WrestleMania XXIV Breakdown

WWE's WrestleMania XXIV is currently estimated at 1,058,000 buys (667,000 North American buys). The event drew $23.8 million in pay-per-view revenue with an average world-wide price of $22.50, well below the $54.95 North American price tag. All told the event generated $31.3 million in total revenue with an after tax profit of $4.6 million. Other significant revenue sources included a $5.9 million gate and $1.6 million in merchandising sales.

SOURCE: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

UFC Announces Secondary Ticket Market Deals

Yesterday the UFC announced a pair of deals in the secondary ticket market. Under the deals StubHub is now the "Official Fan to Fan Ticket Marketplace" of the UFC, while PrimeSport is the "Official Ticket Package Partner" of the UFC. According to the press release, "the deal promises to offer UFC fans the most user-friendly experience to buy and sell secondary tickets as well as exclusive package and hospitality opportunities that have never been available before for UFC events."

SEE ALSO: Upcoming UFC Advances and Secondary Marketplace Strategy

Advances for UFC 84 & 85

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that UFC 84 (5/24 in Las Vegas) has a $2.5 million advance with 10,000 tickets sold. Ticket prices appear to have been scaled down after the disappointing results for UFC 81 in February. With four weeks still to go, a sellout seems nearly certain.

UFC 85 (6/7 in London) has also sold more than 10,000 tickets with a $2.3 million advance.

UFC 83 Quick Notes

• The event in Montreal drew the largest crowd in UFC history with an attendance of 21,390 for a $5+ million gate.
• According to Dave Meltzer, the event was shown at more than 1,000 bars and restaurants across Canada, breaking the previous record set by Lennox Lewis v. Mike Tyson in 2002.
  
• Payouts are not available yet, however, the UFC announced four $75,000 performance bonuses, the largest announced bonuses in company history:
• Fight of the Night: Jonathan Goulet v. Kuniyoshi Hironaka
• Knockout of the Night: Jason MacDonald
  
• Submission of the Night: Demian Maia

WrestleMania 24 Early Returns

WWE presented its biggest event of the year two weeks ago in Miami. The 24th annual installment featured Floyd Mayweather v. Big Show, Ric Flair's retirement match, and a main event pitting arguably the company's three biggest stars against one another for the WWE title. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported the following early financial results:

• Reported Live Attendance: 74,635 (4th Largest crowd in company history).
  
• Paid Attendance: Approximately 64,000 (unofficial; would also be fourth best in company history).
• Live Gate: $5,854,590 (all-time record for the company; also breaks the North American MMA record of $5,397,300 for UFC 66: Liddell v. Ortiz II).
• Pay-per-view: No estimate available, but with a price tag of $54.95 it is expected to become the highest grossing pro wrestling event of all time barring a very disappointing number. The event is widely expected to top one million buys.
  
• Total Revenue: Including gate, pay-per-view, and merchandise, Dave Meltzer estimated that the company could gross $61.5 million for the event.
  

Two interesting thoughts from the report for MMA:

1. When will we see the first major U.S. stadium show (excluding the disasterous K-1 show in the LA Coliseum)? The UFC loves the spectacle and there is nothing more spectacular than a well attended stadium show.
   
2. The power of recurring event branding has yet to be unleashed in MMA. The UFC has began establishing its December show as the biggest of the year, but hasn't chosen to do recurring branding for it or any of its events. When will MMA establish its Superbowl, World Series, Daytona 500, WrestleMania, etc.?

EliteXC/Strikeforce 3/29 Payouts

MMAJunkie.com obtained the CSAC's financial report on last Saturday's joint EliteXC/Strikeforce event. The event drew 15,192 (14,710 paid) for a total live gate of $1,117,855. Strikeforce joins Zuffa as the only MMA promoters to top $1 million at the gate in North America. The total disclosed payroll was $667,850. Reported payouts:

