Brock probably tested positive.
The MMA thread
- Thread starter Fortitude
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Diaz saying that since Poirier fight is off, he wants Khabib when he's ready.
feck that. Lost his last fight and wants a title shot? Tony is now the undisputed next in line without question since Poirier is injured.
The Diaz brothers live in a world of their own. Nate is somehow convinced he brought a load of fans to the McGregor fights when as is shown it was pretty much all McGregor getting them numbers.
I don't think Khabib vs. Conor has helped Diaz's cause to be honest. The casual fans have probably moved on from the Diaz stuff and want a Khabib rematch. Everyone else wants Khabib vs. Ferguson and Conor vs whoever, I don't think it matters if it's Diaz or not.
I don't think Khabib vs. Conor has helped Diaz's cause to be honest. The casual fans have probably moved on from the Diaz stuff and want a Khabib rematch. Everyone else wants Khabib vs. Ferguson and Conor vs whoever, I don't think it matters if it's Diaz or not.
Gotta be Khabib v Ferg for me, only challenger that has earned the right... McGregor should now have to earn his chance by beating the next couple in line.
But, UFC seems to be more concerned with numbers and money, so McGregor will prob get his rematch... i'll be slightly more impressed with UFC if he doesn't
But, UFC seems to be more concerned with numbers and money, so McGregor will prob get his rematch... i'll be slightly more impressed with UFC if he doesn't
Is that a fact? Because there's a reason the Diaz fight had higher numbers than Alvarez, Aldo etc. Diaz does have a fan base.
Their thinking is very short term. If McGregor loses to Khabib again, which is a very high chance, his numbers will then plummet. Why not make him fight Diaz, Aldo or Poirier. Granted in the short term these won't make the numbers a rematch with Khabib would but building him back up against these winnable fights THEN rematching Khabib would make a much bigger profit I reckon.
You don't believe that Khabib vs Tony makes any money?...
Sports Business should not mean 'Make as much money as possible'.
Totally agree, i guess there's even a chance that the rematch might not make as high numbers with the one sided display everyone's just seen.
Personally i'd be much more excited with two match-ups of Khabib/Ferg and McGregor/Aldo
Yeah a rematch right away wouldn't make sense, neither would a fight against Holloway (if he wins against Ortega) although that's one I'd like to see.
Think it should be Khabib vs Ferguson and McGregor vs Poirier/Diaz, then winners for a title bout. Maybe even give him Barboza to gain some confidence, although not sure that would sell given he's coming off an injury and a losing streak.
You're really struggling with those first name aren't you buddy.
They can take their time with Conor. People seem to be warped by the Floyd effect where its all about that loss.
Conor has this ability to make everybody care about who he is fighting and who wins. Conor could lose v Khabib and still have the public care about a "its personal" fight against whoever is next.
I never said it was a fact in fairness.
The numbers increase is hardly huge though
Aldo vs McGregor - 1.2million
McGregor vs. Diaz - 1.317million
Ditto 2 - 1.6million
Alvarez vs. McGregor - 1.3million
McGregor vs. Khabib - rumoured to be up to 2.5million
Source: https://www.tapology.com/search/mma-event-figures/ppv-pay-per-view-buys-buyrate
I just think it's pretty obvious based on them numbers who is the A side of the fight and it's clear. So based on them numbers Conor is bringing in a bare minimum of 1.2million (and he'd probably clear 1.5 million most fights now.) I'm not claiming Diaz has 0 fans but I don't think McGregor needs him to make huge money fights, I'd say Diaz would need McGregor though. My point being I doubt Diaz vs. anyone other than McGregor does real big numbers.
Equally I think interest in him has gone down massively since he's so inactive. People have moved on from it.
Exactly - he's a chapter in McGregor's story, not a story in itself.
Wasn't saying that in an aggressive way, was literally curious.
I still think there's more to it than the numbers though. Aldo was a title fight, years in the making. Alvarez was a match where potential history could been made and again a title fight.
Diaz was a random fight for nothing but pride so think he does bring in a fair few numbers, albeit he is the B side.
Fair enough mate, no malice meant in my post either.
I think it can be interpreted a load of ways to be honest. Aldo at the time seemed the biggest fight but McGregor exploded how he did and then a lot happened. The rematch with Diaz did so well cos Conor lost the 1st one so it's how he'd come back (and he was doing ok in the fight up until losing as well.)
I guess thre's no way of proving it cos Diaz hasn't actually had a fight since McGregor which is crazy really. I just think cos he's so inactive now that some interest has gone with him a bit in all honesty. I'd imagine Conor is open to the fight and I do think it'll happen as it's winnable and there is the history.
Diaz did a good job in the build up I won't take that away from him and obviously the fight to and I'd like to see a third I just don't think either Nick or Nate help themselves with how they act really.
The Diaz brothers have always had a following but it hasn't ever translated into big numbers. Most of their high earning PPV fights happened because they fought an opponent that was a bigger draw (Conor v Nate 1 & 2, Nick v GSP, Nick v Anderson Silva) etc.
Conor is a far bigger draw than any of these guys.
Do I think it will get ZERO ppv buys ? No, I don't think that.
Do I think it will be a blockbuster PPV event ? No I don't - which is backed up by history. Khabib has never been a big PPV draw, nor has Tony. Khabib v Iaquinta drew a paltry 350k PPV buys and Ferguson v Kevin Lee drew a pathetic 200k buys. Let's assume they double those numbers and make about 700k buys if Khabib v Tony ever happens. That's would be less than the 840k that Jones v Cormier 2 got and only about 30% of the 2.5m that Conor v Khabib did.
