It seems that the return of Conor McGregor has made the business a success that many have predicted.
According to a report Monday in the Sports Business Journal (subscription required), ESPN + recorded 1.2 million pay-per-view purchases for UFC 257 in Abu Dhabi, which was the title of Tustin’s victory in Dustin Poirier’s second round on to McGregor in a slight rematch. Another 400,000 international purchases marked 1.6 million.
Mike Bohn of MMA Junkie reported a day earlier that 1.6 million was the shopping floor.
UFC is not a publicly traded company and does not disclose financial data. Early reporting of pay-per-view purchases does not mention whether the company had to issue a significant number of refunds after reports of widespread problems accessing the live stream by viewers who purchased the event.
However, if the 1.6 million purchases are valid, this would make UFC 257 one of the most important events in the company’s history. UFC 229, with Khabib Numagomedov’s victory over Conor McGregor, made 2.4 million reported purchases, while UFC 202, with McGregor’s majority decision defeating Nate Diaz, was good for 1.65 million reported purchases .