• Cung Le ($200,000) d. Frank Shamrock ($300,000)
• Drew Fickett ($10,000) d. Jae S. Lim ($3,000)
• Gilbert Melendez ($50,000) d. Gabe Lemley ($7,000)
• Wayne Cole ($10,000) d. Mike Kyle ($10,000)
• Joey Villasenor ($36,000) d. Ryan Jensen ($6,000)
• Billy Evangelista ($10,000) d. Marlon Sims ($2,500)
• Tiki Ghosn ($8,000) d. Luke Stewart ($6,000)
• Darren Uyenoyama ($4,000) d. Anthony Figueroa ($2,000)
• Jesse Jones ($2,150) d. Jesse Gillespie ($1,200)

CREDIT: MMAJunkie.com

Upcoming UFC Advances & Secondary Marketplace Strategy

Dave Meltzer reported in this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the advance for UFC 83 in Montreal is over $4.5 million. The event is officially a sellout, but in a somewhat controversial move, company is auctioning off some additional seats. The company also frequently auctions off fighter memorabilia from its events for-profit.

The secondary ticket market is an emerging force in sports business, however, it is usually seller to seller with the sports entity as the go between, keeping the transaction fee. In the game worn industry, when items are auctioned by the entity it is usually for charity with most for-profit deals done through licensing companies such as Steiner Sports. That allows companies to reap the benefit without attracting potential negative publicity.

Zuffa's decision to handle these transactions itself appear to be consistent with the company's standard operating procedures which seek to maximize profits by keeping things in house whenever possible. The practices are not illegal and would be considered by many to be sound business, cutting out the middle man and thus maximizing profits. However, you have to wonder if the potential damage to the company's image/reputation is worth the extra financial reward.

Meltzer also reported that the advance for the company's 5/24 show in Las Vegas is off to a strong start at $2.3 million. With two months to go, that figure is only 8% off the total gate ($2.5 million) UFC 81 drew in February. The event features a strong card that includes the last fight on Tito Ortiz's contract. Ortiz has to be happy with the fast start as a strong gate and pay-per-view number, to go with a victory, would solidify his status as a top draw heading into the open market.

The company's 6/7 return to London is also off to a good start with an over $2 million advance. Ticket prices for the event are up $50 across the board from the first show with the cheapest seats going for $90. There is a lot of attention being paid to the gate by industry observers as the company has historically had a tougher time the second time into markets other than Las Vegas.

IFL in Times Square

Advertising for the IFL's April 4 event at the IZOD Center just began this week, including the above billboard on Broadway next to ESPN Zone, but the advance is strong. Joe Favorito, IFL Senior Vice President of Communication, told MMAPayout.com that he expects the event to reach the company's goal of 7-8,000 tickets sold.

The company had a rough outing in Las Vegas last month drawing just 1,606 paid (although the final paid attendance is believed to be closer to 2,300). Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that as a result the Las Vegas market is no longer part of the IFL's future plans.

Strikeforce 2/23 Payouts

Strikeforce's February 23 event at the Tacoma Dome in Washington drew 7,089 for a live gate of over $500,000, a state record. Disclosed payouts for the event:

• Jan Nortje ($15,000) d. Bob Sapp ($100,000)
• Cory Devela ($10,000) d. Joe Riggs ($15,000)
• Maurice Smith ($30,000) d. Rick Roufus ($15,000)
• Eddy Ellis ($5,000) d. Steve Berger ($10,000)
• Jorge Masvidal ($20,000) d. Ryan Healy ($4,000)
• Mychal Clark ($5,000) d. Josh Bennett ($2,000)
• Lyle Beerbohm ($2,000) d. Ray Perales ($2,000)
• Mike Hayes ($2,000) d. Matt Kovacs ($1,500)
• Zach Skinner ($2,000) d. Scott Shaffer ($1,000)
• Nathan Coy ($2,000) d. Dave Courchaine (2,000)
• TOTAL DISCLOSED PAYOUTS: $245,500

CREDIT: MMAJunkie

IFL 2/29 Payouts & Business Notes

The IFL's event last Friday at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas drew 4,280 (1,606 paid) for a gate of $102,120. Reported fighter payouts were:

