Dana White calls Georges St. Pierre the biggest pay-per-view star in MMA 'by far'
by Geno Mrosko on Sep 22, 2011 5:10 AM EDT
in UFC News
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Brock Lesnar has headlined four UFC events and they've all drawn more than one million buys on pay-per-view (PPV). Impressive? You bet. But is he the biggest PPV star in MMA today?
Nope.
That honor goes to Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre, at least if you're asking UFC President Dana White. This despite a style of fighting that is, perhaps, the least aesthetically pleasing.
And the most sleep inducing.
What he may lack in excitement, though, he more than makes up for in charisma. There's no doubt the French-Canadian wrestler has an invisible quality that naturally draws fans in, enough that they shell out considerable amounts of coin to see him fight each time he's inside the Octagon.
While White admits "Rush" doesn't fight with the same sense of urgency he once did, he reconciles with that fact when he goes to bed on his mattress made of cash, as explained to MMA Nation:
"Does Georges St. Pierre fight like he fought back when he fought B.J. Penn the first time? No. I have nothing to do with their training or their camp or their strategy or how they fight. Let me put it to you this way: Georges St. Pierre is, by far, the biggest pay-per-view star in mixed martial arts. By far. By far. The biggest pay-per-view star. Big. By far the biggest pay-per-view star in MMA. So, for what it's worth, for people who want to say he's this or that."
It's interesting, to say the least, to hear White make such a claim, especially when the cold hard numbers simply don't back him up.
Let's look at the pay-per-view buys for the last three events headlined by each man (all numbers provided by MMAPayout's Blue Book):
St. Pierre:
Lesnar:
- UFC 121 -- 1,050,000
- UFC 116 -- 1,160,000
- UFC 91 -- 1, 010,000
These two have actually shared two separate cards, most notably the landmark UFC 100 show that drew a record 1,600,000 PPV buys.
Perhaps White is referring less to actual numbers and more to what the future may or may not hold. After all, St. Pierre is still in his prime and as healthy and unstoppable as ever. Lesnar, on the other hand, has had two separate bouts with diverticulitis, the second of which forced surgery to remove 12 inches of his colon.
Both men are in action before the year is out with "GSP" taking on Carlos Condit at UFC 137 on Oct. 29 while Lesnar will square off against Alistair Overeem at UFC 141 on Dec. 30.
Not that it will be the definitive indicator of whether or not White is correct in his assessment but whose show draws more buys? St. Pierre or Brock?
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brock's draws more
Brock and Alistair are gonna draw a lot of buys, everyone loves heavyweights. Gsp vs Diaz would have sold more than Gsp vs Condit.
“It’s interesting, to say the least, to hear White make such a claim, especially when the cold hard numbers simply don’t back him up.”
That’s because you can’t believe anything DW says nowadays. He has completely gone WWE – everything is hyperbole.
"Friends and lovers lie endlessly, caught in the web of duty. Only enemies speak the truth." - Stephen King
why geno why?
Aesthetically pleasing? Isn’t art relative? What can gsp learn from any of us internet warriors? I watch the best fighters on the planet to learn not to judge or armchair coach. People keep tuning in and he keeps winning. Don’t hate appreciate or respectfully skip his ppvs. Watching mma entertains me. A finish is impressive but so is absolute control. I personally love 25min fights because i want to watch these guys for as long as possible. I know people who complain when the main event ends in the opening minutes like they’ve been robbed or something (member mike tyson’s prime) To each his own. I admire all the fighters and don’t desire some predetermined conclusion in my minds eye. What happens happens. Dont torture yourselves by watching something you don’t like or just watch and complain on the internet wutev
by talkfight on Sep 22, 2011 9:21 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
also
he cracks me up all the time. he is so accidentally funny. Its a combination of his accent and dry personality.
GSP's charisma
Pre-fight: (Fighter X) will be my greatest ssshhhallenge. I am working to be the best fighter, and I am looking to finish ’im.
Post-fight: I apologize to my fans. I tried to finish ’im, but ’e is a very tough opponent.
When a Texan decides to take his chances, you know chances will be taken.
Not especially
I watch mma for the fights not the chin wagging. Georges generic paint by numbers interviews just get on my tits now, we’ve heard it all before, there’s never anything new or insightful. I switched off before he got the mic after the Shields fight..
GSP is funny as shit.
"It is himself that a coward abandons first, after that all other betrayals come easily."
by doonerthesooner on Sep 22, 2011 8:28 AM EDT up reply actions
sad thing is dana beleives whatever he says!
