Dana White says UFC 330 isn’t just smashing the live-gate record at Philadelphia’s Xfinity Mobile Arena; it’s completely shattering it. According to combat insider Jed I. Goodman, the UFC CEO confirmed that Saturday night’s card broke the arena record by a staggering $2 million.
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“Dana White says #UFC330 broke the Xfinity Mobile Arena record by $2M,” Goodman revealed on X.
The announcement comes only hours before Islam Makhachev defends his UFC welterweight title against Ian Machado Garry in the main event at UFC 330. The card marks the UFC’s return to Philadelphia for the first time since 2019 and the promotion’s first numbered event in the city since 2011.
The event also marks the first UFC card at the newly renovated Xfinity Mobile Arena, which underwent a more than $400 million renovation before reopening with improvements across seating, technology, food and beverage, and the overall fan experience.
Philadelphia has previously hosted some major UFC events, but UFC 330 appears to be operating on another level financially. The previous biggest Philadelphia UFC gate was at UFC 101: Declaration in 2009, featuring B.J. Penn and Anderson Silva. That event reportedly drew 17,411 fans and grossed a $3.55 million live gate.
Even Justin Gaethje failed to smash that record in their last outing in 2019 at UFC on ESPN 2 against Edson Barboza, which earned a gate of $1,102,542.
So, if Dana White’s $2 million figure is applied to the previous record, UFC 330 is all set to rake in around $5.5 million in gate revenue. That would make it comfortably the biggest UFC event Philadelphia has ever hosted.
Of course, that number does not come close to the promotion’s very recent outing. UFC 329, which featured Conor McGregor‘s eagerly anticipated homecoming, had a staggering live gate revenue of more than $25 million.
Even Islam Makhachev’s last three events have generated much higher numbers. UFC 322 reportedly earned $13.62 million, UFC 311 $10.2 million, and UFC 302 $7.25 million.
Still, UFC 330’s attendance is impressive given that Philadelphia hasn’t hosted a UFC-numbered event in 15 years. Beyond the gate, there is a lot riding on the card. Islam Makhachev is making his very first welterweight title defence against Ian Garry, who earned the opportunity by defeating Carlos Prates and Belal Muhammad in 2025.
Meanwhile, the co-main event sees Mackenzie Dern defending her UFC women’s strawweight title against Gillian Robertson. With the gate record already in the bag, UFC 330 must now deliver inside the Octagon. And if the crowd matches the financial numbers, Philadelphia could be in for quite a night.
In fact, the UFC’s momentum doesn’t appear to be stopping with Philadelphia.
UFC 331 is also trending towards a strong gate
According to Jed I. Goodman, UFC CEO Dana White also revealed in the tweet that even UFC 331 has only around 1,500 tickets remaining.
“(Dana White) Says UFC 331 only has 1,500 tickets left,” he added.
That event is all set for September 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, and it will be the UFC’s first visit to the arena since 2018.
The card already has plenty of juice, with Joshua Van defending his flyweight title against former champion Alexandre Pantoja at the top of the bill. Van won the flyweight title from Pantoja in an anticlimactic fashion at UFC 323 after the Brazilian suffered an arm injury 26 seconds into the fight.
However, Van did prove his mettle by following up his championship win with a successful defence against Tatsuro Taira in May. And now, he has the chance again to prove he can beat ‘The Cannibal’ fair and square.
Arman Tsarukyan, meanwhile, will return to Los Angeles to face Mauricio Ruffy in a co-main event fight that will surely make him the next fight for the lightweight champion. The stacked card also includes Gable Steveson vs. Sean Sharaf, a rematch between Renato Moicano and Brian Ortega, and a featherweight bout between Patricio ‘Pitbull’ Cruz and Dooho Choi.
Crypto.com Arena can seat well over 16,000 people depending on the setup, so having only 1,500 tickets left with weeks to go is a good hint that UFC 331 is headed for a serious turnout.
The UFC’s last appearance at the venue was UFC 227 in 2018, when T.J. Dillashaw defended his bantamweight title against Cody Garbrandt. That event reportedly drew 17,800 fans and generated a $2.9 million gate. So, if the remaining tickets continue to move, UFC 331 could put that number under serious pressure.
For now, though, Philadelphia gets its moment. UFC 330 has already created history at the gate. Now Islam Makhachev, Ian Garry, Mackenzie Dern, Gillian Robertson, and the rest of the card must ensure that the action inside the Octagon is worthy of it.