Eddie Hearn has been keeping an eye on the landscape of the UFC.
It would be foolish for a boxing promoter like Eddie Hearn to not take note of what’s happening in the UFC.
MMA has been labelled as the ‘fastest-growing’ sport in the world for so long and although it may not be competing for the exact same audience as the boxing world, there is some crossover. Although it may never be in direct competition with professional pugilism, it is still one of the most popular combat sports in the world. For those reasons and probably a few more, it’s worth keeping tabs on.
Hearn has certainly been doing his homework too.
Praise the MMA Gods https://t.co/yNyTskCqov
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) February 2, 2018
Hearn gave his assessment of the UFC during a recent interview with FightHype. For the most part, Hearn was correct.
The UFC is currently in negotiations to secure a new broadcast deal with their current partnership with Fox ending this year. According to reports, Hearn is correct with his claim that they are receiving lower offers than they initially asked for.
“Look at the UFC, they’re struggling. They’re talking about $400 million for a broadcast deal – they can’t get anywhere near it.”
Can confirm Fox initial offer for UFC rights in the $200M range, as first reported by @Ourand_SBJ.
UFC sale document said rights were worth as much as $450M. Don't believe WME/IMG ever thought that was realistic.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) November 27, 2017
His statement that Conor McGregor has got their ‘balls in a safe right now’ also appears to be accurate.
Dana White has continuously said that ‘the Notorious’ has held up the lightweight division for too long by being inactive. Remarkably, no one knows what belt Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov will be competing for in UFC 223’s main event.
The president claims the undisputed title will be on the line, but McGregor has been yet to be stripped of it. When White was asked to clear up the confusing situation for a third time at a recent press conference, he bluntly replied, ‘Next question.’
It was very obvious what that video was actually about https://t.co/oLkgXoZiLX
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) February 2, 2018
His next point was about the star power, or lack thereof in the UFC. The future of the two main attractions in 2017’s top PPVs, Jon Jones and Georges St-Pierre, is uncertain. Jones is waiting to hear his fate after testing positive for steroids and GSP immediately relinquished the middleweight strap due to illness.
Nate Diaz is unproven as a draw on his own and has also been inactive since his second fight against McGregor. Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey, two of the UFC’s biggest ever PPV sellers are both with the WWE.
“Tell me the stars of the UFC. Conor McGregor. Tell me another one. No. Ronda Rousey? She’s just gone to WWE. It’s a real interesting dynamic. I’d love to know what happens behind the scenes with Conor, Dana White and the UFC. Right now, UFC is still huge business, but it doesn’t have the pull with the broadcasters that it did do certainly two years ago when McGregor was the flagship.”
This doesn't bode very well https://t.co/P4XPJW35ei
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) January 29, 2018
The most poignant thing Hearn said was about the UFC’s desperation in creating new stars.
“In every sport, you need the superstars. You need those flagbearers. Right now in the UFC, I think they’re playing catch-up to try and develop the new stars.”
The record low numbers these Fox Cards are pulling in are indicative of the lack of stars in the UFC right now. 2016 was a phenomenal year, but in 2017, there was 55% decline in total PPV buys. Right now, there’s a dearth of stars and the worryingly frequent number of superfights appear to be a desperate way of making up for that.
McGregor really does have their balls in a safe.
