UFC 207 Does Over One Million PPV Buys
UFC 207 was rather odd, to say the least, in the build-up to the event. Heading into the anticipated card, the UFC hyped the return of former champion Ronda Rousey in all of the promotional materials leading into the event, and didn’t put a whole lot of attention (or any) on current champion Amanda Nunes.
The biggest question going into the event was if Rousey would be able to recover from her devastating loss to Holly Holm back in November 2015 and reclaim her dominance. There was no question she is a pioneer of the women’s division and was the main reason that Dana White even let women fight in the UFC, but could she keep it up in present day MMA?
She couldn’t, succumbing to a merciful stoppage from referee Herb Dean in only 48 seconds following a vicious onslaught from bulldozing titleholder Nunes.
The event also had to battle the fact that it was held on a Friday night, which traditionally does not do all that well for the UFC on pay-per-view (PPV). However, with Rousey at the helm, the event drew well on PPV.
MMA Supremacy (via Forbes) is reporting that the event did an estimated 1.1 million buys, which would rate is as one of the highest-grossing UFC PPVS of the year and is where Rousey left off as a draw on PPV before taking her one-year vacation.
The UFC attempted to load up the card in the co-main event, a highly exciting bantamweight championship bout between former champion Dominick Cruz and current champ Cody Garbrandt, which featured saw the changing of the guard when Garbrandt picked up a unanimous decision victory, handing Cruz his first loss in 10 years.
In the end, Rousey, who has been a good draw for the promotion, went out not necessarily on top, but most definitely as a pay-per-view draw. It’s being speculated that this is her last fight, and only time will tell if that is true.
However, if she ever wants to return to the Octagon, it’s clear she still has the fans to make some huge money for herself and her management at WME. Should she?
