MMA Universe

The MMAPayout.com Pay-Per-View, Television, and Live Gate & Attendance sections of the  Blue Book have been updated to include all events in 2011. Reminder: you always access the information via the tab on the menu bar of every page.

The sponsorship portion of the Payout Blue Book will be the next big project we will tackle. If anyone has any preferences, feedback, or ideas, please let us know.  We will keep you updated on the progress of the project and will inform you when that goes live.

Thanks for reading as always,
MMAPayout Staff

TMZ broke the news that Brock Lesnar would be a character in the new WWE video game, WWE ‘12. Dana White told TMZ that he was “fine” with Lesnar being in the game.

Lesnar indicated that he would not have agreed to the WWE video game unless gave him the ok. In addition to the news, Lesnar told ESPN in an interview to promote the game that he could see himself back in the WWE for one match.

Brock Lesnar Via ESPN:

I think I will. I think under the right circumstances I will. I think if Vince McMahon and I were able to sit down at the same dinner table and break some bread that we could come up with some kind of game plan. At the end of the day, I’m an ultimate fighter. That’s who I am and that’s who I’ll always be. I was an entertainer but at the end of the day, I’m still as real as it gets. I think a lot of things have to fall in the right places for something like that to happen.

Here is the Brock Lesnar trailer for WWE ‘12. Notably, the video comes courtesy of Paul Heyman.

And here is Dana White being asked about Brock Lesnar in WWE ‘12:

WWE ‘12 will be available November 22nd – just in time for the holidays.

Payout Perspective:

White dismissed any notion of confusion between UFC-WWE by having Lesnar in the WWE video game. He did state that it would be an issue if Lesnar wanted to wrestle while still under UFC contract. This is interesting considering Lesnar’s comments to ESPN. Of course, the Lesnar interview could be part hype for the video game. It could also mean that one day, after his UFC contract expires, Lesnar would go back to the WWE.

For White, granting Lesnar the opportunity to appear in the video game takes nothing away from the UFC business-wise right now. However, Lesnar’s appearance in the WWE video game may mean his departure from the UFC in the not too distant future. Lesnar has been the UFC PPV draw the past three years garnering over 1 million buys each time he fights. Without Lesnar, only Rashad Evans has had PPV success of over 1 million buys since 2008. (source:  MMA Payout Blue Book). With Evans on the shelf again and Lesnar scheduled for a showdown with Alistair Overeem for UFC 141, the UFC might be concerned about its PPV business after 141. Certainly a Lesnar-Overeem matchup will do over 1 million buys. But, if Lesnar decides to leave in 2012, who will step up as the draw that could garner over 1 million PPV buys.

Notwithstanding the 1 million PPV buy threshold, the UFC may be concerned with its PPV business. With the UFC falling back with its scheduled time for PPVs, it hopes that the 2012 PPV business will be much more successful than this year.

After the UFC 135 press conference yesterday, Dana White told reports that Georges St. Pierre is the biggest PPV star in MMA today. This, despite the numbers reflecting that Brock Lesnar should hold that distinction.

White did state that GSP’s fight style has changed. Nevertheless, White believes he’s the top draw regardless. White might be pushing this statement and its likely to hype GSP’s upcoming fight. But, the numbers reflect that Brock Lesnar is the top MMA draw when it comes to PPV.

Via the Blue Book:

Brock Lesnar

UFC 121 vs. Velasquez – 1,050,000

UFC 116 vs. Carwin – 1,160,000

UFC 100 vs. Mir – 1,600,000

UFC 91 vs. Couture – 1,010,000

UFC 87 vs. Herring – 625K

UFC 81 vs. Mir – 600K

GSP

UFC 129 vs. Shields – 800K

UFC 124 vs. Koscheck – 785K

UFC 111 vs. Hardy – 710K

UFC 100 vs. Alves – 1,600,000

UFC 94 vs. BJ Penn – 920K

UFC 87 vs. Jon Fitch – 625K

UFC 82 vs. Serra (GSP regains title) – 530K

The two have shared the same card twice: UFC 87 and UFC 100.

Payout Perspective:

Looking at the numbers, Brock Lesnar is the king of PPV buy rates for the UFC. We should see a huge spike in PPV buys as he takes on Alistair Overeem at the end of the year. But, I believe White is making the point that GSP is the standard for MMA. Definitely, losing to Matt Serra has caused a change in his style and while he is winning, he is not finishing off opponents. Could the GSP decisions reflect the PPV buy rate between the two fighters? Or, is it once again the fact that fight fans favor the heavyweights? In case you were wondering, Anderson Silva has not surpassed a 1 million PPV buys in any of his main events. The highest buy rate for The Spider was 725K last February against Vitor Belfort.

Blue Book - a term often referring to an almanac or other compilation of statistics and information. The term dates back to the 15th century, when large blue velvet-covered books were used for record-keeping by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Today MMAPayout.com published the first entry in the MMAPayout.com Blue Book. The Blue Book is an unofficial database of MMA business statistics made available as a complimentary service to the MMA industry. Over the years many members of the MMA business community have expressed interest in such a database and MMAPayout.com hopes that it will prove to be a reliable, convenient one stop resource for all things in the business of MMA.

The database is a work in progress and will be updated and amended on an ongoing basis. It currently includes statistics from 2006-2009. All statistics are based on the best available information, however, MMAPayout.com does not certify the accuracy of any information provided.

The following MMAPayout.com Blue Book reference pages are now available:

• Pay-per-view – buy estimates for major MMA events
• Television – ratings for major MMA events
• Live Gate and Attendance – live gate information for major MMA events