“The pay-per-view money is not like it used to be, though, because 50% of people are streaming it. I mean, I made that number at 50%, might be more, could be less.” Sean O’Malley previously hinted at the gradual fall in PPV money, as he weighed in on the losses that came with a lost belt. But now, despite the excitement around UFC Kansas City, Dana White was forced to witness a major loss. And it was all about the falling gate revenue.
MMA journalist, Jed I. Goodman, shared an update on X that sent the entire fighting community into their thinking capsules. He shared that the announced gate value for UFC Kansas City was around $2.2 million ($2,204,307 to be exact), and only 15,984 fight fans attended the event, as Ian Machado Garry rose victorious over Carlos Prates with a unanimous decision win. At first glance, the numbers might seem high, but the arena has a reported seating capacity of 19,000. But to those who have been following the Ultimate Fighting Championship for some time now, it is pretty well known that the MMA promotion has previously achieved far better numbers. And that’s what Goodman highlighted.
But let’s be fair. This isn’t something that’s new in the fighting realm. There were reports that even UFC 311 had a bunch of empty seats at the Intuit Dome, Los Angeles. But how far below was the gate for UFC Kansas City in comparison with other traveling Fight Night events? Goodman shared the gate and attendance for a few of UFC’s Fight Nights outside the Apex and Riyadh in 2025. UFC Mexico had announced a gate of $2,530,473, and 19,731 people had attended it. UFC London, which showed Sean Brady’s dominance over Leon Edwards, had the highest gate. The announced gate for UFC London was $4,711,410, and 18,583 fans were in attendance. UFC Seattle was next with a gate of $3,841,751.94. And the attendance? The UFC had announced it to be 18,287.
Nevertheless, the graph is indeed on an increasing slope if we take a look at the previous UFC Kansas City events. UFC on ESPN 44 entertained the fight fans with Max Holloway’s win over Arnold Allen. But the gate for the event was just around $400K less than this week’s UFC Kansas City. Despite it being an event from 2023, UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. Allen garnered a gate of $2,180,096, with 16,234 people in attendance. However, the increase in the gate and attendance is significant if we look at UFC on FOX 24. The event took place in 2017 and marked the UFC’s debut in the city. The announced gate for the event was $1,081,193, and only 12,171 fans attended it.
Other UFC Kansas City Events:
UFC on ESPN 44: Holloway vs. Allen
April 15, 2023
Announced Gate: $2,180,096.
Announced Attendance: 16,234
UFC on Fox 24: Johnson vs. Reis
April 15, 2017
Announced Gate: $1,081,193
Announced Attendance: 12,171
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) April 27, 2025
The headache for Dana White is real indeed, even though there are several factors that determine the attendance and ticket sales revenue. And most of these factors are out of the UFC’s control. For example, the difference in ticket price at different venues and the different seating capacities of the arenas. T-Mobile Center has a capacity of accommodating 18K fans. Yet, only 15,984 fans attended the event live. Of course, depending on the main card, arenas can remain half empty or go houseful. This time, things were a bit unfortunate for White.
But what exactly happened with the UFC? Why aren’t people opting to buy tickets and watch the Fight Nights live? The answer lies in UFC’s broadcasting. Many fans seemed to have begun to opt to stay in the comfort of their homes and watch the bouts online. But falling gate money isn’t the only headache for the UFC head honcho.
Joe Rogan highlights the PPV troubles for Dana White
Joe Rogan, during episode #2309 of the JRE, pointed out, “I think in general, the pay-per-view numbers are down, as well, because the casuals aren’t buying it…” According to the UFC color commentator, the UFC wasn’t like boxing. In boxing, the frequency of PPV events was pretty low. This made the fight fans buy the PPV tickets in intervals of 4-5 months. But PPV events now happen every month in the UFC. On top of that, the MMA promotion hosts Fight Night events almost every single week. He commented, “So, it’s like getting people to shell out 70 bucks for this card.”
But there was one more reason for the fall. And that came with interesting undercard bouts. Rogan continued, “Some of the great fights are on the undercard. And you already, before the pay-per-view starts, you already have, you know, three and a half hours of great fights you could watch for free. And some of them, they’re trying to lure you into buying the pay-per-view. So, some of the best fights are really on the undercard.”
Things are supposed to change for the better with UFC’s new broadcasting partnership. Who would be the new broadcasting partner? That’s still unknown. But we can certainly imagine White making things more accessible for the fight fans. While that might increase online viewership, the problem of financial loss via gate revenue still remains a problem that the UFC CEO needs to tackle. On top of that, he definitely needs to put up more marquee events to raise the bar for ticket sales, don’t you agree?
What do you think of the numbers for UFC Kansas City’s attendance and gate revenue? Do you think it’s the venue that’s to be blamed? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
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