For at least a couple of years now, UFC fans have been complaining about the lackluster events that the promotion stacks its calendar with, with only a few memorable ones spaced in between. In fact, the situation was said to be so bad that reports of pay-per-view numbers being low enough to tank fighters’ PPV points had come to light.
And if that wasn’t enough to ring the alarm bells, former fighter Din Thomas is happy to scream it out for UFC boss Dana White to hear and course correct – or lose it to sister company WWE in a seismic shift.
Thomas, a mainstay during his pomp at the lightweight limit in the UFC, is an analyst now. During the last three years, he has been a staple during pay-per-view cards for providing in-fight analysis on the fly alongside a three-man commentary group.
In light of the WWE entering a new age under the guidance of Paul Levesque (Hall of Famer Triple H), following the ousting of Vince McMahon, Thomas believes that UFC brass’ apparent apathy towards the quality of its cards is going to cause irreversible damage to the sport.
WWE, capped under the same umbrella as UFC with the TKO Group Holdings franchise, seems to be swaying fans as it did from combat sports in the 90s and noughties.
“I am curious to know the status of MMA in relation to the general public and it’s clearly not as big as pro wrestling or NFL or whatever. And I think I know why. And it’s the reason why I love MMA“, he began.
“It’s the unknown. You don’t know what’s going to happen, because it’s real“, Thomas continued on Sirius XM. “We didn’t know we were going to get Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje”, he added, noting how exciting the UFC 300 BMF title fight was.
“But then we also didn’t know we were going to get Francis Ngannou and Derrick Lewis. It’s unpredictable. We don’t know it. But when we get Derek Lewis and Francis Ngannou, it turns people off,” Thomas explained the unpredictable nature of the sport.
He believes it is this unpredictability that ensures that the peak of MMA won’t last long because every so often, “we get these stinker” cards.
“…these stinker fights that people go, you know what? I gave it a shot, but now I’m not going to stick with it. But pro wrestling is different because they script, — they script it “to make sure that you always engaged, right?” he pointed out.
And while Thomas is not advocating for the UFC to follow a similarly scripted format, he is issuing a stark warning to White.
White ripped for Apex cards, below par PPVs
Since the pandemic back in 2020, the UFC has found a more-than cosy home at its base in Las Vegas. Opening the Apex facility to host fight cards in ‘Sin City’, more often than not, these events are lacklustre, to say the very least.
Hosting a minuscule crowd of fans, a smaller cage, and let’s face it, B-list talent which aren’t even ranked, the Apex events have been widely criticized for taking the fun away from MMA.
But what works for the UFC with these Apex events is that they don’t have to pay a site fee to arenas. It’s a win-win for their coffers, then, right?
The idea has been to deliver on PPVs with title fights and match the best fighters against the best challengers. However, champions like Jon Jones have only fought twice in 5 years. Even now, as Jones has sat on the heavyweight throne for more than 784 days, he has yet to unify the title.
That’s two years he’s spent holding the division hostage. Meanwhile, managers like Ali Abdelaziz have also been accused of stopping their fighters, like lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, from fighting against the biggest star in the division, Ilia Topuria.
A Topuria-Islam fight is a blockbuster in the making, but it seems Islam has been paired with Justin Gaethje – a star in his own right, but a stylistically simpler matchup for the champion.
Add injuries and the UFC’s failure to create superstars since Conor McGregor, the PPVs have been rather lackluster as well. Hopefully, the UFC brass listens to analysts like Thomas and makes the necessary changes before reaching a point of no return.
