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Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor bout generates 4.3M PPV buys

Updated December 16, 2017 - 6:30 pm

UFC president Dana White refused earlier this month to indicate exactly how good the pay-per-view numbers for the historic Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor boxing match were other than a big smile and thumbs up with a quick “Very good.”

Now a more specific answer has been unveiled.

Showtime Sports announced the fight generated 4.3 million buys in North America, making it the second-biggest selling bout in history.

The number for the Aug. 26 event at T-Mobile Arena includes traditional pay-per-view providers as well as various online distributors like the Showtime and UFC apps. It ended up just short of the 4.6 million buys for Mayweather’s 2015 fight against Manny Pacquiao.

Mayweather’s fight against Oscar De La Hoya in 2007 is third at 2.48 million.

Showtime and Mayweather sounded optimistic about breaking the PPV record a week after the McGregor bout. In September, Showtime told the Review-Journal the PPV number was at 4.4 million buys but projected to end up at 4.8 million.

“The total global revenue from the event, including ticket sales, sponsorship and international distribution, exceeds $600 million, which — along with Mayweather vs. Pacquiao — is among the largest for a single-day sporting event of all time,” a news release from Showtime read.

The pay-per-view sold for $100, and ended when Mayweather stopped McGregor in the 10th round of the UFC lightweight champion’s professional boxing debut.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter. Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GManzano24 on Twitter.

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