"Closer to $27 million" - Chael Sonnen believes Conor McGregor was going to break his PPV gate record by "80%" at UFC 303
MMA legend and UFC Hall of Famer Chael Sonnen analyzed the repercussions of Conor McGregor withdrawing from the main event of UFC 303. 'The Bad Guy' pointed out the obvious: without 'The Notorious', UFC 303 won't generate the amount of cash it's expected to.
Set for June 29, 'The Notorious' was supposed to return to action after three years of inactivity, locking horns with Michael Chandler at welterweight. Many analysts, Sonnen included, saw UFC 303 potentially breaking all kinds of money records for the UFC this year.
In a conversation with fellow UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier on ESPN MMA on YouTube, 'The Bad Guy' revealed what amount of money he thought McGregor would have generated if he didn't get injured.
Sonnen said:
"Let me let you in on something on the inside. That little $23 million gate that you hear about, it's not sold out. It was going to come in at closer to $27 million when it was done, which beats Conor's own record.
"His own record is currently the Madison Square Garden gate [UFC 205] when he went opposite Eddie Alvarez at 17.4 million. He was gonna beat his own number one record by 80%."
Conor McGregor currently owns three of the top five highest-selling UFC gates in history, ranking 1, 2, and 4. As for pay-per-views, the fighting Irishman is the undisputed king, appearing in 8 of the 10 best-selling pay-per-views in the company's history.
We're not surprised by Chael Sonnen's assessment. With the long inactivity on top of the fact that the McGregor effect is still in full swing, fan anticipation would have surely skyrocketed UFC 303 to the top of the list.
Watch the full ESPN MMA video here:
Chael Sonnen on Conor McGregor's irreplaceability: "Red panty night is real"
A week before the UFC officially announced the withdrawal of McGregor and the subsequent card reshuffle of UFC 303, rumors have been heavily circulating on social media. Many sporting personalities gave their speculations on what might happen.
As for Chael Sonnen, 'The Bad Guy' simply reminded everyone that there is only one McGregor, and if he does pull out, the UFC won't be able to find another fighter who could generate the amount of money 'The Notorious' can generate for them.
Sonnen said in a video with MMA Fighting on X:
"Red Panty Night is real. There's only one Conor McGregor. And I would assume that with the loss of matches, there's going to be a dimming of that light... The delaying of the match, the refusal to enter the USADA pool, missing [UFC] 300. I can go on and on. I would have assumed wrong that there was going to be a dimming of the light, Ariel. [Conor McGregor] beaten his own records. The top 10 gates in UFC history... he has all 10."
Here's the full video: