UFC 202 PPV Numbers Rank Among Best Of All Time

In news that should surprise no one, last weekend’s (Sat., August 20, 2016) UFC 202 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, did some absolutely huge pay-per-view (PPV) numbers for the UFC.

That was a given, however; the only aspect at question was just how big UFC 202 with its awaited Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz II main event, would rank among the top UFC events in sheer PPV numbers. And apparently it’s right up there with the top two events of all-time – March’s UFC 196, which featured McGregor vs. Diaz I, and July 2009’s UFC 100, which featured Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir II – as MMA Fighting’s Dave Meltzer has reported that UFC 202 did in the neighborhood of an estimated and staggering 1.2 to 1.5 million buys.

Those numbers could increase based on the UFC’s Internet sales according to Meltzer. In terms of the actually attended live gate, UFC 202 brought in a lofty $7,629,010 – good for fifth all-time. But those numbers, as Meltzer noted, are largely inflated due to the massive prices that the UFC charges for tickets to their flagship shows featuring McGregor or those like July’s UFC 200 – a supposedly monumental event that failed to live up to its mega-billing but still did a rumored 1.1 to 1.2 million PPV buys.

There were whispers throughout MMA that McGregor vs. Diaz II was suffering from a lack of excitement, but those concerns were quelled when the two bitter rivals participated in their now-infamous pre-fight press conference that ended in a water bottle and energy drink-throwing melee where a 12-year-old girl was hit in the face. Most of Diaz’ team, including his brother Nick, were banned from all fight-related activities as a result.

If these numbers are any indication about the overall justification of talent agency/investment group WME-IMG’s recent $4 billion purchase of the UFC, then it appears they made the right business decision, at least now. UFC 202 will rank as the fifth PPV event to bring over 1 million buys since last November after that number was previously a benchmark figure that only a few events from previous eras had reached.

As Meltzer also noted, those figures show the overarching trend of the UFC’s recent boom in popularity over the past years, a time period where the fights with the most backstory and personal bad blood coupled with their biggest stars tend to greatly outsell the fights that are simply booked to prove who is the best in terms of rank. Hardcore fans have frowned upon that strategy, but it’s undoubtedly the correct business decision for new owners looking to recoup a massive investment.

And the promotion most likely knows that those longtime hardcore fans will watch everything they produce whether they complain or not, leaving the true big money to be garnered by the many more casual fans who are on the fence in terms of deciding to purchase a card. Stars like McGregor, and now, to a lesser extent, Ronda Rousey, won’t be around forever, so this strategy may not be sustainable for a long period of time.

However, that won’t be anytime soon with McGregor at the helm of this new era of prosperity, especially with an absolutely astronomical trilogy bout with Diaz in the cards for the future, even if it may not be the next bout for either competitor despite the fact they both called for it after McGregor’s ultra-close majority decision win last Saturday.

What do you think about the direction MMA seems to be headed? Is making the rankings seem arbitrary – and sometimes even pointless – the right move for a company under new management?

Based on the estimated buys UFC 202 did, it is. At least for now.