It saved the UFC during the pandemic, but years later, they're still using it. Why can the UFC not let go of the Apex?
Illustration — not a photograph.
The UFC Apex was never supposed to be a real venue. It was a warehouse near the UFC HQ
and UFC Performance Institute (PI) that the UFC bought in October 2018, with enough space to house a crowd of around
1,000 people .
The opening of the Apex in June 2019 represented the final stage of the UFC’s modernisation, with the PI offering
fighters access to world-class training facilities and cutting-edge sports scientists, and the Apex itself being
a UFC-owned fight venue and production studio.
It was originally designed to host the UFC’s auxiliary shows like
Dana White’s Contender Series (DWCS) and The Ultimate Fighter (TUF), where fighters compete to earn UFC contracts.
In 2020, however, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, the UFC were looking for ways to return to their regular
schedule as soon as possible and decided to use the Apex to host events behind closed doors. The Apex’s smaller
size made it a natural choice as they could easily regulate event proceedings and ensure they adhered to lockdown
and social distancing protocols.
The Apex became the UFC’s de facto home while lockdown restrictions were still in effect and enabled the UFC to
continue hosting events while the majority of other major sporting organisations couldn’t.
The thinking at the time was that the Apex would be the perfect home base the UFC could bounce back-and-forth
between while the world was opening back up until eventually normal operations were resumed.
The plan was sound, yet six years later and with the COVID-19 pandemic firmly in the rear-view mirror, the
UFC still regularly hosts events at the Apex.
This investigation looks at how long the UFC has leaned on the Apex after the emergency that created it ended,
the impact it has on events and why the UFC are struggling to part ways with it.
While an Apex event is still a live UFC card, in practice it fundamentally alters the experience of watching a
live UFC event. The Apex has a capacity of 1,000 people making it far smaller than the standard arena the UFC
traditionally hosted events at.
This translates directly to the live viewer
experience as there is a noticeably lacking atmosphere at these events, even
when witnessing some of the jaw-dropping moments MMA is capable of:
"When we talk about the events feeling soulless, feeling empty, lacking buzz, lacking excitement, all these
things and more, we're talking about the event itself, we're talking about the venue itself,
we're talking about the production we're talking about how it comes across on television and to ignore that
or to deflect is disingenuous." — Ariel Helwani, March 2025 via The Ariel Helwani Show.
This 1,000-person capacity is only a recent development too; prior to August 2026 the
Apex could only hold 500 people, many of whom were friends and family of competing athletes.
Step 1 of 3
Apex events as a share of the entire global UFC calendar, 2018–2026
* 2026 data includes all events up to the 5th of September
01
In its debut year, the Apex hosted 46% of events — even more significant when you consider
that its first appearance wasn't until the 30th of May.
02
In its first full year, 2021, it hosted 72% of all UFC events.
Arenas had started to open up again but it wasn’t until September when all other major US sporting organisations
(NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) had fully reopened their stadiums.
03
By 2022, global sporting events had returned to normal operation: the 2022 Winter Olympics
in February had full-capacity venues, as did the FIFA World Cup in November.
However, we didn’t see a similar tapering off from the UFC, with 50% of all UFC events still being hosted at
the Apex.
04
From 2023 onwards, the UFC has consistently hosted over a quarter of its events at the
Apex.
So it's not really about the pandemic any more.
What have the knock-on effects been?
Step 1 of 3
Total UFC events held in the US per year
* 2026 data includes all events up to the 5th of September
01
Start with the totals: in the lead-up to the pandemic the UFC consistently held 22-23 events in the US annually.
The totals increased during the height of the pandemic as more events were held at the Apex, peaking at 39 annually.
In recent years, this figure has started dropping again but still hovers above the average pre-pandemic figure.
02
While we do now have slightly more events in the US than before, it’s the locations within the US that are more interesting.
Even as of this year, nearly 50% of the UFC events held in
the US are Apex events.
So even though there are more US events, there’s actually fewer opportunities for fans to attend an event.
03
The knock-on effect is that the UFC is visiting fewer cities across the US than it used to.
Across 2024 and 2025, the UFC visited 12 different US cities a year on average compared to 17 pre-pandemic.
That’s five fewer chances for fans across the US to attend a live UFC event in their local area.
The simple answer is it’s cheaper and more logistically simple. During the pandemic,
the UFC realised they could continue to fulfil their contractual obligations to their
streaming platforms whether they were putting on events in the Apex or across the
world.
Touring fewer cities and running more cards from a fixed in-house studio is
cheaper and logistically simpler. That means no arena rental, no full production build,
no travel costs for a touring crew.
That simple calculation has become more attractive,
not less, as the UFC's business has shifted from ticket sales toward its broadcast
and streaming contracts.
This piece from MMA On Point also shows that the Apex is being
used to host weaker events. The video shows that since the pandemic, the percentage
of 'bad' headline fights has been increasing and the majority of the fights they
label as 'bad' are being hosted at the Apex.
This backs up the suggestion that the UFC are using the Apex as a way to fulfil
their contractual obligation by putting on X number of fights a year, even if the
calibre of fights and viewing experience is diminished.
Deal 1 of 6
Keep scrolling to track the UFC’s broadcasting deals over time
In their own words
The Apex has long been the subject of extensive fan debate. Look at any online forums or comment sections on UFC content featuring the Apex and you will find fans saying Apex events need to be scrapped and it should go back to being used for DWCS and TUF. However, when I spoke to MMA fans, they were in favour of the Apex.
"To be honest, I don't mind [Apex shows] too much ... I actually think it's sort of fairer or like more of a level playing field in terms of support"
"I think, you know, it's important to bring in crowds for the UFC. I think that's what makes the fight so good. I think atmosphere really does matter. But my mind is recently changed ever since the new Meta Apex has come in, because they've made it like a small crowd."
"I think it's a shame that maybe they're not considering making it actually a bit more of a regular thing."
A recurring theme that emerged was that hearing the sounds of the fight was important to the viewing experience.
"I must admit, I miss the days of COVID when you could hear every little punch, scrap, like you could hear everything that was landing."
"One of the things I like about the apex is the fact that you're able to just hear the shots."
This goes to show that not all MMA fans are opposed to the Apex. Perhaps the opinions voiced online by fans are just from one vocal faction.
The Apex solved a real problem in 2020. It represented a return to live UFC events for fans the world over. What it's doing on the calendar in 2026 is a different question and the answer looks like a more economically efficient way of running the business. With guaranteed revenue up front and a freshly inked deal with Meta, there’s no sign of the UFC reverting back to the pre-pandemic touring schedule in the near future.