UFC Belgrade: $2.49 Million Gate, 18,623 Fans in the Arena
UFC released the official numbers: the Belgrade event brought in $2,490,023 at the gate and drew 18,623 fans, and all of that money stays with the organization.
When he sat down in front of reporters after the last fight in Belgrade Arena, Dana White first ran through the bouts he liked best that night, then gave the number. 18,623. No rounding, down to the last fan in the seats.
Until yesterday, that figure was only a guess. Everyone knew the arena had sold out, and everyone knew what the state had paid for it, but how many people actually filled the stands and how much money ended up in the till only became official once UFC released the numbers after the event.
Ticket revenue came to $2,490,023. According to the organization, that is the largest amount any single event has ever brought in at Belgrade Arena, ahead of EuroLeague nights, major competitions and the concerts that have filled the hall for years.
The event took place on Saturday, August 1, the first UFC card in Serbia, making Serbia the organization’s 33rd host country. Fourteen fights were on the card, and 12 of them ended by knockout or submission. Tickets sold out within twenty minutes of going on sale, even though the cheapest ticket cost around 100 euros, so UFC put an extra batch of tickets up for sale.
White gave the attendance number at the post fight press conference:
The best fights were Stirling, Medic and Urbina. There were 18,623 fans in the stands, we broke the Arena record. We had a lot of great moments, the most stoppages ever at a UFC event, the crowd was incredible. It was great to be here, everything was great.
The stoppages he was referring to were flares thrown from the stands, a sight he said he was seeing for the first time at a UFC event.
Who Keeps the Ticket Revenue?
The entire gate belongs to the UFC organization. Broadcast rights, sponsorships and merchandise sales are billed separately and are not part of that $2.49 million, so the real financial return of the Belgrade night for the organization is larger than the published figure. The host takes nothing from that till.
What Serbia Paid for One Night
The Government of Serbia, through the Ministry of Sport, set aside 260 million dinars, about 2,215,000 euros, to co-finance the event, according to a ministry document published on June 5. For a single night, that is more than some national federations get for an entire year:
- Basketball Federation of Serbia, 180 million dinars
- Volleyball Federation of Serbia, 170 million
- Athletics Federation, 76 million
- Swimming Federation, 37.5 million
- Gymnastics Federation, 17 million
Only the Serbian Olympic Committee received a bigger annual amount than this single evening, 280 million dinars for twelve months of work.
Placed side by side, the two figures land in the same order of magnitude. The state put in about 2.2 million euros, the organization took roughly 2.5 million dollars from the till, and that money left the country. We asked earlier by what criterion this particular event got budget funding, and no answer came from the Government.
Who Took Home the Bonuses
Money reached the fighters that night too. $100,000 bonuses went to Uros Medic, Navaho Stirling, Gilbert Urbina and Nina Nikolija Milosevic. Medic finished the main event in 30 seconds, a knockout of Daniel Rodriguez, in what was the last fight of the card.
Asked whether UFC is coming back to Belgrade, White left no room for interpretation:
This was incredible, it was already a lot for the first fights, the crowd brought it to another level. This place showed everything it was advertised to be. This is a great city, the people are great, and it met every expectation. Absolutely yes, absolutely yes, we’re coming back!
He gave no date, not even a year. The promise to return was left without a single number, unlike everything else he said that night.
Belgrade gave the organization a sold out arena, twelve fights finished before the clock ran out, and a crowd White himself called incredible. Before the next visit, something else needs settling, not whether the Arena can host UFC, because that has already been shown, but why it took 260 million dinars from the budget to make it happen.
