SUMMARY
- Several fights for UFC 300 have already been announced.
- Big names such as Charles Oliveira, Max Holloway, Justin Gaethje, and Aljamain Sterling are set to enter the Octagon with millions of PPV buys under their belt.
UFC 300 is one of the most highly anticipated cards of this decade. There is huge pressure on UFC CEO Dana White to make this card a memorable one for all UFC fans. With just a few months until the event, White has already announced some big fights for the night.
Three fights were announced late last year and they were the first UFC 300 fights announced. These fights include a light heavyweight bout between Jiri Prochazka and Aleksandar Rakić, a featherweight bout between Calvin Kattar and Aljamain Sterling, and a middleweight bout between undefeated Bo Nickal and Cody Brundage. Sterling would be making his featherweight debut in the UFC.
Further, White announced a bantamweight fight between Deiveson Figueiredo and Cody Garbrandt, and a lightweight fight between Jim Miller and UFC veteran Bobby Green.
After two 🔥 additions to #UFC300 announced by Dana White earlier today, the card is starting to look stacked!
What are your thoughts on UFC 300 after today’s announcements? pic.twitter.com/yUAjTwuvTn
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) January 17, 2024
Two title fights were also announced by White. First, an all-Chinese championship bout between Women’s Strawweight Champion Zhang Weili and challenger Yan Xiaonan. Second, a BMF title bout between champion Justin Gaethje and challenger Max Holloway. A #1 contender match for the UFC Lightweight title will also take place on the card. Former champion Charles Oliveira will fight for the prize against Arman Tsarukyan.
Several fighters on this card have headlined UFC PPVs before. Let’s take a look at the five fighters and the number of PPV buys they have amassed.
Max Holloway has six PPV headliners under his belt
32-year-old Max Holloway has earned a glorious career in the UFC. He has the most finishes in UFC Featherweight division history (11) and the longest winning streak in the division history (13). Holloway has been on the main event of six PPVs.
December 10 2016
UFC 206
Interim Title Fight
Max Holloway defeats Anthony Pettis
via Round 3 TKO (body kick and punches) 4:50*Pettis missed weight 148lbs and was ineligible to win pic.twitter.com/MfwsO8viMj
— Ocelot MMA (@Ocelot_MMA) July 3, 2023
The first PPV Holloway headlined was UFC 206 where he defeated Anthony Pettis for the interim featherweight title. The PPV buys for the event, according to Tapology, was 150,000. Next, Holloway unified the title by defeating Jose Aldo at UFC 212. The PPV buys for the event was 200,000.
He defeated Aldo again at UFC 218 to retain his title. The PPV buys for UFC 218 was 230,000. ‘Blessed’ then took a year-long break before fighting again. He made a comeback on UFC 231 against Brian Ortega. He pulled off another title defense and another increase in PPV buys, this time to 250,000-300,000.
Max Holloway PPV headline estimates:
UFC 206 Dec 10, 2016: 150k
UFC 212 June 3, 2017: 200k
UFC 218: Dec 2, 2017: 230k
UFC 231: Dec 8, 2018: 240k-300k— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) December 20, 2018
His next PPV, however, did not do too well. At UFC 236, Holloway faced Dustin Poirier for the interim lightweight title at UFC 236. The PPV buys for the event were close to 100,000. Holloway will be moving to lightweight again to face Gaethje.
Blessed’s last PPV was at UFC 240 against Frankie Edgar. He defended the featherweight title successfully again at an event whose reported PPV buys were around 200,000.
Aljamain Sterling has been a part of two UFC PPV headliners
Sterling is a former UFC Bantamweight champion. He became the first UFC champion to win the title via disqualification after Petr Yan used an illegal move on him at UFC 259. He defended the title against Yan in a split-decision win at UFC 273.
Sterling defended the title successfully again at UFC 280 against T.J. Dillashaw. He finally earned a main event at UFC 288 when he defended his title against Henry Cejudo. Sterling won the bout via split decision. The reported PPV buys for the event were 700,000 as claimed by Cejudo’s coach.
