Okay, let’s talk about UFC 285 and its pay-per-view buys. I got really curious about this one, mainly because Jon Jones was coming back after such a long time, and moving up to heavyweight no less. It felt like a huge moment.
So, right after the event finished, probably the Monday after, I started digging around. My first step, like always, was just hitting the usual sports news sites and the big MMA portals. You know, just hoping someone had the numbers splashed across a headline. No dice, obviously. They usually report the results, the finishes, the drama, but rarely the hard PPV numbers right away.
Then I went deeper. I started checking out forums where fans hang out, places like Reddit’s MMA section, and some old-school message boards I still lurk on. Lots of talk, tons of speculation. People were throwing numbers around, saying “it must have done huge numbers” because of Jones. Some were guessing wildly, comparing it to past McGregor events.
Trying to Find Solid Info
Finding actual, reliable numbers is tough these days. The UFC and ESPN+, they keep that stuff pretty close to the chest. It’s not like the old days where numbers seemed to leak more often or were reported more officially through cable providers. Now, with streaming, it’s all internal data.
I kept an eye on reports from some of the more plugged-in journalists in the MMA space over the next few weeks. You see estimates pop up. I saw figures mentioned that put it well over half a million buys, maybe creeping towards the higher end, possibly somewhere in the 600k to 800k range globally, combining ESPN+ and international buys. But again, these were just estimates reported by media folks, not official confirmations.
Key things driving the interest seemed to be:
- Jon Jones’ return after three years.
- His heavyweight debut.
- Fighting for the vacant heavyweight title.
- A pretty solid undercard too.
I tried comparing these rumored numbers to Jones’ previous big fights, like his rivalries with Cormier. Those older events sometimes had reported figures, giving some context. The estimates for UFC 285 seemed strong, definitely putting it in the upper tier of recent PPVs, especially those not featuring McGregor.
My Final Thoughts
So, did I find the exact, official number? Nope. I don’t think anyone outside the UFC/ESPN inner circle really has it. But based on everything I read, the buzz online, the reports from people who usually have decent sources, it seems UFC 285 did really well. It wasn’t likely McGregor numbers, but for a non-McGregor card, the consensus was that Jones’ return delivered a very healthy PPV buy rate. It showed Jones is still a major draw, maybe even bigger now as a heavyweight. That was my main takeaway after trying to piece it all together.
