UFC 197 PPV buys revealed for 'Jones vs Saint Preux'

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) interim light heavyweight champion Jon Jones came off the bench after 15 months of inactivity to capture a unanimous decision win over Ovince Saint Preux in the main event of UFC 197 last month (April 23, 2016) in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In the UFC 197 co-main event, Demetrious Johnson defended his title against flyweight contender Henry Cejudo, while former UFC champ Anthony Pettis dropped his third in a row after getting knocked around by fellow striker Edson Barboza.

Even with a late change to the main event, UFC 197 was not short on star power.

According to estimates obtained by MMA Fighting, "Jones vs. Saint Preux" was able to generate 375,000 to 450,000 pay-per-view (PPV) buys, which leaves Jones far behind Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey, currently the top draws in mixed martial arts (MMA).

That said, "Bones" was still able to outperform UFC 192: "Cormier vs. Gustafsson" in late 2015, as well as UFC 195: "Lawler vs. Condit" back in January. It will be interesting to see how fans respond to his rematch with "DC" at UFC 200 in July.

For more on that upcoming fight card click here.