Lol, it hasn't even surpassed boxing yet and that was already supposed to happen years ago
MMALOGIC - manchester united is worth around 2.6 billion which is the most valuable sports franchise in the world. The UFC is right around there if not more and they havent even scratched the surface globally.
You're comparing one team, in one league, in one country, to the only major promotion in the entire sport of MMA.
GIBB0 - Worldwide it's probably pushing NFL and NHL already.
Hockey is popular in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia though, but I am inclined to agree that MMA is probably close if not a bit bigger as it has a wider reach.
As for the NFL, i'm not so sure. The UFC comes maybe once a year to the UK and gets a crowd of around 10'000. The NFL comes once (now twice) a year for the past 6 years and plays at Wembley to crowds of 80'000. The UFC could put on the most star studded card of all time and would still struggle to half fill Wembley. The number of non American viewers for the Superbowl almost certainly surpass any MMA event too.
Stephen Holder - In the US nobody gives two fucks about soccer
Soccer beats MMA in attendance, participation rates and ratings in the US.
The reporter is a gem. We used to work together before she went to Bloomberg News. Maybe Dana can co-opt her into doing Lenne Hardt type stuff (she does cartoon/game voice work on the side). :)
For a sport that is less than a few decades old in general, it has grown pretty fucking fast. Look how far it has come in the last 8-10 years.
It will never surpass many great team sports for several reasons.
1. For kids, it has very to no support from parents and the community.
2. Way too expensive to follow as a fan.
3. Individual (especially combat) sports will have a higher percentage of corruption. Just ask boxing and sumo.
There's not even a debate here, Dana is just hyping his sport like he always does (and overall, he's clearly very good at it).
But MMA is not ever going to be the most popular sport in the world, no chance, none.
FrateCart - Football (as in with your feet) is and will always be the most popular sport in the world. Thinking mma will pass football is nothing short of delusional. Aiming high is great but no need for impossible goals.
I guess he might be kidding.
Yeah, because everything always stays the same no matter how much time passes. It wasn't too long ago that Cricket was the most popular sport in the world.
In 50 years, it won't be the UFC, it will be Unreal Tournament.
kevsh - There's not even a debate here, Dana is just hyping his sport like he always does (and overall, he's clearly very good at it).
But MMA is not ever going to be the most popular sport in the world, no chance, none.
This. Dana is very good at what he does, which is promoting.
What was the fastest growing sport in the world fifteen years ago?
Golf.
Ten year ago?
NASCAR
Faster growing doesn't equal on pace to be the biggest. You have to sustain that momentum somehow. Probably by international promotions and turning your core commodities (the fighters) into superstars. Golf still retains viewership on Tiger Woods' name alone.
Blueyevil - For a sport that is less than a few decades old in general, it has grown pretty fucking fast. Look how far it has come in the last 8-10 years.
Ya but hasn't it somewhat went backwards in the past few years? It seems there is less of a buzz, TUF ratings are down, and average PPV buys are down. Brazil seems to be popular for TUF Brazil and shows held there, but I guess I don't know how well they do as far as ratings for events held in the US or other countries. I agree it did completely explode for a few years though.
NeilDiamond -MMALOGIC - it wont be the biggest sport, but UFC will be one of the most valuable sports leagues in the world. It's already pretty much the most valuable sports franchise in the world.You've compared apples and oranges. You would have to compare the Premier League or EPL as it's known worldwide to the UFC.
manchester united is worth around 2.6 billion which is the most valuable sports franchise in the world. The UFC is right around there if not more and they havent even scratched the surface globally.
They just got a chinese deal done which is huge. The mexico deal they announced is pretty big... their deals with Globo and Fox will be worth even more once the current deals run out....
there's still most of the eu which they havent even started on yet... russia, etc...
the UFC subscription channel could be a monster.
It won't be more popular than the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA. How many fans does the MLS get? Wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't surpass that.
MMA is and always will be a niche sport, like any combat sport. If it surpasses boxing then you've done as well as you could have ever dreamt.
No he's right. NFL,NHL,MLB is a collection of teams by separate owners who band together. The UFC is an organization under a single group of owners even though it is thought off as a league. 
Chimp Strength -panthonyjr -So based on two places football is already huge and China, a country where they've recently started a major football league and started paying top dollar for international stars? This is your reason why MMA will be the biggest sport in the world? Solid logic there guys.DRevan - I agree 100% that it will be the biggest sport in the world.And this ...
