As the dust settles on McGregor-Mayweather, it will be interesting to see if this fight lived up to the hype when it comes to Pay-Per-View buys.
Billed as 'The Money Fight' between the two biggest names in combat sports, many felt the hype surrounding it meant it had a chance of eclipsing the highest selling fights ever despite not being an equal match-up in terms of boxing experience and ability.
And while nothing is official yet, the indications are that the razzmatazz of the event more than made up for concerns over it being an even match-up with the paying public.
UFC Hall-of-Famer Urijah Faber today posted an instagram video in which UFC president Dana White appears to say that the fight was bought by 6.5 million people.
Wow. In this Instagram story post by Urijah Faber, Dana White says #MayweatherMcGregor did 6.5M PPV buys. pic.twitter.com/JBJGNUDy7q
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) 30 August 2017
This is far from confirmed as yet, but if true, not only is the biggest pay per view of all time, it puts the previous record to shame. The number beats the previous record holder, Mayweather Vs. Pacquiao, by almost 2 million buys, as that sold 4.4 million by comparison.
It must be said that the video starts just as White has already said the figure but Faber's apparent repetition immediately afterwards would indicate there's a pretty high chance White said 6.5 million.
According to Entrepreneur.com, the list of highest Pay Per View buys of all time, at least up until now is all follows:
- Mayweather V Pacquiao (May 2015) - 4..4 million buys
- Mayweather V De La Hoya (May 2007) - 2.4 million buys
- Mayweather V Canelo (Sep 2013) - 2.2 million buys
- Tyson V Lewis (June 2002) - 2 million buys
- Tyson V Holyfield II (June 1997) - 1.9 million buys
- McGregor V Alvarez (Nov 2016) - 1.7 million buys
- McGregor V Diaz II (Aug 2016) - 1.6 million buys
- Lesnar V Mir (July 2009) - 1.6 million buys
- Tyson V Holyfield I (Nove 1996) - 1.6 million buys
- Tyson V McNeeley (Aug 1995) - 1.6 million buys
This just shows just how much McGregor and Mayweather will be blown up the record book if that figure turns out to be official. It's nearly three times more buys than the Mayweather/De La Hoya fight, which was, until last weekend, the second biggest pay-per-view of all time.
Unbelievable.
The cost for American audiences was also significantly higher than the Sky Box Office price in this part of the world. The standard package for the event was $90, while the HD option was €100. That's a lot of money multiplied by 6.5 million!
Again, it's worth noting that even if White has those figures, they would be very preliminary at this stage, and an official figure is still likely to be a couple of months away.
SEE ALSO: Floyd Mayweather Thinks Conor McGregor Would Struggle Against Younger Stars
