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Five Reasons UFC Ratings Are Tanking In 2017

It’s no secret that the UFC is having a tough run in the first seven months of 2017. After a banner year in 2016 with multiple pay-per-view (PPV) events eclipsing the coveted one-million buy threshold, new owners WME-IMG are finding out just what it’s like to run the world’s biggest MMA promotion in a time […]

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It’s no secret that the UFC is having a tough run in the first seven months of 2017.

After a banner year in 2016 with multiple pay-per-view (PPV) events eclipsing the coveted one-million buy threshold, new owners WME-IMG are finding out just what it’s like to run the world’s biggest MMA promotion in a time of downward-trending PPVs without flagship stars Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey anywhere close to the octagon.

True, McGregor will return to the ring against Floyd Mayweather, on August 26, but that could be hurting the UFC’s actual numbers more than helping them. We’ll get to that shortly.

Regardless, both the preliminary card television ratings and pay-per-view buyrates for July 8’s UFC 213 from Las Vegas were recently revealed, and the numbers ultimately amounted to some of the most dismal overall viewership turnouts the UFC has ever seen. Now, women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes’ extremely late withdrawal from her championship bout versus Valentina Shevchenko most definitely caused the lack of buys, but the numbers are concerning nonetheless.

Things didn’t get better two weeks later when UFC on FOX 25 aired live from the Nassau Coliseum on July 22. Despite former middleweight champion Chris Weidman securing an emotional headlining win over Kelvin Gastelum in his hometown, the card had the lowest-ever ratings for a UFC on FOX event in overnight ratings, a number that rose to “only” the third-worst of all-time when the time slot spillover numbers for the main event were factored in.

That continued a disturbing decline for big FOX-aired cards in 2017, but those numbers are also simply indicative of the overall trend of the year, where pay-per-view rates have went down drastically in addition to TV-aired events and PPV prelim numbers.

There are several big underlying factors for this sharp and disturbing decline. On the eve of the biggest pay-per-view of the year, let’s take at the five most impactful.

Promoting Only McGregor & Rousey:

The UFC enjoyed their most lucrative two-year stretch in history from 2015-2016, a time when their biggest-ever crossover stars in Rousey and McGregor were winning big fights in dominant fashion. Rousey was being called the most dominant fighter in MMA, and McGregor won both the featherweight and lightweight titles while becoming the sport’s biggest star.

But that time period simply couldn’t be sustained, as Rousey infamously lost the belt to Holly Holm at UFC 193, following it up with another unsuccessful title fight in her 48-second loss to Nunes at 2016’s UFC 207, after which it appears Rousey may never fight in the UFC again.

McGregor is not gone; at least not in the same sense as Rousey. He’s obviously involved in his hyped-up boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, and while the UFC will obviously get a ton of attention and hype from that massive spectacle, it brings up one vital, overarching point – the UFC simply promoted only their top two stars in recent years, and while it clearly worked in that regard, it left them much too dependent on McGregor and Rousey for success, because their other fighters just aren’t bringing in any numbers at all.

If they ever want to get back to the level where they have their big draws and their mid-level stars; say in the time of dominant champions Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre where mid-level stars like Rashad Evans and Rampage Jackson could still sell an in-between card for 350-400,000 buys, they’re going to have to diversify their promotional strategy.

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Quote: Conor McGregor Holding Up Lightweight Division Is “Ridiculous”

UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor continues to annoy his fellow fighters by not defending his title just yet. McGregor won the UFC’s lightweight title in the main event of UFC 205 last November when he finished Eddie Alvarez in the second round of their Madison Square Garden meeting. With his win, McGregor became the first-ever […]

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UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor continues to annoy his fellow fighters by not defending his title just yet.

McGregor won the UFC’s lightweight title in the main event of UFC 205 last November when he finished Eddie Alvarez in the second round of their Madison Square Garden meeting. With his win, McGregor became the first-ever simultaneous two-division champ in the history of the promotion.

Shortly after the win, the Irishman announced that he would be taking some time off to enjoy the birth of his first son, however, his time off quickly turned into one of the biggest business deals of his professional fighting career.

“The Notorious One” has now signed on the dotted line to jump over to the world of boxing, and step into the ring with (arguably) the greatest to ever lace up a pair of gloves in Floyd Mayweather Jr. The pair are expected to fight at the T-Mobile Arena on Showtime Boxing pay-per-view (PPV) on August 26th.

