MMA PAY PER VIEW KINGS
All The Facts and Figures from The UFC Pay Per View History
There is without a doubt only One king of the Pay Per View and his name is Conor McGregor. Headlining the top 6 grossing UFC Pay Per Views of all time (7 of his headlining Performances are ranked in the top 8) and the 2nd highest Boxing PPV against Floyd Mayweather. His fights have netted Over 18 Million Dollars. Here you’ll find out his exact numbers and numbers for 20+ of your favorite UFC Stars.
Who Has Headlined The Most UFC Pay Per Views?
RANDY “THE NATURAL” COUTURE w/ 18
18 - Randy “The Natural” Couture
17 - Anderson “The Spider” Silva
16 - Tito Ortiz, Jon “Bones” Jones
13 - Georges “Rush” St. Pierre
12 - Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell
10 - Daniel Cormier, Rich Franklin & B.J. Penn, Israel Adesanya
09 - Rashad Evans, Conor McGregor
08 - Ronda Rousey, Matt Hughes, Rampage Jackson, Vitor Belfort, Stipe Miocic
07 - Jose Aldo, Frankie Edgar
06 - Lyoto Machida, Max Holloway, Dan Henderson, Amanda Nunes
Michael Bisping, Cain Valesquez, Royce Gracie, Kamaru Usman
05 - Brock Lesnar, Junior Dos Santos, Tim Sylvia, Alexander Volkanovski
04 - Khabib Nurmagomedov, Shogun Rua, Dustin Poirier, Jorge Masvidal, Robert Whittaker, Yoel Romero, Robbie Lawler, Nick Diaz, Andre Arlovski, Nate Diaz, Dan Severn, Ken Shamrock, Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman, Charles Oliveira, Glover Teixeira, Colby Covinton
03 - Justin Gaethje, Holly Holm, Chael Sonnen, Tyrone Woodley, Anthony Pettis, Benson Henderson, Francis Ngannou, Frank Mir, Fabricio Werdum, Alexander Gustafsson, Forrest Griffin, Urijah Faber, Chad Mendes, Tony Ferguson, Frank Shamrock, Jan Blachowicz, Islam Makhachev, Alex Pereira, Leon Edwards
ANDERSON SILVA w/ 17
TOP GROSSING PAY PER VIEWS:
01. UFC 229
KHABIB VS. MCGREGOR
SATURDAY OCTOBER 6TH 2018
PPV BUYS: 2,400,000
UFC 229 Featured the biggest Grunge match in UFC History w/ Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov facing off for the lightweight title after the most brutal pre fight tactics and words in the history of the UFC. Khabib would win the the fourth round by Submission and then enter the crowd leading to a Brawl and one of the darkest moments in UFC history.
05. UFC 246
MCGREGOR VS. COWBOY
SATURDAY JANUARY 18TH 2020
PPV BUYS: 1,350,000
After being defeated by Khabib, Conor took over a year off and he would return to headline another Record breaking PPV against Fan Favorite Cowboy Cerrone. Conor would blow through the cowboy in less than 60 seconds on his way to a TKO victory and claiming KO’s in 3 different Weight Classes.
02. UFC 202
DIAZ VS. MCGREGOR 2
SATURDAY AUGUST 20TH 2016
PPV BUYS: 1,600,000
After Nate DIaz shocked the world and submitted Conor in thier previous bout handing Conor his first ever UFC loss, Mcgregor was obsessed w/ getting the win back. They would rematch a few months later in one of the greatest fights in UFC Welterweight history w/ Conor coming out on top in a Unanimous Decision Victory and Claiming “The King Is Back”.
06. UFC 196
MCGREGOR VS. DIAZ
SATURDAY MARCH 6TH 2016
PPV BUYS: 1,300,000
Originally Conor was to attempt to capture his second world title against lightweight champ Rafeal Dos Anjos, when RDA was forced to pull out due to injury, Nate Diaz would step in w/ his trash talk and mind games and famous Post fight speech “Conor Your taking everything I’ve Worked For”.
