According to the Wrestling Observer, the latest data indicates that UFC 91 -- headlined by Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Couture -- did about 925,000 buys and may wind up at just under one million. The heavyweight title main event was billed as “the Biggest Fight in UFC History,” though the next month’s event, UFC 92, eclipsed it in terms of PPV buys. That show -- with a triple main event of Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir and Quinton Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva -- stands at one million buys. That was topped by UFC 94 in January, as UFC President Dana White claimed the event did 1.3 million buys. All three shows may have eclipsed the previous benchmark of 1.05 million buys for UFC 66 in December 2006; that show was headlined by Chuck Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz.
According to the Wrestling Observer, these numbers make the UFC the first company in the history of pay-per-view to do more than 920,000 buys in three straight months.
Sandwiched between that lucrative mix was UFC 93 -- the Jan. 17 event in Dublin, Ireland, that featured Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Mark Coleman. At 320,000 estimated buys, UFC 93 drew the most purchases of any pay-per-view the company has promoted in Europe. The UFC’s shows from that continent do a lower number of buys, likely because they air live in the afternoon in the United States. The top six markets for UFC 93 buys were in Canada, topped by Halifax, Nova Scotia, with Los Angeles as the top U.S. market.