What were the PPV buys for UFC 281?

The UFC 281 pay-per-view event went down this past Saturday and the PPV numbers are yet to emerge. The total generally emerges a week or two after the event. Israel Adesanya, however, is confident that UFC 281 reached a million buys.

During an appearance on The MMA Hour, the former champ can be seen speculating about UFC 281 buys with host Ariel Helwani.

In the video, Adesanya speculated about the number, believing it may sit above one million:

"I think this [UFC 281 PPV buys] will be over a million - knock on wood. I just feel [that way], just because people either want to see you win or lose. And I felt like this is the one where they were like, 'Oh, he might lose'. And, yeah, I'm hoping [it made] over a million, s0 - I don't even need a million buys to make or earn. But still, just for my ego, I want to tick that box [of earning] over a million pay-per-views."

Catch the full interview below:

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UFC 281: Fighter salaries and payouts

UFC 281 was a memorable event that saw some of the best names in MMA participating in high-quality fights. All the matchups on the main card resulted in finishes.

According to TOTALSPORTAL, Israel Adesanya had the biggest payout at $1.79 million. He made $1 million to show, $42,000 in sponsorships and $750,000 as his pay-per-view share.

Alex Pereira reportedly got paid $500,000 to show, $100,000 as his win bonus, $32,000 in sponsorships, $50,000 as a performance bonus, and $300,000 as his pay-per-view share. That resulted in a total payout of $932,000.

Zhang Weili is said to have taken home a total payout of $667,000. She made $210,000 to show, $100,000 as a win bonus, $32,000 from sponsorships, $50,000 as a performance bonus and a PPV share of $275,000.

Former two-time champ Carla Esparza made $350,000 to show, $42,000 in sponsorships, and $150,000 in PPV earnings, with a total payout of $542,000.

Dustin Poirier was reportedly the second-highest earner of the night, taking home $1.01 million as his total payout. He made $500,000 to show, $100,000 as his win bonus, $15,000 in sponsorships, a $50,000 performance bonus and $350,000 as his PPV share.

Michael Chandler got paid $500,000 to show, $10,000 in sponsorships, $50,000 performance bonus and earned $200,000 as his PPV share; resulting in a total payout of $760,000.

Frankie Edgar took home a total payout of $295,000, while Chris Gutierrez earned a total of $155,000. Dan Hooker's total payout was $325,000, while Claudio Puelles earned $41,000 in total.

The numbers are reportedly based on what's known about the fighters' contracts, especially regarding the PPV shares, which aren't official given that numbers are yet to be released.