I Like the Sport But Hate the People in Charge

                                        I Like the Sport but Hate the People in Charge

In some sense the UFC is in charge of the sport. The vast majority of attention dollars for MMA is spent on the UFC, with other organizations receiving a small sliver comparatively. This is why I talk about UFC management as the PEOPLE IN CHARGE of MMA. I love MMA fights but I hate the people that hold monopoly power (if not legally conclusively in effect) over the sport, the UFC management.

The UFC mistreats their fighters. The UFC signs their fighters to contracts that are highly skewed in management's direction. For example: they can release you from said contract for any reason they want at any time but you cannot leave your contract if and when you choose. In fact, if you are a champion for the organization you must wait a year after you have completed all your bouts for the organization to sign elsewhere, with the UFC having that period as a time they have exclusive rights to match your new contract, and retain your services.

UFC fighters only received a small fraction of UFC revenues compared with management. You could say there is an argument that management deserves a high percentage due to the risk they took initially to grow the sport. Yet, compared with other sports leagues which provide close to a 50/50 split of revenue between athletes and management, UFC fighters receive somewhere between 10 to 20 percent of revenues. This number is also shrouded in secrecy due to the UFC's discretion on making it public.

The UFC regularly puts public pressure on fighters to take specific fights that are in the organization's interest. Sometimes the UFC announces fights before a fighter even knows about it. The culture around the sport is one of "I'm not a fucking pussy" and fighters feel pressured to accept these fights out of an insecure macho code of honour. UFC President will often say "X fighter turned down the fight" implying that the fighter is scared of another fighter, and this could be the only reason they rejected the competition. The mistreatment of their fighters a close first to their treatment of fans.

The UFC overvalues and underdelivers. The UFC appears focused on getting all the money they can out of their fans. The UFC was owned by a family that also owned casinos, and the connection is not just superficial. I argue that the UFC turned fans into drug addicts fiending for their product over time. Average tickets now cost around $1000, even accounting for inflation is pretty ridiculous. As a wait-and-see caveat: The new deal the UFC signs with Paramount does look to provide great value, but I am skeptical based on the history of the UFC shaking down fans for every penny that it will play out the way it at first appears. In another common way the UFC pisses on it's fans and tells them it's freshly squeezed apple juice.

UFC management routinely deceives it's fans. Support: There is a cynical view the MMA media that has been shown to be correct over and over again: if UFC President Dana White denies something with full-throated red-faced fury there is probably some truth to it. Or assume the opposite. This wouldn't be such a big deal because to a degree we should expect fight promoters to lie to us. It is just that White tries to pass himself off as such an honest open book over and over, that's what makes it so glaring. Perhaps the penultimate example: During and immediately after UFC 200 (July 2016), White publicly denied that the UFC was being sold, saying there were no talks of a sale (The Sportster). Yet within ~48 hours, the UFC was sold by Zuffa to WME‑IMG (later Endeavor) (The Sportster).

I love MMA fights but I hate the people that hold monopoly power (if not legally conclusively in effect) over the sport, the UFC management. Many times I feel like I'm being suckered by a carnival barker, and need a shower, even after getting hosed again. Frankly time and time again my visceral interest in the sport is in conflict with my values.

                            Works Cited:

The Sportster. "10 Biggest Lies Dana White's Ever Told." Published 15 Jan 2025. https://www.thesportster.com/biggest-lies-false-dana-white-said-told. Accessed 7 Oct 2025.