07. UFC 205
ALVAREZ VS. MCGREGOR
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 12TH 2016
PPV BUYS: 1,300,000
Conor McGregor became Multi Division Champion by putting on a masterclass in striking and Knocking Eddie out in the Second Round. Also Tyrone Woodley Defended his WW title against Wonderboy Thompson and Joanna J would succssfully defend her Flyweight belt.
03. UFC 264
POIRIER VS. MCGREGOR 3
SATURDAY JULY 10TH 2021
PPV BUYS: 1,600,000
Both men had knocked the other out in previous bouts and this would be to see who the best of the two was. Poirier would end up winning by TKO at the end of the second round when Conor broke his ankle and was unable to continue. The two would continue to trade words including Conor claiming Dustin’s wife was sending him IG messages and wanting to join him in an afterparty.
07. UFC 251
USMAN VS. MASVIDAL
SATURDAY JULY 11TH 2020
PPV BUYS: 1,300,000
3 Title fights would headline UFC 251 w/ Jessica Andrade defeating Rose Namajunas for the Woman’s Straw weight title, Alex Volkanovski defeating Max Holloway by UD to retain his title and in the Main event Kamaru Usman decisioned Jorge Masvidal who took the fight on a mere 6 days Notice.
10. UFC 194
ALDO VS. MCGREGOR
SATURDAY DECEMBER 12TH 2015TH
PPV BUYS: 1,200,000
In just 13 seconds Conor McGregor ended an 8 year reign by Jose Aldo and becoming Featherweight Champion of the world. Also Luke Rockhold defeated Chris Weidman to earn his first UFC title by becoming Middleweight Champion of the world by finishing Weidman in the 3rd Round.
04. UFC 257
POIRIER VS. MCGREGOR 2
SATURDAY JANUARY 23RD:
PPVS BUYS: 1,500,000
7 Years prior Conor KO’ed Dustin in less than 2 minutes on his way to becoming two division champion. The two would exchange friendly banter on twitter and schedule a rematch in the friendliest of terms even having Conor promise to donate to Dustin’s Charity. In the end Dustin would hand Conor his first KO defeat and the two’s friendship would turn very bitter.
07. UFC 100
LESNAR VS. MIR
SATURDAY JULY 11TH 2009
PPV BUYS: 1,300,000
Brock Lesnar was a PPV blockbuster and he would face Frank Mir in a grudge match and retain his HW title by destroying Frank in round 2. GSP Defeated Thiago Alves to retain his WW title and Dan Henderson Knocked out Michael Bisping in a battle of TUF coaches.
THE REST OF THE TOP 50:
11. UFC 116 - “LESNAR VS. CARWIN” 1,160,000
T12. UFC 207 - “ROUSEY VS. NUNES” 1,100,000
T12. UFC 193 - “ROUSEY VS. HOLM” 1,100,000
T14. UFC 92 “GRIFFIN VS. EVANS” 1,050, 000
T14. UFC 114 - “JACKSON VS. EVANS” 1,050,000
T14. UFC 121 - “LESNAR VS. VALESQUEZ” 1,050,000
17. UFC 168 - “WEIDMAN VS. SILVA 2” 1,025,000
18. UFC 91 - “LESNAR VS. COUTURE” 1,010,000
19. UFC 200 - “TATE VS. NUNES” 1,009,000
20. UFC 158 - “ST. PIERRE VS. DIAZ” 950,000
21. UFC 66 - “LIDDELL VS. ORTIZ 2” 929,000
22. UFC 148 - “SILVA VS. SONNEN 2” 925,000
23. UFC 94 - “ST. PIERRE VS. PENN 2” 920,000
24. UFC 190 - “ROUSEY VS. CORREIA” 900,000
