The biggest reported pay-per-view event by buys in the available figures is Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao: broadcasters said it generated more than 4.4 million U.S. purchases in 2015. But the evidence does not support a reliable, fully comparable ranking of eight events across boxing and MMA. The list below names eight prominent record-setting comparisons without pretending their reported figures form a verified top eight.
How to read these pay-per-view records
“Biggest” here means reported PPV buys, not revenue, total event receipts, television audience, streaming households, or an athlete’s career total. The distinction matters: reported figures differ in geography and reliability. The boxing numbers below are broadcaster-reported historical figures; the UFC numbers are estimates or interview commentary, not official UFC buy counts. No complete, consistently sourced event dataset establishes an exact cross-sport order.
Eight prominent record-setting PPV events
-
Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao (2015)
Showtime and HBO announced more than 4.4 million U.S. buys for the May 2, 2015 bout, according to a May 12 report by CBS Philadelphia. The report also put domestic PPV revenue above $400 million. This is the leading reported buy figure in the sources cited here, not a claim about every worldwide viewing method.
-
Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather (2007)
CBS Philadelphia described the May 2007 bout as the previous U.S. PPV buy record, at 2.48 million purchases, before Mayweather–Pacquiao surpassed it. The figure is a historical reported count, not a current cross-sport ranking.
PerformanceWindows Errors? Fix Them Before They SpreadDriversCrashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?PerformancePC Slower Than It Used to Be?Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.#1 Best Overall
Mattel WWE Championship Title Belt, Role Play Accessory- Kids can be a champ with WWE Championships!
- The leather-like belt measures more than 3 feet long.
- The kid-sized titles feature an authentic style replicating real titles for immersive role-play!
- Play out championships seen on RAW, SmackDown and NXT!
- Fans can collect every championship and rule the WWE Universe (each sold separately, subject to availability).
-
Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor (2017)
Sporting News characterized Mayweather–McGregor as the second-biggest PPV of all time and noted that McGregor headlined seven of the ten best-selling UFC PPVs. That characterization is not accompanied in the cited material by a complete event-by-event cross-sport comparison, so it should not be treated as a settled ordinal rank.
-
UFC 229: Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Conor McGregor (2018)
A PPV overview gives UFC 229 an estimate near 2.4 million buys, while noting that UFC does not release official PPV statistics and that the figures come from industry insiders: Pay-per-view overview. In a November 1, 2018 Sports Illustrated interview, UFC president Dana White called it “One of the biggest pay per views of all time” and, asked where it ranked, answered “Number four or number five.” Those were White’s remarks, not an audited final count or official ranking.
Rank #2
Mattel WWE United States US Championship Role Play Kids Title Belt, Authentic Styling with Adjustable Belt Ages 6 Years Old & Up, Youth, Black- Be a champ with WWE Championships
- Choose from a wide variety of famous titles such as: WWE World Heavyweight Championship, WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championship, WWE Universal Championship, WWE Winged Eagle Championship and WWE United States Championship
- Strap on the large victory championship and feel like a WWE Superstar
- Each championship in the assortment is designed to resemble the ones worn and proudly flaunted by your favorite WWE Superstars
-
Floyd Mayweather’s career PPV record (16 fights, 2005–2017)
Guinness World Records lists Mayweather’s career PPV sales as a reported $1.7 billion from 23.98 million buys across 16 fights between June 25, 2005, and August 26, 2017. This is a career aggregate, not one event’s buy count; Guinness dates the record page to August 26, 2017, and notes that records can change before online updates appear.
-
Mayweather–Pacquiao’s reported domestic PPV revenue
The bout’s more than $400 million in domestic PPV revenue is a separate measure from its more than 4.4 million U.S. buys. A 2015 Proskauer article also reported about $500 million in total revenue and an approximate $89.95 per PPV buy. That per-buy figure is an approximation, not a price applying uniformly to every purchase or commercial viewing arrangement.
Recommended: Update Every Outdated Driver on Your PC in One Scan - Free →Recommended: PC Feels Slow? A Free Scan Shows What's Dragging Windows Down →Recommended: Crashes or Glitches? A Free Driver Scan Usually Finds the Culprit →Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.Rank #3
Set of 5 Wrestling Figure Championship Belts For Wrestling Action Figures- SET OF 5 FIGURE CHAMPIONSHIP BELTS – Give multiple wrestling action figures titles to win, defend and display throughout your collection.
- FIVE DIFFERENT CHAMPIONSHIPS – Includes World Heavyweight, Tag Team, United States, Hardcore and Intercontinental figure belts.
- DETAILED GOLD-TONE DESIGNS – Each belt features distinctive championship styling that adds more detail to matches, displays and photography.
- MEASURES 5.75 INCHES LONG – Sized for wrestling action figures and flexible enough to create title celebrations and championship presentations.
- BUILD CHAMPIONSHIP STORYLINES – Create tournaments, title defenses, rivalries, winner presentations and complete wrestling figure federations.
-
Mayweather–Pacquiao’s expected worldwide gross receipts
CBS Philadelphia reported that the fight was expected at the time to exceed $500 million in gross worldwide receipts after adding the gate, international distribution, sponsorships, closed-circuit viewing, and merchandise. This was a forecast, not a final audited total. It cannot be compared directly with domestic PPV revenue or a buy count.
-
UFC’s best-selling PPV group
Sporting News reported that McGregor headlined seven of the ten best-selling UFC PPVs. This describes a UFC subset, not eight individually verified events or a cross-sport table. The cited overview says UFC does not publish official PPV statistics, which means UFC event totals should remain labeled as industry estimates rather than treated as equivalent to broadcaster-announced boxing figures.
Why there is no trustworthy exact top-eight order here
The available records establish a clear reported leader and several notable comparisons, but not eight event-level figures measured on the same basis. A defensible ranking would need a single consistent dataset and, for every entry, its buy count, geography, whether the number is official or estimated, and publication or revision date. Without that, an ordinal list would make unlike figures look more comparable than they are.
Quick Recap
- Buys: purchases of the PPV event; the figure may be domestic or worldwide.
- PPV revenue: money attributed to PPV sales, not necessarily total event income.
- Total receipts: may include gate, sponsorships, international distribution, closed-circuit viewing, merchandise, or other categories.
- Career sales: an athlete’s cumulative buys across multiple events, not an event record.
- Audience: television viewers or streaming households are not interchangeable with paid PPV purchases.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →
