The UFC Apex once saved the promotion during the COVID-19 pandemic and brought them a lot of success, but now its reputation has completely changed and fans are growing tired of it.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when there were no live sports, the UFC was one of the only promotions in the world continuing to put on events and they were able to do so because of the Apex.
Some monumental fights in the last few years have taken place in the warehouse, such as Francis Ngannou’s title win against Stipe Miocic, to Daniel Cormier’s retirement fight in the UFC.
However, since the end of the pandemic, the UFC has continued to put on events from the relatively empty warehouse and it is now seemingly taking its toll on the fanbase.
Mark Shapiro provides damning update on UFC Apex events
In the years following the pandemic, UFC boss, Dana White claimed that the promotion was going to get on the road consistently again and host events in different states, cities, and countries.
Despite that, since 2020 the Apex has hosted 110 events and even in 2024 it hosted 17 events in the dull venue.
With there having already been three events from the Apex this year, the venue is undergoing a $25m renovation which will include more seating, bathrooms, and hospitality, showing that they have no plans of fully doing away with Apex events.
And with that, TKO president, Mark Shapiro recently provided an update on Apex events, which was pretty damning for the fans.
“When you’re watching on TV, you can’t tell if you’re in a stadium or an arena or you’re at the small but mighty Apex we have in Vegas,” Shapiro said (h/t MMAOnPoint).
Shapiro went on to claim that the UFC could increase their revenue if they did less touring and hosted more events in the Apex, which has made fans nervous.
What events are scheduled to take place at the UFC Apex?
Fortunately, despite the fact that the Apex won’t be done away with completely, the promotion are seemingly tapering down the amount of events hosted there.
On March 15, Roman Dolidze will take on Marvin Vettori in an epic rematch of their war in London in 2023 and it will take place in the confines of the Apex.
Then, on April 5, undefeated featherweight contender Lerone Murphy looks to score the biggest win of his career thus far when he takes on Josh Emmett in the Vegas warehouse.