Week in MMA & Boxing - 1/20/17
Dana Hypes Mayweather vs. McGregor
Dana White started publicly promoting the idea of what from a sport standpoint is almost a joke, but would be the biggest money combat sports event of 2017 if he could pull it off, a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor. Both men have talked up a fight and Mayweather publicly offered McGregor $15 million for such a fight, which is more than McGregor has made than any of his fights to date.
White went on FS 1's Colin Cowherd show to counter, claiming that nobody has really made an offer but he was publicly making an offer, saying he’d offer both men a $25 million guarantee plus they’d each get a cut of PPV revenue. He claimed that he would be disappointed if the show did less than 2.3 million to 2.5 million buys, and that the sky would be the limit, like with Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, if the fight caught on.
White went on FS 1's Colin Cowherd show to counter, claiming that nobody has really made an offer but he was publicly making an offer, saying he’d offer both men a $25 million guarantee plus they’d each get a cut of PPV revenue. He claimed that he would be disappointed if the show did less than 2.3 million to 2.5 million buys, and that the sky would be the limit, like with Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, if the fight caught on.
He said he would put the fight on a loaded show, with a UFC undercard similar to that of UFC 205 in Madison Square Garden and some championship fights, to insure people got their money’s worth, unlike Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, which was the biggest PPV in history, but was generally considered a poor show, and neither Mayweather nor Pacquiao have been able to draw big since.
Mayweather laughed off the proposal. He said he wasn’t fighting for less than $100 million. White countered talking about how much money Mayweather spends and that he’ll be needing the money. White pushed the idea that today, McGregor is the bigger star. He claimed Mayweather’s last PPV, against Andre Berto, did only 350,000 buys (the number we heard a little over 500,000). McGregor has topped 1 million buys for his last four PPVs. White claimed McGregor’s last two fights did 1.5 million and 1.3 million.
Mayweather laughed off the proposal. He said he wasn’t fighting for less than $100 million. White countered talking about how much money Mayweather spends and that he’ll be needing the money. White pushed the idea that today, McGregor is the bigger star. He claimed Mayweather’s last PPV, against Andre Berto, did only 350,000 buys (the number we heard a little over 500,000). McGregor has topped 1 million buys for his last four PPVs. White claimed McGregor’s last two fights did 1.5 million and 1.3 million.
White said Mayweather was wrong when he said McGregor has never made $10 million previously in a fight. McGregor claimed to have made $40 million in 2016 for his three fights, but as we’ve seen, McGregor is very much prone to hyperbole. The amount UFC fighters truly make for big fights is largely secretive, although some contracts have come out on court which have revealed roughly $1 million cuts of PPV on 600,000 buys and $3 million on 1 million buys. Those were dated contracts from years ago. One would expect McGregor’s deal to be better than that.
Still, those with full knowledge of the highest paid deals in UFC have told us that at least as of the end of 2015, that nobody had legitimately made more than $5 million for a UFC fight, although with the higher guarantees than McGregor, Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey received this year, that would almost surely no longer be the case. In this case, McGregor is a huge star. If it hit big as a must-see event, and both McGregor and Mayweather are excellent at promoting fights, it could do incredible numbers.
Still, those with full knowledge of the highest paid deals in UFC have told us that at least as of the end of 2015, that nobody had legitimately made more than $5 million for a UFC fight, although with the higher guarantees than McGregor, Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey received this year, that would almost surely no longer be the case. In this case, McGregor is a huge star. If it hit big as a must-see event, and both McGregor and Mayweather are excellent at promoting fights, it could do incredible numbers.
Given McGregor’s lack of boxing experience, it should be an easy money fight for Mayweather. Mayweather is 49-0, and considered the best pure boxer of this generation. White made it clear that he wouldn’t offer Mayweather more money than McGregor, and disagreed with Mayweather’s assertion that he’s the “A” side of the fight, given Mayweather’s most recent numbers as compared with McGregor’s. He said he would not give Mayweather more than McGregor for that reason. Still, White has to know that Mayweather wouldn’t fight at this point for a $25 million guarantee. Mayweather is used to fights where the two main event fighters get almost all the revenue.
White is used to promoting shows where the main event fighters get a percentage, but the promotion gets the lion’s share and makes huge profits on the show. Reconciling those two things will be very difficult.
White is used to promoting shows where the main event fighters get a percentage, but the promotion gets the lion’s share and makes huge profits on the show. Reconciling those two things will be very difficult.
White said Mayweather hasn’t talked to anyone because he’s got McGregor under contract, and unless Mayweather talked to him, there is no offer. White pushed that McGregor would be Mayweather’s real money fight. Mayweather did a video where he said that he hadn’t fought for $25 million in ten years, and said that Dana White had power but the Fertittas owned the company, and now that they don’t, he’s an employee, and said he liked Dana White and said that years ago Dana White used to hang around him and Jeff Mayweather and carry their bags.
