Hey, remember last week when UFC President Dana White sent Alistair Overeem to the UFC 225 preliminary card because WWE import CM Punk was such a huge pay-per-view (PPV) draw and “The Reem” was not?
If not, let me refresh your memory.
“Listen, when Alistair Overeem sells as many pay-per-views as CM Punk does, we can argue,” White told reporters at last week’s UFC 225 media day.
According to a report from the L.A. Times, UFC 225 drew less than 150,000 PPV buys, which puts the Robert Whittaker vs. Yoel Romero-led fight card in the dreaded “Mighty Mouse” category in terms of overall return.
Overeem, meanwhile, had the highest-rated fight on the UFC 225 “Prelims” on FOX Sports 1.
The hulking Dutchman also had the highest-trafficked post right here on MMAmania.com, thanks to a brutal knockout loss to Curtis Blaydes in the third and final round (watch it).
No telling why UFC 225 was a bust. I’m sure the fact that Romero missed weight and changed his “Reaper” fight to a non-title affair didn’t help, and let’s remember the Aussie is not exactly a household name in the United States, having been out of action since last July — when he and “Soldier of God” also failed to break the 150k mark at UFC 213.
At least we now know how much Colby Covington’s trash talk can move the needle.
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