Published by Stephen Rhodes
The second event put together by the UFC can now be considered a rousing success as they set a new North American MMA attendance record with 21,451 attendees; the numbers came from UFC president Dana White during the UFC 97 post-fight press conference. Assuming the numbers are accurate, the event will have outdrawn the initial Montreal event – UFC 83 – by 61 people.
With this event in the books, here are your top 5 MMA gates to date:
UFC 66 (Liddell vs. Ortiz II): $5,397,300 gate (12,191 attendance)
UFC 83 (St. Pierre vs. Serra II): $5,100,000 gate (21,390 attendance)
UFC 79 (St. Pierre vs. Hughes): $4,994,050 gate (9,704 attendance)
UFC 97 (Silva vs. Leites): $4,900,000 gate (21,451 attendance)
UFC 91 (Couture vs. Lesnar): $4,815,675 gate (13,224 attendance)
Although by and large professional sports are affected by the current recession, you wouldn’t know it from the numbers at UFC 97 and two other UFC events within the past year. About as close to a recession-proof industry as they come, I would say.
. Apr 19, 2009
Filed under: Octagon Buzz, UFC 83, UFC 97
Published by Stephen Rhodes
Another fight has been added to the UFC 88 card as according to Sam Caplan of FiveOuncesOfPain.com, Jason Lambert will make his middleweight debut as he has accepted a bout with Jason Day in a non-televised bout at UFC 88 on September 6 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, GA; the bout acceptance was confirmed by Matt Stansell, one of Lambert’s managers.
Lambert (23-8, 4-3 UFC) initially started in the UFC at 3-0 with wins over Terry Martin, Branden Lee Hinkle and Rob McDonald before losing to Rashad Evans at UFC 63; his most recent loss took place against Luiz Cane at UFC 85 this past June. Day made his UFC debut at UFC 83 this past April, pulling out the upset win over Alan Belcher.
. Aug 07, 2008
Filed under: Octagon Buzz, Alan Belcher, Branden Lee Hinkle, Jason Day, Jason Lambert, Luiz Cane, Rashad Evans, Rob McDonald, Terry Martin, UFC 63, UFC 83, UFC 85, UFC 88
Published by Stephen Rhodes
Here’s some more fuel for the rumor mill – there’s the distinct possibility that the 185 and 205 pound divisions in the World Extreme Cagefighting promotion could move over to the Ultimate Fighting Championship; nothing is etched in stone but perhaps there will be an answer to that rumor in the upcoming months, according to Jason Probst of Sherdog.
WEC president Reed Harris wouldn’t confirm or deny the rumors, but Harris did confirm that the idea was put out there as a possibility by UFC president Dana White and matchmakers Joe Silva of the UFC and Scott Adams of the WEC, respectively. Harris added,
“We have had some discussions about our weight divisions, but nothing has been set or finalized. We’ve heard the same rumors. We’ve had those discussions since day one. About what weight classes (might be involved), I really have no official statement. I know people are talking about it. I’ve had reporters call me and ask the same questions for eight months about it.”
Adding teeth to this rumor is a Q&A session with fans at UFC 83 when White told The Canadian Press, “We’re going to make the WEC the smaller weights and the UFC will be the heavier weights. We’ll probably take some of the guys in the higher weights, the champions over there and bring them into UFC. We’re still trying to figure that out.” This move, assuming it happens, would make sense for the WEC as the middleweight division lacks a Top-10 fighter as does the light heavyweight division.
. Aug 05, 2008
Filed under: Octagon Buzz, Dana White, Joe Silva, Reed Harris, Scott Adams, UFC 83, Ultimate Fighting Championship, World Extreme Cagefighting
