From Conor McGregor to Jorge Masvidal, all the major stars in the UFC have one thing in common, they are all immensely entertaining. From what they have to say to how they conduct themselves, everything has an impact on the fight fans. While McGregor remains the biggest star in the UFC and MMA, without a doubt, Jon Jones is the second biggest draw in the sport.
Although Jon had time away from the Octagon for several reasons throughout his career, his star power never faded away. He had two separate occasions in 2016 and 2017 when he found himself suspended. But, both times his return fight did good business in terms of PPV buys. Although none of his PPVs have crossed a million buys mark, Jon has delivered steady business for the UFC.
According to some recent estimates, Jon may be the second best-selling fighter in the UFC! Jon Jones’ first PPV was UFC 128, where he won the UFC light heavyweight title. Since then, he has headlined 15 PPVs throughout his career in total. So how many PPVs has Jon Jones sold in his career? Let’s find out!
Jon Jones’ PPV buys in his UFC career
UFC 128: As previously mentioned, this was the first time Jon Jones featured in the PPV main event. Although he had loads of potential, he was still unproven at the biggest stage possible. But he eradicated all the doubts regarding it and dusted Shogun Rua to win the light heavyweight title. The PPV reportedly crossed 490K buys and it showed how invested fans were in Jonny Bones.
UFC 135: In the main event of this particular PPV, Jon defended his title against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Rampage was perhaps the biggest star in the sport at the moment and it drummed up a lot of interest in the fight. As a result, the PPV had 520K buys. Jon won the fight via 4th round submission and dominated Jackson throughout.
UFC 140: Jon Jones took on Lyoto Machida in the UFC 140 main event. Machida was famous for his spectacular KOs and he had just finished Randy Couture with a front kick. Hence fans were really interested to see how Jon would handle an experienced fighter like Lyoto. Not only did he handle Machida, but Jones also choked him unconscious in the second round. The event had 480K buys in total.
UFC 145: At UFC 145, Jones fought Rashad Evans. The two were teammates at one point and their relationship soured quickly. It led to a very exciting build-up to the fight. However, the fight was not that competitive. Jones cruised through a unanimous decision win. The event generated 700K PPV buys.
UFC 152: Jon Jones fought a wily veteran, Vitor Belfort in the UFC 152 main event. Although fans expected Jones to run through Belfort. the Brazilian turned the tables very quickly. He locked in an arm triangle on Jones, which would have made any fighter tap. However, being the elite fighter he is, Jon shrugged him off and finished Vitor with a submission of his own. The event saw 450K PPV buys.
UFC 159: Chael Sonnen made his big move to light heavyweight after some disappointing results at middleweight. But Sonnen was a big draw at the time and UFC gave him the title shot against Jon Jones. However, it did not go well for Chael, Jones rag-dolled “The Bad Guy,” and won the bout via first-round KO. The fight drew 530K PPV buys.
UFC 165: At the September 21, 2013 event, Jon Jones fought Alexander Gustafsson in an epic five-round war. The bout was so good that UFC inducted it into the Hall of Fame in 2021. It put Alexander Gustafsson on the map for the fans. But he Alex short as the judges scored the bout in Jones’ favor and the champ won via unanimous decision. Unfortunately, it only had 310K PPV buys.
UFC 172: Jon Jones fought Glover Teixeira for five rounds and walked away with a unanimous decision win. Glover was not the same fighter in 2014 that he ultimately became in 2021. Jon was visibly better than Glover and there was not much buzz for the fight. Despite that, the event sold 350K PPVs.
UFC 182: Fans know that Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones are arch-nemesis. The first fight in their feud took place at UFC 182 in 2015. Their hatred for each other was visible in the build-up and the fans were promised a spectacular fight. To Cormier and Jones’ credit, they delivered and 800K fans bought the PPV to see how the fight ultimately played out. UFC stripped him of the belt following his hit-and-run case.
UFC 197: But Jon returned and fought Ovince Saint Preux in the UFC 197 for the interim UFC light heavyweight title. Jon looked a bit rusty as he made his return to the Octagon after a year of absence. But Jon won the fight regardless and won the interim belt. The event had 450K PPV buys. Tragedy struck for Jones once more as he popped for clomiphene and letrozole ahead of UFC 200.
UFC 214: Jon Jones finally returned at UFC 214 and took on Daniel Cormier for the second time. He was coming back after a big PED scandal and he was in terrific shape for the return. The fight itself was much more entertaining than their previous one and Jones won it via TKO. Although he became the champ on the night, Jon once again had to vacate it after testing positive for turinabol steroid. However, the event had 860K PPV buys.
UFC 232: After serving a 15-month suspension, Jones once again came back to the UFC to fight for the vacant light heavyweight title. By that point, Daniel Cormier had moved on to heavyweight and relinquished the title. There was controversy surrounding this event too, as the venue had to be changed last second due to a positive drug test as Jon was pulsing.
But it was the rematch of the Hall of Fame fight between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson. Hence, the company had to put on the rematch at any cost. But the rematch did not live up to the hype and Jon handily won the fight via third-round KO. But the audience had a lot of interest in the fight and the event saw 700K PPV buys.
UFC 235: Jon Jones made a quick turnaround as he took on Anthony Smith just 3 months after fighting Gustafsson in the rematch. Jon was back to his dominant best for the fight and he won the contest via unanimous decision. Jones and Smith managed to sell 585K PPVs in March 2019.
UFC 239: Up until that point in his career, Jon did not lose any of the judges’ cards throughout his career. But that changed at UFC 239 as he fought Thiago Santos. The fight was a close one and Jon won the fight only via a split decision. There is no reliable info on the PPV buys for this event.
UFC 247: Without an ounce of doubt, the hardest fight of Jon Jones’ career was against Dominick Reyes. Even UFC President Dana White scored the fight for Reyes. But the judges did not agree and gave the fight to Jon unanimously. The official PPV buys for this event are not public yet.
Although the figures for UFC 239 and UFC 247 are unavailable, the rest of his PPV buys add up to 6,745,000. It means Jon averages over 500k PPV buys every time he fights. It makes him perhaps the most bankable star behind UFC’s golden goose Conor McGregor.
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