I'm only posting this because I made an earlier post talking about how the promotion for this fight left UFC in the dust. It turns out that Mayweather/Hatton did 850,000 PPV buys. This is obviously an objectively good buyrate, and UFC would be thrilled if they could get it for UFC 79. However, once you factor in the huge costs in putting together the 24/7 program, the costs of advertisement and hype, and the boundless press and hype from the mainstream sports media, it has to be a disappointment.
It's tough to say why it came in low. Maybe the Mexican fan base that fought for De La Hoya was uninterested here. Or maybe, after all the hype last time, the fight was so boring that fans learned their lesson. UFC can claim a small victory in that their show on that night far outperformed the huge boxing fight, but then again their show was free.
I still think 24/7 is the gold standard in promoting a fight. The show was incredible, and almost tricked me into paying for it. Imagine how much hype there'd be for UFC 79 if there was a hype special every week for the big fights. Instead, it'll be the usual 1 week of hype, and it should still do well, but a lot depends on whether the media bites and promotes it.
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