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Report: UFC 213 draws lowest PPV numbers of 2017

Kyle Terada / USA TODAY Sports

The figures are in, and they're not good.

UFC 213, the promotion's latest pay-per-view, has reportedly drawn an estimated buy range of just 125,000-to-150,000 purchases - the lowest of any UFC card this year - according to MMA Fighting's Dave Meltzer.

The numbers, while a far cry from the UFC's average buyrate of 200,000-plus, aren't particularly surprising given the numerous hits International Fight Week's last hurrah took up until the 11th hour. Georges St-Pierre's comeback bout against middleweight champ Michael Bisping had been initially targeted for the card, only for injuries sustained by both fighters to put the kibosh on the UFC's designs in the spring.

Bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt had been booked to defend the crown in a grudge match with former teammate and titleholder TJ Dillashaw until a lingering back injury scrapped the matchup just over a month prior, while Donald Cerrone pulled out of a surefire barn burner opposite former welterweight king Robbie Lawler with a staph infection 10 days out.

As if UFC 213 hadn't been depleted enough, Amanda Nunes backed out her women's bantamweight title defense against Valentina Shevchenko with sinusitis mere hours before the card began, leaving the brass no choice but to thrust an interim middleweight title bout between Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero into the headlining slot. In other words, it wouldn't be a stretch to say the once star-studded event was doomed to tank.

Perhaps the UFC can take consolation in Bellator NYC's equally abysmal numbers. The June pay-per-view - just the second in promotional history - produced a bevy of surreal moments, but not a lot of receipts, with the buyrate expected to fall in the 90,000-130,000 range.

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