The UFC is trending towards a boom year after a lull.

[digitalman45]

Brock vs D.C - huge fight with crossover wwe and casual appeal, in the works.

Conor vs Khabib - possibly the biggest mma fight of all time, should be announced sometime very soon.

Nunes vs Cyborg - Wmma first super fight, with two legitimate and established champions. Cyborg is a draw and Nunes has been apart of some of the biggest UFC ppv's ever.

Tyron vs Colby and or Till - huge fights that will generate a ton of interest either way especially if Colby does get into the white house to meet Trump.

TJ vs Mighty Mouse - There's no excuse for this fight not to happen after the next PPV. I'm almost certain they'll call each other out if they both win and the fight will be booked sometime after.

Whoever Rose Namajunas fights next should be a big fight as she's become very popular with the casual audience.

The return of Anderson Silva, The return of GSP, the return of Nate Diaz. All seem probable for 2019.

UFC stars on the rise: Paulo Costa, Stylebender, Sugar Sean, Till, Ortega and Moraes.

Return of the Heavyweight division: Volkov, Blaydes, Ledet, Tuivasa, Stipe as a contender, Olenik, the resurgence of JDS, Lewis as the no. 2 contender.

Return and Resurgence of fan favorites: Lawler, Ferguson, Cruz, all poised to return, Rockhold and others moving to new weight classes. Perry, Meek and Pettis all looking to get back on track towards a title shot.

All of this going down and ESPN coming in to give the ufc a new, long overdue fresh coat of paint. More stars to come through Tuesday Night Contender series. inb4 injuries tl;dr ufc is heading towards a massive late 2018 and 2019.

 

[ChumpyKiwi]

I sure hope so.

 

[Bend NvR Break]

Wishful thinking but between unregulated weight cutting and USADA I'm not holding my breath until the day of fights.

 

[superpunch]

Great fights but the only one that will sell a lot of PPVs is Conor vs Khabib. Brock vs DC does maybe 600-700k. Everything else does like 150k-300k.

 

[digitalman45]

Wishful thinking but between unregulated weight cutting and USADA I'm not holding my breath until the day of fights.

I believe the fighters are becoming more aware of this stuff jeopardizing their health and opportunities. Some big names like Yoel and Luke announced they're going to move up and DC having success up a weight class is going to start a trend. The only fight I'd worry about is Khabib not making weight.

 

[FrankieNYC]

All of this going down and ESPN coming in to give the ufc a new, long overdue fresh coat of paint.

I was hoping ESPN would do that, but UFC is keeping production sadly.
The presentation is so bland & has not been updated in 15 years
Every event looks the same & monotone Anik doesn't help.

Bellator has that all over UFC

 

[3timesacharm]

time will tell - hope so

 

[Dozer .]

Don’t forget Anderson vs GSP

 

[Agent Mulder's Hair]

lol yeah right.

 

[snackgod]

Brock vs D.C - huge fight with crossover wwe and casual appeal, in the works.

Conor vs Khabib - possibly the biggest mma fight of all time, should be announced sometime very soon.

Nunes vs Cyborg - Wmma first super fight, with two legitimate and established champions. Cyborg is a draw and Nunes has been apart of some of the biggest UFC ppv's ever.

Tyron vs Colby and or Till - huge fights that will generate a ton of interest either way especially if Colby does get into the white house to meet Trump.

TJ vs Mighty Mouse - There's no excuse for this fight not to happen after the next PPV. I'm almost certain they'll call each other out if they both win and the fight will be booked sometime after.

Whoever Rose Namajunas fights next should be a big fight as she's become very popular with the casual audience.

The return of Anderson Silva, The return of GSP, the return of Nate Diaz. All seem probable for 2019.

UFC stars on the rise: Paulo Costa, Stylebender, Sugar Sean, Till, Ortega and Moraes.

Return of the Heavyweight division: Volkov, Blaydes, Ledet, Tuivasa, Stipe as a contender, Olenik, the resurgence of JDS, Lewis as the no. 2 contender.

Return and Resurgence of fan favorites: Lawler, Ferguson, Cruz, all poised to return, Rockhold and others moving to new weight classes. Perry, Meek and Pettis all looking to get back on track towards a title shot.

All of this going down and ESPN coming in to give the ufc a new, long overdue fresh coat of paint. More stars to come through Tuesday Night Contender series. inb4 injuries tl;dr ufc is heading towards a massive late 2018 and 2019.

there be no return of conor gso or diaz brothers. come on gsp vs nate couldbe signed

it clear dj is ducking tj so cross that off.

it clear cris is ducking nunes so cross that off.

it more likely khabi vs eddie/dustin winner

 

[digitalman45]

Great fights but the only one that will sell a lot of PPVs is Conor vs Khabib. Brock vs DC does maybe 600-700k. Everything else does like 150k-300k.