The MMA fan base that buys McGregor shows would all buy it, and that gets you well over one million, and Mayweather’s name and the promotion will get you much higher than that. The one thing about if something hits big, is that almost everyone’s predictions end up being shockingly low because it’s something that connects in the final few days. People think in terms of MMA fans and boxing fans, but the key to a 2 million or more buy show is sports fans and casual people who see it as a big event.
The MMA fan base that buys McGregor shows would all buy it, and that gets you well over one million, and Mayweather’s name and the promotion will get you much higher than that. The one thing about if something hits big, is that almost everyone’s predictions end up being shockingly low because it’s something that connects in the final few days. People think in terms of MMA fans and boxing fans, but the key to a 2 million or more buy show is sports fans and casual people who see it as a big event.
Another notable aspect is that if White is serious about this, the feeling is that the money made by the company is worth his biggest star and draw being possibly humiliated. Would that then hurt McGregor’s drawing power going forward? Yet, White and WME IMG are looking at a promotion where the rules make their guy a huge underdog. Granted, they do have the built in excuse after the fight, and McGregor is such a good talker that the damage could be minimal.
The difference today with the prior generation is that MMA fans know that top stars lose and it doesn’t kill their drawing power if they are name, at least as long as they are seen as having chances to still win the big ones. Still, for an old school boxing promoter who would look at this, they’d see UFC putting its biggest drawing card in a fight that he’d most likely lose to an outsider as a terrible idea.
The difference today with the prior generation is that MMA fans know that top stars lose and it doesn’t kill their drawing power if they are name, at least as long as they are seen as having chances to still win the big ones. Still, for an old school boxing promoter who would look at this, they’d see UFC putting its biggest drawing card in a fight that he’d most likely lose to an outsider as a terrible idea.
The Destruction of BJ Penn
B.J. Penn, the fighter who put the 155 pound weight class on the map and still the biggest star that division has ever seen, returned to action after two-and-a-half years last Sunday against Yair Rodriguez.
Penn looked old and small physically next to Rodriguez. The speed and reflex difference was evident immediately. Very quickly, the question was answered that Penn, no matter how hard he trained and how smart his coach may have been, has aged out of being a competitive UFC fighter. It was a sad one-sided fight, stopped at 24 seconds of round two by John McCarthy, who gave the legend every opportunity, and then some, to get out of trouble. Rodriguez was the first winner of TUF Latin America, which drew huge ratings on Televisa in Mexico. He was one of the flashiest young fighters in the company. He was much taller, and sure to be much faster, and with a more diversified striking attack. But he’d never beaten anyone with one-tenth the name value as Penn.
Penn looked old and small physically next to Rodriguez. The speed and reflex difference was evident immediately. Very quickly, the question was answered that Penn, no matter how hard he trained and how smart his coach may have been, has aged out of being a competitive UFC fighter. It was a sad one-sided fight, stopped at 24 seconds of round two by John McCarthy, who gave the legend every opportunity, and then some, to get out of trouble. Rodriguez was the first winner of TUF Latin America, which drew huge ratings on Televisa in Mexico. He was one of the flashiest young fighters in the company. He was much taller, and sure to be much faster, and with a more diversified striking attack. But he’d never beaten anyone with one-tenth the name value as Penn.
As far as drawing, that took a huge hit when the NFL scheduled the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers playoff game head-to-head, a late schedule change, which drew 37,113,000 viewers, the largest for a prime time playoff game in history. The UFC probably would have done very well without that level of competition, especially since the NFL demos are similar, older, but otherwise similar, to those of UFC. UFC had strong promotion during the exciting Packers vs. Cowboys game that was the most watched division playoff game in the last 20 years, doing 48.5 million viewers on FOX.
The Penn vs. Rodriguez main event did 1,604,000 viewers, which is a strong showing, and came after the football game was over. The prelims, also going head-to-head with the Chiefs-Steelers game, did 824,000, which is actually amazing considering there were no names on it.
The Penn vs. Rodriguez main event did 1,604,000 viewers, which is a strong showing, and came after the football game was over. The prelims, also going head-to-head with the Chiefs-Steelers game, did 824,000, which is actually amazing considering there were no names on it.
Woodley vs Thompson 2 at UFC 209
Tyron Woodley said that the reason he’s facing Stephen Thompson again on 3/4 in Las Vegas is that Nick Diaz turned down a title fight. The two battled to a draw on 11/12 in Madison Square Garden in what was one of last year’s best fights. However, Nate Diaz has just applied for a boxing license in Nevada.
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Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson
The Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson fight, a five-round fight for the interim lightweight title, is now official for the 3/4 show in Las Vegas underneath Woodley vs. Thompson. The idea of an interim lightweight champion is actually comedic at this point.
