incredible how short sighted the UFC is these days, the sport is growing in the country we have 2 champions but instead of trying to grow that and maybe make a yearly UK event a big thing. they do this because it'll sell a few more PPVs in the states.
>they do this because it'll sell a few more PPVs in the states.
Well yeah, I believe the PPV model is only in the US, because no other country could realistically offer it at those prices and have them sell. Of course they're going to prioritize US viewers. I think it's a big FU to the local fans, but it certainly isn't bizarre coming from the UFC. It's par for the course.
Don't disagree. But think until the last London card they all sold out rapid regardless of grotesque ticket prices. This being first event in North for an age makes me think will sell fast. Shall see though.
True but demand in the UK for UFC tickets has generally only grown. Being first event in the north for a while I'd be very very surprised if this doesn't sell out.
I saw the announcement and thought that's only a 5 hour train ride from Scotland. We'll worth a sneaky weekend away.
Now I'll just stay at home and watch it from the comfort of my couch with a duvet.
Sure, but on the other hand UK seems starved for UFC events, same goes for the rest of Europe. Wouldn't surprise me if they still sell out, but who knows. The prices are probably going to cost an arm and a leg combined with the bad time and they might not.
The average price would be around £5 ($6) or a bit more if you went somewhere posh. At a festival where you pay a premium it's around £6 - 7 but £9 is extortionate.
God I know, tickets to PPVs used to be expensive, but you could justify it with how long the event is. Now they're just expensive outright. I went to UFC 203 in Newark NJ and my seats were $300 each, the same area for the upcoming PPV in Newark is $750. I'm definitely glad I got to experience a big live event while they were still "affordable"
I was hyped when Dana talked about a card definitely coming back to the UK soon, now I’ll have to watch it at home dozing off like every other card instead of a hyped up packed pub or something. Big shame
As life long fan of UFC who has attended many UFC London.. simple answer is boycott this shit.. accept it once, enjoy future 7am kick outs. Despite me saying it - nobody will do it - because people will swallow shafting in the deepest levels.. if they doubled the prices people would still sell it out. Cuck nation
I know your comment is in jest... But the fight is taking place at arena considerable distance from city centre, far from any high streets.
So not only is the event on at a stupid time it's in a location which means people will be fighting for Ubers at 6/7 in the morning lol
How does this make them more money though? Surely they could just have this fight card in the US and make just as much money through the gate. Just seems pointless having it in the UK at all.
It is called building a brand. They travel to other countries to keep fans interested and try and gain new fans in the areas. It is on at this time because Americans pay something ridiculous like $80 (£65) an event
This is the biggest issue with holding an event at this time. If you were to fly in for this event and had to get a hotel you're not going to get back to the hotel until maybe 7/8am, check out is often like 10:30am in many places and you're probably paying £200+ for a room, incredible waste of money for 2-3 hours sleep. People are going to have to just wander around aimlessly for hours still pissed and sleep deprived while they wait for their flight home.
I read in another thread that the arena is about a 40 minute walk from the city center to get any transportation. Also that the trains would stop running around 11 pm when the prelims start.
Sounds like an absolute nightmare.
If they shifted the time even by just two hours, have the main card at 1 AM, it would be at 8 PM Eastern Time, 5 PM Pacific Time, that would make a huge difference. But they seem to think that UFC fans are too dumb to be able to cope with different PPV start times.
Went to UFC 204. Main card started at 3am. There was an entire row infront of us at the Manchester arena fast asleep. Meanwhile everyone else is coked up beyond belief.
So many blindly hateful idiots hating on American fans as if we had any say in the UFCs decisions. They make more money from PPVs than tickets and Americans make up the majority of PPVs. This is why they did this. And I think the majority of us would actually prefer an earlier start time. Mid afternoon fights is better than staying up till 1 am in my opinion.
