Nurmagomedov choking Gaethje (right) (photo via UFC / YouTube)

By FCF Staff

There seemed to be considerable hype for the October 24th, UFC 254 card, and Dana White reported the event was trending to be one of the biggest in the promotion’s history. But, according to a new report, the event’s pay-per-view buys were significantly short of expectations.

The recent event featured undefeated lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov submitting interim champ Justin Gaethje in the main event. In the co-headliner, former middleweight champ Robert Whittaker outstruck Jared Cannonier for a decision win.

According to a report from Sports Business-Journal, as reported by MMA Fighting, UFC 254 is believed to have sold around 500,000 pay-per-view buys in the U.S. Internationally, the card is believed to have sold approximately 675,000.

If the figures are accurate, it means UFC 254 was the fifth, most-watched PPV card this year. UFC 251 in July, headlined by Kamaru Usman taking on Jorge Masvidal is believed to have been the most-watched, with sales of 1.3 million buys.

UFC 254 did start much earlier in North America than PPV cards normally do, as the main card began at 2 PM/EST.