UFC 232 drew approximately 700,000 PPV according to The Wrestling Observer. The event featured Jon Jones taking on Alexsander Gustafsson in the main event. It is the second highest reported PPV buy rate for 2018 to UFC 229’s 2.4 million PPV buys.
The end of year event was marred due to the last-minute venue change from Las Vegas to Inglewood due to the drug test failure of Jon Jones and the Nevada Athletic Commission’s hesitance to grant Jones a license.
UFC 232 would be the first PPV to surpass 500K that did not feature Conor McGregor since UFC 217 (Bisping-GSP).
2018 PPV Buy Rates (all estimates)
UFC 220: ~340,000 to 380,000
UFC 221: 130,000
UFC 222: 260,000
UFC 223: ~210,000 to 350,000
UFC 224: 85,000
UFC 225: 250,000
UFC 226: 380,000
UFC 227: ~300,000
UFC 228: 130,000
UFC 229: 2.4 million
UFC 230: 250,000
UFC 231: 240,000 to 300,000
UFC 232: ~700,000
Despite the controversy, it’s clear that fans wanted to watch Jon Jones return to the Octagon. The event also saw Amanda Nunes KO Cris Cyborg in the very first round to solidify herself as the best ever in Women’s MMA.
Payout Perspective:
2018 brought the UFC the lowest reported UFC PPV (Nunes-Pennington) and the highest reported PPV in UFC 229 (McGregor-Khabib). UFC 232 had its issues, but the casual fans came in big. Certainly, none of the additional fans that do not usually purchase UFC PPVs were not concerned with Jon Jones’ drug issues and happily purchased the fight. We shall see if Jones’ drawing power will continue in 2019. The general feeling is that it will.