Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer revealed in his latest Newsletter the pay-per-view numbers from the last year of the UFC PPV model on ESPN.
The UFC moved to Paramount+ and now fans can watch via a subscription model in addition to certain fights airing on the network.
Meltzer’s numbers are from 5 events staring with UFC 300 in April 2024 and ending in February 2025 with UFC 311.
UFC 300 which featured Alex Pereira taking on Jamahal Hill drew 615,000 PPV viewers. UFC 301, featuring Alexandre Pantoja defending his UFC flyweight championship against Steve Erceg drew 67,000 PPVs. UFC 302 featuring Islam Makhachev taking on Dustin Poirier drew 410,000 viewers.
Pereira returned for UFC 303 and defending the light heavyweight title against Jiri Prochazka whcih drew 274,000 viewers. The report then jumps to UFC 311 which saw Islam Makachev defending against Renato Moicano. You may recall that Moicano was a late replacement as Arman Tsarukyan pulled out a day before the event.
Payout Perspective:
Notably, the report does not have a number for UFC 306 which was the much ballyooed Sphere show. It also does not report on UFC 310 which was in New York City and featured the return of Jon Jones as he defeated Stipe Miocic. The ratings reflect a decrease in viewership in PPV purchasing. Even with big names like Makachev and Pereira, only UFC 300 mustered viewership over 500K.
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