Why is UFC More Popular Than Boxing?

MMA and boxing are the two most-viewed combat sports in the world. But there is a certain level of disparity between these two. The largest MMA organization in the world, the UFC, scrapes ahead while boxing finds it hard to retain its stance.

A comparison between the two worlds is inevitable. People are going to weigh them side by side and pick one over the other. Recently, people have been more inclined towards the UFC as it steams ahead in terms of popularity. Crowds flock to the area to watch a UFC fight while boxing stands on the verge of disappearance.

Okay, the scales aren’t that off, but here are a few factors that might be the cause for tipping the scales in the favor of UFC.

The secret behind UFC’s success

The UFC gives fans the fights they want to watch. Excitement is what drives their brand. They sometimes even surprise their fans with fights they didn’t know they wanted.

Fighters do get a say in whom they want to fight, but if you turn down the number one contender, be prepared to be stripped off the title. But boxing doesn’t work like that. Dodging and ducking fights as per the fighter’s whims and fancies are quite common.

The vibe the cage gives off when compared to the ring is also a significant factor. Two men locked in with no escape what so ever and all that’s on their mind is to knock the other one out. Simple but perfect!

Another angle to this is the unilateral approach to UFC when compared to boxing. Boxing has multiple legitimate top-level sanctioning bodies that run the sport. Furthermore, each body has its separate belts for each of their 17 weight divisions. That leaves us with a total of 68 possible “best in the world.”

UFC is on the top of the chain and runs everything. Just one authoritarian and just eight divisions to award titles for sure stands out, whereas boxing has the WBA, WBO, WBC, and IBF to name a few.

Even during the ongoing pandemic, the UFC is backpacking views like never before. UFC 251 recorded an average viewership of 1.3 million viewers. Meanwhile, the Dillian Whyte vs Alexander Povetkin fight was expected to chart anything around 300,000 buys. The numbers speak for themselves.

Another example can be the fight between Canelo Alvarez vs Sergey Kovalev being postponed by several minutes as UFC 244 was live at the same time.

Lastly, when it comes to decisions at the end of fights, Dana White’s promotion provides a more satisfying result. Though everyone might not agree with the result, there is a clear winner at the end of most fights. Only a few UFC fights end in a draw. All those punches thrown and eaten don’t go to waste!