PPV History

[BOTTICELLI]

To truly be the "Most Anticipated Fight" in UFC history, one must examine the numbers. It's corporate America and the all mighty dollar rules supreme at Zuffa. Now Dana recently stated he's expecting about 750K PPV buys. This isn't even top ten.
But, is an increased number of shows per year, and illegal streaming/downloading contributing factors? I say YES! Now that being said, I don't remember a fight being hyped or a buzz b4 a ufc event being like this in quite some time.




1 July 11, 2009. UFC 100: Lesnar vs. Mir 2 1,600,000
2 Jul 3, 2010 UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin 1,160,000
3 Dec 30, 2006 UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz 2 1,050,000
4 May 29, 2010 UFC 114: Rampage vs. Evans 1,050,000
5 Oct 23, 2010 UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez 1,050,000
6 Nov 15, 2008 UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar 1,010,000
7 Dec 27, 2008 UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008. 1,000,000
8 Jul 7, 2012. UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II 1,000,000
9 Jan 31, 2009 UFC 94: St-Pierre vs. Penn 2 920,000
10 Aug 8, 2009 UFC 101: Declaration 850,000


Based on facts, here are the top 10 highest payperview BOXING PPV buys ever:

1. Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather, May 2007 - 2.4 million PPV buys

2. Mike Tyson vs Evander Holyfield (rematch), June 1997 - 1.99 million PPV buys

3. Mike Tyson vs Lennox Lewis, June 2002 - 1.97 million PPV buys

4. Mike Tyson vs Holyfield (1st match), November 1996 - 1.59 million PPV buys

5. Mike Tyson vs. Peter McNeeley, August 1995 - 1.55 million PPV buys

6. Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad, September 1999 - 1.41 million PPV

7. Evander Holyfield vs George Foreman, April 1991 - 1.40 million PPV buys

8. Mike Tyson vs. Frank Bruno, March 1996 - 1.37 million PPV buys

9. Pacquiao vs. De la Hoya, December 6, 2008

 

[kennythekoala]

these numbers are way closer than i anticipated. MMA is very young and its already competing.

 

[estranged]

Tyson FTW!!! Unfortunately he has none of it left

 

[Megatronlee]

Tyson baby!

 

[INoHespectChael]

2 mil+ ppv buys since jones keeps saying it's mma's ali vs frazier.

#1 should be updated to mayweather vs canelo. Also that list is a lot different from this one...

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...boxing-pay-per-view-events-of-all-time/page/2

 

[Navy_Chief]

All these numbers will be destroyed if Money and Pacman ever step in the ring together.

 

[BOTTICELLI]

Much to my surprise wwe is not as dominant as I thought. Interesting numbers.

Top 15 Highest Wrestling PPV Buyrates in History
Here is a list of the main matches of the top 15 highest wrestling PPV buyrates in history.

1. WWE WrestleMania 17 - 950,000 buys - The Rock vs. Steve Austin
2. WWE WrestleMania 18 - 840,000 buys - The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan
3. WWE WrestleMania 20 - 825,000 buys - Triple H vs. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels
4. WWE WrestleMania 16 - 824,000 buys - The Rock vs. Triple H vs. The Big Show vs. Mick Foley
5. WWE WrestleMania 15 - 800,000 buys - The Rock vs. Steve Austin
6. WWE InVasion - 770,000 buys - Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Kane, & Chris Jericho vs. Booker T, Rhyno, Diamond Dallas Page, Bubba Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley
7. WWE WrestleMania 14 - 730,000 buys - Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels
8. WWE SummerSlam (08/30/98) - 700,000 buys - Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker
9. WWE Royal Rumble (01/20/02) - 665,000 buys - Chris Jericho vs. The Rock
10. WCW Starrcade (12/28/97) - 650,000 buys - Hulk Hogan vs. Sting
10. WWE WrestleMania 5 (04/02/89) - 650,000 buys - Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage
10. WWE Royal Rumble (01/24/99) - 650,000 buys - The Rock vs. Mankind
13. WWE Backlash (04/30/00) - 625,000 buys - The Rock vs. Triple H
14. WWE Unforgiven (09/24/00) - 605,000 buys - The Rock vs. Chris Benoit vs. The Undertaker vs. Kane
15. WCW Bash at the Beach (07/12/98) - 600,000 buys - Hulk Hogan & Dennis Rodman vs. Diamond Dallas Page & Karl Malone
15. WWE SummerSlam (08/22/99) - 600,000 buys - Steve Austin vs. Triple H vs. Mankind

