Tweet
This information isn't totally up to date as it doesn't include the numbers for Hughes/GSP and Ortiz/Liddell both of which will probably have done big buy rates.
PPV Buys - Interesting Stats (UFC, Boxing, Wrestling)
These are just some interesting PPV Buy stats. Unfortunately, there isn't information for every event but the big events generally get published. Keep in mind that Couture vs Liddell 2 was the huge PPV that capped off the 1st season of TUF. It's amazing how many new fans the UFC has gained since then.
It's quite possible that Ortiz vs Liddell will pass the million buy mark which could put it above the top wrestling PPV of all time. If MMA continues it's rapid growth it won't be that long until MMA breaks all US PPV records.
UFC PPVs
UFC 63 - 700,000 buys (Hughes vs Penn 2) - according to Nov 27th Wrestling Observer
UFC 62 - 500,000 buys (Liddell vs Sobral)
UFC 61 - 775,000 buys (Ortiz vs Shamrock 2)
UFC 60 - 615,000 buys (Hughes vs Gracie)
UFC 59 - 415,000 buys (Tito/Forrest and Sylvia/Arlovski)
UFC 58 - 290,000 buys (Franklin vs Loiseau)
UFC 57 - 400,000 buys (Couture vs Liddell 3)
UFC 52 - 280,000 buys (Couture vs Liddell 2)
UFC 40 - 150,000 buys (Ortiz vs Shamrock)
UFC 5 - 260,000 buys (Gracie vs Shamrock)
MORE UFC PPVS (I haven't seen the source for these though)
UFC 33 Ortiz vs. Matyushenko 75,000
UFC 34 Couture vs. Rizzo 45,000-60,000*
UFC 35 Penn vs. Pulver 35,000
UFC 36 Barnett vs. Couture 45,000-60,000*
UFC 37 Lindland vs. Bustamante 45,000-60,000*
UFC 38 Hughes vs. Newton 45,000-60,000*
UFC 39 Rodriguez vs. Couture 45,000-60,000*
UFC 41 Tank vs. Mir 60,000
UFC 42 Hughes vs. Sherk 35,000
UFC 43 Couture vs. Liddell 49,000
UFC 44 Couture vs. Ortiz 94,000
UFC 45 Tank vs. Cabbage 40,000
UFC 46 Couture vs. Belfort 77,000
UFC 47 Ortiz vs. Liddell 104,000
UFC 48 Shamrock vs. Kimo 110,000
PRIDE PPVS
PRIDE 32 Fedor vs Coleman 2 - 75,000 buys
TOP PRO WRESTLING PPVS
Wrestlemania 17 - 1,040,000 buys (Rock vs Austin - April 2001)
Wrestlemania 21 - 985,000 buys (Batista vs Triple H - March 2005)
TOP BOXING PPVS
Tyson/Holyfield 2 - 1.99 million buys (most in boxing history)
Tyson/Lewis - 1.8 million buys (highest PPV revenue 103 million vs 99 million for Tyson/Holyfield 2)
De La Hoya/Trinidad - 1.4 million buys (most buys for non HW boxing event)
Most PPV buys, JAN-OCT 2006
1. BOX Oscar DeLa Hoya vs. Ricardo Mayorga 925,000
2. UFC Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock 775,000
3. UFC Matt Hughes vs. B.J. Penn 700,000
4. WWE Wrestlemania 636,000
5. UFC Matt Hughes vs. Royce Gracie 600,000
6. UFC Chuck Liddell vs. Renato Sobral 500,000
7. UFC Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin 425,000
8. BOX Shane Mosely vs. Fernando Vargas 420,000
9. UFC Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture 400,000
10.BOX Floyd Mayweather vs. Zab Judah 375,000
VARIOUS HBO BOXING PPVs - 2006
Morales/Pacquiao III - 350,000 buys (11/2006)
