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Some fans might not like to admit it but, in many aspects, the worlds of the UFC and WWE are extremely close.
UFC prides itself on being “as real as it gets” and doesn’t script its matches like WWE. However, that hasn’t stopped the MMA promotion from being inspired by the pro-wrestling giant.
These days, of course, it’s arguable that the UFC is more successful than WWE worldwide – particularly when it comes to pay-per-view buys.
However, it’s also unarguable that the UFC would probably not be where it is today without inspiration from Vince McMahon’s promotion.
Here are five reasons why the UFC wouldn’t be the same without WWE.
#5. The UFC’s outlandish personalities are inspired directly by those of WWE
The world of WWE has always been built on the back of the promotion’s outlandish, outspoken personalities.
While it’s important for a wrestler to be able to work inside the ring, WWE’s biggest stars – names like The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin and John Cena – all reached the highest levels of stardom due to their personalities and abilities on the microphone.
The UFC is slightly different in that to succeed in the promotion, you’ve got to have some high-level fighting abilities at least. But at the highest level – just like in WWE – to become a money-drawing megastar it’s all about whether you’ve got a larger-than-life persona.
The biggest stars in UFC history – names like Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey and Ken Shamrock – all drew the fans in with their ability to talk a good game and act like huge stars.
Even less outlandish stars like Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva were simply playing WWE-style good guys. They did some of their best work alongside seemingly villainous foils like Nick Diaz and Chael Sonnen.
The UFC obviously doesn’t create quite as wild characters as WWE does – you won’t see any UFC fights taking place under red lighting, for instance.
Dana White and his crew clearly understand that to become a star with the fans, a fighter needs to have a lot of personality and ability on the microphone. This is a lesson that the UFC has learned directly from WWE.
#4. The UFC pushes feuds to build fights just like WWE does
The UFC encouraging its fighters to play outlandish characters just like WWE superstars only works if fans are willing to part with money to see them fight. This leads us to our second point.
Just like WWE, the UFC attempts to push feuds between fighters – often hoping that they’ll turn personal and bitter – to build up to fights in an attempt to suck the fans in.
Of course, the UFC doesn’t rely on weekly programming and various skits to build its feuds like WWE does. They’ve found different methods to succeed. The majority of the UFC’s biggest feuds are built by fighters slinging insults at one another in the media. They will continue this at the various press conferences the UFC uses to promote its events.
On other occasions, the UFC has positioned two feuding fighters as coaches on its reality show The Ultimate Fighter to build to a big fight. Other fights, meanwhile, are given a UFC Prime Time series to highlight a rivalry.
Unsurprisingly, this approach largely works. The wild incidents that shaped the Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov rivalry helped their fight become the biggest drawing success in MMA history.
We’ve even seen lesser UFC headliners such as Kevin Lee vs. Michael Chiesa become must-see fare after wild incidents at UFC press conferences. Boxers like Muhammad Ali were slinging insults at their foes to build up their fights decades ago. However, the idea of feuding fighters that the UFC loves was almost directly lifted from WWE.
#3. The UFC often rewards undeserving fighters and ignores more deserving ones just as WWE does
One of the major criticisms faced by WWE is that they pick and choose which wrestlers are given the biggest opportunities to succeed.
As WWE is scripted, this naturally has nothing to do with wins and losses. It has more to do with which wrestlers Vince McMahon and his acolytes believe can become superstars. They often don’t seem to agree with WWE fans on this, preferring to reward athletes for a flashy look more than their in-ring ability.
The UFC was not necessarily like this a few years ago. Fighters like Jon Fitch, Nate Marquardt and Jeff Monson moved into headline spots due to their winning streaks, despite their less marketable personalities.
In recent years, however, that’s changed. Today, deserving fighters on lengthy winning streaks are often ignored. The UFC prioritizes giving headline spots to fighters who they believe can draw the most money.
Quite often, those fighters aren’t coming off long winning streaks. The likes of Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz, for instance, have been given multiple major fights, even for UFC titles in Masvidal's case. Some of these have come after losses, while others struggle for traction despite numerous wins.
Essentially, the UFC’s habit of rewarding undeserving fighters is one that’s come directly from WWE. It may not exist were it not for the pro-wrestling promotion making it the norm to do the same.
#2. The UFC relies heavily on a pay-per-view model as WWE once did
The UFC and WWE now both make plenty of money through bumper television deals with ESPN and Fox respectively. However, it’s still safe to say that the UFC’s biggest fights are reserved for pay-per-view.
The UFC’s idea of using pay-per-views to sell its biggest fights probably wouldn’t have come about were it not for the success of WWE in that particular market. The advent of WWE’s first big pay-per-view, WrestleMania, opened up the door. By the late 1990s, WWE was producing monthly pay-per-view shows to massive success.
If anything, the UFC has taken that idea and made it even more successful. The MMA juggernaut now regularly produces a handful of pay-per-views each year that draw over a million buys. Like WWE, the UFC uses its free TV shows to build these pay-per-views up in the eyes of the fans.
The days of the UFC using catchy subtitles for pay-per-views – just like WWE – are now seemingly gone. However, it’s almost certain that without WWE’s success in the area, the UFC never would’ve built its empire on the back of pay-per-view shows.
#1. The UFC always ensures its brand comes first – just like WWE
It’s hard to deny the idea that the UFC creates superstars. Names like Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey and Nate Diaz are household names amongst sports fans. They would never have reached the levels they’re at without the UFC behind them.
However, there’s one star that the UFC will always push above and beyond any of its individual fighters, and that star is the UFC brand itself. Dana White and the UFC’s promotional team clearly recognize that while star fighters can come and go, the brand will always remain.
As long as they ensure that the brand comes first, they’ll never see legions of fans defect to follow a single fighter who might leave the promotion.
This idea would probably not exist were it not for WWE running with the exact same model for years beforehand. WWE started pushing its brand to the forefront after losing the likes of The Rock and Steve Austin in the early 2000s.
However, it’s safe to say that the model has been hugely effective. WWE doesn’t have any stars on the level of Austin or The Rock these days, but its brand is arguably bigger than ever before.
The same can be said for the UFC, which has continued to push ahead seamlessly. It has grown year after year despite losing stars such as Rousey, Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre along the way.
UFC has lifted many of its business practices from boxing – perhaps a closer cousin to MMA than pro-wrestling – but the idea of the brand coming first has come directly from WWE. It’s allowed the UFC to reach unimaginable heights.