 

[Kalmah]

But the UFC is dying

 

[estranged]

Pay-per-view

Compiled from reports in Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
DATE EVENT MAIN EVENT PPV
09/28/2001 UFC 33 Ortiz v. Matyushenko 75,000
11/02/2001 UFC 34 Couture v. Rizzo 65,000
01/11/2002 UFC 35 Pulver v. Penn 35,000
03/22/2002 UFC 36 Couture v. Barnett 55,000
05/10/2002 UFC 37 Lindland v. Bustamante 50,000
07/13/2002 UFC 38 Hughes v. Newton 45,000
09/27/2002 UFC 39 Couture v. Rodriguez 45,000
11/22/2002 UFC 40 Ortiz v. Shamrock 100,000
02/28/2003 UFC 41 Rodriguez v. Sylvia 60,000
04/25/2003 UFC 42 Hughes v. Sherk 35,000
06/06/2003 UFC 43 Couture v. Liddell 49,000
09/26/2003 UFC 44 Couture v. Ortiz 94,000
11/21/2003 UFC 45 Hughes v. Trigg 40,000
01/31/2004 UFC 46 Couture v. Belfort II 80,000
04/02/2004 UFC 47 Ortiz v. Liddell 105,000
06/19/2004 UFC 48 Shamrock v. Kimo 110,000
08/21/2004 UFC 49 Couture v. Belfort III 80,000
10/22/2004 UFC 50 Ortiz v. Cote 40,000
02/05/2005 UFC 51 Ortiz v. Belfort 105,000
04/16/2005 UFC 52 Couture v. Liddell 280,000
06/04/2005 UFC 53 Arlovski v. Eilers 90,000
08/20/2005 UFC 54 Liddell v. Horn 150,000
10/07/2005 UFC 55 Arlovski v. Buentello 125,000
11/19/2005 UFC 56 Franklin v. Quarry 200,000
02/04/2006 UFC 57 Couture v. Liddell III 400,000
03/04/2006 UFC 58 Franklin v. Loiseau 300,000
04/15/2006 UFC 59 Ortiz v. Griffin 425,000
05/27/2006 UFC 60 Hughes v. Gracie 620,000
06/22/2006 Strikeforce/EliteXC Shamrock v. Baroni 35,000
07/08/2006 UFC 61 Ortiz v. Shamrock 775,000
08/26/2006 UFC 62 Liddell v. Sobral 500,000
09/23/2006 UFC 63 Hughes v. Penn 400,000
10/14/2006 UFC 64 Franklin v. Silva 300,000
10/21/2006 Pride 32 Fedor v. Coleman 30,000
11/18/2006 UFC 65 Hughes v. GSP II 500,000
12/30/2006 UFC 66 Liddell v. Ortiz II 1,050,000
02/03/2007 UFC 67 Silva v. Lutter 400,000
03/03/2007 UFC 68 Sylvia v. Couture 540,000
04/07/2007 UFC 69 GSP v. Serra 400,000
04/14/2007 Bodog Fedor v. Lindland 13,000
05/21/2007 UFC 71 Liddell v. Jackson II 675,000
06/07/2007 Dynamite!! USA Gracie v. Sakuraba 35,000
06/16/2007 UFC 72 Franklin v. Okami 200,000
07/07/2007 UFC 73 Ortiz v. Evans 425,000
08/25/2007 UFC 74 Couture v. Gonzaga 520,000
09/22/2007 UFC 76 Liddel v. Jardine 475,000
10/20/2007 UFC 77 Franklin v. Silva II 325,000
11/17/2007 UFC 78 Evans v. Bisbing 325,000
12/29/2007 UFC 79 GSP v. Hughes III 650,000
01/19/2008 UFC 80 Penn v. Stevenson 225,000
02/02/2008 UFC 81 Sylvia/Nog, Lesnar/Mir 600,000
03/01/2008 UFC 82 Silva v. Henderson 325,000
04/19/2008 UFC 83 GSP v. Serra 530,000
05/24/2008 UFC 84 Penn v. Sherk 475,000
06/07/2008 UFC 85 Hughes v. Alves 215,000
07/05/2008 UFC 86 Griffin v. Jackson 540,000
07/19/2008 Affliction Banned Fedor v. Sylvia 100,000
08/09/2008 UFC 87 GSP / Lesnar 625,000
09/06/2008 UFC 88 Liddell v. Evans 480,000
10/25/2008 UFC 90 Silva v. Cote 300,000
11/15/2008 UFC 91 Lesnar v. Couture 1,010,000
12/27/2008 UFC 92 Griffin v. Evans 1,000,000
01/17/2009 UFC 93 Franklin v. Henderson 350,000
01/24/2009 Affliction DOR Fedor v. Arlovski 90,000
01/31/2009 UFC 94 GSP v. Penn II 920,000
03/07/2009 UFC 96 Jackson v. Jardine 350,000
04/18/2009 UFC 97 Silva v. Leites 650,000
05/23/2009 UFC 98 Evans v. Machida 635,000
06/13/2009 UFC 99 Franklin v. Silva 360,000
07/11/2009 UFC 100 Lesnar v. Mir 1,600,000
08/08/2009 UFC 101 Penn v. Florian 850,000
