Says the dude with the WOAT banner.
S VEGAS --
Dana White is predicting between 1 million and 1.2 million pay-per-view buys for
UFC 189. Yet, even if the UFC gets that, he joked, it might not actually make any money on the card headlined by
Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor.
"Over a million PPV buys and we'll probably break even," White said. "That's how much money we're spending. We're spending lot of money."
White unveiled the Aldo-McGregor teasers and commercials that will air globally beginning Saturday in a closed press conference Friday at MGM Grand. The spots will air during the NBA Finals and other big events worldwide. They were produced by Digital Domain, a visual arts company that has won seven Academy Awards and has done special effects for movies like Titanic, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Transformers.
"It's the most expensive commercial we've ever shot, but without a doubt the most bad ass commercial we've ever done," White said.
White said he bought eight tickets to the huge boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao earlier this month and came away disappointed -- not so much by the fight, but by the production quality. The UFC boss panned boxing for just using the fight as a money grab and not investing money back into the sport.
"A typical boxing event where you rip all the money out of it," White said. "Not only did they not have any value in the production during the show, the fight sucked. It's typical boxing. It's what they always do. They're never worried about the future of the sport."
He believes the UFC is doing that with UFC 189. White said there will be 10 more Embedded episodes leading into the card following up on the World Tour that Aldo and McGregor did in April. The World Tour Embedded did more than 13 million views, per White. There will also be a 30-minute television special that will air everywhere called Bad Blood: Aldo vs. McGregor.
White said the UFC has spent more money on media marketing on UFC 189 than any other card and he expects it to be the biggest MMA card of the year.
"What we want this to be is everything that Mayweather-Pacquiao was not," White said.
White said that early estimates have 25 percent of UFC 189 ticket sales coming from Ireland and the United Kingdom and 17 percent from Brazil. He expects to earn more than $7 million from ticket sales, which would be the UFC's best gate at MGM Grand.
where does it say
HE JOKED
There are three teaser spots the UFC and Digital Domain did for Aldo-McGregor and one larger scale commercial. They will premiere Saturday during
UFC 187.
