A recent report from SBJ has indicated that UFC 269 managed to hit over 500,000 pay-per-view buys last month.
In the final PPV of the year for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the promotion went all out. They put on a blockbuster card stacked from head to toe with talent, and that was particularly true for the main event and co-main event of the evening.
The final showdown of the night saw Charles Oliveira successfully defend his UFC lightweight title against Dustin Poirier in a bout that featured one of the most electric first rounds in recent memory. Prior to that, Julianna Pena shocked the mixed martial arts world by submitting Amanda Nunes to capture the UFC bantamweight championship.
As it turns out, that kind of card was more than enough for the UFC to garner over half a million PPV buys through the ESPN+ service.
.@ESPNPlus sold slightly more than 500,000 PPV units for #UFC269 last month, per SBJ sources. pic.twitter.com/EE5Yuqe7UE
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) January 20, 2022
While the nature of PPV sales in the modern age and the ESPN deal means these numbers don’t mean as much as they used to, it’s still a pretty good indicator as to how badly people wanted to see this event.
The biggest audience for the UFC to try and capture is the casual fanbase and at UFC 269, they were treated to a whole lot of excitement. Sean O’Malley won, Cody Garbrandt was humbled and the two big title fights were as thrilling as advertised.
For Oliveira, Poirier, Nunes and Pena, they can sleep well knowing there’s a real place out there for them in this constantly evolving sport.
Which of the two title fights did you enjoy more at UFC 269 – Charles Oliveira vs Dustin Poirier or Amanda Nunes vs Julianna Pena? How many UFC PPVs do you expect to do more than 500,000 buys in 2022? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments section, BJPENN Nation!