08/29/2009 UFC 102 Couture v. Nogueira 435,000
09/19/2009 UFC 103 Franklin v. Belfort 375,000
10/24/2009 UFC 104 Machida v. Rua 500,000
11/21/2009 UFC 106 Ortiz v. Griffin II 375,000
12/12/2009 UFC 107 Penn v. Sanchez 620,000
01/02/2010 UFC 108 Evans vs. Silva 300,000
02/06/2010 UFC 109 Couture vs. Coleman 275,000
02/21/2010 UFC 110 Nogueria v. Velasquez 240,000
03/27/2010 UFC 111 GSP vs. Hardy 770,000
04/10/2010 UFC 112 Silva vs. Maia 500,000
04/24/2010 WEC 48 Aldo vs. Faber 175,000
05/08/2010 UFC 113 Machida vs. Rua 520,000
05/29/2010 UFC 114 Evans vs. Jackson 1,000,000
06/12/2010 UFC 115 Liddell vs. Franklin 525,000
07/03/2010 UFC 116 Lesnar vs. Carwin 1,060,000
08/07/2010 UFC 117 Silva vs. Sonnen 600,000
08/28/2010 UFC 118 Edgar vs. Penn 2 535,000
09/25/2010 UFC 119 Mir vs. Cro Cop 295,000
10/23/2010 UFC 121 Lesnar vs. Velasquez 900,000
11/20/2010 UFC 123 Jackson vs. Machida 500,000
12/11/2010 UFC 124 GSP vs. Koscheck 785,000
01/01/2011 UFC 125 Edgar vs. Maynard II 260,000
02/05/2011 UFC 126 Silva vs. Belfort 725,000
02/27/2011 UFC 127 Penn vs. Fitch 260,000
03/19/2011 UFC 128 Shogun vs. Jones 490,000
04/30/2011 UFC 129 GSP vs. Shields 800,000
05/28/2011 UFC 130 Rampage vs. Hamill 325,000
06/11/2011 UFC 131 Dos Santos vs. Carwin 330,000
07/02/2011 UFC 132 Cruz vs. Faber 320,000
08/06/2011 UFC 133 Evans vs. Ortiz 310,000
08/27/2011 UFC 134 Silva vs. Okami 335,000
09/24/2011 UFC 135 Jones vs. Rampage 520,000
10/08/2011 UFC 136 Edgar vs. Maynard III 225,000
10/29/2011 UFC 137 Penn vs. Diaz 280,000
11/19/2011 UFC 139 Henderson vs. Rua 290,000
12/10/2011 UFC 140 Jones vs. Machida 480,000
12/31/2011 UFC 141 Lesnar vs. Overeem 535,000
01/14/2012 UFC 142 Aldo vs Mendes 215,000
02/04/2012 UFC 143 Condit vs. Diaz 400,000
02/26/2012 UFC 144 Edgar vs. Henderson 325,000
04/21/2012 UFC 145 Jones vs. Evans 700,000
05/26/2012 UFC 146 Dos Santos vs. Mir 560,000
06/23/2012 UFC 147 W. Silva vs. Franklin II 140,000
07/07/2012 UFC 148 Silva vs. Sonnen II 925,000
07/21/2012 UFC 149 Faber vs. Barao 230,000
08/11/2012 UFC 150 Henderson v. Edgar II 190,000
09/01/2012 UFC 151 Jones vs. Henderson Canceled
09/22/2012 UFC 152 Jones vs. Belfort 450,000
10/13/2012 UFC 153 Silva vs. Bonnar 410,000
11/17/2012 UFC 154 GSP vs. Condit 700,000
12/29/2012 UFC 155 JDS vs. Velasquez II 590,000
02/02/2013 UFC 156 Aldo vs Edgar 330,000
02/23/2013 UFC 157 Rousey vs Carmouche 450,000
03/16/2013 UFC 158 GSP vs Diaz 950,000
04/27/2013 UFC 159 Jones vs Sonnen 530,000
05/25/2013 UFC 160 Velasquez vs Bigfoot II 380,000
06/15/2013 UFC 161 Henderson vs Evans 140,000
07/06/2013 UFC 162 Silva vs Weidman 550,000
08/03/2013 UFC 163 Aldo vs Jung 180,000
08/31/2013 UFC 164 Henderson vs Pettis 270,000
09/21/2013 UFC 165 Jones vs Gustafsson 310,000
10/19/2013 UFC 166 Velasquez vs JDS III 330,000
11/16/2013 UFC 167 GSP vs Hendricks 630,000
12/28/2013 UFC 168 Weidman vs Silva II 1,025,000
02/01/2014 UFC 169 Barao vs Faber II 230,000
02/22/2014 UFC 170 Rousey vs McMann 340,000
03/15/2014 UFC 171 Hendricks vs Lawler 300,000
04/26/2014 UFC 172 Jones vs Teixeira 350,000
05/24/2014 UFC 173 Barao vs Dillashaw 215,000
06/14/2014 UFC 174 Johnson vs Bagautinov 115,000
07/05/2014 UFC 175 Weidman vs Machida 545,000
08/02/2014 UFC 176 Aldo vs Mendes II Canceled
08/30/2014 UFC 177 Dillashaw vs Soto 125,000

