The UFC have held pay-per-peek events for 30 years and many have attracted one million followers – nonetheless which is the handiest-selling of all time?
Conor McGregor has headlined quite a bit of the greatest UFC playing cards, nonetheless stars corresponding to WWE story Brock Lesnar and the inaugural BMF champion Jorge Masvidal have also attracted vast TV audiences.
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UFC 309 saw one in every of the game’s greatest Jon Jones beat Stipe Miocic to retain the arena heavyweight championship in Fresh York.
It modified into as soon as a immense match at Madison Square Backyard nonetheless it couldn’t crack the handiest-selling UFC PPV events of all time – with simplest 800,000 buys.
Here, talkSPORT looks to be on the top ten, ranked according to their PPV buys courtesy of Statista…
10. UFC 194: Jose Aldo vs Conor McGregor (1.2M PPV Buys)
McGregor starts an inventory he dominates with eight appearances.
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After a meteoric rise in MMA from Cage Warriors to the octagon in 2013, he modified into as soon as booked to face the greatest featherweight of all time in Aldo.
The pair embarked on an international tour that convinced 1.2 million of us to tune in after they finally fought.
The top map in combat sports lived as a lot as his pre-fight trash talk by knocking out Aldo, who hadn’t lost for ten years, with one punch in 13 seconds after they threw down at UFC 194 in December 2015.
In a strange twist, McGregor and Aldo have since establish their intense opponents to one aspect and develop into chums after making PPV magic collectively.
9. UFC 205: Eddie Alvarez vs Conor McGregor (1.3M PPV Buys)
UFC 205 modified into as soon as a ancient match and it attracted 1.3 million PPV buys.
It modified into as soon as the first time Fresh York hosted a UFC match following an extended-time ban on professional MMA in the yelp and it modified into as soon as also the first time a fighter had the chance to develop into dual-weight champion.
The 145lb titleholder, McGregor, did objective appropriate that in exemplary vogue by dominating lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez en route to a second-spherical stoppage win that propelled him to superstardom.
After celebrating his win by delivering a memorable false apology during his post-fight speech, McGregor booked a $100 million fight with Floyd Mayweather and started his crawl to becoming one in every of the richest men in sport.
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Eddie Alvarez took operate at Conor McGregor for ‘taking welfare’ sooner than their lightweight championship fight at UFC 205 attend in 2016
8. UFC 100: Brock Lesnar vs Frank Mir II (1.3M PPV Buys)
UFC 100 is calm talked about by fight followers bigger than 14 years later.
The landmark match, which took location in July 2009, featured WWE icon Lesnar defending his no longer too long ago received UFC heavyweight title against the top man to beat him in MMA – Frank Mir.
George St-Pierre, Michael Bisping and Jon Jones also featured on a stacked card that delivered many memorable moments.
The cardboard modified into as soon as so objective that it convinced 1.3 million of us to train their onerous-earned cash on the PPV.
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7. UFC 251: Kamaru Usman vs Jorge Masvidal (1.3M PPV Buys)
A rapid-examine fight captured the attention of MMA followers in July 2020.
Streaking welterweight knockout artist Jorge Masvidal stepped in to face long-time champion Kamaru Usman when Gilbert Burns bought injured and fell out of the UFC 251 main match bout.
The fight proved to be a 5-spherical snoozefest – which Usman gained by unanimous decision – nonetheless it modified into as soon as backed up by two more title fights: Alexander Volkanovski vs Max Holloway II and Petr Yan vs Jose Aldo.
Bereft of sports on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, 1.3 million of us tuned in for the UFC’s latest behind-closed-doorways display conceal in Yas Island, United Arab Emirates, which snappy grew to develop into identified as ‘Fight Island’.
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6. UFC 196: Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz (1.32M PPV Buys)
It wasn’t barely as vast as the rematch, nonetheless followers had been hyped for McGregor vs Diaz.
The March 2016 main match came collectively objective appropriate a week sooner than it took location when lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos suffered a damaged foot and withdrew from his matchup with the featherweight king.
