The UFC continues to soar to new heights each year, and 2023 is no different.
Looking at the numbers, the UFC doesn’t seem to be slowing down; quite the opposite, it looks like it’s picking up steam heading into 2024 and beyond. The financial prosperity of the promotion is expected to hit its highest point in 2025, with projections suggesting a value in the multi-billion range.
Let’s start by examining the financial success of the UFC over the past nine months.
The UFC made a ton of money in the first nine months of 2023 until September 30, setting a new record. The promotion earned a little more than $1 billion, beating last year’s $868.4 million. The yearend statistics are expected to be a lot higher since October, November, and December had three big pay-per-view events.
The UFC made most of its money, a whopping $702.5 million, from media rights like their deals with ESPN.
Live events brought in $115.6 million, and sponsorships added up to $148 million. Consumer products, like T-shirts and merchandise, made $43.3 million in 2023. The numbers are already encouraging, and they’re likely to get even bigger, especially with the holiday season boosting sales of stuff like T-shirts and other products.
While the UFC discloses its financial information as a publicly traded company, we still don’t know all the details about how many folks bought their pay-per-view events. Nevertheless, it’s reasonable to assume that these sales are strong, given the significant revenue earned in 2023.
In short, the UFC is in pole position to break all records in 2023.
Will 2024 be bigger for the world’s top MMA promotion?
