On the surface, UFC 208 at Barclays Center paled in comparison to UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden. While the inaugural UFC event held in New York last November was attended by a crowd of 20,427 and generated nearly $18 million at the gate, the UFC’s first visit to Brooklyn on Saturday night was attended by 15,628 and earned $2.2 million.
Germaine de Randamie captured the UFC women’s first featherweight title with a unanimous decision over Holly Holm in a main event that featured more clinching and holding than all-out action. Fans may have left a bit frustrated after watching a card that saw nine of 10 fights go the distance. But the people who run Barclays Center aren’t complaining and are eager for the UFC to return. With the Nets and Islanders fan bases leveling off, events featuring MMA and boxing are high on the priority list.
“From our perspective, we’re in the big-event business,” Brett Yormark, the CEO of Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment, told The Post. “We think the UFC is big-event business. It will end up being one of our most popular events of the year.”
Tickets for UFC 208 were much more moderately priced than UFC 205, but the sellout crowd still generated the highest grossing sports event in the arena’s 4½-year history. That mark could be challenged on March 4, when Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia meet in a unification welterweight championship fight that will be televised nationally on CBS.
“That one is exceeding all my expectations,” Yormark said. “March 4 is shaping up to be a huge, huge event. It’s going to end up a great night of boxing for us.”
Yormark is hoping the UFC will schedule a return visit before the year ends or book a date at the Nassau Coliseum, which is owned by the same group as Barclays Center and reopens in April. If that happens, the UFC needs to show Brooklyn a bit more love.
While it would have been unrealistic to match the anticipation and lineup for UFC 205, UFC 208 might be part of history because it featured the first women’s featherweight championship, but it was hardly a memorable night. The best brawl was between Dustin Poirier and Jim Miller, of Sparta, N.J. Poirier won by decision, but Miller stood up to his younger, faster opponent, delivering the fight of the night. Anderson “Spider” Silva delighted the crowd, showing off his classic spinning kicks while earning a unanimous decision over Derek Brunson for Silva’s first win since 2013, and Jacare Souza earned the only finish of the night by submitting Tim Boetsch in the first round. But there was only one title fight on the card (Holm-de Randamie) compared with three at UFC 205.
You could argue UFC 210, scheduled for Buffalo on April 8, features a stronger lineup, with UFC light heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier defending against No. 1-ranked Anthony Johnson in the main event and former middleweight champ Chris Weidman of Long Island, now ranked No. 4 in the division, taking on the No. 5 contender Gegard Mousasi.
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“I want big moments for the building,” Yormark said. “I want to give fans a reason to keep coming back.”
The Nets and Islanders haven’t provided many big moments this year, and Barclays Center will face a decision on Jan. 1, 2018, on whether to opt out of its deal with the Islanders. Yormark wouldn’t comment on what might happen, but sources close to the situation told The Post, “Barclays will ultimately do what’s in the best interest of their business.”
UFC 208 was big business, but not as big or exciting as it could have been.
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