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TUF 25: T.J. Dillashaw vs. Cody Garbrandt
The 25th season of Ultimate Fighter begins on 4/19 (the first episode will be a two-hour premiere) with T.J. Dillashaw and Cody Garbrandt as coaches, which would mean they will likely have a bantamweight title match over the summer. There had been talk as to whether Garbrandt’s first title defense would be against Dillashaw or Dominick Cruz, with Garbrandt saying he wants to give Cruz a rematch. The theme will be redemption. The UFC announced that every member of the cast, including one currently active UFC fighter and several previous TUF winners would have at one point been cast members of the show.
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Tim Kennedy Retires
Tim Kennedy, 37, announced his retirement this past week. Kennedy said that he knew going into his scheduled 11/12 fight with Rashad Evans that it would be his last fight. The idea was that he would beat Evans in Madison Square Garden and then retire. But the fight ended up being scrapped when New York wouldn’t clear Evans to fight, so Kennedy was moved to the next show, on 12/10 in Toronto, where he lost to Kelvin Gastelum when he got tired in the second round. He said that he realized in the fight that he couldn’t get his body to do what it needed to do.
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Stipe Miocic not Happy
Stipe Miocic was on the MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani and made it clear he was not happy with his pay. What got him hot was finding out that Alistair Overeem, the challenger, made $800,000 for the UFC 203 main event, while he, the champion, headlining in his home town and drawing the house in Cleveland and handling the promotional work, only got $600,000. He never knew what Overeem was earning until it went public after the fight. “I just felt like I was kinda crapped on a little bit. I try to do things right and work with them, and they just didn’t give me a great deal. That’s my own fault, but also they knew what they were doing. They took my kindness for weakness.” He said he complained about it after the show and they just said that was the contract you signed. “You’re making money off me in my hometown, and you’re giving the man that’s a challenger, who’s never won the title in the UFC, you’re giving him more money. It definitely should change. But the fact that my challenger made more money than me in my last fight was just kind of a slap in the face.”
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Anderson Silva Returns
Anderson Silva vs. Derek Brunson was added to the 2/11 show at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, as the main support for the Holly Holm vs. Germaine de Randamie women’s featherweight title fight. That’s a weird fight. You would think they’d use Silva, 41, against only bigger name older fighters as opposed to a very good, but lesser name fighter who is coming off a knockout loss to Robert Whittaker in his last fight on 11/29. Obviously the idea is that Silva will help sell the PPV, but Brunson, 33, ranked as the No. 8 contender, isn’t the kind of opponent that will mean a lot against Silva. Silva had not even started training for the fight before the announcement, so it’s a short camp. They are going to a three-man booth on this show with Anik now as the lead announcer with Mike Goldberg being gone, working with Joe Rogan and Daniel Cormier. With Rogan working fewer dates, they have to get other announcers ready.
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- Cormier vs. Anthony Rumble Johnson for the light heavyweight title is right now earmarked for the 4/8 PPV show from Buffalo. That date was officially announced. The main event is not official.
- Former WWE and ESPN announcer Todd Grisham debuted on the Phoenix show this past weekend in the host spot on the post-game show in the role that Karyn Bryant was in the past few years.
- Amanda Nunes now says that she wants her next fight against the winner of the Holm vs. de Randamie fight at 145 pounds so she can duplicate Conor Mcgregor and become a two division champion.
- Stefan Struve suffered a shoulder injury, and had surgery on 1/13, putting him out of his 2/19 main event bout in Halifax against Junior Dos Santos. The UFC went to Fabricio Werdum as a replacement, and Werdum turned down the fight. Struve was hoping the Dos Santos fight could be made when he gets cleared to return.
This Weekends Show
The company’s first show of the year is 1/21 from the Forum in Los Angeles, headlined by Tito Ortiz (18-12-1) vs. Chael Sonnen (28-14-1). They’ve tried to build this around a grudge aspect as when both were in college, Sonnen pinned Ortiz in a match and they’ve never met since, and now it’s about 20 years later. As I recall, Sonnen actually moved up a weight class for that match as well, just like here. Still, I haven’t been impressed with the build up to this, but both men to have past track records as television draws.
Other fights are Paul Daley (38-14-2) vs Brennan Ward (14-4), Ralek Gracie (3-0) vs. Hisaki Kato (7-2), Georgi Karakhanyan (26-6-1) vs. Emmanuel Sanchez (13-3) and Derek Anderson (14-2) vs. Derek Campos (17-6).
Other fights are Paul Daley (38-14-2) vs Brennan Ward (14-4), Ralek Gracie (3-0) vs. Hisaki Kato (7-2), Georgi Karakhanyan (26-6-1) vs. Emmanuel Sanchez (13-3) and Derek Anderson (14-2) vs. Derek Campos (17-6).