Dana White, the president of UFC, touted the success of the first Noche UFC event, stating it had the most viewers of any Fight Night on ESPN+ and vowing to hold the event on Mexican Independence Day annually, regardless of any competition from boxing matches.
UFC President Dana White was unable to attend the first Mexican Independence Day event, commonly referred to as Noche UFC. Despite his absence, he was left astounded by its successful performance. He was particularly impressed that “Noche UFC was the most-watched Fight Night of all time on ESPN+,” drawing an impressive 1.1 million unique views. And it was not just the number of viewers that amazed White, the event also managed to generate a staggering 167 million total minutes and tripled the average viewership minutes on the Spanish feed. Rightly so, he described this feat as an “incredible success”.
One of the main factors contributing to Noche UFC’s success was its deviation from the usual non-pay-per-view event routine. The fight night, led by Mexico’s flyweight champion, Alexa Grasso, featured a plethora of Mexican talent and was steeped in cultural nuances. The championship re-match between Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko, despite being embroiled in controversy, was hailed as one of the most entertaining bouts of the year. The event was seen as a refreshing break from the UFC’s regular scheduling, which has often been dubbed monotonous and uninspired.
On the backdrop of boxing’s long-standing tradition of holding major events on Mexican Independence Day, White has vowed to establish the same for UFC. Promising that henceforth, the UFC would commemorate the date every year, he claimed, “I will get that date every year from now on, yes”. Undeterred by potential scheduling conflicts with other local events, he added, “I don’t care if somebody here in town gets the date at the [T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas], I’ll go in an opposing arena and go head-to-head with them next year.” Evidently, White is dedicated to the Mexican market, stating, “All my chips are in on Mexico.”