12 euro cage contender tickets today only

Mickk

http://www.citydeal.ie/deals/dublin-special?CID=UK_DIS_1087_10_1087_1&utm_source=dis_1087&utm_medium=dis_10&utm_campaign=dis_1087&utm_content=dis_1

John Ferguson

Mickk wrote: »

http://www.citydeal.ie/deals/dublin-special?CID=UK_DIS_1087_10_1087_1&utm_source=dis_1087&utm_medium=dis_10&utm_campaign=dis_1087&utm_content=dis_1

CAREFUL GUYS: These €12 are "STANDING" only tickets (no seat), at very back of the arena. They are not the normal CC tickets so don't get confused. The €45 Ticket is in the balcony upstairs.

Killme00

How much are these 'standing' tickets normally? I've never seen them before.

John Ferguson

Killme00 wrote: »

How much are these 'standing' tickets normally? I've never seen them before.

We have never tried them before, groupon contacted us with the idea so we decided to give it a go. We have sectioned off an area at the back wall for standing tickets. To be fair the view wont be too great but the screens will be visible. Hopefully they enjoy the atmos etc and we have some new fans for home grown MMA

Will be interesting to see how they go, I know I wouldn't fancy standing the whole way through a 4 hour show

cowzerp

Well worth it as its not that far back to be honest-i think you'll sell a fair few here to people who where sitting on the fence whether to go or not.

Ever the business man JF

SDTimeout

Considering they are supposed to be 30 for standing. This deal is great at only 12€ but long term if you go ahead with it John i think lowering it to maybe 15€ would be good value for standing for around 4 hours.

John Ferguson

SDTimeout wrote: »

Considering they are supposed to be 30 for standing. This deal is great at only 12€ but long term if you go ahead with it John i think lowering it to maybe 15€ would be good value for standing for around 4 hours.

I think you are right at €15, i think its massive value!! But I am going to reserve judgement until I see how it goes. The traffic to our website has risen 6 fold today but it will be interesting to see how many sell. There was about 160 sold before it appeared on here today, so the question for me as a promoter to work out is how many are new non MMA customers coming to just "see what it's all about"

As I said I wouldn't stand through a 4 hour show (no mater how cheap it was), so I am using this as a bit of market research if anything:)

rugbyman

Then again, I've stood for longer at concerts, so MMA might also interest me.

(SDTimeout, on a study break:D)

El Guapo!

Great idea.
I don't think standing would be too much of an issue. When I was at Battlezone 3 the majority of people had to stand because the view from the middle to back rows wasn't great.
No doubt everybody will be on their feet either way anyway!!

arybvtcw0eolkf

Brilliant value, esp for someone on a budget our undecided about Irish MMA.

I'd highly recommend this event.

That_Guy

That's the birthday celebrations sorted. Excellent value.

ThatGuyHughesy

Great idea and value! Any chance you can bring your own chairs? ha

John Ferguson

ThatGuyHughesy wrote: »

Great idea and value! Any chance you can bring your own chairs? ha

Lol good idea, but the standing area is along the back wall, so we are now looking at branded Cage Contender Standing Kits which will consist of a box to stand on and binoculars to get a good view!!! :P

I think the Groupon promo might be a good way to open Irish MMA to a larger audience who are curious to what we do but have never came to see. Yesterday we sold 460 or so tickets in one day, 80 of them were the €45 balcony seat (we only released 80) and the rest were the standing tickets. The plan is that these folk will enjoy a good nights entertainment and come back to watch again in a normal seat.

As an industry we need to push ourselves to a wider audience and when they come we need to provide a nights entertainment that is on par with other sporting events. In sticking with the plan of bringing it to the wider audience we have done a deal with our media partner for this event the Daily Mirror to have a qtr page ad every day from this Friday to the day of the event on 23 July including 10 on the outside back page. While this is obviously for our own commercial benefit and gain there is a good chance that our industry as a whole will get more footfall from it which is great!!

There are some great shows and promotions in Ireland now and I for one think it's about time we all start shouting from the roof tops together about how good they are and get people off there sofas and out to see it!

Lol Rant Ends!!!!

Ian Whelan

I thought the 45 euro tickets were in the front row. I might cancel them now. On premiertickets.ie the VIP experience (on sale for 85 euro) is described as follows:

-VIP Experience €85
-Included
- Entrance through VIP door
- 2 Free cocktails on arrival
- Front row seat
- Pass for private Cage Contender VIP Balcony Bar
- Photo with Ring Girls
- Souvenir event program
- Passes to Cage Contender afterparty
- Entry to a draw for 2 VIP tickets for Cage Contender XI in Belfast on 8 October inc over night stay

The citydeal VIP seems to get you less perks and poorer seats although it was originally 100 euro (15 euro more expensive)? Can this be correct?

Ian Whelan

I'm not familiar with the balcony seats in the National Basketball Arena. What are the balcony seats like? How far from the cage are they?

