The “Conor McGregor Effect” is back in full-swing.
The highly-anticipated return of “The Notorious” at UFC 303, which is scheduled for Sat., June 29, 2024, inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, is less than 50 days away. And, according to UFC CEO, Dana White, the Irish sports star is already making the promotion a ton of money (again).
During the UFC St. Louis post-fight press conference (watch it here), White told reporters that UFC 303’s blockbuster pay-per-view (PPV) card has already sold more than $20 million in ticket sales (details here).
“Yeah, it’s way over $20 million,” White said.
UFC’s head honcho also criticized former Showtime Sports President, Stephen Espinoza, when asked if he was happy about proving his former promoting rival wrong about finally achieving that mega gate.
“Who gives a flying f—k what Espinoza thinks … where is Espinoza? Who gives a s—t,” White concluded.
If White is correct about UFC 303 earning a $20 million gate, it would be the first time in the promotion’s history that an event would reach that dollar amount. For example, UFC has brought in a $17.7 million gate at UFC 205 in 2016 and $17.2 million at UFC 229 (both headlined by McGregor).
For the sake of comparison, the landmark UFC 300 event last month raked in a $16.5 million gate.
McGregor — who will return from a 2.5-year layoff after suffering a broken leg mid-fight (see it) — will be welcomed back to the Octagon by opposing The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 31 coach, Michael Chandler, in a must-watch Welterweight showdown.
