The UFC has been running massive PPV events for well over the last couple of decades, but what are the biggest-earning PPV events in history? A number of huge names have headlined some of the biggest events in company history, with Conor McGregor, Brock Lesnar, Jorge Masvidal and more featuring heavily on the top 10 of all-time shows.

It has become a huge entity in the world of combat sports and is now regularly competing with boxing in terms of its audience numbers and pay-per-view figures. UFC president Dana White has revolutionised the promotion, which has monopolised MMA and ensured that the best fights are being made on a regular basis irrespective of politics.

Here’s the full list of the Top 10 Biggest UFC PPV events of all time, ranked according to their pay-per-view buys and revenue with the latter not relevant to inflation.

10 UFC 194: Aldo vs. McGregor: 1,200,000 PPV Buys - $80 million

'The Notorious' marks his first of many in the top ten of the rankings, this time having taken on Jose Aldo in the main event of UFC 194 to determine the undisputed Featherweight Champion of the world. What was to follow was absolutely stunning, with McGregor putting his name down in the record books within just seconds of the first bell.

McGregor scored an absolutely incredible quickfire KO in just 13 seconds of the opening round, leaving the Brazilian legend flat on his back as he climbed the cage and celebrated his title win. His meteoric rise had finally been completed, and he was at the pinnacle of his stardom which continued to climb after the first title came.

WATCH: Conor McGregor's KO of Jose Aldo

Full Fight Card

• Jose Aldo vs Conor McGregor
• Chris Weidman vs. Luke Rockhold
• Yoel Romero vs. Ronaldo Souza
• Gunnar Nelson vs. Demian Maia
• Jeremy Stephens vs. Max Holloway
• Urijah Faber vs. Frankie Saenz

9 UFC 251: Usman vs. Masvidal: 1,300,000 PPV Buys - $90 million

Usman and Masvidal first met in a huge clash at UFC 251 in the first of two huge events between the pair, which showed Gamebred's growing pay-per-view draw. The Nigerian had shown his dominance at welterweight throughout his career, and closed the show with a huge barrage of shots in the second round to prevent Masvidal from gaining the title.

Full Fight Card

• Kamaru Usman (c) vs. Jorge Masvidal
• Alexander Volkanovski (c) vs. Max Holloway
• Petr Yan vs. Jose Aldo
• Jessica Andrade vs. Rose Namajunas
• Amanda Ribas vs. Paige VanZant

8 UFC 205: Alvarez vs. McGregor: 1,300,000 PPV Buys - $83 million

Get used to seeing McGregor appear on this list, he’ll be here quite a bit. UFC 205 saw Notorious take on Eddie Alvarez to determine the undisputed Lightweight Champion of the world. This was the most historic moment in the history of the Irishman who was seeking the chance to become the first fighter to hold two belts simultaneously in different weight classes.

And once again he delivered to complete his meteoric rise to the top stopping his rival in the second round before parading around the ring with his two belts. Some iconic pictures were taken of the new two-division king on top of the cage and on top of the world, before he declared himself the 'double champ' in front of a huge audience.

Full fight Card

• Conor McGregor vs Eddie Alvarez
• Stephen Thompson vs Tyron Woodley
• Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz
• Chris Weidman vs Yoel Romero
• Miesha Tate vs Raquel Pennington
• Frankie Edgar vs Jeremy Stephens
• Michael Johnson vs Khabib Nurmagomedov

7 UFC 246: McGregor vs. Cerrone: 1,353,429 PPV Buys - $90 million

McGregor made a comeback for the first time after a loss to Nurmagomedov, which raised anticipation levels higher than ever. He had just boxed Floyd Mayweather in a huge event, but that did not stop him rallying to a sensational first round win over UFC veteran 'Cowboy' to leave his name on the tip of fans' tongues again.

The Irishman has faced a huge volume of criticism for accepting his one-off move away from MMA, but he was hoping to launch a fresh title challenge after defeat to rival Nurmagomedov. Cerrone proved no opposition to his swift actions, but did not provide him with a stern enough test for the turbulent period to come after this event.

WATCH: Conor McGregor's epic KO of Cerrone

Full Fight Card

• Conor McGregor vs Donald Cerrone
• Holly Holm vs Raquel Pennington
• Aleksei Oleinik vs Maurice Greene
• Brian Kelleher vs Ode Osbourne
• Anthony Pettis vs Carlos Diego Ferreira

6 UFC 196: McGregor vs. Diaz: 1,500,000 PPV Buys - $80 million

UFC 196 saw McGregor move up to Welterweight to take on Diaz just months after his massive bout against Aldo. The company was on an incredible hot streak at this time, helped by the popularity of the Irish fighter, and it was a tough day for 'The Notorious' who found himself on the losing side of history for the first time.

