It needs to be someone with name recognition. I would use someone on his way out but still has some drawing power — Liddell maybe or maybe Couture (in two years) and have him fight some can. The WEC’s payroll is such that I would guess 100,000 PPV buys would be a significant victory.
In promoting the WEC, the UFC is in a way competing with itself since people have a limited amount of money and they might hold off buying a UFC event if they just bought a WEC event. Nevertheless I think the WEC has a compelling product (it produces awesome fights); it just needs a little push.
I don't know
Why do these promotions act like having a PPV is going to be the end all be all for their success. At least Strikeforce has some kind of major base with their Showtime and CBS cards and are building their guys a little momentum. Stuff like Herschel Walker may be a freakshow, but with a lot of the moves they’ve made they at least are getting some heavy coverage for their cards. The WEC still needs to make it’s existence know to the masses on a channel most people aren’t even aware they have. The highest they can get on free tv is about a good million for the biggest draws, but even only a fraction of those people are going to be willing to actually put down some money to see the same guys, e.i. Faber or Torres, on a PPV.
"Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything Kent. 14% of people know that. "
50 dollar WEC PPV, make it 4 hours, guarantee the whole 10 fight card will be seen, with three title fights, its clearly worth it.
Aldo vs Faber for FW title
Torres vs Bowles for BW title
Cowboy vs Henderson for LW title
Brown vs Gamburyan
Varner vs Njokuani
Jorgensen vs Page
Shalorus vs Roller
Grispi vs Visher
Assuncao vs Garcia
Fabiano vs Mizugaki
4 hour PPV, 10 fights, 3 title fights, 50 bucks. What a card that would be.
No Way
Paying for UFC every month is tough enough. There is no way I would pay for a WEC fight and I’m a hardcore fan. The less people that purchase the PPV, more likely they won’t try again. If some idiots…errr….fans want to purchase WEC PPV, that’s just going to hurt the consumer in the long run because more PPV events would be shown and less free events on VS. I hope people think about this if they plan to purchase WEC PPV. Who is going to want to pay at least an extra $100/mo and that’s not including boxing or WWE.
I love WEC and their cards are certainly worth a PPV show, but I’m thinking about all the consumers who would have to cough up more money per month. It’s not a one time deal. It’s a feeling out period….DO NOT Purchase WEC PPV. If we do purchase, who knows what else they’re going to charge us.
That's what I initially thought too
but then realized that by doing so, we forfeit the right to bitch about WEC pay.
"Someone is WRONG on the internet. What do you want me to do? LEAVE? Then they'll keep being wrong!"
-Randall Munroe
Seriously, are that serious?
Wow, are people that dumb, really though, no bullshit, you actually think the WEC, who has to do 7 events on Versus a year, with 3 divisions, can do a PPV every month? Thats what your acting like, that your gonna have to pay 100 bucks a month for fights with UFC and WEC.
Wow, for the most part, the WEC doesnt even do a Versus card a month, its a month, then next month, then two months etc. But now you think they can do big PPV every month and Versus cards?
Jesus, its a one time thing, at the most, the WEC would do one ore maybe two PPV a YEAR.
You do know that they only have 3 divisions right, they couldnt possibly do more than two PPV a year, and 7 Versus cards, if they are gonna do a PPV its gonna have to be a stacked card, with two of the three title fights on it and all the big stars, so anyone with even half a brain would know that they can only do about 2 PPV a year.
So the whole this is a setup they will be doing a PPV a month shit is insane.
And yeah, lets pass on a stacked card like this and miss the fights cause your scared they are gonna do more PPVs. Yeah, ok. Sorry, but I’m a real mma fan, and I care about fights, so if the WEC does a card like this on PPV, I’d buy it, and since I have common sense which tells me they can do alot of PPV and still do Versus cards, it tells me they would only do a PPV with the biggest possible fights, like aldo/faber, or Torres./Faber or Torres/Aldo. WHich means once or maybe, maybe twice a year at the most.
It depends on the card.
Depends on the price.
If the WEC is gonna give you a really good card for 30 bucks, thats one thing, now I said 50 bucks for a 4 hour 10 fight super card, but I know the WEC isnt gonna do that.
As for SF, I do watch SF, but I’m def more of a UFC/WEC fan then SF< I think SF has a few great fighters, but they have no depth at all, but it depends.
If SF did a card like this.
Fedor vs Overeem for HW title
Mousasi vs King Mo for LHW title
Hendo vs Jacare for MW title
Melendez vs Aoki for LW title
Rogers vs Bobby Lashley
Lawler vs Le
Something like that, then yeah thats worth it, but they wont do that.
Mousasi/Mo will probably be on the CBS card, so it depends.
I love all mma, watch dream, sengoku, will watch MFC, KOTC fights, everything, but yeah, UFC/WEC is what I like the most, since Zuffa is the best, UFC is clearly the top, and WEC puts on great events, rarely do you ever see a WEC event that isnt great.
Most fans feel that the WEC puts on the best shows consistently.
SF, while they have some good fighters, they dont have alot of depth, so it def would depend on the card they put on.
Like the last CBS card they did, I would not pay for that card.
the next CBS card is said to have
Fedor/Werdum
Hendo/Jake
Mousasi/Mo
Now thats a solid card, but PPV worthy? To me, NO. It does have big names, but look at the matchups.
Fedor vs Werdum, one sided easy fight for Fedor. Mousasi vs Mo, Mo is being rushed, he isnt ready, and Hendo vs Jake, Jake has no standup, Hendo is bigger, stronger, better wrestler, better striker, I think that fight ends quickly with a big Hendo knockout.
So yeah it has big names,. but the matchups are very one sided, so no I dont think thats worth money for a PPV.
Not only will it be a good card but they DESERVE IT!
It’s amazing to me that people are bitching about a possible PPV for the WEC. These guys deserve your support! WEC has CONSISTENTLY put on incredible cards. Maybe not in terms of star power (they don’t have a randy couture or gsp), but in terms of actual fights they always deliver. In fact, I would say they’re one of the most reliable organizations out there. We have guys like Faber, Brown, Torres, Bowles, Aldo, etc. and never NOT ONCE have you had to pay to see them fight. The WEC testing out the PPV waters is a great thing. They can’t do it every card (will likely just be 2-3 times a year, if that) and that’s fine by me. I really appreciate everything the WEC does and it sucks people frequently treat them like the red headed step child of MMA organizations. They’re legit and I’ll support them as much as I can.
I’ll support them by continuing to tune into their TV broadcasts, but why should I be expected to pay a premium price for something I’m currently getting for free?
This PPV won't sell
because Zuffa doesn’t want to be overly successful, so they can justify firing an entire promotions worth of staff and a third of the fighters in the WEC.
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