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Conor McGregor is often hailed as the cash cow of the UFC and rightly so. He has promoted and positioned himself in such a way that he is most definitely one of the most marketable fighters on the roster.
On the back of his fame, Conor McGregor managed to find his way to the top-five UFC pay-per-view sales list of all time. The fact he headlined all of those events is a remarkable feat.
The UFC is widely recognized as the premier MMA promotion in the world. What's more, it houses some of the world's most talented and marketable MMA bigwigs like Israel Adesanya, Dustin Poirier, Francis Ngannou, Amanda Nunes and more.
These fighters have battled their way to the top of the food chain in their respective divisions. They have also brought plentiful money to the UFC by way of pay-per-view sales.
In this article, we take a look at the five biggest pay-per-views that did not feature Conor McGregor.
#5. UFC 207: Amanda Nunes vs. Ronda Rousey- 1,100,000 pay-per-view sales
Ronda Rousey was still reeling from her loss at the hands of Holly Holm at UFC 193 when she walked into a massacre against Amanda Nunes. Rousey, who was looking to find her way back to winning ways, was acquainted with the harsh reality of MMA with a devastating first round KO/TKO.
The fact that Rousey wasn't required to participate in any pre-fight promotion for her fight against Nunes only made her loss worse. She was encouraged to focus completely on getting her title back.
The fight against Nunes marked the end of Rousey's journey in MMA, who turned her attention towards WWE. Regardless, she was promptly inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2018.
#4. UFC 193: Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm - 1,100,000 pay-per-view sales
Ahead of her UFC 193 headliner against Holly Holm back in November 2015, Ronda Rousey was at the peak of her dominance on the women's MMA circuit. However, all that changed when Holly Holm landed a left kick on Ronda Rousey's chin. The brutal shot sent the champ to the ground like a sack of potatoes in the second round.
The loss to Holly Holm marked the first setback of Ronda Rousey's professional MMA career. Unfortunately, it was the beginning of the end of her career on the mixed martial arts circuit. On paper, Holly Holm was not a real threat to Rousey.
Having fought just twice for the UFC, Holm was expected to butt heads with a seemingly invincible Ronda Rousey. Although Holm was a decorated MMA fighter, it was expected that Rousey would win the fight, given her reputation in the MMA.
#3. UFC 116: Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin- 1,160,000 pay-per-view sales
The MGM Grand Arena hosted UFC 116 in July 2010. The event witnessed Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin go toe-to-toe in the main event. The heavyweight scrap between the two was certainly one for the ages.
Carwin had finished every one of his opponents in the UFC in the first round before his fight against Lesnar. Needless to say, he was looking to do the same here.
However, Brock Lesnar persevered and walked away with a submission win in the second round using an arm-triangle choke. Lesnar capitalized on the fact that Carwin had never fought that long.
Lesnar's performance against Carwin is considered one of his finest. He was widely lauded for overcoming his issues with diverticulitis and Carwin's round one beating to secure the victory.
#2. UFC 100: Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir II- 1,300,000 pay-per-view sales
UFC 100 was headlined by Brock Lesnar's rematch with Frank Mir. The event took place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in July 2009. Their first fight, Lesnar's debut, took place in February 2008 at UFC 81.
Lesnar went into the rematch against Mir with a chip on his shoulder, looking to vindicate himself after his submission loss at UFC 81. And vindicate he did.
Brock Lesnar managed to record a round two TKO win after showering Frank Mir with hard rights to the head while on the ground. In doing so, Lesnar avenged the first loss of his UFC career.
#1. UFC 251: Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal- 1,300,000 pay-per-view sales
Kamaru Usman displayed an absolute masterclass of wrestling and clinchwork against Jorge Masvidal at 'Fight Island' in this welterweight main event.
'The Nigerian Nightmare' managed to wrestle his way to a unanimous decision victory against 'Gamebred', who had accepted the fight on six days' notice. Although Masvidal displayed impressive takedown defense and fought well off of his back, it just wasn't enough to eke out a win over the welterweight kingpin.
The cards at the end of their fight spelled doom for the 'BMF' title holder. UFC 251 was a star-studded affair, featuring the likes of Alexander Volkanovski and Petr Yan, who recorded wins against Max Holloway and Jose Aldo, respectively.
The featherweight champion narrowly escaped with a split decision win over Max Holloway. Petr Yan, on the other hand, overcame the challenge presented by Jose Aldo to lay claim to the vacant UFC bantamweight title. Yan managed to walk away from the fight with a round five TKO over Aldo.
