Lorenzo Fertitta spoke to the press in New York. Photo: Disclosure
The statement by Ultimate CEO Lorenzo Ferritta, this Thursday (21), about the number of events that the organization will promote next year caught many people by surprise. During a press conference in New York (USA), Fertitta stated that there would be 54 fight nights in 2014, more than one a week. Shortly afterwards, in an interview with the “MMA Fighting” website, the manager went back and set a lower, and much more plausible, number.
“Did I say 54? There won't be that many. I think I said it wrong. We will stay in the forties”, explained Fertitta. The leader also spoke about planning for these events. “We are trying to expand our Fight Night product. At the lowest level, we have The Ultimate Fighter, which we will take all over the world. (…) This is our base. At the top of the pyramid are our events premium, which are the numbered ones, the pay per view, and in the middle of the pyramid we have the UFC Fight Night brand, which is distinct because it usually features two high-ranking fighters in the main events, the result has real meaning in their journey to the belt, and the balance of the card is made with good fights and rising talents. (…) We’re going to do fights in these different regions, and when we add to the 33 we did this year, we’ll reach the 40 or so we’re aiming for,” he added.
Another divergence between the numbers presented by Fertitta and other information already released by the organization concerns the number of events that Brazil will host next year. A few months ago, it was announced that there would be 13 events on Brazilian soil next year. However, according to Lorenzo, this number should be around seven. In 2013, Brazil hosted only one numbered event, with a card in pay-per-view, and became the main international square for series events Fight Night. The division of categories for events held in the country, however, was not addressed by the director.
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