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MMA Link Club: Would you be willing to pay $70 for the Pacquiao/Mayweather PPV?

By Zach Arnold | November 4, 2011

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So, Bob Arum went on ESPN 710 in Los Angeles yesterday and said two things: a) Floyd Mayweather teasing that he wants to fight Manny Pacquiao on May 5th is ‘a sick joke’ and b) if the fight was to happen, the price tag would be at least $70 on PPV. How much cold water would that put on your burning passion to watch the fight live (legally)?

Why am I reminded of this article on Dave Meltzer claiming that piracy is a big factor in UFC’s declining PPV buy rates?

Member sites of the MMA Link Club

This week’s MMA Link Club featured stories

Five Ounces of Pain: Fedor vs. Jeff Monson getting PPV treatment

$29.99 is the price tag. Click the link for more details. I’m awaiting Pat Miletich to be the special guest referee. He hates communism and Jeff Monson’s political views, which automatically would make him ‘neutral’ in this fight. Impartiality is what we care about, after all.

MMA Fighting: Chris Leben and Mark Munoz say it will be ‘bombs away’ in UFC 138 main event

It’s interesting that Spike TV has not bothered to promote the show at all. They are willing to cut their noses off to spite Zuffa. Wonder how it will do in the ratings?

As for the fight itself, definitely record-worthy to watch later on. LSU/Alabama airs on CBS in prime time. I think that will be the top priority for most sports fans on Saturday night.

Fight Line: Shane Carwin refutes retirement rumors

He had his fight in Vancouver against Junior dos Santos, things didn’t go so well for him, and then he quietly has been on the sidelines since. Where does he fit into the Heavyweight picture now?

Cage Potato: Video — Jerry Millen is back with another attack on Dana White and this time he brought Dana’s psycho mom for back-up

Need I say more? I demand you click on this link and check out the content.

MMA Mania: UFC 138 – odds and betting guide for Leben vs. Munoz in Birmingham, England

There’s some lopsided fights on the card, but the main event has some curious odds. Munoz is a 13 to 5 favorite, nearly 3 to 1 to beat Leben. At 2-to-1 underdog, Chris Leben makes an interesting underdog play. Thiago Alves as a 3 to 1 favorite?

5th Round: PRIDE fighters for UFC Undisputed 3 video game revealed

I love the reaction from a commenter who said that the PRIDE roster for the video game is more interesting than the UFC roster.

Bleacher Report: UFC on Fox press conference notes for JDS vs. Cain Velasquez heat-up

The fight is only one week away. Cain is still recovering from the torn rotator cuff and the healing process is what you would expect it to be for such a lousy injury.

Middle Easy: Last weekend, we drank booze out of an ice block and then soccer-kicked each other in the head while reviewing UFC Undisputed 3

A really great, colorful review that you should most definitely check out. This is the kind of content where Zeud and crew at Middle Easy really have fun.

Low Kick: Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson — karate lives! (exclusive interview)

Labeled by Mixed Martial Arts experts as “GSP’s secret weapon”, Kickboxing veteran Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson (56-0 with 40KOs) recently started his journey in the world of Mixed Martial Arts, with sights on becoming the next big thing. Currently training at the world-famous Tristar Gym in Montreal, Canada, Thompson has all the necessary conditions to make his dreams come true.

MMA Convert: UFC 138 preview — ‘unloved and unwanted in the UK’ edition

Part of what makes this UFC a “throwaway” is the fact that in the grand scheme of things, none of the bouts matter. Yet what should make people tune in is the fact that Leben and Munoz will be more than ready to leave it all in the cage.

The Fight Nerd: Video of Bas Rutten on his new show ‘Punk Payback’ and self-defense

We discussed the show at length, explaining what the concept is, how much of the self-defense that Bas shows is improv or scripted (along with the craziness that he says), and what is ahead in Bas’ acting career. We also discuss the real-life implications of some of these scenarios, and what is legal to do if you need to defend yourself.

MMA Payout: S & P says Zuffa maintains ‘BB” credit rating, ‘stable’ is key

The absolute must-read review on Zuffa’s financial condition and how they are burning/cashing out money. Our friend Jose Mendoza is terrific when it comes to writing these kinds of articles.

Topics: Boxing, Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | 9 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

9 Responses to “MMA Link Club: Would you be willing to pay $70 for the Pacquiao/Mayweather PPV?”

  1. 45 Huddle says:

    1) I haven’t purchased a boxing PPV in years. Mainly because they almost always disappoint me compared to MMA events. The $70 PPV Price is far too steep for me, despite Floyd/Manny being the one PPV I would actuall be willing to purchase if the price was right. I would likely venture to a bar (which I hate) just to see what one fight.

    2) Not only is Fedor/Monson $30, it is also airing live at like 7am in the morning. And it’s the morning after a UFC PPV. It’s going to bomb in the states.

    3) SpikeTV really is not coming off nicely here in the end. Doesn’t really matter. A preview show for Cain/JDS got 2 Million viewers on FOX. What happens on SpikeTV is irrelevent going forward. They might steal a few eyeballs with their deceptive advertising for the Cain/JDS fight, but that is a short term gain for a long term loss.

    4) UFC Undisputed 3 is a day 1 purchase for me. Will be nice to have all 7 weight classes.

    5) BB Rating for the UFC is about in line with what they should have. Even in a perfect world, I couldn’t imagine a company like the UFC getting much higher then BBB- (that’s 2 notches above what they are right now). The owners taking the money out of the company is smart. They can always reinvest the money if needed. But there is too much risk involved by keeping the money in the company itself. Oh, and people shouldn’t make much of the debt expiring in 2015. That’s typical in business. And you will see in around 2014 that the UFC will come to new terms with the bank and the money won’t be owed until 2018 or something like that.

