Word is June 14th's UFC 174 did a historically bad PPV buy rate with less than 100,000 PPV's sold. The card was a bit experimental in that it put the lightest weight class at top billing--Johnson having been second-fiddle on PPV's and headlining free shows previously. I think Johnson is pretty great but selling a pint-sized, technique-oriented MMA fighter to the general public will take a bit more work, it seems. Bellator's inaugural PPV event, May 17th's Bellator 120, featuring Quinton Jackson in the main event and Tito Ortiz on the undercard, reportedly did about 100,000 PPV's. Bellator isn't thinking about doing another PPV any time soon but those numbers are encouraging. Goes to show that branding isn't necessarily the most important thing in MMA. Put big-name fighters on the card and people will be interested. Wouldn't surprise me very much if, with limited main event options for UFC 176, the cancellation was related to 174's flop.