John Ferguson

Ian Whelan wrote: »

I thought the 45 euro tickets were in the front row. I might cancel them now. On premiertickets.ie the VIP experience (on sale for 85 euro) is described as follows:

-VIP Experience €85
-Included
- Entrance through VIP door
- 2 Free cocktails on arrival
- Front row seat
- Pass for private Cage Contender VIP Balcony Bar
- Photo with Ring Girls
- Souvenir event program
- Passes to Cage Contender afterparty
- Entry to a draw for 2 VIP tickets for Cage Contender XI in Belfast on 8 October inc over night stay

The citydeal VIP seems to get you less perks and poorer seats although it was originally 100 euro (15 euro more expensive)? Can this be correct?

Hi Ian

The balcony and the attached bar used for the Groupon deal will be equivalent to a corporate box at any major stadium. The seats are higher than any other seats in the arena and over look everything that's going on. From memory the rest of the perks are the same.

Ian Whelan

Ok. Thanks for the info. It's a very good idea for event promotion. I bought 4 tickets, 1 for myself and 3 as presents for friends/colleagues who haven't been to an MMA event before but I think they will probably like it.

That_Guy

Ian Whelan wrote: »

Ok. Thanks for the info. It's a very good idea for event promotion. I bought 4 tickets, 1 for myself and 3 as presents for friends/colleagues who haven't been to an MMA event before but I think they will probably like it.

I've a few people who haven't a clue about MMA wanting to come along. One of the lads description of MMA:

It just seems like one of the lads is trying to roger the other lad up the arse

:pac:

Ian Whelan

Got there at 8pm. Was told in no uncertain terms by the barman that there were no cocktails and that was that. No souvenir programme was available. The seats were as far away from the cage as it was possible to be.

The only condition of the deal that was complied with was the access to the VIP bar where you could purchase as much lukewarm beer as you wanted.

All you got for your 45 euro was a bad seat. I feel lucky that I didn't pay the "normal price" of 100 euro. I complained and was told to leave if I wasn't happy.

HellsAngel

The standing tickets was an excellent idea. Ok it tended to be the curious who was turning up for the first time but hopefully they will be back and maybe spread the word to the guys at work etc to this excellent organised show.

Audiences at MMA events have improved quite a bit, more and more of the audiences are guys training in MMA/BJJ or a trad MA. Not in any way having a go at the organisers as MMA was still in it's infancy, but their were let's say, more than a few 'undesireables' turning up to some of the shows a few years ago, they seemed to think that they were coming to a cross between Fight Club and Gladiator. I mean when you have a scummer beside you screaming at two guys rolling on the floor " bleedin' bite him, bite him for f**k's sake " - well need a I say any more.

Richy06

I heard one lad scream, "Stop dry humping him, stand them up ref, STAND THEM UP". This is whilst someone was working from half guard top with GNP.

SDTimeout

I heard :" F*CK JIU JITSU " and :"Shove his blackbelt up his A*se " as well as the usual stand them up etc directed at Seb Torres and after the fight considering where Phillip sat I can only assume it were his mates / family. I know they were probably just there for support and not fans but.

I think Karl Redmond told me that a few years ago when Roddy lost it was like the cage was going to be stormed by the guys in his gym and area. Made a great atmosphere for the other night but it did feel similar

FrostyJack

Ian Whelan wrote: »

All you got for your 45 euro was a bad seat.

I was in the standing section (because none of my friends could afford the others) and I would have paid 100 euro to sit down after an hour, those seats looked fine to me, though they definitely weren't ringside. Was probably the best 12 euro I ever spent though.

a few years ago when Roddy lost it was like the cage was going to be stormed by the guys in his gym and area.

I'm pretty sure they were not from his gym, they were just drunk supporters from his area, and don't represent Roddy fairly, who is a class act. Though to this day I still laugh at one of their quotes, as one of them tried to get in the ring and was being held back, he shouted "but he is after hitting me mate", refering to Emmanuel Fernandez who won the fight, what did he think they were there to do, play chess :rolleyes:

meerkatmark

FrostyJack wrote: »

I would have paid 100 euro to sit down after an hour, those seats looked fine to me, though they definitely weren't ringside. Was probably the best 12 euro I ever spent though.

i seen a sign at the bar that said you could have upgraded to a seat for a score

bjj-fighter

SDTimeout wrote: »

I think Karl Redmond told me that a few years ago when Roddy lost it was like the cage was going to be stormed by the guys in his gym and area. Made a great atmosphere for the other night but it did feel similar

Didn't say gym, he didn't have Primal MMA then, but they're good MMA fans and sound blokes. I said it was a group of locals from Ballymun supporting him, doubt they were big MMA fans and probably had a lot of drink on them.

arybvtcw0eolkf

SDTimeout wrote: »

I think Karl Redmond told me that a few years ago when Roddy lost it was like the cage was going to be stormed by the guys in his gym and area. Made a great atmosphere for the other night but it did feel similar

Lads, its felt nothing similar.

