Tapping Out With TBerg 11.14.08: Episode V - The Missed Opportunities of UFC 91

Posted by Todd Bergman on 11.14.2008

UFC 91 might be the highest grossing UFC Pay-Per view of all time, but I think that they could do better. Can one match really get 1 million buys? I let you in on the botched marketing and the blatant missed opportunities. Plus, Gina Carano returns for one last time to defend her "unique" title. Leave your inhabitations at the door because you're "Tapping Out With TBerg."

Awesomely bad quote for Episode V
"I felt like I was being raped by Freddy Mercury" -Tank on his fight with Dan Severn

UFC 91 is this Saturday night, and the UFC has high hopes of drawing 1 million buys for this card. One would think that this is achievable due to the popularity of the main event fighter; however, what happens if the UFC falls short of this goal? What happens if the show is a failure? While I think that it's a great possibility for the company to reach it's goal, it's certainly going to be a close call because they have chosen to only market the main event. In this edition of "Tapping Out With TBerg," I'm digging deep to provide you with every possible avenue of how the UFC missed the boat with their marketing and how this event matches up with UFC 66, the only UFC show to hit the 1 million mark.


Pretty cool poster

First sign of trouble

The first big setback in the attempt to break the Pay-Per view buys record came from the ratings for the UFC 91 countdown show. The countdown show ratings were down 11% from what they have normally been. Some "experts" think that this will attribute to a poor buy rate and the ultimate failure of UFC 91. I think that one can look at this in two different ways. First, the countdown shows are usually on Monday nights at 11pm EST, and most people have to work the next day; thus, it becomes a task to stay up that late. I also don't think that the numbers reflect DVR recordings. Secondly, the countdown show will re-air a handful of times, at a descent hour, before the event. This can only help the cause for people on the fence about buying the show based on the main event. Also, one must consider that at the UFC 91 weigh-ins, the countdown show will be shown as well. I know that I avoided UFC 77, UFC 82, and UFC 90's countdown shows because I got to see them at the weigh-ins in between the Q&A and actual weigh ins. In my eyes, there is no real cause for concern based on these supposed figures. Maybe people want to see more of the other fights?

A wonderful under card that no one knows about

There certainly is more to UFC 91 than Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar. The main card features a terrific lightweight showdown between Kenny Florian and Joe Stevenson. While both don't possess an extremely marketable name, they certainly are known for having some exciting fights in the past. One would think that if Florian is able to win here then he would certainly be next in line to challenge BJ Penn for the Lightweight Title sometime in '09. Joe Stevenson is one fight removed from challenging Penn for the title, and that helps his credibility to get people to buy the show.

Gabe Gonzaga is also on the card and appears to have a favorable match up. Even if the UFC only promoted, he could show the fans another highlight KO or possibly a breath-taking submission victory. If Gonzaga were to somehow lose the fight, then the UFC would have a new star in the making. It's a situation similar to that of the Werdum/dos Santos showdown back at UFC 90.

Even older UFC fans have a chance to see a modern-day Royce Gracie in Damien Maia. In UFC 91, Maia returns to the Octagon to face Nate Quarry. The UFC could easily market this event by showing Maia's BJJ abilities, and they could highlight Quarry's amazing story about returning from an injury and still being a success in the sport.

Amir Sadollah was originally scheduled to compete on this card but was injured and had to pull out of his fight. Certainly this is a good thing for the UFC because they didn't promote Amir's appearance on the card. They did replace that fight with a fun match up between Dustin Hazellet vs. Tamdam McCrory, which isn't that marketable but is something to look forward to.

I believe that the UFC certainly dropped the ball when it came to promoting any of the matches at UFC 91 that weren't the main event. If they don't reach that goal of 1 million buys then they certainly have no one but themselves to blame. I remember Dana White saying that MMA Pay-Per views differ from boxing because the UFC gives a viewer more than just a main event. They give viewers a whole show making you want to be in your seat when the show starts instead of just showing up for the main event. Why aren't they at least letting the people watching ESPN know that UFC 91 also features Florian vs Stevenson or Maia vs. Quarry? At least these names would be getting exposure. It's a shame that Zuffa hasn't spent any time advertising the spectacular match-ups that I mentioned above.

Why is 1 million buys important?

The golden standard for Pay-Per view purchases was set back at UFC 66 which featured Tito Ortiz vs. Chuck Liddell. The show hit the 1 million buys mark, and that goal hasn't been reached since. The main card featured:
Chuck Liddell over Tito Ortiz
Keith Jardine over Forrest Griffin
Michael Bisping over Eric Shafer
Andrei Arlovski over Marcio Cruz
Jason McDonald over Chris Leben

Zuffa did an excellent job of letting the buying public know about the under card bouts, and Joe Silva did a great job of matching up exciting fighters. The main event was promoted way ahead of the other bouts, but fans still didn't get the feeling that the UFC was trying to bank on just one fight. UFC 91 matches up very well with this card, and it truly boggles the mind that the other fights aren't being promoted. With the economy going down seemingly each day, it's going to be harder and harder for the UFC to have a chance at attaining record viewership on pay per view. That's why I view UFC 91 as a huge missed opportunity. It has so much hope and promise, yet it seems like the UFC has spent very little time promoting any of the fights on this card.

What happened to Lesnar vs. Couture 24/7

The idea was thrown around about having a 24/7-type show surrounding the Couture-Lesnar fight. I think that it would've been a tremendous opportunity to showcase the fighters preparing their individual game plans for the upcoming fight. While the All-Access shows are fun to watch, they generally are a half-hour long cram-fest of everything about the fighter. I would've preferred to watch a few weeks worth of episodes showing the fighters inside and outside of the Octagon. Watching them from training to social interactions outside of the cage makes this a new and creative avenue for the UFC to explore. They could have even had the shows as a lead-in for The Ultimate Fighter, which is a win-win situation for the UFC. Ultimately, the UFC needs those last minute buyers, and I'm not sure that the main event can secure them that goal. Some people still view Lesnar as a freak show , bogus fighter. I don't agree with that opinion, but then again, I'm not someone on the fence about buying the show. Ultimately, lack of advertising and promoting is certain a missed opportunity on the UFC's part. I just hope that they will learn from their mistake and pursue a different route when it comes to the January showdown between GSP and BJ Penn.

TAP THAT OF THE WEEK
Last week Gina Carano took out former UFC ring girl Amber Miller. This week, Carano faces another former UFC ring girl Ali Sonoma.



If you are new to my articles, then here is how you vote for the winner. All you need to do is simply add a comment below and name your winner. If Carano is able to win this week then her bra and panties will be retired high above the 411mania.com battlefield.

I would like to thank everyone for checking out my article and, as always, thanks for the feedback—both positive and negative. Remember to get out and support your local MMA and keep your tapping hand strong.