UFC is Dying 2021

Is the UFC Dying?


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Looks on it's last legs to me.

They surely have a swimming pool full of gold coins hidden in a secure place somewhere.
 
I'm not sure if your numbers are legit, or is it more of Meltzer's 'predictions' using Google search numbers, in order to sell news subscriptions... since UFC is a Private Company.

But, please include $4 BILLION paid out by WME-IMG in 2016 for UFC ownership

And last year during Covid lockdowns (2020), WME had to beg people for loans to keep the electricity running... after severe downsizing

Has it not become a publicly traded company now?


Even then, I'd love to see sources on your claims, as they don't appear to be true from what I have seen and read.
 
There’s no way I could ever be all that excited to watch any kind of sporting event of any way shape or form ever.

Sports will never be anything more than background effect… like the muted TV at Chili’s or TGI fridays. It just makes the room more welcoming if it’s on but yur eyes will never actually stay fixated on it for more than a min before yur eyes start to drift into your phone.
Then why are you on Sherdog?
 
This is why the Mafia Bros sold Zuffa.

They knew they had gotten away with their mob business in the UFC for enough time, and shit was about to catch up to them.

Theres a big antitrust lawsuit coming for them.

Their ratings peaked.
They overhyped Ronda and Conor and all to the stars and made it seem like this was the next big sport of the world.

Meanwhile in reality UFC couldn't even get a fair deal from FOX for contract extension. FOX opted to go with WWE instead.

ESPN isn't happy with UFC either, after they put on shitty cards to meet the quota last year, which says ESPN will pay a fixed sum regardless of number of viewers or ppv buys if UFC put on an X number of events in the fiscal year.

Ratings have gone way downhill, along with ppv buys.

Reebok couldn't wait to part ways with the UFC. No other big time players wants to come near them. They had to settle with Venom, LOL

Hell, even their top fighters are refusing to fight. Jones vacated. Conor sat out for most his prime. Khabib retired young. Cejudo retired young, Ronda retired young... Anderson Silva got released (fired) despite only 1 fight left on contract, after all the things he had done for them.

Liddell and Hughes were fired after Dana promised them lifetime jobs for what they did for the UFC. Hughes opted to park on the train tracks as a result...allegedly.
Meanwhile, Liddell is willing to fight anyone anywhere to get some of that coco money.


Yup UFC is Dying 2021

People are more excited to see Youtube Stars box, than to watch UFC fights. That too, former UFC fighters are being offered more money to Box for those guys, more than they ever made in the UFC.

I think the UFC is going thru a normalisation phase. After extreme growth for many years it finding out what the actual audience is. While I think you might still see growth it won't match that huge explosion. You have to remember 2020 was a banner year because there was so little competition at one point (espn was desperately finding esports to show!).

UFC is huge and not going anywhere soon.
 
It’s just boring now. I think in a lot of ways mma has peaked and will never be as exciting for a whole generation of fans, the ones that watched PRIDE and early seasons of TUF.

A lot of new fighters are so well rounded it makes fights uninteresting. I get it, but seeing specialized battles like Big Nog ve Cro Cop is just infinitely more appealing. Hell, I only come to Sherdog like once every couple weeks just to complain now.
 
ESPN isn't happy with UFC either
So glad to see you keeping the torch burning for "UFC is Dying" threads.

However, the UFC was just damn near the only income that disney had while their entire empire was brought to a screetching halt by Covid. Amazing how the powerhouse gorilla that Disney is could have the rug pulled right out from under them.

They surely got on bended knee & thanked god they purchased the UFC. Those early ratings musta been spectacular being the only sport on atm.
 
I just think,
some people have become immune,
because they have been following
the sport for quite some time!
It happens sometimes ,
without you even realizing it!
 
Do you seriously believe this?

You are looking forward to the weekends to watch every UFC card?

You're also watching all the prelim fights, along with the main card?

Not who you were asking, but yes to all of this. I watch the Early Prelims, the Prelims, and the Main Card bouts. I've even been known to buy the PPVs. I watch DWCS and the new season of TUF. Hell, I've even taken a gander at UFC prospects in LFA and the like.

A lot of people in this thread are confusing their own feelings for reality.

