# When did the UFC become mainstream?



## Fade (Dec 12, 2010)

I was watching BJ Penn vs Matt Hughes at UFC 46, this was like in 2004. And on the commentary Joe Rogan was saying how its huge for a sponsor like Miller Light to be sponsoring the UFC and that it only survived because of the internet and the PPV's.
And that when it takes off onto regular TV's people will see how exciting it is and it'll take off.
Well I guess Rogan called it.
Around that time a typical PPV had a buyrate of 80,000.
Now its incredibly rare for a PPV to have anything less than a buyrate of 300,000.
So, wise Joe, you definetly called it.
Discuss.:thumb02:


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## vilify (Mar 23, 2010)

Tuf 1


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## NikosCC (May 16, 2007)

^ What he said


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## Sambo de Amigo (Sep 24, 2010)

vilify said:


> Tuf 1


/Thread.


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## ACTAFOOL (Dec 10, 2008)

wow, i knew tuf 1 was what exploded MMA into mainstream but the regular PPV buyrates were only 80K before that?? that was the biggest numbers? thats shockingly low!

damn, if this is a fact then forrest really doesnt get the credit that he deserves, looks like he was the real 1st mma guy to become a huge star, if all lidell, couture, and penn were pulling in is 80k:confused03:

thats crazy what 1 fight can do


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## Spec0688 (Sep 9, 2007)

The UFC will never cut Bonner or Forrest no matter how bad they start doing, that fight they had was the one that helped make that extra push into mainstream.


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## 420atalon (Sep 13, 2008)

Mainstream? Around 2009 or so I would say. This is when the UFC started to really expand and started to get recognition world wide and actually be followed by major sports networks etc.

TUF 1 in 2005 was definitely the turning point for the UFC and gained a ton of fans but for a few years it was still not really considered a sport but instead just fights. The TUF series during this time and the free events on spike continued to help the UFC grow and eventually we started getting recognition as a sport.

It is truly amazing to look back and think about what the UFC has done in the last 6 years. Single handedly they have turned MMA from fight nights to a sport. They have passed boxing, WWE etc for popularity and PPV sales and have started to take their shows around the world.


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## Spec0688 (Sep 9, 2007)

420atalon said:


> Mainstream? Around 2009 or so I would say. This is when the UFC started to really expand and started to get recognition world wide and actually be followed by major sports networks etc.
> 
> TUF 1 in 2005 was definitely the turning point for the UFC and gained a ton of fans but for a few years it was still not really considered a sport but instead just fights. The TUF series during this time and the free events on spike continued to help the UFC grow and eventually we started getting recognition as a sport.
> 
> It is truly amazing to look back and think about what the UFC has done in the last 6 years. Single handedly they have turned MMA from fight nights to a sport. They have passed boxing, WWE etc for popularity and PPV sales and have started to take their shows around the world.


In 2006 the UFC started putting in big ppv numbers with some of them even getting near the 700k mark, that feat is hard enough right now with the UFC being as popular as it is.


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## dudeabides (Sep 30, 2008)

Mainstream...












Too Mainstream...


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## 420atalon (Sep 13, 2008)

Spec0688 said:


> In 2006 the UFC started putting in big ppv numbers with some of them even getting near the 700k mark, that feat is hard enough right now with the UFC being as popular as it is.


As I stated, a lot of fans were gained after TUF 1 and over the next while with the free TUF shows and events on spike. There were a lot of new fans that were drawn to MMA from these shows, I for one was one of the many.

When I think mainstream I think of it being considered it to be widely recognized and followed not just have a decent following. After TUF 1 the UFC was still considered by many to be glorified bar/street fights, major networks didn't cover it and lots of people considered you to be something of an animal if you were a huge fan of it. That view has changed immensely in the last few years because the UFC has gone from cage brawling to mainstream sport. Its cool to be a UFC fan now and everyone has heard of it and most watch at least the odd event. 

PPV numbers haven't increased drastically since 2006 but the average rate has increased even though both the price and number of events has increased. This is even more impressive when you consider the difference in economy from 2006 to now. In 2006 most places were booming, people could afford to buy the events quite comfortably, now we are recovering from a recession. Lots of people are having trouble finding work, it is harder to get loans and many are living on much tighter budgets and $55 for an event seems expensive unless it is fighters that you really enjoy watching. 

TUF 1 was the turning point for the UFC/MMA. I don't consider it to be the point where the UFC became mainstream though. It could have easily continued to be an attraction to those in Vegas and having decent buyrates, but instead they decided to try and become a worldwide sport, something that imo has only really began to happen over the past couple years.