25. UFC 217 - “BISPING VS. ST. PIERRE” 875,000
26. UFC 214 - “JONES VS. CORMIER 2” 860,000
27. UFC 101 - “PENN VS. FLORIAN” 850,000
28. UFC 189 - “MCGREGOR VS. MENDES” 825,000
T29. UFC 129 - “ST. PIERRE VS. SHIELDS” 800,000
T29. UFC 182 - “JONES VS. CORMIER” 800,000
T29. UFC 259 - “BLACHOWICZ VS. ADESANYA” 800,000
32. UFC 124 - “ST. PIERRE VS. KOSCHECK 2” 785,000
33. UFC 61 - “SILVIA VS. ARLOVSKI” 775,000
34. UFC 111 - “ST. PIERRE VS. HARDY” 770,000
35. UFC 141 - “LESNAR VS. OVEREEM” 750,000
36. UFC 126 - “SILVA VS. BELFORT” 725,000
T37. UFC 232 - “JONES VS. GUSTUFFSON 2” 700,000
T37. UFC 154 - “ST. PIERRE VS. CONDIT” 700,000
T37. UFC 79 - “ST. PIERRE VS. HUGHES” 700,000
T37. UFC 145 - “JONES VS. EVANS” 700,000
T37. UFC 268 - “USMAN VS. COVINGTON 2” 700,000
T37. UFC 249 - “FERGUSON VS. GAETHJE” 700,000
T37. UFC 253 - “ADESANYA VS. COSTA” 700,000
T37. UFC 261 - “USMAN VS. MASVIDAL 2” 700,000
T45. UFC 254 - “KHABIB VS. GAETHJE” 675,000
T45. UFC 71 - “LIDDELL VS. JACKSON” 675,000
T47. UFC 183 - “SILVA VS. DIAZ” 650,000
T47. UFC 81 - “SILVIA VS. NOGUEIRA” 650,000
T47. UFC 97 - “SILVA VS. LEITES” 650,000
T47. UFC 235 - “JONES VS. SMITH” 650,000
TOTAL APPEARANCES:
9 Headlined Pay Per Views in the Top 50 - CONOR MCGREGOR
8 Headlined Pay Per Views in the Top 50 - GEORGES ST. PIERRE
5 Headlined Pay Per Views in the Top 50 - BROCK LESNAR
5 Headlined Pay Per Views in the Top 50 - ANDERSON SILVA
5 Headlined Pay Per Views in the Top 50 - JON JONES
THE KING OF PPV!!!
CONOR MCGREGOR:
Top Grossing PPV - UFC 229: $2,400,000
Highest Total PPV Buy Rates - $12,125.000
Total U.S. PPV Buy Rates: $16.425,000+
Highest Avg. Buy Rates - $1,347,222
2nd Highest Boxing PPV - $4,300,000
(Vs. Floyd Mayweather)
Headlined the top 6 PPV’s
(8 of the top 10)
+Including The Boxing Bout
Highest Avg. Buy Rate Per Pay Per View:
01. Conor McGregor - $1,347,222
02. Brock Lesnar - $1,060,000
03. Ronda Rousey - $757,500
04. George’s St. Pierre - $704,000
05. Daniel Cormier - $572,400
06. Rampage Jackson - $565,715
07. Rashad Evans - $557,333
08. Lyoto Machida - $526,670
09. Anderson Silva - $524,000
10. Jon Jones - $520,800
Highest Total Buy Rate:
01. Conor McGregor - $12,125,000
02. Anderson Silva - $9,420,000
03. George’s St. Pierre - $9,150,000
04. Jon Jones - $7,812,000
05. Brock Lesnar - $6,309,000
06. Ronda Rousey - $6,060,000
07. Daniel Cormier - $5,724,000
08. Chuck Liddell - $5,441,000
09. Rashad Evans - $5,015,000
10. B.J. Penn - $4,635,000
THE QUEEN OF PAY PER VIEW
Love her or hate her, consider her the best or just the first either way no woman has generated the Pay Per View numbers that Ronda Rousey did. Only two other woman have been close to her in terms of dominance, those being Cyborg and Amanda Nunes. In regards to PPV’s the latter 2 rarely headlined and when they did the numbers were extremely low. Nunes had 2 big PPV’s one w/ Ronda and the other being 200. As for Ronda she Headlined twice the amount of PPV’s as any other female UFC star.
