UFC PPV numbers have long been a bit of a guessing game. The promotion has never released numbers (and were not required to). However, their partnership with ESPN has led to increased transparency, at least on a limited basis. Case in point, Disney’s Q1 earnings call on Tuesday had Chairman and CEO Robert Iger floating an approximate buyrate for UFC 246, a.k.a. the return of Conor McGregor.

During the earnings call, aimed at Disney shareholders, Iger addressed ESPN+, the streaming service of ESPN, which is also the exclusive provider of UFC PPV events in the United States.

“We ended the quarter with 6.6 million paid subscribers and as of Monday, we were at 7.6 million,” trumpeted Iger (full transcript via Motley Fool). “We’ve been especially happy with a number of partnerships, particularly with the UFC and the recent McGregor-Cerrone fight brought in about 1 million pay-per-view purchases and 0.5 million new subscribers.”

While that one million estimate may seem a bit under past estimations, keep in mind that it would only apply to U.S. purchases, and would not include any closed circuit orders. A number of other territories, including the U.S. and overseas locations, still serve up UFC events via traditional PPV providers over cable/satellite. Meaning the final tally is more than likely over a million buys.

UFC 246 marked the return to action of Conor McGregor, fighting for the first time since UFC 229 in October 2018. He dispatched longtime UFC/WEC veteran Donald Cerrone in forty seconds in the main event.

UFC 229 was purportedly the highest-grossing PPV in company history, with over two million buys suggested by UFC President Dana White.

The post Disney’s Robert Iger Estimates UFC 246 Pulled in “About 1 Million” PPV Buys, Added Half a Million Subscribers to ESPN+ appeared first on Cageside Press.

He must be fearless, right? He is one of the most well-respected and well-known bad asses in a roster full of them. His accomplishments have made Cerrone a lock for future induction to the UFC Hall of Fame, and for good reason. Here are just a few impressive facts about his resume:

• UFC 246 marks the ninth UFC main event fight for Cerrone.
• When Cerrone steps into the octagon at UFC 246, he will hold the record for most UFC fights with 34.
• Cerrone has the most wins in UFC history with 23.
• Cerrone has the most finishes in UFC history with 16.
• Cerrone has the most post-fight bonuses in UFC history with 18.
• Cerrone has landed 1,535 significant strikes, fourth most in UFC history. 
• Cerrone has scored a UFC record 20 career knockdowns.
• Cerrone has earned seven knockouts in the UFC via kicks, the most in UFC history. (Transcribed by Forbes.)

On paper, you would think that he has nerves of steel, as if nothing gets to him. Based on watching his many feats of dominant destruction, you’d be hard press to be convinced that he has anything other than ice in his veins. And you’d be wrong.

According to a video package that was shown on the UFC 246 Pre-Show on ESPN+ Donald Cerrone suffers from tremendous anxiety before fights, sometimes bordering on full-blown panic attacks. He has 34 fights in the UFC, and by his own admission, vomits backstage before every single walk to the octagon. Hard to believe? Watch for yourself.

“Every single time I’m just scared and just as nervous. My legs are heavy. My arms are heavy. It’s the worst night of your life. I go and throw up. I throw up every time, still to this day.” Cerrone said in a candid interview for the ESPN-produced video package

“You make the walk. You’re smilin’, but inside you’re scared. I’m scared! I don’t know about everybody else. You’re like ‘oh my God. What the Hell is goin’ on?'”

Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping, who were co-hosting the pre-show with Megan Olivi reacted to the Cerrone video with some surprising takes. Two of the most obnoxious trash talkers in the history of MMA also shared the bottomless pit of despair that looms during pre-fight anxiety.

Chael said, “Can you relate to some of those things? He is telling the truth. I fought 50 men. I promised myself before every fight – this is the last one!”

“I’m telling you – goosebumps!” Bisping said, “That’s exactly what it’s like. Every single time, when you are back there, you’re like, ‘why am I moving so slow?'” He went on to say, “beforehand, you think ‘why am I doing this?'”