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## ACTAFOOL (Dec 10, 2008)

420atalon said:


> As I stated, a lot of fans were gained after TUF 1 and over the next while with the free TUF shows and events on spike. There were a lot of new fans that were drawn to MMA from these shows, I for one was one of the many.
> 
> When I think mainstream I think of it being considered it to be widely recognized and followed not just have a decent following. After TUF 1 the UFC was still considered by many to be glorified bar/street fights, major networks didn't cover it and lots of people considered you to be something of an animal if you were a huge fan of it. That view has changed immensely in the last few years because the UFC has gone from cage brawling to mainstream sport. Its cool to be a UFC fan now and everyone has heard of it and most watch at least the odd event.
> 
> ...


awesome post, agree 100%...the UFC now is so huge all over the world, i doubt in 2006 they could be doing shows all over the world and would sell out arenas as fast as they do now

to develop a solid fanbase of about 1 million ppl is VERY hard but its possible, but once that happens i dont think it means you are really mainstream, hell even TNA (wrestling company) gets that kind of rating and they are considered to be obscure

so UFC had the buyrates but they didnt have the recognition from every1 not only in the US but all around the world, now ESPN covers them (not as much as they should)

they also got nomitaded for fastets growing sport this year? or something like that...

even here in brazil after the anderson vs vitor fight MMA is becoming more of a sport than just a cage fight

so i also think UFC really became huge and mainstream in 09...maybe 08? im not sure how big it was in the US before that but i think only up until 09 did the UFC start exploding globally:confused02:


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## Fade (Dec 12, 2010)

ACTAFOOL said:


> wow, i knew tuf 1 was what exploded MMA into mainstream but the regular PPV buyrates were only 80K before that?? that was the biggest numbers? thats shockingly low!
> 
> damn, if this is a fact then forrest really doesnt get the credit that he deserves, looks like he was the real 1st mma guy to become a huge star, if all lidell, couture, and penn were pulling in is 80k:confused03:
> 
> thats crazy what 1 fight can do


It wasnt an average, some PPV's had half that, some had a few thousand more, but it was incredibly rare for it to suprass 95,000. And by rare I mean, maybe one event has done it. UFC 46 had 2 championship bouts and only sold 80,000 though. With 2 championship bouts now, it would sell easily over 500,000+.


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## Cassanova (Dec 5, 2007)

Fade said:


> I was watching BJ Penn vs Matt Hughes at UFC 46, this was like in 2004. And on the commentary Joe Rogan was saying how its huge for a sponsor like Miller Light to be sponsoring the UFC and that it only survived because of the internet and the PPV's.
> And that when it takes off onto regular TV's people will see how exciting it is and it'll take off.
> Well I guess Rogan called it.
> Around that time a typical PPV had a buyrate of 80,000.
> ...


Wow that is so weird. I was just watching this fight this weekend as well and I thought the exact same thing when Joe Rogan said that. I got a DVD of that UFC event from a radio station that was giving away random things at an event last week. Anyways, it's crazy to think how much has changed in a short amount of time. 

Oh also funny from that DVD is Joe Rogan with black eyes saying he got it from playing hopscotch lol.


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## Sicilian_Esq (Sep 7, 2008)

when Anderson Silva started doing McDonald's commercials. 

Dun un dun Dunt Dunnnn... I'm lovin' it.


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## Kreed (Feb 5, 2007)

Is ufc mainstream? sure its come a long way from the bareknuckle fighting days but I wouldnt call where they are at today "mainstream".. If they were mainstream, MMA wouldnt have trouble gettin legalized in ny/connecticut.The coverage it gets on espn is also not befitting of the best MMA org in the world..I dont live in the states so maybe someone that does can answer this, does the ufc get ad spots on any of the major networks?


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## 420atalon (Sep 13, 2008)

Kreed said:


> Is ufc mainstream? sure its come a long way from the bareknuckle fighting days but I wouldnt call where they are at today "mainstream".. If they were mainstream, MMA wouldnt have trouble gettin legalized in ny/connecticut.The coverage it gets on espn is also not befitting of the best MMA org in the world..I dont live in the states so maybe someone that does can answer this, does the ufc get ad spots on any of the major networks?


It does in Canada. One of the major sports networks actually shows the free events like fight nights and TUF episodes on one of their channels.

It still has room to grow but the events do finally get advertised now and there are discussions about it now. You used to be lucky if you could find the results from the event the night before.


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## Kreed (Feb 5, 2007)

420atalon said:


> *It does in Canada.* One of the major sports networks actually shows the free events like fight nights and TUF episodes on one of their channels.
> 
> It still has room to grow but the events do finally get advertised now and there are discussions about it now. You used to be lucky if you could find the results from the event the night before.


