UFC 191 gate for 'Johnson vs Dodson 2' lowest since August 2004

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) flyweight titleholder Demetrious Johnson returned the "worst pay-per-view (PPV) buys in modern era" when he whooped Ali Bagautinov at UFC 174, and can now lay claim to having the promotion's lowest Las Vegas-based PPV gate in over 11 years.

Probably not the kind of box office you would expect from a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who is widely-considered to be the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

The numbers, unfortunately, don't lie.

UFC 191's reported gate of $1.3 million is the lowest for a Las Vegas-based UFC pay-per-view card since UFC 49 in August 2004.

— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohnMMA) September 6, 2015

That brings us back to the "sport vs. entertainment" argument in MMA.

Johnson turned away top 125-pound challenger John Dodson in the UFC 191 PPV main event last Saturday night (Sept. 5, 2015) inside MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, and looked rather sensational in the process (see for yourself). That said, "Mighty Mouse" was also saddled with a co-main event showdown that came 10 years too late.

Not even the brawny might of Anthony "Rumble" Johnson could pack the house.

The supporting cast can often make or break an event, as UFC 178 -- also headlined by Johnson (opposite Chris Cariaso) -- returned a $2.2 million gate and featured Donald Cerrone vs. Eddie Alvarez, as well as Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier.

The good news is, at least for the promotion, there won't be any leftover tickets when UFC 194 comes back to the same venue in December, as "Aldo vs. McGregor" sports one of the best PPV line ups of the year (see it).

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