If you have lost interest, that says more about you than it does about the UFC.

That's my assessment of it, as well. Granted, I don't have much of a leg to stand on because I'm a recent fan.
 
These are reported numbers that were disclosed because the UFC is currently in a lawsuit revolving around pay versus revenue and WME is a traded stock so they divulge information. The UFC itself is the most profitable aspect of WME's portfolio since the start of the pandemic and by a long shot. It basically was all of WME's revenue.
Thanks for sharing that.

However, you say profitable... I think you might be confusing revenue with profit.

WME-IMG did not secure the network deal they were looking for. They had to settle for way below their asking price. That too, they had to throw away their ppv revenue (zuffa were getting ppv to themselves on top of the Fox Deal)

Based on a value of 4+Billion USD, and WME-IMG's financial forecast that was submitted to the banks for a loan, the UFC is absolutely not performing up to par and is not profitable right now.

Let's see how long before they recover their investment and simply break even... Let's see if WME-IMG can survive that long especially with the crisis at hand.
 
This anti-trust suit isn't a small joke like other cases in the past. And I've never seen fighter pay lead to headliners sitting out at this rate. Champions rather go to boxing or celeb boxing than defend their UFC belt.

The about 15 years I've been watching the UFC it's never had so many things going against them. The Casino movie methods don't apply well to 2021. Unless you're a politician.
Exactly.

Well said
 
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This is why the Mafia Bros sold Zuffa.

They knew they had gotten away with their mob business in the UFC for enough time, and shit was about to catch up to them.

Theres a big antitrust lawsuit coming for them.

Their ratings peaked.
They overhyped Ronda and Conor and all to the stars and made it seem like this was the next big sport of the world.

Meanwhile in reality UFC couldn't even get a fair deal from FOX for contract extension. FOX opted to go with WWE instead.

ESPN isn't happy with UFC either, after they put on shitty cards to meet the quota last year, which says ESPN will pay a fixed sum regardless of number of viewers or ppv buys if UFC put on an X number of events in the fiscal year.

Ratings have gone way downhill, along with ppv buys.

Reebok couldn't wait to part ways with the UFC. No other big time players wants to come near them. They had to settle with Venom, LOL

Hell, even their top fighters are refusing to fight. Jones vacated. Conor sat out for most his prime. Khabib retired young. Cejudo retired young, Ronda retired young... Anderson Silva got released (fired) despite only 1 fight left on contract, after all the things he had done for them.

Liddell and Hughes were fired after Dana promised them lifetime jobs for what they did for the UFC. Hughes opted to park on the train tracks as a result...allegedly.
Meanwhile, Liddell is willing to fight anyone anywhere to get some of that coco money.


Yup UFC is Dying 2021

People are more excited to see Youtube Stars box, than to watch UFC fights. That too, former UFC fighters are being offered more money to Box for those guys, more than they ever made in the UFC.

You left out the biggest issue - SFORCE was the last treasure cove ( and ,collectively, the best) of talent to absorb.
They were able to look downstream and be under questioned waters once these guys got older/ regressed.

Which is where we're at now and 135, 145 and 155 are the deepest divisions because of it.

ESPN and new fans( who dont know any better) are keeping the ball rolling.Pandemic coming to an end and we'll see how they juggle live gate ( watered down FNs)/ PPVs and they have to spread out their thinned out superstars/ elite over this process.
 
A lot of people in this thread are confusing their own feelings for reality.

If you have lost interest, that says more about you than it does about the UFC.

This, obviously. I try to help people who are disinterested by giving simple advice that helps. So many people complain that they don't know half the fighters or most and I say, during the week take an hour or two to watch a few fights, instagram, interviews etc. of the people you don't know and it'll help you feel more emotionally invested in the fights. Most people say stuff like, i'm not going to waste my time doing that and it's always the same idiots that are on here posting all week about nothing, but they don't have an hour or two to help themselves get more interested.

Some people are just here to complain and can't see that maybe it's not the sport of mma's fault they aren't as interested. It's just weird the entitlement of some people, every fight/event has to be the greatest or it sucks. That's just people for ya, kinda feel bad but don't.
 
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