In terms of UFC events, Dana White and Co. probably had their best year yet, starting with a middleweight title defense and ending with a flyweight title defense. The entire MMA world was glued to their seats as fighters showcased tremendous determination and delivered unexpected moments that shaped various divisions. From Max Holloway’s buzzer-beater knockout to Khalil Rountree’s amazing performance at UFC 307, this year has been nothing short of incredible for UFC fans.

Before the new year dawns upon us, we need to cap 2024 off with a list of the UFC’s worst-to-best-performing cards. So, without any further ado, let’s get started.

UFC 301: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Steve Erceg

UFC 300 was a spectacle filled with high drama and incredible bouts that kept audiences on the edge of their seats. Naturally, that would have been a tough act to follow, and that is exactly how it was for UFC 301. Headlined by Alexandre Pantoja and Steve Erceg, the card genuinely lacked star power. The highlight of the event was Pantoja’s title defense, Jose Aldo’s return to MMA against Jonathan Martinez, and Caio Borralho’s clash against Paul Craig.

As the event happened in Brazil, the UFC CEO tried to bag big-name Brazilians to fight in their homeland, but fighters like Alex Pereira, Deiveson Figueiredo, and Charles Oliveira had already fought at UFC 300. In the end, UFC 301 had an audience of 14,514, but the promotion did not announce the total gate earnings of the event.

UFC 297: Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis

From the middle of 2024, let’s look at a card from the beginning of the year; UFC 297, headlined by Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis. Fueled by a bitter rivalry, this fight was supposed to be an all-out war. Despite it being a close contest with ‘DDP’ winning a razor-thin bout against ‘Tarzan’, the rest of the card was mediocre in terms of star power.

The co-main event was a bantamweight title fight between then-champion Raquel Pennington and Mayra Bueno Silva – a fight fans don’t really recall when remembering the best fights of the year. Despite the underwhelming nature of the card, it still did decently in terms of revenue, earning USD: $7,898,695; and CAD: $10,634,408 (announced live gate) with an announced audience of 18,559. This event was also the UFC’s highest-grossing arena event in Canada.

UFC 310: Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura

The last pay-per-view of 2024, UFC 310, saw the debut of former Rizin star and Japanese MMA sensation Kai Asakura going up against flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja in his debut. What was the outcome? Despite throwing his signature knee, Asakura was taken to the ground and submitted in the second round of the headliner. The bout was exciting, no doubt, but fans were somehow left wanting more.

The co-main saw Shavkat Rakhmonov taking on Ian Garry in the co-main – an exciting bout from start to finish. Other fights on the card featured a controversial heavyweight bout between Ciryl Gane and Alexander Volkov and a light heavyweight showdown between Dominick Reyes and Anthony Smith. Despite the event having immense star power and top-notch rivalries, it only managed to generate a modest gate revenue of $5,011,650, with an audience of 18,648 in attendance.

UFC 304: Leon Edwards vs. Belal Muhammad

Headlined by Belal Muhammad and Leon Edwards, this was their second clash after their initial clash ended in a no-contest due to an eye poke by ‘Rocky’. The former welterweight champion Edwards tried to defend his 170lbs gold against Belal Muhammad, who was the underdog in the clash. However, ‘Remember the Name’ defied all odds and defeated Leon Edwards to clinch the welterweight gold for himself.

In addition to that the card was co-headlined by Tom Aspinall, who successfully defended his interim heavyweight title against Curtis Blaydes. In the middle of the card was Paddy Pimblett, who showcased an amazing performance against King Green, putting him to sleep in the first round via triangle choke. The London event grasped a total audience of 17,907, with a revenue of $6,720,000.

UFC 305: Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya

Headlined by Dricus Du Plessis and Israel Adesanya, it was the first title defense for the South African fighter. The bout was action-packed filled with high drama leading up to the bout, and after four hard-fought rounds, ‘Stillknocks’ became the first man to submit Israel Adesanya in MMA. In addition to that, the event featured Kai Kara-France, Steve Erceg, Dan Hooker, and Mateusz Gamrot among other top names.

This event also saw Brazilian sensation Carlos Prates knock Li Jinliang out stiff in the second round, becoming the first man to finish the Chinese phenom via strikes. Despite the star power and anticipated fights, the marquee Australian event had an audience of 14,152 with only $5,477,097 earned in revenue.

UFC 303: Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka

UFC 303 was a card that was supposed to be headlined by Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler but the main event fell apart. As a result, the co-main event between Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochzka was elevated to the evening’s headliner. It was their second outing and Pereira’s second title defense of the year. Conclusion? Alex Pereira successfully defended his belt against Prochakza via second-round KO.

Other names on the card were Diego Lopes, Dan Ige, Ian Garry, and Michael Page. The fights on the card were amazing, helping the UFC generate a massive gate of $15,909,243 (the 4th highest gate in UFC history) with an audience of 18,881.

