The UFC has indicated that UFC 196 is trending to be the biggest PPV in the company’s history according to a press release sent out by the promotion.
UFC 196 had the highest digital PPV sales of all-time in addition to a record 4.9 million viewers for the UFC’s Embedded series.
Dana White has claimed that the event sold 1.5 million PPVs. The UFC record is UFC 100 with 1.6 million reported PPV buys. Of course, UFC PPVs are $60 now as opposed to back in 2009. Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer stated early estimates are over 1.2M PPV buys.
Notably, there were 5M google searches for UFC 196 on Saturday which seems to infer that a lot of people were seeking the event out. Tracking google searches have become a source of predicting PPV sales.
The Prelims drew the second-highest rating on FS1 ever. The peak for the UFC 196 prelims hit 2,082,000 viewers. It was the most-watched PPV Prelim card in the history in the adult 18-49 demo with 1.074M viewers per Fox Sports.
Payout Perspective:
The digital sales were likely aided by a special offer on UFC Fight Pass for subscribers receiving 20% off of the PPV. The job by the UFC to sell the McGregor-Diaz fight after RDA dropped out was excellent. One has to wonder if RDA stayed in the event whether the PPV sales would have been the same, less or more. The UFC has now had three of its past 4 PPVs draw 1 million buys or more.
tops E says
Hahaha….the spin continues,
d says
HAHAHA!!! You should take your own advice.
Record ppv numbers = Topps on a war path. Hahaha.
d says
One thing to mention- the fight pass numbers are not included in Meltzer’s total.
FOX also has to be thrilled how FS1 is being propelled in part by the UFC’s big numbers.
tops E says
https://m.youtube.com/results?q=callen and schaub on ufc 196&sm=3. Watch first 30 mins hahahahaha
tops E says
So its suppose to exceed 1.6 M? But its 1.5? Oh wait its 1.2m oh we dont release official numbers hahahaha
d says
Meltzer is saying it is trending to 1.3m without including any streaming numbers. Pretty impressive.
Let me know when boxing has a third party disclose the ppv buy rates. Last time someone did that (Rafael), he was scolded for it. Haha. Espinoza and co. don’t like it when someone tells the truth about their exaggerated numbers.
….Topps doesn’t know what to do. Hahaha.
d says
Possibly biggest ppv ever, Jones-Cormier coming up in a month…another 800k buys, plus UFC 200 which will break all records including the one just broken, Rousey-Tate in the fall. Big year for mma!!
Fight Fan says
D this ppv didn’t even beat mayweather vs de la Hoya, or Canelo mayweather lol, let me know when that happens.
d says
Fight Fan, boxing has never hit UFC 2015 ppv numbers. They also never had 3 ppvs in a 4 month span hit 1m buys. That’s also considering boxing has been around much longer. Let me know when that happens.
You are living in the past by the way dragging in retired boxers. Look at the present and future and it doesn’t look very bright for boxing.
The Greatest says
1.2M just like the last one?
So thats McGregors peak it seems and he lost so thats that.
Boxing had a ppv do 4.6M in 2015.
How many UFC ppvs did it take to reach that?
9.
It took 12 UFC ppv in 2015 to do what Mayweather did with 2 ppvs in 2015.
d says
It’s actually higher than 1.2 and his next fight will be bigger giving him a new peak. Haha.
The rest of your figures are fabrications as usual.
The fact remains the UFC will at least DOUBLE boxing this year in ppv and likely will have the top 3 ppvs of the year. That is called dominating the market.
Fight Fan says
I guess you need to “dominate” when you got a $500 million loan and all the big stars for the promotion have lost.
d says
They could pay off the loan right now if they would like, unlike PBC who has nothing to show for but a jumbotron. How sad is the state of boxing then if mma fighters coming off losses can draw more ppv buys by far, than anything they can put up.
Combo says
Great news.
Another killer year in PPV for MMA.
The Sweeter Science keeps growing.
Lol at the haters in denial. It’s killing them.
Fight Fan says
D you always leave out the fact that boxing has hbo and showtime still, pbc is not the death of it, unlike ufc where if they go under bellator will pick up the scraps.
Fight Fan says
And D if they could then why don’t they? And save millions on interest?
