The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Ultimate Fight Night at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, NV drew 929 paid and with comps a crowd of 2,470.
While it was reported live on the show that it drew a sellout of 3,000 fans, even with free tickets, the show did not sellout its allotted 2,950 seats in the arena.
UFC has a history of doing good live business, especially in Las Vegas, but these numbers come as a large disappointment. Without a marquee match, the show did both disappointing live numbers and television rating. The last SpikeTV live special on April 9 drew a sellout crowd at the same venue, although high ticket prices necessitated significant paper (2,171 free tickets).
The live gate for this show, due to the lower ticket prices, is $130,410, down from $180,950 for the Ultimate Fighter Finale. The show won’t come close to breaking even, as the fighter earnings, according to figures from the Nevada State Athletic Commission, amounted to $139,000.