By The Numbers:
2 Highest Grossing Woman’s PPV’s Of All Time
Pay Per View Headlined: 8 (2 Co-Headlines)
Total Buy Rates: $6,060,000 (6th All Time)
Avg. Buy Rate: $757,500 (3rd All Time)
OUR TOP 20 STARS OF THE PAY PER VIEW ERA:
01. CONOR MCGREGOR
Events Headlined: 9
Total Buy Rate: $11,475,000 (1st)
Avg. Buy Rate: $1,434,375 (1st)
05. DANIEL CORMIER
Events Headlined: 10
Total Buy Rate: $5,724,000 (7th)
Avg. Buy Rate: $572,400 (5th)
09. QUINTON “RAMPAGE” JACKSON
Events Headlined: 7
Total Buy Rate: $3,960,000 (11th)
Avg. Buy Rate: $565,715 (6th)
13. RANDY COUTURE
Events Headlined: 18
Total Buy Rate: $3,522,000 (12th)
Avg. Buy Rate: $270,923 (20+)
17. RICH FRANKLIN
Events Headlined: 10
Total Buy Rate: $3,070,000 (15th)
Avg. Buy Rate: $307,000 (18th)
Honorable Mentions:
Dan Henderson
Maurico “Shogun” Rua
Michael Bisping
Vitor Belfort
Junior Dos Santos
02. BROCK LESNAR
Events Headlined: 5
Total Buy Rate: $6,309,000 (5th)
Avg. Buy Rate: $1,051,500 (2nd)
06. ANDERSON SILVA
Events Headlined: 17
Total Buy Rate: $9,420,000 (2nd)
Avg. Buy Rate: $524,000 (9th)
10. B.J. PENN
Events Headlined: 10
Total Buy Rate: $4,635,000 (10th)
Avg. Buy Rate: $463,500 (13th)
14. STIPE MOICIC
Events Headlined: 8
Total Buy Rate: $3,227,000 (13th)
Avg. Buy Rate: $461,000 (15th)
18. MATT HUGHES
Events Headlined: 8
Total Buy Rate: $2,505,000 (18th)
Avg. Buy Rate: $313,215 (17th)
Participants in our Top 20 Must have headlined at least 6 Pay Per Views.
One Notable person not on the list is Khabib Nurmagomedov. Only headlined 4 Pay Per Views.
03. GEORGES ST. PIERRE
Events Headlined: 13
Total Buy Rate: $9,150,000 (3rd)
Avg. Buy Rate: $704,000 (4th)
07. CHUCK LIDDELL
Events Headlined: 12
Total Buy Rate: $5,441,000 (8th)
Avg. Buy Rate: $469,000 (12th)
11. RASHAD EVANS
Events Headlined: 9
Total Buy Rate: $5,015,000 (9th)
Avg. Buy Rate: $557,333 (7th)
15. CAIN VALESQUEZ
Events Headlined: 6
Total Buy Rate: $2,890,000 (16th)
Avg. Buy Rate: $481,666 (11th)
19. FRANKIE EDGAR
Events Headlined: 7
Total Buy Rate: $2,060,000 (19th)
Avg. Buy Rate: $294,285 (19th)
Quick List:
01. Conor McGregor
02. Brock Lesnar
03. George’s St. Pierre
04. Ronda Rousey
05. Daniel Cormier
06. Anderson Silva
07. Chuck Liddell
08. Jon Jones
09. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
10. B.J. Penn
04. RONDA ROUSEY
Events Headlined: 8 (2 Co)
Total Buy Rate: $6,060,000 (6th)
Avg. Buy Rate: $757,500 (3rd)
08. JON JONES
Events Headlined: 15
Total Buy Rates: $7,812,000 (4th)
Avg. Buy Rates: $520,800 (10th)
12. LYOTO MACHIDA
Events Headlined: 6
Total Buy Rate: $3,160,000 (14th)
Avg. Buy Rate: $526,670 (8th)
16. JOSE ALDO
Events Headlined: 7
Total Buy Rate: $2,555,000 (17th)
Avg. Buy Rate: $365,000 (16th)
20. TITO ORTIZ
Events Headlined: 16
Total Buy Rate: N/A
Avg. Buy Rate: N/A
11. Rashad Evans
