When a UFC PPV featuring Conor McGregor, Jorge Masvidal, Dustin Poirier and more did shockingly low buys
UFC superstars such as Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier, and Jorge Masvidal attract eyes and fill seats. They have helped sell millions of pay-per-views.
Yet, there was a time when all three were on the same fight card, which sold an underwhelming 205,000 PPV buys.
UFC 178 went down inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 27, 2014. The main event of the evening featured Demetrious Johnson defending his flyweight title against Chris Cariaso.
Johnson, one of the greatest fighters ever, wasn't the biggest PPV draw at the time. His utter dominance made for unexciting fights, but he also had plenty of help to sell the PPV.
The UFC 178 fight card featured Donald Cerrone vs. Eddie Alvarez, Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier, Jorge Masvidal vs. James Krause, Yoel Romero vs. Tim Kennedy, among others. The event ultimately led to only 205,000 PPV sales, which is somewhat disappointing.
Looking back at all of these superstars on the same fight card is intriguing, even though they were just starting to emerge at the time. Imagine how many PPVs would be sold if all of these fighters fought on the same card now.
UFC 178 was the start of the Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier rivalry
Dustin Poirier has, singlehandedly, disrupted McGregor's career by beating him twice. But go back eight years and you'll find a different story. Both fighters were fighting in the featherweight division. Conor's trash talk had gotten under 'The Diamond's skin in the buildup to the bout.
McGregor knocked Dustin out within two minutes and continued on his path to becoming a two-division champion. Conor was a hot prospect even before the fight, but the criticism of "he hasn't fought legit contenders" was often levied at him.
Poirier was also relatively unknown and a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Irishman helped him evolve, and he subsequently revenged himself twice upon 'The Notorious.'
Watch Conor McGregor finish Dustin Poirier below:
UFC 178: Conor McGregor rocked Dustin Poirier to get a first round win...💥
UFC 257: McGregor to win by 1st Round KO/TKO: +200
https://t.co/hAPK0PdL7V
The event also featured Donald Cerrone beating Eddie Alvarez, Yoel Romero beating Tim Kennedy, Demetrious Johnson beating Chris Cariaso, and Jorge Masvidal besting James Krause.
The event also featured wins from Dominick Cruz, Stephen Thompson, Kevin Lee, and Cat Zingano [who beat Amanda Nunes in a thrilling bout].
Between Mike Goldberg's commentating and the prelims airing on Fox Sports 1, the UFC has come a long way since 2014.
In hindsight, UFC 178 shows that future superstars of MMA might be lurking low on the PPV fight cards of today.