Ultimate Fighting Championship, most commonly referred as UFC is no doubt, the biggest promotion in the history of Mixed Martial Artists world. Many of the widely known fighters are part of the promotion featuring the high quality contests. The Pay Per View event fights watched all across the globe, generating the massive revenue. Here we will show a run-down of highest PPV buys in the history of UFC as many big names were the part of these events. Also, the revenue details generated in them are available. All the data is based on the reports provided by the official sources.
| Main Event | PPV | Year | PPV Buys | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khabib vs McGregor | UFC 229 | 2018 | 2,400,000 | $180 million |
| Poirier vs McGregor 2 | UFC 257 | 2021 | 1,600,000 | $120 million |
| Diaz vs McGregor 2 | UFC 202 | 2016 | 1,600,000 | $90 million |
| Poirier vs McGregor 3 | UFC 264 | 2021 | 1,504,737 | $95 million |
| McGregor vs Cerrone | UFC 246 | 2020 | 1,353,429 | $80 million |
| McGregor vs Diaz | UFC 196 | 2016 | 1,317,000 | $77 million |
| Lesnar vs Mir 2 | UFC 100 | 2009 | 1,300,000 | $82 million |
| Alvarez vs McGregor | UFC 205 | 2016 | 1,300,000 | $83 million |
| Usman vs Masvidal | UFC 251 | 2020 | 1,300,000 | $90 million |
| Aldo vs McGregor | UFC 194 | 2015 | 1,200,000 | $80 million |
| Lesnar vs Carwin | UFC 116 | 2010 | 1,160,000 | $55 million |
| Tate vs Nunes | UFC 200 | 2016 | 1,100,000 | $71 million |
| Rousey vs Holm | UFC 193 | 2015 | 1,100,000 | $60 million |
Nurmagomedov vs McGregor: 2,400,000 PPVs Sold : UFC 229 was no doubt, the biggest pay per view event of the Ultimate Fighting Championship as it featured the record PPV sales of 2,400,000. The numbers are 800k more than that of Poirier vs McGregor 2. In the main event fight, 2 bigby of MMA world Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov came across each other for the lightweight championship with Nurmagomedov getting the title. The gross revenue generated by the PPV sales was $180 million.
Poirier vs McGregor 2: 1,600,000 PPVs Sold : Poirier vs McGregor rematch took place at UFC 257 in 2021 under the Corona Pandemic crisis. Thus, it recorded another highest PPV sales which were 1,600,000 generating the revenue of $120 million. McGregor went on facing another defeat and also lost the chance to win UFC Lightweight championship title. However, earned the second biggest revenue from his PPV fights so far to the date.
Diaz vs McGregor 2: 1,600,000 PPVs Sold : Not very much shocking to see McGregor again in the list as his rematch against Nate Diaz also became the part of list just as of his previous. Both MMA stars came across each other again in UFC 202 in 2016. They highlighted the main event with Welterweight championship fight where McGregor take the lead. The total revenue generated is $90 million as the recorded PPV sales were 1,600,000 for the main event.
Poirier vs McGregor 3: 1,504,737 PPVs Sold : It was the 3rd contest between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor which took place in 2021 as both fighters came across each other in UFC 264. It was another high grossing fight as the revenue generated from the event is $95 million. The total PPV sales for the main fight was 1,504,737 in which Poirier won the Lightweight championship title.
McGregor vs Cerrone: 1,353,429 PPVs Sold : In UFC 246 which took place in 2020, McGregor takes on Donald Cerrone, famous for the name of Cowboy, for giving the world UFC welterweight champion. The fight scheduled to take place in the main event and received 1,353,429 PPV sales which generated the revenue of $80 million as pandemic caused serious trouble for watching fight live in arenas.
McGregor vs Diaz: 1,317,000 PPVs Sold : Diaz vs McGregor fight is present at number 6 as 1,317,000 PPVs sold for the main event. McGregor is no doubt the money king in UFC as his fight in UFC 196 against Nate Diaz grossed $77 million. It was one of the memorable fight of McGregor’s career and UFC history as he faced defeat his opponent and lost the chance to win Welterweight championship.
Lesnar vs Mir 2: 1,300,000 PPVs Sold : Having 1,300,000 pay per views sold in his fight against Frank Mir, Broke Lesnar became one of the biggest name in business as he remained the part of big grossing events in his career in UFC. Both fighters faced each other in the main event title fight of UFC 100 where Lesnar went on winning the Heavyweight championship. Now, Lesnar is competing in the biggest wrestling promotion WWE and is among the highest paid wrestlers.
Alvarez vs McGregor: 1,300,000 PPVs Sold : Conor McGregor has been featured in many big pay per view fights. One of them is UFC 205 which took place in 2016 where another record for highest PPV buys in the history of UFC created. 1,300,000 people watched the event live online which generated the total revenue of $83 million for the main event.
Usman vs Masvidal: 1,300,000 PPVs Sold : Kamaru Usman has faced Jorge Masvidal in another big contest of the promotion’s history. Both fighters faced each other in Welterweight championship title fight in the main event of UFC 251 which took place in the year 2020. Usman vs Masvidal featured another great site about the love of fans towards the MMA and UFC. The fight received PPV sales of 1,300,000. Moreover, these sales generated the revenue of $90 million.
All these are the details about the top 10 highest PPV buys in the history of UFC with Conor McGregor dominating the list. If there is any change, we will make them available here. Stay tuned for more information!