• Ryan Schultz ($26,000) d. John Gunderson ($9,500)
• Roy Nelson ($24,000) d. Fabiano Scherner ($7,500)
• Ryan McGivern ($10,000) d. Matt Horwich ($12,000)
• Alexandre Ferreira($16,000) d. Lew Polley($4,000)
• Jake Ellenberger ($15,000) d. Pat Healy ($7,500)
• Rafael Dias ($7,000) d. Santino De Franco ($5,000)
• Josh Haynes ($6,000) d. Leopoldo Serao ($4,000)
• Ian Loveland ($7,000) d. Dennis Davis ($5,000)
• TOTAL DISCLOSED PAYOUTS: $165,500

CREDIT: MMAWeekly.com

UFC 82 Payouts

UFC 82 from Columbus, Ohio drew 16,431 for a $2.2 million gate, $800,000 less than the company's debut in Columbus drew last year for the return of Randy Couture. The disclosed payouts for the event were:

• Anderson Silva ($260,000*) d. Dan Henderson ($160,000#)
• Heath Herring ($140,000) d. Cheick Kongo ($30,000)
• Jon Fitch ($60,000) d. Chris Wilson ($12,000)
• Chris Leben ($110,000^) d. Alessio Sakara ($17,000)
• Yushin Okami ($28,000) d. Evan Tanner ($25,000)
• Andrei Arlovski ($170,000) d. Jake O’Brien ($11,000)
• Diego Sanchez ($60,000) d. David Bielkheden ($8,000)
• Josh Koscheck ($20,000) d. Dustin Hazelett ($12,000)
• Luigi Fioravanti ($16,000) d. Luke Cummo ($16,000)
• Jorge Gurgel ($14,000) d. John Halverson ($3,000)
• TOTAL DISCLOSED PAYROLL: $1,112,000 (including $180,000 in disclosed bonuses)

• * = includes $60,000 bonus for Submission of the Night and $60,000 bonus for Fight of the Night
• # = includes $60,000 bonus of Fight of the Night
• ^ = includes $60,000 bonus of Knockout of the Night
• Note - Dan Henderson and Andrei Arlovski each had non-typical win bonuses (i.e. not merely double the downside guarantee, ex. 10k + 10k to win) of $150,000 and $65,000 respectively (although Henderson obviously did not collect).
  

CREDIT: MMAWeekly.com

Press Release: Strikeforce Sets Live Gate Record In Washington

TACOMA, WA.—With a live audience of 7,089 at Tacoma Dome on Saturday, February 23rd, “Strikeforce At The Dome” surpassed the dollar amount grossed by any boxing, mixed martial arts, or kickboxing gate in Washington State history.

“It’s an honor that the people in the Tacoma and Seattle area welcomed us with such open arms our first time there,” said Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker. “The public’s embracement of the event is evidence of its hunger to see a big mixed martial arts fight card live as well as its true understanding of the sport.”

During the live HDNet telecast of “Strikeforce At The Dome,” fans witnessed the transformation of Cory “The One” Devela (8-1) from local hero to national star as the 23-year-old Bonney Lake, Washington native and former junior college wrestling standout stopped Joe “Diesel” Riggs (27-10) with a textbook judo throw that rendered the far more experienced competitor on his back and unable to continue the contest.

Former UFC and K-1 North America Champion, Maurice Smith (74-20-4), also shined in front of his hometown fans as he quickly submitted fellow kickboxing legend, Rick “The Jet” Roufus (57-8) with an armlock at the 1:53 mark of the fight’s opening round.

Bodog Fight was the event’s Presenting Sponsor.

UFC Gate Update

• Yahoo! Sports reports that UFC 81 from Las Vegas drew 10,583 (7,167 paid) for a live gate of $2.4 million. Last year's Super Bowl weekend show, UFC 67, drew 10,227 (8,700 paid) for a live gate of $2.8 million.
• Pre-sales for UFC 83 in Montreal opened strong, with UFC Fight Club members purchasing almost over 13,000 tickets in advance of Friday's official general public offering.
  

MMAPayout.com's 2007 Power Rankings

MMAPayout.com's 2007 Power Rankings are based on the following formula: gross pay-per-view revenue ($40 per buy) + gross live gate revenue. Fighters are credited only for pay-per-view events headlined in 2007. A minimum of two main events is required in order to appear on the list, resulting in the exclusion of Tito Ortiz, Quinton Jackson, Tim Sylvia, Georges St. Pierre, Michael Bisbing, Travis Lutter, Matt Serra, Yushin Okami, Gabriel Gonzaga, and Keith Jardine, as well as Dan Henderson.

