Should UFC stop hosting at Apex after Alex Perez vs. Tatsuro Taira marks the 100th event at the venue? [Opinion]
The UFC's most recent event, UFC Vegas 93, transpired at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, on June 15, 2024. It was headlined by a flyweight bout, which saw Tatsuro Taira defeat Alex Perez via second-round TKO after Perez seemingly suffered a knee injury.
There was widespread disappointment regarding the anticlimactic finish, and the card as a whole was deemed rather unexciting. Nevertheless, UFC Vegas 93 was significant from a historical and statistical perspective, as it marked the 100th UFC Apex event.
The Apex's official opening took place in June 2019. In the following months, the COVID-19 global pandemic adversely affected sports organizations' ability to have events with fans in attendance. In early 2020, then-UFC president (now-UFC CEO) Dana White was at the forefront of restarting the organization of major sports events.
The White-helmed UFC held UFC Vegas 1 at the Apex in May 2020, with only fighters and other important personnel required to organize the fight card present. Multiple such UFC fight cards followed at the Apex, and no fans were allowed to attend.
Moreover, from UFC Vegas 32 (July 2021) onward, the promotion has given fans the opportunity to purchase VIP tickets/packages, whereby a limited number of fans can attend Apex fight cards.
Many feel the Apex cards lack the energy and ambience of UFC events that take place at bigger arenas with a greater number of fans in attendance. The UFC supposedly reaps tremendous benefits in regard to revenue by organizing events in its own arena (i.e., the Apex), which is what has led to many fight cards at the Apex in recent years.
UFC Apex events — Dana White recently echoed the sentiments of the MMA community
Intriguingly, during the UFC Louisville post-fight press conference on June 8, 2024, Dana White alluded to what many fans have been discussing. The 54-year-old acknowledged that events with a large number of fans in attendance considerably outshine the Apex cards with a much smaller audience.
White implied that the UFC has broken barriers by traveling to different places and drawing fans to venues even without notable local fighters on the card. Furthermore, much to the delight of fans, he signaled that the UFC would likely hold fewer Apex cards moving forward. The UFC head honcho stated:
"I've been saying this for a long time. We've got to get out of the Apex, start doing more events in all these different cities. And we're starting to do it. We're getting it done this year."
Watch White's assessment below:
The UFC, akin to most other global sports organizations, depends on maximizing profits. It enables them to consistently provide a high-quality product. Regardless, there's got to be a point of diminishing returns from its strategy of holding events at the Apex.
In 2023, UFC's parent company Endeavor acquired the WWE. In a $21.4 billion-worth UFC-WWE merger, TKO Group Holdings was formed, which operates the UFC and WWE as separate entities just as they were before. The Apex even hosted the WWE's NXT Battleground event on June 9, 2024.
Needless to say, the UFC can most definitely afford to host many, if not all, of its Apex events in different venues across the world.
Here's hoping that Dana White's aforementioned indications are a sign of things to come. The UFC should continue expanding its reach around the globe. With markets such as India, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and more, eager to host UFC events, the organization could surely ascend to even more magnificent heights of success by shifting the Apex cards to bigger arenas in the US and elsewhere.