UFC 264 Starring Conor McGregor Breaks Records With 1.8 Million World Wide PPV Buys

Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier headlined the UFC 264 pay-per-view last weekend as the duo fought for the third time. Poirier emerged victorious from the contest after McGregor suffered a horrific leg injury. ‘The Notorious’ had a tibia break at the final moments of the first round. Hence, the fight was stopped after the round ended.

Certainly, the fight didn’t go as McGregor would have wanted. Despite showing early promise, the Irishman was on the wrong end of a freak injury. However, the UFC’s biggest star made his impact yet again on the business side as he matched the sky-high numbers often expected from his fights.

UFC ratings notes:
PPV buys came over just under 1.8 million globally. Dana White said as much at the post event press conference.
I’m told that 500,000 of those buys came from international, which means ESPN+ logged around 1.3 million buys.

— John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) July 13, 2021

A massive 1.8 million buys made UFC 264 the second-highest pay-per-view buys of all time, behind only UFC 229. McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov headlined that historic card at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The UFC 264 card had some other notable fights as well. A welterweight clash between top-of-the-food-chain contenders in Gilbert Burns and Stephen Thompson took the co-main event spot of the pay-per-view.

MMA – UFC264 – Dustin Poirier v Conor McGregor – T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, United States – July 10, 2021 Conor McGregor in action against Dustin Poirier REUTERS/Steve Marcus

Poirier stretched his win streak to 3 with yet another win over McGregor. He showcased his complete arsenal during an eventful first-round. Despite the unfortunate ending to an intriguing clash, ‘The Diamond’ is expected to challenge for the lightweight title next, possibly by the end of this year.

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What’s next for Conor McGregor after UFC 264?

McGregor has now lost 3 out of his last 4 fights inside the UFC Octagon. One might argue that the Irishman hasn’t looked like his former self inside the Octagon since his boxing match. And after suffering an injury like that, he is expected to spend a considerable amount of time on the sidelines.

UFC President Dana White has already indicated that McGregor will fight Poirier again once he is physically ready to return to the Octagon. The anti-climactic end to the contest begs for a rematch between the duo as many believe the fight didn’t quite decide the better fighter. However, when the Irishman can indeed return to action, remains to be seen.

Also Read: OFFICIAL: Nick Diaz Makes His UFC Return to Take on Former Welterweight Champion at UFC 266

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