Estimates for the UFC 227 buyrate are in.
Dave Meltzer of MMAFighting.com has revealed that the event looks to have brought in around 300,000 pay-per-view buys. UFC 227 featured two title bouts. In the main event, T.J. Dillashaw successfully put his bantamweight title on the line against Cody Garbrandt in a rematch. Dillashaw earned a first-round TKO win. The co-main event saw Henry Cejudo end Demetrious Johnson’s successful title defense streak, taking a split decision victory to capture the UFC flyweight title.
The Aftermath
After Dillashaw’s victory to end his rivalry with Garbrandt, many are wondering what is next. There’s Dominick Cruz, Marlon Moraes, and Raphael Assuncao all ready for a title opportunity. There’s also a potential champion vs. champion bout with Henry Cejudo.
If Cejudo doesn’t get his wish to take on Dillashaw, then a rematch with “Mighty Mouse” seems obvious. The problem is Johnson has a high-grade partial tear in his LCL. The former 125-pound ruler is unsure if he will need surgery.
UFC 227 Buyrate Reception
Meltzer notes that the numbers have exceeded expectations. The headliners and co-headliners haven’t been known to be massive draws. Nabbing 300,000 pay-per-view buys in 2018 is nothing to sneeze at. Here’s the lowdown:
“The stronger than expected number also confirmed the earlier stronger than expected number of Google searches that night, with more than one million, making UFC 227 the single-most searched item on the Internet the day of the show. It would have been the second-biggest number ever drawn by a bantamweight title fight, with the record at just over 300,000 being the July 2, 2011, show headlined by Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber, who at the time were both far more established stars.”
To compare, UFC 226 back in July is estimated at 380,000 buys. That card was headlined by a “super fight” between light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and then-heavyweight title holder Stipe Miocic. Cormier captured the heavyweight gold via first-round knockout.
Did the UFC 227 buyrate exceed your expectations?
