As 2024 comes to a close and the fight world prepares to see all the upcoming action in 2025, let’s take a moment to reflect back on how 2024 shaped up to be a great year 2024 for the UFC and MMA. This year, the Dana White-led promotion stayed true to its reputation as the world’s premier MMA promotion, all thanks to the consistency of its PPVs. Each event was more spectacular than the last, enthralling fans with memorable performances.

The head honcho, Dana White, made sure that the UFC delivered each event as if it were the last of the year, with each PPV delivering on fronts that fans couldn’t stop talking about. In fact, the UFC even earned an estimated revenue of $1 billion in the process. With such memorable a year for the promotion, let’s look at the top 3 events of the biggest UFC events that made Uncle Dana beam with pride. Without further ado, let’s take a look.

UFC 309: Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic

MMA legend Jon Jones has plenty to celebrate. In the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York City, ‘Bones’ finished Stipe Miocic in spectacular fashion in the third round of the main fight of UFC 309. With this, the 37-year-old had his first title defense at heavyweight, earning a ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus in the process. The two-weight champion was part of arguably one of the biggest events the UFC put forth this year.

UFC 309 was one of 2024’s PPVs that earned big bucks for the Dana White-led promotion. At the UFC 309 post-fight press conference, Dana White reported that the event raised $16,673,954 at the gate. The PPV also had an audience of 20,200 in attendance. With such a milestone, the mega event that marked the last dance for two-time heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic ended up as the fourth highest-grossing show in the history of the company.

The attraction led by the UFC heavyweight champion is only surpassed by UFC 306, UFC 205, and UFC 229. It also became the best transition for the upcoming year as Jon Jones teased that he would be having a fight in 2025 that fans have been longing for. That means he could most likely face interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall after vehemently rejecting and sidelining the Englishman.

UFC 300: Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill

As with every centennial UFC card, UFC 300 more than delivered on all fronts. The event was arguably one of, if not the greatest card that the Dana White-led promotion put together since its inception. In the main event, Alex Pereira put critics to shame by delivering the performance of a lifetime by knocking out Jamahal Hill in the first round. If the main event of the night was one that had everyone on their feet, the fight between Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje made sure that every nail was bitten by fight fans.

Despite being the clear winner in every round except the fourth, ‘Blessed’ decided to go for a finish rather than a decision win. Pointing to the center of the Octagon in typical fashion, Max Holloway invited Justin Gaethje for a throwdown of the ages, both standing and banging in the middle of the Octagon in the last 10 seconds.

In the end, it was an overhand right that put an end to the fight as Justin Gaethje landed on the floor in what was buzzer-beater KO – at the last second of the last round. It was no surprise that the bout became the Fight of the Night, earning each fighter $300,000. The event wasn’t just a spectacle for fans, but also incredibly lucrative for Dana White and the promotion earning a massive $16,508,823 at the gate.

UFC 306: Sean O’Malley vs. Merab Dvalishvili

The event where the venue had fans more excited than the fight card itself. The company’s 306 pay-per-view card was the first sports attraction held in the grandiose Las Vegas Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dubbed the ‘Riyadh Season UFC Noche’, to make the ambitious and bold project a reality, Dana White reported that the company upward of $20 million. UFC 306 was called the biggest live sporting event of all time, not just because of the fights themselves but also the cutting-edge technology used to make it larger than life.

The visual experience was surreal, to say the least, and the UFC made sure to make the most of it by projecting several 90-second short films before each fight. But what were these short films about? These small clips were all about celebrating the country of Mexico for its contribution to combat sports through the ages. Not just that, they also created a fight card that promised an adrenaline-fueled experience for the viewers. While Valentina Shevchenko got her revenge against Alexa Grasso by regaining the women’s flyweight title, Sean O’Malley was dethroned off his bantamweight throne as Merab Dvalishvili completely outclassed the American fighter.

In fact, even Dana White said that he hoped viewers had switched off their television before watching the main event fight due to O’Malley’s abysmal showing. But despite the main event falling flat, the event still managed to become the most successful PPV for the UFC in 2024 by earning a massive gate of $21,829,245. With each bout featuring at least one Mexican or Mexican-born fighter, the Hispanic Las Vegas crowd showered the Dana White-led promotion with all the love they could. What do you think? Is there any other UFC PPV that you believe could’ve made the list? Let us know in the comments.