White Disappointed By Attendance For UFC 102 At The Rose Garden

Saturday's UFC 102 At Rose Garden In Portland Drew 16,088 Fans, $1.92M Gate

The 16,088 fans and $1.92M gate for Saturday's UFC 102 at the Rose Garden "were a slight disappointment," as UFC is "used to jaw-dropping, record-setting attendance marks," according to John Morgan of MMAJUNKIE.com. The gate total was the UFC's "smallest reported U.S.-based pay-per-view event figure since March's 'UFC 96: Jackson vs. Jardine' event netted only" $1.8M. UFC President Dana White following the event said that he felt the organization "dropped the ball by over-pricing tickets in the struggling Portland market." White added that he is "disappointed the event didn't break the venue's gate record," and he "blames his company's pricing structure for the shortfall." White: "I'm a little disappointed that we missed the mark on this thing. I think as great as we did, we could have done better. ... I've got this thing priced, ticket-wise, for the same price I've got L.A. priced for. (Expletive) stupid. We messed up here. I'm a little bummed out about that." White said that he "understands that entering new markets may force the UFC to lower some of its ticket prices in an effort to entice potential buyers," but he "insists that cut in price won't reflect a drop in talent on the events." And though the Rose Garden "might not have been full," White said that he was "amazed by the noise produced" by the crowd. White: "I've been to a lot of loud UFC fights. That was like concert loud" (MMAJUNKIE.com, 8/30).