http://mmapayout.com/blue-book/pay-per-view/

 

[VIP1349]

How many of boxing's big shows were after 2006? Look at the years champ.

Find me a year of boxing that had three shows over a million recently. UFC did it 2010.

Canelo one or their biggest stars barring Floyd doesn't sell much more then any UFC title fight.

You got Floyd and to a lesser extent Pac left as PPV draws. Canelo and Cotto would do solid numbers.

UFC could have 182, 183, and 184 hit 500k+. With some combo of Jones/DC/Gus/Rumble later in the year. Aldo vs McGregor most likely. Werdum/Cain and we may see the returns of GSP, Brock and added CM Punk?

This year has potential to be insane for UFC PPV.

 

[BOTTICELLI]

Nice research dude

 

[Navy_Chief]

How many of boxing's big shows were after 2006? Look at the years champ.

Find me a year of boxing that had three shows over a million recently. UFC did it 2010.

Canelo one or their biggest stars barring Floyd doesn't sell much more then any UFC title fight.

You got Floyd and to a lesser extent Pac left as PPV draws. Canelo and Cotto would do solid numbers.

UFC could have 182, 183, and 184 hit 500k+. With some combo of Jones/DC/Gus/Rumble later in the year. Aldo vs McGregor most likely. Werdum/Cain and we may see the returns of GSP, Brock and added CM Punk?

This year has potential to be insane for UFC PPV.

Boxing did it in 2011

Pacman/Marquez III
Paceman/Mosley
Mayweather/Ortiz

 

[ggtopdog]

Ts should do some more research. Your list is off. Missimg diaz vs gsp?

 

[ggtopdog]

Nice research dude

Pretty shitty research lol

 

[DizzyYeahYeah]

Where's the Floyd/Canelo fight?

 

[DizzyYeahYeah]

Also,

Boxing > MMA

 

[jeffduce]

To truly be the "Most Anticipated Fight" in UFC history, one must examine the numbers. It's corporate America and the all mighty dollar rules supreme at Zuffa. Now Dana recently stated he's expecting about 750K PPV buys. This isn't even top ten.
But, is an increased number of shows per year, and illegal streaming/downloading contributing factors? I say YES! Now that being said, I don't remember a fight being hyped or a buzz b4 a ufc event being like this in quite some time.




