Jake Paul anticipates his event will generate eight times more pay-per-view buys than the top UFC event in history. The benchmark is UFC 229 featuring Conor McGregor versus Khabib Nurmagomedov, which sold 2.4 million PPV buys. The channel expresses skepticism about these projections, questioning who would pay money to watch fights involving Gina Carano and Ronda Rousey. The post invites reader opinions on Paul's ambitious PPV expectations.
Jake Paul has publicly stated he expects his upcoming event to generate approximately 19.2 million pay-per-view buys — eight times the all-time UFC record set by UFC 229, which drew 2.4 million purchases when Conor McGregor faced Khabib Nurmagomedov in October 2018.
Khabib Nurmagomedov, the 37-year-old Russian who retired with a perfect 29-0-0 record, headlined that landmark card alongside McGregor. Fighting out of an orthodox stance at five-foot-ten with a 70-inch reach, Khabib averaged 5.32 takedowns per 15 minutes across his career, making him one of the most dominant grapplers in MMA history. His 2.4 million PPV benchmark remains the high-water mark for the promotion.
Paul's event is reported to feature Gina Carano and Ronda Rousey among its participants. Carano, 44, holds a 7-1-0 professional record and competed at five-foot-eight out of Xtreme Couture, landing 4.5 significant strikes per minute at 47 percent accuracy during her fighting career. Rousey, 39 and carrying a 12-2-0 record, stood five-foot-seven with a 66-inch reach and fought under Team Hayastan. She averaged an extraordinary 4.8 submission attempts per 15 minutes along with 6.26 takedowns in the same span — numbers that defined her dominant early run in women's MMA.
Why it matters
- Paul's projection would require a buy rate more than eight times larger than anything the UFC has ever produced, a figure met with widespread skepticism
- The reported inclusion of Carano and Rousey, both long removed from active competition, has drawn questions about the event's commercial viability
- The discussion reflects broader uncertainty around celebrity and exhibition boxing events competing for mainstream pay-per-view audiences
