Ronda Rousey-Holly Holm fight tops 1 million PPV buys

It was one of the biggest upsets of the year, Holly Holm knocking out Ronda Rousey after the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion seemed invincible in her previous title defenses. It appears the UFC 193 pay per view has broken a barrier that was previously seen as unattainable. The fight card headlined by women appears to have topped the one million buy mark.

MMA Fighting cites industry experts who say UFC 193 had between one million and 1.1 million buys. breaking the previous high for a women’s PPV fight which was 125,000. UFC does not publicly release the numbers, but a company executive said the card when all is said and done would be the third-highest UFC pay per view event in its history and could be the second-highest depending on how it tracks.

With Rousey’s loss, the interest for a rematch sometime in 2016 being so high, it would probably be the biggest PPV event in UFC history and according to MMA Fighting, it’s one of the reasons why the company wants Holm to fight her next instead of another opponent.

Rousey is one of those athletes who transcends her sport so people who normally would not buy a UFC event might do so for a Holm rematch. And UFC wants to strike while the Rousey iron is still hot.

Not only did the UFC 193 numbers blow away the expectations for a women’s fight, but it also did extremely well for an overseas event as the card was held in Melbourne, Australia, drawing over 50,000 fans.

UFC hopes that it can continue to ride the Rousey train for as long as possible as she is turning out to be a big draw both inside and outside the sport.

[MMA Fighting]