If khabib were to leave, how much of a "hit" woukd UFC take?

[SpecialDelivery]

Just throwing it out there so dont jump down my throat.

Scenarios:
Dana is very stubborn, and going back on his word would make him look weak publicly. Does Khabib have the PPV drawing power to risk that?
If that happens and Khabib sticks to his words and leaves,
How much of a "hit" would the UFC really take Outside of the diehards? Probably not much ppv wise.

But what if Dana WANTS him to leave secretly?
McGregor vs Ferguson or anyone for the vacant belt is much more appealing when you want to sell PPVs.

One or the other or both seem farfetched?

 

[Blossom's Hat]

It would probably be better for the UFC if he left

 

[StickyHands]

he should take conor with him.
conors illegal punch in ring , and previous charges...
khabibs first legal issue.

would be fun watching that trial, more ppv thank his last fight, so his fans would be happier

 

[Ozze]

Honestly, would mean absolutely nothing.

Just another embarassing thing for the sport that would be talked about and forgotten in one week.

 

[SeattleFightFan]

Not much at all. Khabib would be forced to fight in Russia with no PPV sales in US. UFC would give the belt to someone else. He would become a forum fodder champion. Like Frank S was from 2000-2005

 

[heyimacrab]

You guys are stupid if you think he isnt a big draw after winning the 3rd biggest ppv of all time. He drew 350 against Iaquinta. I bet if he had holloway hed be at 500 at least. AND THIS IS BEFORE THE 3RD BIGGEST PPV OF ALL TIME AND DESTROYING THE GREATEST DRAW EVER. You guys are so delusional if you think the UFC is better without him. Hell get at least 700k next ppv and thats the bare minimum.

 

[mirror45]

Ufc wouldn’t take much hits. Conor, tony and Kevin lee are backups

 

[Aegon Spengler]

It would be meaningless. Ferguson would become champ and he’s a better fighter/more interesting character anyway.

 

[AznTrojan]

well.. his mma career would be over..

 

[Devilton]

UFC would be even fine if Conor would never fight again. UFC is in a comfortable situation either way with the ESPN deal and the sport having established itself.

Khabib leaving would be a loss, but the show would go on.

 

[LeBron]

Huge hit.. Not only is he a top 3 P4P fighter, Khabib is a bonafide superstar now.. Dude gained like 2 million Instagram followers in the past week

 

[Grapplefest]

Khabib now has more followers than Ronda Rouse and the whole world is talking about him now. You're an idiot if you think the second biggest superstar in the game, 27-0 undefeated champ leaving wouldn't mean anything.

 

[Haj01]

It would mean alot, he's undefeated. Who can beat him, that's what we wanna see.

 

[ramair455]

It means enough $$$$ to the UFC that they will come to some sort of agreement with Khabib.

 

[MixMartialFarts]

LOL
no hit at all. McGregor would probably reclaim the title and they would make bank on his PPV #'s again.
If anything they make money if he leaves.
They might lose credibility amongst the die hard fans, but its the casual fans who the UFC makes money on. Of the 2.5 million people that bought the PPV 2.1 million of them will never watch a Khabib fight again unless he fights Connor.

 

[RichardPriors]

I think no fighter is bigger than the UFC. I'd hate to see Khabib leave but the promotion has plenty of dream matches on deck. Every month they manage to put on at least one great fight.

 

[Londonjitsu]

A big one because everyone would report it as a double standard.

Plus the lefty media would spin it as islamaphobia and paint him as a martyr

 

[Abazzdeboom]

He would be forgotten as soon as the next big fight happens.
I doubt they can build a ppv on his name alone

 

[Demaestro]

Just throwing it out there so dont jump down my throat.

Scenarios:
Dana is very stubborn, and going back on his word would make him look weak publicly. Does Khabib have the PPV drawing power to risk that?
If that happens and Khabib sticks to his words and leaves,
How much of a "hit" would the UFC really take Outside of the diehards? Probably not much ppv wise.

But what if Dana WANTS him to leave secretly?
McGregor vs Ferguson or anyone for the vacant belt is much more appealing when you want to sell PPVs.

One or the other or both seem farfetched?

The better question is how many people decide to go with him if he does leave? If the company you work for won't draw a line on what is and isn't allowed to promote a fight, and allows other employees to talk shit about your family, country and religion. Whats to stop someone from calling your wife a cunt, or saying your daughter is easy? The UFC draws no lines on what is and isn't allowed and the time has come for them to draw a line or lose some credibility.

Example: If a fighter can show up at a press conference and say "Your daughter is cute, are you sure she is yours? I heard your wife is fun at parties!" Then you can't act surprised when someone's brother jumps the cage to defend his sister's honor.... This shit is getting silly.

 

[ILove4MinutesHyuna]

I know a lot of people frown when you bring in wrestling comparisons but this one might be warranted. When Bret Hart was leaving WWF (at the time) to join WWC, he was the WWF champion. The agreement was for him to win on the PPV event in his hometown I believe, and then surrender the belt the next night. Vince however didnt want to risk having his champion, leave with the title. You can see how having the guy thats at the top of you organization, leave as the champ would not look great and weaken your own brand. So he ended up screwing Bret that night, to prevent this from potentially happening.

So from that stand point, having Khabib leave the UFC, the guy who just destroyed your poster boy and something millions of people saw him do. If he leaves, then it sort of weakens the future champions of that division at least for as long as Khabib is in the fans minds. It woudl also give more credibility to what ever organization Khabib goes to, its like well they got this guy who we know is a stud these other guys must be good fighters to.