SUMMARY
- UFC is set to organize its upcoming the UFC 300 event on Saturday, April 13.
- As the mega event is set to take place just a week after WrestleMania 40, the industry veterans are comparing the two shows.
Ever since UFC and WWE merged to create the TKO Group, both the companies have been on a brand new path. In fact, the Triple H-led promotion had its biggest ever WrestleMania in the form of WrestleMania 40 after that deal only, and now fans have a similar kind of expectations from UFC 300.
But just days before the mega event, the Las Vegas-based organisation’s CEO, Dana White, was present at the pre-show press conference on Thursday. During the interaction, the media asked him about a variety of things, including whether Saturday’s PPV would be able to top The Showcase of the Immortals.
Answering the question during the conference, Dana said, “I don’t know a lot about WrestleMania so I have no idea.” In addition to this, he added that he’s pretty confident about the upcoming event and also has a lot of excitement about what combat sports enthusiasts are going to witness at the event on Saturday.
As Dana White gave his honest thoughts about whether UFC 300 can top WrestleMania XL, fans have been wondering if it’s really possible to overtake the kind of success WWE achieved in Philadelphia. So, let’s take a look at the reasons why the upcoming PPV won’t be able to top The Show of Shows despite White’s best efforts.
Conor McGregor’s absence might affect the overall success of UFC 300
Even though the UFC 300 match card is looking absolutely stacked, it seems likely that the event won’t really be able to top WrestleMania 40’s greatness. A major reason behind this is that Conor McGregor is not going to be there for the event, and his absence might affect the overall success of the upcoming PPV.
Many believe that Saturday’s centennial show may be set to deliver the greatest card in MMA history, as a variety of bouts are set to take place at the show. The card includes Alex Pereira vs. Jamahal Hill for the Light Heavyweight title, Zhang Weili vs. Yan Xiaonan for the Women’s Strawweight title, Justin Gaethje vs. Max Holloway for the BMF title, among others.
Next up, finally: best card of the year. UFC 300 is upon us. pic.twitter.com/IvFHef2Uca
— BluBets (@BluBets_) April 7, 2024
On the other hand, the prelims card has Jiri Prochazka vs. Aleksandar Rakic for Light Heavyweight title. It also includes Aljamain Sterling vs. Calvin Kattar – Featherweight, Kayla Harrison vs. Holly Holm for the Women’s Bantamweight title, and Sodiq Yusuff vs. Diego Lopes – Featherweight. Despite such a lineup, the absence of Conor might have an upper hand, and the show won’t probably be able to top WrestleMania’s success.
Why UFC 300 won’t be able to beat WrestleMania 40?
Alongside the fact that McGregor isn’t going to be at the show, another reason why UFC 300 won’t beat WrestleMania 40 is the record WWE’s latest event made. The most important one of them is that UFC’s upcoming show would probably be unable to topple WrestleMania XL’s monumental gate record.
The Triple H-led promotion saw its highest gate ever during The Show of Shows, as this year’s show had 145,298 fans in attendance. Due to this, WWE made a total of $38.4 million across both nights, which is an average of $19.2 million per night. This obviously is an insane figure, and UFC’s highest gate ever isn’t really close to it.
The Dana White-led promotion’s highest gate ever was UFC 205, as it brought in $17,700,000, which is less than what a single night of WrestleMania XL did. From this, it can be estimated that the Las Vegas-based promotion won’t really be able to beat WrestleMania 40 in terms of success through their UFC 300 PPV.