Report | Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone did ‘equivalent’ of two million pay-per-view buys

A new report says that metrics for UFC 246, which was headlined by Conor McGregor and Donald Cerrone, indicate the event did equivalent to two million buys under the old system.

Veteran MMA scribe Dave Meltzer said that McGregor vs. Cerrone would have done two million PPV buys under the old system, when PPVs were available on multiple platforms instead of just ESPN+. Here’s what Meltzer said (h/t Marc Raimondi).

https://twitter.com/marc_raimondi/status/1219385085306142721

“On Wrestling Observer Radio, @davemeltzerWON said metrics were indicating UFC 246 did the equivalent of what 2 million PPV buys would have been under the old, pre-ESPN+ system.”

Very few UFC PPVs have even broken the 2 million threshold, but considering it was McGregor fighting, this shouldn’t come as a complete surprise if indeed the numbers are that big. McGregor is by far the biggest superstar in MMA, so if the show did indeed break 2 million buys as Meltzer is suggesting it did, then McGregor would be the big reason why.

The UFC needed McGregor and the jolt of energy he brings to kickstart what is supposed to be a massive 2020 for the company. Although the UFC had a monster year in 2019 according to UFC president Dana White, they did that without McGregor even fighting. With McGregor back in tow, several PPV records could very well be broken.

McGregor’s next fight should do even bigger numbers. Whether it’s a rematch against UFC lightweight champion and arch-rival Khabib Nurmagomedov, or a fight against Jorge Masvidal, or a trilogy match against Nate Diaz, it’s clear from this new report that McGregor is still a massive draw. Whoever gets to fight him next will hopefully share in the PPV profits that a fight with McGregor brings.

How much did you enjoy watching Conor McGregor fight at UFC 246?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 1/21/2020.