Dana White: Ronda vs. ‘Cyborg’ would do 2 million PPV buys

Dana White and Ronda Rousey

If and when Cristiane Santos makes 135 pounds and fights UFC women’s bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey, Dana White predicts big things for the promotion’s business.

The UFC President today appeared on Jim Rome and valued a fight between the rivals – in a figure that would break reported records.

“I’ll tell you this, Jim, when that fight happens, I’ll guarantee you that thing does over two million pay-per-view buys,” he boasted. “It will be massive.”

Two million pay-per-view buys would represent roughly a $110 million take for the industry-leader. It’s a figure the UFC has yet to hit, at least in reported figures. The promotion does not verify its PPV performance, so MMA observers rely instead on industry reports.

To date, UFC 100 remains the richest in the promotion’s history with a reported 1.6 million buys. The 2009 event serves as a benchmark for the success of others. Only a handful of events are thought to have broken the one million mark in buys, most recently UFC 168, which featured a rematch between now-former champ Anderson Silva and current kingpin Chris Weidman.

White, of course, is no stranger to bold proclamations. Recently, he called UFC 189’s headliner between featherweight champ Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor MMA’s answer to this month’s record-breaking megafight between boxing champs Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, pointing to a $7 million gate the July 11 event is expected to produce.

A Rousey vs. Justino fight unquestionably would be the most significant women’s fight since Justino’s meeting with now-retired star Gina Carano in 2009. That event broke viewership records when it aired on Showtime.

But, of course, a hurdle remains to putting the fight together. Justino is a career featherweight and has yet to drop to 135 pounds. She continues to call for a catchweight fight at 140 pounds, which Rousey and the UFC have nixed.

Earlier this year, the UFC signed Justino to a contract that will allow them to promote a title fight with Rousey (11-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) should she be able to fight at 135 pounds. But an exact timeline on when that’s going to happen remains unknown.

Justino (13-1) is expected to return to Invicta in July as a featherweight, where she could face Faith Van Duin (5-1) at Invicta FC 13 in Las Vegas. Justino’s appearance is contingent upon license approval and bout approval by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which is currently evaluating the all-female promotion for a promoter’s license, according to Invicta FC President Shannon Knapp.

Rousey attempts her sixth title defense against rival Bethe Correia in August at UFC 190 in Rio de Janeiro.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.