Bellator NYC Tanks At Box Office
The early estimated PPV (pay-per-view) numbers for Bellator NYC are in.
Dave Meltzer of MMA Fighting is reporting that the early estimates look to be in the 90,000 to 130,000 buy range. This has to be a disappointing number for Bellator President Scott Coker and Viacom.
Unfortunately, these numbers are long the same lines as the first Bellator pay-per-view event that took place in 2014 and was headlined by Rampage Jackson vs. King Mo Lawal. That fight was a grudge match.
Bellator NYC: Sonnen vs. Silva took place on Saturday, June 24, 2017, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The promotion decided to call the PPV portion of the event Bellator NYC while the preliminary portion of the event was titled Bellator 180.
Bellator NYC was headlined by Chael Sonnen and Wanderlei Silva. In the co-main event, MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko took on former UFC heavyweight Matt Mitrione. Rounding out the main card was Michael Chandler defending his lightweight title as well as Douglas Lima defending his welterweight title against new free-agent acquisition Lorenz Larkin, and Aaron Pico vs. Zach Freeman in a lightweight bout.
This was easily the most star studded event that Bellator has ever booked. From top to bottom, this card was stacked. Even though Sonnen and Silva are past their primes, it could be argued that they would’ve drawn very well on Spike TV.
Before the event, Coker came out and stated that they hoped to get to 200,000 buys. Following the event, David Schwarz of Spike TV talked of the Madison Square Garden event as a major success.
“I can say we are all very pleased with everything from the Bellator PPV – that, of course, includes the record gate, record domestic attendance, strong numbers for Bellator 180 and great exposure for the brand, and great momentum as we plan our next PPV. Details coming.”
Although Bellator did announce that the first PPV in 2014 did just over 100,000 buys, Schwarz said that Viacom company policy would not allow a release of the official numbers for Bellator NYC.
