Report: UFC 214 ‘Cormier vs. Jones 2’ Estimated at 860,0000 Pay-Per-View Buys

The Jon Jones-Daniel Cormier rematch helped UFC 214 draw an estimated 860,000 pay-per-view buys, according to a report from MMAFighting.com.

That figure likely easily surpasses any pay-per-view thus far in 2017 and is the most since UFC 206, which was headlined by Ronda Rousey’s return against Amanda Nunes and drew a reported 1.1 million buys on Dec. 30. It is also comparable to the first meeting between Jones and Cormier at UFC 182, which drew 800,000 pay-per-view buys on Jan. 3, 2015.

Jones reclaimed the light heavyweight belt in the rematch, as he stopped Cormier with a head kick and follow-up ground-and-pound 3:01 into the third frame of their main event clash. Jones’ last Octagon appearance, a decision win over Ovince St. Preux at UFC 197, only drew a reported 322,000 buys. Meanwhile, Cormier’s title fights against Anthony Johnson at UFC 187 (375,000) and vs. Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 192 (250,000) also drew significantly less than his two fights with Jones.

UFC 214 took place at the Honda Center in Anaheim on July 29 and was the promotion’s strongest offering of the year so far. In addition to the Jones-Cormier rematch, the main card saw Tyron Woodley return his welterweight crown with a five-round verdict over Stephen Thompson, while Cristiane Justino claimed the vacant women’s featherweight strap with a third-round stoppage of Tonya Evinger.

The deep main card also included a welterweight showdown between Robbie Lawler and Donald Cerrone, which Lawler won via unanimous decision, and a clash between light heavyweight contenders Volkan Oezdemir and Jimi Manuwa, won by Oezdemir via first-round knockout.