As we get a UFC PPV just a couple days after a free TV event and a couple days before another one, we take a look at the PPV history of UFC 164 main eventers.
Benson Henderson
Henderson’s last two fights have been on Fox cards and his last two PPV appearances were against Frankie Edgar. So, it’s hard to gage how much of a draw he is to PPV. While the network cards brought good ratings, the PPV appearances against Edgar were sub-par. Henderson was on the big UFC 129 card but not the real attraction for that show.
| EVENT | OPPONENT | DATE | BUY RATE | Rating |
| UFC on Fox 7 | Gilbert Melendez (w) | April 20, 2013 | 3.7M | |
| UFC on Fox 5 | Nate Diaz (w) | December 8, 2012 | 4.39M | |
| UFC 150 | Frankie Edgar (w) | August 11, 2012 | 190,000 | |
| UFC 144 | Frankie Edgar (w) | February 26, 2012 | 375,000 |
Anthony Pettis
“Showtime” has not been in a main event position since his upset loss to Clay Guida at TUF Finale 13. Pettis received KO of the Night for his performance against Joe Lauzon at UFC 144 in Japan. Ironically, the same night Henderson won the title.
| EVENT | OPPONENT | DATE | BUY RATE | Rating |
| UFC on Fox 6 | Donald Cerrone (w)(KO) | January 26, 2013 | 4.4M | |
| UFC 144 | Joe Lauzon (w)(TKO) | February 26, 2012 | 375,000 | |
| UFC 136 | Jeremy Stephens (w) (split decision) | October 8, 2011 | 225,000 | |
| TUF Finale 13 | Clay Guida (L) | June 4, 2011 | 1.8M |
Payout Perspective:
If you were wondering, the final rating for their famous WEC title match drew an average of 615,000 viewers on Versus. The fight took place on December 16, 2010 and we still see the highlight everywhere.
As for the rest of the card, Frank Mir-Josh Barnett should be an intriguing fight. I didn’t go over their respective card histories since Mir is not the same fighter or draw he was at UFC 100 (1.6M PPV buys) or even UFC 140 (485K PPV buys) when he subbed Big Nog. It’s the Warmaster’s return to the UFC and a step up in opponents.
Is this a card that the casual PPV fan will be interested in, or does the fact its sandwiched between two free cards on FS1 hurt its chances?