Conor McGregor has always boasted about being the biggest star in the UFC, crediting himself for bringing a massive audience to the sport when the promotion relied on PPV sales. Now, even though the Irishman hasn’t fought for over five years, and Dana White’s company enters a new phase, McGregor has another chance to prove that, once again. After last year’s UFC PPV numbers became public, McGregor didn’t waste a moment making his feelings known.

Recently, veteran journalist Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported the UFC’s PPV buy rates for some of its biggest events between April 2024 and February 2025. According to the report, UFC 300: Pereira vs Hill topped the list with 615K PPV buys, followed by UFC 302: Makhachev vs Poirier with 410K. After the top two, UFC 303: Pereira vs Prochazka (274K), UFC 311: Makhachev vs Moicano (240K), and UFC 301: Pantoja vs Erceg (67K) were also included in the list, and Conor McGregor was clearly not impressed.

“My last one done more than all of these combined,” Conor McGregor posted on X, reacting to the PPV numbers.

 McGregor last fought Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 back in 2021, which reportedly pulled 1.8 million PPV buys, which is significantly higher than last year’s marquee events. In that sense, ‘The Notorious’ remains the promotion’s golden goose, having delivered multiple million-buy events. Compared to those numbers, the UFC’s recent PPVs feel like a David vs Goliath standoff, while it also suggests the promotion is clearly struggling with star power without someone like the Irishman.

Unlike McGregor, Brock Lesnar was another major draw for the promotion from 2008 to 2011. He was the main attraction of UFC 100, where he defeated Frank Mir in the rematch via TKO. The event had 1.6 million PPV buys.

Shedding more light on the PPV numbers, prominent analyst Robert Joyner wrote on social media that ESPN paid Dana White and Co. less money in the fiscal year Q3 of 2025 than in Q3 of 2024 due to declining PPV performance. As a result, the report suggests that WWE became TKO’s brightest portfolio in terms of total revenue last year. However, the rocky relationship between the UFC and ESPN goes beyond just PPV numbers.

During the UFC 313: Pereira vs Ankalaev PPV, the UFC top brass were reportedly “furious” because of poor streaming quality, which further exposed cracks in the relationship with their broadcasting partner. Yet, when it comes to the PPV model itself, TKO executive Mark Shapiro, in an interview, labeled it “a thing of the past.” But, UFC CEO Dana White later contradicted Shapiro’s statement, saying, “Pay-Per-View is not dead,” while remaining optimistic that a star could emerge and deliver a “one-off pay-per-view.”

Now, as the UFC’s struggles with its old model become more apparent, it explains why they shifted toward a model with Paramount that focuses on direct viewership revenue through subscriptions. However, according to a former UFC fighter, that approach may also be a sinking ship.

Brendan Schaub claims the UFC’s Paramount+ deal is just a sinking ship

Since the UFC entered into its historic $7.7 billion deal with Paramount+ and CBS, the promotion has been breaking records. Its last numbered event, UFC 326, became the first to simulcast on CBS and reportedly peaked at over 3 million live viewers when the main card began. That’s a major achievement for Dana White and Co., but Brendan Schaub believes it may not last throughout their tenure with the current broadcasters.

“So right now, the UFC released, ‘Oh, our numbers with CBS, with the BMF and all that s—t, and Paramount, are the highest we’ve ever had on national TV,” Schaub stated on Instagram. “I’m telling you guys right now, I don’t believe those numbers. I think they are full of s—t. But even if you’re getting good numbers, again, Shapiro and Nick Khan, those guys that run TKO as the suits, all good. I’m telling you, that’s a recipe for disaster.”

“Right now, they are crushing it, $7.7 billion for the next seven years. After that, that’s gonna get f—in weird. Even before seven years, two years into this, if we keep going like we are, the fan base is just gonna go like this (downwards), and the sponsors are gonna go like this, the viewership is gonna go like this. People in my world, the views are gonna go like this. This is all how it works. So, it’s a sinking ship right now,” he added.

Well, ‘Big Brown’ didn’t clearly explain why he believes the UFC could lose viewership in the long run. However, it’s possible he was pointing toward the promotion’s matchmaking, which some feel has been inconsistent under the new partnership, and that could become an issue in retaining viewers.

That said, what do you think about the UFC’s situation and its future with Paramount+? Let us know in the comments section below.