The Octagon is finally back in Shanghai! After nearly eight years away, Dana White’s promotion returns to Mainland China with Johnny Walker taking on Zhang Mingyang in a light heavyweight showdown at UFC Fight Night 257. It’s a historic homecoming, one that will see Chinese fans pack the Shanghai Indoor Stadium for the first time since Michael Bisping vs. Kelvin Gastelum in 2017.

But as the excitement builds, a familiar debate has resurfaced: the start times. The prelims are scheduled for 3 a.m. ET, with the main card walkout at around 6 a.m. ET. As such, just hours before the card goes live, Reddit lit up with memes and complaints about how the “rest of the world” bends around America’s viewing schedule.

The meme that sparked the uproar on the UFC subreddit showed “reasonable UFC start times” being dominated by the USA, while the rest of the world was left catching drops from a pipe. It hit a nerve. For years, international fans have stayed up until dawn to watch UFC cards live. The timing couldn’t be more interesting.

Dana White and the UFC’s current broadcast deal with ESPN is nearing its end, with fights moving to Paramount+ and CBS in 2026. That shift is meant to expand the audience and lower costs for fans in the United States. But even with those changes, the issue of global start times will always be thorny.

In many ways, this debate is bigger than Shanghai. It’s about what happens when a U.S.-centric sport truly goes international. Can the UFC balance global fan bases, or will start times always tilt toward the American audience that drives the most revenue? The fans are making their voices heard loud and clear as we take a look at what the redditors had to say!

Is it worth losing your sleep over, fans ask ahead of UFC Shanghai

One fan wrote, “Idk even on the east coast, staying up until 1am for the headliner is kinda annoying.” It’s a fair point. Even without the Shanghai time zone, East Coast fans often find themselves sacrificing sleep for UFC main events. Cards built around Las Vegas schedules may work for the West Coast, but those on the East feel the fatigue week after week.

Another added, “Dude I get depressed when I see Americans complain about staying up til 1 AM. To watch the main fight, I need to stay up til 6-8AM depending on the card.” Here lies the global divide. Fans in Europe, Asia, and beyond know the struggle too well. For them, this weekend’s early U.S. start time is simply a taste of what they endure almost every fight night.

A different comment summed it up with, “Nah the only reasonable time here in the U.S. is West Coast. Watching fights in the East Coast sucks.” The West Coast has always had the advantage. A Las Vegas pay-per-view starts at dinner time, not midnight. For American fans outside that bubble, fight nights often stretch into Sunday mornings.

One fan looked at the positives as they pointed out, “Australia has it best. The card doesn’t take up other plans you may have Saturday night and you can watch on Sunday at lunchtime.” For Aussie fans, instead of juggling late nights or early alarms, they get a perfectly timed afternoon of fights, proof that geography can turn viewing into a luxury.

Finally, one fan voiced frustration as they wrote, “Nah bro I literally can’t watch the fights anymore now that I’m not willing to lose weekend sleep for it. They should have the headliner at like 10 ET and I would watch every PPV, but instead I just watch highlights these days.” This captures the real risk. If fans stop tuning in live, the UFC loses its edge as a must-watch spectacle. Highlights may fill the gap, but they’ll never replace the rush of watching history unfold in real time. What do you think?

The UFC Shanghai card has done more than bring the Octagon back to China; it’s exposed a deeper truth about fight fandom. The start time debate has once again shown how divided the global fanbase can be. Should the UFC and Dana White keep tailoring cards to the U.S. audience, or is it time to spread the inconvenience equally? Let us know in the comments below!