There’s been talk for quite a while that the quality of the UFC’s fight cards has been going in a downward direction, but Mark Shapiro, the president of the promotion’s parent company TKO, believes that’s not the case.
“Bottom line is we don’t buy it,” Shapiro said during a TKO financial call yesterday. “Let’s just start with this premise: The product is great at the UFC. The brand has never been stronger. Our reach has never been greater. So the foundational elements of UFC are in concrete. Anyone that came to our last numbered fight in Miami, which was UFC 327, was flat-out blown away. Or anyone that went to our last Fight Night, which happened to be last week in Perth, Australia. A sellout or even watched it, witnessed an extraordinary sport.
“We are always building in the UFC. We’re in the building phase at all times. We find the best up-and-coming talent around the world and we match them continually in the best fights.”
Truth be told though it does feel as if there’s been a lack of star power on a number of the events so far this year, but Shapiro makes the case that what’s happening is that a surge of new up-and-coming talent is starting to make their mark.
“There’s a huge movement right now with all these young fighters coming up in the ranks,” Shapiros said. “Many of them are taking over slots in the top 10 from guys that have been names in the rankings for years. Strong personalities that are busting right now.
“Joshua Van, Brazilian Carlos Prates, undefeated Michael Morales, the next generation. Or look at the White House card, which we put out there is a strong card, we’ve actually added a [fight] to it. UFC Freedom 250, which is stacked top to bottom and we’re using that opportunity to feature one our most promising stars in Ilia Topuria.”
The criticism regarding the quality of the cards comes at a time when Dana White is also expanding his horizons by also getting involved with Zuffa Boxing, but Shapiro still gives him his full backing.
“Dana White and his team have been doing this for 25 years,” Shapiro said. “Look, the real truth of it is, we don’t get to determine who wins. It doesn’t work like that. You take these great personalities, who hail from every corner of the world, with exciting fighting styles and if they win, you’ve caught lightning in a bottle. That’s what we do. That what Dana White does.
“There’s no better matchmakers in any sport than we have with Dana’s team of Hunter Campbell, Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard.”
Despite putting a positive spin in the face of the criticism, Shapiro did go on to acknowledge that every sport has its ups and downs when it comes to the amount of stars they have at their disposal at any given time.
“I would remind you finally with any sport, there’s just natural ebbs and flows,” Shapiro said. “It’s all very cyclical. Again kind of harking back to the ESPN days, the NBA was on fire with Michael Jordan and then he left and there was a bit of a dip. Then all of a sudden it was [Shaquille O’Neal] and Kobe [Bryant] and as long as Shaq and Kobe were in the NBA Finals, the NBA was in good shape. But the year they weren’t there or they were playing the Nets or the San Antonio Spurs were there, there was a falloff.
“They needed more stars and everybody talked about it and yearned and cried and commented. There was no social back then but there was still a lot of noise. Now, they’re uber rich when it comes to sports personalities and teams that are playing well, as evidenced by the homegrown New York Knicks here.”
