Photo: Esther Lin / MMA Fighting
UFC 141 was a big-time experiment as, even with a main event of Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem, placing the show on a Friday rather than a Saturday carried a degree of uncertainty on if the public would tune in. Dave Meltzer is reporting in the Wrestling Observer newsletter that the numbers were very solid.
From the newsletter:
Because of the holiday, our early PPV numbers are somewhat sketchy but early industry estimates have ranged between 750,000 and 810,000 North American buys, which would be slightly higher than most expectations. The show probably would have hit the 1 million mark if it was on New Year's Eve. The original plan was to do a New Year's Eve show from Abu Dhabi, but when that fell through, they booked the MGM Grand. Because the strip in Las Vegas is shut down from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. on New Year's Eve, it really would be impossible to run a show like they do in Las Vegas on that night. It would be either the second or third biggest number in UFC history drawn by a non-title match. Rashad Evans vs. Quinton Jackson holds the record at around 1 million, Ken Shamrock vs. Tito Ortiz II was second at 775,000, and please don't insult anyone's intelligence by claiming the Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski heavyweight title match on that show was really the main event.
750,000 is what I predicted the show would do. Even with Lesnar seeming very human in his last two trips to the cage he still carries a mystique and the WWE crowd is still interested. Add to that a long layoff that had people interested in another Lesnar fight and an opponent who made for a great visual and easy sell.
1 recs | 84 comments
6.7 million total for the UFC in 2011.
MattParker117 - January 5, 2012
What's Meltzer talking about?
They would have had half that number on NYE.
John Danaher's Hair - January 5, 2012
I'm amazed it got as much as it did
I thought 750k was turbo generous.
menckenstein - January 5, 2012
it may level off at 800K and didnt Reem get 2 bucks for ever PPV Buy over 700K
Thats an extra 200K in cash i believe before conversion to Euros.
dandeman - January 5, 2012
It was $2 after $500,000 or roughly 23k buys.
Melter said “If the show did 800,000 buys, Overeem would earn in the neighborhood of $2.26 million.”
Dpez71 - January 5, 2012
Now I see why Reem quit K1. Fuck them and their check bouncing ways.
dandeman - January 5, 2012
I'm far far from a mat wiz
but isn’t 2×300,000 (if there was 800,000 buys) $600,000?
SentientAndroid - January 5, 2012
*math
SentientAndroid - January 5, 2012
damnit
two far’s as well? I’m failing all over the place.
SentientAndroid - January 5, 2012
Shouldn't have pointed it out
It makes sense
Cunny - January 5, 2012
That’s my understanding too… I have no clue where that 2.26M came from. He got 381k for the win, plus roughly 600k for his PPV cut… that’s around $1M.
Shnak - January 5, 2012
Not $2 after 500k buys
$2 after the PPV made $500k which is is about 23k buys. PPV cost $45 bucks, split it with the cable company so $22.5 per buy for the UFC. 23,000 times $22.5 gives you just over $500k. At 800k buys he was making $2 for the 777k buys after the initial 23k. His PPV cut wouldve been over $1.55 million.
The $2.26 mil includes $333k of his million dollar signing bonus that is spread over 3 fights. So add that to the $385k purse and the $1.55 mil PPV bonus and you get your neighborhood figure of $2.26 million for the Reem.
I apologize if that just looks like a bunch of confusing numbers.
Dpez71 - January 5, 2012
That’s just a ridiculous way of calculating someone’s pay. That can’t be how they do it.
Shnak - January 5, 2012
why would that be ridiculous?
Phildo - January 5, 2012
Because every provider charges different amounts for the PPV shows… so how do you calculate exactly how many buys it took for the UFC to reach their $500k threshold?
Saying 2$ for each buy after the first 500k buys is a much more logical way, and not to mention, a much more realistic pay for a first-time UFC fighter with unknown draw-ability…
Shnak - January 5, 2012
you can estimate, and all these numbers are estimates. And starting at much lower number, $500k as opposed to 500k buys is also plausible. If I recall from Randy’s contract stuff the bonuses started way before 500k, that is a really high threshold to start paying this money out.
