UFC 108 Did Not Do Big Numbers

Despite claims by some that Rashad Evans had become a major draw on the heels of his stint as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter and claims by some others that the UFC couldn't dip below 350k buys for any PPV, it looks like that is exactly what we're getting.  From Dave Meltzer's newsletter (subscription required):

Current trending patterns for UFC 108 are at this point looking like 255,000 to 270,000 buys, which if those numbers end up accurate, would be the lowest for a North American show in several years.

The card was just brutally bad in terms of drawing power and while it was an entertaining watch it remains true that the event had no real mainstream appeal.

The brand is not so strong that it's going to put up big numbers for every event.  That being said, UFC 111 and 112 look great and will do huge numbers.  So don't expect the UFC to go through a horrible period of bad buyrates any time soon.