What is the biggest UFC PPV that didn't involve Conor McGregor?
The biggest UFC PPV that didn’t involve Conor McGregor is UFC 100.
The event transpired in 2009 and still holds the record for being the UFC’s third highest-selling PPV of all time.
UFC 100 did not have Conor McGregor on the card
Sitting at the No. 1 spot on the list of the highest-selling UFC PPVs of all time is UFC 229 that took place on October 6th, 2018. This event was headlined by the grudge match between UFC Lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor.
UFC 229 witnessed Nurmagomedov defeat Conor McGregor via fourth-round submission. The event garnered more than 2.4 million PPV buys, with an estimated revenue of $180 million.
Coming in at the No. 2 spot is UFC 202 that took place on August 20th, 2016. The event was headlined by the rematch between Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor. Diaz had defeated The Notorious One via second-round submission in their first fight at UFC 196 in March 2016.
UFC 202 witnessed Conor McGregor defeat Diaz via majority decision (48–47, 47–47, 48–47). The event did more than 1.65 million PPV buys, with an estimated revenue of $90 million.
This brings us to UFC 100 – the biggest UFC PPV that didn’t involve Conor McGregor. This event was headlined by the much-anticipated rematch between archrivals Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir. Additionally, UFC 100 also featured other notable fights.
UFC 100 took place on July 11th, 2009. The event did more than 1.6 million PPV buys, with an estimated revenue of $82 million.
UFC 100 saw Brock Lesnar get revenge on Frank Mir
UFC 100 was headlined by a UFC heavyweight title unification matchup between Heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar, and interim titleholder, Frank Mir. Their first fight took place at UFC 81 in February 2008, with Mir defeating Lesnar via first-round submission.
The UFC 100 fight witnessed Lesnar defeating Mir via second-round TKO and successfully unifying the UFC heavyweight title.
One ought to note that UFC 100 featured not one but two high-profile title fights. The first one was Lesnar-Mir whereas the second was a UFC Welterweight title matchup between defending champion, Georges St-Pierre, and challenger Thiago Alves. GSP successfully defended his title, defeating Alves via unanimous decision with impressive scores of 50-45, 50-44, and 50-45 across the judges’ scorecards.
Furthermore, UFC 100 also featured the clash of TUF (The Ultimate Fighter) season 9 coaches, Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping. This Middleweight grudge match ended with Henderson defeating Bisping via second-round KO.
UFC 100 also witnessed the promotional debut of Japanese MMA icon, Yoshihiro Akiyama, who defeated Alan Belcher via split decision (30–27, 28–29, 29–28).
Fighters like Mark Coleman, Stephan Bonnar, Jon Fitch, Paulo Thiago, Jim Miller, Mac Danzig, Dong Hyun Kim, TJ Grant, Tom Lawlor, CB Dolloway, Shannon Gugerty, and Matt Grice, also competed at UFC 100.
Perhaps one of the most interesting facts about UFC 100 is a fight that took place on its preliminary card, featuring a young Jon Jones impressively defeating Jake O’Brien via second-round submission.