This means that come fight night against Mayweather, McGregor will have avoided defending his 155-pound title for nine months. UFC President Dana White is still adamant that “The Notorious One” will fight again in the UFC before year’s end. But that isn’t enough for No. 7-ranked lightweight Michael Chiesa.

Chiesa, who takes on No. 12-ranked Kevin Lee in the main event of UFC Oklahoma City this weekend (Sun. June 25, 2017), recently spoke on the matter on The Fight Society podcast and expressed his displeasure for McGregor’s outside antics putting the lightweight division on hold (quotes via FOX Sports):

“We don’t need to beat around the bush. Conor’s doing what he’s doing is [expletive] retarded. What Conor is doing is ridiculous,” Chiesa said. “It’s a tricky decision, and it’s all tricky because we’re sitting and waiting for one guy to do something, and you’ve got 10 guys spring loaded to do something. Like we’re all gunning to be world champion and it sucks just having to sit back and wait to see what this guy does.

“By the time the Floyd [Mayweather] fight happens, his belt will have not moved for a year. This division has already been plagued by delays. Look when [Anthony] Pettis was champion, how many fights we had. We had none. There’s never been an interim title. Once again the lightweight division is back logged so it kind of sucks. It really does.”

If he’s able to get past Lee, Chiesa plans on making a move up to the UFC’s welterweight division to keep busy until McGregor is ready to come back to the UFC and get things rolling at lightweight again:

“I win this fight, I feel like I win this fight I’m on a four-fight win streak, give me a top five guy. I win, give me a title shot, let’s move on,” Chiesa said. “If not, I’ll maintain my relevance, I’ll go up to 170 [pounds] and fight guys until Conor starts making moves and then I’ll come back down. The lightweight division is the most competitive in the world and it’s a shame that we don’t get the chance to showcase it because we have a champion that’s sitting around.

“As upset as I am in the state of the lightweight division, I’d probably do the same thing if I were Conor and I had $100 million waiting for me. I don’t blame him for doing what he’s doing but it sucks for the rest of us.”

With a potential win over Lee, “Maverick” feels that he’ll be placed in the top ranks of the 155-pound division alongside No. 1-ranked Khabib Nurmagomedov and No. 2-ranked Tony Ferguson:

“I think it puts me in a great spot. It will boil down to pretty much me, Khabib [Nurmagomedov], [Tony] Ferguson and [Edson] Barboza,” Chiesa said. “I mean Eddie [Alvarez] is still in there but he wants his rematch with [Dustin] Poirier so I think I win this fight, I almost fought Tony back in July. Then I was the back-up guy for UFC 209 with Khabib when Tony wasn’t signing his contract.

“So I think these things going on behind the scenes, a win over Kevin Lee will definitely jump me in line not only in the rankings but also in the political side of things, which we all know numbers don’t matter. It’s all in the politics.”

Photo: Tom Szczerbowski for USA TODAY Sports

If he got his pick of the cream of the crop, the Ultimate Fighter Season 15 (TUF 15) winner would love to step into the Octagon with “El Cucuy,” who is currently on a nine fight win streak and is primed to challenge for the lightweight title whenever the opportunity arises. Regardless if he’s able to get the fight with Ferguson, however, Chiesa is open to throwing down with all comers:

“More than anything, I’d like the Ferguson fight,” Chiesa said. “I got so close to it. That’s the only one that really gets to me but first come first serve. I’m up for whoever.”

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Dana White: Conor McGregor ‘Might Never Fight Again’

Since winning the UFC lightweight title with a brutal demolition of Eddie Alvarez in the main event of UFC 205 last November in New York City, Conor McGregor has made it abundantly clear what he’d like to do next and that would be to take on former pound-for-pound king and undefeated five-time world champion Floyd […]

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Over the last year, talks regarding a potential bout have come from both parties, but many refused to believe it was a legitimate possibility. Recently, however, McGregor revealed that he had officially signed a contract with the UFC in order to make the fight a reality. UFC President Dana White also confirmed that he and the “Notorious” one had come to terms on a deal and that all that was left was to agree to a deal with Mayweather, which is obviously no easy task, but clearly things are moving in the direction of the fight happening.

If the fight does indeed take place, it could end up being the most lucrative in the history of combat sports and if it isn’t, it’ll certainly rank near the top of that list. White recently spoke on this topic, saying that McGregor could make ‘between $60 and $70 million’ for a bout against “Money”. The UFC boss even said that he wouldn’t be shocked if McGregor never fought in the UFC again after earning such a big pay day:

“If this things goes down, Conor could make anywhere between $60 and $70 million; and what I think happens is, how do you come back again and fight for $10 million bucks?” proclaimed UFC president Dana White on a recent appearance on GGN News with Snoop Dogg.

