Conor McGregor hasn’t fought since boxing against Floyd Mayweather in August 2017 and his last Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) outing was nearly two years ago – but he remains the biggest draw in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
The Irishman’s fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC lightweight title at UFC 229 on Oct 6 was an almost instant sell-out after tickets were put on sale to the public last Friday.
Prices ranged from $205 up to $2,505 for the event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and, according to mmafighting.com, within just three minutes only a few hundred tickets, all in the most expensive sections, were available.
The pay-per-view event is already second-largest gate in UFC history, surpassing the Nevada MMA record, set at UFC 200 of $10,746,248.
UFC has come under fire for turning a blind eye to McGregor’s misdemeanours. In July he pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct for an incident at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
But after falling television ratings, McGregor’s return has given the sport a boost it desperately needs.