BE Roundtable: How have your UFC viewing habits changed since 2012? (Part 2)
The Bloody Elbow staff discusses “UFC fatigue” and more in a special two-part roundtable.
In case you missed part one of this special Bloody Elbow roundtable, here is the introduction to our topic:
The UFC’s deal with FOX kicked in back in 2012, and since then they’ve held at least 30+ events every year. It started with 31 in 2012, then 33 in 2013, shot up to a preposterous 46 in 2014, dropped to 41 apiece for 2015 and 2016, and after UFC 219 wraps up, it will have decreased to 39. There was an absolutely painful stint in 2014 where two events were held on the same day on multiple occasions.
With sagging ratings, a new TV deal, and complaints about oversaturation all prevalent when discussing the state of the UFC, I want to know how much your viewing habits have changed over the past five years. What is your enthusiasm level for UFC cards now that they’re on a near-weekly basis, and are you feeling the “UFC fatigue” that many fans seem to be experiencing?
Here is part two, with a guest contribution from MMA Fighting’s Jed Meshew.
Zane Simon
At this point I barely even remember exactly when I started watching MMA. It was sometime in the blur of my life that was working night shift security jobs. And when I started I dove in deep. I watched all the UFC events, Pride events, WEC, Strikeforce, SuperBrawl, just anything I could get my hands on that featured high level fighters. And I followed that watching Deep, and Sengoku, and Jungle Fights, and Cage Rage, and all sorts of other random stuff as I became more of a regular MMA watcher and not just a guy with nothing to do all night but stay awake. And then somewhere along the way, I hit the wall.
It’s a pretty normal thing to have happen for MMA fans. I often think hardcore fandom in this sport has a 2-3 year lifespan. Where you can’t get enough MMA and can’t imagine anyone else not getting enough of it. And then even for those hardcore fans, when they hit the wall, they often just drift away. Maybe the fighters they were huge fans of aren’t as good as they used to be anymore. Maybe, after really getting to learn a lot about the sport, it feels a little more dirty than fun to watch underpaid dudes pummel each other. For me, that wall was a point to really focus my interest. Being a long-term fight fan is why I’m here doing the work I do, but adjustments have to be made to stop burnout. A big one for me was dedicating myself pretty firmly the who is in the UFC. Watching all their fights, knowing who they are. Prospect scouting was a good focus too, as it kept me invested in new talent rather than the stars I used to love and who may be fading. I’ll still watch random regional fight cards when I know they’re on (especially mid-day weekday MMA) or Bellator when I don’t have something else happening on a Friday (tape delay makes that tough). But narrowing my field of interest has helped keep that interest afloat, which is pretty necessary considering I live in the news cycle 7 days a week.
Jed Meshew
I’m not so much oversaturated with UFC *content* so much as I am oversaturated with *UFC* content. By that I mean, the volume isn’t the problem, it’s a complete disinterest in the one-note production and promotion the UFC has promulgated since the ZUFFA purchase.
MMA fatigue hit me pretty hard about two years ago just before I ended up writing about it as actual work. That probably saved my hardcore fan-hood since then I had a reason to watch as many events as I did and it was easier to tell friends “I have to work” on Saturday nights instead of saying I was staying in to watch face-punching. Now my problems with MMA (really UFC) oversaturation are all ancillary. I still enjoy watching fights every weekend but there is a definite shift in the degree to which I enjoy them because the UFC is stripped of any individuality or interest for the majority of fights. There are so many fighters and they all wear the same stuff and say the same things that every undercard blurs together as a heap of monotony. There are guys with a half-dozen fights in the UFC who I couldn’t pick out of a crowd of two, and I have seen every event they’ve ever put on! So I guess I’m not so much fatigued by the volume (though it is too much, and plays a role) but I’m fatigued by the uniformity of everything.
Think about this, the bar is so low for how to stand out as a fighter, that Colby Covington is one of the more well-known fighters these days. Meanwhile, because the UFC can only promote in one, very linear way, arguably the greatest fighter of all time - who happens to have infinitely more natural charisma and charm than the man whose biggest contribution to MMA so far is “Tyquil” Woodley (JFC) - has mostly languished in anonymity and been repeatedly thrown under the bus by his promoter as “unpromotable.” The only thing that Colby Covington has done that is anywhere close to DJ’s level of entertaining is getting hit in the face by a boomerang.
So yeah, it’s not the number of events that’s a problem, it’s that the UFC is a boring promotional company that succeeds in spite of itself.
