UFC 251 generates more pay-per-view buys than any show since Conor McGregor v Khabib Nurmagomedov

Flagship show at Abu Dhabi's Fight Island generates huge global interest

Kamaru Usman of Nigeria celebrates after his victory over Jorge Masvidal in their welterweight championship fight during the UFC 251 event on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi in July 2020. Getty

Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal talk after their fight. Getty

Jorge Masvidal punches Kamaru Usman. Getty

Jorge Masvidal punches Kamaru Usman. Getty

Alexander Volkanovski of Australia celebrates after his split-decision victory over Max Holloway in their UFC featherweight bout. Getty

Max Holloway kicks Alexander Volkanovski. Getty

Petr Yan of Russia celebrates after his TKO victory over Jose Aldo in their UFC bantamweight fight. Getty

Petr Yan of Russia elbows Jose Aldo of Brazil. Getty

Petr Yan punches Jose Aldo. Getty

Rose Namajunas celebrates after her split-decision victory over Jessica Andrade in their strawweight fight. Getty

Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade trade punches. Getty

Rose Namajunas lands a punch on Jessica Andrade. Getty

Amanda Ribas of Brazil celebrates after her victory over Paige VanZant in their flyweight fight. Getty

Paige VanZant knees Amanda Ribas. Getty

Amanda Ribas kicks Paige VanZant. Getty

Jiri Prochazka of the Czech Republic celebrates after his knockout victory over Volkan Oezdemir in their light heavyweight fight. Getty

Jiri Prochazka and Volkan Oezdemir exchange blows. Getty

Volkan Oezdemir of Switzerland punches Jiri Prochazka. Getty

Muslim Salikhov of Russia reacts after his decision victory over Brazil's Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos in their welterweight fight. Getty

Muslim Salikhov punches Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos. Getty

Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos Brazil punches Muslim Salikhov. Getty

Makwan Amirkhani of Finland after his win over Danny Henry in their featherweight fight. Getty

Makwan Amirkhani after his submission victory over Danny Henry. Getty

Makwan Amirkhani secures an anaconda choke submission against Danny Henry. Getty

Leonardo Santos of Brazil reacts after his decision victory over Russia's Roman Bogatov in their lightweight fight. Getty

Leonardo Santos punches Roman Bogatov. Getty

Roman Bogatov and Leonardo Santos trade punches. Getty

Roman Bogatov kicks Leonardo Santos. Getty

Marcin Tybura of Poland celebrates after defeating Russia's Maxim Grishin in their heavyweight fight. Getty

Maxim Grishin punches Marcin Tybura. Getty

Maxim Grishin punches Marcin Tybura. Getty

Marcin Tybura grapples with Maxim Grishin. Getty

Brazil's Raulian Paiva after his decision victory over Zhalgas Zhumagulov of Kazakhstan in their flyweight fight. Getty

Zhalgas Zhumagulov punches Raulian Paiva. Getty

Zhalgas Zhumagulov punches Raulian Paiva. Getty

Raulian Paiva punches Zhalgas Zhumagulov. Getty

Brazil's Karol Rosa celebrates after her victory over countrywoman Vanessa Melo in their bantamweight fight. Getty

Karol Rosa of Brazil before the fight on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Erica Elkhershi / The National

Karol Rosa punches Vanessa Melo. Getty

Karol Rosa punches Vanessa Melo. Getty

Vanessa Melo punches Karol Rosa. Getty

Davey Grant of England after his knockout victory over countryman Martin Day in their bantamweight fight. Getty

Davey Grant punches Martin Day. Getty

Martin Day kicks Davey Grant. Getty

Davey Grant launches a flying knee against Martin Day. Getty

A general view of the Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island prior to the UFC 251 event on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Erica Elkhershi / The National

A general view of the Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island prior to the UFC 251 event on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Erica Elkhershi / The National

A general view of the Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island prior to the UFC 251 event on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Photo by Jeff Bottari / Getty Images / Zuffa LLC

A general view of the Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island prior to the UFC 251 event on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. John McAuley / The National

A general view of the Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island prior to the UFC 251 event on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. John McAuley / The National

UFC 251 reportedly generated around 1.3 million pay-per-view buys, making it the most successful card since Conor McGregor took on Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2018.

Sunday's event, the opener to the inaugural Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, provided huge appeal, with three world title fights headlined by Kamaru Usman's welterweight defence against Jorge Masvidal.

The American, among the most popular stars in the UFC, took the bout six days out following Gilbert Burns’ withdrawal, which no doubt added to the event’s resonance.

First reported by The Athletic, UFC 251 was said to become the sixth event to reach 1.3m pay-per-view (PPV) buys, the most recent being UFC 229 in Las Vegas in October 2018. Built upon the high-profile feud between McGregor and Nurmagomedov, it holds the UFC record with 2.4m PPV buys.

At the UFC 251 pre-event weigh-in on Friday, Dana White confirmed a sizeable interest in the show, saying: “This thing is trending off the charts. This thing is trending higher than a Conor McGregor fight. The only thing this is comparable to is Conor-Khabib. It's trending as big a fight as I’ve ever seen in my entire career.”

The action, which began at 2am at Flash Forum with the main event starting at 6am, featured a number of intriguing match-ups. Rose Namajumas made her long-awaited comeback to win her rematch against Jessica Andrade, while Petr Yan defeated Jose Aldo to clinch the vacant bantamweight crown.

Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski then defended his title in his rematch against Max Holloway, prevailing by a controversial split decision. At the top of the card, Usman dominated an undercooked Masvidal to triumph by unanimous decision.

Three more events follows, on Thursday, Sunday and then July 26.