Saturday’s UFC 329 event featuring Conor McGregor’s return to the Octagon after a five-year absence drew a streaming audience that peaked at 8 million viewers, Paramount+ announced on Thursday.
That topped the peak viewership for UFC Freedom 250 that was held on the White House South Lawn on June 14.
Advertisement
UFC 329’s audience peaked at 8,295,675 viewers across the United States and Latin America, while UFC Freedom 250 hit a high of 7,925,287.
However, UFC Freedom 250 — set against the backdrop of the White House — had the larger overall audience with 17 million viewers. Saturday’s event from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas drew a total viewership of 15.9 million, with 14.3 million in the U.S. and 1.6 million in Latin America.
In the main event, McGregor lost to Max Holloway in just 69 seconds with the two-time UFC champion suffering a knee injury after attempting a flying kick in the opening seconds of the bout. McGregor continually fell to the canvas as he struggled with his right knee. As Holloway frequently pointed out the injury to the referee, the match was finally stopped.
Advertisement
UFC 329’s other featured match also reached a quick conclusion with Paddy Pimblett finishing off Benoît Saint Denis with a chokehold in 52 seconds.
UFC 329 averaged 6.5 million viewers across the U.S. and Latin America, an audience that also trailed the 7 million average viewership for UFC Freedom 250.
The concurrent streams totaling 8 million viewers was the second-highest peak audience ever for a live event on Paramount+, behind only Super Bowl LVII when the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in overtime, 25-23. UFC Freedom 250’s viewership peak ranks third.
UFC 329’s streaming broadcast was aided by the World Cup quarterfinal match between Argentina and Switzerland going to extra time before La Albiceleste won on a goal by Julián Álvarez in the 112th minute. Ending at 11:45 p.m. ET, the match ran up to the McGregor-Holloway fight.