Numbers be damned.
by letstalkmma on Sep 22, 2011 5:49 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Yeah that's pretty dumb by Dana to say
The evidence clearly is pointing the other way. Anyone have a link for andersons last 3 draws
Fav fighters - machida, faber, hominick, pettis, hardy, cerrone and killer Cain
Percentages, percentages, it all comes down to percentages...
Perhaps GSP’s cut on PPV buys isn’t as big as Lesnar’s, so that would leave the UFC with a bigger chunk of the PPV revenues…
By far?
By far apparantly. Big. Big by far.
Yeah Dana, we get the point…
"We mortals are but shadows and dust..."
Arlovski : Kang : GSP : Rampage : Lytle : Huerta : Stout: Quarry : Serra : Wandy : Pulver : Alvarez : Lombard
Average PPV per Fighter
It depends on how you crunch the numbers. The total sum goes in favor of Lesnar (of course, Silva needed 12 bouts to get there and Lesnar 6).
Fighter PPV (sum) # of events
Lesnar 6045000 6
Silva 5435000 12
Liddell 4755000 8
GSP 4530000 7
Evans 4215000 7
Penn 3810000 7
Ortiz 3525000 6
Couture 3180000 6
Jackson 3115000 5
Franklin 2735000 8
Machida 2630000 5
Mir 2495000 3
Griffin 2340000 4
Hughes 1735000 4
Velasquez 1265000 2
Carwin 1160000 1
Belfort 1100000 2
Rua 1020000 2
Serra 930000 2
Florian 850000 1
Jardine 825000 2
Edgar 805000 2
Koscheck 785000 1
Shamrock 775000 1
Hardy 770000 1
Henderson 675000 2
Leites 650000 1
Nogueira 650000 2
Gracie 620000 1
Sanchez 620000 1
Sonnen 600000 1
Sylvia 540000 1
Gonzaga 520000 1
Maia 500000 1
Sobral 500000 1
Jones 445000 1
Shogun 445000 1
Lutter 400000 1
Bisbing 325000 1
Cote 300000 1
Loiseau 300000 1
CroCop 295000 1
Coleman 275000 1
Maynard 270000 1
Fitch 260000 1
Stevenson 225000 1
Alves 215000 1
Okami 200000 1
On average it is also clear that Lesnar attracts more money than GSP.
Name Total
Carwin 1160000
Lesnar 1007500
Florian 850000
Mir 831667
Koscheck 785000
Shamrock 775000
Hardy 770000
Leites 650000
GSP 647143
Velasquez 632500
Jackson 623000
Gracie 620000
Sanchez 620000
Evans 602143
Sonnen 600000
Liddell 594375
Ortiz 587500
Griffin 585000
Belfort 550000
Penn 544286
Sylvia 540000
Couture 530000
Machida 526000
Gonzaga 520000
Rua 510000
Maia 500000
Sobral 500000
Serra 465000
Silva 452917
Shogun 445000
Jones 445000
Hughes 433750
Jardine 412500
Edgar 402500
Lutter 400000
Franklin 341875
Henderson 337500
Bisbing 325000
Nogueira 325000
Loiseau 300000
Cote 300000
CroCop 295000
Coleman 275000
Maynard 270000
Fitch 260000
Stevenson 225000
Alves 215000
Okami 200000
this is far from accurate....no way KenFlo is a bigger draw than Shogun, JBJ, Hendo, etc
you have to look at the other matches on the cards too. Example, GSP has done many cards with little support, while Brock’s fight cards tend to be stacked.
"There are no pacts between lions and men."
…the French-Canadian wrestler…
If GSP is simply a wrestler now, how come his latest two fights haven’t spent more then a couple of minutes on the floor?
Sure… but that’s exactly my point… referring to GSP as a “wrestler” is just wrong. He’s a wrestler when he needs to be, and he’s a striker when he needs to be. Recently, he’s been a striker.
a mediocre one
can’t finish a one eyed rival nor finish a guy with zero striking skills.
gsp is a bore always, superb athlete, though
pride never die.
silva is a can crusher, try and deny it after wacthing this
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so not true
brock lesnar and bj penn are most selling ppv’s in the ufc..dana white is just ashamed to say their names because gsp is such a suck up frenchie and plays the “good guy” role..
He's right...
GSP is the best selling PPV star in the UFC… for the last couple of years, GSP headlines roughly 2 events per year, all at 700,000+ buys. Lesnar, while around 1M buys per event, fights a lot less frequently than GSP does…
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