Conor McGregor has been the biggest star in combat sports for years now, and it doesn’t look like that’s changing any time soon.
All but one of McGregor’s PPV cards have reportedly topped the million buy mark, with the lone exception being UFC 189 against Chad Mendes — that being the first time “Mystic Mac” had topped a Pay-Per-View event.
On Monday, McGregor himself revealed the buyrate for January’s UFC 257 — posting a portion of his UFC PPV bonus paperwork and revealing 1,504,737 buys of the Fight Island event. The document is dated August 31, 2021.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) October 4, 2021
The number is roughly in line with previously reported estimates, that put the event somewhere around the 1.6 million buy mark.
McGregor lost his fight with Dustin Poirier at UFC 257, via TKO in the second round. The pair would fight in a rematch in July, only for McGregor to break his leg early in the fight.
Among the Irish star’s biggest PPV dates are his UFC 229 grudge match with Khabib Nurmagomedov, where he was submitted via neck crank, and the “Money Fight” against Floyd Mayweather Jr., which McGregor lost via 10th round TKO. The Khabib fight remains the UFC’s best selling event ever, at 2.2 million buys. That was dwarfed by the Mayweather boxing spectacle, which sold 4.3 million buys in the U.S., and over a million more internationally.
There is currently no time table set for McGregor’s return to the octagon, but mid-to-late 2022 is likely the earliest he’ll be fighting. A high-profile rubber match with Nate Diaz, and a fourth fight with Dustin Poirier remain lucrative options. Because love him or hate him, win or lose, McGregor remains a massive draw.
