When it all started for the UFC, president and CEO Dana White took charge of the organization and envisioned its massive future back then in 2001. Looking back at that time, White said: “I never told the story before. But at the time, Bob Myers had stripped this thing down to all we bought were those three letters, which was the trademark, really wasn’t even that strong at the time. Old wooden octagon and 10 or twelve contracts. That’s all we owned.”  And now, he is about to massively upgrade the UFC Apex arena with a budget of $ 20 Million. But is that a good call? Let’s dissect this issue.

While veterans like Joe Rogan said, “It’s the best place to see fights!” there were many who stood against the Apex, like Brendan Schaub who said, “That sucks it’s so; it’s such a selfish thing I’m not saying Joe, at all you know I adore Joe, yeah. But take Joe out of it when people go, ‘I like the fact that I can hear the actual punches, I can hear the corner.’ That’s so selfish cause for the rest for everybody else including the fighters the performers it fu** sucks.” But Dana White cannot be dissuaded.

“It’s gonna be bigger and better. We’re doing like a $20 million expansion on the Apex. There’s gonna be hospitality, more bathrooms. Bigger. More seating. Yeah, we’re expanding.” This is what Dana White had to say after he announced the renovation of the Apex. Clearly, he’s visualizing for us a new and upgraded UFC Apex, one with more than just a few seats and a smaller cage. With more seats, a bigger cage and an arena-like feel, competitors will feel a certain level of authenticity to that of an area with a crowd. And that’s what UFC vet Jim Miller does not like about the Apex.

The fighter with the most fights in UFC history and veteran Jim Miller, stressed upon the debilitating details of the arena’s environment and mental impact on a fighter due to the isolation the arena brings. On the path of retirement, Jim Miller said: “... fighting in a room this big, this is not how this is supposed to go down. I get that tunnel vision when I’m fighting, when the clock is ticking I don’t really hear much. If something big happens or you know you here a burst, and my mom was there, I could here my mom scream. Which is weird. But in between rounds I hear it. I can still hear the crowd in between rounds of the first fight with Lozan. It was deafening. Before I emailed Jon to get this fight, I told him, I got a few more fights in me, five at best. I wanna fight in front of the audience, so yeah, here we are.”

But he was not dismissive of the role the indoor arena played during the pandemic. Miller credited the UFC and the Apex for keeping the show going when the rest of the world was shut down or quarantined. But it’s been five years since then and now all the Apex does is invite the ire of fans and fighters alike.

Just last month, the UFC dropped Dominick Cruz‘s retirement package video during UFC Vegas 103 at the Apex. In their defense, Cruz was the color commentator there. But, come on. He deserves better than that! The bantamweight GOAT candidate deserved to bow out in front of an arena of screaming fans – a sentiment that echoed in the reactions from pros like Al Iaquinta. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

The UFC is currently in a deadlock with their streaming partner ESPN. While the promotion is unhappy with the technical issues that are becoming increasingly common during live events, the broadcaster is not happy with the numbers the UFC is pulling. The supposed decline in quality can be attributed to many things – lack of big stars, overpriced PPV cards, and most importantly, the Apex events which the fans believe are usually subpar.

So, shouldn’t White be investing that $20M somewhere more productive – like the feeder shows like Contender Series and The Ultimate Fighter? There are also talks on social media forums that the UFC is hiring subpar talent to put on weekly events and keep the wheels moving. Wrestling-heavy fighters holding championship titles don’t help the cause either. At the time when the UFC has reached its peak viewership, establishing fighters on a smaller level may just boost the organization in all the ways it is lagging behind. But, White is grazing newer pastures while fans are screaming about the holes in his ship.

Recently, Dana White announced a partnership with TKO for a boxing promotion to be launched in 2025. While this seems to be the next step in the elevation of White’s business ventures, many believe that the UFC’s decline in viewership entails a much bigger threat to the future of Dana White. It shows that White’s latest investment may not be so fruitful for him and TKO Boxing.

Is this the right time for Dana White to turn to Boxing?

Legends of MMA, many of whom have built their name and career in the UFC, have turned to boxing for their final bouts. From the cross-promotional appeal to the big-money payouts, there are more than enough reasons to leave your gloves in the ring rather than the Octagon. From Conor McGregor to Nate Diaz, the biggest names in UFC have made serious dough in the ring. It puts MMA in a tight spot. It shows the contrasting difference between the payouts of fighters to those of boxers.

The inclusion of such names in the boxing ring has only sent even more MMA legends to be able to ride off into the sunset with a final fight and a huge check. That is the ideal career a fighter wishes for, for being able to earn money that does not demean their worth. A fighter makes a huge sacrifice stepping inside the cage, although boxing understands the issue and pain of the fighters, many fighters in the UFC have been bitter or left that way because the promotion cannot even nearly compensate them to match boxing’s scale.

Although Boxing remains in a dominant position over MMA in terms of bigger paychecks, most issues in MMA exist because of Boxing’s already established roots since way before UFC’s foundations. With new stars in every corner of the sport, a breakthrough is certain for the organization in the future. UFC has many international events lined up for this year, with shows all around the globe, White has promised a huge investment for the renovation of the UFC Apex to enhance the arena’s experience. Is it the right call?