# What is the biggest pay-per-view event in combat sports history?

> Some of these sold on the fight, some on the feud, and one or two on pure curiosity.

*By YPB Team · Published September 20, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-biggest-pay-per-view-event-in-combat-sports-history*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Mayweather vs Pacquiao** — score 1000/1000
   The 2015 welterweight unification that drew 4.6 million North American buys and a record $72m gate.
2. **Canelo vs Golovkin II** — score 728/1000
   The 2018 rematch that settled a middleweight rivalry two judges could not.
3. **Joshua vs Klitschko** — score 658/1000
   The 2017 Wembley fight watched by 90,000 people and millions more on pay-per-view.
4. **Lewis vs Tyson** — score 610/1000
   The 2002 heavyweight fight in Memphis that drew 1.95 million buys.
5. **Mayweather vs Canelo** — score 538/1000
   The 2013 fight that set a live-gate record and made Canelo a headliner.
6. **Mayweather vs De La Hoya** — score 538/1000
   The 2007 light middleweight fight that set the pay-per-view record before Pacquiao broke it.
7. **Holyfield vs Tyson II** — score 538/1000
   The 1997 rematch remembered for the bitten ear and 1.99 million buys.
8. **Mayweather vs Logan Paul** — score 538/1000
   The 2021 exhibition against a YouTuber that no judge was asked to score.
9. **De La Hoya vs Trinidad** — score 467/1000
   The 1999 welterweight unification that sold 1.4 million buys and ended in a disputed decision.
10. **Fury vs Wilder II** — score 384/1000
   The 2020 rematch in which Fury stopped Wilder in the seventh round.
11. **UFC 229: Khabib vs McGregor** — score 384/1000
   The UFC's biggest seller, with a post-fight brawl that spilled out of the cage.
12. **UFC 264: Poirier vs McGregor 3** — score 384/1000
   The 2021 trilogy fight that ended with a broken leg in the first round.
13. **Holyfield vs Tyson I** — score 290/1000
   The 1996 upset in which Holyfield stopped Tyson in the eleventh round.
14. **Mayweather vs McGregor** — score 0/1000
   The 2017 crossover bout that sold 4.3 million buys and ended in a tenth-round stoppage.

Tags: sports, ufc, boxing, mma