Lorenzo Fertitta: It 'doesn't make any sense' to say UFC is stagnating

A few years ago, after the UFC lost several of its top stars, business seemed to be on the decline. This was a major change from years past when the UFC seemed to have a sort of unstoppable momentum.

Things have been turning around lately, as new stars have emerged and pay-per-view business has been on the upswing.

This week’s groundbreaking ceremony for a new UFC corporate headquarters, which includes a massive UFC Athlete Health and Performance Center, suggests a comfortability with the stability and future of the promotion at the executive level.

That’s something that UFC Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta made clear when speaking to MMAjunkie at the groundbreaking ceremony.

“How anybody can say that the sport is stagnating doesn’t make any sense,” Fertitta said. “We’re coming off of a record year. We just did an event down in Melbourne with 57,000 people headlined by four women where we’re leading the way for women in sports. We’re continuing to do things to raise the bar, whether it be production, we’re taking the events and opening new markets. It’s far from stagnating.”

The mainstream success of Ronda Rousey is just one of the things Fertitta could point to as proof of the UFC’s spot in popular culture.

“We now have athletes that aren’t just stars in MMA like historically they were, they’re stars in sports and pop culture,” he said. “Ronda Rousey is as big as it gets as far as being famous, right? Conor McGregor is well on his way. Jon Jones is well on his way. So, we’re far from stagnant. I’ll tell you what, it doesn’t feel like we’re stagnant when we come to work every day.”

Check out the full video above.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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