« UFC 63 card line-up | Home | Media notes for upcoming MMA events »
BJ Penn vs. Matt Hughes II
By Luke | September 6, 2006
In case you’ve been living under a rock somewhere, UFC is having a HELL of a year. Coming off UFC 61, where a re-match between Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock drew 775 thousand buys on PPV, and UFC 62 which will probably do in the range of 450-500 thousand PPV buys, UFC is extremely hot right now. So, people might be wondering, can a match between BJ Penn and Matt Hughes continue the awesome momentum of UFC in 2006? My answer would be an enthusiastic YES.
If my prediction of 450-500K buys is correct for UFC 62, then I would think that Matt Hughes and BJ Penn will have little trouble equalling, or surpassing that mark. The headline fight for UFC 62 was Chuck Liddell vs. Renato Babalu Sobral. Obviously we’ve all heard of both men, being the uber-fans that most of us are, but to casual viewers flicking through the channels on the Monday previous to UFC 62, that probably wasn’t the case when it came to Renato Babalu. UFC: All Access with the gorgeous Rachelle Leah, and the UFC Countdown program have given UFC two stalwart programs that – while not delivering any live fights – consistently convince people to pay for PPVs at an astonishing rate.
If those two programs which featured Renato Babalu, to verying degrees, (a man with broken english, and very little charisma) can convince 450 thousand customers to pay to see him fight, then imagine what these two programs will be able to do when given the task of telling the story between Matt Hughes and BJ Penn.
Matt Hughes and BJ Penn faught on January 31, 2004. It was the co-main event underneath the main event of Randy Couture vs. Vitor Belfort. Up until that fight Matt Hughes had been on an incredible role, as he dominated every opponent he had faced since becoming UFC Welterweight Champion. BJ Penn to that point was a Lightweight, who had some impressive wins like his KO of Caol Uno, and his exciting decision loss to then UFC Lightweight Champ Jens Pulver. BJ decided to move up in weight, and was given a title match with Matt Hughes. Not many people thought BJ Penn would win, but he shocked the world, and defeated the indominable Hughes. Then, in a surprising sequence of events, he decided to leave UFC, and his newly won crown behind for what he thought were greener pastures in Japan.
Fastforward to 2006. BJ Penn finally returns to UFC after a court battle with Dana White, and faced George St. Pierre in a number one contenders match. George St. Pierre won a close decision, that many people thought could’ve have gone to BJ Penn. George St. Pierre vs. Matt Hughes is set for UFC 63, only for GSP to pull up injured during training, and be forced to pull out. So, Penn gets the nod.
If this story is told correctly, with the appropriate promos from each fighter, about the first match, and the meaning of the belt, etc. This fight should easily equal UFC 62 (whatever buyrate it does), if not surpass it. And, if Matt Hughes win over Royce Gracie had the desired affect that UFC was hoping for, this may surpass everyone’s wildest expectations. Matt Hughes win over Royce was supposed to be the the ‘big name’ win that would make Hughes an even more recognizable star, following his performance on TUF2.
The fact that PPV buyrates have reached the level they have, speaks volumes for the type of product that fans want to watch in 2006. Whether you’re into Wrestling, or MMA, or both its abundantly evident that fans want real personal character, wins and losses, and real athletic legitimacy to be the story. BJ Penn vs. Matt Hughes has all the above criteria, and the added bonus of containing a great backstory that will convince even the most casual viewer to tune in to see the conclusion.
I can’t hardly wait.
Topics: All Topics, Luke Nicholson, MMA, UFC | 6 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
Looking forward to it myself. However, these two fought on the Randy/Vitor II, not on Chuck/Tito card.
yes yes yes…this is the fight i’ve been waiting for ever since it was announced last fall that BJ was back in the ufc!! and not to be too nitpicky, but not only was their fight at UFC 46 (Randy/Vitor II) as YT said, but it was on 1/31/2004 not 4/2/2004…in any case i’m counting down the days with eager anticipation.
Oops. I’ll fix that mistake. Thanks guys.
While most of the MMA sites and bloggers proclaimed the UFC 62 card to be lackluster, they seemed to forget that Liddell, Bonnar and Griffin are quite possibly the three most popular MMA stars in North America today. Chuck is the single most recognizable UFC fighter and he would sell any PPV at this stage of this championship run (a la Oscar De Lahoya).
Ryan – the other aspect of that is that most most hardcore net fans forget that undercard fights don’t sell PPVs. Nobody buys a PPV to watch the first or second fight on the card. Most people pay for the top match, or top two matches, and thats about it.
I agree Luke, and to top off the main events, Kongo looked great and added some life to the division which most “experts” complain about. If they complain about the 63 card they should be banned from watching MMA all together.