Will Viacom pull the plug?

On future PPV's or even Bellator itself if the PPV doesn't produce the numbers?


Bellator's November 2 pay-per-view could be a major bust if a recent report that they've sold less than 2,000 tickets is accurate.

Bellator's first pay-per-view effort was promoted with a sort of pro-wrestling spin originally (and via actual pro wrestling later), with a sort of false fight between Rampage Jackson and Roy Jones Jr. leaked to the media before the surprise appearance of Tito Ortiz to announce that he would be the one taking on Rampage. Setting aside that both men are shells of the great fighters they once were, it was a kind of masterful moment that created a rare kind of buzz in the industry. After all, how often are media reports that wrong and a PPV main event hidden well enough that a shock announcement makes it all the way to TV?

But the reality is that the main event is Tito vs. Rampage at least five years too late. And, while there are compelling undercard fights, they're fights with fighters that people expect to be able to see for free, not top drawing PPV talents. Bellator doesn't have the established brand to where they can get away with throwing those guys on a PPV the same way as the UFC. And one of their key attempts to sell the fight was a string of appearances on TNA wrestling for Tito and Rampage that even I (an admitted pro-wrestling fan) couldn't find as anything other than embarrassing.

And if the PPV news is likely to be bad, John Morgan of MMA Junkie tweeted over the weekend that the live gate numbers aren't better:

John Morgan @MMAjunkieJohn

Just received word that Bellator's PPV event has sold approximately 1,700 tickets so far, with another 2,000 on consignment.
10:45 PM - 11 Oct 2013

Certainly on future PPVs, but doubtful on Bellator IMO. They pull well enough on Spike

The bottom line is there is simply too much MMA on these days (a lot of it for free) for a promotion besides the UFC to be putting on PPVs. They just aren't going to do anything

The PPV thing isn't confirmed to be anything other then a one-off event at the moment anyways, Viacom isn't getting rid of MMA yet.