Tapping Out With TBerg 12.26.08: Episode XI - Holiday Returns

Posted by Todd Bergman on 12.26.2008

UFC 92 is being considered by most to be the best card of the year. In this edition of “Tapping Out With TBerg,” we take a look at the similarities and the differences between UFC 92 and this year’s most successful show to date, UFC 91. I also give you my top 5 MMA moments of 2008 and a special Holiday gift for all of my fans.

Awesome Quote For Episode XI:
Gabe Ruediger: I'm giving 100% out there.
Monstah Lobstah: You need to stop giving 100% in the kitchen.

It's all been done before
The word success has three different definitions according to dictionary.com. They are as follows:

1. the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors.
2. the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.
3. a successful performance or achievement



Nice concept for this poster

I'm sure all of you are asking, what exactly does this mean in relation to UFC 92? Well coming off the heels of one of the most successful UFC Pay-Per views of all time, the Zuffa owned company returns this Saturday night with its most talent-loaded card ever. All of this got me pondering, what if the UFC could draw the same amount of success on this card that they drew on UFC 91? Would this mean that they tried harder to promote 92 than 91? Can a main event between two former Ultimate Fighters outdraw "The Natural" and a former pro wrestler? While the event is still a day away, let's take a look at the positive and negative aspects of UFC 92 and make a prediction as to how successful this show will truly be.

Why it will match or exceed the financial success of UFC 91,
UFC 92 offers a tremendous card loaded with talent from Main Event to the opening prelim fight. This is also the first time since UFC 73 that a card has featured so many big name fighters all crammed into a 3 hour broadcast. Two title fights and one brutal grudge match are the selling point. Fans love to see exciting match-ups, and this card is full of them. The match-ups of Griffin/Evans, Silva/Jackson and Nog/Mir could be considered main events just by themselves. You also throw in CB Dollaway and Cheick Kongo on the televised portion of the card, and it makes for a solid night of fights. UFC 91 featured a high profile Main Event and a semi-main event on the card. While all the fights did air on the PPV broadcast, no one knew going into the show that all the fights would air. So you can cancel out that theory as to why UFC 91 was so successful.

Now that we have talked about how superior UFC 92's card is to UFC 91's, let's have a look at the promotional aspect. I wrote an article a month ago stating how Zuffa had dropped the ball when it came to promoting UFC 91 and how I didn't think that one fight could draw 1 million buys. Well, as with most things in my life, I was dead wrong. Brock Lesnar and Couture proved to have exceptional drawing power with the general MMA public along with hardcore fans. UFC 92 is hyped as a three-fight card, with two of them being title fights. The match up of Rampage vs. Wandy is just billed as a showdown between two exceptional strikers with no mention of their previous two showdowns. I think that no mentioning the previous two fights on the commercial is a great idea because it doesn't allow the general public to know that Wandy dominated Rampage twice before, which could affect buy rates and ticket sales. You would also have to think that this fight could be different because it's being fought in the UFC. I was known to be anti-PRIDE back in the day, but I think fighting inside the Octagon will produce a different outcome. You could also argue that both fighters have matured and have become better-rounded since their last fight against each other.

The UFC has also done a solid job of promoting the showdown between Forrest Griffin and Rashad Evans, noting that both are former Ultimate Fighter winners and who they have previously beaten. If Joe Schmoe is out there watching TV and happens to see the UFC commercial come on, he might not know who Evans or Griffin are, but he would more than likely know Chuck Liddell or Rampage Jackson. It really builds more credibility to the fighters. I think that they could possibly include that Forrest Griffin is the man who made MMA popular during his showdown with Stephan Bonnar.

Dana White and company also spent a lot of marketing dollars on this season of The Ultimate Fighter Coaches Big Nog and Frank Mir. Fight fans love to watch Heavyweights under any circumstances. It always seems that a Heavyweight showdown draws more interest with fight fans than a spectacular showdown between two Lightweights. I don't always agree with that assessment but I'm only $55 of the millions that are made. While the showdown between Big Nog and Mir isn't a terribly exciting fight, the promos have done a great job of getting everyone excited for it. You could look no further than the countdown show and how it chronicled both fighters and their recovery from horrible vehicle-related accidents. It's nice to touch on two great stories and really allows the fans to relate better to the fighters.

Why it won't match the financial success of UFC 91
While this card features two title fights and one bitter grudge match, it lacks a huge star. No one wants to admit it, but Brock Lesnar is carrying the UFC when it comes to Pay-Per view buys and publicity. ESPN was all over the Lesnar/Couture fight and even broke into SportsCenter with the results that fateful evening. Also, ESPN.com featured breaking news about Lesnar's win. UFC 91 was a one-fight Pay-Per view and Zuffa promoted it that way. While all six of the fighters featured on the UFC 92 promo are more talented than Lesnar, they don't have the ability to create a huge buzz throughout the main-stream public like Brock does.


Not the UFC Heavyweight Title, but it works

It didn't end well for him, but Randy Couture was also the Heavyweight Champion and returning from a long lay off. Fans everywhere love and adore Randy, and his return generated a huge buzz and promotion for the fight. Nowhere on UFC 92 do you have a storyline like that. It's pretty plain and simple that two fighters from UFC 91 drew 1 million plus buys, whether that be just from shear luck or shear brilliance, who's to say. It would be a terrible failure for the UFC if UFC 92 doesn't do 800,000 plus buys, but it certainly wouldn't be for a lack of trying this time out.

Final Prediction
I would love to be positive when it comes to the potential buy rate of UFC 92, but there are a lot of factors that could affect this. This show happens on the weekend after Christmas which is a double-edged sword. One way to look at it is that more people are going to be together and they could pool their recently acquired Christmas money and buy the show. That works in both ways because 8 people watching together obviously won't make as much money as 8 people watching separately. The weekend could also work against them because more people will be either traveling to or from different places. I will be splitting the cost of this show with three other people and will, as always, enjoy my night of fights. I do believe when it is all said and done, UFC 92 will not do 800,000 plus buys. I think that the UFC should consider something more along the lines of 500,000 buys. Of course, I was wrong last time about UFC 91 and for the sake of Zuffa in this terrible economy, I hope I'm wrong this time as well.

Top Five MMA Moments Of 2008
1.) Watching the Baba O'Reiley Video at UFC 90- I just recently admitted to my wife that the video brought a tear to my eye. It's certainly something that every MMA fan should see before they judge me on my crying. There's nothing that can compare to hearing that song with the clips that they show.
2.) Watching Kimbo Slice get KO'ed- What a weird night that was. I compare this to watching Mike Tyson fall to Buster Douglas. It certainly has and will continue to change the landscape of MMA for years to come.
3.) Chris Lytle vs. Paul Taylor- Whether you agree with this decision or not, you have to love this fight. Both just kept coming forward and really showed the true spirit of these fighters. Plus, I'm a huge mark for "Lights Out!"
4.) Eddie Alvarez- Everything he did was tremendous. Back flips, hooks, right cross, you name it. Alvarez is my pick for Fighter of the Year, and I look forward to his fight on New Year's Eve.
5.) BJ Penn winning Lightweight Gold- It was a one-sided beating that gave him the gold, but I believe that this was BJ gaining validation within the MMA world. He had done just about everything but win the Lightweight title, and it was a great moment to see him very emotional after winning.

TAP THAT OF THE WEEK
It's the day after Christmas, and feel the need to give all of you, a very nice belated Christmas present. Last week Gina Carano defeated Torrie Wilson. This week, I've decided that since American Gladiators was recently cancelled, we will feature Gina as Crush. Carano's challenger this week is current Maxim Magazine cover girl Hilary Duff.



As usual, if you want to pick the winner, just add a comment with the person who you want to win. Also, I want to know your Top 5 Moments Of 2008. I hope that everyone had a wonderful and safe Christmas, enjoy UFC 92 and join me next week as I hand out my 2008 Awards and take a look back at the K-1 show. Remember to support your local MMA and keep your tapping hand strong.