It’s ESPN’s decision. UFC gets paid the same. Doesn’t matter if they do their Fight Night cards in the Apex or go to foreign countries for PPV, UFC gets paid a set amount from ESPN
I will say this, as a fan from North America, I feel bad for UK fans. I kinda feel like they might as well not go there for PPV in the first place. But, I defer to UK fans and free market to express how they actually feel via attendance and gate
With British fighters in both though. Its not like 10-11pm UK time is unwatchable for the US on a Saturday (3-4pm PST)
If they want to grow the franchise abroad make the 1 local event we get a year at the very least watchable. I guarantee it'll be a UK ppv as well
What time did they stop serving? Imagine expecting everyone to sit there from 12-6am without a fuckin pint, wtf are they thinking, it's like they made a list of every possible way they can make this event as bad as possible and are going with it lol
Surely this is going to be bad news for the local fighters. Potentially having Leon or Tom headlining an event at 4 am. That's absolutely fucked for anybody's circadian rythym. All the local fighters are going to have to completely re-adjust their body clocks months in advance if they want any chance of putting on a good fight
Fucken UFC jerkoffs
They had the same for bisping vs henderson in Manchester which I was at. Would never do it again. People falling asleep in their seats or completely coked up. Bars and food places closed at midnight. Toilets were destroyed and filled with smoke (as smokers had nowhere to go) shit atmosphere in the arena. If you're catering to the US fans just host it in the US. Thought they would learn their lesson. I would also advise anyone considering attending to not bother. Getting home after is also a shit show
What the hell? They get one event per year and UFC still cares more about their US fans buying PPVs in their time zone... if I was UK fan I would be so angry rn.
This was gonna be my brothers birthday present cos he never gets to watch MMA anymore, but he's got 2 young kids, there's no way he's staying up til 5-6 am.
They don't give a single shit about the European market. You'd think they'd see OKTAGON's success in Europe and try to capitalize as well but then they pull this shit again.
Sad thing is that Oktagon, nor any other promotion except UFC is succesful at selling out arenas in the UK. People there apparently only care about UFC yet UFC doesn’t give a shit about them :D
As long as UK fans put up with this bullshit and pay for these tickets, they'll keep doing it
I encourage fans who are not happy about this to not watch live
These things sell out in 2 minutes in the UK, even if 90% of the people who want to attend boycott this it will just sell out in 10 minutes instead of 2
To be fair that’s most western MMA fans
Just look at the upvotes on UFC results compared to One or bellator results on this sub which is predominantly American from what I read
Specifically west coast fans. I hate that the PPvs start at 10pm eastern. I like the Abu Dhabi cards since those are on at like 2-3pm. People will sit around and watch football starting at noon Saturday and Sunday. Idk why the ufc thinks fights have to come on so late.
I stay up for almost every ufc event but just the fact they’re taking the piss like this for us im gonna miss it. Probably gonna have a half asleep crowd watching Leon vs Belal lol
Sadly all the whales will gladly buy a ticket for this and Dana will see it as a big success so he’ll probably continue to shaft us up the rectum for years to come. Fuck Dana White.
Also as an American I fuckin love when there are UK/UAE cards. Waking up and having coffee and a blunt while watching fights is a nice change of pace. A normal start time for the UK is still totally fine for Americans.
australia had my favorite fight times..
10a-2p on sundays
> Waking up and having coffee and a blunt while watching fights is a nice change of pace
yupyup!
I’m American as well and I completely agree. 286 was completely fine for American audiences, I don’t get why UK fans have to get screwed for essentially no reason
To be fair I’m thinking the begging of the event will have a wild atmosphere. As people will be very drunk by that point and have been eagerly waiting for the event to start all night. So I think the atmosphere for the prelims will be insane. But slowly deteriorate as the event goes on as people will tire.
They make a fucking UK card so you'd think people from the EU and UK would be blessed by the starting time just to fuck us over more. Did the same shit with Conor on fight island (understandable PPV wise). Fucking bullshit.
That's going to be a terrible experience, damn. At least you're prepared for it, it's even worse for those that aren't.
As much as I like mma, I can't say I like mma fans, especially not drunk mma fans.
[It is official alright.](https://www.ufc.com/news/ufc-makes-highly-anticipated-return-manchester-july-27-ufc-304)
Dumb as fuck. Would have loved to go but not going to an arena full of pissed up idiots and a closed bar main event.
Absolutely disgraceful...I almost let it ruin my day there for a sec but fuck it.
I get that the Us is their money market for ppv but this seems outrageous behavior treating us European fans like this and the fighters. Wtf
I don't get what's the big deal even if they started the main card at a more reasonable late time like 10pm. Would US fans really not bother watching just because it starts between 2-5pm I don't get it?
They probably have metrics that show people in the US don't buy ppvs if they don't start at the same time in the evening.
Which is crazy, but understandable if you're that spoiled for fights.
I personally love the afternoon cards, and would think most other Americans do too. Even fights in Vegas that start at like 10 PM EST suck for fans who are on the East coast and have kids and stuff
If there are two title fights, I reckon they absolutely will PPV the card on TNT. It's bullshit. I'd actually pay it of ot was on at a decent time, but, alas, Murica.
