" ... when the dust settled on an unusual year, the biggest news of 2008 was the emergence of Lesnar as the year’s pay-per-view king. Lesnar’s 2.2 million buys over three fights made him the most-watched PPV fighter in 2008. His total was the second highest total in UFC history, trailing only Tito Ortiz, who did 2.25 million in headlining three events in 2006."

-- Yahoo!Sports.com reflects on the year that was, highlighting the emergence of UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar as the new pay-per-view (PPV) powerhouse. Lesnar, of course, brings in a whole new audience because of his days as a professional wrestler with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). His fight against Randy Couture (just the fourth of his pro mixed martial arts career) raked in more than 1 million buys -- it was the second most successful event for the promotion ever. The New Year should be very interesting indeed now that Lesnar starts of the 2009 fight campaign atop the heavyweight division. It will also likely be a very lucrative year for the promotion if current trends continue.