MMAPayout.com's 2007 Power Rankings:

1. Chuck Liddell - $81.1 million (3 Events)*
2. Randy Couture - $48.7 million (2)
   
3. Anderson Silva - $38.3 million (2)
   
4. Rashad Evans - >$33.7 million (2)**
   
5. Wanderlei Silva - $32.5 million (2)***
   
6. Rich Franklin - $24.7 million (2)
   

*NOTE - Includes UFC 79 at an estimated 600,000 buys.
**NOTE - A complete pay-per-view estimate for UFC 78 is not yet available, however, it is believed to have done in excess of 325,000 buys. Therefore, Evans grossed is credited with at least $33.7 million in gross revenue.
***NOTE - Includes UFC 79 estimate as well as Pride 2/24 show which did 40,000 buys and a $2 million gate.

For comparison, here are the 2006 Power Rankings using the same criteria. Excluded from the list are Couture, David Loiseau, Forrest Griffin, Renato Sobral, BJ Penn, Anderson Silva, and Georges St. Pierre.

MMAPayout.com's 2006 Power Rankings:

1. Tito Ortiz - $102 million (3)
   
2. Chuck Liddell - $89.9 million (3)
3. Matt Hughes - $67.4 million (3)
4. Royce Graice/Ken Shamrock - $62.1 million (2)*
5. Rich Franklin - $27.6 million (2)

*NOTE - Gracie and Shamrock would not qualify for the list, but were so significant to business and so similar in drawing capacity that it seems to make sense to include them as a pair.

Cumulative rankings for the current boom period look like this:

MMAPayout.com's 2006-2007 Combined Power Rankings:

1. Chuck Liddell - $142.1 million (5)
2. Tito Ortiz - $120.6 million (4)
3. Randy Couture - $68.1 million (3)
   
4. Matt Hughes - $67.4 million (3)
5. Royce Graice/Ken Shamrock - $62.1 million (2)
6. Rich Franklin - $52.3 million (4)
7. Anderson Silva - $52.1 million (3)
8. Georges St. Pierre - $40.9 million (2)
   
9. Rashad Evans - >$33.7 million (2)
10. Wanderlei Silva - $32.5 million (2)*

*NOTE - Not including Pride PPV events from 2006.

UFC 79 Payouts & Business Notes

UFC 79 drew 11,075 to the Mandalay Bay Event Center in Las Vegas for a $4.9 million gate.

Reported payouts and bonuses from UFC 79:

• Georges St. Pierre ($210,000+) d. Matt Hughes ($100,000)
• Chuck Liddell ($550,000+) d. Wanderlei Silva ($200,000+)
• Eddie Sanchez ($96,000+) d. Soa Palelei ($5,000)
• Lyoto Machida ($60,000) d. Rameau Sokoudjou ($40,000)
• Rich Clementi ($28,000) d. Melvin Guillard ($10,000)
• James Irvin ($16,000) d. Luis Cane ($5,000)
• Manny Gamburyan ($20,000) d. Nate Mohr ($6,000)
• Dean Lister ($22,000) d. Jordan Radev ($5,000)
• Roan Carneiro ($10,000) d. Tony DeSouza ($7,000)
• Mark Bocek ($6,000) d. Doug Evans ($3,000)

+ = bonus included, bonus breakdown:

• St. Pierre - $50,000 for best submission
• Liddell - $50,000 for fight of the night
• Silva - $50,000 for fight of the night
• Sanchez - $50,000 for best knockout

Total disclosed pay for the event was $1,399,000.

UFC 78 Business Notes

• The show drew 14,071 paid for a gate of $2.14 million.
• The arena was reportedly at about 90% capacity with all the tickets under $200 sold out (which happened immediately) and the $300 and up tickets moving slower.
• Prior to UFC 78, the company increased the bonuses for best fight, best submission, and best knockout from $40,000 to $55,000 each in an effort to ensure entertaining fights and provide a strong incentive to finish fights. The company was then left frustrated with the results which saw three of the main card fights go to decisions despite the increased financial incentive. As a result there wasn't time to air the fight of night, Thiago Avles TKO victory over Chris Lytle. The lesson learned was that bigger bonuses, large enough to now pay significantly more than contracted payouts to all but the top fighters, failed to change the fighters' mentality of playing it cautious to win.

