Hey, remember back when this was a big deal? Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White wasn’t kidding when he said former lightweight champion Conor McGregor was worth all the trouble, as “Notorious” now holds the three highest-grossing pay-per-view (PPV) events of all time. Including UFC 229. That’s according to a new report from Dave Meltzer at MMA Fighting, who expects the final tally to be just above the 2.4 million mark. That’s somewhere between White’s first and last estimate once the UFC 229 hype train started picking up speed. The other two, in order, are UFC 202 and UFC 196, also starring Nate Diaz. Viewers who did shell out the $65 price tag and watched Khabib Nurmagomedov retain his 155-pound strap in high definition, courtesy of a fourth-round submission win over the power-punching Irishman (watch it), also got some bonus content by way of “The Eagle’s” post-fight brawl (video). No question Nurmagomedov will be paid handsomely for his PPV points and that may be why he’s so blasé about losing his disclosed salary — valued at $2 million — to Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC). And if money is no object, then neither is a potential rematch. Hi Nate!<doc-sep>The Telegraph Two of the surprise packages of this clay-court season have been British – initially Dan Evans, who made a deep run in Monte Carlo, and more lately Cameron Norrie, who played his second final in three weeks on Sunday. Unfortunately, Norrie wasn’t able to land a maiden ATP title in Lyon. But then he was up against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been the dominant force of 2021 outside the slams, and now stands at No 1 in the table of most rankings points gained since January 1. Nevertheless, it had been a hugely creditable effort for Norrie to go this far, especially when you consider that he took out top seed Dominic Thiem on Thursday, and then trounced big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov in Saturday’s semi-final, losing only two games in the process. Norrie has come to clay late in his career, but it feels like this is developing into his favourite surface. He has one of the heaviest left-handed forehands in the game, loaded with top-spin, and uses it like a miniature version of Rafael Nadal. The result has been a tally of 14 wins and only four losses since he began his European clay-court swing in Barcelona. So while the French Open, which starts next Sunday, has traditionally been a graveyard of British hopes, there are reasons to hope that this year’s event could deliver some more positive results. Norrie’s previous final in Estoril had been a nervewracking affair which he eventually lost on a deciding-set tie-break to the more experienced Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Sunday was more straightforward for Tsitsipas, who needed only 69 minutes to hammer home a 6-3, 6-3 victory. It was Tsitsipas’ second title of the clay-court sequence, after he won Monte Carlo in mid-April, taking out Evans in the semi-final along the way. He has become a serious contender to upset the establishment – specifically Nadal and Novak Djokovic – at Roland Garros over the next few weeks. “I felt in good shape from the beginning of the tournament,” said Tsitsipas afterwards. “I am proud of today’s match, I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron, who has been showing great tennis this week. He has been winning against good players and showing what the left hand can do on clay. “It was not an easy match today. I had to handle the nerves and I am proud of my performance and the way I stayed focused towards my goal.” On this year’s results, meanwhile, both Evans and Norrie stand among the world’s 20 most successful men. Evans is at No 16 and Norrie No 14. The next challenge for them both is to convert that ATP Tour form into a deep run at a major.<doc-sep>McGregor’s comeback was the main draw for UFC 2229 (Picture: Getty) Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor has broken the UFC’s pay-per-view record by posting 2.4 million buys worldwide. UFC 229 was being billed as the biggest main event in the company’s history as two-weight champion McGregor returned from a near two-year hiatus to take on lightweight king Nurmagomedov. Dana White predicted record breaking figures for the much anticipated title battle, with McGregor expected to help the UFC reach new heights once again. McGregor vs Nate Diaz II held the record before UFC 229. Their rematch in August 2016 sold 1.6m PPV. UFC 229 sold 1.9m traditional PPVs, while streaming services attracted 470,000 to 480,000 buys. With the late buys, UFC 229 is set to just break 2.4m, making it the most lucrative night in UFC history. UFC US PAY-PER-VIEW RECORD UFC 229 – 2,400,000 buys* UFC 202 – 1,600,000 buys* UFC 196 – 1,317,000 buys* UFC 205 – 1,300,000 buys* UFC 100 – 1,300,000 buys UFC 194 – 1,200,000 buys* *McGregor fight night White confirmed the gate just fell short of the company’s record a $17.2m, with 20,034 tickets sold for the T-Mobile Arena fight. The PPV figures right now are just estimates, and it will be another several months before the buys are finalised. Nurmagomedov’s dominant victory at UFC 229 was overshadowed by the Russian leaping into the crowd to attack Dillon Danis moments after submitting McGregor. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Chaos ensured when the fight was over (Picture: Getty) A brawl ensured, with McGregor jumped by several members of Nurmagomedov’s team inside the octagon. Nurmagomedov threatened to quit on Thursday if any of his team members have their UFC contracts thrown out. McGregor wants a rematch with Nurmagomedov and has declined the chance to press charges, although footage revealed the 30-year-old seems to have thrown the first punch during the melee. MORE : What did Dillon Danis say to Khabib after Conor McGregor fight at UFC 229?<doc-sep>
UFC President Dana White had predicted big numbers heading into UFC 229 but his estimates may prove to be conservative as MMA Fighting has more recently suggested worldwide pay-per-view numbers closer to 2.4 million. UFC 229 featured the returning Conor McGregor, the unquestioned king of pay-per-view draws and the promotion’s leading box office draw. His opponent, Khabib Nurmagomedov is the unbeaten Dagestani wrecking machine, that oh, by the way, holds the lightweight title. As UFC 229 drew nearer, the event seemed to lack the big fight feel that last year’s Floyd Mayweather vs McGregor boxing match had in its build up. Of course, the UFC promoted the fight as the biggest in the history of the sport. Images of McGregor hurling a dolly at a bus full of people was nearly unavoidable while watching UFC programming. Couple that with the constant insults, disparaging an entire country and religion, and some terrible accusations, and it’s fair to say the UFC made their bed when allowing these actions to persist. Turning a blind eye is tantamount to complicity, at least according to Nurmagomedov, and likely the reason he temporarily lost sanity. However, as the PPV numbers start to trickle in from UFC 229 one thing is clear. People were watching. It’s estimated that the event scored around 1.9 million traditional PPV buys and 470,000 to 480,000 via streaming PPV’s. After you factor in late buys, it puts the figure right around the 2.4 million total buys. Not too shabby. As the UFC doesn’t release the official PPV buy numbers for months after an event, these numbers are an estimate. However, White revealed earlier this week that numbers were well above the two million mark, but he stopped short of declaring UFC 229 hit three million. The previous UFC PPV record was set by McGregor and Nate Diaz for their scrap at UFC 202 in August 2016. That fight set the record with 1.5 million PPV buys. The Irishman now holds three of the top drawing UFC PPV event in company history. The highest grossing non-McGregor event was UFC 100┬áheadlined by Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir 2. UFC 100 did 1.3 million buys. Just to give you an idea of McGregor’s star power, UFC 228 headlined by Tyron Woodley vs. Darren Till did an estimated 130,000 buys. A rematch between Nurmagomedov and McGregor has already been talked about amongst the MMA community. However, its unlikely a rematch will take place anytime soon. But if the UFC does decide to book Nurmagomedov vs McGregor 2, it will no doubt set yet another new PPV record. This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 10/11/2018 This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM