The UFC didn’t announce a fight this week. It announced a joke, and immediately, the combat sports world exploded with reactions. The promotion recently dropped a 30-second parody ad on social media featuring Dustin Poirier, Rose Namajunas, Cory Sandhagen, Miesha Tate, and Chael Sonnen dancing and belting out dramatic lines much like a musical on a Broadway-style stage built to look like the Octagon.

“Not all ideas are good ones” was the caption attached to the post. Then came the pivot to Black Rifle Coffee. It was campy on purpose. But it landed right in the middle of a moment when fans are already loud about commercials and wanting more fights.

The clip itself leaned hard into the bit. The fighters sing and dance. Comedian Brian Callen pops up as a mock director on the sidelines. It’s ridiculous, and the UFC knows it. The promotion has been tied to Black Rifle Coffee for years, and with the Paramount+ era still finding its rhythm, this felt like another experiment in how to keep eyeballs on non-fight content.

The irony isn’t lost on fans, though. With UFC 324 drawing a lot of backlash about commercials cutting into the event, walkouts, and corner work, the UFC drops a musical ad about how “not all ideas are good ones.” The timing alone guaranteed reactions.

There’s also the Dustin Poirier layer to this. ‘The Diamond’ recently went viral for his three-word reply to Nate Diaz’s White House callout, which snapped the fanbase back into fight-discourse mode. One moment, it’s unfinished business with Diaz, the next it’s Broadway lights.

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To be fair, the ad doesn’t pretend to be serious. The UFC caption literally calls the idea out for what it is. However, there’s a case to be made that letting fighters show personality outside the cage can help the brand feel bigger than just violence!

Fans left questioning UFC’s latest commercial with Dustin Poirier and other fighters putting on a musical

Aljamain Sterling and Laura Sanko both dropped a series of crying laughing emojis under the post. “This is great!!” wrote ‘The Funkmaster,’ and Sanko added, “Amazing”. Some fans just enjoy seeing fighters loosen up. Not every UFC post has to be blood and rankings. There’s room for a laugh, especially when the ad is openly making fun of itself. The joke works if you’re in the mood for it.

Brandon Royval added his own jab as he wrote, “@corysandhagenmma blink twice if you need help.” This lands because Sandhagen looked especially committed to the bit. The humor here highlights the awkwardness of seeing a killer at 135 lbs doing show tunes. That contrast is funny because it messes with our mental image of fighters as always locked in. It humanizes them, even when the joke is simply ‘are you okay, bro?’

Matt Schnell wrote, “Dustin actually has a lovely singing voice. Can confirm.” Schnell’s comment hits different because of the gym connection. He’s trained at ATT. He’s been around Dustin Poirier. That inside nod turns the joke into a small character moment. For some, it’s those little truths that make the promo feel less like a corporate bit and more like friends messing around.

One fan wrote, “Announce some fights man.” This is the tension in one line. The UFC is in a moment where fans want clarity: White House matchups, unifications, title paths. When that info is missing, any promo can feel like a distraction. The complaint isn’t about the musical being bad. It’s about priorities. Fans will laugh, but they still want their fight updates!

Another fan wrote, “See and this is why Dustin won’t fight @natediaz209.” This one’s unfair, but it’s nothing new for MMA fandom logic. When Dustin Poirier pops up in a comedy spot days after Diaz calls him out, some people read it as he’s busy doing skits. That’s not reality; promotions don’t dictate fight readiness, but perception matters online. The UFC lives in moments, and moments get stitched together into narratives, whether they’re accurate or not.

And finally, another viewer asked, “How did they get everyone to agree to this.” That’s the funniest meta question of the bunch. Getting five recognizable fighters to sing and dance on cue is no small feat.

For some fans, it was a fun, self-aware breather in a sport that’s usually all tension and stakes. For others, it felt like noise during a moment when people are hungry for bookings, White House clarity, and real movement in the divisions. Both reactions can be true at the same time. Letting fighters show a different side doesn’t hurt the UFC’s image. But timing always shapes how a joke lands.