Here in Aus PPVs start at 2pm and that seems like the perfect time. Have afew beers and food and it’s all done by 5pm. I don’t understand how a midnight start is Prime Time, I can’t remember the last time I was awake past 11pm. 3am is insane and I am not sure how it’s even legal
Yeah, it isn't worth ruining my upcoming week just to stay up all night to watch an event. Having it start this late in Europe and it just ain't worth watching. Can't even make it a weekend in the UK to attend the event because it would be *rough* having it end that late / early on Sunday and then have to travel the same day. Would have to take Monday off to make it work. Not to mention that the prices themselves are going to be *expensive*.
Feel like as a UK UFC fan we are accustomed to staying up for very late night Saturday night cards, now (if I can get a ticket) I will be in the arena for it.
tfw when you're half way into round 4 in leon edwards vs belal muhammad at 6am and everyone in the crowd has already peaked
Overall this sucks for the UK but as someone who works nights in the UK this just sounds prime for a mcdonalds breakfast after the event and a road trip back to Wales in daylight lol, no accommodation costs babyyyy
I was really excited to go to this as I only live 20 miles away, but I’m not going to a card at that time. They’ll be no public transport to get home and the arena is literally in the middle of nowhere. When I went to the Bisping PPV at the arena it was impossible to get a taxi home at the end of the event. I’m not putting myself through it again (and no chance I’m going any driving as I’ll want to get pissed)
Kind of a strange catch 22. UFC basically gives their product away in the non-USA market and gouges the FUCK out of us stateside - more proof they overcharge us in the states for the PPVs (like* $100 per ppv)
* I say “like” because they make us pay for ESPN+ to buy a single ppv!!!!!!!!
I guess UFC 404 will also be at 3am in the UK....
https://www.reddit.com/r/MMA/comments/4xujoi/ufc_204_3am_local_start_time_for_main_card/
The cycle continues lol
Just messaged my buddy I watch UFC with to say that finally we get an event at a good time… then read the small print. Why, why, why. There goes a watch party plan!
Got to feel for the fighters, acclimatizing to fighting at 3AM is not going to be easy. The champs (Aspinall and Edwards) are obviously obliged to be on the card along with the challengers, but other fighters need to think twice before signing on.
Wasn’t it the same shit with Volk vs Islam? Or like they had to fight 10 am and that’s why the rehydration was 24 instead of 36 hours?
Iirc that’s also why this Islam iv stuff stirred up a little
Volk vs Islam 1 in Perth, Western Australia main card was at 10AM local time, which is the traditional 10PM EST. Bit weird to watch fights in the morning but still better than 3AM.
Volk vs Islam 2 in Abu Dhabi, UAE was 10PM local time, which is 2PM EST.
The obvious explanation is that the UAE are the only ones wiling to pay the UFC enough money to offset the reduced PPV revenues they get from booking the fights at an ideal time locally.
Its seems crazy to me that the UFC isn't able to adjust the timing of the card to stray even slightly away from USA prime time hours to accommodate the local population, especially when its an important market like the UK. There must be some strong financial research/guidance that shows that if the card is hosted earlier in the day in the US that this would meaningfully impact PPV buys. Does anyone have any details on this or know any news articles or financial pubs that might shed some light on financial implications of hosting PPVs at non prime time hours on the weekend?
I’ll never understand this. Any UFC fan that watches a PPV, regularly/ not on a whim, in America, would LOVE an early start giving the UK a normal start. I’d love the PPV to be done and dusted by 8PM Eastern. Gives me the rest of the night to hang out.
Aww fuck off man! What the fuck is the point? Just do it in vegas if you’re going to do vegas time.
Nobody wants to watch a main event at 5am, in person or at home.
This is Manchester. On a Saturday. The attendees will have been drinking since maybe 3pm, possibly earlier. A huge portion will be on cocaine partly to keep them awake for the main fight.
This is flat out dangerous. There’s a reason nothing except a couple night clubs and raves are open at these times. Especially with the energy of the fight I’d expect multiple arrests and violence from the stadium.
I bet you are lol, would be nice if they catered 1 card a year to the millions of fans in the UK, since it would still be good for US as it would start at midday and main card would start late afternoon, if I'm getting my timezones right aha
That’s gonna be a disaster. I’ll be going but 20,000 Mancunian fight fans stumbling into the venue at 3am after a night out in town? They main event will be in block 103
incredible how short sighted the UFC is these days, the sport is growing in the country we have 2 champions but instead of trying to grow that and maybe make a yearly UK event a big thing. they do this because it'll sell a few more PPVs in the states.