    **

    A great quote by Lorenzo Feritta:

    “I know that we’ve had some controversy from some of the boxing promoters, like Bob Arum, saying we’re stupid; why would we put the heavyweight championship on free TV; that’s a stupid move.

    The reality is this: Our model has been very successful for us, as far as putting our product on free TV to generate new fans, and that’s the way we look at it. I’m not concerned about what our bottom line looks like in November; I’m concerned about what it looks like five years from now.”

    That’s the real benefit of being a private company. You don’t have shareholders to really answer to. They can sacrifice the short term for the long term success.

    I love his viewpoint on the sport in this way.

  2. Chris says:

    Zach,

    If this fight were to happen, a $70.00 price tag means a stream of this fight for me. But Manny-Floyd is one of those events where they can get away with that kind of “jack move” because it’s the fight people have wanted to see for years. Even at $70, between the hardcore boxing fans and the casuals, it would still do record business.

  3. Alan Conceicao says:

    Price tag doesn’t bother me and probably won’t bother anyone who’s seriously interested in that particular PPV. Blaming piracy on the UFC’s PPV downturn is hilarious when you see Floyd still throwing up 1.25 million buys. It comes down to the fact that they’ve consistently put crap on PPV.

    Fedor/Monson doesn’t matter and it sounds like no one, Showtime included, was interested in buying it. Good luck with that KOTC level buyrate, guys.

  4. Steve4192 says:

    “And you will see in around 2014 that the UFC will come to new terms with the bank and the money won’t be owed until 2018 or something like that.”

    Exactly.

    No business ever pays off their loans in full. They just negotiate new terms or take out a second loan to pay off the first. The notion that Zuffa is going to have to scramble to ‘pay it off’ in 2015 is ludicrous. As long as they remain a good credit risk, banks will be more than happy to let them keep the principal and keep collecting interest. There will be no giant payment due in 2015. It will keep getting pushed back in perpetuity.

  5. Steve4192 says:

    Regarding Fedor-Monson, I really don’t understand what M-1 is doing. By putting it on PPV, they are basically writing off the North American market. They’ll be lucky to sell 1000 PPVs. A few hundred is more likely. They would be better off giving it away on a crappy cable station or over the internet. At least then, they would get eyeballs on their product.

    I understand that the North American is a secondary (or even tertiary) concern for them in regards to this card, but it is clearly a market they would like to develop for the long haul. Giving away a free Fedor fight would definitely help them to gain a foothold. Selling a few hundred PPVs will not.

  6. Jim Allcorn says:

    F**K Bob Arum.
    I just turned the “Big 5-0” last month & I’ve been a boxing fan since I was 14 years old. A rabid boxing fan.
    So much so that I became a fighter myself at 17 & then after my boxing career was over I got involved in other aspects of the game in pretty much any way you can imagine. I was a sparring partner for many top fighters, a cornerman, helped put together matches, wrote press releases, you name it… I worked for most of the top name promoters ( & yes, including Bob Arum ) , but primarily for Don Elbaum & Mike Acri.
    A BIG portion of my life WAS pro boxing for two decades or so.
    So, I’m not your average fan.
    But, just a fan I am these days as I’ve been out of the game since about 2001 or so.
    And, a loyal fan I’ve remained.
    But, over the course of the past few years as the titles have been ridiculously watered down to an almost comedic leval & the old guard of promoters cling to what remains in their control with a death clutch, my interest & passion for the sport has waned. While my interest & passion for MMA has increased.
    Having been involved in the martial arts for years as a kid ( & continuing throughout adulthood ) before I took an interest in boxing, I was among the rare group of boxing people who loved the UFC from the very start back in ’93.
    As a martial artist as well as a boxer, I welcomed another combat sport to follow & never felt threatened by it in the least. And, I’ve followed MMA as closely as possible throughout the sport’s entire existence.

    Anyhow, to cut to the chase after rambling on for far too long I’m sure, with idiots like Arum & the rest being too ignorant & small minded to see just how great it is for the sport to have it’s World Heavyweight Championship bout telecast live on network television, it’s no wonder the sport of boxing is so stagnant now.
    Me?
    Sure, I’d like to see Mayweather & Pac finally get it on someday, but I’m so jaded by the years of nonsense that has gone on trying to put it together, I really don’t about thematch up anymore & I WON’T pay $70 to watch it.
    Though I did pay $50 last week to watch Nick Diaz fight…

    Hell, I might as well finally admit to it here & now.
    After a 36 year long hold on the top spot as my favorite sort & it playing such a major part in my life, boxing has been replaced at the top by MMA.
    Don’t get me wrong, I still love boxing. It’s as much of an integral part of me as my legs are, but it’s become secondary to me as far as my interests & passions go. I get much more enjoyment these days watching & following MMA.

  7. Mr.roadblock says:

    Mayweather vs Ortiz cost me $70. I bought it. So did 1.25 million other people.

    If Mayweather mans up and fights Pacman people will gladly pay $70.

    Though I agree with Bob Arum that Floyd is just making noise.

  8. MK says:

    Nobody should take Arum seriously but I don’t recall him saying that about the HW on Fox.

    Once again the UFC is trying to ride the ‘boxing screwed you’ line when they run 16 PPVs a year.

  9. Kelvin Hunt says:

    $70 for any PPV is ridiculous..so umm…No…

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