Morales/Pacquiao II - 355,000 buys (01/2006)
Vargas/Mosley - 420,000 buys (02/2006)
Mayweather/Judah - 375,000 buys (04/2006)
De La Hoya/Mayorga - 925,000 buys (05/2006)
Tarver/Hopkins - 330,000 buys (06/2006)
Mosley/Vargas II - 350,000 buys (07/2006)
DE LA HOYA PPV HISTORY
Rafael Ruelas( 5/95) 330,000 buys = $9.9 million
Genaro Hernandez(9/95) 220,000 buys = $6.6 million
M.A. Gonzalez(1/97) 345,000 buys = $12.1 million
Pernell Whitaker(4/97) 720,000 buys = $28.8 million
Hector Camacho(9/97) 560,000 buys = $22.4 million
Wilfredo Rivera(12/97) 240,000 buys = $9.6 million
J.C Chavez II( 9/9 525,000 buys = $23.6 million
Ike Quartey( 2/99) 570,000 buys =$25.7 million
Felix Trinidad(9/99) 1.4 million buys = $71.4 million
Shane Mosley(6/00) 590,000 buys = $29.5 million
Javier Castillejo(6/01) 400,000 buys = $16.0 million
Fernando Vargas(9/02) 935,000 buys = $47.8 million
Yory Boy Campas(5/03) 350,000 buys = $17.5 million
Shane Mosley II( 9/03) 950,000 buys = $48.4 million
Felix Sturm(6/04) 380,000 buys = $19.0 million
Bernard Hopkins(9/04) 1 million buys = $56.0 million
Ricardo Mayorga (05/06) 875,000 buys (note, my other source says 925,000)
According to this article, boxing PPVs without de la hoya generated between 300-450k ppv buys each from early 2005 until early 2006.
Sources:
http://www.maxboxing.com/Kim/Kim050506.asp
http://www.*********.com/*********_2...VgOlTXmmP.html
Wrestling Observer Article - Pride Real Deal 75k
Fox Sports Article whose source is Wrestling Observer, Dec 27th
Note: All buy rates are approximations.
*edit* - added info on HBO Boxing PPVs in 2006
These are just some interesting PPV Buy stats. Unfortunately, there isn't information for every event but the big events generally get published. Keep in mind that Couture vs Liddell 2 was the huge PPV that capped off the 1st season of TUF. It's amazing how many new fans the UFC has gained since then.
It's quite possible that Ortiz vs Liddell will pass the million buy mark which could put it above the top wrestling PPV of all time. If MMA continues it's rapid growth it won't be that long until MMA breaks all US PPV records.
UFC PPVs
UFC 63 - 700,000 buys (Hughes vs Penn 2) - according to Nov 27th Wrestling Observer
UFC 62 - 500,000 buys (Liddell vs Sobral)
UFC 61 - 775,000 buys (Ortiz vs Shamrock 2)
UFC 60 - 615,000 buys (Hughes vs Gracie)
UFC 59 - 415,000 buys (Tito/Forrest and Sylvia/Arlovski)
UFC 58 - 290,000 buys (Franklin vs Loiseau)
UFC 57 - 400,000 buys (Couture vs Liddell 3)
UFC 52 - 280,000 buys (Couture vs Liddell 2)
UFC 40 - 150,000 buys (Ortiz vs Shamrock)
UFC 5 - 260,000 buys (Gracie vs Shamrock)
MORE UFC PPVS (I haven't seen the source for these though)
UFC 33 Ortiz vs. Matyushenko 75,000
UFC 34 Couture vs. Rizzo 45,000-60,000*
UFC 35 Penn vs. Pulver 35,000
UFC 36 Barnett vs. Couture 45,000-60,000*
UFC 37 Lindland vs. Bustamante 45,000-60,000*
UFC 38 Hughes vs. Newton 45,000-60,000*
UFC 39 Rodriguez vs. Couture 45,000-60,000*
