UFC 81

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer reported today that the preliminary estimate of pay-per-view buys for UFC 81 was a big, girthy 600,000. As Meltzer wrote:

That show was not going to do more than 325,000 buys with the Tim Sylvia vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira match and a semifinal of Nathan Marquardt v. Jeremy Horn. In fact, that would be an optimistic expectation. So if this holds up, Lesnar was worth $12.36 million in overall revenue.

Adam Swift of MMAPayout explains that the figure may put UFC 81 among the all-time top-five UFC shows in terms of gross buys, and thanks to the $45 price tag, #3 in revenue after Ortiz/Liddell and Ortiz/Shamrock III. As Swift points out, the final number is usually significantly higher than the early estimates.

Swift also calls into question the sustainability of Lesnar's drawing power, and the show's success in taking wrestling fans who were first-time UFC buyers and converting them into regular fans. We're of the opinion that Lesnar's wrestling fans will keep paying for UFC events whenever he's on the card — and only those events — meaning that Lesnar's appearances will continue to translate to a spike in UFC PPV buys, but not an overall bump of the average buyrate. But hey, we don't need those yokels anyway.

(Tito Ortiz: Planning his next move?)

Too boring to get posts of their own — just boring enough to be lumped in with a few other stories!

— UFC 81 drew 10,583 spectators at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on Saturday, with 7,167 of those asses-in-seats actually paying for their tickets. That's the lowest paid-attendance figure for a Mandalay Bay UFC event since UFC 48, which featured Ken Shamrock vs. Kimo Leopoldo as the main event. "Breaking Point" took in a live gate of $2,437,890, which is the sixth-lowest total out of the venue’s past seven UFC events. This could all be explained by an inordinate amount of comp tickets being handed out for Brock Lesnar's Octagon debut, and the UFC could have easily gotten their money back on pay-per-view buys. But since the UFC isn't required to release information on PPV revenue, we may not hear the full story for some time.

— Tito Ortiz may be planning a 10-year-anniversary re-match with Frank Shamrock outside of the UFC. The two fighters first met at UFC 22 back in September 1999, where they battled for the UFC's 205-pound title. Shamrock won by submission due to strikes near the end of the fourth round, then retired from the UFC with a perfect 5-0 record in the organization.

— Zuffa has filed a motion for preliminary injunction against Randy Couture, with a hearing date set for March 4th. The injunction will likely be focused on preventing Couture from making further breaches of the non-compete agreement in his employment contract.

— Though most Canadian provinces have given MMA their blessing, the sport is totes unkosher in Ontario.

— I just finished eating some thai food. It wasn't bad.

(Frank Mir stopped the Lesnar hype train last Saturday.)

Six of last Saturday's UFC 81 participants have been given medical suspensions by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, according to MMA Junkie. Most of the suspensions were relatively short, except for David Heath's suspension. Heath lost via TKO in the first round of his fight with Tim Boetsch. He was brutalized by Boetsch with body kicks and strikes to the head when he hit the canvas.

Heath received a nasal fracture in the bout and a doctor has to clear him to fight if he wants to step into the Big O again before August 1st - which is when his suspension runs out. Boetsch had taken the fight just days before after Tomasz Drwal dropped out as Heath's opponent due to a knee injury. Imagine if he had actually trained for David Heath. The medical suspension might instead be a death certificate for Heath.

Marvin Eastman, Kyle Bradley and Frank Mir got short suspensions because of lacerations. Tim Sylvia and Keita Nakamura were dealt medical suspensions as a precaution. Only Mir and Eastman won their fights - Mir was getting jacked by Brock Lesnar before catching the blonde beast napping and submitted him with a knee bar; Eastman won a unanimous decision over Terry Martin. Interesting that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira escaped without a suspension since Tim Sylvia left his mark on Nog's face.

The list of suspensions:
-Tim Sylvia: Suspended until March 3rd with no contact until February 24th for precautionary reasons

-Frank Mir: Suspended until March 3rd with no contact until February 24th because of a scalp laceration

-Kyle Bradley: Suspended until March 19th with no contact until March 2nd because of a facial laceration

-David Heath: Nasal fracture must be cleared by a doctor or he is suspended until August 1st - minimum suspension is until April 3rd with no contact until March 19th

-Marvin Eastman: Suspended until March 2nd with no contact until February 24th because of an upper-eyelid laceration

-Keita Nakamura: Suspended until March 19th with no contact until March 2nd for precautionary reason

Tim: ...basically, Antonio and I are professionals, and we leave it all in the cage. There's no hard feelings whatsoever, because bottom line, he was the better fighter than me tonight and I respect the hell out of him.
Antonio: Estou cansado, querido.
Tim: Big guy says he's sleepy! [journalists laugh] Don't worry, lover. We'll be home soon.

(Photo props: Sherdog)

If you missed our UFC 81 liveblog, click here. Check out the videos below for Chris Lytle's nitro-burnin' bash-fest against Kyle Bradley, and Ricardo Almeida choking out Rob Yundt despite being dropped directly on his head.

Chris Lytle vs. Kyle Bradley:

Ricardo Almeida vs. Rob Yundt: