Why UFC now resembles WWE

There’s a tradition of mixed martial arts practitioners and their fans looking down on pro wrestling because the fights have predetermined outcomes, the action is largely planned for the purpose of not hurting anyone, and the storylines can be pretty absurd or even juvenile. Just the same, fans of both enterprises have pointed out that the biggest MMA promotion in the world, UFC, has felt a bit more like WWE in recent years.

Maybe it’s a natural result of guys like Brock Lesnar and CM Punk coming over and becoming big draws (even if Punk hasn’t exactly thrived as a fighter). Maybe it’s simple business sense.

While other combat sports like boxing having largely receded in our contemporary times, UFC feels increasingly energized for the sheer fact of its theatrics. Some fans might balk at choices like moving UFC 232 from Nevada to California to work around Jon Jones’s drug test. This choice underscores UFC prioritizing having a premium draw over more fiercely protecting the integrity of the sport. Additionally, there’s an argument to be made that, rather than dodge controversy, UFC consciously sought it out in this instance.

UFC has become all about marketing big fights that feature big personalities. The fights are, by all indications, still legitimate. But there’s little denying that Dana White and company particularly loved Ronda Rousey because she could draw. Lesnar remains in the UFC conversation not out of pure talent, but because he can still dependably draw heat and draw in wrestling fans who might not ordinarily shell out for an MMA PPV. Additionally, all of the theatrics surrounds Conor McGregor, and specifically, his feud with Khabib Nurmagomedov feel rooted in more than two fighters who don’t get along, but rather in the two of them and UFC working to build a marketable rivalry. The war of words on social media between Jones and Daniel Cormier seems to hint at a similar dynamic and eventual rematch over there, too.

Pro wrestling is, at its core, built on the premise of offering fans the spectacle of combat with the business savvy edge of keeping the athletes safe and ultimately focusing on storytelling over the sheer competition. While UFC continues to emphasize sports over entertainment, it’s little surprise that they’d take pages from WWE’s playbook as the brand continues to evolve.