Hearing a fighter of Donald Cerrone’s stature open up about his fear and his willingness to to conquer those fears was nothing short of remarkable. When two of the best analysts and UFC fighters of all time share similar experiences, it really changes the way one looks at the caliber of athlete it takes to compete in mixed martial arts.

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Conor McGregor needed only 40 seconds to dispatch of Cowboy Cerrone at UFC 246. The former dual-weight champion won his first fight in almost four years, earning a post-fight bonus in the process. However, McGregor was not the only fight on the card, as there were many outstanding performances from the likes of Roxanne Modafferi, Brian Kelleher, and Diego Ferreira.

Here are three takeaways from UFC 246.

Conor McGregor is still an amazing fighter.

In the legendary words of Roy Jones Jr, “Y’all must’ve forgot.”

In the lead-up to Conor McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone, there was mixed fan reception. Some were saying that Conor was ducking the likes of Justin Gaethje, with others saying that Cerrone is a tough fight to come back to. Conor McGregor hadn’t won a fight in almost four years by the time UFC 246 took place, with his last win coming over Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in 2016. While he did have two fights, against Floyd Mayweather in Boxing, and Khabib Nurmagomedov, since then, it’s still been a long time since we’ve seen Conor McGregor win.

There were many upset picks in the days leading up to Saturday night, even celebrities such as Dave Bautista who was sitting cageside picked Donald Cerrone to upset McGregor. Instead, Conor McGregor put on arguably the finest performance of his career, even showing new wrinkles in his game with shoulder strikes, and finishing Cowboy Cerrone in 40 seconds. Almost four years without a win, and he needed only 40 seconds to finish the UFC’s win-leader.

It was easy to forget how good McGregor is. And to be fair, for all we knew he was completely shot or was going to look rusty. Instead, he performed like he never even left. Conor McGregor is still an amazing fighter, and it’ll be interesting to see who he fights next. But the arguement that McGregor is too small for welterweight doesn’t seem that certain now. Despite Dana White wanting McGregor to go back down, it seems Conor’s current home could be at 170.

Yes, Maycee Barber lost, no her career isn’t over.

MMA fans and pundits are some of the most ruthless in sports. As Maycee Barber was busy being dominated by Roxanne Modafferi in their prelim bout, many were taking the time to celebrate the loss and declare that the hype train is now over and done with. Barber has been a bit of a controversial figure with fans, ever since declaring that she would be the youngest UFC champion ever. Not to mention not exactly being the nicest to her competition along the way.

So when Modafferi upset Barber, there was much celebration online by fans and fighters alike. However, just because she lost a fight in which she potentially tore her ACL and could barely walk, her career isn’t over. Maycee Barber is still an excellent fighter and great prospect, and only being 21 years old and a ranked UFC fighter is an accomplishment in its own right. Roxanne Modafferi has been around in MMA for longer than Barber has been alive, ergo a loss to someone of her caliber isn’t the end of her career.

It’ll be interesting to see how Barber heals up, and how long it takes her. Her quest to become the youngest UFC champion has certainly taken a bit of a hit, as she’ll likely be on the shelf for a while with the injury itself. It’s also likely to lead to stepping back in competition, which isn’t a bad thing. To go from fighting an unranked Gillian Robertson to facing a former title challenger in Modafferi was quite the leap, and it appeared to be too much, too soon.

But given the headliner of the UFC 246 card, Conor McGregor, started off 4-2, it’s far too early to call her career a wrap just yet.

Diego Ferreira, lightweight’s most overlooked man.

Diego Ferreira hasn’t lost in almost five years. Heading into UFC 246 many were questioning the decision to have an unranked Ferreira taking on former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis on the main card opener. Ferreira is not a name known by many casual fans, and Pettis was on a Wheaties box. He was coming off one of the biggest fights of 2019 against Nate Diaz in the UFC 241 co-main event.