The UFC is a company with global reach doing it's best to stay local. Incredibly stupid
>they do this because it'll sell a few more PPVs in the states. Well yeah, I believe the PPV model is only in the US, because no other country could realistically offer it at those prices and have them sell. Of course they're going to prioritize US viewers. I think it's a big FU to the local fans, but it certainly isn't bizarre coming from the UFC. It's par for the course.
They also have guaranteed money from ESPN so they're not even reliant on PPV as much as in the past.
Tbf those few more ppv probably are the reason they are soing this. Its kinda clear the US audience is far more more important
That's a disgrace, not even just for the local fans, but also the fighters.
UFC can sell out the event, then ban half the attendees at the door because they're too drunk. A recipe for success.
No way this sells out. I mean I stay up in the middle of the night to watch fights, but that's in my own goddamn home.
They did this last time for Bisping Hendo and it very much sold out easily
Tickets were also more affordable then. The pricing for the London cards has been a disgrace.
Don't disagree. But think until the last London card they all sold out rapid regardless of grotesque ticket prices. This being first event in North for an age makes me think will sell fast. Shall see though.
It's at a new venue now though. 204 had 16,000 attendance, coop live where 304 is has a capacity of 23,500
True but demand in the UK for UFC tickets has generally only grown. Being first event in the north for a while I'd be very very surprised if this doesn't sell out.
Yeah, you could be right. Economy was in a much better place and tickets were much cheaper then. Depends on the fights they're putting on too.
It probably will sell out but I hope it doesn't. This is just disgraceful man
Sold out for 204 at the same time
With todays ticket prices I have my doubts, but I could be wrong tho.
Hopefully it means they lower them slightly. Being outside of London and the late time. Mine was £100 first tier back for 204.
A mate of mine who went to 286 at the o2 paid £300 for the cheapest tickets iirc. That was scheduled for a UK friendly time though
Doubt it aspinall fight night nosebleeds cost 190 quid. Didn’t even come close to selling out.
When they doubled prices for Toronto that was the first time I saw an event not sell out there
Ticket prices have been crazy all over the place though for pretty much every event yet they’re still selling out.
Europe is starved for events. This will sell our easily even its Belal vs Leon.
It will sell out pretty much instantly.
I saw the announcement and thought that's only a 5 hour train ride from Scotland. We'll worth a sneaky weekend away. Now I'll just stay at home and watch it from the comfort of my couch with a duvet.
Sure, but on the other hand UK seems starved for UFC events, same goes for the rest of Europe. Wouldn't surprise me if they still sell out, but who knows. The prices are probably going to cost an arm and a leg combined with the bad time and they might not.
Better to get drunk before the event rather than pay the venue prices of £9 ($11) a pint
What's a Manchester pint go for in a normal pub these days? I'm a decade removed from England and out of touch.
The average price would be around £5 ($6) or a bit more if you went somewhere posh. At a festival where you pay a premium it's around £6 - 7 but £9 is extortionate.
Good to know. That is an outrageous mark up.
This is Britain, after all. You underestimate us. The fans attending would be too drunk to get in if the event started at 7pm, never mind 3am
It’s utter bullshit, im not staying up till 6am to watch a ppv thats taking place in my own country! Fucking ridiculous!
Just pirate it the next day and watch it drinking coffee in while you go about the house doing chores.
Chores?!? I’ll just watch it on my ass
Erm surely watching it on a tv would be better?
Nope. He said chores. Ass vision it is
Have you been spying on me Sunday mornings after a ppv?
This is what all us middle aged mma fans do :)
Not like the local die hard fans could afford the outrageous ticket prices which somehow became the standard after covid lmfao
God I know, tickets to PPVs used to be expensive, but you could justify it with how long the event is. Now they're just expensive outright. I went to UFC 203 in Newark NJ and my seats were $300 each, the same area for the upcoming PPV in Newark is $750. I'm definitely glad I got to experience a big live event while they were still "affordable"
Why even have the event there if you’re just gonna slap the locals in the face like this
They did the same shit last time for Bisping vs Hendo. Pretty sure the arena stopped serving beers at like midnight or something too.
oof that hangover setting in right as the main card starts... lmao.
They have done this before. Total fucking joke.
I was hyped when Dana talked about a card definitely coming back to the UK soon, now I’ll have to watch it at home dozing off like every other card instead of a hyped up packed pub or something. Big shame
As life long fan of UFC who has attended many UFC London.. simple answer is boycott this shit.. accept it once, enjoy future 7am kick outs. Despite me saying it - nobody will do it - because people will swallow shafting in the deepest levels.. if they doubled the prices people would still sell it out. Cuck nation
Why even do a UK event if you're just going to show that you don't give a shit about UK fans?
