Since its inception Ultimate Fighting Championship(UFC), headed by President Dana White, has grown to become the world’s largest mixed martial arts promotion company on the planet. The first UFC event held in 1993 in Denver, CO featured the worlds best competitiors from boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Tae Kwon Do, Wrestling, Muay Thai, and Karate challenging each other in a mixed fashion. Most patrons were used to Karate competitions but Karate versus Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu presented a interesting pallete for fans. MMA is more than just a mix of martial arts it’s a mix of cultures and disciplines.
Since the early day introductions, UFC has become a global marketing enterprise with television deals expanded globally from America to Australia with several interest points in between. The sell out crowds have become a normal routine as UFC begins to gain steam and popularity. UFC programming and marketing has expanded exponetially landing major promotional and cable network deals with FX, Fuel TV, FOX, and ESPN broadcasting in 150 countries and 22 different languages worldwide.
With the global marketing expansion the recent box office numbers at UFC 148 did not disappoint as UFC’s biggest event of 2012 drew in record box office promotional numbers. UFC 148 dazzled fans from the fabulous MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, NVon July 7. The event pulled in an attendance of 15,104 fans and a live gate of $6,901,655, according to MMAJunkie.com.
The event featured a middleweight championship rematch between Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen II, one of the most anticipated bouts in UFC history. Reports from the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) recorded a total of 13, 606 tickets sold; 1,498 comp tickets, and just 64 unsold according to MMAJunkie.com. UFC 148 surpassed the previous promotional record set by UFC 66 Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz at MGM Grand Garden. The consistent numbers prove that UFC has a strong attraction and fanbase in the “Entertainment Capital of the World.”
Along with the attendance record from UFC 148 the promotion gravitated a strong Pay-Per-View sales showing. While UFC President Dana White predicted sales would reach 1.6 million, reports state the buys were closer to the million mark. This is still a comfortable showing and bounce back in comparison to UFC 147, which garnered only 140,000 setting the lowest PPV buys since UFC 55 back in 2005.
Hoping to build off the show card success of UFC 148, UFC 149 failed to impress drawing in a PPV buy of 235,000 on a lackluster card. Prompting UFC President Dana White to make drastic changes and make a big splash with UFC’s fourth career card on FOX which aired by listening to fans and offering the top four 205 pound light heavyweight fighters a chance to compete for a title shot. The two main events on August 4, 2012 featured Ryan Bader vs. Lyoto Machida and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Brandon Vera.
UFC looks to bounce on track with tonight’s event. Tickets for UFC 150 from the Pepsi Center in Denver, CO are still available. The main event features a rematch of UFC 144 betweenBenson Henderson (16-2 ) and Frankie Edgar (14-2-1). The first time around Henderson handed Edgar his second loss with a five round title defeat — outscoring Edgar on all three score cards (49-46, 48-47, 49-46) winning by unanimous decision to become lightweight champion. For information about the other bouts scheduled for tonight visit www.ufc.com.
UFC 151 is also already scheduled for September 1 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV featuring Jon “Bones” Jones vs. Dan Henderson in a light heavyweight championship bout.