Despite this, Ferreira showed exactly why he’s looked at as a dark horse in the UFC’s lightweight division. Not giving Pettis a chance to breathe, staying on him the entire fight and not giving him any space to throw anything. Taking him down in the second to get the rear-naked-choke finish, becoming the second-ever man to submit “Showtime” along the way. The win was the sixth in a row for Ferreira, defeating names such as Mairbek Taisumov and Olivier Aubin-Mercier along the way, as well as Pettis.

If Diego Ferreira isn’t in the top ten when the rankings come out, that’ll be a crime. His style and skill-set is a challenge for anyone at the top, and he absolutely deserves a big fight next. Putting him against a ranked fighter on the main card of UFC 250 in Brazil seems like it makes a lot of sense.

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Conor McGregor

Conor Mcgregor’s future has plenty of options following his first-round TKO victory over Donald Cerrone. Dana White spoke in the post-fight presser about how a rematch between McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov would be possibly the biggest fight in UFC history. McGregor’s return to lightweight is all but inevitable if he going after the title, but that doesn’t mean that is his only option. After the fight, McGregor got on the mic and called out both Jorge Masvidal and welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman. With his eyes set on staying at welterweight, his best option would be to fight the winner of Masvidal-Usman next, should that fight get made.

McGregor’s next fight: Winner of Usman-Masvidal 

Aleksei Oleinik

Aleksei Oleinik submitted Maurice Green via armbar in the second round this past Saturday. Before the fight, Oleinik was ranked at number 12 in the heavyweight division. With a win against an unranked opponent, it’s unlikely that he jumps too far into the rankings. With that being said Oleinik is getting up there in age at 42 years old. If he is trying to make a run at the UFC title, now would be the time.

Another veteran that is trying to make a late run at the title is Alistair Overeem. Overeem was on a two-fight winning streak before he lost his last fight against Jairzinho Rozenstruik in the final seconds of their UFC DC main event. A fight that he was winning pretty much every round of. He also just defeated Oleinik in the first-round by TKO back in April of 2019. This could make for a very interesting rematch as both men are looking to get back into title contention. Overeem is 39 years old and is ranked at the number eight spot in the division.

Oleinik’s next fight: Alistair Overeem 

Roxanne Modafferi

Roxanne Modafferi came into UFC 246 being the biggest underdog on the card. She quickly proved all the odds-makers wrong by dominating the entirety of the fight. Maycee Barber was looked at as a rising up and comer in her division with aspirations of becoming champion. Now that Modafferi has beat Barber, it is fair to say we should put Modafferi in the conversation for future titleholders. Jessica Eye just fought for the title in the past year and she also defeated Viviane Araujo after her title fight. Solidifying her number two ranking in the women’s flyweight division. With both Modafferi and Eye likely looking at the same timeline of return, it would be good to see these two up against each other for a possible number one contender fight.

Modafferi’s next fight: Jessica Eye

Who do you think these fighters should be fighting next? Let us know in the comments.

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Pettis, a former WEC and UFC lightweight champion, was back from a two-fight stint at welterweight. Ferreira (17-2) entered the fight on a five fight win streak. Well, make it six now. Ferreira submitted the former champion with a second-round rear-naked choke.

“It feels pretty good, especially because not so many people submit him,” Ferreira said following the victory, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press. “The last one was Poirier. I’m pretty happy with that. We put in a lot of work and effort. Now we see the glory of all the work we did.”

There was a lot going around around his UFC 246 bout, which certainly put the pressure on the Brazilian fighter. “It’s my birthday, I’m fighting in Vegas, this is a big card, all my family’s here,” he noted. “Now, after the win, I feel much better. I feel happy, I take a big weight off my back. I’m happy, I can’t wait to enjoy my birthday now, enjoy Vegas.”

