UFC’s Presentation Has Been Stale For Years

Highlights

• UFC’s live entertainment energy rivals top sports leagues, but lacks in marketing and presentation creativity.
• Missing out on gripping daily content and dynamic marketing, UFC leans towards outdated promotional strategies.
• With new competition like Saudi Arabia’s cinematic boxing events, UFC must innovate and evolve creatively to stay on top.

When it comes to live entertainment, few can deny the UFC is the gold standard. The energy that this MMA company brings is incendiary, rivaling the NBA, NHL, NFL and MLS, at times. It’s no wonder it’s deemed as one of the fastest-growing brands in one of the fastest-growing sports.

That’s why ESPN paid billions to be a broadcast partner, and why bids will be entertained from the likes of Netflix when the new broadcast deal war heats up. However, while the product in Dana White’s promotion is top of the line, the presentation and overall marketing leave a lot to be desired.

The UFC’s Marketing Has Become Bland

There Is No Gripping Content On A Daily Basis

• MVP has brushed off how his announcement lacked pop.
• However, MVP he did admit his full-blown Undertaker debut was quashed by UFC’s creative team.
• Dana White also keeps pouring cold water on letting musicians perform during athlete walk-outs.

When someone has Conor McGregor’s return to announce, one would assume there would be a promo. UFC 300 was a great place to air it, yet White only announced it when a piece of paper was given to him after the event. It was anticlimactic, to say the least. It followed the same mold of when Michael “Venom” Page (aka MVP) was signed as a massive Bellator coup — White just stuffed it into a bunch of other announcements.

In general, the UFC has stopped with viral videos and rich, dynamic content after the 2016 incident where Ariel Helwani spoiled Brock Lesnar’s UFC 199 return. He was escorted out with his creative team, a giant rift ensued, and since then, the UFC has tamed the marketing. Even for UFC 300, the posters and promo were very ordinary. It was not until artist, Gian Galang, dropped a fight poster and t-shirts went on sale that it felt a bit different.

Come UFC 301 in Brazil, the UFC Embedded docuseries continued on YouTube. But it has become formulaic and derivative now, when daily content, unique posters per fighter, or suited to the countries or states events are in would feel more authentic. This builds hype and buzz throughout. Organically, too. Not just during fight week. Thankfully, the Fighter Series artwork continued — this time with Rafaella Tuma — but again, if this is to truly resonate, consistency and volume is needed. This strategy builds brands, not one-off approaches.

UFC’s Artistic Drive Can Enhance The Brand

With Such A Large, Interesting Roster, More Should Be Done

• Gian Galang has 34,000 followers on Instagram and 3000+ on X.
• The UFC can help provide more exposure and build artistic businesses.

Now, this isn’t to knock UFC’s documentary style. But WWE has done it for years. In fact, a lot about how the UFC has been modeled has been ripped from WWE — something White admitted in terms of storytelling and how much Vince McMahon influenced him. It’s ironic that both are now publicly traded under the Endeavor/TKO umbrella.

The advantage WWE has is that it’s scripted, so it can plot content miles in advance. It can also spin stories on heroes and villains easily. The UFC has to adapt to a tougher landscape, because it’s real: fighters get injured, markets get shifted, and one KO can turn a superstar into the next big thing, as seen with Steve Erceg. If the marketing is just stale graphics and the typical Embedded for PPVs, though, the brand will feel lazy, rudimentary and run-of-the-mill. It does an injustice to all these fighters from different walks of life, as well.

Working with more artists, not just digital ones, but graffiti ones from their locales would be rad. Throwing contests to crowdsource them and hear their stories of why they connect with certain fighters would work to the promotion’s benefit. It would be like Corporate Social Responsibility, with an edgy twist — providing loads of static and fluid content to show it’s more than a stable of fighters or fans who just show up to yell for violence in arenas.

The promo on Galang’s UFC 300 mural is already the perfect template — something that can be adapted for sculptors, graphic designers, and the lot. This would give the company marketing material and literal assets to use, akin to when White’s team hired a matchmaker from an online competition.

UFC’s Marketing Is Stuck In The Past

There Is A Lack Of Creative Evolution

• UFC’s deal with ESPN in 2018 was worth around $1.5 billion.
• Netflix is said to be in the running along with other streamers once the rights become available.
• WWE inked a deal worth more than $5 billion to send Monday Night Raw to Netflix.

Feeling outdated is the last thing White wants. Not when people still talk about Pride posters. Not when Rizin posters are still bangers. Not when rivals like the PFL are looking for ways to one-up the UFC. MMA Fighting judged fight posters recently with top Hollywood artist, Akiko Stehrenberger.

She illustrated posters for Oppenheimer, Dune: Part Two, etc. Now, the UFC had some good grades by her standards and metrics, but the best came from Rizin and Dream, unsurprisingly. If the UFC wants to evolve, be modern, imaginative, innovative and creative, it needs to push past older brands.

Themed posters, arthouse elements, linking to certain holidays (e.g. Mexican Independence) and such would illuminate the brand well. This moves past the use of just flags, colors and filters — aka what UFC mostly does. As it stands, most of these elements aren’t what fans or graphic designers would see as valuable collectibles, not for the price being charged.

UFC Has One Major Creative Rival

Saudi Arabia’s Boxing Project Is IMAX-Worthy Gold

• Turki Alalshikh keeps touting his project as the mecca of boxing.
• Fans and non-fans have taken to his style of marketing.
• The athletes love and enjoy the showmanship of this commercial venture.

Riyadh Season’s boxing is cinematic, to say the least. This pseudo-promotion drops Hollywood trailers as Turki Alalshikh keeps assembling the most entertaining fights around. The commercials for Francis Ngannou versus Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua were brilliant. They encompassed video game-style clips, CGI, and classy photography via staged shoots. This goes beyond posing with titles or just pulling clips from past fights.

The same thing has just happened with the trailer promoting Fury against Oleksandr Usyk. It looks like a Zack Snyder trailer with pirates, samurais, explosions and such. There is even a Fury vs. Usyk music video with stellar animation. Alalshikh also has comic book-homaging posters to hype the superhero aspect of this initiative. If anything, even a non-combat sports fan would be impressed. The Saudis do have deep pockets, but the UFC has money, too. It seems like the latter is resting on its laurels and is in a comfort zone.

With Riyadh Season poised to host events in England and the USA soon, it’s only a matter of time before the target market White wants — young adults with disposable income, artsy folks, podcasters, people who like content creators like Nina Drama — view this as hip. If the UFC then tries to conjure up something, they’ll be seen as reactive. It’s not a nice notion as White likes to get there first. It’s why he told Eddie Hearn to chill — the UFC will be the first to use the Sphere for combat sports on Mexican Independence. White has promised something epic. But he did that for UFC 300, only to have an average main card on paper.

Ultimately, a lack of trust is not a conundrum the UFC wants to have. If the brand is rising in stock, keep elevating it. Having a monopoly on putting on the best MMA fights is no excuse to having drab marketing. The Saudis have the best boxing cards at present and the UFC could learn a thing or two about how they intend to keep building that tourism brand: with a Hollywood finish that screams elite quality.