UFC Attendance Record

gazbrook · 11-01-2007, 03:08 PM

I will state at the beginning,this isn't a Pride vs UFC thread.

I have been watching a few UFC events recently and listening to the big deal they make about selling over 15,000 tickets.

My question is,do you think they will ever be able to fill stadiums like pride did?
It would be amazing to watch and even better to be there!

For example

PRIDE K-1 Shockwave in 2002 brought 91,107 fans to Tokyo National Stadium, although this was a joint effort between two organizations, which increased the attendance.

PRIDE FC draws 40,000 to 45,000 fans at the Saitama Super Arena with regularity, but at PRIDE Final Conflict 2003, the paid attendance was 67,450

What do you think? Is Dana even interested in getting these kind of numbers?

mxfuel · 11-01-2007, 03:34 PM

I would think that if UFC brought an event to Japan it would get high numbers.

jyd94 · 11-01-2007, 04:10 PM

Different culture. Different company. Different ownership. What UFC does in America is impressive don't get me wrong, but it is apples and oranges.

UFC will never be able to do what Pride did in Japan, or what Pro Wrestling does in Japan. American owned companies just can't do it. I'm sure AK and some others can describe it a bit better, might be the only thing I have agreed with him on lol.

T-Bone · 11-01-2007, 04:32 PM

What's the capacity at some of these UFC locations? Never been to Vegas...not sure how big some of the places are (never looked it up either)

I would think it's tougher to watch fighters in an octagon as opposed to an open ring...viewing angles and all.

ramcalgary · 11-01-2007, 04:41 PM

the big bucks are in PPV buys not the gate attendance....

lots of tickets are comped...press passes and so on anyway

gazbrook · 11-01-2007, 04:49 PM

Thats what i guessed UFC might be trying to do.

I suppose the clever money is in the PPV and not ticket sales. It would be very impressive if they could excel in both.

FatCat · 11-01-2007, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T-Bone

What's the capacity at some of these UFC locations? Never been to Vegas...not sure how big some of the places are (never looked it up either)

I would think it's tougher to watch fighters in an octagon as opposed to an open ring...viewing angles and all.

20,000 is a good sized arena in the US. Unless they decide to start holding fights in the Superdome, or other football stadiums, it doesn't get much bigger.

ramcalgary · 11-01-2007, 04:54 PM

15,000 people a month paid attendance is pretty good.........i would love to see and outdoor event brazil

Crazy · 11-01-2007, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ramcalgary

15,000 people a month paid attendance is pretty good.........i would love to see and outdoor event brazil

200 000 on Maracana????? OMG

That would be cool!!!

I know I would plan a vacation to Rio then, he he

MTKrav911 · 11-01-2007, 05:59 PM

I always found it and find it interesting that with all those outstanding numbers Pride had at the live gate, they still went bankrupt.

opsy · 11-01-2007, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTKrav911

I always found it and find it interesting that with all those outstanding numbers Pride had at the live gate, they still went bankrupt.

Exactly what I was thinking. What were these people paying to see the event? Pocket linen?

Elder · 11-01-2007, 06:34 PM

In America it's not that they couldn't get more people to buy tickets. It's the fact that the stadiums aren't as big as stated before. Most stadiums cater to a certain comfort level. The only exception I can think of are college football stadiums.

jetmechG550 · 11-01-2007, 07:23 PM

Wasn't 77 in Cinci the largest UFC crowd on record? Sold out at just a little over 16K.

T-Bone · 11-01-2007, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FatCatMC

20,000 is a good sized arena in the US. Unless they decide to start holding fights in the Superdome, or other football stadiums, it doesn't get much bigger.

Thanks for the info, FatCat. Sports stadiums (40,000+) seems to be too big for a UFC event.

GSPALLTHEWAY · 11-01-2007, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T-Bone

Thanks for the info, FatCat. Sports stadiums (40,000+) seems to be too big for a UFC event.

totally agree... who wants to sit in the back row of that!! i think the venues are perfect size and even sometimes too big as it is...

pride with 90000 in an event = bankrupt

UFC with 15000 in an event = lots of cash

they know what they are doing

Jenkins83 · 11-01-2007, 09:45 PM

As the UFC grows in popularity I'm sure they will eventually start holding some of their big UFC events in football stadiums like the WWE does with their big events.

britfist · 11-01-2007, 10:28 PM

This reply is in NO DISRESPECT to Japan but the Japanese will turn up in numbers to see a pop band with no credentials nor hits-See British TV's Adam and Joe show where they pretended to be a big UK band who had released no music at all-they still had a crowd of nearly a thousand just hanging around their limo!

If Tickets where cheap enough UFC could fill all sorts of arenas believe me.

If you charged $20 for a seat provided video screens so everyone could see and then charged top $ for ringside you could fill some serious venues.It will happen

gazbrook · 11-02-2007, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by britfist

This reply is in NO DISRESPECT to Japan but the Japanese will turn up in numbers to see a pop band with no credentials nor hits-See British TV's Adam and Joe show where they pretended to be a big UK band who had released no music at all-they still had a crowd of nearly a thousand just hanging around their limo!

If Tickets where cheap enough UFC could fill all sorts of arenas believe me.

If you charged $20 for a seat provided video screens so everyone could see and then charged top $ for ringside you could fill some serious venues.It will happen

That's what I was thinking,if they charge $20 for the seats that are far back, It's still worth it. A PPV still costs more and the atmosphere alone is well worth that money IMO. I can see your point about some of the Japanese fans,but the USA has a much bigger population,so hopefully in time could replicate these numbers.

Crashsti · 11-02-2007, 03:43 PM

in Japan, MMA is closely linked to prowrestling. we all remember the numerous Pride fights that featured former prowrestlers making their MMA debut. In Japan its less about the sport and more about the show. We'd be better to compare Pride's live gate to the WWE live event attendance. The UFC on the other hand has wisely chosen to not associate with prowrestling. To the UFC its a sport. As a sidenote, how many times did Giant Silva fight in Pride? Too many for me but the Japanese love him despite his hideous record.

vegas mma · 11-02-2007, 03:47 PM

i would pay 15-20 dollars if they provided screens with the fights on them.
however i would prefer that they keep it "small" with the 15k crowds