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Dana White said in May 2024 that UFC 303, then scheduled to feature Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler, had already set a UFC live-gate record and was expected to top $20 million. That was an advance claim about the planned event—not the final result. McGregor withdrew, UFC 303 went ahead with replacement bouts, and its reported gate was $15.9 million. Later records surpassed it: UFC 306 announced a $22 million gate in 2024, and White said UFC 329 reached approximately $25 million in ticket sales in July 2026.
What Dana White said about McGregor vs. Chandler
On May 12, 2024, with UFC 303 still six weeks away, White described the event as having “already produced the biggest live gate in the company’s history,” according to MMA Fighting. The claim concerned UFC 303 as it was then scheduled, with McGregor vs. Chandler as the headline bout. White also said the gate was expected to pass $20 million.
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A gate means revenue from ticket sales. White’s pre-event figure was not the completed event’s final gate, and it does not establish profit, total event revenue, or audience size.
Did McGregor vs. Chandler happen at UFC 303?
No. McGregor withdrew before the event, and UFC 303 proceeded with replacement bouts. The completed card drew 18,881 attendees and had a reported gate of $15.9 million, according to Associated Press reporting carried by FOX Sports.
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That final reported amount was below White’s pre-event expectation of more than $20 million. The difference is why the advance record claim should not be presented as UFC 303’s final result.
How the UFC gate record changed
| Event | Gate figure and stage | Attendance | Record status at the time |
|---|---|---|---|
| UFC 303, June 2024 | More than $20 million expected before the event, according to White in May 2024; completed-event gate reported at $15.9 million. | 18,881 | The planned McGregor–Chandler event was described as a record before it took place; the completed event did not retain that status. |
| UFC 306, September 14, 2024 | $22 million gate announced by UFC and Sphere Entertainment Co. on September 24, 2024. | 16,024 | Announced as the highest-grossing UFC event at that time. |
| UFC 329, July 2026 | Approximately $25 million in ticket sales, attributed to White in an ESPN interview and reported by MMA Fighting on July 10, 2026. | Not stated in the cited report. | White said it broke the live-gate record. |
UFC’s September 24, 2024 announcement said UFC 306 had a $22 million gate and a sold-out crowd of 16,024 at Sphere in Las Vegas. The release called it the highest-grossing UFC event of all time at that point. The same announcement cited UFC 205’s $17.7 million gate as the previous record.
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In July 2026, White told ESPN that UFC 329 had broken the live-gate record with approximately $25 million in ticket sales, as MMA Fighting reported. That is an attributed approximate figure; the cited report does not provide a detailed audited accounting.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What a gate figure does—and does not—tell you
Gate totals are ticket-revenue figures, not a complete measure of an event’s finances. They should not be treated as profit, total revenue, pay-per-view purchases, or viewership. The figures above also come from different reporting stages: an advance expectation, completed-event reporting, an official event announcement, and a later approximate figure attributed to White. The cited sources do not provide a shared inflation-adjusted comparison or enough detail to compare ticket-price mixes or net earnings.
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