Are UFC PPV Buyrates legit?

[about.thousands]

I don't think they would over report them since their main fighters get a cut of the PPV. If the number is really 800k why would they say 1.6 mil? That's giving McGregor more money than her earned.

[hectari]

No they are not, they are a private held company so they do not have to release numbers to investors or public stock holders. Golden Boys CEO Richard Shaefer called Dana White out when last time Dana claimed Brock LEsnar sold 1.9 million ppv buys and was killing boxing, yet Dana was as quiet as a church mouse when the challenge to release their numbers to the public.

Dana exaggerates the buys, and just like Conor exaggerating how much he got paid, He wasn't making anything over 2 million for that last fight, he was claiming 10 million or more lol, the dude rents bentleys in California as daily drivers they were making his image to be like Floyd to get people to hate him and buy his act.

I think the buys are about 500 to 700 thousand buys in my guess, the only UFC fighter I know who really gets buzz is Rhonda Rousey, Conors main fanbase is in Ireland and UK.

UFC doesn't give mega millions out, because they invest so much money into advertising, marketing and ppv production, and commercials and they have to pay out a huge stable of fighters, its why they pay the fighters peanuts if they paid them like boxers over 10 million for main event guys they would go broke.

UFC isnt as popular as people think, it is more popular than boxing as a whole, and online but if you look at the FOX ratings they are not stellar, UFC said once they get a network deal they would be as big as the NFL, never panned out, the ratings dropped and they had better ratings on Spike TV.

[Inoue Body Shot]

End thread.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/promoters-spar-over-mayweathers-big-210700826--box.html

Promoters spar over Mayweather's big numbers
By Kevin Iole
September 25, 2009 5:07 PM
Yahoo Sports


After months of being pummeled by suggestions that boxing is dying, Floyd Mayweather Jr. gave his sport a big boost on Friday by delivering a higher-than-expected pay-per-view result for his Sept. 19 fight in Las Vegas with Juan Manuel Marquez.

HBO released figures showing that Mayweather's one-sided victory over Marquez following a 21-month absence sold 1 million on pay-per-views and accounted for $52 million in pay-per-view revenue.

That figure does not include the proceeds from tickets sold at movie theaters around the country, which Golden Boy Promotions chief executive officer Richard Schaefer said were at about 80 percent capacity.

Fighting for the first time since announcing his retirement on June 6, 2008, Mayweather won 33 of 36 scored rounds against Marquez, who had been ranked No. 2 on the Yahoo! Sports pound-for-pound rankings entering the fight.

Many critics, including rival promoter Bob Arum and Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White, predicted the fight would perform poorly. Arum suggested Mayweather would make no money after he paid an existing tax debt, paid his expenses and his taxes due on his current purse. White repeatedly vowed UFC 103 would outsell the boxing card.

The Mayweather-Marquez results trounced UFC 103, which was on pay-per- view the same night. Though the UFC does not release its pay-per-view figures, indications from industry sources are strong that the boxing card had a better than a 2-to-1 advantage.

Schaefer suggested UFC 103 barely topped 100,000 buys. He said the performance of Mayweather-Marquez clearly established Mayweather as the successor to Oscar De La Hoya as the industry's pay-per-view king.

"To all the non-believers who have been saying that Floyd Mayweather is not a draw, hopefully, this will silence them," Schaefer said. "Floyd Mayweather has proven with these numbers that he's the No. 1 pay-per-view star in the business.

"I said all along my goal was to break 1 million homes and so many people said I was nuts and thought it was just hype or that I didn't know what I was doing. Media members kept talking about boxing is dying, but we knew what we had and we stayed the course and in the end, we have been vindicated."

UFC 103 was the company's fourth pay-per-view in a 10-week stretch, beginning on July 11 with UFC 100. Mayweather-Marquez was the first major boxing event since Manny Pacquiao's win over Ricky Hatton on May 2.

Still, few in boxing other than Schaefer were willing to predict such lofty numbers for the Mayweather-Marquez bout. However, it turned out to be one of the most successful pay-per-view events in the sport's history.

White continuously boasted that his card would best the Mayweather card at the pay-per-view box office. He said UFC 103 did far more than 100,000 buys, but he conceded that boxing scored a heavy victory.

White said he thought before the fights, a home run for Mayweather-Marquez would have been 650,000. But he said Friday he had been hearing from his contacts that the fight may have reached as high as 1.6 million.

[Inoue Body Shot]

"I'm an emotional guy and if we'd only have done 100,000, or barely above 100,000, I would be suicidal," White said. "Bottom line, we did a good number and we still got our asses kicked. What they did was phenomenal and I'm happy for them. This was our fourth pay-per-view in two months (actually 10 weeks) and we still did a great number, but this was only their second all year.

"We honestly thought we'd do our number and that if they knocked it out of the park, they'd do around 650,000. We are ecstatic with the number we did, but they did a huge, huge number."

Mark Taffet of HBO Pay-Per-View said there have been more than 10 and fewer than 20 boxing matches in history that have reached or exceeded 1 million sales. Mayweather's May 5, 2007, bout with De La Hoya in Las Vegas holds the record at 2.44 million.