UFC 307: Alex Pereira vs. Khalil Rountree Jr.

Next on the list is another title defense for Alex Pereira, who faced Khalil Rountree Jr. to successfully defend his title for the third time this year. Other than Pereira and Rountree, Julianna Peña, Raquel Pennington, Mario Bautista, and Jose Aldo fought on the card. While other fights on the card were what some would argue as being good but not incredible, people remember this card for the four-round war that was Pereira vs. Rountree Jr.

The Salt Lake City, Utah event had an audience of 17,487 with a gate revenue of $5,005,643. Moving on, we’ll now look at a UFC event that changed the featherweight landscape.

UFC 298: Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria

UFC 298 changed the fate of the featherweight division as ‘The Great’ was brutally knocked out by ‘El Matador’ Ilia  Topuria to become the new featherweight champion. The entire card was filled with amazing fights, some of them being: Robert Whittaker vs. Paulo Costa, Ian Garry vs. Geoff Neal, and Merab Dvalishvili vs Henry Cejudo.

The event was exciting, but emotional for many fans, watching one of the greatest featherweight champs Alexander Volkanovski crumble at the hands of the Georgian star. Regardless, the immense star power helped Dana White to earn a massive $7,264,734, which is the highest-grossing live event at the Honda Center, as well as the highest-grossing MMA event in California history with an audience of 18,186.

UFC 302: Islam Makhachev vs. Dustin Poirier

Islam Makhachev fought only once in 2024, against the former interim lightweight champion, Dustin Poirier, who was immensely motivated to win the title. However, despite Poirier’s best efforts, Makhcahev successfully defended his title marking the end of Poirier’s championship dream. Apart from their fight, the card was co-headlined by Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa.

Other fighters on the card were Kevin Holland, Niko Price, and Randy Brown. With an audience of 17,834 (Sold Out), the event was able to grab a massive $7,255,040 in gate revenue which is the highest-grossing event in Prudential Center, Boston history.

UFC 309: Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic

After a year of inactivity, Jon Jones came back to the fighting arena against Stipe Miocic, who was also making a comeback to the UFC after three years away. ‘Bones’ made a successful heavyweight title defense, beating Miocic via third-round TKO. In addition to the heavyweight clash, Charles Oliveira also defeated Michael Chandler in their second encounter, in an exciting unanimous decision bout.

The event was a massive hit for the promotion as it earned $16,673,954 at Gate revenue with an audience of 20,200. It was the second-highest-grossing event in Madison Square Garden history. After this marquee event, UFC, now holds the #1, #2, #3, #4, #6, #8, and #9 highest-grossing events of all time.

UFC 299: Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera

Sean O’Malley vs. Marlon Vera 2 was a clash to remember as this marked the revenge for ‘Suga’ as their first encounter ended in ex-champ’s defeat. However, things were drastically different in their second clash as O’Malley completely dominated Vera to defend the title by unanimous decision. In addition to that, Dustin Poirier also fought Benoit-Saint Denis, knocking him out at the marquee event.

Returning to Miami for the third time, the event earned a massive $14,142,904 gate revenue for the UFC, with an audience of 19,165. It was the highest-grossing event at Kaseya Center, Miami.

UFC 308: Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway

After defeating Alexander Volkanovski, Ilia Topuria’s next target was Max Holloway. The event saw audiences experience the true thrill and agony of the sport with Ilia Topuria knocking Max Holloway out in the third round.

In addition to that, UFC 308’s co-headliner saw the infamous clash between Khamzat Chimaev and Robert Whittaker. The official revenue numbers are not available on the UFC website but according to sources, Dana White and Co. made big bank from the card.

UFC 300: Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill

Among all the PPV events of 2024, UFC 300 was the highlight of the year. The entire card was so stacked that even the prelims could have been main card fights. The event was headlined by Alex Pereira, who defended his title against former light-heavyweight champion, Jamahal Hill, brutally knocking him out in the first round.

The event also saw the incredible BMF clash between Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje, where ‘Blessed’ delivered the knockout of the ages at the last second of the last round to leave Gaethje lying face-first on the canvas. The entire event took months of calculations to materialize and it was nothing short of a masterclass. Dana White and the Co. earned a massive $16,508,823 at the gate, marking it as the third highest in UFC history.

UFC 306: Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili

The final event on the list is UFC Noche Riyadh Season or UFC 306. The card was headlined by a bantamweight title fight between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili. However, what made it so special was the fact that it took place within the Las Vegas Sphere. UFC was arguably the first—and likely the last combat sports organization to host an event there.

The conclusion? Dana White and Co. earned a whopping $22 million in revenue Regardless, with a massive $132 million dollars in revenue only through gates, this year has been amazing for the promotion, and with next year’s cards already lined up, it appears that Dana White will try to surpass this number as well.