The recognition of UFC has prominently risen during the last ten years and the mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship has thus attracted a large fan base, making it a unique spot in the sports platform.
The Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Football League, and National Hockey League are considered the “Big Four” major sports leagues in the States; however, Endeavor president Mark Shapiro feels different, as he has recently shared that UFC comes in the big four and has now occupied the top platform as well.
Shapiro shared his thoughts during Morgan Stanley’s Technology, Media, & Telecom Conference, and he mentioned via OutKick, “I’ve spent a lot of time in sports in my career. I’m getting old now. You used to hear it more often than you do now, but it used to be the four majors. The four majors. And frankly, what are you talking about. The UFC is now not only mainstream, it’s one of the four majors.”
“The ratings on ESPN and ESPN 2, apples to apples against the NHL, even including the playoffs, we dwarf them. You put a Fight Night — not a pay-per-view, not a preliminary bout in front of the pay-per-view — a regular weekly Fight Night on ESPN does double-digit ratings… and the demos are anywhere between 20-40 percent up.
“Not to smack Gary Bettman or anything. I love the NHL. I’m a huge Chicago Blackhawks fan. But they’re just not in our league. It’s just not the case. And keep in mind, when I rattle off the ratings, that doesn’t include what we’re doing on ESPN+, which they’re not publishing. So yes, we’re in a great place.”
Shapiro also agreed that the UFC is “under-monetized” and in light of his point, the UFC had recorded $1.3 billion in 2023 when it came to revenue, whereas the NHL made $5.93 billion.
The UFC were lagging behind the National Hockey League in revenues as the numbers revealed themselves and Shapiro further mentioned, “Yes, it’s under-monetized. There’s more money to be made in all the different places we’re making it. But guess what? It’s a growth story. We’re gonna make that money. We’re already making that money. We’ve gone three times on our sponsorship sales. And we’re going to go further in time.”
The comparison between both prominent leagues depends on what the community is looking at and what their common criteria are, as both of them have their own structure and fan base. The UFC has a much bigger following, whereas the NHL is comparatively high on generating revenues.
