UFC 284 is shaping up to be one of the biggest cards in a very stacked year for the promotion. Headlining the card we have Islam Makhachev taking on Alexander Volkanovski for the lightweight title and the #1 P4P spot. As such, it is a fight card deserving of a lot of hype.
However, fans have felt that the promotion of the event has been sparse, to say the very least. UFC President Dana White has thus been criticized for focusing more on the Power Slap league, rather than the upcoming UFC event. Moreover, until very recently, the number of social media posts from the UFC for the slap league was far greater than those for UFC 284.
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As such, lightweight champ Islam Makhachev felt that more could have been done to promote the fight. Since then, Dana has come out and spoken his piece on The Jim Rome Show. “Yeah, that’s not true,” Dana said. “First of all, I’ve talked to Islam. First of all, who interviewed him? Who translated for him? I mean, the guy speaks Russian. Taken out of context.”
Dana further continues, “First of all, he lives in Dagestan. What does he know about what’s going on for the promotion of the fight? He doesn’t know anything. It’s going to be one of the top-five biggest fights of all time.” Additionally, White reveals, “This thing is trending right now to be the biggest pay-per-view event in Australia, which, it’s like six percent behind the Conor McGregor [vs. Dustin] Poirier 3 fight.”
Islam Makhachev isn't feeling the promotional hype around his champ-vs-champ fight.#UFC284 | More: https://t.co/BwFZEEaYmF pic.twitter.com/6wnAYH9k6v
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) February 2, 2023
As such, according to the UFC president, the event is on the right track to break some records. Thus, he believes that Islam’s words have been taken out of context and mistranslated. White has since rubbished the claims as well, calling it ‘ridiculous internet BS’.
UFC 284 gate set to break Conor McGregor’s record?
According to Dana White, it is most likely going to break McGregor vs Poirier 3’s record and then some. As per the projections and numbers, it is no surprise that the fight has been called “one of the top-five biggest fights ever in UFC history, as far as the gate, pay-per-view,” by White.
Dana sounds pumped about UFC 284. pic.twitter.com/7fzEDQiuxo
— Borrachinha Depot (@FullContactMTWF) February 5, 2023
For context, UFC 264: McGregor vs Poirier 3 did a total gate of $15,759,800 with 20,062 in attendance. In addition to that, the card also did 1,800,000 PPV buys making it one of the UFC’s biggest-ever PPVs. With UFC 284, we have already seen the RAC Arena in Perth, which can hold up to 15,500, sold out since November. However, it is not such a spectacular number considering UFC 243 between Israel Adesanya and Robert Whittaker had 57,127 fans in Melbourne, Australia.
Despite the lesser audience, the fight is set to bring in a substantial amount in gate revenue, thanks to the insanely high ticket prices. Although Dana believes that the pre-buys for the PPV will break the record for PPVs in Australia and New Zealand, others may be a little more hesitant. For one, the card lost one of its heavy hitters in the form of Robert Whittaker, who was set to take on Paulo Costa.
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Unfortunately, due to unsuccessful contract negotiations, Borrachinha refused to take on Whittaker in Australia. Further, the UFC also failed to replace his star power with another talent. Thus, many feel that the card drops off massively after the title and interim title fights, and may feel less tempted to tune in.
What are your thoughts on the UFC 284 card? Will the event bring a record-breaking gate and PPV buys? Do you think there has been an adequate promotion for the fight? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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