Jon Jones‘ UFC return earned UFC 285 the top-selling card of the year.
UFC’s parent company, Endeavor, declared the event as record-breaking. Jones certainly delivered on his return, beating Ciryl Gane by making the latter tap out in the first round.
The victory arguably made Jones the greatest UFC fighter of all time. And by the looks of it, the mass appeal drew in some major numbers.
“At UFC, we continued to deliver more record-breaking events across the globe. UFC 284 in Perth was Australia’s highest-grossing event of any kind and UFC 285 in Las Vegas was UFC’s highest-grossing commercial pay-per-view event within the past 12 months. Additionally, UFC 286 in London was the highest-grossing event in O2 Arena history,” Jason Lublin, CEO of Endeavor
Nevertheless, the success has to be read in light of the following. The increasing number of organizations emerging, which are offering fight fans alternatives to the UFC, will certainly impact the company moving forward.
The rise of Bellator and the PFL has offered fighters more leeway in negotiating better deals. Although that may give fight fans the fights they want to see, there is an argument that promotional companies may have to adapt to remain sustainable.
Regardless, Jones still remains a huge name. And that can only be a good thing moving forward.