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There is no doubt that the UFC is the biggest promotion in MMA. Since its inception in 1993, the company has seen an exponential rise in popularity. Over the years, the UFC has lived up to its reputation by organizing some of the biggest events of all time.
With a roster comprising fighters like Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov, it's obvious why people are amped up to see their stars take center stage.
Thanks to the hype created around its fights, the UFC has some of the best pay-per-view fights under its belt. On that note, here are the five best PPV events organized by the UFC in recent history.
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#5. UFC 229: Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor
All hell broke loose when 'The Eagle' squared off against 'The Notorious' at UFC 229. 20,000 people had gathered at the T-Mobile Arena in Nevada to watch one of the biggest rivalries in UFC history unfold. The winner of the fight would be crowned the undisputed UFC lightweight champion.
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The back and forth at the press conferences had built hype surrounding the fight. McGregor was his usual self, with his trash talk and raucous personality.
Fans wanted to see if 'The Eagle' would remain unbeaten after the fight, or if McGregor would reclaim the title he never lost.
In the end, Khabib Nurmagomedov successfully defended his title. He got Conor McGregor into a rear-naked choke and forced him to tap out in the fourth round.
The fight amassed a whooping 2.4 million PPV buys in the US. It remains the highest grossing MMA event of all time. It's also the only fight in the UFC to have crossed the 2 million PPV buys.
One of the chief reasons behind this was the bad blood between the two fighters. It isn't surprising to see a little rivalry between fighters. But UFC 229 showed utter hatred between Nurmagomedov and McGregor.
Nurmagomedov and McGregor have a history of bad blood. A few months before their fight Nurmagomedov was seen cornering Artem Lobov, McGregor didn't like the attack on his longtime friend.
Following the end of UFC 223 media day, McGregor was caught attacking a bus carrying Nurmagomedov and other fighters at the Barclays Center. McGregor threw a steel dolly, smashing one of the windows of the bus.
Fans were naturally eager to see the fighters carry this beef into the octagon.
#4. UFC 264: Conor McGregor vs Dustin Poirier 3
Dustin Poirier defeated Conor McGregor at UFC 264 to cap off their rivalry in style. The event went on to collect about 1.8 million PPV buys. It currently ranks second after UFC 229 in PPV buys.
That mutual respect from their last fight was missing would be an understatement. Poirier and McGregor seemed fired up to settle the dispute in the octagon. The press conferences were an exhibition of the bad blood between the fighters.
It all started after Poirier accused McGregor of never donating the $500,000 that he had promised to Poirier's foundation prior to their second fight. Conor's offer was predominantly why Dustin had agreed to a third fight.
Such grave accusations didn't sit well with McGregor, and thus kickstarted the feud once again.
Right after the incident, Conor took to Twitter to call off the fight. The feud was far from over as the fighters continued to trade jabs online.
The back and forth between the fighters got fans riled up to see who'd have the last laugh.
The hype surrounding the fight prompted Dana White to believe that it might break all PPV records. In an interview with The MacLife, he said:
"We got more pre-buys than any fight in UFC history. I've been saying to fans, if you know you're buying this fight Saturday night, do it now. Do it this week. Don't do it on Saturday, you know, two-three million trying to buy it at the same time."
#3. UFC 202: Nate Diaz vs Conor McGregor 2
Any UFC event featuring Conor McGregor means good business for the promotion. Understandably, UFC 202 featuring a rematch between Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor, was no different.
It remained the UFC's highest grossing event with 1.65 million PPV buys for two years before UFC 229 surpassed it in 2018.
The intensity and history between the fighters made sure to attract fans in large numbers to the T-Mobile Arena in Nevada. Diaz had, after all, handed McGregor the first loss of his UFC career at UFC 196.
The UFC too did its part to promote the fight well and get the fans all pumped up.
The fight lived up to the hype it had created. It turned out to be a close contest as both fighters went through all five rounds, bloodied and exhausted. In the end, it was McGregor who won the barnburner by a majority decision.
#2. UFC 100: Brock Lesnar vs Frank Mir 2
In the world of combat sports, bad blood often means good business. UFC 100 is remembered for its legendary rivalry that collected 1.6 million PPV buys, the highest for the UFC at that point.
Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir headlined a heavyweight championship unification bout alongside a welterweight title bout between Georges St-Pierre and Thiago Alves.
The heat surrounding the fight was largely due to the hatred between Lesnar and Mir. In an extended preview released by the UFC, Lesnar was caught saying:
"This fight is nothing about respect. This fight is all about revenge."
Verbal jabs were traded right before the fight. Mir took a jib at Lesnar's pro-wrestling skills. Lesnar hit back, calling Mir 'a glorified karate kid' who had won a few fights.
It was a given that Lesnar would come out all guns blazing in the rematch. Losing to Mir earlier at UFC 89 had been a tough pill to swallow for Lesnar after all.
The intense rivalry was evident as Lesnar refused to touch gloves with Mir at the start of the fight.
He then showed why he is called the 'Beast Incarnate' as he maimed Frank Mir and forced the referee to stop the fight in the second round.
Things didn't stop there. A fired-up Brock spewed vitriol in the post-fight interview as Mir stood there nursing a bloodied face.
#1. UFC 194: Jose Aldo vs Conor McGregor
UFC 194 saw Conor McGregor face UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo for a title unification bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
It was yet another good day at the office for the UFC, with 1.2 million PPV buys.
The fight was predicted to be a crowd puller thanks to the bitter rivalry at the press conferences. There were multiple instances of the fighters verbally bashing each other. McGregor was at the top of his game with his efforts to get into Aldo's mind.
Things were on the verge of escalating when 'The Notorious' simply snatched Aldo's championship belt and proudly showed it to the crowd - as if he were the champion.
The fighters refused to touch gloves and instead went straight on the offensive. Despite all the rivalry between the fighters, it didn't last for long. McGregor knocked out Aldo 13 seconds into the match and was crowned the new champion. McGregor's win also ended Aldo's decade-long winning streak.
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