After sharing memorable pre-fight trash talk, McGregor seemed as if it could well well be living as a lot as expectations in spherical one as he battered Diaz – nonetheless he tired and ended up suffering a shocking submission defeat in spherical two.
Over 1.3 million of us witnessed Diaz lock up a rear-bare choke sooner than delivering an ionic one-liner during his post-fight interview with UFC commentator Joe Rogan.
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5. UFC 246: Conor McGregor vs Donald Cerrone (1.35M PPV Buys)
McGregor took 15 months away from MMA – and even retired – following his defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov sooner than booking a comeback fight against UFC aged Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone.
More than 1.3 million witnessed the 35-yr-feeble MMA story at his blistering handiest as he ruthlessly wiped out Cerrone in objective appropriate 46 seconds at UFC 246 in January 2020.
After busting his opponent’s face with out a longer often-considered shoulder strikes sooner than finishing him off with a head kick, the brash Dubliner confirmed his softer aspect as he cried in the Octagon and embraced Cerrone’s grandmother.
‘Cowboy’ later admitted he modified into as soon as dreading his fight with McGregor and he finally ended his decorated profession in 2022 following a seven-fight winless bustle.
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4. UFC 264: Dustin Poirier vs Conor McGregor III (1.5M PPV Buys)
McGregor modified into as soon as fuming sooner than his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier.
The beforehand friendly opponents had fallen out over an unpaid charity pledge, and this ended in a toxic buildup to UFC 264 as the feeble dual-weight champion made things inner most with feedback about Poirier’s accomplice.
What modified into as soon as imagined to be a tiebreaker fight ended inconclusively as McGregor broke his leg during the first spherical and fell to a TKO defeat that left the 1.5 million PPV customers feeling unsatisfied.
Each and every men have expressed their interest in a fourth fight, nonetheless it looks to be it would also objective certainly no longer happen now.
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3. UFC 257: Dustin Poirier vs Conor McGregor II (1.6M PPV Buys)
Poirier finally avenged his most famous defeat in January 2021.
‘The Diamond’ modified into as soon as famously stopped by McGregor in 106 seconds after they first met as up-an-coming featherweight contenders seven years prior.
After a friendly gain-up, which modified into as soon as the reverse of their first meeting, Poirier snappy broke down ‘Mystic Mac’ with leg kicks sooner than knocking him out cool in spherical two as 1.6 million of us watched at home.
The Louisiana native’s shocking win derailed McGregor’s proposed crossover bout with boxing story Manny Pacquiao and cleared the path for a fiery third affair between the lightweight contenders.
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2. Nate Diaz vs Conor McGregor II (1.6M PPV Buys)
Sizable-title rematches continually abolish smartly for MMA’s premier promotion.
After Nate Diaz did the unthinkable and submitted McGregor, who modified into as soon as beforehand unbeaten in the Octagon, followers had been determined to glimpse them bustle it attend.
Diaz vs McGregor II attracted 1.6 million PPV customers and lived as a lot as the hype as the two UFC superstars establish on a 5-spherical fight for the ages in August 2016.
Finally, the Irishman walked away with a majority decision victory, nonetheless Diaz modified into as soon as also a winner as he’d long gone from objective appropriate one more UFC fighter to a bonified vast title.
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1. UFC 229: Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor (2.4M PPV Buys)
Needless to claim, McGregor headlined the handiest-selling UFC PPV of all time.
He modified into as soon as attempting to win attend his lightweight belt from long-time rival Khabib Nurmagomedov nonetheless fell to a fourth-spherical submission defeat in front of 2.4 million followers who sold the PPV in October 2018.
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However, UFC 229 will continually be remembered for the post-fight brawl that followed Nurmagomedov’s profession-handiest win as ‘The Eagle’ flew over the cage to attack McGregor’s teammate, Dillon Danis.
The 29-0 Russian fighter retired in 2020, mighty to the annoyance of ‘Infamous’ and UFC followers world huge who had been clamouring for the pair to rematch.
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