UFC fights are officially available to watch on Paramount+, so what are the initial verdicts on the look and feel of Octagon Action’s new broadcast hub? Plus, with Zuffa Boxing’s debut just a few weeks away, why haven’t we heard more about it?
All this and more in this week’s mailbag. To ask your own question, follow @BenFowlkesMMA on X or @Ben_Fowlkes on Threads.
@fistfulofbuddha: Have you checked out the new Paramount UFC interface? What are your thoughts on this so far?
I clicked. It seems like you can find portions of past numbered events (though not the entire card, at least from what I’ve seen) as well as a few select collections. But if you’re expecting it to be like UFC Fight Pass, with an easily searchable library of UFC fights dating back decades, forget it. Nowadays, there don’t seem to be as many individual battles separated in easy-to-find ways.
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The real test will be how well it handles live events, as that’s the real promise here. I’d say there’s nothing worse than ESPN+, but this feels a little too tempting to the gods.
Still, if Paramount+ can make live events easy to find and stream at reliable quality without having to constantly tell me to sign up for an account I’ve already paid for and logged into (how ESPN+ never works out on this), I’d consider $7.99 a month well worth it. I know price increases are inevitable, but now you can buy a year of Paramount+ for less than the price of ESPN+ per pay-per-view. Honestly, it’s a great deal.
@doyleman123: Does the sport really need Conor McGregor back?
Conor McGregor specifically? No. There’s no reason to think, athletically speaking, that he’ll be a major force in any UFC division at this point. But what about a McGregor-like figure to attract new fans and inspire existing ones? Yes, the sport desperately needs this right now.
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The problem is, McGregor himself is no longer McGregor. The wattage of that star has changed, Way It has declined in recent years. He still has some visibility, but that’s not something to be happy about right now. McGregor’s days of fighting feel like one of those rare moments when the world pauses and pays attention to mixed martial arts, is over.
But we do need…someone.
We’re in the middle of a star drought right now. Alex Pereira also had a moment, but it never quite made it out of the MMA bubble. Ilia Topuria seemed to have all the qualifications, but now he is taking time to deal with matters in his personal life. This leaves us short of a big name who can show up and instantly turn any UFC event into must-see television. But, with Paramount’s guaranteed revenue, I’m not sure the UFC would be worried about that.
@shadore66: The zuffa boxing match will be held in two weeks and no boxers have been announced yet. Is this thing the Slap Alliance 2.0?
I didn’t see any announcements for the specific fight or even any promotions, but I did see it drop at UFC APEX. That tells us everything we need to know about Zuffa Boxing’s plans, at least at first. What we should expect here is a night of boxing matches on a budget. If Zuffa can sign some big-name fighters, maybe it can grow from there, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the priority is to keep costs extremely low – at least in the near future.
@oxfordmarlboro: Have you ever thought about it, it’s just a cockfight for the rich, but the cockfight is for a poor minority?
I mean, yes and no. If you ask me who the core fan base of UFC is, I will tell you that most of them are ordinary office workers. He’s the guy who watches these games at Buffalo Wild Wings. If these guys got casino coupons for a big UFC event in Las Vegas, you can bet they wouldn’t wait until the last few fights of the night to show up and fill those seats. I guarantee you, it’s not the 1% who can keep up with Waldo Cortez-Acosta’s rise in the heavyweight ranks.
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Like a planned event at the White House, though? Yeah, that would be the wealthy elite, most of whom don’t really know or care much about MMA. I think this could create a very strange atmosphere for the fighters, let alone the fans who are actually watching on TV.
But I would also point out that combat sports have not never experienced this dynamic. In the days of the London ring, fighters would often find some wealthy benefactor to subsidize their training and put some of their own money into the fighting purse. Those wealthy lords benefited from this deal in much the same way as today’s elites. They wanted to get close to something that felt violent and edgy, but without breaking their own bones. Mark Zuckerberg has boxers pretend to fight him, which is really no different than wealthy British aristocrats showing up to James Feige’s Amphitheater and engaging in a safe version of a boxing match, but still making them feel tough and cool.
@colonialbeasts: Chama Cortez relationship over/under a few months
Wishing these two lovebirds the best. I’ve talked to fighters before about what it’s like to be in a relationship with someone who understands this lifestyle. It’s tough because professional fighting can be a very selfish thing. You have to think about yourself and your career first. When two people do this, some obvious challenges arise in the relationship.
But, as I often hear from female boxers who date men, it’s also hard to find a non-boxer partner who understands why you can’t have an after-get off work drink with them during training camp, or why you can’t keep any ice cream in the freezer when you’re trying to lose weight. Comrades are more likely to understand these peculiarities of the lifestyle, so there is a comfort there.
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If this makes Tracy Cortez and Alex Pereira happy, then I’m happy for them.
@stormlandbrand: Do you think wrestler Hechicero deserves Big Homie status?
I’m only now getting familiar with his work, but I do see some promising stuff here. This is certainly a potential family.
