Earlier today I was asked by a co-worker if they were only able to pay for one of UFC’s two remaining pay-per-view cards in 2008 which they should drop the $45 on. I spent a bit of time trying to figure out the best way to look at making such a determination. I decided though, that I’d present him with a bit of a creative “BloodyElbow-esque” way to decide.
So I took a look at both cards and a look at our most recent meta-rankings to figure out which card would deliver the most bang for the buck.
Format below is Fighter Name (Points in latest BE Meta-Rankings). Card listings based off of MMAWeekly’s rumor section
UFC 91
-Randy Couture (303) vs. Brock Lesnar (98) – Total: 401 (difference of 205 pts)
-Gabriel Gonzaga (298) vs. Josh Hendricks – Total: 298
-Joe Stevenson (153) vs. Kenny Florian (289) – Total: 442 (difference of 136)
-Demian Maia (90) vs. Nate Quarry – Total: 90
-Amir Sadollah vs. Nick Catone
-Dustin Hazelett vs. Tamdan McCrory
-Jeremy Stephens vs. Rafael dos Anjos
-Alvin Robinson vs. Mark Bocek
-Jorge Gurgel vs. Aaron Riley
Total Show Points – 1231 – 27 Points per dollar
UFC 92
-Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (431) vs. Frank Mir (174) – Total: 605 (difference of 257)
-Forrest Griffin (417) vs. Rashad Evans (372) – Total: 789 (difference of 45)
-Quinton Jackson (399) vs. Wanderlei Silva (328) – Total: 727 (difference of 71)
-Mustapha Al-Turk vs. Cheick Kongo (113) – Total: 113
-C.B. Dollaway vs. Mike Massenzio
-Yushin Okami (328) vs. Dean Lister – Total: 328
-Matt Hamill (56) vs. Reese Andy – Total: 56
-Ryo Chonan vs. Brad Blackburn
-Antoni Hardonk vs. Mark Burch
-Pat Barry vs. Dan Evensen
Total Show Points – 2618 – 58 Points per dollar
So…after taking a look at both shows I think it’s pretty obvious where the heavy amount of value is at. Not that this is shocking to anyone who has been paying attention, but UFC 92 is one of the most important (in terms of upper level rankings) shows of the last year.
Obviously what is getting left out here is the atmosphere that will exist for a fight like Couture/Lesnar where the crowd will add to the enjoyment of a show tremendously. But, if I only had $45 left in my PPV budget for the remainder of 2008, I’d certainly be spending it on UFC 92.