Conor
McGregor’s return to action brought yet another pay-per-view
bonanza for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
According to a report from the
Sports Business Journal, UFC 257 sold 1.2 million pay-per-view
buys in the United States and another 400,000 internationally. The
UFC does not officially release pay-per-view buy rates.
UFC 257 took place at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 23 and
saw Dustin
Poirier knock out McGregor in the second-round of the evening’s
lightweight main event. It was a rematch of a 2014 bout won by
McGregor via first-round TKO. The pay-per-view aired via ESPN+ in
the United States. ESPN will reportedly
issue partial refunds to those who experienced streaming
problems after purchasing the event.
When final figures are compiled, UFC 257 could end up as the
promotion’s No. 2 selling event of all time. McGregor’s
fourth-round submission loss to Khabib Nurmagomeodv, which drew a
reported 2.4 million buys in October 2018, is No. 1, while the
Irish star’s majority decision win in a rematch with Nate Diaz at
UFC 202 sold approximately 1.6 million pay-per-views. All told,
McGregor is responsible for the five top-selling UFC cards
ever.