Jason Burgos
While the assumption was that merging WWE and the UFC under one umbrella would lead to even more growth for the two companies, more bits of evidence continue to emerge about the negative effect their parent company is having on their products.
There is a surprising amount of crossover between WWE and the UFC. Many of the fans for both brands watch both products. Several wrestlers tried their hand at mixed martial arts, and quite a few former UFC stars have made the jump to pro wrestling.
That is why when the two global giants merged in 2023 under the umbrella of TKO Group Holdings and went public, it seemed like a perfect business match. However, while the companies are posting strong numbers again in 2026, there are also obvious signs that meddling from TKO and some of the strategies the parent company has tried to institute are hurting WWE and UFC’s potential.
Over the last couple of years, WWE fans have grown frustrated with TKO decision makers like CEO Ari Emanuel sticking their nose into the company’s creative process.
Emanuel has been supportive of board member Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s inconsistent and confusing appearances on WWE content in 2024 and 2025. He was reportedly behind Travis Scott being used in the lead-up to WrestleMania 41, then the rapper flaked out and never appeared again. And this year, he is allegedly the driving force for why Pat McAfee was thrust into the storyline for the Night 1 WrestleMania main event between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton.
WrestleMania 42 ticket sales are still way behind last year’s event
However, the biggest frustration since the merger for WWE is the price-gauging from the company for tickets and merchandise. That has very much been an initiative of TKO, and it is set to have a huge effect on the biggest event of the year.
There have been reports for weeks about the slow sales for this month’s WrestleMania 42 card. Well, with the event set to go down this weekend, it looks like it will significantly underperform last year’s show in the same building. According to X account Wrestle Tix, 40,610 tickets have been sold for Night 1 of the event in Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, and 42,769 for Night 2. The arena is set up for 45,767 seats this year.
However, last year in the same building, 58,538 were sold for Night 1, and 60,103 for Night 2. It is a huge difference despite this year’s event having a better card. It seems that doing the event in Las Vegas for a second straight year was a terrible idea, and the cost makes it far less appealing for those in the region this time around.
UFC 327 made half as much as previous events in Miami?
Yet, WWE isn’t the only one affected by TKO’s negative influence. Fans of UFC have grown annoyed with how watered-down events have become as the promotion looks to have cards almost every weekend. Furthermore, the talent pool in the company has also diminished.
A major reason for the lack of star power in the UFC is the company’s shift away from pay-per-view to a $7.7 billion streaming deal with Paramount. Their business model for 20 years was built on PPVs and giving top fighters points off buys. With that no longer being an option, the company is unwilling to pay flat rates for elite stars.
It’s why Jon Jones isn’t going to return to the company. