Boxing’s Pacquiao remains the PPV king, so what can UFC do to compete? By Dave Meltzer, Yahoo! SportsJan 4, 9:15 pm EST
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http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=d ... iao_010412Manny Pacquiao became the third fighter ever to headline two shows in one year that topped one million buys, establishing himself as the pay-per-view king of 2011.
In drawing 1.41 million buys for his Nov. 12 fight with Juan Manuel Marquez, coming on the heels of 1.10 million buys for his May 7 fight with Shane Mosley, Pacquiao joins Mike Tyson and Brock Lesnar in the select group.
Tyson headlined three shows in 1996 that topped the one million mark: against Evander Holyfield, Bruce Seldon and Frank Bruno. Lesnar, as UFC heavyweight champion, did so twice in 2010, with his title defense against Shane Carwin and title loss to Cain Velasquez.
Georges St-Pierre beating Jake Shields by unanimous decision in April 30 was one of the top PPV shows of 2011.
(Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Pacquiao, who just turned 33, is likely to eventually set the record for most seven-figure main events.
He currently has five main events that have topped seven figures and has established he can hit the mark any time he faces an opponent with name value.
He’s tied with Holyfield for second place of all-time, behind Tyson’s record of six.
Top 10 PPV shows of 2011 (estimated figures for Dec. 30 Lesnar vs. Overeem are not available)
1. Boxing: Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez, Nov. 12; 1,410,000 buys2. Boxing: Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Victor Ortiz, Sept. 19; 1,250,000 buys
3. Boxing: Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley, May 7; 1,100,000 buys
4. UFC 129: Georges St. Pierre vs. Jake Shields, April 30; 800,000 buys
5. UFC 126: Anderson Silva vs. Vitor Belfort, Feb. 5; 725,000 buys
6. WWE WrestleMania 27: Headliners John Cena, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, The Miz, April 3; 680,000 buys
7. Boxing: Miguel Cotto vs. Antonio Margarito, Dec. 3; 600,000 buys
8. UFC 133: Jon Jones vs. Rampage Jackson, Sept. 24; 520,000 buys
9. UFC 128: Jon Jones vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, March 19; 490,000 buys
10. UFC 140: Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida, Dec. 10; 480,000 buys.