The common denominator here is that Conor makes the UFC money, and as such, they are always going to look for creative ways to have him fight as often as possible, occasionally in lieu of more logical fights.
Diaz has a masive fan base, you should have heard the abuse I was getting from Diaz fans at UFC200 when people heard my Irish accent. 
Yeah but his fans also probably illegally stream... Hence don't move the needleDiaz has a masive fan base, you should have heard the abuse I was getting from Diaz fans at UFC200 when people heard my Irish accent.
Being a big draw is not static though. Its tied to how much you are top dog. Conor is clearly not top dog anymore. And if the Khabib fight is 2.5m then I think Khabib's draw power might be underrated while Conor's future draw power is being overrated. Conor can't sustain another loss without his peak draw power really going down.
I wonder at what point the UFC will move away from the outdated PPV system and just focus on Fightpass.
I would happily pay twice as much as I'm paying to watch everything live and in high quality.
PPV numbers in this day and age are misleading when in 4 clicks I was watching a HD stream for free. They need to get on with the times.
I would happily pay twice as much as I'm paying to watch everything live and in high quality.
PPV numbers in this day and age are misleading when in 4 clicks I was watching a HD stream for free. They need to get on with the times.
That's simply not supported by the numbers. Conor generated massive numbers before he ever became a champ against Aldo, then twice against Diaz, and again v Alvarez when he didn't hold the 155 belt. Then once again v Mayweather, who wouldn't have generated much interest if he was simply fighting another fighter in an exhibition match. Then after taking a two year break from the sport he just obliterated his own previous UFC PPV record. He draws massive numbers whether he wins, loses, or competes in another sport - the reason for this is tied to his ability to generate hype during the promotional periods, not his performance in the Octagon (which is usually very good anyway).
Yes. Although I don't have it, the WWE Network seems to have done it right.
I don't think enough people would subscribe if they went to fight pass only. It would also completely disrupt their current PPV points system that they use to lure in and pay top fighters like McGregor and a few others. If these fighters are making 10-20m per fight (up to 50m in Conor's case last weekend) they are not going to suddenly accept smaller wages, so ultimately the UFC are in a bind where they have to continue with PPV and augment their income with as many sponsorship deals as possible.
I think you are clearly underestimating Khabib and Mayweather's draw power on those numbers and again, just assuming that Conor will always just keep his peak draw power irrespective of whether he wins or loses which doesn't really make sense. Before his fight with Aldo, which really elevated his reputation, he was below Rousey in draw power. Rousey was hitting some bigger numbers before her loss. So I don't think these big numbers are all 'Conor effect'. I think UFC marketing has something to do with it considering Rousey's numbers.
So I predict Khabib is going to be a bigger draw than you are guessing and Conor is going to start falling back to Mendes-Aldo range numbers for his next 2 fights rather than his peak number vs. Khabib. And he has to win his next two to remain viable as a top draw which I question his ability to do.
According to your logic, Amanda Nunes must be a big draw by now, and her fight vs Cyborg gonna draw Ronda Rousey numbers.
Khabib doesn’t have draw power. He never has. Beating Conor will raise his profile on the PPV pecking order but it won’t be enough for the UFC to prioritize him over the likes of Conor. If Jones v DC 2 only draws 840k and a non belt holding Conor draws in 2.5m, then guess who gets prioritized for the next big fight.
Nunes is probably the worst draw among the current belt holders. Her last fight v Sheva got abysmal numbers.
yep, and no matter how good or dominant she might be, she will never get numbers close to Ronda Rousey numbers. Same goes for Khabib, Tony, Woodley, etc.
What about keeping PPV Alongside fight pass like WWE and allowing fighters to have sponsors again. That would be better no?
Ideally they will move to larger venues where they can make more money at the gate, which would then slightly alleviate the need to make massive PPV numbers to stay afloat. If they then combined that with more fight pass subs and sponsorship money then that may be a temporary solution until a longer term one can be sorted out.
Your posts rely on the premise that draw power never changes. Like I said we'll see what happens.
His next match with Diaz or Poirer or whoever they give him will IMO be around 800K to 1.2M. What is your prediction? Then we can place our gentleman bet and wait and see.
Khabib drawing power will go up a lot after this. So many people are talking about him around the world.
Plus he'll have a massive followingg of Russians and Muslims.
Whether that group buys PPVs or not is another matter.
Plus he'll have a massive followingg of Russians and Muslims.
Whether that group buys PPVs or not is another matter.
If Twitter is a good measure of this, then I'd say his profile has risen a hundred fold with the umma.
Great news. The first fight is probably my favourite UFC fight of all time.
Anyone being lined up to step in for Poirier?
I never said draw power never changes, in fact I just made a post indicating Khabib will move up the PPV pecking order after last weekend. There is however a massive difference between a fighter going from 300 to 600k draw power, with the 1.5 to 2.5 range that Conor has been drawing. Let’s assume for the sake of argument that Conor’s loss results in smaller numbers for his next fight to where instead of drawing 2m PPVs he now draws 1.5m . That’s still a massive amount more than what Khabib will draw. So the question you then have to ask yourself is “would the UFC like an event to bring in $40m or $100” ? The answer is pretty obvious especially when you back test the UFC’s historical behavior about privileging money fights over all else.
Doesn't look like it at the moment, Diaz wants Khabib next.
Doesn't look like it at the moment, Diaz wants Khabib next.
Nate has apparently run out of cash to fund his bong parties in Cabo.