“He’s a smart kid, but he may never fight again,” White told Snoop. “In the fight business, you have to be hungry, man. It’s hard to get up and get punched in the face when you got $75 million in the bank. I think he is hungry for Mayweather and hungry for the money and Conor loves to prove people wrong.”

McGregor, the titleholder of arguably the UFC’s most intriguing division, has no shortage of challengers awaiting him in the UFC. Top contenders Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson are both chomping at the bit to receive a title shot, while a trilogy bout with bitter rival Nate Diaz is also a possibility. None of these options, however, would provide the brash and outspoken Irishman with the type of money he’ll bring in for a bout against Mayweather.

As far as Mayweather goes, the 40-year-old hasn’t competed since scoring a unanimous decision victory over Andre Berto in Sept. 2015. He announced his retirement after the bout, but has since made it clear that he’d make a return to the ring to take on McGregor. “Money” also recently said the he thinks the fight will happen.

What do you make of White’s most recent comments?

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Quote: Conor McGregor Is One Of The Best Boxers I’ve Ever Seen

Conor McGregor could possibly be stepping into the the boxing ring against Floyd Mayweather Jr. later this year and the combat sports world has mixed reviews on the subject. One man who thinks McGregor not only should take on Mayweather inside the ring, but also pursue a career in the sport, is mixed martial arts […]

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Conor McGregor could possibly be stepping into the the boxing ring against Floyd Mayweather Jr. later this year and the combat sports world has mixed reviews on the subject.

One man who thinks McGregor not only should take on Mayweather inside the ring, but also pursue a career in the sport, is mixed martial arts (MMA) coach Mark Henry. Henry knows first-hand what McGregor is capable of, as he dispatched his star pupil Eddie Alvarez in the main event of UFC 205 from Madison Square Garden to win the UFC lightweight title.

Henry recently spoke to MMA Junkie regarding McGregor’s pursuit of Mayweather inside the squared circle, and stated that he believes the Irishman could make way more money in one boxing fight than he would in ’10 or 11 with the UFC’ (quotes via MMA Mania):

“Look, if I was Conor, I would definitely pursue the boxing, because he can make more in one fight than in 10 or 11 with the UFC,” Henry said. “But, while he’s doing it, they should definitely make another 155-pound belt, because it would be ridiculous if they didn’t.”

In addition to that, Henry also claimed that McGregor is one of the best boxers he has ever laid his eyes on, and believes “The Notorious One” has a shot against Mayweather in the first two rounds of the fight. After that, however, it’s going to be a rough night for the UFC lightweight champ:

“Conor is one of the best boxers I’ve ever seen – ever. From his precision to his power to his speed, and I think he has a shot in the first two rounds,” Henry added. “Because Mayweather, like a lot of boxers do when they’re sparring MMA guys, he may not think he’s that good.

“He might not realize how fast Conor is, and you’ve got to remember that Conor is going to be taller, longer, 13 years younger, and a southpaw. Early on, I’d give him a chance of doing some damage. But after that, it’s not going to be too good (for McGregor).”

No agreement for a bout is in place quite yet, as of this writing. Recently, however, it was announced by UFC President Dana White that McGregor’s side of the negotiations have been completed and all that remains is to sit down and negotiate with Mayweather and manager Al Haymon.

Mayweather is know for being difficult to come to an agreement with at the negotiation table, but he did recently state that he believes the fight between him and the MMA star would happen eventually.

McGregor has already begun training for the potential contest and took to Twitter to call “Money” out and and tell him to ‘sign his end.’ Although some significant progress has been made to making the superfight happen, this is still only the beginning of the potential fight’s journey.

We’ll keep you updated as we learn more…..

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Nick Diaz Goes Off On Tyron Woodley In Hilarious Interview

Polarizing bad boy Nick Diaz may not have a date for his awaited MMA return, but that doesn’t mean he won’t offer his opinion on the heavily blasted UFC 209 main event between Tyron Woodley and Stephen Thompson from Las Vegas last weekend. Most believe the elder Diaz brother should have been involved on the

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Most believe the elder Diaz brother should have been involved on the card that bore his infamous home area code’s number, but the UFC couldn’t book hi nor his brother Nate after reportedly offering Nick fights with Tyron Woodley and Robbie Lawler.

