As has been the case in recent years, the UFC continues to lead the way when it comes to record-breaking events. The promotion closed out 2024 with another record-breaking live performance in Tampa on December 14 after racking up success throughout the year on PPV. The UFC recorded five of its top 10 live gates of all time in 2024. UFC CEO Dana White said it’s only the beginning after UFC 310.
“We say this every year. Every year we say this is the best year. ‘How can we do better next year?’ That’s literally what we say every year, we keep doing it, I don’t know,” White said. “Guess what, last year was the best year in UFC history. And the year before that was. Let’s keep the momentum going.
“That’s it. The Sphere, who saw that coming? Obviously, financially, it goes to another level. Creatively, I think it goes to another level. I like breaking records. We’re talking about New York (Madison Square Garden), there are seven of us in the top 10 (all-time live gates). Next year, there will be eight of us in the top 10. Eventually, there will be ten of us in the top 10. Think about it. “
While the promotion’s financial results speak for themselves, some wonder whether or not problems could arise for the company as it struggles to find the next crossover star. With all of this in mind, CBS Sports experts gathered to discuss what happened in 2024 and how they would judge the UFC’s year as a whole.
BRIAN CAMPBELL, Senior Combat Sports Editor: A question like this depends on your level of nuisance and understanding, not to mention your point of view. From a financial and business perspective, 2024 was a monster success for the UFC (and, by proxy, parent company TKO Group and Endeavor). The promotion produced another record year in revenue and international growth, while continuing to increase its influence among the coveted 18-29 year old male demographic in the United States. So what about revolutionary events? The UFC also had a handful, including an incredibly busy anniversary card for UFC 300 in April and the high-profile combat sports debut at The Sphere in Las Vegas for UFC 306 in September. This promotion also deepened its trade relations with financial surplus countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
But while UFC live events remain an intriguing getaway destination for deep-pocketed casual fans, many of whom align, status-wise, with the right-wing politics that dominate many shows at the UFC pay-per-view, it’s hard to say whether happiness The number of die-hard fans still matters much to UFC decision-makers. Ticket prices have soared to almost unthinkable levels, just as the quality of matchmaking has constantly been watered down. Not only is there a lack of crossover stars on the roster, but it seems like lately the UFC isn’t really interested in spending money to create new ones given the new chain promotion approach consisting of producing anonymous, replaceable fighters on “The Dana White Contender Series” for relatively cheap pay. The UFC may be as strong financially as at any point in its history, but it’s starting to feel like the promotion’s only real competition in terms of future growth lies in the greed of its senior management to extract every penny possible from its most loyal members. fans, regardless of the long-term danger of what that means for fan loyalty. From that perspective, 2024 seemed as much a harbinger of future catastrophe as it was a celebration of what the world’s top fighting promotion is capable of accomplishing.
BRENT BROOKHOUSE, combat sports writer: While many of Brian’s complaints are legitimate, particularly the Contender Series pipeline creating a feel of many fights on cards with a feel of plug-and-play replacement level fighters, I have recently come to think that the The UFC is in a pretty good place in terms of action in the cage. Putting Jon Jones vs. Tom Aspinall aside, I struggle to think of a fight that needs to achieve which has not manifested itself in recent years. You could argue that Magomed Ankalaev deserved a shot against Alex Pereira at some point over the past year, especially since the UFC gave Pereira a shot at Khalil Rountree (who was ranked #8 at the era), but Ankalaev also entered the year without a victory since July 2022.
The UFC would be better off from a viewer enjoyment standpoint if it were to pad fewer cards, thus allowing for more “stacked” events and less need for Contender Series padding. However, as fans, we eat pretty well when it comes to fighting the best in the Octagon. The problem is that the UFC’s business decisions have created a stream of fights almost every weekend, making it a little harder to appreciate the solid matchmaking that takes place at the top of the promotion.
There is always a problem with creating new stars and the UFC is largely to blame for that. Event promotion rarely feels special outside of things like UFC 300 or the Sphere event, and it seems like you have to be fully connected to the sport and actively watching an event to know how talented the most talented fighters are. good. We’ve seen new stars start to emerge over the past year, but the UFC needs to find a way to market them into something close to traditional stars – if that’s even something the UFC wants to create.
SHAKIEL MAHJOURI, writer on combat sports: The UFC has refined its money-making formula: strengthening its brand to maximize ticket sales in major markets, reducing fighters’ influence by marketing them minimally, guaranteeing results through its lucrative television deal and reduce costs by hosting cards at the UFC Apex. The premier mixed martial arts promotion is doing quite well, especially after the settlement of one of the two class-action lawsuits. If money is the motivator, it’s been an objectively successful year for the UFC.
So what about the quality of the cards? My colleagues are right. The UFC’s cookie-cutter approach to its schedule has watered down the product. It’s hard for a card to stand out, even good ones, when there’s an event almost every week. As of 2024, the UFC has produced 42 cards. The Sphere card is more memorable than almost any other this year purely because it featured a gimmick. When the cards were bad, they were bad. This year we featured some of the least convincing headliners of all time: Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Shamil Gaziev, Tai Tuivasa vs. Marcin Tybura, Derrick Lewis vs. Rodrigo Nascimento, and Tybura vs. Serghei Spivac 2 (sorry, heavyweights). More bad UFC events stand out than good ones. It’s a shame because a lot of good gets lost in the endless stream of UFC content.
Brent is right about high-level matchmaking in 2024. Most of the big fights that could have happened did. The UFC seems less invested in champion versus champion fights than before. White frequently insisted that Alex Pereira should stay at light heavyweight, didn’t give Israel Adesanya a shot at light heavyweight, and ignored talk of various champions wanting to jump divisions. White even insists Jon Jones will have to fight Tom Aspinall next after sidelining the interim heavyweight champion for 12 months. Perhaps the promotion realized it needed to maximize its ability to hold title fights on PPV. It’s hard to do that when you burn two titles in one fight. I’ve been complaining for years about how superfights block divisions. We finally have a good rotation of challengers in most weight classes. This is great for athletes and consumers.
If we compare the quality of the UFC to the 2014 to 2016 period that brought Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey to the forefront, each year will fall short. Until the profit-over-product philosophy of the UFC ceases, this will always be the case. But 2024 could be one of the UFC’s best years this decade. Pereira and Topuria have emerged as potential superstars, marquee cards like UFC 300 and The Sphere have stood out and most divisions are healthy. If the UFC reduces the number of cards it produces each year, those wins will stand out more.
