UFC VS. WWE—Who Puts on a Better Show?
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SPORTS
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We pit the two fighting leagues' pay-per-view events head-to-head to see who delivers on your dollars.
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UFC 81: Breaking Point (February 2, 2008)
Pay-Per-View Buys: 650,000
Main Event: Interim Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia vs. Rodrigo Nogueira
Nogueira became the first person to hold both the PRIDE and UFC heavyweight titles, and solidified his No. 2 heavyweight rank on MMAWeekly.com. |
WrestleMania 24 (March 30, 2008)
Pay-Per-View Buys: 1.06 million
Main Event: No Disqualification Match: Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. the Big Show
Vince McMahon enlisted the services of undefeated WBC welterweight boxing champion Mayweather Jr. to headline a triumvirate of main events. |
| Winner? WWE. Everyone and their Mayweathers had a main event at the most recent WrestleMania. |
UFC 63: Hughes vs. Penn (September 23, 2006)
Pay-Per-View Buys: 700,000
Main Event: Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes vs. "The Prodigy" B.J. Penn
This was originally scheduled as Matt Hughes vs. Georges St. Pierre, but Penn—the last man to defeat Hughes—stepped in after St. Pierre's groin injury a month before the fight. |
WrestleMania 21 (April 3, 2005)
Pay-Per-View Buys: 1.09 million
Main Event: WWE Champion John Bradshaw Layfield vs. John Cena
Jobber-turned-heavyweight JBL's nine-month reign had been the longest period as WWE champion in nearly 10 years. |
| Winner? UFC. Penn outfought Hughes, but suffered a rib injury in Round 2, allowing his opponent to take control and score a TKO in the third. JBL, since losing his title to Cena at this show, conversely, has nothing to show for six attempts at the heavyweight title besides liver spots. |
UFC 61: Bitter Rivals (July 8, 2006)
Pay-Per-View Buys: 775,000
Main Event: Tito Ortiz vs. Ken Shamrock
Ortiz scored a TKO 78 seconds into the much-anticipated rematch of Ultimate Fighter 2 coaches, which many believed was stopped by the referee too quickly. |
WrestleMania 16 (April 2, 2000)
Pay-Per-View Buys: 1.09 million
Main Event: Fatal Four-Way Elimination Match: WWE Champion Triple H w/ Stephanie McMahon vs. Mick Foley w/ Linda McMahon vs. Big Show w/ Shane McMahon vs. the Rock w/ Vince McMahon
With the entire McMahon clan in on the action, fans had to keep a notepad to track the plot twists. Triple H won via pinfall, retaining his third of 5,769,975 WWE titles. (We rounded down.) |
| Winner? Draw. Disappointment is boredom's bitch sister. |
UFC 71: Liddell vs. Jackson (May 26, 2007)
Pay-Per-View Buys: Approx. 1 million
Main Event: Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
Jackson threw four punches in the fight: one missed, two landed safely off his opponent's shoulder, and one knocked Liddell into May 27. |
WrestleMania 23 (April 1, 2007)
Pay-Per-View Buys: 1.25 million
Main Event: Hair vs. Hair Match w/ "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. (Special guest referee: Bobby Lashley w/ Donald Trump vs. Umaga w/ Vince McMahon.)
McMahon getting the Steve Austin hairdo from Steve Austin, and the Donald was one of the funniest, crowd-pleasingest sideshows at WrestleMania. Oh, there was a match, too, but whatever. |
| Winner? UFC. Rampage became the first—and only—fighter to defeat Liddell twice. |
UFC 66: Liddell vs. Ortiz (December 30, 2006)
Pay-Per-View Buys: 1,050,000
Main Event: Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell vs. Tito Ortiz
One of the most hyped matches in UFC history, Liddell vs. Ortiz was a three-round brawl that concluded with a TKO—and a torn knee ligament—for the Iceman. |
WrestleMania III (March 29, 1987)
Pay-Per-View Buys: N/A
Main Event: WWE World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan vs. André the Giant
All WrestleManias are mega-hyped, but none surpasses the legendary Hogan-Giant battle, billed as "the biggest main event in the history of sports entertainment." |
| Winner? WWE. Hogan body-slammed the 520-pound Giant. Even better, hottie Brooke Hogan was born a year later. |
Judges' Scorecard
The WWE narrowly beat out the UFC, 5–4–1, taking home the title belt, at least for now. We're going to go cower underneath something before Chuck Liddell finds out and comes hunting for editors.
Editor's Note: Pay-per-view buy rates are courtesy of WWE, Inc. and Dave Meltzer's weekly The Wrestling Observer.
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