The UFC Is Losing Its Value

Dana White via brobible.com

The title says it all. On November 27th, Dana White reminded fans around the world that the UFC is a business, not a sport. 

UFC 324

Dana White took to social media to announce upcoming events for the company's debut on Paramount+, kicking off their seven-year, $7.7 billion partnership.

For the main event of UFC 324, Justin Gaethje takes on Paddy Pimblett for the interim lightweight title, due to a statement released by Ilia Topuria announcing he will miss the first third of 2026. 

Immediately, fans complained. The point behind the interim title is to assert an undeniable number one contender.

Typically, this would be between the second and third-best fighters in the division. Yet for UFC 324, the interim title doesn’t contain the potential best fighter in the division, Arman Tsarukyan. 

Now, this announcement can likely be chalked up to revenue.

Paddy Pimblett is a global star. He has an image. The English native consistently draws big numbers, sells out stadiums, and creates countless viral moments. On the other side, you have a fighter who has received fight of the night bonuses in twelve of his fourteen fights.

Justin Gaethje brings chaos to the octagon, either knocking out his opponents or getting knocked out trying. 

So, when you bring all of this together, from the UFC’s perspective, it makes sense to make this fight to maximize revenue. 

But that’s not what the sport was built on.

The UFC prided itself on filling a niche, taking over boxing, an organization where the best fight the best.

People may be quick to point out that Tsarukyan competed less than a month ago at UFC Qatar; however, he made it clear that, with minor damage and a three-month turnaround for UFC 324, he was more than willing to step into a title fight.

UFC 325

Then, Dana White announced the main event for UFC 325: a rematch for the featherweight title between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes.

This made fans even more irate, and rightfully so.

The featherweight division has two clear-cut number one contenders: Lerone Murphy and Movsar Evloev. On top of that, both fighters are undefeated, riding major win streaks.

Diego Lopes, after losing to Volkanovski in their first fight, emerged victorious in a war against rising contender, Jean Silva.

This was an impressive win, no doubt, with Lopes reminding fans that he was still a title contender. But nobody was under the impression that one victory against the eleventh-ranked contender would put Lopes back into a title fight.

Lerone Murphy, sixth-ranked at the time, took a risk, welcoming hyped prospect Aaron Pico to the UFC. Pico entered the contest touted as a future champion, and Murphy, who was already in position for a title shot, took a gamble.

That gamble paid off.

Murphy finished Pico with the knockout of the year: a spinning elbow in the first round, putting Pico out cold. 

This established Murphy has the clear-cut number one contender, and to seal the deal, Volkanovski called him out for a title fight in 2026.  

Movsar Evloev is a little different.

The undefeated Russian has run through every opponent he’s faced, with a 19-0 record and wins over top contenders including Arnold Allen and former champion Aljamain Sterling.

Despite this, Evloev has yet to finish an opponent in his UFC career.

This is, in all likelihood, the justification for not giving him the title shot.

Fair? Maybe. But is Evloev less deserving than Lopes? Absolutely not.

The UFC may be in trouble. Despite record-setting profits year after year, the company's integrity is slowly diminishing. It is no longer a place where the best fight the best; rather, it is where the most marketable fight each other.

The company needs to ask itself: which direction is it going to take? Is the UFC a sport, or is it a business?