With UFC President Dana White considering adding boxing matches to the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s arsenal, some fight fans have begun to speculate that the UFC is beginning to be overtaken in the ratings by the pugilist sport. Now a new financial report is supporting the theory.
As reported by Bloomberg, the UFC is suffering due to a bevy of scenarios. The UFC has suffered an exodus of superstars over the years.
Miesha Tate, Ronda Rousey, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz and Brock Lesnar are just a few of the UFC’s most notable fighters to have departed from the octagon in the last few years. As a result, the promotion’s pay-per-view events have been suffering.
The report goes on to claim that pay-per-view sales are indeed down, with 2016 being the latest year to boast huge PPV sales. While boxing is still considered a dying sport to many, boxing is now reportedly beating the UFC in the 18-49-year-old demographic during head-to-head events.
Overall, boxing is noted as having “consistently higher ratings” than UFC events. However, with the potential return of superstars such as Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor, perhaps the PPV numbers for the world’s most famous mixed martial arts promotion will soon be on the rise.
