UFC President Dana White made a lot of bold predictions about how many buys UFC 229 would do, predicting anywhere from two million to three million buys.
It has been a few days since the event and White is now saying the show did over two million buys, which will still make UFC 229 one of the most purchased pay-per-view events in the promotions history.
“The pay-per-view numbers are starting to roll in, so I’m in a much better mood than I was on Saturday,” White said to TMZ Sports. “We didn’t do 3 million. But it’s so hard to crack 2 million in (combat sports). Even (Mike) Tyson-(Evander) Holyfield was at like 1.995 (million). Things like that didn’t crack 2 million. We’re way over 2 million, so I’m happy.”
The UFC isn't a publicly traded company, so they do not have to release their pay-per-view numbers to the general public.
While there were plenty of amazing fights on that night and the return of former two division UFC champion Conor McGregor, it will most likely get remembered best from the post-fight brawl instigated by UFC Lightweight Champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. Nurmagomedov had his $2 million purse has been withheld for his actions, but no other punishments have been announced at this time.
A rematch between the two has already been requested by McGregor, so a potential second pay-per-view bout may be in our future.
