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With UFC 268 set to go down on November 6, the promotion may have outdone themselves, recording the fourth-highest gate at the iconic Madison Square Garden.
In a post on Twitter, MMA Junkie's John Morgan revealed that he had received some inside information regarding the gate from their upcoming pay-per-view.
"According to UFC officials, #UFC268 will be the 4th highest gate of any kind in the history of Madison Square Garden. The record, per UFC officials, was UFC 205, giving the promotion 2 of the top 4 gates in the history of the iconic venue," wrote John Morgan on Twitter.
Although the exact numbers are yet to be revealed, the nature of the card leaves no room for doubt regarding its popularity. The card is brimming with talent, featuring high-profile bouts between Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington, Rose Namajunas and Weili Zhang and Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler.
These three fights have the potential to change the balance of power in the welterweight, women's strawweight and lightweight divisions, respectively. It is no surprise that fans will be flocking to Madison Square Garden in droves to witness the action unfold in real-time.
UFC continues to consolidate its position at the iconic venue
The UFC has hosted a few grand sporting events in the city of New York. The state only legalized mixed martial arts in 2016.
The first card held in the Big Apple was UFC 205: Eddie Alvarez vs. Conor McGregor. At the time, the card broke the UFC's pay-per-view record. The star-studded pay-per-view drew 20,427 fans to the venue, earning Dana White's promotion a gate valued at $17.7M.
The fact that Conor McGregor headlined the pay-per-view comes as a surprise to no one. McGregor etched himself in MMA lore as he became the first fighter to hold championship titles in two different weight classes simultaneously.
The UFC 205 card featured three title fights. In addition to the lightweight title between Conor McGregor and Eddie Alvarez, the event featured title fights between Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson for the welterweight strap and Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Karolina Kowalkiewicz for the women's strawweight title.