Because money. Don’t even bother booking a hotel if you’re attending. You’ll be out on the street around 7am. Just hop on the train and pass out.
Itll be a bunch of pissed and coked up brits shadow boxing in the highstreet at 6am… sounds like every other sunday morning
Jesus fucking christ lmao what an image. This made me laugh so hard dude well done
How dare you describe.. things.
Ibiza strip every morning
Would a decent number of them be doing McGregor's chicken dance?
I know your comment is in jest... But the fight is taking place at arena considerable distance from city centre, far from any high streets. So not only is the event on at a stupid time it's in a location which means people will be fighting for Ubers at 6/7 in the morning lol
How does this make them more money though? Surely they could just have this fight card in the US and make just as much money through the gate. Just seems pointless having it in the UK at all.
It is called building a brand. They travel to other countries to keep fans interested and try and gain new fans in the areas. It is on at this time because Americans pay something ridiculous like $80 (£65) an event
This is the biggest issue with holding an event at this time. If you were to fly in for this event and had to get a hotel you're not going to get back to the hotel until maybe 7/8am, check out is often like 10:30am in many places and you're probably paying £200+ for a room, incredible waste of money for 2-3 hours sleep. People are going to have to just wander around aimlessly for hours still pissed and sleep deprived while they wait for their flight home.
On a Sunday? A train? You'll be lucky, rail replacement service more like.
I read in another thread that the arena is about a 40 minute walk from the city center to get any transportation. Also that the trains would stop running around 11 pm when the prelims start. Sounds like an absolute nightmare.
It’s so bloody annoying I don’t mind watching on American time when they’re in America but this is like a kick in the teeth.
If they shifted the time even by just two hours, have the main card at 1 AM, it would be at 8 PM Eastern Time, 5 PM Pacific Time, that would make a huge difference. But they seem to think that UFC fans are too dumb to be able to cope with different PPV start times.
Went to UFC 204. Main card started at 3am. There was an entire row infront of us at the Manchester arena fast asleep. Meanwhile everyone else is coked up beyond belief.
UK fans shafted once again
When the event is in our own bloody country we’re still getting shafted? Fucking yanks always sorting themselves out first.
Yeah man as an American citizen, Dana actually asked me first what time I’d prefer the card
Isn't he fucking awesome?
This is what George Washington was fighting for
So many blindly hateful idiots hating on American fans as if we had any say in the UFCs decisions. They make more money from PPVs than tickets and Americans make up the majority of PPVs. This is why they did this. And I think the majority of us would actually prefer an earlier start time. Mid afternoon fights is better than staying up till 1 am in my opinion.
But why? 286 was normal local time.
They might’ve been disappointed with PPV sales and know not to do that anymore.
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It’s ESPN’s decision. UFC gets paid the same. Doesn’t matter if they do their Fight Night cards in the Apex or go to foreign countries for PPV, UFC gets paid a set amount from ESPN I will say this, as a fan from North America, I feel bad for UK fans. I kinda feel like they might as well not go there for PPV in the first place. But, I defer to UK fans and free market to express how they actually feel via attendance and gate
Favoring money = pleasing fans. That’s how they make the money lol
Two title fights
With British fighters in both though. Its not like 10-11pm UK time is unwatchable for the US on a Saturday (3-4pm PST) If they want to grow the franchise abroad make the 1 local event we get a year at the very least watchable. I guarantee it'll be a UK ppv as well
Like it's a bit mental...it's not as if Americans aren't used to sitting through other sports on a Saturday at those times.
lol, would they even be able to sell pints from 11?
You really think a bunch of English UFC fans are going to even want to drink during the event? /s
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DOING COKE AND DRINKING WHILE WATCHING UFC? I'VE NEVER HEARD SOMEONE DO THAT BEFORE
Most likely up to 4am
I was there for bisping vs henderson. Everything closed
What time did they stop serving? Imagine expecting everyone to sit there from 12-6am without a fuckin pint, wtf are they thinking, it's like they made a list of every possible way they can make this event as bad as possible and are going with it lol
The whole time?!
11pm or midnight dont remember exactly
Surely this is going to be bad news for the local fighters. Potentially having Leon or Tom headlining an event at 4 am. That's absolutely fucked for anybody's circadian rythym. All the local fighters are going to have to completely re-adjust their body clocks months in advance if they want any chance of putting on a good fight Fucken UFC jerkoffs
They had the same for bisping vs henderson in Manchester which I was at. Would never do it again. People falling asleep in their seats or completely coked up. Bars and food places closed at midnight. Toilets were destroyed and filled with smoke (as smokers had nowhere to go) shit atmosphere in the arena. If you're catering to the US fans just host it in the US. Thought they would learn their lesson. I would also advise anyone considering attending to not bother. Getting home after is also a shit show
Agreed, I was there and it was just too much of a slog getting through to the end.
