Dana White Goes Against Joe Rogan’s Approval and “Listens to the Fans” to Confirm End of UFC Apex as MMA World Rejoices at Bold Decision

 The UFC Apex as a venue for fights, may have reached the end of the road according to UFC boss, Dana White. The Nevada facility, which will host a WWE event next month, was officially launched in 2019. It has regularly been utilized for Fight Night events and has been hosting limited-capacity crowds as well, but now UFC is looking to lessen its visits to the Apex.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the facility was used to host UFC events behind closed doors. It has continued to host smaller events, such as the “UFC Fight Night” series. The Apex has a limited capacity of around 500 spectators although in 2022 UFC applied for a permit to host events with up to 1,000 people.

During the recent press conference after the UFC event in St. Louis, Dana White was asked if the promotion plans on using the Apex “more sparingly” and visiting more cities instead. The UFC CEO responded by stating, “Yeah…I’ve been saying this for a long time, we’ve got to get out of the Apex and start doing more events in all these different cities we’re starting to do it. We’re getting it done this year.” The facility has had its critics amongst fans, but veteran UFC color commentator Joe Rogan has been a fan of the venue.

According to Joe Rogan, the Apex trumps other notable venues like the T-Mobile Arena or Madison Square Garden as his preference to watch fights. In a conversation with bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley during the JRE MMA Show, Rogan exclaimed, “It’s the best place to see fights!”

UFC and Dana White were praised as one of the leading sports organizations for organizing events with full crowds in attendance post pandemic. At its peak in 2021, The Apex hosted 72% of the UFC’s total fight cards. In 2022, 50% of the fight cards emanated from the venue and in 2023 the number went down to 42%. So the writing may have been on the wall for some time.

Fans and even some UFC fighters have been wanting a move away from the Apex for quite some time. Jack Hermansson who fought and lost against Sean Strickland fighting at UFC Apex spoke of his desire to compete in front of bigger audiences.

“I’ve had enough of it, I don’t know how many fights I’ve had there now, and on top of that I had the fights during COVID without the audience, so I’m just sick of it. I want big arenas, big crowds. Something else. It’s cool to watch fights in the APEX, and it’s kind of cool on TV as well with the sound and everything, you can hear so much. But the experience is nowhere near to be fighting in front of a huge crowd,” Hermansson said during an appearance on the MMA Hour.

He further added, “I’m so turned on, in a way, when I’m in there. So I don’t think it affects my performance, but I do know it affects how enjoyable it is. Especially after you win a fight, to soak in that experience from the crowd. So the total experience is not that great without the crowd.”

So it comes as a little surprise that the fans appear to be siding with White’s decision instead of Joe Rogan’s preference for the venue as they took to the comments section to laud the UFC head honcho for his decision.

And it’s not just the fans who were happy, but UFC fighters too as the reactions indicate that many in the MMA world weren’t pleased with the Apex as a venue. Here’s a look at what the netizens had to say.

“A little box with no fans,” Dana White finds support from fans as UFC looks to move away from Apex

The UFC Apex was officially opened in 2019 and its first main roster fight card was UFC Vegas in May 2020. The venue has witnessed fights like Dustin Poirer vs Dan Hoker and Stipe Miocic vs Francis Ngannou 2 and some really hard hitting contests along the way. The Apex found its place during the pandemic, however fans believe it is high time for UFC to consider other bigger venues.

A fan proclaimed that the UFC was heading in a direction that they approved of under Dana White’s leadership and wrote, “Dana making the UFC great again”

Fans also pointed out that the limited capacity of the Apex didn’t align with the image of the UFC as the premiere MMA organization in the world and arenas with larger crowd capacities are much better suited for UFC fights. Sharing his approval a fan commented, “About time. Can’t be considering yourself a top Promotion when you’re doing majority of your shows in a little Box with no fans.”

Interestingly, the Apex will host WWE NXT’s “Battleground” event on June 9. UFC and WWE are both owned by parent company TKO Holdings. Could Dana White’s plan to move out of Apex mean for WWE events at the venue? For now, a fan was also concerned if UFC moving away from the Apex is a sign that the promotion might tone down the number of ‘Fight Night’ cards on its calendar. They wrote, “I just hope this doesn’t affect the frequency of fight night cards that happen”

UFC featherweight Josh Emmett also commented with a series of clapping hands emojis to indicate his approval of Dana White’s decision. And another name from the UFC, Eryk Anders wanted the promotion to continue to use the 25-foot wide Apex Octagon, smaller than the standard 30-foot version, in the future for some fights. He commented, “Keep the small cage tho.”

Fans have often felt that the lack of large crowds took away from some fights in the Apex. This little crowds felt and the closed space made a better spectacle during the post pandemic era, but it may be time to move on. A fan mentioned that they were happy with what UFC and Apex achieved in the pandemic but it is time to move on as they wrote, “thankful for it arriving hard during covid, but glad to see it go.”

Fans also pointed out that Dana White has his finger on the pulse of the fandom’s demands as such, this allows the UFC to shine where other promotions have failed.

“Dana listens to the fans. Something other promoters and organizations don’t do. So many girls crying in the comments about ufc apex and sh. Yall got what yall wanted,” wrote another fan. Overall, White’s decision reflects a strategic pivot aimed at meeting the evolving demands of fans and maintaining the UFC’s position as a leader in the world of mixed martial art. UFC is a big promotion and would want fans to perceive it as such.

But a contrasting opinion was also shared by one fan who pointed out that the Apex’s size made it particularly thrilling as viewers could hear the sounds of blows being landed and other details that slip through the broadcast in larger venues.

“Ngl I’ve always enjoyed the apex. I know people didn’t like it but the way we heard the punches land sounded so satisfying”

As the organization prepares to transition away from the Apex, it remains to be seen how this decision will shape the future landscape of UFC events and venues. What are your thoughts on the UFC Apex and do you agree with Dana White’s decision to transition away from it soon? Share them with us in the comments below!