The UFC is not even close to peaking yet.
(1) Fighting requires a lot of athleticism, but the current batch of UFC fighters are not the best athletes the world has to offer.
The average story of a current UFC fighter is "I was a fuck up who loved to fight, and when the UFC started getting famous, I started fighting for money."
These are essentially bar brawlers turned athletes.
(2) MMA doesn't have come-up programs like the major sports, where children start very young in youth leagues and school leagues, and the process of selecting the best potential begins at a very young stage, by the time athletes reach the pro-stage, they are probably the best in that respective sport.
For example, it is rare to a find kid who likes to play hockey on his driveway, and later starts playing in some rec league and gets picked up by an NHL team. You have to go through the system.
(3) Most UFC fighters cannot execute the techniques they drill in the gym. They look good hitting pads, shadow boxing and etc, but in a fight, they are very tentative and unable to execute.
Other professional athletes are able to execute the techniques that they practice.
Also, most UFC fighters are still not able to function at their best for the entire duration of the fight. They are not condition to go 3 or 5 rounds.
In comparison, Lionel Messi can play 90 minutes + extra time of football at a high level. He is conditioned to play his sport, because he has been playing it from the time he knew how to walk.
Conclusion, MMA has a long way to go. The UFC needs to invest money (1) Establishing a come-up system from school-age to professional (2) Invest in research for better training practices (3) Invest in current fighters to allow them to be professional athletes, and not part time fighters.