Ferreira’s profile has been rising, as you would expect with a fighter who is now on a six-fight win streak And he knows it will rise more after a win over Pettis— though he appreciates he’s not there yet.

“In my social media I have a lot of people still commenting like, bad stuff, saying like ‘who’s that guy, who’s this?'” Ferreira said. “I know I’m not the top guy yet. I need to make my name up. But I want to show this, and I think I showed a little bit. Probably in the next fight, people are going to know me more.”

As for the best advice he got heading into the fight against Anthony Pettis, it was simple. “Go out there, [throw a] couple punches, and go for the takedown.”

Watch the full UFC 246 post-fight press scrum with Diego Ferreira above!

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“I’m very happy that I got my first victory in the UFC, because I received a lot of doubts after my first fight back in Mexico.” The doubt that he heard, said Askarov, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press via translator, centered around the idea that he was not “UFC level.” That’s after fighting to a draw with Brandon Moreno at UFC Mexico City.

“I’m very happy that I finally got the victory,” he reiterated. Still, even flyweight contender Joseph Benavidez sided with Moreno in that draw.

“First of all, I didn’t lose that fight with Brandon Moreno, unfortunately for Joseph,” Askarov said when informed of Joe B’s comments. “Secondly, it was very difficult for me to get comfortable in Mexico, because I got there on short notice, like ten days before the fight. And third, I’m very glad Joseph is not a judge, he’s a fighter.”

Benavidez, of course, will be fighting for the flyweight title next month. As for the Elliot fight, well it was not low on action. Askarov connected with a punch early that seemed to leave Elliott out on his feet. Somehow, the American recovered, but it was “Bullet” who would take home the win.

Looking forward, Askarov is targeting the top of the weight class. “I hope to get some opponents from top five, to get closer to the title fight. But it’s the job of my managers,” he said. “They will do the job to get me a fight. They’re good at it, so hopefully I will get a top opponent next.”

A year ago, there was a real question whether Askarov would even be here. After all, the UFC seemed ready to do away with the 125lb weight class — just as Askarov was entering the promotion. “I’m happy that the UFC decided to keep the flyweight division, because I got [my] contract in the middle, when they were trying to close the division,” he said on that subject. “So I’m very grateful that they decided to keep the division, and they gave me a chance to show myself to the world.”

Watch the full UFC 246 post-fight press scrum with Askar Askarov above!

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“It’s nice to feel loved again. Because for a while, two losses in a row, my job on the line, had to pull out of a fight due to injury. So it’s been a long road to get back here and to know what this feels like again,” Kelleher told media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight. “That’s the main thing. It was them bringing in a new contender, like ‘who’s here to stay, are we bring the new guy in, or is this guy still good to go?’ And I proved my point.”

Kelleher (20-10) earned the win via a first-round guillotine choke. Notably, Osbourne was forced to tap with his feet. “I knew I had it in, because his hands were stuck in there too, that’s why he tapped with his feet. Because he couldn’t wiggle out. It was either sleep or feet.”

‘Boom’ knew his opponent was a risk taker. He also knew that his own experience would play a role in the fight. “Once I got a hold of him, I felt a big strength difference, and that kind of helped me calm down,” he recalled. “I got him down on the ground, I kept him in position and I knew once I passed guard I was going to get a finish.”

Kelleher knew that Osbourne’s comfort zone was on the feet, “so it’s best to just put your opponent where he’s uncomfortable. So that was my plan.”

As for what his plan is next, Kelleher has a date in mind. “I would like to fight April 18 in Brooklyn [UFC 249]. I think that makes perfect sense,” he said. “Three month’s time, I’m from Long Island, New York, so right in my back yard. That would be great.”

Against who is another matter. “I hate wasting a callout,” he said, before adding that “I would like to fight Sean O’Malley, that guy’s got a lot of hype behind him. I could steal some of that, and we could move on from there. But I know he’s booked in February. So it’s hard to kind of cage that. If he gets a quick win and can rebound, I think we can fight in April.”