Victor Rodriguez
I went from watching pretty much every UFC comfortably to barely hanging on this year. Mostly it’s because of changes to my work/life schedule, but now it almost feels like a chore to keep up. And the truth is, you feel a sense of obligation to keep up with everything to have context for what’s next. You also don’t want to miss these moments as they happen, since the shock value and special feeling doesn't feel as intense if you watch a fight or event way after the fact. So yeah, having Fight Pass has been great, having DVR is a necessity, and my pocket still kind of hurts having to shell out for a PPV (sometimes two) every month. Yet it also feels more like a chore because all of the things that made fandom difficult feel like scabs that have been ripped open and not healed. Things such as fighter pay, the Reebok fiasco, Dana White’s actions regarding things that matter (treatment of GSP, trashing other fighters). And even worse? His indifference to things that really should be addressed (the aforementioned fighter pay, fan disappointment in the product, etc.). The way they’ve operated since the WME takeover finalized the cold, distant and corporatized vision that we sort of saw the UFC veering towards 2-3 years ago, if not longer than that. We went from knocking Bellator’s nonstop week-to-week pacing in seasonal bursts to having the UFC do the same thing year-round, and making the product bland in the process (while refusing to kill Face the Pain). The uniforms still suck and Joe Lauzon finally validated my hypothesis that the fighter kits were excess and repurposed Crossfit attire. Fighters still beg for bonuses on live TV. Fighters still can’t afford medicals and have to live on meager means just to make it to a fight in the “NFL of MMA”. Seeing the human side takes a lot out of it for viewers like me.
I may write about the sport, but I still really just tend to think of myself as a fan that got lucky. From the comment section (good luck breaking my yearly comment record, noobs) to moderation to actual staff member, I never felt the disappointment of a sport that feels watered down and has an inability to deal with the problems it faces in the name of further expansion and the rapid cash-grab conundrum that we’re in because of upper management’s greed. But something very interesting about this year is that not only have I watched more non-UFC events than ever - they’ve become more grand, stable and most importantly, legitimately enjoyable. I’m always looking forward to the next Pancrase, M-1, RIZIN or ROAD FC card. Next week’s events could be some of the most unpredictable and exciting of the year in my book. Bias be damned, Combate Americas’ one-night tournament was one of the most insane things I’ve seen all year. Cage Warriors keeps churning out phenomenal moments in every single event. EFN and ACB are organizations that I have a severe personal problem with ethically, but the talent is undeniable. Jesus, don’t even get me started on how awesome KSW is.
Life outside of the UFC is fun for fans, and now even comparatively profitable for fighters outside of its orbit. I’ve made this comparison ad nauseam on social media, but it’s like the UFC’s position is much like the international influence of the U.S., and the regional and international organizations are rest of the world picking up the slack. Invicta is vibrant and healthy, even while losing talent. ROAD has a women-only offshoot and Ladies’ Fight Night in Poland is producing legit talent for women early in their careers. Most of my viewing is online now, and that’s where most if not all of these organizations thrive and improve. So while it’s been frustrating watching the elite-tier organization stumble about looking to pinch the next penny, at least the rest of the sport’s ecosystem is gaining strength and providing an excellent foundation just as the sport is hitting another evolutionary growth spurt in terms of talent. I guess that’s the only thing we can do, right? To live in hope?
Tim Bissell
When I first started watching the UFC, I watched everything Spike TV could throw at me. Pre-2012 I also watched every second of every pay-per-view that went up, one way or another. Since the FOX deal, my viewing has tailed off considerably. I think a lot of this is due to me changing as a fan, but the current way the UFC is presented and delivered to us is not helping me get back into it the way I was.
My viewing habits have become pretty grouchy. I don’t want to watch a six hour event. I don’t want to sit through 30 minute breaks between fights with the same five commercials on loop. I don’t care about the analysis on the desk, at cage-side, and behind the scenes (partly because those roles are all staffed by homers), I don’t want to stay up until 1am (2am including the press conference), and I don’t care to watch live fights between most of the unranked fighters on the roster.
So I pick and choose and watch fights after the fact, either on PVR, through highlights, or full replays on Fight Pass. Occasionally there is a must see fight that I have to tune in live to see, like Jones/Cormier. Sometimes an event pops up that I consider a must-see, like UFC 217; which I’ll pay for. But for the vast majority of UFC product that is out there right now, it’s just not worth my time to see it live.
If there were less fighters and less events; I would find the UFC a lot more interesting. That would allow me to follow the storylines of a smaller group of individuals and to see them perform more often in a calendar year, thus advancing their stories. Even if the UFC kept the same roster size and event schedule but did some kind of brand split to let me know that the elite class will only be featured on a monthly pay-per-view and the rest of the cards are for the hardcores with fighters hoping to make their way onto the big monthly show, that would be pretty compelling stuff. ZUFFA still owns the Strikeforce name. The big monthly shows could be branded UFC like they are now. The other shows could be UFC: Strikeforce, which could have its own belt system in place.
Stephie Haynes
UFC fatigue is a great way to describe that feeling of an event nearly every single weekend to be consumed, only to become a blip on my memory a few weeks or even days later. I haven’t watched since UFC 1 (as so many ‘hardcores’ swear they have), but I have been watching for the last 15 years. In the beginning, I was a voracious fan, watching DVDs and old videotapes I’d found through other fans on the Underground forum. I just could not get enough.
