from mmajunkie.com:
Any doubts about the ability to draw big crowds in the Northeast will be put to rest at UFC 101.
The Aug. 8 event, set for the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, has already resulted in nearly 14,000 tickets sold and more than $3 million in sales.
UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner discussed the success of the show, headlined by UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn vs. top contender Kenny Florian, with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) on Wednesday.
The state of Pennsylvania only recently began regulating mixed martial arts, but Ratner said UFC 101 has already shattered long-standing boxing records in The Keystone State.
"We put tickets on sale, I believe sometime at the end of April or early May, and we've sold almost 14,000 tickets," Ratner said. "It's the biggest event in Pennsylvania history, as far as a live gate, already."
In addition to Penn vs. Florian, UFC 101 features an intriguing non-title bout between UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and former light-heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin at 205 pounds. Additionally, "The Ultimate Fighter 7" winner Amir Sadollah makes his long-awaited return from injuries to face Johny Hendricks.
UFC 101 will top records set by the likes of legendary boxer Jack Dempsey. In 1926 he fought former U.S. Marine Gene Tunney in Philadelphia. The event drew a staggering live attendance of 120,557, which still stands as a combat-sports record.
"We've sold over $3 million worth of tickets," Ratner said of UFC 101. "No boxing match has ever sold that much. When you go back 75 years ago, Jack Dempsey fought there (Philadelphia), and they had 100,000 people watching the fight. But tickets in those days? Maybe if you interpolated those dollars into what it's worth today, it wouldn't be there, but actual dollars - like $3.2 million - [UFC 101] is the largest gate in Pennsylvania history."
Leave a comment