Turki Alalshikh was serious.
The figurehead and face of Riyadh Season recently spoke about his intentions to lower the pay-per-view cost for combat sports events to increase viewership and combat piracy. He’s taken the first major step with the September 21 event headlined by Anthony Joshua and Daniel DuBois in London.
According to PPV.com, fans in the United States can buy the fight for $19.99. In case you’re unaware of just how big of a price cut that is, consider that the September 14 fight between Canelo Alvarez and Edgar Berlanga costs $89.99 on the platform, and Noche UFC, which happens on the same date, will cost fans who are ESPN+ subscribers $69.99.
The price cut was the ultimate put-your-money-where-your-mouth-is move from Alalshikh and Riyadh Season, and it seems to have come amid a disagreement with one of the Saudis’ newest business partners.
Riyadh Season is sponsoring Noche UFC, and the MMA promotion’s CEO, Dana White, was asked about Alalshikh’s proposal to lower the cost of PPVs. White didn’t seem to be on board with Alalshikh’s idea and instead said the real way to deal with piracy was to “prosecute people for stealing.”
It will be interesting to see if all Riyadh Season shows carry this decreased PPV price. The next big one after the Joshua-DuBois card is on October 12. That fight card is headlined by the undisputed light heavyweight championship between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev, and co-headlined by Shakur Stevenson’s Matchroom Boxing debut against Joe Cordina.
If Riyadh Season permanently changes its pricing for fight cards, it will be interesting to see how or if the UFC adjusts its prices moving forward. In case you’re unaware, here is a look at the entire September 21 fight card from Wembley Stadium in London.
- Daniel Dubois (c) vs. Anthony Joshua for the IBF heavyweight title
- Anthony Cacace (c) vs. Josh Warrington for the IBF super featherweight title
- Joshua Buatsi vs. Willy Hutchinson for the interim WBO light heavyweight title
- Liam Smith vs. Josh Kelly: Middleweights
- Mark Chamberlain vs. Josh Padley: Lightweights
The event will be available via PPV on DAZN and PPV.com. Cacace is coming off an upset win via TKO over Joe Cordina in his last fight to capture the title. Warrington, 33, is a former featherweight champion who has lost his last two fights. He’s making the jump to 130 pounds in search of another world title.
A loss to Cacace could be crippling to his career as there is no telling when or if he’ll get another chance to fight for a title.
The Buatsi-Hutchinson fight could bring some fireworks. I spoke to Buatsi in August in preparation for the fight, and he was heads down in preparation. He is one of the most likable fighters in the sport, and he knows how important the scrap for the interim light heavyweight title will be against the confident Hutchinson.
Smith-Kelly is an interesting matchup between two very popular veterans in the UK as well.
If there is any question about how big of a card this is for England and boxing in general, take a look at the promotional short movie directed by Guy Ritchie that was released on September 4.
This video brings a whole new meaning to the term; it’s going to be a movie. Watch for fight week coverage for Joshua-DuBois, Alvarez-Berlanga, and Noche UFC.
