Is MMA’s Popularity on the Way Down? - Details

One year ago, Mixed Martial Arts was all the rage. UFC had just bought PRIDE, promising fresh matchups in the octagon between the best fighters from the two promotions. Chuck Liddell was on the cover of ESPN The Magazine in anticipation of his bout with PRIDE middleweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. And then Liddell lost. Badly.

How has MMA held up in the year since UFC 71? The sport remains healthy at the top levels, but has taken a step back. Liddell-Jackson earned 675,000 PPV buys; Liddell vs. Keith Jardine at UFC 76 drew 475,000 buyers, and last month’s UFC 83 featuring Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Serra pulled in 525,000 according to early estimates. Those are still impressive numbers.

Meanwhile, smaller organizations like the International Fight League are trying to stay afloat long enough to capture a piece of the growing MMA media footprint. Their new hexagonal cage is a concession to UFC’s success. Others will follow.