The UFC’s return to New York’s Grand Garden Arena earlier this month seems to have paid off in a big way.
UFC 268, which took place on Nov. 6, reportedly sold 700,000 pay-per-view units, according to a report by Sports Business Journal (h/t TSN). However, keep in mind that this number only reflects the amount of PPVs sold in the United States through the ESPN+ streaming app, of which owns the exclusive rights to UFC PPVs in the U.S.
The amount of PPV buys will increase once international buys are accounted for.
UFC 268 featured two title fight rematches between UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington, as well as a rematch between UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas and former champion Zhang Weili.
Ultimately, the night belonged to both champions as they successfully defended their titles. Usman won by unanimous decision and Namajunas won by split decision.
Going off of domestic PPVs alone, UFC 268 already ranks as the fourth-highest PPV of 2021 (h/t MMA Mania), ranking behind UFC 259 which reported 800,000 buys and featured a champion vs. champion matchup between Jan Blachowicz and Israel Adesanya for the UFC light heavyweight title.
2021’s top PPV numbers belong to UFC 264: Poirier vs. McGregor 3 (1,504,737 buys) and UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2 (1,600,000 buys).
