Dana White
UFC President Dana White (right) is expecting nearly $50 million in revenue for UFC 189. Reuters

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White is not letting up in dubbing the Jose Aldo-Conor McGregor featherweight contest as the “Fight of the Century.” The mixed-martial-arts head honcho is confident of the drawing power of the bout, which he projects will produce more than 1 million pay-per-view (PPV) subscriptions.

“They'll do over a million," White said. "It's already tracking at over a million buys. Conor thinks he's gonna do the biggest number ever, but to be honest and realistic, I think it's gonna do over a million."

The number will never approximate the 4.4 million PPV buys generated by the much-hyped boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, but UFC 189 numbers are impressive nonetheless. Early numbers indicate the fight alone will earn $50 million from ticket sales and PPVs, proof of which is tickets for the July 11 bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas already have sold out. It also helps a lucrative rematch is always on the horizon if the outcome generates more hype and controversy.

The UFC has already revealed it will announce the details July 1 of the company’s return to Dublin, McGregor's hometown. A fall fight is being discussed, and the company is likely hoping for an Aldo-McGregor rematch if the cards fall accordingly. There is still the difference in time zones to consider, yet the UFC is keen on capturing the European market after successfully holding UFC Fight Night in Berlin last weekend, and the bout it held a few months back in Stockholm featuring Alexander Gustafsson and Anthony "Rumble" Johnson.

McGregor’s hype train is at the center of all the plans given how White has broken tradition by naming the bout as the main event despite being the lower class of two title matches. This will be the first time a lower weight class will top-bill a UFC PPV event after the McGregor-Aldo bout was headlined as the last match of the evening over the Robbie Lawler-Rory MacDonald starrer, which will determine the welterweight championship.

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