Unfortunately for Kelleher, O’Malley’s fight against José Alberto Quiñónez has been moved to March’s UFC 248.

Watch the full UFC 246 post-fight press scrum with Brian Kelleher above!

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Given what we know now, it would be hard to fault her for pulling out of her rematch with Raquel Pennington, frankly. Just weeks out from the fight, Holm’s father was hospitalized.

“My father had a stroke about three and a half weeks ago,” Holm told reporters including Cageside Press at the UFC 246 post-fight press conference. “He’s doing great, so that’s what we’re pumped about. But it’s definitely been a balance.”

A balancing act, and a fight that was not without its share of critics, including UFC President Dana White, who lamented that Holm and Pennington spent much of the fight stalled along the fence.

Holm understands the criticism, but frankly, it seems like she’s her own worst critic.

“Yes it feels good to win, but I always want more,” she said backstage at the T-Mobile Arena. “I just feel like I could have done a lot from every situation in this fight. I’ve learned a lot since our first fight. Our first fight was kind of a little bit more just like back-and-forth.”

This time around, she continued, “I was able to kind of just control the pace of the fight, but I should have done it in any way I wanted to. I felt comfortable enough to do it anywhere, and I should have done better at that.”

Fans in attendance, eagerly awaiting the return of Conor McGregor, let their voices be heard as the fight progressed and the action, frankly, did not. Asked whether she heard their complaints at the time, Holm said that “I’ve heard boos. I didn’t hear much, not that I didn’t hear a couple.”

“Usually the people that are booing aren’t the ones that actually do this for a job, so it really doesn’t bother me, you know? I don’t understand everything that everybody does in their job, so I’m not going to criticize it,” she explained. “It doesn’t bother me, it really doesn’t. They don’t have to boo me. Trust me, at the end of the day, I’m going to want to go back and be like ‘you know what, I could have done this better, I could have done that better, I could have done more.'”

She fights for herself, Holm added, and to make those around her proud of her. “I love that I have fans, and I always want to give them the best show that I can, but sometimes I fall short of that. It just keeps me driven to want to move forward and keep getting better.”

Holm, of course, is looking to work her way back to a title shot. Asked about plotting a course to get there, Holm responded by saying that “when I say I want a title shot — whatever path it is to get there. That’s the goal. When I first started MMA, everybody said ‘what are you doing?’ And it’s like ‘Well, I want to be a champion in both, boxing and MMA. And I want to do it.'”

The plan now is to take constructive criticism, improve, and “try and do more to capitalize next time.” With enough effort, Holm could find herself in another rematch — with Amanda Nunes.

Watch the full UFC 246 post-fight press conference with Holly Holm above!

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Then, it was on to the usual questions: mainly, what’s next? And who’s next? Yet while UFC President Dana White is drowning in profitable possibilities at the moment, McGregor himself isn’t interested in names.

Just dates.

Speaking with reporters at the UFC 246 post-fight press conference, with Cageside Press and other media outlets packing the room, McGregor touched on the idea of a lightweight title fight. “The lightweight title will be there, right? That will be there,” he stated. “You see the difference in the physique and the preparation and that [for the move to welterweight]. That will come back around, that [title] shot. I’m certainly not going to, if this fight [Khabib vs. Ferguson] does go ahead, sit down and wait and then wait through holidays and injuries and all these types of things that goes with it.”

In other words, as he has said all along, Conor McGregor wants to stay active in 2020.

“The who doesn’t matter for me now. I’m looking at dates now,” McGregor stated. “I know March was there. I’ve got to have a look at a calendar.”

Earlier, McGregor recapped the opening moments of the fight, which saw the Irish star come out guns blazing for his showdown with Cowboy.

“I did come out, and I let that left hand go from the chamber. The force of him dipping and me connecting with my hip even was a shot in itself,” he recalled.