Most of you are commenting on something you were either too young to remember or weren't close enough to the incident to comment upon with any degree of accuracy.

Those 'supporters' were a bunch of **** from Ballymun who followed Owen for a very short time.

When they kicked off after the Emmanuel Fernandez K.O. the security at The National Boxing stadium done a runner, Gary Bergin, Karl Roch and myself dealt with the incident while Owen was receiving medical attention.

Another incident in the Ringside Club with the same people followed soon after - Owen and his team were very quick to distance themselves from these idiots and promised they wouldn't be getting tickets again.. And true to their word these pricks were never seen on the MMA scene again.

What happened the other night with a few supporters entering the cage was a million miles from what happened at the two other show's, it bares no resemblance of any kind so can we please stop making comparisons.

This was all dealt with and put to bed in the old IRMAC forum.

If anything what happened at CC-X was part of the general craic and carnival atmospher of the night, and while it shouldn't have happened it never threatened to become anything more than it did, craic & celebration.

bjj-fighter

Completely agree with Makikomi, although I was in the Gaeltacht during Owen's fight against Emmanual Fernandez, I heard about it in great detail from my brother who was there. There is no doubt in my mind that had Owen of gotten knocked out by Ben Davis, there would be nothing compared to the trouble from the old incident. This is largely due to the different crowd that was at CC X and the security in the venue. The security was very good in the NBA and they also had to real problems to deal with, but they seemed prepared. Also a lot of the group of non-training supporters for Owen seemed to understand the sport much more, and they were filled with gentlemen from Owen's own gym. There was some supporters who got a bit drunk but caused no real problems.

All in all, I dont think it should be even brought up because I felt the crowd as a whole were great and, as Mak said, added to the atmosphere. At no point was anyone disrespectful to Ben or his fans who were sitting between me and the Primal lads and Owen's other supporters. Ben is a class act and warranted a handshake from me and a few other of Owen's fans who wished him hard luck.

The problem with the SBG team running into the cage is one I don't understand however.

arybvtcw0eolkf

bjj-fighter wrote: »

The problem with the SBG team running into the cage is one I don't understand however.

Its people with feck all else to complain about.

SBG had another very successful night, I was cageside and if anyone views the clip I posted they'll see its just more celebration at the end of a turbo charged night of Irish MMA.

In an ideal world it should never happen, but it did and I'm pretty confident you won't see a repeat.

Lads sometimes we're our own worse enemy, CC-X was brilliant - probably the best (and I'm including UFC-92 in that, was that the one in the point?) MMA show I've attended over the years.

I know John Ferguson went way, way above and beyond the call of duty in ensuring everyone had a positive experience, I witnessed the man myself doing the rounds of supporters enquiring as to their needs, if they were having a good time etc.

This kind of show is a real celebration of Irish MMA talent and instead of knocking it people realy should rally behind it and lend it their support - its good for the sport, and its good for us the fans/supporters.

cowzerp

bjj-fighter wrote: »

The problem with the SBG team running into the cage is one I don't understand however.

The simple fact is its not meant to happen and should not and just because its your team does not make it ok, the only people meant to be in the cage are the coaches and officials, In this circumstance it was positive celebration but where do you draw the line? when someone jumps in the cage and assaults someone or mocks the opponent?!, i hope this does not set a precedent for future events.

In saying that it was the best Cage contender yet and i think the earlier finish was part of that, with late finishes fans get pissed off and sometimes it is what they remember and not the good fights where as this time people left on a buzz.

arybvtcw0eolkf

cowzerp wrote: »

The simple fact is its not meant to happen and should not and just because its your team does not make it ok, the only people meant to be in the cage are the coaches and officials, In this circumstance it was positive celebration but where do you draw the line? when someone jumps in the cage and assaults someone or mocks the opponent?!, i hope this does not set a precedent for future events..

I don't think this is setting a precedence, fact is Irish MMA is in a much more informed place than it was not just ten years ago, but as recent as the last three or four years I'd say.

It used to be that the majority of those in attendance were either going to what they hoped would be nothing short of a no-rules, no holds barred blood bath - or simply family and mates following a fighter, who'd then feck off right after their guy has fought.

This doesn't really happen anymore, or at least not to the extent it did in the past.

I'd say where only a few years ago few had an understanding of what was happening in the ring/cage, now I'd hazzard a guess and say its a majority.

Of course no one other than the fighters, coaches, officials and medics & photographers should be in the cage, thats a given but no one can mention in the same breath what happened the other night with the carry on a few years back.

cowzerp

Gage Gorgeous Tennis wrote: »

Of course no one other than the fighters, coaches, officials and medics & photographers should be in the cage, thats a given but no one can mention in the same breath what happened the other night with the carry on a few years back.

I Didn't and wouldn't!
As i said it was obvious it was in good jest but teams cant just run in just because there happy and as i said i hope this is the last time it happens.

Security should be on it really anyway.