The UFC has reportedly took in a massive pay-per-view buyrate for UFC 251.
The card took place on July 11. This was the first stop on the promotion’s “Fight Island” trip. The event featured three title fights. Headlining the card was a welterweight championship clash between titleholder Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal.
UFC 251 Buyrate
According to early estimates, UFC 251 is trending to do approximately 1.3 million pay-per-view buys. The news was first reported by Mike Coppinger of The Athletic.
“Breaking: UFC 251, headlined by Kamaru Usman-Jorge Masvidal, generated approximately 1.3 million pay-per-view buys on ESPN+, multiple sources tell The Athletic. The debut of Fight Island in Abu Dhabi produced the most UFC PPVs since Khabib-Conor in 2018.”
Going into UFC 251. UFC president Dana White claimed the event was trending higher than a Conor McGregor bout. The UFC boss said the only thing it could be compared to is Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor from Oct. 2018. While that fight still holds the top UFC PPV buyrate by a good margin, UFC 251 was clearly a massive success.
In the main event, Usman successfully defended his welterweight gold. “The Nigerian Nightmare” scored a unanimous decision victory over Masvidal. Controversy loomed in the co-main event. Alex Volkanovski barely held onto his featherweight gold in a rematch with Max Holloway. “The Great” took the split nod that many, including White, disagreed with.
The other title bout was Petr Yan vs. Jose Aldo. The two bruisers were competing for the vacant UFC bantamweight title. It was an exciting fight but Yan proved to be too much for Aldo as he earned the fifth-round TKO finish.
- Keep Reading: Check Out Our Full UFC 251 coverage
