I’m only arguing against this mantra that I continually see chanted across message boards that entertainment spending goes up during recessions (not completely true), therefore the UFC’s business going to actually improve.

There’s way to many variables at play to make any type of definitive statement obviously, but the people who are making these claims like some kind of QED formula are living in a dream world.

A movie lasts 2 hours, and for a family of 4, it costs $40. So how long entertainment lasts is not an indicator.”

TIME magazine just ran an article on the current economy and consumer trends – movies and entertainment spending is in the negative and the trend indicates that spending is moving even further into the negatives going forward.

How many families of 4 are watching the UFC?

HBO’s boxing ratings are down? Examples?

No younger fanbase? You mean like latinos? Or African Americans?

Couture/Lesnar won’t even do the big buys of Tito/Liddell II from 2 years ago. What would it prove?

2. With the exception of David Haye & Chad Dawson, boxing has absolutely no potential stars above Welterweight. And even these two guys are guarantees for selling big PPV’s.

3. Manny being younger then Brock means nothing. The guy has 50 fights in him. No matter the age, typically even the best fighters only have so many big fights in them before a slowdown occurs.

I haven’t said boxing is dead, but it continues to decline. Free TV boxing is now basically non-existant. HBO is seeing a decline in boxing ratings. And both HBO & Showtime are cutting their boxing budgets for next year. Not to mention there is really no younger American fanbase watching this sport.

That spells trouble. And when Couture/Lesnar does big buys, it will only show that the post-ODLH era of boxing will be bleak.

But who likes facts? Blind assertions, that’s the ticket!

The future of MMA is not Coture but Lesnar. I would never expect a boxing fan on an MMA blog would understand that.

Damn, I broke my rule of not addressing you anymore.

As for a motion picture, again, gradients. Netflix costs $10-15 a month, and for those who are more into staying at home. PPVs are bought for viewing at home, whereas movies are an actual outing, not to mention that movies can be purchased on PPV.

This is all silly. Reading this, you’d swear that no one in entertainment is going to be seriously affected by an economic slowdown. There’s next to no evidence that this is the standard, but it should be assumed that this recession is different?

A movie lasts 2 hours, and for a family of 4, it costs $40. So how long entertainment lasts is not an indicator.

If Couture/Lesnar gets anywhere over 500,000 PPV Buys (which it will), boxing writers who are claiming the Hopkins/Pavlik buyrate on the economy will lose that arguement. It will also show how badly boxing is hurting today. No real big stars left.

Today’s Video Blog had Dana being interviewed by the Wall Street Journal. IF they can get strong press this week, I can see this doing 700k.

“What about video games? Video games is about as recession proof as you can get. The games cost $60.”

Sure they cost $60, but they’re more of an “investment” (I’m sure people that buy them might not look at them that way specifically). They provide far longer than the 3 hour entertainment time than a PPV would. Not to mention the on-line gaming capabilities and almost interactive movie level of experience – I think you’d be able to convince a marginal gamer to spend $60 (or far less for 2nd hand) on the game a little easier than the marginal ppv buyer.