The debut of CM Punk is still a big talking point in the MMA circle. However, despite the criticism that is going around, the debut of CM Punk at UFC 203 was a huge success for UFC according to the latest rumors.
The pay-per-view apparently did 425,000-475,000 buys, which is the largest number for UFC this year if we exclude the Conor McGregor headlined events and UFC 200. Without the presence of CM Punk on the card, the pay-per-view was expected to draw around 300,000 buys in comparison to the UFC 198 event where Fabricio Werdum faced off against Stipe Miocic.
This means Punk added around 125,000-175,000 extra buys which adds up to an extra income of around $4 Million to $6 Million. Considering that UFC paid a base amount of $500,000 to Punk for his fight, this was indeed a huge success for UFC.
With such drawing power, don’t be surprised if UFC allows CM Punk to have one more attempt at the promotion.