So, how much did St Louis pay to bring the UFC to town?
TKO brags about how much they make but not on how much you pay.
This weekend’s UFC Fight Night saw them taking their show on the road, all the way to St. Louis, Missouri.
It wasn’t much of a show, featuring popular heavyweight headliner Derrick Lewis in a squash match.
Zane Simon summed it up better than I can:
But it’s been clear, especially over the last few years, that the base-level UFC product is not worth that kind of time and energy. This past weekend was a perfect example, with a middling KSW card looking far and away like the more interesting product on offer vs. a UFC Fight Night headlined by Derrick Lewis taking on a guy most notable for getting his nickname from Yogi Bear.
It’s the kind of non-PPV offering that’s become all too common in the ESPN era of the UFC’s product. The money is guaranteed, the contracts need to be fulfilled, that seems to be all that’s on the promotion’s radar. If fans happen to be entertained in the meantime, then that’s just a nice bonus.
Zane’s actually selling the business minds behind the UFC short.
The nice bonus was a $2.4 million dollar live gate and the likely $500k-to-$750k that the city of St. Louis and/or the state of Missouri ponied up as a “site fee” to entice the UFC to come and take their citizens’ money (more on this later).
Jed I. Goodman put the live gate in historical context:
That previous St. Louis UFC Fight Night was in January 2018 and it’s pretty eye-popping that while attendance only increased by 1/3, ticket sales revenue tripled.
I guess six years (and a considerable amount of inflation that I’m not smart enough to adjust for) have really seen the UFC grow in popularity and profitability in the Midwest.
Since I’m an asshole, I just can’t resist quoting this Clutchpoints article by Garrett Kerman who must be based in Dana White’s jock to churn out prose like this:
The echoes of a raucous crowd still reverberate through the Enterprise Center, as UFC St. Louis not only delivered an unforgettable night of fights but also etched its name into the history books as the highest-grossing UFC Fight Night event ever. The electric atmosphere, coupled with thrilling matchups and unexpected turns, solidified the event's place as a landmark moment in the sport.
…
The success of UFC St. Louis can be attributed to several factors. The matchmaking was superb, with a mix of established veterans and up-and-coming prospects, ensuring every fight had a compelling narrative. The pre-fight promotion was also effective, with a series of engaging interviews and social media campaigns generating significant buzz in the lead-up to the event.
Looking ahead, the UFC has a busy schedule planned for the remainder of the year, with several high-profile events on the horizon. However, UFC St. Louis will undoubtedly be remembered as a turning point, a night that proved the sport's continued growth and its ability to capture the imagination of fans worldwide.
JFC, I hope this kid at least got credentials and a free pass to the fights to churn out this shameless puffery.
For the record, I doubt UFC St. Louis will be remembered for much of anything unless it’s Suzanna’s withering Tweets (X’s?) about the “superb” matchmaking:
That Tweet elicited this classic response:
There was one thing that was kind of notable about the event — an increasingly rare post-fight press conference from Dana White. I’ll discuss Dana’s contribution to the discourse after the paywall.