Quick, when was the last time the UFC gave fans a six-week break in between pay-per-view events?
You’re probably guessing sometime last year. After all, if fights were consistently being shown within six weeks of each other some would think that would lead to fans being burned out.
If your answer was in fact “last year” then you are off by over half of a decade. The last time there was this long of a break was between UFC 52 and UFC 53. Those events took place on April 16, 2005 and June 4, 2005 respectively.
The current model of the UFC not only gives us on average a couple pay-per-view events per month, but there are now fight cards broadcasted on FOX, FX, FuelTV, and of course this is in addition to the weekly The Ultimate Fighter show that now includes live fights.
Technically speaking, if you are watching TUF then you aren’t getting any sort of UFC break.
This break has been looming for quite some time and it is giving other MMA writers the opportunity to step away from the UFC brand and publish content on lesser known promotions. It also serves as a chance for organizations such as Bellator to capture the undivided attention of UFC fans and gain more of an audience.
According to a current Bleacher Report poll, I’m in the minority with how I feel about the current break in the action. Currently, 65% of voters state they are going to soon be going through withdrawals. The remaining 35% are looking forward to the dead time.
Dana White has said on more than one occasion that he believes the UFC will be bigger than the NFL one day. If that is truly going to happen, then I believe the UFC needs to be careful with their schedule moving forward.
Imagine if the NFL, MLB, NBA, or NHL didn’t have an offseason. How would that effect the fans? No matter how hardcore a fan claims to be, interest wouldn’t consistently be as good if there wasn’t that five-month break every year to recharge their batteries.
I’m not saying the UFC needs to have an offseason. This isn’t the IFL, and the time frame in which fighters are ready to compete will always vary throughout a calendar year.
There does, however, need to be a greater emphasis on allowing fans to “miss” the sport once in a while.
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