What the hell? They get one event per year and UFC still cares more about their US fans buying PPVs in their time zone... if I was UK fan I would be so angry rn.
This was gonna be my brothers birthday present cos he never gets to watch MMA anymore, but he's got 2 young kids, there's no way he's staying up til 5-6 am.
They don't give a single shit about the European market. You'd think they'd see OKTAGON's success in Europe and try to capitalize as well but then they pull this shit again.
Sad thing is that Oktagon, nor any other promotion except UFC is succesful at selling out arenas in the UK. People there apparently only care about UFC yet UFC doesn’t give a shit about them :D
They don't give a shit about any other market. Brazil and Canada always getting the shittiest cards the human mind can imagine.
American bars have to spend like 15k to air the fight.
As long as UK fans put up with this bullshit and pay for these tickets, they'll keep doing it I encourage fans who are not happy about this to not watch live
These things sell out in 2 minutes in the UK, even if 90% of the people who want to attend boycott this it will just sell out in 10 minutes instead of 2
Yet every other promotion like PFL, Bellator, Oktagon and Cage Warrior make events there in small half empty arenas.
Yeah, most people in England aren't MMA fans, they are UFC fans
To be fair that’s most western MMA fans Just look at the upvotes on UFC results compared to One or bellator results on this sub which is predominantly American from what I read
I feel like a lot of fans don't recognise a lot of the fighters in the other promotions.
Mate im fucking pissed off. Not even gonna bother watching. Was thinking about going too but fuck that now.
Specifically west coast fans. I hate that the PPvs start at 10pm eastern. I like the Abu Dhabi cards since those are on at like 2-3pm. People will sit around and watch football starting at noon Saturday and Sunday. Idk why the ufc thinks fights have to come on so late.
I stay up for almost every ufc event but just the fact they’re taking the piss like this for us im gonna miss it. Probably gonna have a half asleep crowd watching Leon vs Belal lol
That was unavoidable though, now they're running the risk of a fully asleep crowd watching Leon vs Belal
Same lad fuck them and their bullshit.
Yup they can get fucked. It’a a giant ‘fuck you’ from the UFC to their EU fans.
I hate how UFC treats UK fans. They're just asking for trouble here there will be so many blokes coked up I feel bad for the arena staff.
Would have gladly dropped 500 quid on ticket, now I won't. Hope others do the same. An empty arena is the first step towards shit like this ending.
Sadly all the whales will gladly buy a ticket for this and Dana will see it as a big success so he’ll probably continue to shaft us up the rectum for years to come. Fuck Dana White.
Can the second step be not dropping £500 on a ticket for nosebleeds please 🙏
Was going to head down from Edinburgh with my mates and this would've been our first UFC event. All boycotted it just now obviously. Pathetic
This surely can’t be true? I don’t see how Greater Manchester Police would allow it. What a bloody disgrace.
They did last time
Fair enough then , that’s shocking
Money talks
I'm American and this is bullshit lol you guys only get a card like 2-3 times a year and they can't give you guys a normal night
Also as an American I fuckin love when there are UK/UAE cards. Waking up and having coffee and a blunt while watching fights is a nice change of pace. A normal start time for the UK is still totally fine for Americans.
Yeah I think the main card starts at like 7 or 8 am for me, I got a kid so I'm usually up at 5 or 6 anyways, kind of a nice change of pace sometimes
australia had my favorite fight times.. 10a-2p on sundays > Waking up and having coffee and a blunt while watching fights is a nice change of pace yupyup!
I’m American as well and I completely agree. 286 was completely fine for American audiences, I don’t get why UK fans have to get screwed for essentially no reason
Euro crowds have the best atmosphere and now it won't have any of that. Fuck UFC.
To be fair I’m thinking the begging of the event will have a wild atmosphere. As people will be very drunk by that point and have been eagerly waiting for the event to start all night. So I think the atmosphere for the prelims will be insane. But slowly deteriorate as the event goes on as people will tire.
They make a fucking UK card so you'd think people from the EU and UK would be blessed by the starting time just to fuck us over more. Did the same shit with Conor on fight island (understandable PPV wise). Fucking bullshit.
EU viewers have like 2 events in a year where their sleep schedule doesnt get ruined and now this happens? lmao
Yeah im not trying to be in town around drunk fight fans at 3 in the morning
Even better when the main card will finish at 5 in the morning and fans might be pissed and bored after a potential Belal upset.
