The UFC's 5 best-selling pay-per-views of the decade (2010-2019)

#2 UFC 202: Diaz vs McGregor 2 – 20th August, 2016 – 1,600,000 buys

Conor McGregor's rematch with Nate Diaz was the best fight of 2016

After the huge success of UFC 196, the UFC attempted to book a rematch between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz in the main event of what should’ve been one of the biggest shows of all time – UFC 200. But the Irishman refused to attend a series of press conferences, and so the promotion scrapped the idea and turned to Brock Lesnar for that show instead, eventually re-booking McGregor vs Diaz for August’s UFC 202.

Interestingly, the opinion of a lot of hardcore fans was that the rivalry between the two had cooled off leading into the show, and thus it would likely flop on pay-per-view. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. A wild pre-fight press conference that saw the two fighters hurl water bottles at each other heated things up again, and in the end the public bit, allowing the show to break the UFC’s buyrate record, this time by 300,000 buys.

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The show itself wasn’t loaded with name value this time, but nobody was really tuning in for the undercard, and the big main event delivered in spades. McGregor and Diaz went toe-to-toe for the full five rounds, with ‘The Notorious One’ edging a victory by majority decision.

The battle ended up being voted as Fight of the Year by many publications, and so everyone who ordered the show more than got their money’s worth.

About the author

Scott is a veteran MMA writer with over two decades of experience, including his ongoing tenure in Sportskeeda, which began seven years ago. He has written over 3000 pieces for the organization, while also covering football. Before joining Sportskeeda, Scott wrote articles for websites like The Oratory and Inside Pulse MMA.

Scott has a degree in history, which drives his research skills and helps him compile accurate information. His long stint in the field helps Scott provide a clear take on important topics, such as the criticism of promotions regarding fighter pay. While he feels fighters deserve a bigger revenue share, he doesn’t want MMA to suffer with purse-split issues.

Scott’s work has been previously reshared by the former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman. He uses credible sources, such as the UFC’s official website, during the writing process.

His dedication to MMA writing won him the Feature Writer of the Month award for Sportskeeda in November 2021.

Outside of work, Scott likes to go to the gym, walk his dog, and travel.

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Edited by A. Ayush Chatterjee