The UFC 197 pay-per-view, featuring Jon Jones taking on Ovince Saint Preux in the headliner, drew a respectable PPV buyrate.
The loss of Daniel Cormier definitely hurt the UFC 197 buyrate, but it’s clear that Jon Jones is likely the third biggest draw in the promotion. MMA Fighting’s Dave Meltzer is reporting that the show did between 375,000 and 450,000 buys.
That number is well below what Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor-led shows have done of late, but is better than the likes of what Cormier and Robbie Lawler have done in the top spot.
The third UFC PPV of the year actually outdrew nearly every non-Conor/Ronda PPV of 2015 as well, only being eclipsed by the Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz event, UFC 183, in January 2015, and Jones/Cormier 1 that same month. UFC 182 drew 800,000 buys, while 183 drew 650,000.
Jones did beat his numbers for the cards he headlined against Alexander Gustafsson and Glover Teixeira though, with those doing 310,000 and 350,000 respectively.
Jones was making his long-awaited return at UFC 197 after a year on the sidelines. He was scheduled to meet Cormier in a rematch, but ended up fighting Saint Preux after a late injury to the current champ.