“I’d probably put that down to 15 months outside of the octagon,” McGregor said in explanation. “A little bit overstepping the shot. I knew Donald and I know Donald’s good at dipping under the left hand, and I knew he would attempt to dip under the left hand.” It’s something, McGregor noted, that Cerrone had done against both Robbie Lawler and Darren Till. With Lawler, he observed, Cerrone “dipped under the left hand multiple times and secured takedowns. He dipped under the now-middleweight Darren Till. So, 15 months outside the octagon, a little eager. Take from it all, and carry on.”

One thing McGregor hopes to put to rest with his performance is talk that all he has is a left hand. He displayed as varied an arsenal as one could in 40 seconds, including some impressive shoulder strikes. No longer, said McGregor, can critics say that all he has is his left hand. “They’ll have to say I’ve just got a left shoulder as well. A left hand and a left shoulder.” The “so-called experts of the game,” he added, were being “highly disrespectful and uneducated” when being so dismissive of his offense.

Watch the full UFC 246 post-fight press conference with Conor McGregor above!

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McGregor took all of forty seconds to dismantle Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone in the welterweight main event of the UFC’s first PPV of 2020. Shoulder strikes, a flying knee, a head kick — McGregor appeared to have a renewed focus.

“He looked unbelievable,” White added. “You won’t hear another peep out of me about him fighting at 170.”

White quickly went on the offensive against those who claimed McGregor beat a “can” in Cerrone (spoiler: Cerrone has never been a can). “There’s always critics. There’s always someone that has an opinion,” said White. “People are going to say Cowboy was shot, which is total bullsh*t. Conor McGregor came out, he looked fast, he hit hard, he had a game plan, and he finished a real tough kid that came to win.”

As for how the event did on PPV, without giving any numbers, White suggested that they “Killed it. Killed it. The number that we did on a f*cking streaming service in unbelievable.”

The biggest talking point, not surprisingly, is where McGregor goes from here. His detractors will say to the back of the line; White, unsurprisingly, wants his biggest draw back in the mix.

There’s the Masvidal fight, of course, a fun fight given ‘Gamebred’ holds the “BMF” belt. “There’s always somebody fun that can match-up with Conor,” observed White. “Everybody wants to fight Conor. Everybody’s wanted to fight Conor for the past how many years.”

For White, however, the fight that makes sense is a rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov.

“Conor was saying, going into the Khabib fight, he had lots of personal stuff. Some stuff self-inflicted, he had injuries, he had all this stuff going on,” White explained. “And he’s been obsessed with getting that rematch, because he knows that he wasn’t a hundred percent right.”

“When you look at this for Khabib, Khabib is 28-0, he’s undefeated, and you start talking about this kid’s legacy,” he continued. “First of all, to be 28-0 in this sport is, I don’t care who you fought, it’s tough to do. Well, this guy’s a world champion. After tonight and with how Khabib won the first time and how famous Khabib has become since that first fight, we’re looking at [Marvin] Hagler-[Tommy] Hearns. We’re looking at [Muhammad] Ali-[George] Foreman. [Muhammad] Ali-[Joe] Frazier. This is a massive fight with global appeal.”

“It’s the fight that you make. It’s the fight that makes sense,” White proclaimed. “It’s for the 155-pound title.”

The problem with McGregor-Masvidal, suggested White, is the lack of a title. “Although Conor does want his ‘BMF’ title, but [Masvidal] doesn’t have a world championship,” White noted. “Khabib’s the fight to make.”

Later, White addressed the possibility that Khabib Nurmagomedov not be lightweight champion following his UFC 249 fight with Tony Ferguson. “Conor wants that belt back,” said White. “He’s going to fight whoever wins.”

Justin Gaethje remains the odd man out. White went on to say that he planned to meet with the top lightweight sometime in the next few weeks.

Overall, White’s take on his star was straightforward: “Conor McGregor looked ridiculous tonight. Nobody saw that coming.”

Watch the full UFC 246 post-fight press conference with Dana White above!

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