Affliction Done (updated 1/29: Atencio: Reports Untrue)

I took this thread from Sherdog, was wondering if anyone here caught it.

http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f61/tom-atencio-announced-attendance-13-228-a-906987/

Fedor to the UFC, finally !?

 

Re: Affliction Done?

I find it hard to believe after all the shit Atencio's been talking this month. Of course they've been hemorrhaging money but he wanted to put on three more shows this year. I thought the partnership with Trump & Golden Boy was going to alleviate some of their debt?

Hopefully it isn't true.

 

Re: Affliction Done?

Early rumours suggest that Affliction sold under 5,000 tickets and comped over 10,000, meaning their live gate will be paltry (compared to UFC & boxing).

 

Re: Affliction Done?

I believe Metzger came back and said they did pass 100k.

There are also reports that Affliction paid Oscar De La Hoya $5 million to be there instead of the Sugar Shane Mosley fight. They mentioned this on the HBO Boxing broadcast. I think they exaggerated a little.

 

Re: Affliction Done?

Yeah, sounds dubious, I know. Secondhand rumour. Last time they sold about 10,000 tickets but a large portion were discounted at the last minute.

Regardless, just to cover the fighter salaries they'd have to do a big gate plus well over 100k PPV buys. Even then that wouldn't cover expenses, insurance, the venue, etc., etc..

Either way they aren't doing business in a good way.

My friend told me in amazement the other day that there were $80 t-shirts at an MMA club he went to in town. They weren't marked so he asked the guy how much they were and thought the guy said $18. But I guess Ed Hardy shirts are hella expensive too so it depends on whether you wear a nice shirt with a collar when you go out, or if you wear an expensive t-shirt instead. Personally I think they (and Ed Hardy, and the other various MMA shirts) look like someone spilled ink on them but to each his own I guess. Affliction must make at least 900% profit on those.

 

Re: Affliction Done?

Also, Larry Merchant is an enormous MMA hater (along with Jim Lampley). Merchant's claim might be true but it would be hard to pin down an exact number considering that Afflicion is involved with Golden Boy promotions as well. They have a give-and-take relationship. I wouldn't put it past Merchant to say anything to disrespect MMA.

 

Re: Affliction Done?

Merchant is the drunk, right? I haven't watched boxing on HBO in forever. Merchant is the old dude who always slurs his words?

I didn't believe the $5 million comment, but I wouldn't be surprised if they paid him at least $1 million to show up.

Like speeds said, Affliction just isn't doing good business. They'll be out of promotion by year's end if they keep paying their fighters an absurd amount. I just don't see how they can stay in business. When they're paying out way more than they make.

 

Re: Affliction Done?

Merchant is a wine steward--the guy knows his booze. He always seems tipsy, which might contribute to his long-wided, confrontational interview style. I used to like him but now I find his routine a bit tiresome, especially when Max Kellerman is so good but underutilized because of Merchant's presence.

 

Re: Affliction Done?

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=nq96n8ai1xM

 

Re: Affliction Done?

So a follow up on the ticket sales.

Supposedly you could buy blocks of ten seats together as late as two weeks prior to the event in every section.

Bloody Elbow is speculating that Affliction discounted tickets at the window, which was expected, but also that they may have purchased a substantial amount of their own tickets in order to pump up the live gate and appear more successful.

Still no official word on tickets sold, though the numerical answer will probably be less than the whole picture.

 

Re: Affliction Done?

Yeah, Affliction has declined to release official PPV buy numbers, as UFC usually does, but even generous estimates say Atencio's claim of over 100,000 PPV buys is an exaggeration. Dave Meltzer seems to put a cap on them at 85,000, and that's being generous. Less was made of this (delayed) event so odds are it was smaller. Even 85,000 PPV buys would only generate a revenue of about $2,000,000, which is obviously far less than they require to pay down just the fighter salaries. Last show the rumour is that 1/4 tickets sold were sold to Affliction in addition to the 4500 or so that were comp'd.

 

Re: Affliction Done?

Affliction Taking Break After 3rd Show

http://forums.mmanews.com/general-mma-forum/33696-affliction-announces-break-after-3rd-show.html

No direct link to an interview I could find. But here is another rumor.

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2009/1/29/740362/affliction-is-done

That is what happens when you don't know how to run a business. What fucking idiots, I can't believe they didn't manage their money better.

Fedor, Arlovski, Barnett, all to the UFC please.

 

Re: Affliction Done (updated 1/29: Break After 3rd Show)

http://mmajunkie.com/news/13866/tom-atencio-rumors-of-impending-demise-a-complete-lie.mma

 

Whether or not they are able to put on a third show their business model is heavily flawed. The company has no long term agenda. As Atencio said, he likes to take it one fight at a time. That's dumb. That's living hand to mouth. Unless they have some kind of plan for the future they might as well stop now and save themselves the five or six million they'll lose next time out. You've got to think they can only dip into the T-shirt revenue so many times before it starts to drag that part of the business down, too.