UFC President Dana White tends to be prone to hyperbole when it comes to forecasting pay-per-view buys for his promotion. He is predicting especially big numbers for UFC 229, which is headlined by a lightweight championship clash between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor.
“I am confident it will do 2 million on pay-per-view,” White recently told Yahoo! Sports.
If White’s projections turn out to be true, it would be the largest pay-per-view in UFC history. He has good reason to be confident, as cards involving McGregor have been some of the largest draws in organization history. While the promotion doesn’t release official numbers, industry estimates have four cards involving the Irishman exceeding the 1 million mark.
Tickets for UFC 229 sold out in three hours, and the event is expected to produce a record gate. Normally the promotion will comp free tickets for its fighters, but that will not be the case for the Oct. 6 card at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. According to Yahoo Sports, two-division UFC champ Daniel Cormier bought two tickets at $7,500 apiece. The most expensive seats are going for $10,000.
“We’ve had some regular people pay $10,000 for a ticket,” White said. “But when I say regular people, I should say some very rich, regular people.”
McGregor further solidified himself as a top draw when his boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in August 2017 drew 4.4 million, the second largest all-time behind only Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao. White is expecting perhaps the biggest night in MMA history when McGregor and Nurmagomedov meet at UFC 229.
“Believe me when I tell you, this will be massive,” White said. “It’s going to blow people away how big this event will be.”