TLDR
- Dave Meltzer reported UFC PPV buy rates from April 2024 to February 2025, ranging from 67,000 to 615,000 buys
- Conor McGregor claimed his last fight drew more buys than all the recently reported events combined
- UFC 300 led with 615,000 buys while UFC 301 drew only 67,000 buys, the lowest of the reported events
- McGregor headlined eight of the ten biggest UFC PPV events, including UFC 229’s record 2.29 million buys
- The UFC ended traditional pay-per-view in 2026 with a $7.7 billion Paramount deal replacing the ESPN partnership
Sources: NY Fights | MMA Junkie | MMA Fighting
Conor McGregor took to social media to mock recent UFC pay-per-view numbers after Dave Meltzer released buy rate data from the final years of the promotion’s ESPN deal. The former two-division champion posted on X (formerly Twitter) that his last fight drew more buys than all the recently reported events combined.
Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported PPV buy rates for several UFC events between April 2024 and February 2025. The numbers showed a wide range of commercial performance during the promotion’s last stretch under its ESPN partnership.
UFC 300, which took place on April 13, 2024, topped the list with 615,000 buys. The event was headlined by Alex Pereira defending his light heavyweight title against Jamahal Hill and cost $79.99 for U.S. customers with an ESPN+ subscription.
The Numbers Behind the Decline
The lowest-performing event was UFC 301 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which drew just 67,000 buys. That card featured Alexandre Pantoja defending his flyweight title against Steve Erceg and a co-main event between José Aldo and Jonathan Martinez.
🚨 Conor McGregor will fight on July 11 unless “something disastrous” happens, per Ariel Helwani
Max Holloway could be the fight 👀 pic.twitter.com/EW1XiJY1b8
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) March 23, 2026
UFC 302 saw Islam Makhachev retain his lightweight championship against Dustin Poirier, generating 410,000 buys on June 1, 2024. UFC 303, the International Fight Week card on June 29, 2024, brought in 274,000 buys with Pereira fighting Jiří Procházka.
That UFC 303 event was originally scheduled to feature McGregor’s return against Michael Chandler. McGregor withdrew from the bout and has not fought since his leg injury at UFC 264 in July 2021, nearly four years ago.
More recent events showed continued lower buy rates compared to the McGregor era. UFC 311 on January 18, 2025, drew 240,000 buys for Makhachev’s fight against last-minute replacement Renato Moicano and a co-main event between Merab Dvalishvili and Umar Nurmagomedov.
UFC 312 generated 176,000 buys on February 8, 2025, for the rematch between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland in Sydney, Australia. That card also featured Zhang Weili defending her strawweight title against Tatiana Suarez.
McGregor’s PPV Dominance
McGregor’s claim about his drawing power has historical support. He headlined eight of the ten biggest-selling events in UFC history during his career.
UFC 229, where McGregor fought Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2018, holds the all-time record with 2.29 million buys. His rematch with Nate Diaz at UFC 202 in August 2016 drew 1.6 million buys.
McGregor’s two most recent fights against Poirier generated massive numbers. UFC 257 in January 2021 brought in 1.6 million buys, while UFC 264 in July 2021 drew 1.5 million buys before McGregor suffered the leg injury that has kept him out of competition.
Across his career, McGregor is estimated to have driven approximately 10 million total pay-per-view buys. No other UFC fighter has come close to matching his commercial success under the traditional PPV model.
The traditional pay-per-view era has now ended for the UFC. The promotion signed a seven-year deal with Paramount worth $7.7 billion that began in 2026.
Under the new agreement, fans in the United States, Latin America, and Australia can access all UFC events through a Paramount+ subscription. The UFC’s previous ESPN deal, which started in 2018, was valued at approximately $500 million annually with escalators throughout its term.
