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The UFC has grown from being a frowned upon ’fight club’ to one of the world's most successful combat sports promotions. The promotion has given MMA a truly respectable image, from being denied air time for their live events to pulling massive pay-per-view draws.
Dana White’s foresight and business acumen took the promotion to the global stage. As part of this success, the promotion had tied up with ESPN to further their pay-per-view numbers.
But over the course of this partnership, the prices of the UFC’s pay-per-view events have witnessed a massive increase. Today a pay-per-view event costs fans $74.99 with the promise of an increase. Here are five reasons why this will adversely affect the UFC.
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#5. Increase in UFC fighter payouts
In an interview with Valuetainment, GSP explained how during his time, the champions had “a show purse, a winning purse, and also a percentage of the pay-per-view buys.” However, GSP says that the UFC may have given rights over a pay-per-view percentage buys to ESPN.
Although there is a system that provides fighters with pay-per-view points, there have been numerous instances where the UFC has awarded pay-per-view points without using the system. So with the increase in the price of pay-per-view, one has to wonder, how would this sit with fighters?
It is a known fact that fighters are unhappy with their payouts, and big names like Francis Ngannou and Jon Jones have been vocal about it. Hence, a steady increase in pay-per-view prices might give the entire roster another reason to ask for an increase in their payouts.
#4. Being undercut by the competition
It is a well-established fact that Dana White wants his promotion to attain the kind of global fanbase boxing or other mainstream sports enjoy. And to match the revenue from boxing events, the increase in pay-per-view prices does make sense; after all, the Fury vs. Wilder pay-per-view sold for $79.99.
But the reality is boxing isn’t the only competition. In fact, within MMA as a sport, there are multiple well-established promotions. ONE FC is gaining massive popularity within Asia and South East Asia and has an impressive roster.
For example, the ONE X: Grand Finale event cost fight fans $39.99 which gave them access to a 20-fight event. The event was even better because fight fans were treated to an epic match-up between Demetrious Johnson vs. Rodtang Jitmuangnon.
With such a massive difference in the price of pay-per-views, this might be a compelling enough reason for a lot of fans to switch to a cheaper alternative that delivers them the same excitement.
#3. Alternative methods of streaming
Illegal streaming has now been around for a long time. However, with time, there are now many more methods to enable unlawful streaming. Dana White and his promotion have tried hard to crack down on such streams, especially leading up to UFC 257, but there's only so much they can do.
Fans were strapped for cash due to the pandemic and global economic collapse. Since then, they've only gotten more mindful of their expenses, as seen clearly in 2022 International Fight Week, which despite a good run, could not outdo the massive revenue of 2016 International Fight Week. So when you throw in the added pressure of sky-high pay-per-view prices, things do not look good.
Most fight fans might switch to streaming pay-per-view events illegally, which could severely hurt the UFC. The UFC relies significantly on its pay-per-view audience, as this audience base heavily outnumbers the stadium audience. If you cut that out, it could deliver a massive blow to the promotion.
#2. Outdated concept of PPV events
Barring the USA, UK, and Australia, most countries worldwide have service providers that allow monthly and yearly subscriptions, including pay-per-view events. This often works out cheaper and is one of the reasons for the UFC’s growing popularity.
However, with the constant increase in pay-per-view prices, its biggest fan base in the US, UK, and Australia might see the pay-per-view system as redundant and outdated. This may cause fans to call for an end to the system and replace it with the streaming system employed in other countries.
To put it in perspective, WWE has adopted a similar design. Now fans can get a monthly subscription at just $9.99, which includes everything from classic fights from the WWE archives to Premium Live Events at no additional cost.
#1. Living up to the hype
In recent times, MMA fans and experts have witnessed a fair number of pay-per-view events that promised to be nothing short of epic on paper. But come fight night, the main card fights would often not live up to the expectations of fight fans, which leaves us all with an anti-climactic feeling.
Even UFC 276 witnessed something similar in the main event, where the fight between Adesanya vs. Cannonier will only be remembered for Adesanya’s 'Undertaker' themed walk-out at best. The fight was largely devoid of thrilling moments we often associate with main event fights. As for the fans, they were left feeling they had not got their money’s worth.
How will the promotion continue to increase the price of pay-per-views if its fights don't live up to the hype and excitement? These increased costs might pressure fighters to deliver more exciting fights, possibly leaving the UFC in a catch-22 situation.