Brock vs DC does a million in my opinion.

Nunes/Cyborg, Tyron vs Colby, Rose vs whoever, with good supporting fights and promotions all do 400k - 500k which is huge in this new market where ppv is down. Also, we've seen that when the ufc has a big year and keep the ball rolling people will buy big ppv's back to back so all these big events could snowball their success into one another if they stay in tact.

 

[revoltub]

I think in reality they broke a record this year

Edit: scratch that 2017 they had a record year.

 

[FrankieNYC]

I think in reality they broke a record this year

Edit: scratch that 2017 they had a record year.

2017 was record for rev & profit
2018 will be most likely 2nd best

 

[D'z]

Brock vs D.C - huge fight with crossover wwe and casual appeal, in the works.

Conor vs Khabib - possibly the biggest mma fight of all time, should be announced sometime very soon.

Nunes vs Cyborg - Wmma first super fight, with two legitimate and established champions. Cyborg is a draw and Nunes has been apart of some of the biggest UFC ppv's ever.

Tyron vs Colby and or Till - huge fights that will generate a ton of interest either way especially if Colby does get into the white house to meet Trump.

TJ vs Mighty Mouse - There's no excuse for this fight not to happen after the next PPV. I'm almost certain they'll call each other out if they both win and the fight will be booked sometime after.

Whoever Rose Namajunas fights next should be a big fight as she's become very popular with the casual audience.

The return of Anderson Silva, The return of GSP, the return of Nate Diaz. All seem probable for 2019.
Do you work for the UFC? 'Cause this was a pretty good promo. A little exaggerated, but not bad. B+
UFC stars on the rise: Paulo Costa, Stylebender, Sugar Sean, Till, Ortega and Moraes.

Return of the Heavyweight division: Volkov, Blaydes, Ledet, Tuivasa, Stipe as a contender, Olenik, the resurgence of JDS, Lewis as the no. 2 contender.

Return and Resurgence of fan favorites: Lawler, Ferguson, Cruz, all poised to return, Rockhold and others moving to new weight classes. Perry, Meek and Pettis all looking to get back on track towards a title shot.

All of this going down and ESPN coming in to give the ufc a new, long overdue fresh coat of paint. More stars to come through Tuesday Night Contender series. inb4 injuries tl;dr ufc is heading towards a massive late 2018 and 2019.

 

[FrankieNYC]

Brock vs DC does a million in my opinion.

Absolutely
GSP vs Bisping did 900k & Brock is a bigger draw & DC will be everywhere promoting it

 

[Tylerl90]

Maybe they book Conor a fight on the DC/Lesnar card? Not necessarily Khabib as I'm sure that happens sooner, if it happens at all.

Great fights but the only one that will sell a lot of PPVs is Conor vs Khabib. Brock vs DC does maybe 600-700k. Everything else does like 150k-300k.

 

[revoltub]

Don’t forget Anderson vs GSP

View attachment 409073

I don't know if you are being sarcastic, but that fight could actually be huge and sell millions.

Not everyone is like us meaning hardcore. People like us will look at GSP v Silva and point out how they "are older" or how the "fight doesnt have the same magic". But to semi casuals it will still be a MEGA fight. Look at some of Bellators fights with old legends, guys who are past it and still selling a shit load.

Never underestimate the power of nostalgia and popularity and the power of the casual when it comes to selling

 

[digitalman45]

I was hoping ESPN would do that, but UFC is keeping production sadly.
The presentation is so bland & has not been updated in 15 years
Every event looks the same & monotone Anik doesn't help.

Bellator has that all over UFC

Not even for the espn plus shows? I must have been confused, but even so the attention ESPN will give the ufc will be refreshing. I like Anik I think he's just super professional, but he gets excited and emotional at the right times.

 

[Bend NvR Break]

Great fights but the only one that will sell a lot of PPVs is Conor vs Khabib. Brock vs DC does maybe 600-700k. Everything else does like 150k-300k.

Brock does 1 mil sleeping. Who knows what the number will be if they do proper promotion.

 

[digitalman45]

I am pessimistic or you are too optimistic? Ledet is fighting at LHW this weekend and you still listed him as part of the "return of the heavyweight division"

UFC is doing a terrible job promoting their cards, fights are happening and most people don't even know about them due to lack of promotion - UFC is dying

The Ledet thing was an error on my part, but even so I've been impressed with him and he's a nice addition to LHW.

I don't think I'm being too optimistic. These fights could fall apart from injuries or weight cutting and I doubt they all line up perfectly, but eventually, some if not most of them will get made. I think it just requires patience to wait for the big turn over years. You're definitely being pessimistic declaring the death of the ufc or saying that Sugar Sean is going to get knocked out when everything we've seen from him would imply he's a good talent with lots of upside and casual appeal.