UFC's strangely uncomfortable celebration of the history of their 30th anniversary

How can a company at its all-time peak be so awkward in telling their full story?

Art by Chris Rini

The history of the fight business is rapidly changing before us and nobody is blinking an eye. Change is happening so fast, you can't fully process it.

You could be forgiven for not being able to catch your breath at the sheer speed and volume of major events that have occurred in 2023. This year has felt like 20 years of activity compressed into one: The merger of UFC & WWE into TKO; Vince McMahon selling a healthy chunk of stock shares weeks after that said merger; UFC 295 at Madison Square Garden, which was supposed to be the crowning achievement for Jon Jones and erasing of Francis Ngannou after he left to go box Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia; KSA investing $100 million dollars into PFL; The end of Showtime Sports and PBC on that network despite three 2023 events with $20 million dollar gates; Conor McGregor announcing a 2024 return to UFC and the expulsion of USADA running UFC’s drug testing program in favor of hiring former FBI boss George Piro.

These are monumental flashpoints in a fight business where the stakes are gotten so high, so quickly that the barriers of entry continue to skyrocket. We’re not talking about horse-trading millions of dollars any longer. We’re talking billions involving publicly traded companies and world governments.

With all of these data points, your brain isn’t naturally wired to process the bigger picture in such a hyperactive informational loop. That creates the perfect conditions for history to be constantly rewritten by those in power. It only takes one generation to erase the entire history of an industry. You may have had that feeling watching UFC 295 last weekend at MSG.

What 30th anniversary?

You didn’t know it was the 30th anniversary of UFC last weekend? You’re not alone in noticing what felt like a missed chance of a coronation & celebration of the organization’s history. Here’s former UFC public relations & Fight Pass staffer Ant Evans: