UFC 229 has delivered the best PPV buy rate in company history according to multiple reports including The Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer. The event featuring the return of Conor McGregor and arguably the best lightweight in the world, Khabib Nurmogomedov drew 2.4 million buys.
Broken down, it drew 1.9 million PPV buys from traditional satellite and cable outlets and another 470-480,000 from internet sales on UFC’s web site. The combined buys surpass UFC 202 which drew a reported 1.5 million PPV buys.
Despite the lack of a long lead-up for this event, it delivered and ensures a rematch between the two despite the lopsided victory by Khabib and the fallout post-match.
Payout Perspective:
The first thing to glean from the news is the number of purchasers online. This could be due to the use of the “second screen” while watching other events (i.e., college football) Saturday night. It also means that the UFC likely made more money from the event since more online purchases would not be shared with satellite/cable companies. All of the indicators including Embedded and press conference views, prelim ratings and google searches pointed to big buy rate. There was some skepticism with the number of people interested in the fight but the casual fans came out to watch the PPV.
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