UFC had a "record-setting year" of PPV sales in '16, but with the outfit's "biggest names maybe only fighting twice this year, it is going to be a true test to see how many people are drawn in for PPVs" in '17, according to sources cited by Brandon Wise of CBSSPORTS.com. UFC last year generated 8.37 PPV million buys for 13 cards -- an average of 644,000 per show. While that is up from '15 (550,000 buys for 13 cards), it is a "bit misleading." The five PPVs in '16 involving Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey and UFC 200 "all did over 1 million buys," but five other PPVs "did less than 250,000." That is "not a great indicator" for '17. McGregor is "on the shelf until at least May" and Rousey is now on a "two-fight losing streak and nobody is quite sure what her next move will be." There also "isn't a '200'-type card to build around" (CBSSPORTS.com, 1/23).
CUT MAN: MMAFIGHTING.com's Shaun Al-Shatti noted former UFC play-by-play announcer Mike Goldberg on Monday spoke "publicly for the first time since his departure." Goldberg said that he was "stunned to learn of the UFC's decision to not renew his contract." Goldberg: "It was a shock. I was speechless. I didn't know what type of emotion to have." Al-Shatti noted the dismissal of Goldberg, who was "one of the last remaining figures within the UFC to pre-date the Zuffa era," was "not an isolated incident." A "myriad of high-and low-level UFC employees have either left the company or been laid off" since the UFC was acquired by WME-IMG. Goldberg said that he "did not ask the UFC why it was letting him go after initially being offered no reason behind the move." Goldberg: "I’m no different than the guy in merchandise, or the 15 vice presidents who got let go, or the entire team in Canada that was shut down." He added, "I’m the one being talked about because I had the high-profile job, but I’m not going to sit here and weep" (MMAFIGHTING.com, 1/24).