2 bucks per buy is like pure profit, you can’t lose money doing that.
Phildo - January 5, 2012
$45?!? Damn, I wish…but I got the Hi-Def broacast to see Brock smash Overeem. Wasted money on that notion! But Diaz’s record setting performance was worth it! I’ll be ordering Hi-Def next time to watch Nick destroy Condit…can’t wait!
Mr. Socko - January 5, 2012 via mobile
Verizon Fios charges $59.99 for the HD broadcast
I hate those scum sucking maggots at Verizon.
SteamboatWillie - January 5, 2012
You get what you pay for SBW
FIOS is the tits.
The Lethal Haze - January 5, 2012
Overeem got $2 per buy after 23,000 buys (which would equal $500,000 in gross PPV revenue)
750,000-23,000 = 727,000 buys where Overeem got a $2 bonus
727,000 $2 = $1,454,000
Plus his show money…
… according my understanding of what Dpez71 posted
The Lethal Haze - January 5, 2012
So I'm guessing it's safe to say
that he AT LEAST broke a mil?
SentientAndroid - January 5, 2012
At the very least, he made a million bucks off the fight with Brock.
SentientAndroid - January 5, 2012
you add show money and a prorated signing bonus to the PPV monies
And it looks like AO broke 2 mil…
… again, according to my understanding of what Dpez71 posted
The Lethal Haze - January 5, 2012
$2 every PPV after $500,000
Rob Young - January 5, 2012
Shit really after 500,000 dollars only, thats a crazy ass contract. Reem getting paid son
dandeman - January 5, 2012
Goddamn
He should buy GG and fire his enemies there.
menckenstein - January 5, 2012
That’s coming from the GG lawsuit. I wouldn’t be surprised if they misunderstood the contact with Zuffa and it’s in fact 2$ every PPV after the first 500k buys. There’s no way Zuffa paid over $2M for Overeem on his first fight in the UFC, as well as likely over $4M for Lesnar.
Shnak - January 5, 2012
why not, that money is coming from pure profit.
Phildo - January 5, 2012
NYE has traditionally done well for UFC...
In the pre-Zuffa era, they used to show best-of shows on NYE that did quite well. Dana White himself admitted a couple days before the fight that running the show on Friday would hurt buys, and he was in a position to know.
Jeff D. - January 5, 2012
hopefully people enjoyed tye Ubereem
So they tune in the next time
troyd - January 5, 2012 via mobile
I think a JDS/Reem HW title fight would do good business. 500-600k?
nastyem - January 5, 2012
More because they'll have more Foxpower behind hyping it
And it won’t be so close to a travel holiday
menckenstein - January 5, 2012
325k.
SSreporters - January 5, 2012
400k
IRodC - January 5, 2012
401k
Price Is Right style…
ANance - January 5, 2012 via mobile
Everyone hates that guy
IRodC - January 5, 2012
No doubt. Pisses me off when they +1 an old person.
ANance - January 5, 2012 via mobile
1 PPV buy…do I win Bob?
Mr. Socko - January 5, 2012 via mobile
I only opened this up for gifs of the fight
karmaportrait - January 5, 2012
Protip: ironforgesiron.com
Rob Young - January 5, 2012 via mobile
First look at the GIFs of Overeem vs. Lesnar..
…since the fight. What struck me was how much Overeem was able to muscle Lesnar around in the clinch. I wonder if Overeem is really that strong in the clinch, or if Lesnar was paranoid about getting hit and was trying to back out. Its hard to tell from the GIFs.
In any case, thanks for the reminder about IronForgesIron.
Sabate - January 5, 2012
He also ragdolled Rogers around too.
And Rogers gave Fedor some problems in the first round.
Rob Young - January 5, 2012
Problem for JDS?
