UFC
UFC 141 pay-per-view buy early estimates between 750,000-810,000
Jan 5, 2012 - 2:30:06 PM UFC 141 pay-per-view buy early estimates between 750,000-810,000

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Prior to UFC 141 last week, Brock Lesnar had drawn over a million pay-per-view buys for each of his last three fights; but coming off a 14-month layoff, a loss to Cain Velasquez, a newcomer opponent to the UFC, and a move to Friday night for the UFC 141 event, it was tough to know what type of number the card would bring.

Now, according to Dave Meltzer in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, early estimates for the event have it coming in well under a million, but still possibly the second-best non-title buyrate in UFC history.

Per the report, early estimates have it drawing between 750,000-810,000 buys. If it comes in on the high end of those estimates, it will surpass the Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock II buyrate of 775,000, and come short of only Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Rashad Evans, which remains the only non-title fight to ever draw over a million pay-per-view buys for the UFC.

Going with the high end, in seven fights in the UFC, Lesnar averaged nearly a million pay-per-view buys, bringing in almost seven million buys in total. If the number come down on the high end at 810,000 buys, it will have been the purchased pay-per-view event of 2011, besting UFC 129 just slightly.

Penick's Analysis: This is at the high end of my expectations for the card, as I thought around 750,000 was a good bet with all the outside factors. Lesnar's draw diminished a bit with his loss to Velasquez, and with being out of action for 14 months as well it certainly had him out of the public mind. With no belt on the line, along with the Friday night slot, that certainly had an effect as well. The UFC just needs to hope that Alistair Overeem's performance was enough to bring some of those near 800,000 buyers back when he takes on Junior dos Santos this year. With dos Santos coming off a fight seen by 10 million people, that could be a very big fight business-wise this summer.