Taffet said the fight drew well across all ethnic groups, through all demographics and across the country.

"Very clearly, Floyd Mayweather is a major attraction," Taffet said. "The sport of boxing is in the midst of one of its great eras. There are a crop of welterweights who have the ability to deliver great matchup after great matchup and that will continue for as far as the eye can see.

"Boxing is Monday morning water cooler talk now and that's what you strive for. There is a tremendous vitality in the sport and we're reaching younger fans and newer fans and that is indicated by Floyd's terrific performance."

In his last fight prior to announcing his retirement, Mayweather sold 920,000 pay-per-views for a Dec. 7, 2007, match against Ricky Hatton.

He also fared better than Pacquiao against common opponents. Pacquiao's fight with De La Hoya sold 1.2 million. His fight with Hatton did 850,000 and his rematch with Marquez sold 405,000, according to HBO Pay-Per-View figures.

Schaefer questioned the legitimacy of UFC pay-per-view results that were leaked. He said HBO is a publicly traded company that would face serious repercussions for releasing false numbers. The UFC, he noted, is a private company with no such concerns.

"I think the UFC and boxing should be able to co-exist and work together in this thing that we call (combat) sports," Schaefer said.

"I don't want to talk (expletive) about the UFC. But Dana White can't do an interview without knocking boxing. If he thinks we're idiots and don't know anything about the pay-per-view business, I'll make him a challenge.

"I am willing to hire one of the top three accounting firms, at my expense, and do an audit of his pay-per-view results. They are nowhere near what is put into the public. There is talk that UFC 100 did 1.6 million, but it barely broke a million. I am willing to pay to have the audits done to prove this."

White said he would not allow anyone other than fighters with a contractual right to do so to audit his numbers.

"Do you think I'm (expletive) crazy?" he said.

But he said he thought that the success of the UFC has forced boxing promoters to be better. He called himself a huge boxing fan and said he is pleased if he can help make the sport he grew up following closely better.

He said the success of the two shows on the same night shows the interest in combat sports.

"I'm a true boxing fan and I'm happy for them, but what that number they pulled shows is the promise of combat sports," White said.

"We're kicking ass on pay-per-view. This was their second (major) pay- per-view. We do 13 a year, plus we put fights on free TV. Clearly, combat sports are more alive now than they've been in a long time.

"This shows that people are willing to stay at home on a Saturday night and watch a good fight. Do I think they delivered a good fight?

No. I think Mayweather is the best boxer in the world, and maybe one of the best of all-time, but that was a (expletive) fight. The thing we deliver is consistency, where once a show we give you that, 'Holy (expletive),' moment and you turn off the TV happy."

Schaefer said he thought boxing promoters and the UFC shared common interests and could benefit from working together.

"I would love to sit down with Dana White and the Fertittas (who are the UFC's primary owners), who I hear are very nice, first-class people, and see if there are ways we can work together to make the (combat) sports space, the fight space, even bigger," Schaefer said.

In a statement released by his publicist, Mayweather said he was "humbled" by the card's pay-per-view success. He also hinted at big fights in the future.

"I returned to boxing to fight the best, and that's what I intend to do," Mayweather said in a statement.

[Eff Pandas]

But Dana White can't do an interview without knocking boxing.

In Dana's defense most guys here can't talk about boxing without knocking boxing. Dana is for sure a boxing fan. He grew up on boxing & was originally looking to get involved in boxing with the guys who bought the UFC. No question he loves & respects the sports like most of us here, but like most of us here he probably hates some of the business of boxing & some of the bs of boxing.

[-Antonio-]

Maybe they lie. They all lie. Fact of the matter is it doesn't matter. UFC is more popular in the US than boxing is now and it's not even close. It just is what it is. Also something needs to be said about the fact that UFC is more available in bars than boxing PPV's are with the exception of Pacman and Floyd. I called every bar I could find for Cotto/Canelo and no bar was showing it. One theater in a city 40 minutes from me was showing it.

I watched Aldo/Edgar years back in a bar so packed people had to stand. I asked the owner why they didn't show boxing and he told me boxing charges the capacity multiplied by the cost of the ppv and ufc doesnt.

[-Antonio-]

In Dana's defense most guys here can't talk about boxing without knocking boxing. Dana is for sure a boxing fan. He grew up on boxing & was originally looking to get involved in boxing with the guys who bought the UFC. No question he loves & respects the sports like most of us here, but like most of us here he probably hates some of the business of boxing & some of the bs of boxing.

**** he taught boxing in Boston. Joe Rogan loves boxing too. He talks about it on his podcast more regularly than people would think.

The people in MMA actually like boxing, but a lot of boxing purists are opposed to it. Maybe because they are worried it will take over boxing or maybe because the media likes to ask them about Floyd all the time.

[-Antonio-]

"I'm an emotional guy and if we'd only have done 100,000, or barely above 100,000, I would be suicidal," White said. "Bottom line, we did a good number and we still got our asses kicked. What they did was phenomenal and I'm happy for them. This was our fourth pay-per-view in two months (actually 10 weeks) and we still did a great number, but this was only their second all year.