UFC 41 Tank vs. Mir 60,000
UFC 42 Hughes vs. Sherk 35,000
UFC 43 Couture vs. Liddell 49,000
UFC 44 Couture vs. Ortiz 94,000
UFC 45 Tank vs. Cabbage 40,000
UFC 46 Couture vs. Belfort 77,000
UFC 47 Ortiz vs. Liddell 104,000
UFC 48 Shamrock vs. Kimo 110,000
PRIDE PPVS
PRIDE 32 Fedor vs Coleman 2 - 75,000 buys
TOP PRO WRESTLING PPVS
Wrestlemania 17 - 1,040,000 buys (Rock vs Austin - April 2001)
Wrestlemania 21 - 985,000 buys (Batista vs Triple H - March 2005)
TOP BOXING PPVS
Tyson/Holyfield 2 - 1.99 million buys (most in boxing history)
Tyson/Lewis - 1.8 million buys (highest PPV revenue 103 million vs 99 million for Tyson/Holyfield 2)
De La Hoya/Trinidad - 1.4 million buys (most buys for non HW boxing event)
Most PPV buys, JAN-OCT 2006
1. BOX Oscar DeLa Hoya vs. Ricardo Mayorga 925,000
2. UFC Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock 775,000
3. UFC Matt Hughes vs. B.J. Penn 700,000
4. WWE Wrestlemania 636,000
5. UFC Matt Hughes vs. Royce Gracie 600,000
6. UFC Chuck Liddell vs. Renato Sobral 500,000
7. UFC Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Griffin 425,000
8. BOX Shane Mosely vs. Fernando Vargas 420,000
9. UFC Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture 400,000
10.BOX Floyd Mayweather vs. Zab Judah 375,000
VARIOUS HBO BOXING PPVs - 2006
Morales/Pacquiao III - 350,000 buys (11/2006)
Morales/Pacquiao II - 355,000 buys (01/2006)
Vargas/Mosley - 420,000 buys (02/2006)
Mayweather/Judah - 375,000 buys (04/2006)
De La Hoya/Mayorga - 925,000 buys (05/2006)
Tarver/Hopkins - 330,000 buys (06/2006)
Mosley/Vargas II - 350,000 buys (07/2006)
DE LA HOYA PPV HISTORY
Rafael Ruelas( 5/95) 330,000 buys = $9.9 million
Genaro Hernandez(9/95) 220,000 buys = $6.6 million
M.A. Gonzalez(1/97) 345,000 buys = $12.1 million
Pernell Whitaker(4/97) 720,000 buys = $28.8 million
Hector Camacho(9/97) 560,000 buys = $22.4 million
Wilfredo Rivera(12/97) 240,000 buys = $9.6 million
J.C Chavez II( 9/9 525,000 buys = $23.6 million
Ike Quartey( 2/99) 570,000 buys =$25.7 million
Felix Trinidad(9/99) 1.4 million buys = $71.4 million
Shane Mosley(6/00) 590,000 buys = $29.5 million
Javier Castillejo(6/01) 400,000 buys = $16.0 million
Fernando Vargas(9/02) 935,000 buys = $47.8 million
Yory Boy Campas(5/03) 350,000 buys = $17.5 million
Shane Mosley II( 9/03) 950,000 buys = $48.4 million
Felix Sturm(6/04) 380,000 buys = $19.0 million
Bernard Hopkins(9/04) 1 million buys = $56.0 million
Ricardo Mayorga (05/06) 875,000 buys (note, my other source says 925,000)
According to this article, boxing PPVs without de la hoya generated between 300-450k ppv buys each from early 2005 until early 2006.
Sources:
http://www.maxboxing.com/Kim/Kim050506.asp
http://www.*********.com/*********_2...VgOlTXmmP.html
Wrestling Observer Article - Pride Real Deal 75k
Fox Sports Article whose source is Wrestling Observer, Dec 27th
Note: All buy rates are approximations.
*edit* - added info on HBO Boxing PPVs in 2006
Comment