So Diaz watched the welterweight title bout between Woodley and “Wonderboy,” and like most MMA fans, he came away with a sour taste in his mouth. The longtime star told TMZ Sports his opinion of the lackluster fight:

“Can you believe how f***ing boring that fight was? That was a boring fight. Were you excited? I heard a lot of boos. I heard a lot of boos. All I heard was boos.”

The Stockton slugger moved on to address his next fight, discussing how he wanted a bout with both middleweight champ Michael Bisping and returning former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, who will be fighting one another later this year, but they both “ducked” him:

“Listen, you want to know the truth right now? I talked to Michael Bisping already in New York about doing this fight. So, there’s more money for him if he takes the fight with me. We were talking about a catchweight fight, he’s talking about it like it’s going to be hard to make the weight. I’m like, come on. You know, it would be a non-title fight.

“So after I whoop his ass, he still keeps the belt. So that’s more money, then you go fight GSP. Same with Georges. I’m just doing more numbers than he is, so you can do more money to fight me. It makes sense because they haven’t fought me.”

From his own standpoint, it make make sense; but St-Pierre has indeed fought Diaz once before , throughly dominating him in their monstrous UFC 158 meeting that ranks as St-Pierre’s biggest pay-per-view (PPV) headliner.

There’s no doubt Diaz brings in the numbers, yet it also cannot be denied how many numbers it takes to get him into the Octagon despite him not scoring a win since he beat current featherweight BJ Penn in 2011.

Still, none of us would be surprised to see the older Diaz return right into a title fight versus Woodley. “The Chosen One” did a good deal of talking himself up to the point of even deeming himself the “best welterweight of all-time,” but Diaz closed the interview by shutting that down with a quickness:

“No he ain’t. Did you see that fight?”

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Dana White Puts Tyron Woodley In His Place With Brutal Callout

Tyron Woodley is sick of all the critics of his lackluster (and controversial) UFC 209 win over Stephen ‘Wonderboy” Thompson, and he isn’t bashful about letting everyone know it. However, he shouldn’t be surprised when his frequent media foil, UFC President Dana White, fires back with some harsh opinions of his own. Well-known for blaming

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Tyron Woodley is sick of all the critics of his lackluster (and controversial) UFC 209 win over Stephen ‘Wonderboy” Thompson, and he isn’t bashful about letting everyone know it.

However, he shouldn’t be surprised when his frequent media foil, UFC President Dana White, fires back with some harsh opinions of his own.

Well-known for blaming racism and the UFC’s poor job of promoting him as reasons for his low popularity, Woodley told TMZ Sports he would be a “tough guy to deal with” in the future after he found it off-putting White actually picked Thompson in their boring close call from Las Vegas last Saturday night:

“Dana White thought I won the first fight but he didn’t publicly come out and say he thought I won the first fight, so I thought it was a bit distasteful for the promoter to say he thought [Thompson] won the fight. That’s like me coming out and saying as a fighter that I don’t think he didn’t do a good job of promoting the fight. Which I don’t. I don’t think they’ve done a good job of promoting me as champion.”

The polarizing Woodley continues to drum up his own unique version of headlines – for better or for worse – that almost always focus on how others are treating him, something that has fans scratching their heads. Therefore it wasn’t surprising to hear White fire back, also to TMZ, with a hard-hitting, blunt statement urging Woodley to focus on his next performance and remember who the man who calls the shots is:

“Tyron Woodley came out and said he was going to destroy Thompson and there would be no question he was the champ.

“Well guess what? There’s questions again.

“Let me tell you what…when you have a performance like you did at 209 and you get booed for five straight rounds and then people are booing so loud you can’t even do your interview, you should probably just take your lumps and move on. Get your next fight as fast as you can and try to put that performance behind you. There’s one guy around here who calls the shots and as soon as you learn that, the better off you’ll be.”

Ouch. After much of the pre-fight hype surrounding Woodley vs. Thompson II was fixated on White and Woodley calling each other ‘drama queens’ in the media, this exchange suggests that ongoing saga isn’t likely to end soon.

But as the polarizing exec said, there’s only one man who calls the shots in the UFC. Like him or not, White may have a point about what the hated welterweight champion can do to better his promotion and treatment, yet nothing is guaranteed in the fast-paced, cutthroat UFC world.

The rigors of being champ could just be getting to ‘The Chosen One,’ as even he admitted the pressure is building.

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