It seems that the return of Conor McGregor was the prospect that many predicted.
According to a report in the Sports Business Journal on Monday (subscription required), ESPN + recorded 1.2 million pay-per-view purchases for UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi, followed by Dustin Poirier’s TKO victory in the second round about McGregor in a lightweight rematch. Another 400,000 international purchases amount to 1.6 million.
Mike Bohn, MMA Junkie, reported earlier one day that 1.6 million is the floor for sale.
The UFC is not an exchange traded company and does not disclose money. The early reporting on pay-per-view purchases does not mention whether the company had to issue a significant number of refunds after reports of widespread problems with access to the live viewers who purchased the event.
Either way, if the 1.6 million purchase figure stands, it will make UFC 257 one of the most popular events in company history. UFC 229, with Khabib Numagomedov’s win over Conor McGregor, made a reported 2.4 million purchases, while UFC 202, with McGregor’s majority win over Nate Diaz, was good for a reported 1.65 million purchase.