First off....Mexico.
And if you've read about recent media deals....shit just got real there.
Brazil...is nuts.
Canada/US is strong.
And the absolutely untapped ???? potential of CHINA.
Stop.
CHINA?
India...etc?...
This shit is JUST getting started.
For example, Fluminense play at the Maracana which holds almost 80,000. Their average attendance is approx 50,000. That's for one team. The league is 20 deep and the games are weekly. How you ever think MMA is going to overtake that is beyond me.
Ufc wont beats soccer on global level. I do think the ufc can globally beat out nhl, nfl and a few other nich/localized sports.
Viet Rounder - It will never surpass many great team sports for several reasons.
1. For kids, it has very to no support from parents and the community.
2. Way too expensive to follow as a fan.
3. Individual (especially combat) sports will have a higher percentage of corruption. Just ask boxing and sumo.
1. Some parents will always be against fighting as a sport for their kids. But its not as significant as you make out to be their is still plenty of kids that are getting heavily involved in the sport.
2. Not really for casuals. Its only expensive for hardcores who watch everything. But the occasional viewer that pops in for only the big fights wont spend to much.
3. The ufc running the whole show has prevented alot of this from happening.
Viet Rounder - It will never surpass many great team sports for several reasons.
1. For kids, it has very to no support from parents and the community.
2. Way too expensive to follow as a fan.
3. Individual (especially combat) sports will have a higher percentage of corruption. Just ask boxing and sumo.
It will never be as big as soccer, It will however eventually become the 2nd biggest sport in the world
In most countries the UFC events are free iirc. Over 90% of countries in the world have mma leagues.
LILBROCK -Blueyevil - For a sport that is less than a few decades old in general, it has grown pretty fucking fast. Look how far it has come in the last 8-10 years.
Ya but hasn't it somewhat went backwards in the past few years? It seems there is less of a buzz, TUF ratings are down, and average PPV buys are down. Brazil seems to be popular for TUF Brazil and shows held there, but I guess I don't know how well they do as far as ratings for events held in the US or other countries. I agree it did completely explode for a few years though.
I think the momentum has slowed down too. Its definitely grown a lot in the last 10 years but it felt like the biggest buzz period was around 2007-11. Havent noticed as much casual interest in the last few years.
MMALOGIC - it wont be the biggest sport, but UFC will be one of the most valuable sports leagues in the world. It's already pretty much the most valuable sports franchise in the world.
manchester united is worth around 2.6 billion which is the most valuable sports franchise in the world. The UFC is right around there if not more and they havent even scratched the surface globally.
They just got a chinese deal done which is huge. The mexico deal they announced is pretty big... their deals with Globo and Fox will be worth even more once the current deals run out....
there's still most of the eu which they havent even started on yet... russia, etc...
the UFC subscription channel could be a monster.
At $3.3 Billion, Real Madrid Knocks Manchester United From Top Spot
http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2013/04/17/soccers-most-valuable-teams-real-madrid-dethrones-manchester-united-from-top-spot-at-3-3-billion/
The Cult of Dana
What a joke........
Matt Phillips -Yeah I'm surprised its only 3 mins for how long they took lol
yay this meet and greet made TV too lmao.
The one in Vegas last year was on Fuel :)
"Ya but hasn't it somewhat went backwards in the past few years? It seems there is less of a buzz, TUF ratings are down, and average PPV buys are down. Brazil seems to be popular for TUF Brazil and shows held there, but I guess I don't know how well they do as far as ratings for events held in the US or other countries. I agree it did completely explode for a few years though."
I do not think so. It still is progressing. Now we have UFC, Bellator, WSOF and Axis tv fights all on t.v. We also have Invicta doing well with wmma. There are more shows being put on and the numbers may seem down, but I belive over all, the views between all the companies that the numbers are higher than they ever have been on average.<br /><br /> I also believe once the UFC settles into FS1 their numbers will increase like someone else mentioned. They are on too many stations for the last couple of years and it hurt them. They did great with Spike. Then they added shows on Versus and prelims on ion. This did not help with the casual viewer.
MMA could very well pass all other sports...
But not with Dana at the helm.
Some of you are confusing 'murica with the world