UFC
UFC 128 "Shogun vs. Jones" early pay-per-view buy estimates come in between 415-470K
Mar 24, 2011 - 7:40:14 PM UFC 128 "Shogun vs. Jones" early pay-per-view buy estimates come in between 415-470K

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Now that Jon Jones has captured the Light Heavyweight Championship, the UFC will have a real chance to see how quickly they can turn him into a pay-per-view star. Dave Meltzer reports in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that early estimates for last Saturday's UFC 128 event have come in between 415,000 and 470,000 buys, down from Rua's last two headlining fights with Lyoto Machida.

It's not any cause for panic, as it's still a respectable number considering the factors heading in and it's still well above the UFC's basement for pay-per-view buys, but it could be seen as a bit of a disappointment with the hype surrounding Jones in the last several weeks.

However, going up against NCAA basketball and March Madness on CBS and not getting mainstream coverage until after the fight certainly didn't help matters. As well, Rua hadn't been in the cage in 10 months, and his last two fights were bolstered by the fact that Machida came off a big knockout win over Rashad Evans into their first meeting, and the controversial decision that led to their rematch helped drive buys up slightly for that fight, along with having the pay-per-view debut of Kimbo Slice.

Jones, while he was a part of the UFC 126 card that did well in February, still hadn't drawn above a million viewers on free television on Versus, and though he's certainly a star in the making, the rise has been quick and he doesn't have the tenure or name just yet to draw massive numbers. That could change following Saturday's win, and his bout with Rashad Evans should show a massive uptick from these numbers.

All-in-all, the UFC probably expected a downturn in buys for this event going up against March Madness and with next month's massive UFC 129 event being as anticipated as it is. Though last year's UFC 111 event around the same time period did nearly 800,000 buys, that was with the company's second highest drawing star in Georges St. Pierre headlining. Jones hasn't reached that peak just yet, but with continued performances like that against "Shogun" Rua and the exposure he'll begin to receive in other outlets beginning tonight on NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," he can certainly make his way towards that level.

Link to WrestlingObserver.com report (subscription required)