Conor McGregor is undoubtedly the UFC’s pay-per-view king, but two legends had already achieved a major milestone years before he broke onto the scene.
There is growing talk of an absence of star names in the UFC. While that may be the case these days, the UFC has certainly had its big draws in years gone by.
Topping that list is McGregor, the biggest star that the sport of MMA has ever seen. The controversial Irishman has broken record after record when it comes to the UFC’s pay-per-view model and global engagement.
But not every record sits in the possession of ‘The Notorious’. One notable accolade will always belong to a pair of longtime rivals who made history on this day in 2010.
Rashad Evans and ‘Rampage’ Jackson became the first non-title UFC main event to hit one million PPV buys
Exactly 15 years ago, on May 29, 2010, Rashad Evans and ‘Rampage’ Jackson headlined UFC 114. The event took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The card became only the second in UFC history to feature five former TUF (The Ultimate Fighter) champions — Evans, Michael Bisping, Diego Sanchez, Amir Sadollah, and Efrain Escudero.
But that wasn’t the only history UFC 114 made.
The main event between Evans and Jackson, two former light heavyweight champions who were colliding after coaching opposite one another on TUF 10, was a three-round, non-title fight.
The absence of a championship didn’t hinder the PPV’s performance, though. In fact, UFC 114 became the very first PPV not headlined by a title to reach one million buys.
It was a strong example of bad blood selling in the fight game, as ‘Suga’ and ‘Rampage’ were embroiled in a bitter rivalry at the time.
During a media call for UFC 114, Dana White explained just how serious the animosity between the two headliners was.
“These kind of fights happen every once in a while,” White said. “Don’t fool yourself, this is the fight game. Sometimes the guys who fight each other, they just don’t like each other. These guys don’t and it is what it is.
“There’s that WWE stuff when the guys are out there trying to hype it up and make it look that way, but these guys seriously don’t like each other. It doesn’t get more real than this.
“These guys both coached on TUF, and not only do I think everybody wants this fight, but I know these two want this fight really bad. The day that they walked on the set, they don’t like each other. … When this fight is over, they might still hate each other.”
Their respective vows to finish the fight didn’t come to fruition despite the bad blood, with Evans ultimately getting the nod on the judges’ scorecards after three rounds.
Plenty of eyes watched on, with UFC 114 garnering 1,050,000 pay-per-view buys, considerably higher than White’s 850,000 prediction for the event.
Conor McGregor headlined eight of the top 10 biggest-selling UFC PPVs
Evans and Jackson may have been the first to achieve the feat, but generating over a million buys without a title on the line has since become synonymous with McGregor.
The Irishman has hit the milestone five times, with McGregor’s two-fight feud with Nate Diaz, the second and third fights with Dustin Poirier, and his comeback against Donald Cerrone all achieving the feat.
If you add in the heated Nurmagomedov vs McGregor rivalry and the two title wins over Jose Aldo and Eddie Alvarez, ‘The Notorious’ takes up eight spots on the top 10 UFC PPV buy list.
| PPV | Main Event | Buys |
| UFC 229 | Nurmagomedov vs McGregor | 2,400,000 |
| UFC 202 | Diaz vs McGregor 2 | 1,600,000 |
| UFC 257 | Poirier vs McGregor 2 | 1,600,000 |
| UFC 264 | Poirier vs McGregor 3 | 1,500,000 |
| UFC 246 | McGregor vs Cerrone | 1,350,000 |
| UFC 196 | Diaz vs McGregor | 1,320,000 |
| UFC 251 | Usman vs Masvidal | 1,300,000 |
| UFC 100 | Lesnar vs Mir 2 | 1,300,000 |
| UFC 205 | Alvarez vs McGregor | 1,300,000 |
| UFC 194 | Aldo vs McGregor | 1,200,000 |
Whether or not McGregor will add to his list of PPV successes in the UFC remains to be seen.
While a long-awaited showdown with Michael Chandler was predicted to perform well in the summer of 2024, a toe injury led to the Irishman’s withdrawal, sparking ongoing doubt about his return.