UFC: Israel Adesanya and Conor McGregor are two of the biggest stars in the UFC. While they may be at different stages in their careers, both Adesanya and McGregor are arguably the two biggest names in the sport. And they have the personalities to match. So, let’s compare the two and see who is the bigger PPV draw between the two. For more combat sports news, follow Insidesport.IN.
Adesanya is at a tricky point in his UFC career. A loss to Pereira in the rematch will hurt his stock. McGregor, on the other hand, is just starting a comeback into the sport. In addition, they also hold two of the biggest contracts in UFC history at the moment. So let’s compare and see who is the bigger PPV attraction in 2023.
UFC: Is Israel Adesanya a Bigger PPV Draw Than Conor McGregor Now?
Israel Adesanya or Conor McGregor: Who is the bigger PPV star in the UFC?
If we consider the all-time PPV records, Conor McGregor is easily the biggest start. All three of the top 3 UFC PPVs feature Conor McGregor fights. Moreover, when you consider the top 10 UFC PPV sales, McGregor features multiple times. Therefore, in order for this comparison to be fair, we will compare their last fights in the UFC.
In Adesanya’s last fight, he took on Alex Pereira, in what was a great storyline, a title on the line, and a stylistically exciting fight. Despite all of this, according to reports, UFC 281 sold 600,000 PPV buys. Despite Adesanya hoping to break the 1 million mark, he fell short.
McGregor’s last bout in the UFC was his trilogy bout against Dustin Poirier. While there was no title on the line, the storyline of it being a trilogy and heaps of trash-talk before the fight meant it was a guaranteed success. This reflected in the numbers as McGregor vs Poirer sold over 1.8 million PPVs. This ranks third in the list of all-time UFC PPV sales.
Thus, despite his style and swagger, Adesanya is not a bigger PPV draw than Conor McGregor. The Irishman is still the kind of selling fights. Only time will tell how many PPVs McGregor will sell in his next fight.
Who do you think is the biggest PPV star between Israel Adesanya and Conor McGregor?
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