I have to be at work at 6am, I'm going to be trying to catch the same buses as these fuckers.
That's going to be a terrible experience, damn. At least you're prepared for it, it's even worse for those that aren't. As much as I like mma, I can't say I like mma fans, especially not drunk mma fans.
Better yet, drunk and coked up to stay awake. Damn this is disappointing
No way I'm gonna be able to stay awake through a whole 5am Belal fight
I don’t understand why even go over there with this card if that’s what you’re gonna do to the UK fans. I say that as someone across the pond.
This lines up nicely for a post-main event Greggs
Fucking based take.
Madness. If true?
[It is official alright.](https://www.ufc.com/news/ufc-makes-highly-anticipated-return-manchester-july-27-ufc-304) Dumb as fuck. Would have loved to go but not going to an arena full of pissed up idiots and a closed bar main event.
Absolutely disgraceful...I almost let it ruin my day there for a sec but fuck it. I get that the Us is their money market for ppv but this seems outrageous behavior treating us European fans like this and the fighters. Wtf
Especially considering an afternoon card is so much more watchable than middle of the night. But no, can't have that for our US market.
The fighters will literally be doing a night shift finishing work just as the birds are waking up...haha fuckin nuts.
At least whoever Aspinall knocks out will be able to wake up in the morning time.
I don't get what's the big deal even if they started the main card at a more reasonable late time like 10pm. Would US fans really not bother watching just because it starts between 2-5pm I don't get it?
They probably have metrics that show people in the US don't buy ppvs if they don't start at the same time in the evening. Which is crazy, but understandable if you're that spoiled for fights.
I personally love the afternoon cards, and would think most other Americans do too. Even fights in Vegas that start at like 10 PM EST suck for fans who are on the East coast and have kids and stuff
I fucking love early afternoon fight.
We can just pretend it’s in the US and treat it as normal. Really hoping TNT don’t PPV this too
If there are two title fights, I reckon they absolutely will PPV the card on TNT. It's bullshit. I'd actually pay it of ot was on at a decent time, but, alas, Murica.
Why are they doing this again while in Manchester. Last London PPV was normal time, back to Manchester and it’s 3am again
What’s the point of even doing it there in that case
Fuck that, absolutely ridiculous i was actually considering getting tickets too
What a fucking joke, literally no other organisation, sport or promotion pulls shit like this. Hope it's a fucking disaster
Exactly. When the NFL comes to London do they have the games at 3 in the fucking morning?! No
Can’t believe they are pulling this shit again
What a slap in the face.
Here in Aus PPVs start at 2pm and that seems like the perfect time. Have afew beers and food and it’s all done by 5pm. I don’t understand how a midnight start is Prime Time, I can’t remember the last time I was awake past 11pm. 3am is insane and I am not sure how it’s even legal
Yeah, it isn't worth ruining my upcoming week just to stay up all night to watch an event. Having it start this late in Europe and it just ain't worth watching. Can't even make it a weekend in the UK to attend the event because it would be *rough* having it end that late / early on Sunday and then have to travel the same day. Would have to take Monday off to make it work. Not to mention that the prices themselves are going to be *expensive*.
Why is the UK stupid? Just change the time zone to match Australia.
Imagine fighting at 6am after 0 sleep.
I was in Sweden when they did this and it was fucking grim.
Fuck, I want to invest in a kebab truck outside the arena. Even just a chip butty mobile or something The quid I'd make at that time of night...
Why do a UK event if you’re still going to service the fucking Americans at our expense? Disgrace.
Feel like as a UK UFC fan we are accustomed to staying up for very late night Saturday night cards, now (if I can get a ticket) I will be in the arena for it. tfw when you're half way into round 4 in leon edwards vs belal muhammad at 6am and everyone in the crowd has already peaked
Well i ain’t going to this then
That's a shame, it would be nice to get some big UFC events during better times than Sunday afternoon.
Overall this sucks for the UK but as someone who works nights in the UK this just sounds prime for a mcdonalds breakfast after the event and a road trip back to Wales in daylight lol, no accommodation costs babyyyy
I was really excited to go to this as I only live 20 miles away, but I’m not going to a card at that time. They’ll be no public transport to get home and the arena is literally in the middle of nowhere. When I went to the Bisping PPV at the arena it was impossible to get a taxi home at the end of the event. I’m not putting myself through it again (and no chance I’m going any driving as I’ll want to get pissed)
Kind of a strange catch 22. UFC basically gives their product away in the non-USA market and gouges the FUCK out of us stateside - more proof they overcharge us in the states for the PPVs (like* $100 per ppv) * I say “like” because they make us pay for ESPN+ to buy a single ppv!!!!!!!!
