SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
UFC Fight Night Dublin proved to be a major coup for bookmakers and TV audiences, with Conor McGregor’s bout becoming the highest rated sports event on 3e.
Paddy Power said the series, which returned to the capital’s O2 Arena after a five year absence, was their biggest ever turnover on a UFC event by a country mile, aided by McGregor’s involvement.
PR Manager Feilim MacAnIomaire commented: “UFC has been the fastest growing sport from us in recent years and events such as UFC Dublin has only increased the level of interest. From a betting perspective the results couldn’t have gone any worse for us and the bookies were on the receiving end of the biggest battering of the night.”
He added that a number of accumulators clicked, with every favourite winning.
A statement released by TV3 said Saturday night’s Live UFC coverage on 3e reached a total of 600,000, recording a peak quarter figure of 340,200.
Hometown hero, Conor ‘The Notorious’ McGregor, stopped Brazil’s Diego Brandao four minutes and five seconds into their fight. The sold-out event also featured fellow UFC names Gunnar Nelson and Norman Parke, who said he delivered another TKO to Paddy Power by backing himself to win in the second round.
Jeff Ford, Group Director of Content, said: “Saturday night’s fantastic UFC ratings prove that there is a real hunger for MMA in Ireland, in particular Ireland’s own star attraction and showman Conor McGregor. 3e was the first broadcaster to take the plunge and broadcast UFC Live and Free to Air and the feedback from our viewers has been great. We would like to thank our friends and colleagues from the Ultimate Fighting Championship for their support and help and we look forward to continuing our relationship with them in the future.”
