If you are a mixed martial arts fan, and I assume you are if you’re reading this list, it’s obvious the landscape of MMA has drastically changed in the last several years. So much so, in some instances, the sport is nearly unrecognizable.
It’s fair to point out that all major sports are suffering from a “new era” of content consumption and MMA is no different. But why has MMA, and in particular, the UFC suffered such a drastic decline in viewership these last few years, with cards on FOX Sports 1 and FOX bringing some of the lowest numbers ever and even a superfight-headlined card like UFC 226 earning only a reported 400,000 buys?
We here at Lowkick have compiled a list of the seven reasons why the UFC ratings are worse than ever. Check them out:
Too Many Shows
We could have worded this many different ways, but the fact remains the same, the MMA industry is simply way too oversaturated. There may be only a handful of high-level promotions operation in today’s combat sports climate; the UFC, Bellator, and the PFL come to mind. But rest assured, there are dozens of regional promotions that contribute to the weekly blitz of mixed martial arts.
In 2017 the UFC hosted a total of 39 events (including 12 PPVs, 4 UFC on FOX, 2 TUF Finales). The UFC is scheduled to hit that very same mark this year, once again reaching 39 events in a 12-month span. Compare that to 41, which was the number of events the Endeavor-owned promotion promoted in 2016.
It’s not necessarily that the UFC is solely responsible for the oversaturation of MMA; the numbers just don’t support that claim. But there was a time, not too long ago, that the only MMA on TV was the UFC, and even that was challenging to find the proper channel at times.
The sheer number of events makes each week’s card less special, and both the PPV buys and TV ratings show that.
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