Lesnar, Couture and UFC Stand To Make Millions from UFC 91

Dave Meltzer unveiled on Wrestling Observer Radio tonight that the PPV buyrate for UFC 91: "Lesnar vs Couture" came in at 1.01 million buys, making it the second largest UFC PPV of all time (behind Ortiz vs Liddell in 2006).

Many people raised their eyebrows when Dana White proclaimed that this PPV would draw over a million buys. While it doesn't appear that it will set the record for most PPV buys for a UFC event, it will certainly surpass the estimates set by many industry observers.

What does this incredible buy-rate for UFC 91 mean?

1. Couture and Lesnar will both earn millions of dollars for the fight. Meltzer suggests that Couture will earn over $2.5 million dollars for the fight, based on his base salary and percentages in his contract. Lesnar, it is rumored, had slightly lower percentages in his contract compared to Couture, but earned more in base salary by winning the fight. Any way that you slice it, both of these men did extremely well for themselves in this fight.

2. Despite a deep recession in the United States, the UFC continues to do very well. Meltzer goes on to say that between the live gate and PPV revenues generated by UFC 91, the UFC will stand to gross over $50 million dollars from this single event alone. With big PPVs coming up in the near future (UFC 92 and UFC 94), the UFC seems to be weathering the economic storm very well.

3. Lesnar is a huge draw for the company (as if we didn't already know that). A potential Lesnar / Nogueira fight in 2009 would likely draw close to a million buys for the UFC, as casual fans tune in to watch Lesnar fight, and hardcore fans tune in to see if Nogueira can stop Lesnar.

4. Couture made a smart financial decision by returning to the UFC. He will very likely make well over $5-$6 million dollars from his current three-fight deal with the company. If a rematch with Lesnar takes place during that time, the number will be even higher.

5. Couture/Lesnar II would obviously make the UFC buckets of money if it were to take place. If Lesnar beats the winner of Mir/Nogueira, could we potentially see a rematch between Couture and Lesnar in Lesnar's first defense of the newly unified belt?

6. The UFC is quickly closing the gap between mixed martial arts and boxing in terms of PPV buys for its marquee cards. Lesnar/Couture did just over a million buys, while De La Hoya/Pacquiao did 1.25 million buys.

All in all, an extremely positive (and profitable) number for the UFC that bodes very well for their business going forward.

Source: Wrestling Observer / Figure Four Online

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