5 biggest live gates in UFC history

#4. UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields

GSP defeated Shields in front of 55,724 fans

Spoiler alert: this will be the only entry on this list not featuring Conor McGregor. UFC 129 saw Georges St-Pierre face Jake Shields at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada. Ticket sales that night came to $12,075,000.

This event benefitted from GSP's popularity in Canada and the fact that this was the first and only time he would fight in Toronto. While GSP may be better known for his fights at the Bell Centre, the Rogers Centre has a significantly bigger capacity with over 55,000 fans in attendance.

The fight itself went the full 25 minutes and saw St-Pierre add yet another win to his title reign via unanimous decision. Taking place on April 30th 2011, this would hold the record for the biggest live gate in UFC history for some time before the rise of one Conor McGregor.

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#3. UFC 264: Poirier vs. McGregor III

Poirier defeated McGregor in front of 20,062 fans

We now go from the oldest event on the list to most recent. Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier fought at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 10th 2021. The third bout between these two stars drew in $15,759,800 in ticket sales.

There was more animosity going into this one after the build-up to their second bout was more amicable. McGregor reverted to his more brash persona and even brought Poirier's wife into his trash talking prior to the third fight.

The fight saw Dustin Poirier win a competitive first round that took a sudden turn when 'The Notorious' broke his leg in the closing moments. With McGregor unable to continue, Poirier took the win and a 2-1 lead in a series that may not be over.