UFC officials enjoy working at the APEX facility in Las Vegas.
Which to some degree, is like working from home. Thereâs no need to pack up equipment, shack up in a faraway hotel, deal with the headaches of air travel, or clean up after messy MMA fans. They simply turn off the lights and lock the doors.
Thatâs why âFight Nightâ cards at APEX are here to stay.
âI think the APEX is always gonna be in the mix now, it make a lot of sense,â Senior Vice President for International Operations and Content Dave Shaw told reporters at the UFC 284 press conference (watch it here). âWe kinda turn off the lights and lock the doors when the event is over. It makes sense from an ease of operations. It also makes sense as a good fallback plan, if we have something that just doesnât work out in a venue or if itâs tough to get to a certain city we want to get to, we can always go to the APEX. I think thereâs a lot of advantages to it. I donât know the number (of events per year) but I think it will always be in the mix.â
Sorry to all those venues hoping to score the âAndrade vs. Blanchfieldâ event.
âTranslation: Weâll keep signing mediocre Contender Series fighters who arenât UFC caliber, and itâs just easier to have them at the APEX where they wonât get booed,â one fan wrote on Twitter.
âWeâre gonna keep putting on filler cards full of $10k/10k guys to meet our ESPN+ event quota, so itâs good to have a place that every fight wonât get booed,â said another.
âSo fucking lame. Lazy. UFC taking big steps back as an organization,â added another. âThey should be talking about Alligent, Sofi and Cowboy stadium. Not the fucking APEX.â
But not every UFC fan is opposed to APEX cards.
âI donât mind the APEX and plenty of fighters said they donât mind it,â a fan wrote. âAPEX has clean cameras and crisp audio, shots that land are appreciated more plus we get to hear any and all shit talk. We get to hear instructions from the corner and see how the fighters react.â
âLove the APEX put the full size cage and we are good,â another added. âThe atmosphere of the place is something else hearing the rawness of fighting.â
I liked the Apex fights. Less dumbass drunk assholes screaming WOOOOOO when the action slows a bit.
I also enjoy being able to hear the punches and kicks landing.