Although the roster for “UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II” isn’t quite as star-studded as it once was, UFC president Dana White (Pictured) predicts the show’s featured attraction between middleweight champ Anderson Silva and Chael Sonnen will still enable the pay-per-view broadcast to venture into once-charted territory.
White professes the heavily hyped July 7th event will generate seven-digit PPV purchases. The organization has only achieved that mark once, when UFC 100 reportedly raked in 1.6 million buys.
“This isn’t one of the biggest sporting events of the summer, it’s one of the biggest sporting events of the year,” White claimed during Monday’s conference call. “There’s no doubt that we plan on doing over a million buys here. We expect UFC 100 numbers.”
UFC 100 garnered 10,871 fans inside Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and generated a live gate of $5,397,300, the second-highest tally the Octagon has ever registered. However, the July 2009 extravaganza featured the company’s two biggest PPV draws in then-heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and reigning welterweight king Georges St-Pierre.
Nonetheless, White is adamant the hoopla surrounding the most anticipated rematch in MMA history will be worth more than its weight in gold – and the card’s $54.95 price tag.
MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas hosts UFC 148.
Here is the event’s official lineup:
Preliminary Card:
(Facebook 7PM ET/4PM PT)
Yoislandy Izquierdo vs. Rafaello Oliveira
(FX 8PM ET/5PM PT)
Shane Roller vs. John Alessio
Riki Fukuda vs. Constantinos Philippou
Melvin Guillard vs. Fabricio Camoes
Gleison Tibau vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov
Main Card:
(Pay-Per-View 10PM ET/7PM PT)
Ivan Menjivar vs. Mike Easton
Chad Mendes vs. Cody McKenzie
Demian Maia vs. Dong Hyun Kim
Cung Le vs. Patrick Cote
Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin
Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson Silva (UFC middleweight champion)
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