"We honestly thought we'd do our number and that if they knocked it out of the park, they'd do around 650,000. We are ecstatic with the number we did, but they did a huge, huge number."

Mark Taffet of HBO Pay-Per-View said there have been more than 10 and fewer than 20 boxing matches in history that have reached or exceeded 1 million sales. Mayweather's May 5, 2007, bout with De La Hoya in Las Vegas holds the record at 2.44 million.

Taffet said the fight drew well across all ethnic groups, through all demographics and across the country.

"Very clearly, Floyd Mayweather is a major attraction," Taffet said. "The sport of boxing is in the midst of one of its great eras. There are a crop of welterweights who have the ability to deliver great matchup after great matchup and that will continue for as far as the eye can see.

"Boxing is Monday morning water cooler talk now and that's what you strive for. There is a tremendous vitality in the sport and we're reaching younger fans and newer fans and that is indicated by Floyd's terrific performance."

In his last fight prior to announcing his retirement, Mayweather sold 920,000 pay-per-views for a Dec. 7, 2007, match against Ricky Hatton.

He also fared better than Pacquiao against common opponents. Pacquiao's fight with De La Hoya sold 1.2 million. His fight with Hatton did 850,000 and his rematch with Marquez sold 405,000, according to HBO Pay-Per-View figures.

Schaefer questioned the legitimacy of UFC pay-per-view results that were leaked. He said HBO is a publicly traded company that would face serious repercussions for releasing false numbers. The UFC, he noted, is a private company with no such concerns.

"I think the UFC and boxing should be able to co-exist and work together in this thing that we call (combat) sports," Schaefer said.

"I don't want to talk (expletive) about the UFC. But Dana White can't do an interview without knocking boxing. If he thinks we're idiots and don't know anything about the pay-per-view business, I'll make him a challenge.

"I am willing to hire one of the top three accounting firms, at my expense, and do an audit of his pay-per-view results. They are nowhere near what is put into the public. There is talk that UFC 100 did 1.6 million, but it barely broke a million. I am willing to pay to have the audits done to prove this."

White said he would not allow anyone other than fighters with a contractual right to do so to audit his numbers.

"Do you think I'm (expletive) crazy?" he said.

But he said he thought that the success of the UFC has forced boxing promoters to be better. He called himself a huge boxing fan and said he is pleased if he can help make the sport he grew up following closely better.

He said the success of the two shows on the same night shows the interest in combat sports.

"I'm a true boxing fan and I'm happy for them, but what that number they pulled shows is the promise of combat sports," White said.

"We're kicking ass on pay-per-view. This was their second (major) pay- per-view. We do 13 a year, plus we put fights on free TV. Clearly, combat sports are more alive now than they've been in a long time.

"This shows that people are willing to stay at home on a Saturday night and watch a good fight. Do I think they delivered a good fight?

No. I think Mayweather is the best boxer in the world, and maybe one of the best of all-time, but that was a (expletive) fight. The thing we deliver is consistency, where once a show we give you that, 'Holy (expletive),' moment and you turn off the TV happy."

Schaefer said he thought boxing promoters and the UFC shared common interests and could benefit from working together.

"I would love to sit down with Dana White and the Fertittas (who are the UFC's primary owners), who I hear are very nice, first-class people, and see if there are ways we can work together to make the (combat) sports space, the fight space, even bigger," Schaefer said.

In a statement released by his publicist, Mayweather said he was "humbled" by the card's pay-per-view success. He also hinted at big fights in the future.

"I returned to boxing to fight the best, and that's what I intend to do," Mayweather said in a statement.

That is from what 2010? Things are different now. When they have UFC 200 with McGregor/Edgar, Rousey/Tate, and Werdum/Vasquez it will probably break all the records aside from Floyd/Pac.

[big_james10]

Connor McGreggor and Ronda Rousey were regularly getting around 1m buys (everyone else was doing 100k-300k)

Seems ridiculous compared to boxing, though now they've both lost, I'm guessing they're kinda ****ed

They are about as legit as the numbers that Bob Arum provides every time Manny Pacquaio fights. In other words, the UFC numbers are a gross exaggeration/lie. Just like with Bob Arum, you can take whatever number UFC provides and subtract one-third and you will have the actual number. The fights that the UFC claim sold 1 million PPVs actually sold 700,000 at most. The fights they claim sold 300,000 sold 100,000 and the ones they claim sold 100,000 sold around 60,000.

[Eff Pandas]

**** he taught boxing in Boston. Joe Rogan loves boxing too. He talks about it on his podcast more regularly than people would think.

The people in MMA actually like boxing, but a lot of boxing purists are opposed to it.

Absolutely. I mean boxing is a part of MMA ffs. It should be more expected by boxing fans that MMA guys like many if not all styles of fighting including boxing. The same people who dog Rogan for being overly passionate about MMA should hear him being just as equally passionate talking about great fights of the past or even recent fights. He just loves fighting.

And yea I suppose its expected boxing fans are less likely to like MMA for the opposite reasons. MMA isn't a part of boxing.

Fighting is fighting doe to me.