Dana White Shares UFC 296 PPV Buys Details: Heated Colby Covington-Leon Edwards Moment Increased PPV Buys by 25 Percent (2024)

UFC 296 is in the books and it was an exciting card with a lacklustre finish. The card featured the Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards defending his title for the second time after winning it against Kamaru Usman at UFC 278. His opponent was the patriotic but controversial, Colby Covington. While the 35-year-old was his unhinged self throughout the fight week, if Dana White is to be believed, it helped to drive up the PPV sales.

During the UFC 296 press conference, Covington came dressed up as George Washington. While addressing his comments in the presser, Covington showed no regret and called Leon Edwards’ later father a “s*x trafficker” and “drug lord.” As UFC fans are aware, Edwards lost his father in his youth during a shooting at a London nightclub. Hence, Covington’s words struck a nerve with the defending champion, who broke down in tears backstage after the press conference.

In what was perhaps the highlight of the pre-fight presser, Colby added, “I’m bringing you to the seventh layer of hell, we’ll say ‘what’s up’ to your dad while we’re there.”

Dana White says during the UFC 296 press conference sales of the PPV went up 25% globally.#UFC pic.twitter.com/YkUkb6H4j9

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) December 17, 2023

However, it was good for business. In his post-event press conference, the UFC President added, “After that press conference or during in the middle or whatever, Pay Per View shot up 25%… and it wasn’t like our analytical team was basing it off YouTube views. They were basing it off actual pre-buys while the press conference was going on and ended. 25% globally too, not just on ESPN. Globally up 25%, which is fascinating.”

There is no doubt about the fact that controversy drives up PPV sales. The biggest example of it is UFC 229, where Conor McGregor’s antics drew over 2.4 million buys. Some of the biggest UFC PPVs of all time feature McGregor on the list due to his spectacular ability to talk trash. Hence, despite how Edwards felt about Covington’s remarks about his late brother, it ultimately had a glowing impact on his bottom line in the form of PPV points.

UFC 296 results, gate, bonus, & more

The UFC 296 suffered a big loss during the fight week as Ian Garry pulled out of his fight against Vicente Luque due to pneumonia. It made the UFC bump up Josh Emmett’s featherweight clash against Bryce Mitchell to the PPV opener slot. The bout ended on a violent note as Emmett KO’ed Mitchell with one punch, and it seemingly triggered a seizure for the latter inside the Octagon. Even Dana White rushed in to check on “Thug Nasty” afterward.

😳😳😳 #UFC296 pic.twitter.com/PIHL22XZ7X

— UFC (@ufc) December 17, 2023

Tony Ferguson’s losing streak increased to 7 as he lost a competitive contest against the rising lightweight prospect, Paddy Pimblett. Although Tony had his moments in the bout, Pimblett’s physicality was too much for the 39-year-old to overcome, and he lost the bout via unanimous decision.

15 minutes in the books!

Pimblett and Ferguson are headed to the judges’ scorecards at #UFC296 pic.twitter.com/W6KpqVGmSV

— UFC (@ufc) December 17, 2023

Another aging superstar, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson lost a fairly one-sided contest against Shavkat Rakhmonov. It was the first submission loss of the veteran fighter’s illustrious career. With the win, Rakhmonov finds himself in a great spot for a big bout against a big name. On top of that, “Nomad” has also protected his record of maintaining a 100% finishing record in his career.

The respect from Wonderboy post-fight 👏👏👏 #UFC296 pic.twitter.com/kYeeiMoj5T

— UFC (@ufc) December 17, 2023

In the co-main event. Alexandre Pantoja retained his Flyweight title against Brandon Royval. Although it was a convincing win, a certain section of the fan base vehemently disagreed with the 50-45 scorecard from two of the judges. Nonetheless, the Brazilian fighter won the bout via a unanimous decision.

Still the undisputed flyweight king, @PantojaMMA! 🏆 #UFC296 pic.twitter.com/UXiJJV46cc

— UFC (@ufc) December 17, 2023

The main event was perhaps the weakest of all the main card fights. Colby Covington looked rusty throughout the bout, and Leon Edwards dominated the bout for the most part. Round 5 was the only round where Colby played to his true strength, which was his wrestling. After five uneventful rounds, Edwards won the bout via unanimous decision after all three judges ruled 49-46 in his favor.

BIRMINGHAM TO THE WORLD 🏆🌎@Leon_EdwardsMMA defeats Colby Covington by unanimous decision to defend the welterweight title!

[ #UFC296 | B2YB @Manscaped ] pic.twitter.com/ALhF41XPo3

— UFC (@ufc) December 17, 2023

Other than the fights inside the Octagon, there was a brawl between UFC Middleweight Champ Sean Strickland and his UFC 297 opponent, Dricus du Plessis.

In terms of bonuses, Josh Emmett, Ariane Lipski, and Shamil Gaziev won the ‘Performance of the Night’ bonuses, and Karol Rosa vs. Irene Aldana won the honor of the ‘Fight of the Night.’ All of them will bag $50,000 on top of their purses. 19,039 fans attended the event, which generated $9.3 million in gates, which is UFC’s 15th highest of all time.

Dana White says the $9.3M gate makes it the 15th all time best UFC gate.

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) December 17, 2023

Do you agree with all the decisions in the event? And most importantly, did you enjoy the card? Let us know in the comments below.