MMA vs. Boxing
OfflineInteresting article discussing the gate numbers at UFC 91 and possible PPV numbers vs. boxing. Boxing always has a bigger gate it seems like, but is this because of it being a better sport or because it is more name driven? I mean if you watch a De La Hoya fight the front rows areall taken by celebraties and such, which seems like tradition more than anything. If you go to a boxing event you can also expect to pay a lot more for tickets than at a UFC main event. For example a floor level ticket for the upcoming Oscar De La Hoya vs Manny Pacquiao fight runs around $1,500 a ticket (these are sold out and I have seen ringside seats going for $16, 000 plus on line). Now the price for a ticket to UFC 92 floor level is $800 (on-line I have seen them going for $2,200) and that is within the first ten rows or so of the cage. Right now it appears that boxing is more of a spectacle with a whose who going to the fight and if you are fortunate enought to be able to sit near the ring you can get next to a big time celebrity. UFC/MMA events have not reached that distinction yet, and when you see celebrities seated at their events they may not be ringside often. Perhaps it has to do with the number of fights available that makes MMA more appealing, or the style contrast, but truthfully I hope it never gets to a place were I have to pay $16,000 for a ticket (and I am not sure if you could ever buy ringside seats to this event). Given that the UFC only comes around here once every two years I can pay the $800 to see it, despite the fact that I can sit home for $50 and watch it. Perhaps that is why MMA is growing so fast, it is more accessible to the average fan.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2008/11/18/2008-11-18_boxi...
Wardog
Comments
More accessible? I wish I could jump on my private jet every UFC event and stay in Vegas at MGM with front-row tix for 8 benjamins.
Still, I hear you. Ha ha.
-Go Habs, Go GSP!
More accessible? I wish I could jump on my private jet every UFC event and stay in Vegas at MGM with front-row tix for 8 benjamins.
Still, I hear you. Ha ha.
-Go Habs, Go GSP!
Aside from doing so few shows outside of Vegas, I meant the pricing is pretty good compaired to boxing. And of course the value is better normally in terms of the amount of fights you see (and in my biased opinion better in terms of entertainment as well.)
Wardog
More accessible? I wish I could jump on my private jet every UFC event and stay in Vegas at MGM with front-row tix for 8 benjamins.
Still, I hear you. Ha ha.
-Go Habs, Go GSP!
Actually I have never been to a big time boxing event, but in my one experience of going to see the UFC, we watched the weigh-ins live and were only a few feet from the fighters, as well as the next day of the fight we met Randy Couture, sat next to Frank Trigg (not exactly a big star, but still fun to sit by someone who has been involved with the sport for so long and in title fights) and shook hands with Rich Franklin, Gonzaga and a handful of other well known fighters. All of the guys were very personable and sincere in thier appreciation of the fans. I saw Randy (at the time of the event UFCs biggest star) probably sign 50 or more autographs + photos with a smile the whole time (this was during the preliminary fights happening). Trigg had guys coming up to him all night long and he never once turned someone away for an autograph or photo. De La Hoya is an almost infinately bigger star than Couture, so it's probably not a fair comparison, but I cannot imagine De La Hoya being that accessible towards the mass of fans like I witnessed Randy being.
BTW - our seats were $300 for the 'lower section' which is really the first level of tiered seating and not the 'floor' as 'lower' might imply to some.
For that type of accessibility alone I give the edge to MMA... a very, very fan-frienly sport.