1 July 11, 2009. UFC 100: Lesnar vs. Mir 2 1,600,000
2 Jul 3, 2010 UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin 1,160,000
3 Dec 30, 2006 UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz 2 1,050,000
4 May 29, 2010 UFC 114: Rampage vs. Evans 1,050,000
5 Oct 23, 2010 UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez 1,050,000
6 Nov 15, 2008 UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar 1,010,000
7 Dec 27, 2008 UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008. 1,000,000
8 Jul 7, 2012. UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II 1,000,000
9 Jan 31, 2009 UFC 94: St-Pierre vs. Penn 2 920,000
10 Aug 8, 2009 UFC 101: Declaration 850,000


Based on facts, here are the top 10 highest payperview BOXING PPV buys ever:

1. Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather, May 2007 - 2.4 million PPV buys

2. Mike Tyson vs Evander Holyfield (rematch), June 1997 - 1.99 million PPV buys

3. Mike Tyson vs Lennox Lewis, June 2002 - 1.97 million PPV buys

4. Mike Tyson vs Holyfield (1st match), November 1996 - 1.59 million PPV buys

5. Mike Tyson vs. Peter McNeeley, August 1995 - 1.55 million PPV buys

6. Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad, September 1999 - 1.41 million PPV

7. Evander Holyfield vs George Foreman, April 1991 - 1.40 million PPV buys

8. Mike Tyson vs. Frank Bruno, March 1996 - 1.37 million PPV buys

9. Pacquiao vs. De la Hoya, December 6, 2008

 

[Rulio Gracie II]

5. Mike Tyson vs. Peter McNeeley, August 1995 - 1.55 million PPV buys

Shows how much of a stud Tyson was pulling those types of numbers against a glass jawed joke like McNeeley.

 

[Rulio Gracie II]

Much to my surprise wwe is not as dominant as I thought. Interesting numbers.

Top 15 Highest Wrestling PPV Buyrates in History
Here is a list of the main matches of the top 15 highest wrestling PPV buyrates in history.

1. WWE WrestleMania 17 - 950,000 buys - The Rock vs. Steve Austin
2. WWE WrestleMania 18 - 840,000 buys - The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan
3. WWE WrestleMania 20 - 825,000 buys - Triple H vs. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels
4. WWE WrestleMania 16 - 824,000 buys - The Rock vs. Triple H vs. The Big Show vs. Mick Foley
5. WWE WrestleMania 15 - 800,000 buys - The Rock vs. Steve Austin
6. WWE InVasion - 770,000 buys - Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Kane, & Chris Jericho vs. Booker T, Rhyno, Diamond Dallas Page, Bubba Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley
7. WWE WrestleMania 14 - 730,000 buys - Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels
8. WWE SummerSlam (08/30/98) - 700,000 buys - Steve Austin vs. The Undertaker
9. WWE Royal Rumble (01/20/02) - 665,000 buys - Chris Jericho vs. The Rock
10. WCW Starrcade (12/28/97) - 650,000 buys - Hulk Hogan vs. Sting
10. WWE WrestleMania 5 (04/02/89) - 650,000 buys - Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage
10. WWE Royal Rumble (01/24/99) - 650,000 buys - The Rock vs. Mankind
13. WWE Backlash (04/30/00) - 625,000 buys - The Rock vs. Triple H
14. WWE Unforgiven (09/24/00) - 605,000 buys - The Rock vs. Chris Benoit vs. The Undertaker vs. Kane
15. WCW Bash at the Beach (07/12/98) - 600,000 buys - Hulk Hogan & Dennis Rodman vs. Diamond Dallas Page & Karl Malone
15. WWE SummerSlam (08/22/99) - 600,000 buys - Steve Austin vs. Triple H vs. Mankind

They rely more on quantity than quality. Also, they've been on free TV for the longest time now. And they're running with the WWE Network. So they haven't really been reliant on PPV like the UFC have historically been. Of course the UFC is taking a page from their playbook by putting more of their content on free TV, international expansion, Fight Pass, etc.

 

[foxtail]

By the numbers, one thing is certain, uncle Dana pockets a whole lot of money and doesn't give back to fighters.
Pacquiao pockets 20 million plus and he just oversold by 200 K some UFC events.