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Trying to figure out how well UFC 115 did business-wise
By Zach Arnold | June 13, 2010
I’ll have a passage at the bottom of this post from the Observer radio show on Saturday night about UFC giving out $85,000 (USD) bonuses to fighters on the card.
FWIW, my take on the bonus system is the same as Eddie Alvarez’s — pay the fighters what you think they’re worth up front. No backroom deals, no bonus system. I’m not a fan of the bonus system in regards to how it changes the fight styles of certain undercard fighters to basically engage in sloppy kickboxing battles to win KO of the night or best bout of the night bonuses. I’d rather see a fighter fight smart (that doesn’t automatically equal boring) and be consistent and feel like they can best utilize their skills as opposed to watching a Toughman-like display.
(I can already see the fans of the Leonard Garcia/Korean Zombie fight screaming at me and I liked the fight for what it was, but I don’t need to see multiple fighters on a card abandon their skill set simply to try to win a bonus.)
As for what the demand was for UFC 115, I don’t know but based on everything I know anecdotally-speaking it was not strong at all. I can tell you as far as site traffic is concerned on Fight Opinion, the interest in UFC 115 was lower than the interest in the Strikeforce card in St. Louis last May, but at least there was some energy online for that show because of the media throwing a fit over Alistair Overeem not answering their steroid questions. We had a great April and a fantastic May, but the traffic this past week for UFC 115 absolutely fell off a cliff.
We did well last Summer when Brock Lesnar fought Frank Mir and when BJ Penn fought Kenny Florian. Here’s hoping for a strong late June/early July and late August.
OK, onto the passage from the Observer radio show on Saturday night about the amount for fighter bonuses given out:
BRYAN ALVAREZ: “Wait, hold on a second. $85,000?”
DAVE MELTZER: “So your reaction is the same as mine.”
BRYAN ALVAREZ: “$85,000?”
DAVE MELTZER: “Well, this is what’s so weird.”
BRYAN ALVAREZ: “That’s got to be, I think it’s the highest of all time.”
DAVE MELTZER: “No, no, no, UFC 100 was $100,000.”
BRYAN ALVAREZ: “OK.”
DAVE MELTZER: “This would probably be, it very well could be the second highest.”
BRYAN ALVAREZ: “It has to be. That’s a ridiculous number for this show.”
DAVE MELTZER: “You know what’s funny is… I have asked, when I go, ‘How come you know it’s not like a set number? Why is it always varying?” and the answer I was given is that before the show, Dana (White), Joe (Silva), Lorenzo (Fertitta) get together and they figure out like what’s the buy rate going to be and then based on what they expect the buy rate to be, they proportionally do this. So the last one…”
BRYAN ALVAREZ: “See, see, you know I always thought, I mean it wasn’t exactly, but I noticed that you know that’s kind of what they did. It wasn’t like it was if they thought they were going to do 650,000 buys it would be $65,000 but it seemed like it was close to somewhere around there. $85,000 is outrageous.”
DAVE MELTZER: “OK, you know, I’m glad they paid people!”
BRYAN ALVAREZ: “Well, sure, but it’s ridiculous.”
DAVE MELTZER: “But here’s the thing. So, that’s what I was told and it makes absolutely sense because the last show was $65,000 and everyone knew the last show was going to be one of the biggest of all time.”
BRYAN ALVAREZ: “Oh yeah.”
DAVE MELTZER: “So this show, which I don’t think this show’s going to do that well on PPV at all.”
BRYAN ALVAREZ: “No.”
DAVE MELTZER: “It’s sandwiched between you know sandwiched between two monsters and it came two weeks after a big one and if they do 500,000 for this and I don’t think they will, I mean, then you know I mean if they do it it really is a testament to Chuck (Liddell) because except for Chuck there’s really nothing on this show that was going to draw and you know but… but what I think it is is that I think they come together and they figure out like kind of like where the cash flow is and they made so much money off this last show so they probably figured, well, we can you know what I mean I think it’s like a lag of one behind except for UFC 100 where they did it, but I don’t know they figure this thing but anyway they got $85,000 bonuses. I mean I know they did $65,000 for the WEC but that was because Dana just decided, you know, going into the fighters’ meeting that he was just going to be, he was in such a great mood and he just offered them $65,000 and those guys, you know, those poor WEC guys who fight their heart out for very little money comparatively, they were just so happy.”
Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 9 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
I’ve got to say this show had the worst Countdown episode ever. It was all about how Chuck Liddell is pussywhipped while Rich Franklin hangs out by the traintracks like a hobo, and how Pat Barry is an MMA n00b mama’s boy with a questionable taste in shorts while Cro Cop swears for the 10th time he won’t suck as much as he did the last time you saw him. They did a good job at making people think Barry is a killer, but anything with latter-day Cro Cop isn’t a money fight so it was all for nothing. So this will be a test on how much a good Countdown can affect sales of a show since this one gave more reasons not to buy it than to buy it.
Take into account what fights look like when it’s all about a win bonus: as safe as possible. I’ll gladly take guys getting a little reckless looking for a KO for some extra money than a return of lay n pray cards just so they can get a safe win. Save those “performances” for title fights.
It’s not showing as a top Google search term in Google News. This is the first time in a very long time that a UFC show doesn’t show up the day after.
It was on it this morning, but just “UFC 115” when usually they have that and the names of both of the main eventers as trending topics. And the news piece was at the very bottom of the sports section.
So yeah, this is the weakest coverage they have gotten since the Couture-Coleman show fittingly. Although I’m sure it will greatly outdo that buyrate.
I have to disagree about the bonuses.
I think the KO/Sub bonuses if anything have accelerated the cards since their introduction (thats at least one significant accomplishment Southworth can hang his hat on).
I dont think it generally makes fighters worse fighters either.
I think its more likely to make them take more chances if it affects their strategy at all, which is all its supposed to do.
In the end I think the fighters still fight a smart fight first before going goofy over bonuses because getting sloppy and losing, even in a fun slugfest, is a bigger guarantee to lose your gig by tomorrow then grinding out a win.
“I think the KO/Sub bonuses if anything have accelerated the cards since their introduction (thats at least one significant accomplishment Southworth can hang his hat on).”
Fill me in here. What is the connection between Southworth and the bonus system?
I agree with robthom, and I also think that the variable bonus based on the gate or whatever factors they’re using is a perfectly legitimate way to do things. Basically it’s a profit-sharing system. You take your top performers who are giving the most mojo to the card and you give them a share of the pie.
Most people wouldn’t take any issue with that in any other line of business, I don’t see why it would be an issue here.
Heck, it even happens in pro sports. The players divide up a share of merchandising and any roster underspend.
I never got why people think the UFC only rewards sloppy kickboxing with the FOTN bonus.
More often than not, it goes to the most competitive fight of the night and those usually take place in all ranges. Last night was a good example, as Condit-MacDonald was a back-and-forth tilt that had plenty of action on the ground. Tyson Griffin, Frankie Edgar, and Clay Guida have all collected a bunch of FOTN bonuses in similar fights. Chris Lytle is really the only guy who has changed his style and been rewarded for it.
The buzz online immediately before and during the PPV was non-existant.
It probably made money thanks to UFC PPV sales. That’s all that matters.