Combo says
Boxing fans will use the Mayweather-Pac buyrate as a crutch, even decades from now. ONE fight is not the barometer of a sports overall popularity. If anything, it shows how starved fans are for fights that should be made. Ironically, it was a disappointment to most viewers, turning many away.
Meanwhile, UFC continues to hold amazing events on a consistent basis and outdraw boxing in overall PPV
Good times for The Sweeter Science.
d says
Fight Fan you leave out the fact that all you guys were saying once PBC hits the networks they would take over and destroy the UFC. In reality all they have proven is that boxing on network tv is done. HBO/Showtime boxing can’t draw what the UFC does. It isn’t even close really. There just isn’t the interest anymore for boxing in the US.
You also don’t know how a business is run. The money loan they received came at a time when interest rates were at an all time low. It makes better business sense to maintain the low interest loan, that is why.
The Greatest says
Boo this man
tops E says
Hahaha the takeover would not happen…ufc fanboys are coming back hahaha
tops E says
Needed days to recover from mcgregor lost hahahaha
d says
Hahaha. The boxing fanboys are self destructing with this insane level of success the ufc is having.
Wil says
Impressive and really shows the promotion strength behind McGregor as well as McGregors ability to self promote fights. I conjecture that this would not have broken even 600 ppvs had it just been holm vs tate, its McGregor people wanted to see. The man, prior to this, was the Mayweather of mma in terms of PPV sales. One wonders how his popularity will play out in the future. If he wins, I can see somewhat of a rebound, if he loses his next one or does not look impressive, the media hype may be over. Time will tell. No doubt though those are damn good numbers.
Fight Fan says
They will have him drop down and fight a tomato in order to make him look good and hype him back up wwe style again
d says
They are lining him up to fight either Edgar or Aldo at UFC 200. Those aren’t cans list time I checked.
This must be really eating away at you. Haha.
Fight Fan says
Eating away? The hype job is over lol
Wil says
I wouldnt call Frankie Edgar a can myself. Actually, I expect “The Answer” to beat him. With his collegiate level wrestling and his black belt in BJJ, Edgar’s style is all wrong for McGregor, as long as he is able to get him to the ground. The only problem I see is Edgar trying to box with him, which would be insanely foolish. Rather than training in boxing to punch, i hope he trains more on footwork/lateral movement, head movement, and angles for avoiding McGregors superior boxing game rather than engage him in it….and set up some of those single and double takedowns. Edgar wins in the ground, loses standing up. And I have the distinct impression that McGregor will have some serious stamina problems due to his coming weight loss.
tops E says
Yeah..mc gregor said one round bouncing head of the canvass…part.of the hype is what mcgregor predicts happens..mendes in 2,aldo would come in…
Now all that is gone,now when he talks its just trash talking…and he got exposed…he is not as advertised…
tops E says
Imagine his next fight he cant even dominate the trash talk.because his opponent would just keep reminding him that he got beat by a 12 days notice guy who is ranked number 5…if he fights rda he would say he beat diaz with a full camp hahaha
The Greatest says
McGregor could lose to Aldo as well. A one punch KO doesn’t determine the next fight.
They should give him an easy fight. Its entirely possible that Rousey loses to Tate and McGregor loses to Aldo/Edgar.
Cormier can beat Jones and we all know that the UFC would be in shambles if happened.
Jon Jones should be getting paid more than any of them. Hes actually a good fighter and should be their biggest draw but for some reason hes not.
Jones-Cormier II will probably do 600k ppvs. Not much steam for that right now.
Wil says
I agree with that ppv buy rate, neither jones nor cormier are on the level of a mcgregor or rousey, they never had the ufc dana white hype behind them, for reasons ive mentioned before. the die hard mma fans will watch it, but i dont see the casuals tuning it. and i think most of the die hards will go to bars to watch it rather than order it.
tops E says
Too bad for ufc fighters who are not dw favorites….they dont fit a criteria? hahahaha
tops E says
In his peak of hype and mind games…mc gregor cannot even give a good comeback when diaz says he fought midgets….now after the loss…opponents will not believe in him no more as well as the media with the way he lost…hahaha
The Greatest says
I would bet this ppv did maybe 1M.
I don’t put much stock in Dave Metzlers numbers especially since he just fell for a fake Mayweather story about McGregor and posted it on his blog like it was true.
Ha.
And if DW is claiming 1.5M then it probably did 850k
tops E says
Yeah dw looked really confused inside the octagon,no enthusiasm giving tate the belt hahaha….big problems
d says
“McGregor could lose to Aldo as well. A one punch KO doesn’t determine the next fight.
They should give him an easy fight. Its entirely possible that Rousey loses to Tate and McGregor loses to Aldo/Edgar.
Cormier can beat Jones and we all know that the UFC would be in shambles if happened.”
Na, they would just create more stars like they did when Ortiz/Liddell/Couture were retired/washed up and Silva/GSP took the reigns. Then when those two reitred/weren’t fighting, Rousey/McGregor took over. If they continue to lose (which at least for Rousey is unlikely), other fighters will take over. MMA is blowing up. People get their moneys worth on ppvs unlike in boxing which are constant snoozers.
“Jon Jones should be getting paid more than any of them. Hes actually a good fighter and should be their biggest draw but for some reason hes not.”
Because he can’t sell a fight like McGregor/Rousey. He lacks the charisma and no one likes the guy.
“Jones-Cormier II will probably do 600k ppvs. Not much steam for that right now.”
You are always wrong. You’ve never been correct on a prediction and when the numbers are released by a respected third party(unlike it boxing), you just deny it. That fight will do at least what it did before 800k buys.
d says
“I would bet this ppv did maybe 1M.
I don’t put much stock in Dave Metzlers numbers especially since he just fell for a fake Mayweather story about McGregor and posted it on his blog like it was true.
Ha.
And if DW is claiming 1.5M then it probably did 850k”
Yet, Meltzer’s numbers from his wwe days have been verified as legit. He has been proven and respected as a journalist by everyone covering this sport and various others. I also find it fascinating that you accept exaggerated lies that boxing promoters throw out there, that are not verified by anyone, and when they are, they are always called out for lying. This fight was massive, you just can’t accept the reality that the UFC is going to do 2-3x the ppv buys this year that boxing will. Boxing ppv is in the gutter and the UFC is headed for another record year. Hahahahahaha.
d says
“Eating away? The hype job is over lol”
The alleged hype job’s next ppv is going to be the biggest in company history. Hahaha.
Fight Fan says
Wwe is a public company d, they can’t lie about the numbers to investors
d says
Who said they did? Is this your new ploy? Making things up that I never said?
Fight Fan says
What I meant was that ufc can say whatever they want, meanwhile wwe has to report legit numbers and subscriptions or risk lawsuits
d says
Yes, the UFC along with all of the boxing promoters, can say whatever they want, however the UFC unlike boxing, has someone with merit fact checking them. I find it interesting how you have zero problems accepting the word of some corrupt boxing promoter or boxing exec, but when White says something you call him out as a liar.
Fight Fan says
Showtime and hbo cannot provide bogus numbers to investors that would be fraud
Fight Fan says
And btw white is a liar
“Women will never fight in ufc” -Dana white
The Greatest says
d on March 12th, 2016 8:47 PM
“The alleged hype job’s next ppv is going to be the biggest in company history.”
Thats what Ive heard for the last like 5 ppvs and none of them have been the biggest.
d says
“Showtime and hbo cannot provide bogus numbers to investors that would be fraud”
First off, that is completely false. Showtime and HBO do not have investors, AOL/Time Warner and Viacom do. Also, they do provide false numbers, this has happened a number of times and they have called each other out on it, not to mention how Rafael was threatened for calling them out on their lies. You act like there is any form of transparency with their buy rates. They do NOT release them to anyone publicly.
d says
“And btw white is a liar
“Women will never fight in ufc” -Dana white”
I never said he wasn’t, but so are Espinoza, Arum, Mayweather, Ellerbe, Schaeffer, etc.
d says
““The alleged hype job’s next ppv is going to be the biggest in company history.”
Thats what Ive heard for the last like 5 ppvs and none of them have been the biggest.”
The last one was from a revenue stand point.
This success must be killing you. Hahaha.