UFC Vegas 116 has wrapped up, but not without stirring up some drama for UFC 328. During Saturday’s Fight Night, a promotional video dropped for the upcoming event, headlined by Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland. However, the clip’s attempt to channel a Sopranos-style theme didn’t quite land with fans.

“I feel like they are just trolling us now,” Helwani wrote on X while sharing the promo. “What is going on here?”

If you had to sum up the promo, it feels something like this: You drive around New Jersey filming random snippets—street signs, traffic lights, quick flashes of the fight announcement—then slap a poster onto a building before ending on the event date. This appears to have worked well for ‘The Sopranos’, so why not a UFC fight? 

In case you didn’t know, ‘The Sopranos’ is deeply rooted in New Jersey. And it’s not just set there—the state shapes its identity, characters, humor, and cultural impact. Creator David Chase, who is a New Jersey native from Clifton and North Caldwell, made the show a love letter to the Garden State’s suburbs, industrial grit, Italian-American communities, and everyday life north of the Turnpike.

The idea appears to be too obvious. UFC 328 is heading to the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, so why not rip off the show’s intro to promote UFC 328? Yet, it’s not the first time UFC has held a fight in the venue. The promotion has held as many as 11 events in the state so far, with the upcoming event, scheduled for May 9, making it UFC’s 12th trip to the state.

In any case, when fans discovered the post from Helwani, they quickly joined the backlash against the MMA promotion. 

Promo for UFC 328 was branded as terrible by fans

While it’s unclear whether Ariel Helwani got the reference or not, fans quickly did. “Looks like the Sopranos, I think? Not saying it’s good… just what they were going for,” one user posted. For a company making billions, people expected a lot more ‘umph’ in the promo. 

Meanwhile, this fan disliked the promo so much that he asked Helwani to stop covering the promotion. “Dude. I’d stop covering the @ufc and just interview the fighters. Their own promoter has given up, and until they do something decent, the UFC will have maybe 1 superfight a year. All fighters should leave if they are barely taken care of by this,” the user wrote. But that’s unlikely to happen since UFC is not just the biggest MMA promotion; a major part of Helwani’s content revolves around the UFC. 

Someone else found the promo to be funny. And that doesn’t mean they liked it. “Trying to make New Jersey look cinematic is so funny. Also, terrible promo lol,” the fan commented. The choice of creativity with the promo is especially lacking since Sean Strickland, a loudmouth trash talker, is involved. It doesn’t quite suit the fighters themselves. 

However, not everyone was against the promo. One fan posted: “Are you serious? It’s inspired by The Sopranos intro. This is one of the best promos we’ve gotten yet.” ‘The Sopranos’ ran for six seasons, and it’s not just a beloved show, but one that often invokes nostalgia among its fans. 

Another fan tried to make Helwani understand why UFC chose the theme for the promo. “It’s like The Sopranos, Ariel! Paramount recently purchased the rights to the HBO series,” the user revealed. Although Paramount Skydance reached a definitive agreement to acquire all of Warner Bros. Discovery in a $110–111 billion all-cash deal, the deal is not yet closed. 

In any case, a majority of UFC’s fans aren’t too pleased with the promo for UFC 328. However, this is nothing new. Similar backlash followed the promo for UFC Freedom 250, which allegedly used AI. But what do you make of this promo?