Henry sayin Me and Aljo “only” did 350k ppv according to his (girlfriend ) source. I just talked to the ufc and I heard upwards of 570k … legit no kizzy not making this up heard Aljo vs Henry did 135k. Also Henry 5’2 lol
— Sean O’Malley (@SugaSeanMMA) August 31, 2023
Controversy erupted in Sterling’s next PPV headliner. He failed to defend his title against Sean O’Malley at UFC 292. PPV buys for the event were rumored to be around 300,000 to 350,000. However, O’Malley later claimed his team was informed that the number was over 500,000.
Justin Gaethje has amassed four UFC PPV headliners
35-year-old Gaethje has been at the UFC for over six years. His first PPV headline came in 2020 when he fought Tony Ferguson for the interim lightweight title. He defeated Ferguson via TKO at UFC 249 – an event that earned 700,000 PPV buys.
He earned the big fight against undefeated UFC legend Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 254 for the UFC Lightweight title. However, Gaethje faced defeat. UFC 254 earned 675,000 PPV buys.
JUSTIN GAETHJE KO’s POIRIER BY HEAD KICK 😱
WE HAVE A NEW BMF #UFC291 pic.twitter.com/eUunAPoHnO
— UFC (@ufc) July 30, 2023
‘The Highlight’ had another shot at the title when he faced Charles Oliveira at UFC 274. Oliveira had missed weight so he was stripped of the title and only Gaethje could have won. The Brazilian made Gaethje submit to win the fight. UFC 274 earned 400,000 PPV buys.
Gaethje’s latest main event came in UFC 291 when he faced Poirier for the symbolic BMF title. Gaethje won via head kick to win the title. The PPV buys for the event reached an expected 500,000.
Jiri Prochazka has headlined two UFC PPVs
Prochazka made his UFC debut in July 2020. The former Rizin Light Heavyweight Championship had a strong enough resume to fight for the UFC Light Heavyweight title in just his third fight. He headlined UFC 275 against Glover Teixeira. Prochazka defeated Teixeira via submission to win the title. According to a report by Sports Business Journal, the PPV buys for the event reached over 400,000.
Poatan does it again 🏹
He gets the finish in round 2 to become the LHW champion! #UFC295 pic.twitter.com/7BXxXE81nr
— UFC (@ufc) November 12, 2023
After vacating the title due to injury, Prochazka headlined UFC 295 against Alex Pereira. The exact PPV buys of the event are not known but it was the fourth-highest-grossing event in UFC history. The gate revenue for the event was $12.4 million.
Charles Oliveira has four UFC PPV headliners under his belt
Oliveira won the UFC Lightweight Championship at UFC 262 against Michael Chandler. With the TKO win, he broke the UFC record for most finishes that night. As of now, he holds the record with 20 finishes. The PPV earned an estimated 300,000 buys.
Next, Do Bronx defended his title against Dustin Poirier at UFC 269. He defeated Poirier via submission in the third round. The UFC 269 event earned a reported 500,000 PPV buys. Next, Oliveira faced Gaethje at UFC 274.
ISLAM MAKHACHEV IS THE UNDISPUTED LW CHAMPION OF THE WORLD! 🏆
[ @MakhachevMMA | #UFC280 ] pic.twitter.com/aJzHlS6fxF
— UFC (@ufc) October 22, 2022
His last UFC PPV came over a year ago in October 2022. Oliveira faced Islam Makhachev for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship at UFC 280. Oliveira, who owns the record for the most submission wins in UFC history (16), was a victim of submission at UFC 280. The total PPV buys for UFC 280 have not been revealed.
Makhachev won the title and defended it twice against Alexander Volkanovski. He is set to defend it next against the winner of Oliveira vs. Tsarukyan at UFC 300 on April 13, 2024, at the T-Mobile Arena in Nevada.
