A report in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter lists multiple UFC pay-per-view performances over the final two years of its deal with ESPN.
Dave Meltzer of the publication, who was among the very few to report on UFC pay-per-view buys in the past, received several numbers for UFC events between April 2024 and February 2025.
The biggest number he reports, not surprisingly, was UFC 300 on April 13, 2024, headlined by Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill and Zhang Weili vs. Yan Xiaonan. The WON reports that the show generated 615,000 buys and sold at $79.99, but also requires an ESPN+ subscription in the U.S.
Three weeks later, UFC 301 took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and was headlined by Alexandre Pantoja vs. Steve Erceg and José Aldo vs. Jonathan Martinez, leading to only 67,000 buys.
UFC 302 on June 1, 2024, was headlined by Islam Makhachev retaining the lightweight title against Dustin Poirier and drew 410,000 buys.
UFC 303, which was the International Fight Week card on June 29, 2024, drew 274,000 buys with Alex Pereira vs. Jiří Procházka. This card was originally set to feature Conor McGregor’s return against Michael Chandler, but McGregor had to withdraw and still hasn’t returned nearly two years later.
The last set of numbers was from one year one with UFC 311 on January 18, 2025, with Islam Makhachev fighting last-minute replacement Renato Moicano (replacing Arman Tsarukyan the day before), and Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov drawing 240,000 buys.
UFC 312 on February 18, 2025, generated 176,000 buys for the rematch between Dricus du Plessis and Sean Strickland, with Zhang Weili fighting Tatiana Suarez for the flyweight title in Sydney, Australia.
UFC entered a rights deal with ESPN in 2018, which was worth approximately $500 million annually (with escalators throughout the term) and ended last year. The UFC inked a seven-year, $7.7 billion deal with Paramount and eliminated the pay-per-view component, allowing users to access all UFC events with a Paramount+ subscription in the U.S., Latin America, and Australia.