If a) Overeem is really that strong inside; and b) he can get inside on JDS (a big if), I seem him giving JDS big, big problems in the clinch. Which is sad because we won’t get to see a great striking battle.
Sabate - January 5, 2012
but...
if Reem is fighting to maintain kicking distance or get in close while JDS is fighting to stay in hands range, it’ll be a pretty fascinating watch.
John Danaher's Hair - January 5, 2012
True, true.
With JDS’ speed and footwork, I imagine that getting it will be tough for Overeem to maintain desired range.
Sabate - January 5, 2012
solid number considering Lesnar hasn't fought in a year and the only thing my casual fam knows about Ubereem is he big
MaZZacare - January 5, 2012
haha rec!
I’m like the ONLY hardcore mma/ufc watcher at the office, but a few of the guys here watch it on occasion. One of the guys asked me who Brock was fighting a few weeks ago, I had to explain that he was basically a real life Sagat, a Dutch muay thai/kickboxer who’s much more familiar in Japan and Europe (I guess) than he is in Murrica. What’s funny is that we were talking about the fight a few days ago and one of the guys said that Brock did good for a guy that had 36 inches of his colon removed. I didn’t have the heart to correct him, but it was a :/ moment for me lol.
SentientAndroid - January 5, 2012
Considering how bad this card was name-wise after the main fight, and that it was on a Friday night, 750k is pretty damn impressive if you ask me.
Shnak - January 5, 2012
Agreed
The main card was completely bereft of name value and featured everybody’s least favourite fighter, Jon Fitch. And the Spike prelims weren’t overly exciting either. 750K is remarkable and will hopefully help launch the PPV career of Overeem.
wonderfulspam - January 5, 2012
I remember a lot of people on here saying 500k would be a stretch. Brent was spot on with 750k, I was guessing closer to a million. Either way, it was a good way to send off an injury riddled year for the UFC.
ANance - January 5, 2012 via mobile
dunno why but I'm expecting an issue with Reem
much unexpected like Lesnar’s colon. Maybe not health but out of nowhere, & boom
liptondrift - January 5, 2012
You aiming for failed drug test? just wondering
Thomas Benjamin - January 5, 2012
You're expecting the unexpected?
Wouldn’t that make it, uh, expected?
MS_Dos_Santos - January 5, 2012
well there's the known knowns
the known unknowns, and the unknown unknowns.
In summary fuck Donald Rumsfeld.
The Lethal Haze - January 5, 2012
REC REC REC! FUCK RUMSFELD!
Mr. Socko - January 5, 2012 via mobile
For all the bad he was responsible for, at least
he contributed some useful quotes, so he’s got that going for him…
The American Ronin - January 6, 2012
It's always the way
“He was a beast until he… Insert incident here”
Cunny - January 5, 2012
I think the NYE show is a mistake.
That’s just a rough time to ask people to cough up $50 considering it’s right after the Thanksgiving to Christmas/Hanukkah whirlwind & either right before, on, or the day after New Years. People want to party on New Years, not watch the fights. Especially in areas of the country where the shows end after midnight.
They should consider moving it to like the first weekend in January or something. Instead of a big card to ring out the year, have a big card to usher in the new one. Plus, you wouldn’t have to worry about reminding everyone a million times (and still not having it reach enough ears) that your show is on Friday this one time instead of Saturday.
Just a thought.
The Hamburger Pimp - January 5, 2012
Also, it just seems the NYE show is done like an MMA tradition cause of the Dynamite shows.
Like, the UFC felt the need to also have a NYE show. Cause that’s what was done in MMA. But NYE in Japan is different culturally than in America, cause they stay in & watch TV programs that night. So it made sense to have a big show in Japan since people would already be home to watch (on free TV also).
The Hamburger Pimp - January 5, 2012
The NYE show is done for Vegas, same as Super Bowl Weekend. those are two huge weekends in vegas, free tickets to a big fight is a great way to get the people that are in town to your casino.