Oh I know Canada would, I think even wrestling gets ads in primetime spots, no? They love their sports entertainment those crazy canucks


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## LL (Mar 12, 2011)

The Ultimate Fighter was the beginning and probably the most pivotal part.

But Chuck Liddell and Brock Lesnar made MMA truely mainstream.


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## TraMaI (Dec 10, 2007)

vilify said:


> Tuf 1












Owned.


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## out 4 the count (Oct 13, 2008)

> UFC 100 - 1,720,000 (Lesnar vs. Mir II) - new record
> UFC 99 - 360,000 (Franklin vs. W. Silva)
> UFC 98 - 635,000 (Evans vs. Machida)
> UFC 97 - 625,000 (A. Silva vs. Leites)
> ...


Just googled UFC PPV buy rates and found that on Sherdog. Quite interesting!

UFC 52 was the UFC after the epic Bonnar/Griffin fight, I think anyway - correct me if I'm wrong.

You can see how quickly they started getting bigger PPVs after though.


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## METALLICA_RULES (Feb 12, 2011)

It didn't make the UFC fully mainstream, but UFC 40 might have just kept the UFC in business.


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## AlphaDawg (Nov 16, 2009)

When Brock Lesnar showed up.


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## SmackyBear (Feb 14, 2008)

Just like some others in this thread, I'd argue that they're still not really mainstream, though they have developed good fan bases in North America and abroad. It's almost completely ignored by American sports networks like ESPN, still doesn't have a broadcast network deal, a large section of the populous doesn't understand what it is, and the sport is either banned or unsanctioned in three states with athletic commissions.

But TUF was so clearly the UFC's financial turning point, there's no argument against it. Though it did take several seasons to really explode financially. The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale was in April 2005, and 2005 was a great year for them, their PPV numbers more than doubled. But 2006 was a real windfall year with their PPV numbers more than quintupled from their already record 2005, as the coaches for the first few seasons became big draws.

This is from a speadsheet I made off of numbers from Dave Metzler. They're pretty much the same as the ones posted by out 4 the count, though some near the end of his list have changed a bit, likely as estimates got refined.

2002: 6 PPVs

63,333 average buys; 47,500 median buys; 380,000 total buys


2003: 5 PPVs

55,600 average; 49,000 median; 278,000 total


2004: 5 PPVs

83,000 average; 80,000 median; 415,000 total


2005: 6 PPVs

158,333 average; 137,500 median; 950,000 total


2006: 10 PPVs

526,000 average; 462,500 median; 5,260,000 total


2007: 11 PPVs

444,091 average; 425,000 median; 4,885,000 total


2008: 12 PPVs

530,000 average; 500,000 median; 6,360,000 total


2009: 13 PPVs

619,615 average; 500,000 median; 8,055,000 total


2010: 15 PPVs

620,333 average; 520,000 median; 9,305,000 total


Just to show how much some of the coaches blew up:

Chuck v. Randy I - 49,000 buys in June 2003

Chuck v. Randy II - 280,000 (then almost double the previous UFC record) in April 2005, immediately after TUF 1

Chuck v. Randy III - 400,000 (beating their own record, though by the end of the year, it was a below average PPV buyrate) in February 2006.

Chuck v. Tito I - 105,000 in April 2004

Chuck v. Tito II - 1,050,000 in December 2006.


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## Syxx Paq (Feb 19, 2010)

Tuf 1 really helped get them noticed into the large media, but i think it was actually Brock that made them huge. Brock was the first sort of outsider to MMA to give it a shot, before kimbo or toney. His success is quite important in that he was a huge star before he came to MMA, and winning the heavyweight title, I mean his PPV sales speak for themselves.


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## GlasgowKiss (Sep 18, 2010)

> UFC 48 - 110,000 (Shamrock vs. Kimo)


Can't be bothered looking up the rest of the card, but that seems like a ridiculous buyrate in relative terms. More than Ortiz/Liddell and the highest since UFC 40 ?!?

Also...



> UFC 59 - 415,000 (Tito vs. Griffin)
> UFC 58 - 290,000 (Franklin vs Loiseau)
> UFC 57 - 400,000 (Couture vs Liddell III) - new record


Shouldn't 59 be a 'new record' as well ?


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## UKMMAGURU (Nov 15, 2009)

GlasgowKiss said:


> Can't be bothered looking up the rest of the card, but that seems like a ridiculous buyrate in relative terms. More than Ortiz/Liddell and the highest since UFC 40 ?!?
> 
> Also...
> 
> ...


I may be wrong, but i think at that time Ken Shamrock was just returning to MMA after a couple of years in the WWF and was big draw because of that.


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## vilify (Mar 23, 2010)

AlphaDawg said:


> When Brock Lesnar showed up.


In your world


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