Hate to say “told ya’ so” but ... TOLD YA’ SO.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) made a pretty penny with its UFC 205: “McGregor vs. Alvarez” pay-per-view (PPV) event, which took place inside Madison Square Garden in New York City last November.
See the numbers here.
When the final figures were tallied, the world’s largest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion generated $37.4 million in economic activity, according to a report from Newsday, along with $18.3 million in salaries and wages, 300 jobs, and nearly $1.6 million in taxes.
Not too shabby.
“We said it from the very beginning, we knew New York was going to be huge,” UFC president Dana White said. “It was a dream come true for the athletes, for the fans, and for our company to host a UFC event in ‘The World’s Most Famous Arena.’ The numbers don’t lie, a lot of people came out to support us and we’re going to keep doing this up and down the state.”
MMA was legalized in New York last April.
Following the UFC 205 PPV, which featured Conor McGregor’s history-making win over Eddie Alvarez to capture the lightweight crown, the promotion has fired off an additional two events, one in Albany and the other in Brooklyn.
Three down ... how many more to go? Time will tell.