Report: UFC 159 Exceeds 500,000 Pay-Per-View Buys in Early Estimate

The figure comes courtesy of MMAFighting.com’s Dave Meltzer, who wrote that early estimates place the UFC 159 buy rate between 520,000 and 550,000. That estimate guides the April 27 event into second place for all pay-per-view shows this year, trailing only UFC 158, which drew more than 800,000 buys, according to Meltzer.

UFC 159 took place at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., and was headlined by a light heavyweight title conflict between Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen. “Bones” dominated the fight from start to finish, taking Sonnen down three times and finishing the former two-time middleweight title challenger with ground-and-pound near the end of round one. Despite the ease of his victory, Jones nevertheless sustained a ghastly toe injury while pushing off the canvas that has placed him on the sideline for the time being.

Five weeks prior, welterweight king Georges St. Pierre took a unanimous verdict from former Strikeforce ruler Nick Diaz, using his wrestling to earn scores of 50-45 across the board. That March 16 event took place at the Bell Centre in Montreal and also showcased a pivotal welterweight co-headliner between the victorious Johny Hendricks and ex-interim champ Carlos Condit.