12. Lyoto Machida
13. Randy Couture
14. Stipe Miocic
15. Cain Velasquez
16. Jose Aldo
17. Rich Franklin
18. Matt Hughes
19. Frankie Edgar
20. Tito Ortiz
The Rest of the Top 50 PPV’s
#11 - UFC 207: NUNES VS. ROUSEY (Woman’s Bantamweight Championship)
#12 - UFC 193: ROUSEY VS. HOLM (Woman’s Bantamweight Championship)
#13 - UFC 92: “THE ULTIMATE 2008” GRIFFIN VS. EVANS (L. Heavyweight Championship)
#14 - UFC 114: JACKSON VS. EVANS
#15 - UFC 121: LESNAR VS. VALESQUEZ (Heavyweight Championship)
#16 - UFC 168: WEIDMAN VS. SILVA 2 (Middleweight Championship)
#17 - UFC 91: COUTURE VS. LESNAR (Heavyweight Championship)
#18 - UFC 200: TATE VS. NUNES (Woman’s Bantamweight Championship)
#19 - UFC 158: ST. PIERRE VS. DIAZ (Welterweight Championship)
#20 - UFC 66: LIDDELL VS. ORTIZ 2 (Light Heavyweight Championship)
#21 - UFC 148: SILVA VS. SONNEN 2 ( Middleweight Championship)
#22 - UFC 94: ST. PIERRE VS. PENN 2 (Welterweight Championship)
#23 - UFC 190: ROUSEY VS. CORREIA (Woman’s Bantamweight Championship)
#24 - UFC 217: BISPING VS. ST. PIERRE (Middleweight Championship)
#25 - UFC 214: CORMIER VS. JONES 2 (Light Heavyweight Championship)
#26 - UFC 101: DECLARATION: PENN VS. FLORIAN (Lightweight Championship)
#27 - UFC 189: MENDES VS. MCGREGOR (Interim Featherweight Championship)
#28 - UFC 259: BLACHOWICZ VS. ADESANYA (Light Heavyweight Championship)
#29 - UFC 129: ST. PIERRE VS. SHIELDS (Welterweight Championship)
#30 - UFC 182: CORMIER VS. JONES (Light Heavyweight Championship)
#31 - UFC 124: ST. PIERRE VS. KOSCHECK 2 (Welterweight Championship)
#32 - UFC 61: “BITTER RIVALS”: SYLVIA VS. ARLOVSKI (Heavyweight Championship)
#33 - UFC 111: ST. PIERRE VS. HARDY (Welterweight Championship)
#34 - UFC 141: LESNAR VS. OVEREEM
#35 - UFC 126: SILVA VS. BELFORT (Middleweight Championship)
#36 - UFC 232: JONES VS. GUSTAFFSON 2 (Light Heavyweight Championship)
#37 - UFC 79: “NEMESIS”: HUGHES VS. ST. PIERRE (Welterweight Championship)
#38 - UFC 253: ADESANYA VS. COSTA (Middleweight Championship)
#39 - UFC 249: FERGUSON VS. GAETHJE (Interim Lightweight Championship)
#40 - UFC 145: JONES VS. EVANS (Light Heavyweight Championship)
#41 - UFC 154: ST. PIERRE VS. CONDIT (Welterweight Championship)
#42 - UFC 254: KHABIB VS. GAETHJE (Lightweight Championship)
#43 - UFC 71: LIDDELL VS. JACKSON (Light Heavyweight Championship)
#44 - UFC 183: SILVA VS. DIAZ
#45 - UFC 81: “BREAKING POINT”: NOGUIRA VS. SYLVIA (Heavyweight Championship)
#46 - UFC 97: “Redemption”: SILVA VS. LEITES (Middleweight Championship)
#47 - UFC 235: JONES VS. SMITH (Light Heavyweight Championship)
#48 - UFC 98 - EVANS VS. MACHIDA (Light Heavyweight Championship)
#49 - UFC 167 - ST. PIERRE VS. HENDRICKS (Welterweight Championship)
#50 - UFC 87: “SEEK & DESTROY”: ST. PIERRE VS. FITCH (Welterweight Championship)