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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES SEPTEMBER 8, 2019: Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, at a news conference following a title unification bout between UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier at the UFC 242 mixed martial arts tournament. Valery Sharifulin/TASS (Photo by Valery SharifulinTASS via Getty Images)
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ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES SEPTEMBER 8, 2019: Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, at a news conference following a title unification bout between UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier at the UFC 242 mixed martial arts tournament. Valery Sharifulin/TASS (Photo by Valery SharifulinTASS via Getty Images)
The UFC started 2022 with an electrifying main event as ‘The Boston Finisher’ Calvin Kattar clinched a victory over ‘Ninja’ Giga Chikadze in their five-round war. The fight was one of the best ones that UFC fans could get in the new year as they got to relive the experience after almost a month.
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In the time the UFC has been away, the MMA community has raised questions about UFC’s decision to raise pay-per-view prices by $5. This time, directly to Dana White.
The UFC President, who sat in with journalists and reporters at the post-fight presser of UFC Vegas 46, revealed that he also doesn’t love the decision to raise prices.
“We don’t; we don’t have any say in that; you know. We gave the pay-per-views to ESPN. So, yeah, that’s their decision. You know how I feel about that stuff. I don’t love when prices get raised, but it’s not my decision, it’s theirs,” White explained.
UFC 270: Ngannou vs Gane will be the UFC’s costliest PPV. The event, which will feature two title fights (Francis Ngannou vs Ciryl Gane & Deiveson Figueiredo vs Brandon Moreno), is set to go down on January 22 in what will be the UFC’s return to California.
What is the PPV price hike issue that Dana White addressed?
After wrapping up a massive financially profitable year in 2021, the UFC’s exclusive broadcasting partner, ESPN+ decided to raise the pay-per-view prices by $5. Hence, the PPV events that first cost around $69.99 will now be available at $74.99.
The ESPN+ PPV Package (which includes one PPV event and an annual subscription) also went up to $99.98 instead of $89.98
— Mark La Monica (@LaMonicaMark) January 6, 2022
Not only pay-per-views, but ESPN has also increased the rates for its ESPN+ package that includes a yearly subscription to its streaming service, i.e. ESPN+. Along with that, the viewers get to choose a single UFC pay-per-view live event of their choice.
This decision has not sat well with many in the MMA fraternity; UFC superstar, Sean O’Malley himself, called out Dana White after the hike.
WATCH THIS STORY- Five Potential Opponents for Calvin Kattar After a Dominant Win Over Giga Chikadze at UFC Vegas 46
What are your thoughts on the price hike? Let us know in the comments below.