When TUF hit in 2005, I, like many other fans, felt like a jackpot winner. Weekly content, and well produced content at that, was easily obtainable. In those early TUF years, ZUFFA started putting out Fight Night cards on SPIKE TV and we all became lucky once again for getting more cards, and now some of them were free. We had UFC, WEC, PRIDE, WFA and a slew of smaller promotions putting on events. This was the best era to be an MMA fan.
By 2006-2007, online streaming was putting down roots, and nothing says ‘I’m a real MMA fan’ better than watching some janky stream of a Rio Heroes card where the ringside physician was also the referee, judge and commentator (exaggerating here, but not much). The IFL popped up around this time with their team concept, and even though it was doomed almost from the start, those were fun fights to watch.
Then PRIDE got gobbled up. The IFL went bust, AFFLICTION rose and fell in the blink of an eye; DREAM, Sengoku, Elite XC, etc. saw brief lifespans, and all the while, the UFC was becoming a behemoth, striking up deals to air content all over the place. AXS, Fuel, and Facebook were added to their PPV and SPIKE offerings, and soon we were seeing UFC cards at least twice a month.
They gobbled up the WEC. They signed the FOX deal. Fight Pass came along. TUF started having international offshoots. The UFC was bought by a talent agency. Dana White started looking for fights and even stole the ‘Tuesday Night Fights’ concept from the USA Network. And somewhere along the way, and I can’t pinpoint where, I became fatigued. To make matters worse, the production values, while still top notch, were/are stagnant, seeing little change in more than a decade. The content seems watered down with the influx of interim belts, having so many cards and the lack of good promotion for those cards. It’s hard to get really excited for events these days because the brass barely pushes any of their events unless McGregor, Rousey or Jones is attached to it. And where are they right now? We’ve got the NYE card just a week away; where’s all the promotion for it?
Currently, I watch more out of necessity than that burning desire I once felt. If the UFC had a real rival, like those glorious days when PRIDE was giving them gut punches regularly, I think myself and so many other fans would find it easier to stay in love with the sport. It absolutely sucks that I find myself hoping for another freakshow fight, because those are the only ones that get the promotional attention. Damn you, UFC, I’m weary of this sport and it’s all your fault!
Mookie Alexander
I’ve watched the whole of 90% of all UFC events live from 2012 to present day. The exceptions would be a few summer shows in 2013 and 2014, plus any event with a start time that’s not ideal for me to get up. Keep in mind that for the almost the entire time, I’ve lived on the East Coast (I’m now back on the West Coast), so that means largely staying up until 1 or 2 AM on a regular basis. If I wasn’t working for Bloody Elbow, I probably would be skipping events frequently and catching them next-day. Sorry folks, I guess that means I’m not a real fight fan. I also don’t watch every NBA game, nationally televised NFL game, boxing event, etc, even though it might seem that way if you go on my Twitter account.
This is something I’ve discussed often in the past, but the blessing and curse of airing the preliminary card has made previously short-ish UFC events drag on for an eternity. Prior to the FOX deal, only the main card and a couple of PPV prelims would ever be televised. That’s anywhere between 2-4 hours of UFC viewing for a Saturday, no different than watching any other major stick-and-ball sport. Then EVERYTHING became available for fans to watch, which means we have to cover everything, and that means 2-4 hours of watching UFC became 5-7 hours. Seven hours of fights, many of which are instantly forgettable, and the FS1 pacing makes things absolutely unbearable. And don’t forget that in 2014 we had a brief stint of two events in a day, which means literally at least half of the day is just UFC. A few times a year we have two shows running on back-to-back days, which makes covering events an absolute nightmare for us.
Yes, there is UFC fatigue, and it turns into MMA fatigue because I barely muster up the energy to watch regional MMA these days. And I know there’s UFC fatigue because many of the cards we’ve done this year have yielded almost zero meaningful traffic. Fans are picking and choosing which cards to skip, which is a good way to combat oversaturation. It doesn’t look like it’s getting any better in 2018, so hopefully whenever the new UFC deal kicks in, we see fewer events, higher-level cards, and the death of the 10 PM ET, 3-hour main card.
Tim Burke
I’m burned out from reading all of the responses above me! I kid. I’ll keep mine brief. I miss Pride, Strikeforce, WEC, JMMA, all of it. I realize there are still pretty good minor or regional promotions, but the UFC has stolen them from me. They’re the girlfriend that wants a commitment when I still want to play the field, and because they show up at my house every damn day, I really don’t have a choice in the matter anymore.
Oversaturation is obvious at this point. One of the last opeds I wrote (years ago) was about this precise point. When Brendan Fitzgerald said at a recent event “Folks, we still have seven fights to go!”, he said it with glee. I reacted with disappointment. The cards are too long, there are too many of them, and there’s not enough legit talent to keep me interested to a great degree. My work here helps, but it’s really hard to be enthusiastic when guys I’ve never heard of are fighting guys with last names I can barely spell, and I’m doing play-by-play.
I’m not gonna break up with the UFC, but I wish she’d just take some vacations. Without me.