Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal appears have to been a financial disaster.
Five years removed from their BMF title clash under the UFC banner, Diaz and Masvidal ran it back inside the squared circle on July 6 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Their 10-round scrap was an entertaining affair that ultimately saw the ‘Stockton Samurai’ score a majority decision victory over Masvidal.
Unfortunately, nobody paid to see it.
“It did horrible on pay-per-view, it did TNA numbers,” Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer reported. “I’m not exaggerating. I knew it would not do well, but I was absolutely stunned how poorly it did. Nobody bought the fight. People are sick of seeing MMA fighters boxing” (h/t BJPenn.com).
For reference, TNA wrestling’s PPV numbers range anywhere from 5,000 to 60,000. If those numbers prove to be true, it’s safe to say that Fanmio’s venture into combat sports pay-per-view is an unmitigated disaster.
Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal scored a solid $1.25 million gate in Anaheim
It wasn’t all bad news for Fanmio as the event hosted a sell-out crown of 18,040 per a post-fight press release, generating a solid $1.25 million gate according to the California State Athletic Commission.
Unfortunately, that’s not going to be anywhere close to what they allegedly promised to pay Nate Diaz for his participation in the evening’s headliner.
Less than two weeks removed from the fight, Diaz filed a lawsuit against Fanmio and CEO Solomon Engel for fraud and breach of contract, claiming that he is still owed 90% of a promised $10 million purse.
Engel has since released a statement responding to the allegations and Diaz’s lawsuit.
As of this writing, official pay-per-view numbers for the event have not been released to the public.