After a big card that UFC 197 was in Las Vegas last night, you might have expected that the earnings and attendance from the gate would continue the UFC trend of improving on each numbered event.
UFC 196 built upon the records set by UFC 195 and so on. So when Dana White announced the figures for the fourth pay-per-view event at the MGM Grand this year, it ranked as the second most attended and profitable of the four events.
There were 11,352 people at the MGM Grand on the night, with a takings of $2,300,000. That pales in comparison to the McGregor-Diaz headlined UFC 196 which drew 14,898 people and a whopping $8,100,000 in gate.
Given that UFC 197 had the top two pound for pound fighters in the UFC and couldn't amount to as big of a draw as McGregor - that can only help the Dubliner's cause for him to do less promotion. It sounds like he doesn't need to and he'd still be the biggest draw in the sport.
- “UFC 196: McGregor vs. Diaz” – 14,898 ($8,100,000 live gate)
- “UFC 197: Jones vs. Saint Preux” – 11,352 ($2,300,000 live gate)
- “UFC 195: Lawler vs. Condit” – 10,300 ($2,003,986 live gate)
- “UFC Fight Night 82: Hendricks vs. Thompson” – 7,422 ($1,435,000 live gate)
