UFC 254 PPV Buys Fall Far Short Of Record

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White claimed the UFC 254 pay-per-view (PPV) event, which took place last weekend on “Fight Island” in Abu Dhabi, was on track to break the promotion’s all-time PPV record set by Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor at UFC 229 back in late 2018.

Not quite.

UFC 254 could not even match half of what UFC 229 was able to sell and finished with a total of 675,000 PPV buys, according to Sports Business Journal (via Jason Cruz). Certainly a solid number, but only good enough for fifth place in 2020 and far behind UFC 251: “Usman vs. Masvidal,” the year’s top seller with 1.3 million buys.

500,000 of the UFC 254 PPV buys came from stateside customers ordering through ESPN+. No question the final tally was affected by the 2 p.m. ET start time, but it’s hard to see this as anything other than a disappointment when you consider that UFC 249, headlined by Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje, pulled 700,000 PPV buys last May.

The numbers were equally dismal for the UFC 254 “Prelims” on ESPN2, which averaged just 343,000 viewers, according to MMA Fighting, which stands as the lowest number of the year and a meager .14 rating in the coveted 18-49 year-old demographic. The last time the UFC “Prelims” were this low, Nurmagomedov was defending against Dustin Poirier at UFC 242.

For more news and notes on UFC 254: “Khabib vs. Gaethje” click here.