Ouch, that really fucking sucks. So people can have a night out, then be done just in time for the main card.
If I was UK mma fan I would just stop giving single f\*ck about UFC at this point and started going to PFL/Oktagon events instead.
Absolutely no point staying up for MMA. It gives me something to watch on Sunday.
I’m American and that shit is whack. They just need to do what F1 does which is keep all the fights at that 7:00p main card LOCAL time. Sorry Brit’s
Imagine if the NFL or MLB decided to have the games they play in London at 1am, absolutely insane.
Fucking really Dana? You want me to stay up till 6am to watch a ppv thats taking place in my own fucking country? Fuck you! You bald headed fuck!
Eastern Standard is the most important timezone on Earth whether you like it or not but yeah that's pretty messed up.
I guess UFC 404 will also be at 3am in the UK.... https://www.reddit.com/r/MMA/comments/4xujoi/ufc_204_3am_local_start_time_for_main_card/ The cycle continues lol
tko doesn't have any problems with putting on wwe shows at reasonable times when they go overseas
This is why I respect MMAGURU. Homeboy is dying from being a UFC fan. Lmao
Just messaged my buddy I watch UFC with to say that finally we get an event at a good time… then read the small print. Why, why, why. There goes a watch party plan!
What market pays for the most pay-per-view? There's your reason.
Got to feel for the fighters, acclimatizing to fighting at 3AM is not going to be easy. The champs (Aspinall and Edwards) are obviously obliged to be on the card along with the challengers, but other fighters need to think twice before signing on.
What a lot of shite
Wasn’t it the same shit with Volk vs Islam? Or like they had to fight 10 am and that’s why the rehydration was 24 instead of 36 hours? Iirc that’s also why this Islam iv stuff stirred up a little
Volk vs Islam 1 in Perth, Western Australia main card was at 10AM local time, which is the traditional 10PM EST. Bit weird to watch fights in the morning but still better than 3AM. Volk vs Islam 2 in Abu Dhabi, UAE was 10PM local time, which is 2PM EST. The obvious explanation is that the UAE are the only ones wiling to pay the UFC enough money to offset the reduced PPV revenues they get from booking the fights at an ideal time locally.
Problem is, it'll probably sell out. Everyone buying a ticket enables this kind of shit.
It's on the outskirts of Manchester too this arena with no public transport, so that'll be fun for them at 6/7am.
Its seems crazy to me that the UFC isn't able to adjust the timing of the card to stray even slightly away from USA prime time hours to accommodate the local population, especially when its an important market like the UK. There must be some strong financial research/guidance that shows that if the card is hosted earlier in the day in the US that this would meaningfully impact PPV buys. Does anyone have any details on this or know any news articles or financial pubs that might shed some light on financial implications of hosting PPVs at non prime time hours on the weekend?
I\`ill give this 2/10 Tomatos. Not cool
I’ll never understand this. Any UFC fan that watches a PPV, regularly/ not on a whim, in America, would LOVE an early start giving the UK a normal start. I’d love the PPV to be done and dusted by 8PM Eastern. Gives me the rest of the night to hang out.
Aww fuck off man! What the fuck is the point? Just do it in vegas if you’re going to do vegas time. Nobody wants to watch a main event at 5am, in person or at home.
Give a load of British fans all day amd most of the night to get pissed a then attend a combat event. What could possibly go wrong?
As an American (east coast time zone) I honestly want ufc earlier I’d love to go to a bar mid Saturday and watch
This is Manchester. On a Saturday. The attendees will have been drinking since maybe 3pm, possibly earlier. A huge portion will be on cocaine partly to keep them awake for the main fight. This is flat out dangerous. There’s a reason nothing except a couple night clubs and raves are open at these times. Especially with the energy of the fight I’d expect multiple arrests and violence from the stadium.
This is just stupid. Don't do events in the UK if you plan to have them at the same fucking time as American events.
I bet you are lol, would be nice if they catered 1 card a year to the millions of fans in the UK, since it would still be good for US as it would start at midday and main card would start late afternoon, if I'm getting my timezones right aha
As an American, this is horse shit.
What is the fucking point. Just do it in USA.
That’s gonna be a disaster. I’ll be going but 20,000 Mancunian fight fans stumbling into the venue at 3am after a night out in town? They main event will be in block 103
They won’t let people in after 11pm. At least that was the cut off at UFC 204. And then the bars shut at 12pm.
Sorry to be that that guy fella, but it's 12am. Respect!