UFC 251 went down last Saturday from Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, and no doubt it was one hell of a fight card.
The main headliner featured a welterweight title bout where champion Kamaru Usman successfully defended his crown against late replacement Jorge Masvidal in a five-round affair. Originally Gilbert Burns was slated to meet Usman; however, a week before his fight he tested positive for COVID-19, which forced him out of this match.
Moreover, former champion Max Holloway came in short in his quest to regain the featherweight title from 145-pound titleholder Alexander Volkanovski. Also, Petr Yan defeated Jose Aldo to win the vacant bantamweight title, previously held by Henry Cejudo.
According to a recent report from Mike Coppinger of boxing insider that UFC 251 is a massive success produced the most UFC PPV’s since Conor vs. Khabib at UFC 229.
“UFC 251, headlined by Kamaru Usman-Jorge Masvidal, generated approximately 1.3 million pay-per-view buys on ESPN+, multiple sources tell The Athletic,” Coppinger reported. “The debut of Fight Island in Abu Dhabi produced the most UFC PPVs since Khabib-Conor in 2018.”
Breaking: UFC 251, headlined by Kamaru Usman-Jorge Masvidal, generated approximately 1.3 million pay-per-view buys on ESPN+, multiple sources tell The Athletic. The debut of Fight Island in Abu Dhabi produced the most UFC PPVs since Khabib-Conor in 2018https://t.co/VsiYpzK9T6
— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) July 13, 2020
Ahead of UFC 251, UFC president Dana White claimed that UFC 251 is trending higher than Conor Mcgregor’s fight and it seems he wasn’t exaggerating.
When Masvidal acknowledge this news he took to Twitter and thank fans for their support:
The overwhelming amount of support I have received before, during, and after this journey has been humbling. Still got a lot of goals to meet. All of you that tuned in to see me win, thank you. Those that tuned in to see me lose, thank you.
The overwhelming amount of support I have received before, during, and after this journey has been humbling. Still got a lot of goals to meet. All of you that tuned in to see me win, thank you. Those that tuned in to see me lose, thank you. https://t.co/4SCJzwHV10
— Jorge Masvidal (@GamebredFighter) July 13, 2020