"Nothing close to Diaz-Paul" - Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou reportedly made "terrible" PPV buys
The Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou boxing match was undoubtedly one of the most eagerly awaited events last month. However, it seems the heavyweight showdown's hype didn't translate to pay-per-view (PPV) buys. According to recent reports, the Fury-Ngannou fight did not attract many PPV buyers, with the total count being lesser than the Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul boxing match.
Ngannou made his highly anticipated boxing debut against Fury last weekend in Riyadh. The two heavyweight boxers competed in a 10-round contest under standard professional boxing rules. However, Fury's WBC title wasn't on the line.
While most expected the WBC heavyweight champion to dominate Ngannou, the Cameroonian shockingly held his own against the Englishman, scoring the fight's lone knockdown in the third round and dominating his opponent in the eighth round. However, Tyson Fury ultimately won the fight via split decision.
The event was also graced by several notable dignitaries and high-profile celebrities like Cristiano Ronaldo, Eminem, Conor McGregor, and Kanye West. However, veteran journalist Dave Meltzer recently reported that despite the flashiness of the event, it made poor pay-per-view sales.
@Fight_Ghost shared the journalist's quotes from his latest episode on the Wrestling Observer Live podcast. He said:
"I will have the exact numbers tomorrow, but they were terrible. Way below an AEW PPV. Possibly 10k for TV orders. I will have the streaming tomorrow. It was nothing close to Canelo or Diaz-Paul buys."
For context, the Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul fight reportedly pulled around 450,000 PPV buys.
Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou PPV buys: Fans react to reports of poor PPV sales
The Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou boxing match was highly touted as one of this year's most exciting combat sports events. The former UFC heavyweight champion didn't disappoint his fans, pushing the lineal heavyweight champion to his limits and putting on an incredible performance on his boxing debut.
Given that the fight took place in Saudi Arabia, the card aired on Saturday at midday for the fans following Eastern Time. While those hours are usually not cut for prime-time PPV sales, it shocked many how low the numbers were.
As mentioned, Dave Meltzer reportedly claimed that the Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou boxing match drew less than 10,000 television orders and overall made less than the Nate Diaz vs. Jake Paul boxing match.
After @Fight_Ghost posted the tweet quoting Meltzer, many took to the post's comments section to express their thoughts on the news. One fan slammed the PPV price and wrote:
"No surprise here, no one is paying $80 for one fight."
Another fan slammed Francis Ngannou and wrote:
"Francis couldn’t sell PPVs in the UFC, this is no surprise."
Check out some more reactions below:
