Jake Paul achieved a significant pay-per-view milestone early in his boxing career, reportedly surpassing a mark that UFC legend Jon Jones never hit during his celebrated mixed martial arts tenure. Jones recently announced his retirement, a decision confirmed by Dana White, which brought an end to a period of uncertainty in the UFC heavyweight division, partly fueled by discussions around his potential fight with Tom Aspinall.
While Jones` legacy is debated by some following his retirement, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in UFC history. Despite his numerous accomplishments in the octagon, hitting one million pay-per-view buys for a single event reportedly remained an elusive goal for the Rochester native.
Jake Paul`s Reported Million-Plus PPV Event Against an MMA Veteran
According to records compiled by Tapology, Jon Jones` highest reported pay-per-view total was 860,000 buys for his highly anticipated rematch against Daniel Cormier at UFC 214. In contrast, Jake Paul is reported to have exceeded the one million buy mark in just his third professional boxing match, which served as his first main event.
This notable fight saw the YouTuber-turned-boxer face Ben Askren, a former champion in other MMA promotions like Bellator and ONE Championship, who also had a brief period fighting under the UFC banner. Paul secured a quick first-round knockout victory over Askren in an event that also featured other prominent names in combat sports. The event was reported to have attracted an impressive 1.45 million buys.
However, these figures were publicly contested by UFC CEO Dana White. Following UFC 261, White dismissed the reported numbers as a “blatant lie,” asserting that the event did not achieve those buy rates.
It`s worth noting there were unconfirmed rumors circulating, notably supported by Jones` manager Ali Abdelaziz, that Jones` return fight at UFC 285, where he captured the heavyweight title, did in fact reach the million-buy threshold, but this has not been officially verified.
Paul`s Mixed Pay-Per-View Results and Future Plans
While Paul started strong in the pay-per-view business, his success hasn`t been entirely consistent. He acknowledged that his fight against Anderson Silva underperformed on PPV, suggesting that speculation about Silva potentially withdrawing from the bout negatively impacted pre-sales.
His subsequent fight against Nate Diaz also reportedly fell short of 500,000 buys. However, Paul achieved significant viewership last November when he headlined the first-ever live combat sports event streamed on Netflix, where he defeated boxing legend Mike Tyson in a highly-watched exhibition match.
The 28-year-old is now scheduled to return to the traditional pay-per-view model, broadcasting on DAZN on June 28. He is set to face former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. as he seeks his sixth consecutive victory in the ring.
