Opinion: A UFC Molehill That Could Become a Mountain

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Brian Ortega. However, even more low-key than the event itself was the fact that the company had a couple of official Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts take place on a non-official UFC card.

If that sounds weird, it makes some sense when the details are fleshed out. Keep in mind, I didn’t say the card wasn’t affiliated with the UFC, only that it wasn’t an official UFC card. The UFC has run several seasons of “Road to UFC,” unearthing a grab bag of prospects in the process. It isn’t unlike “The Ultimate Fighter” in that the competitors partake in a tournament to earn a UFC contract, only without having to live together. Nevertheless, there were nine fights on the card that weren’t recognized as being UFC contests and two others at the top of the bill that were.

It isn’t like they were high-profile fights, either. The four combatants had a combined seven UFC appearances entering the event, with five of those belonging to Bruna Brasil. She clashed with recent “Road to UFC” winner Ming Shi, and the other match featured Nyamjargal Tumendemberel welcoming a debuting Terrance Saeteurn to the Octagon. Outside of family, friends and the teams of the participants, nobody was circling those contests as must-see affairs. However, the mere fact that the UFC is sanctioning official UFC fights outside of UFC events may be giving us a peek into a new era.

It came out not that long ago that the UFC signed a new broadcast deal with Paramount, providing the company with exclusive rights to all the numbered events and UFC Fight Nights. The pay-per-view model leaves upon the official migration to Paramount. However, there are some properties that are still up for grabs for whomever might be willing to pay the price the UFC is asking. Dana White’s Contender Series is likely the most valuable property that remains available, but “The Ultimate Fighter” is still on the table, too. Is it possible that the UFC might be willing to sweeten the pot on these properties by offering to air official UFC fights on them?

I acknowledge that it would be difficult to pull that off with DWCS or TUF for different reasons. The format of DWCS is that of prospects looking to earn contracts to the organization. Perhaps they could feature an official UFC contest as the main event after UFC CEO Dana White has already awarded the contracts. Perhaps they could even have some recent past winners making their debuts in that position. To make that an easier proposition, maybe they could make DWCS a monthly event as opposed to a seasonal affair. At least that way, the flow of talent coming in is steady.

It would be tougher to put official UFC contests on “The Ultimate Fighter” because of the taped format, but the organization has done a live season before. Then again, there’s probably a reason it hasn’t gone back to that after 13 years. Nevertheless, no one outside of White cares for the TUF brand anymore. If he really wants it to survive, perhaps he kills the reality show side of it, expands the tournament so there are multiple fights each week during the season and tops off each episode with a main event that’s an official UFC bout where the loser gets a pink slip. Almost like a reverse DWCS. I’d watch that over the current stale TUF format.

There are other potential brands the UFC could utilize. For instance, “Lookin’ for a Fight” is still around, or at least it keeps popping up after I thought it was dead and buried. It would probably help whatever local show White and his buddies attend if they top the card with an official UFC fight, and it might even attract some viewers for a show that many don’t realize still exists.

UFC Comparable to NFL, NBA in Terms of Public Perception

Perhaps they could utilize an organization with which they already have a partnership. I would venture to guess that many fans don’t care about current Legacy Fighting Alliance or Invicta Fighting Championships titleholders, but if they were to hear that a matchup within one of those organizations features the winner earning his or her way into the UFC, that might be something to get more people excited. Maybe even let it be known that the card features an actual UFC fight. There’s a lot of oomph behind those three letters, largely because most fight fans only have so much time to spare for the sport of MMA. If it isn’t UFC, they don’t care about it. It’s the same in other sports. Many football fans could care less about the NFL’s competitors. Same goes for any basketball organization outside the NBA. Putting the Ultimate Fighting Championship brand next to some of these properties or organizations is a strong way to potentially get those fans to look beyond the UFC.

The main thing I’m getting at is that it’s rare for something like this to just be a one-off occurrence. It seems more likely that this is the UFC dipping its toe in the water to see how it might go. Doing so on a “Road to UFC” card in China is the best way to test it, as the company can gauge if there was an uptick in traffic to UFC Fight Pass and see if they might be able to sell the lesser properties’ broadcasting rights. Maybe it keeps the properties for itself, hoping they may be able to not only up the traffic on UFC Fight Pass but pick up a few extra subscribers in the process.

Maybe I’m making a mountain out of a molehill. Maybe the UFC placing its fights on non-official UFC cards is a one-off event. However, I haven’t seen the wave of roster cuts I would have expected with a plethora of talent about to be signed, and the UFC’s ownership is excellent at squeezing out a profit. With UFC properties whose rights are potentially up for grabs and seeing the UFC sanction fights in that manner, I think it’s more likely to be the start of something new. At the very least, if I’m a representative looking to make an offer for those properties’ broadcasting rights, I’d be asking for UFC fights with them. After all, the UFC has now proven it’s willing to allow its official bouts to take place at unofficial UFC events.