UFC 251 sells 1.3 million pay-per-view buys, Jorge Masvidal now becomes UFC’s biggest star
The hype UFC Fight Island carried leading into last weekend was similar to that of a Conor McGregor Fight.
UFC President Dana White even spoke about it prior to the fight.
This thing is trending higher than a Conor Mcgregor fight,” White said prior to the event. “The only thing this fight is comparable to is Conor-Khabib [Nurmagomedov].”
The expectations of Fight Island were high, especially due to the lack of live sporting options, but the last-minute addition of Jorge Masvidal certainly made a huge impact.
According to a report from The Athletic, UFC251 reportedly sold around 1.3 million pay-per-views on ESPN+. This marks the biggest PPV buys so far this year.
Jorge Masvidal knows he played a major role in the biggest card of the year.
“The overwhelming amount of support I have received before, during, and after this journey has been humbling,” Masvidal wrote. “Still got a lot of goals to meet. All of you that tuned in to see me win, thank you. Those that tuned in to see me lose, thank you.”
The debut of Fight Island in Adu Dhabi had the most pay-per-views since the Khabib vs Conor fight in 2018, which holds the record for PPV buys with 2.4 million.
UFC sells its domestic pay-per-views with ESPN, who does not release the exact number to the public, so the butyrate could be higher or lower.
UFC 229 remains the largest selling pay-per-view card in UFC history. Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurgamovedov sold around 2.4 million pay-per-views.
With the 1.3 million buys the UFC 251 card ranks within the top five pay-per-views cards in the company’s history. Four of those cards were headlined by Conor McGregor. With Conor now retired, Jorge Masvidal now seems to be the UFC’s biggest star.
Photo by Jeff Botarri/Zuffa LLC
Dana White confirmed the star power Masvidal has during today’s post-fight press conference.
“Yea, yea he’s a big star,” Dana answered.
According to the Miami fighter, a major sticking point that halted negotiations was the percentage on pay-per-view he would receive. With the release of the estimated buys, we are sure he is happy with the money he will be making.
The “BMF” champ has now entered the all-time top 5 UFC PPV list and could break the current record if he fights another huge star such as Conor McGregor.
Who do you think is next for Jorge Masvidal? Perhaps, Conor McGregor? A fight between the UFC’s two biggest superstars could break the all-time pay-per-view record.
