Reigning UFC bantamweight champion, Sean O’Malley discusses pay-per-view numbers for his recent title defence against Marlon Vera.
Ever since his sensational knockout win on the Contender Series, the UFC saw something in Sean O’Malley. While many potential stars ultimately fall short, O’Malley has built himself into an elite fighter and has managed to build a solid fanbase thanks to his personal efforts, and of course the UFC.
However, Instagram followers and likes are all well and good, but if you’re a champion the UFC are more concerned about how many PPVs you can sell.
Following his fight with Aljamain Sterling in which he would capture the title in the main event slot of UFC 292, there had been concern about how many PPVs were actually sold.
Sterling himself was even shocked when he discovered how low the numbers were for the PPV, drawing into question the legitimacy of O’Malley’s status.
“I got the PPVs,” Sterling said via his YouTube channel. “We were going through them and I was like ‘these are the numbers that this guy was trying to say he’s this big pay-per-view star’.
“I’m just like, ‘Oh my God.’ When I saw the numbers, I literally said to her, ‘If I had any idea this is what the numbers would have been, if I could have predicted that this is what it would have been, my ass would have waited and taken my vacation then.’”
“I trusted that the bag was going to be this blow-me-away kind of thing, bigger than all the other ones. It wasn’t.”
Sean O’Malley speculates UFC 299 pay-per-view numbers
Not only was Sean O’Malley matched up with Vera in rematch, the UFC stacked the card top to bottom and featured fights such as Dustin Poirier vs. Beniot Saint Denis and Gilbert Burns vs. Jack Della Maddalena.
Talking via his YouTube channel, O’Malley discussed the number and promised to reveal them once he knew, but also seemed to already be trying to excuse them should they come back low.
“I still haven’t heard, officially, the pay-per-view numbers yet, but once I do, I’ll let you guys know,” O’Malley said. “I wonder if I’m allowed to, I’ll have to make sure and check.”
“Everyone I know streams it,” O’Malley continued. “I don’t really know anybody, except for you [Welch], you buy it… Pretty much everyone I know illegally streams, it’s too easy, not that I know, but I’m assuming it’s too easy… I buy them because I would feel guilty not, you know what I mean? Especially being in my position.” (H/T MMA News)
How many PPVs do you think Sean O’Malley sold?