Phildo - January 5, 2012
Why is the strip shut down on New Year’s Eve?
BVandDietPepsi - January 5, 2012
probably because it'd be the world's greatest clusterfuck if it wasn't.
Imagine Vegas on any given weekend. Now, add general New Years insanity to that mix & that’s a powderkeg, haha.
The Hamburger Pimp - January 5, 2012
Same reason why Times Square is shut down.
memitim - January 5, 2012 via mobile
There's a million-plus people in Times Square on NYE
What do you mean?
duck - January 5, 2012 via mobile
they mean shut down to traffic. I don’t know LV geography very well but no cars being able to get near the arena would be a giant pain.
Phildo - January 5, 2012
oh well a late christmas for the ufc ppv numbers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0-CULwT4CI
UncleMax - January 5, 2012
Good numbers
It will be interesting to see how Reem does in the title fight. They really should have had him and JDS facing off in the Octagon after the fight to build up that matchup. They missed a trick there.
taptomyarmbar - January 5, 2012
Especially since JDS was IN the Octagon and it was basically ignored.
CB_MMA - January 5, 2012
For sure
I thought it was ON and then they just went by him. They should be pushing JDS at every opportunity given not many people outside hardcores have a clue who he is.
taptomyarmbar - January 5, 2012
That was terrible
Cunny - January 5, 2012
Wait so Evans vs Jackson > Lesnar vs Overeem?
I didn’t think it was possible. Some one actually beat Lesnar’s PPV numbers.
VeeisAnimated - January 5, 2012
It had Kimbo + TUF over multiple weeeks
Can’t fade that combination.
Tonley - January 5, 2012
Do you remember Brock on TUF? Yawn.
VeeisAnimated - January 6, 2012
Yeah, but anyone blaming Brock for that and not JDS is just lying to himself… Come on, be honest…
Shnak - January 6, 2012
i wonder what Meltzer’s reasoning is for stating that the show would have done better on new year’s eve?
Victor Rodriguez - January 5, 2012
Even before Zuffa bought he UFC
UFC taped shows did really well on NYE. Plus it would’ve been on the normal Saturday slot and not Friday which probably cost them some buys.
Dpez71 - January 5, 2012
what taped shows? They never had an event on NYE.
Phildo - January 5, 2012
Best of shows. Like if they had an Ulitmate Knockouts type show on PPV.
Dpez71 - January 5, 2012
i don’t remember that, and anything considered “great” before zuffa would be considered a disaster on PPV today.
There’s no reason to have the card on new year’s eve. A marathon of nonsense on spike is something to have on TV during a party. No one on the east coast is going to fork over cash when they have to switch to the ball dropping in the middle of the show, and no bar is going to hand over a bunch of money to zuffa to order the PPV when they already have the bar filled.
Phildo - January 5, 2012
The vast majority of people stay home on New Year’s Eve, and it is ridiculous to think that the UFC would be running the show as the clock strikes midnight. It would probably be over at least an hour before.
alxn - January 5, 2012
not on the east coast if they moved back to a 10 o clock start, which they did this time.
Phildo - January 5, 2012
while i certainly agree that the Friday event slot may have hurt sales, i totally agree with you that a live event so close to midnight on the east coast would be highly detrimental, even if it were an hour or two before midnight.
it’s one thing to have a fight marathon on as background noise. it’s another entirely to pay PPV money for a card you might not fully enjoy because of the date and occasion.
Victor Rodriguez - January 5, 2012
I think this didn't do a million because it's on Friday
It did about what I expected
HaterSlayer - January 5, 2012
That, and because it wasn’t a very good card, pretty bad actually. You had Lesnar as the only real draw on this card, Overeem that only hardcore MMA fans knew, and then a bunch of fighters most haven’t heard of, or don’t like to watch fight. This was close to the GSP vs Koscheck II card in terms of quality beyond the headliner…
Shnak - January 6, 2012
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