SOURCE: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Strikeforce Update

• The 9/29 show at the Playboy Mansion drew a crowd of 500 at $1,000 a ticket for a $500,000 gate. The event was considered a huge success. For 2008 they are planning two major shows in San Jose, another show at the Playboy Mansion, and expansion into several new markets including Honolulu and Seattle.
• The San Jose shows are slated to feature Frank Shamrock v. Renzo Graice in April and Shamrock v. Cung Le later in the year. Both events would be co-promoted with EliteXC and Showtime as pay-per-view events, even though EXC and Strikeforce aren't on the best of terms.
• The promotion is making a strong play for Bob Sapp, planning to build towards Sapp v. Daniel Pruder in Hawaii where there is no athletic commission to stop the fight due to the weight difference. Outside of the UFC, every other major promotion in the country has interest in Sapp, including EXC who has discussed Sapp v. Butterbean, but the EXC offer is not as lucrative as Strikeforce's offer.
• They recently received approval from the CSAC to bring back the one night, four-man tournament format. All fights will be two, five-minute rounds with a three-minute overtime period in the event of a draw.

SOURCE: Dave Meltzer

UFC Notes

• The schedule for 2008 will include a return trip to Columbus in March as well as planned debuts in Atlanta, Chicago, and Boston. Montreal is tentatively scheduled for April with Georges Saint Pierre v. the winner of Matt Serra-Matt Hughes for the Welterweight Title, barring a Canadians playoff run.
• UFC 77 drew an arena record gate of $2.54 million.
• Despite a weak line-up in a major market the 11/17 show sold 9,200 tickets for $1.5 million in the first week. Those numbers indicate that the cheap tickets went quickly but most of the expense seats remain. 14,000 would represent a sellout.
• Manny Pacquiao v. Marco Antonio Barrera on 10/6 did 350,000 pay-per-view buys with Pacquiao's payout at $7 million which adds fuel to fire on the current pay scale dispute.

Source - Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter

UPDATE - The UFC made Chuck Liddell v. Wanderlei Silva official for 12/29 last night. Their had been some discussion internally of moving the match to February following Couture's resignation.

UFC Notes

More from S&P:

• "We believe UFC has a growing, niche following, which should add stability to the company's financial profile." - from S&P Report Major North American Sports Leagues' Business Risk Profiles Still Solid Desite Recent Scandals.

Dana White on the record after UFC 76 (compiled from: CBS Sportsline and MMA Weekly):

• On Liddell-Silva: "We've got to sit back and look at things. There're a lot of different fights that we could make off of this one. First, Chuck needs to decide what Chuck wants to do and [then] we'll figure it out. [Silva vs. Liddell] had the possibility of being the biggest fight ever in mixed martial arts history."


• On the Lightweight Title: "Joe Stevenson will fight B.J. Penn for the vacated title if Sherk is suspended. I will wait until the decision is final though before scheduling the fight."


• On Fedor: "I think that Fedor, right now, the word is he wants to fight in this Sambo event, but I won't let him fight in it if he's with us. I think he's going to wait until he fights in this thing in October, November, and we'll probably come to a deal with him at the end of this year or the beginning of next year."


• On competition: "I am not impressed by the competition. I did see the EliteXC show the other week, and it was good, but they are so far away it's not funny."


• On HDnet FiGHTS: "I like Mark Cuban. He's a good guy, but he is going to lose a lot of money with his new venture."

Notes from Dave Meltzer:

• Final attendance numbers for UFC 75 at the O2 Arena in London: 16,235 (13,959 paid) sellout, $2,717,200 gate.


• Legislation is now in place in Illinois which will bring MMA under the auspices of the state athletic commission on 6/1/08 (however there is some movement to get the start date moved up to 1/1/08). The UFC is planning a major show for the Chicago market late next year. The next targets for regulation are South Carolina and Tennessee.


• A&E is filming a Randy Couture documentary.


• The next edition of the Ultimate Fighter will be cast in December, shot in January and February, and debut in April.