10 Highest Selling UFC PPVs In History

5. UFC 205 - 1,300,000 Buys

UFC 202: Diaz v McGregor 2
2016 Getty Images

UFC 205 is notable in history for several reasons – not least because this was the first ever UFC event to be held in New York City.

New York had finally lifted its ban on MMA contests, and so the iconic Madison Square Garden saw UFC Featherweight Champion Conor McGregor challenge for Eddie Alvarez’s UFC Lightweight Championship.

This was only the second time in UFC history that champions in two different weight classes had fought for the same title – Alvarez’s Lightweight Championship – and The Notorious would emerge with both belts after a second-round TKO victory, which made him the first person in UFC history to simultaneously hold titles in two different divisions.

The rest of the card saw UFC Welterweight Champ Tyron Woodley retain his title against Stephen Thompson thanks to the tightest of tight decisions, while Joanna Jędrzejczyk defeated Karolina Kowalkiewicz, Yoel Romero KO’d Chris Weidman, Raquel Pennington got a decision W over Miesha Tate, Frankie Edgar likewise got a decision victory over Jeremy Stephens, and Khabib Nurmagomedov continued his winning streak by tapping out Michael Johnson.

The MSG crowd ate up the action and the 20,000+ there brought in a gate total of $17.7 million to add on to the 1.3 million PPV buys generated by UFC 205.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.