Which UFC events have the highest pay-per-view numbers not featuring Conor McGregor?

Conor McGregor holds eight spots in the top 13 highest selling pay-per-view cards in UFC history. Love him or hate him, the Irish megastar brings eyes to the sport every time he graces the octagon.

'The Notorious' stands atop the PPV mountain, with his bout against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 being the highest selling pay-per-view of all time. The event sold 2.4 million pay-per-vews.

Conor McGregor has repeatedly broken PPV records in the world's premier MMA organization.

The top five spots in the highest selling PPVs of all time belong to Conor McGregor. However, for this list, we are going to take a look at events with the highest selling pay-per-views in the company's history, not featuring Conor McGregor.

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#5. UFC 207: Nunes vs. Rousey - 1,100,000 PPV buys

The event marked 'Rowdy' Ronda Rousey's return after a year away from fighting. In her previous bout, Holly Holm brutally knocked her out via a head kick in the second round. The much anticipated return of the former bantamweight queen garnered a lot of hype. The event sold 1.1 million PPVs, garnering $60,000,000 in pay-per-view sales.

Though the event did really well, the night didn't go so well for Ronda Rousey. Current bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes put a beating on 'Rowdy' in the first round, causing the referee to stop the bout. The fight marked Ronda Rousey's last fight inside the octagon.

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#4. UFC 193: Rousey vs. Holm - 1,10,000 PPV buys

The second-highest PPV event not featuring Conor McGregor also has Ronda Rousey in the headliner fight. This time too, Rousey was knocked out, except in the second round via a brutal head kick by 'The Preacher's Daughter' Holly Holm.

The event sold around 1,10,000 PPVs.

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#3. UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin - 1,160,000 PPV buys

Brock Lesnar had a legendary run and some of the most exciting fights in the UFC's heaviest division. Among these fights was his first title defense against Shane Carwin.

'The Beast Incarnate' was pummeled by Carwin in the first round in what could have been a referee stoppage. However, Lesnar survived the round and managed to take a gassed-out Carwin to the ground, eventually finishing him via an arm-triangle choke.

The event sold 1,160,000 pay-per-views.

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#2. UFC 200: Tate vs. Nunes - 1,20,000 PPV buys

Nunes is part of, yet again, another highest selling pay-per-view card. The bout was originally supposed to be headlined by Jones vs. Cormier 2. However, Jones tested positive for a banned substance so he was pulled from the bout. Tate vs. Nunes for the women's bantamweight championship was elevated to the main event.

'The Lionness' absolutely battered 'Cupcake' in the first round and finished her with a rear-naked choke to win the women's 135-pound title. The star-studded event made 1,200,000 PPV purchases. Incidentally, the event had Brock Lesnar beating Mark Hunt in the co-main event, but tested positive for PEDs after the fight.

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#1. UFC 100: Lesnar vs. Mir - 1,600,000 PPV buys

'The Beast Incarnate' Brock Lesnar takes the top spot again as he was part of the centurion event of the premier MMA organization. Lesnar was part of a star-studded card featuring the then welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, Michael Bisping, and a budding Jon Jones who fought in the prelims.

The bout was infamous as Lesner exacted revenge against Frank Mir after their first meeting at UFC 81, where Mir submitted Lesnar with a kneebar in the first round. After the bout, Lesnar flipped off the crowd and threw shade at one of the event's sponsors at the time, Bud Light.

The event generated 1,600,000 PPV buys.

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Will Conor McGregor's return against Michael Chander break PPV records once again?

Conor McGregor is currently filming The Ultimate Fighter 31 against Michael Chandler. Both fighters will face off against each other at the end of the season. For Conor McGregor, this will be his first time competing since his devastating freak-injury loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.

The aforementioned card is the fifth-highest selling pay-per-view in UFC history, having sold 1.35 million PPVs.

Conor McGregor's bout against Michael Chandler has all the potential to break into the top five highest selling PPVs of all time. Audiences will have a full season of TUF to watch in anticipation of their bout being scheduled for sometime in the fall. TUF 31 may also have the highest viewership of any season thus far.