Diaz picked up a win by submission in the second round which left fans in the Las Vegas venue stunned, but the names of both men were immediately on the lips of fans who would be left eager to see a second meeting. The pair raked in huge revenue numbers, and it is no wonder given their reputations in the sport to date.

Full Fight Card

• Nate Diaz vs Conor McGregor
• Holly Holm vs Miesha Tate
• Ilir Latifi vs Gian Villante
• Tom Lawlor vs Corey Anderson
• Valentina Shevchenko vs Amanda Nunes

5 UFC 100: Lesnar vs. Mir II: 1,600,000 PPV Buys - $82 million

UFC 100 saw Lesnar in the main event take on Frank Mir to try and avenge his loss in his first-ever UFC outing. The pay-per-view star who continued to deliver throughout his career, and he certainly did so again, securing his redemption with a second round KO win in the most watched event at the time in the promotion's history before the arrival of McGregor.

WATCH: Brock Lesnar's KO of Mir at UFC 100

Full Fight Card

• Frank Mir vs Brock Lesnar
• Jon Fitch vs Paulo Thiago
• Thiago Alves vs Georges St. Pierre
• Michael Bisping vs Dan Henderson
• Yoshihiro Akiyama vs Alan Belcher
• Jon Jones vs Jake O’Brien

4 UFC 257: McGregor v Poirier 2: 1,600,000 PPV Buys - $100 million

McGregor renewed his rivalry with 'The Diamond' as he looked to settle their feud for good by following on from his first win. However, it ended very differently to how he intended, with the huge event ending in disaster for 'The Notorious' who was stopped by the rugged American in the second round.

He vowed to get immediate revenge with the knowledge that any event against Poirier would once again have huge success in terms of gate and pay-per-view numbers and revenue. His returns for the UFC are unmatched and this continued despite his form taking a dig within this difficult trilogy for the ex-champion.

WATCH: Dustin Poirier's huge KO of Conor McGregor in rematch

Full fight card

• Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier
• Dan Hooker vs. Michael Chandler
• Jessica Eye vs. Joanne Calderwood
• Matt Frevola vs. Ottman Azaitar
• Marina Rodriguez vs. Amanda Ribas

3 UFC 202: Diaz vs. McGregor II: 1,650,000 PPV Buys - $90 million

One of the biggest rematches in company history again saw McGregor headline a massive PPV buyrate. The huge event was highly anticipated given McGregor had suffered a shock defeat in their first meeting, but he was able to recover in sensational style to return to winning ways with a comfortable points win over his bitter rival. It was expected a third meeting would be set up, which could still happen providing Diaz is able to negotiate a return to the UFC after leaving for a boxing fight with Jake Paul.

Full Fight Card

• Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz
• Glover Teixeira vs Anthony Johnson
• Donald Cerrone vs Rick Story
• Hyun Gyu Lim vs Mike Perry
• Sabah Homasi vs Tim Means
• Cody Garbrandt vs Takeya Mizugaki

2 UFC 264: Poirier v McGregor 3: 1,800,000 PPV Buys - $120 million

McGregor's third outing with Poirier was to end in utter disaster given the hype surrounding the event, after the former double champion's bright performance in their rematch. It was a do-or-die moment in the Irishman's career, and it once again started brightly before he fell backwards and broke his leg in devastating fashion.

The fight was stopped and McGregor now faces a huge rebuild in the present day having since spent two years out of action after the injury took place. Poirier and his rival still have a great deal of bad blood to resolve, and it remains to be seen if a fourth fight could be on the cards towards the back end of both fighters' careers.

Full fight card

• Dustin Poirier vs. Conor McGregor 3
• Gilbert Burns vs. Stephen Thompson
• Tai Tuivasa vs. Greg Hardy
• Irene Aldana vs. Yana Kunitskaya
• Sean O'Malley vs. Kris Moutinho

1 UFC 229: Nurmagomedov vs. McGregor: 2,400,000 PPV Buys - $180 million

And finally, the biggest PPV event in UFC history saw Khabib Nurmagomedov defend his UFC Lightweight Championship against McGregor. It’s going to be a long time, if ever, before we see an event top this massive card which was headlined by arguably the most iconic rivalry in the promotion's history.

McGregor put up a brave battle against his undefeated rival in a bitter feud, which had escalated more and more for each growing month, but he was submitted by the Russian's elite wrestling skills. The event's huge success was seemingly dulled by the fact we never saw a sequel given the unsavoury brawl between the teams at the final bell. Nurmagomedov later retired and McGregor never did have the opportunity to attempt for redemption against the Russian.

Full Fight Card

• Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor
• Anthony Pettis vs Tony Ferguson
• Dominick Reyes vs Ovince St. Preux
• Alexander Volkov vs Derrick Lewis
• Felice Herrig vs Michelle Waterson