Dave Meltzer is the best in the business when it comes to getting buyrates for pay per views. According to his Wrestling Observer newsletter, UFC 143 is trending towards 400,000 buys or so.
“Based on preliminary trends, the show looks to have done in the range of 400,000 buys, which is more than I would have predicted. The key seems to be the Prime Time show, with so much talk stemming in particular from episode two, but also episode three. Most of our indicators, from the web site poll, to the newsletter poll, had a higher volume than expected as well. Because the show had no undercard, and really nothing was even promoted hard but the main event, it’s clear that Diaz’s win over B.J. Penn and his antics involving GSP have made him a draw. The interest in this fight was because people smelled GSP vs. Diaz and saw this as step one in the story. The strongest markets per capita look to have been Edmonton, Las Vegas, Calgary, Albuquerque (Condit’s home city), Vancouver, Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas, Toronto, San Francisco (Diaz is from Northern California), Montreal (GSP’s home market since he was to face the winner), Halifax (GSP strong market), Phoenix, San Antonio and San Diego.”
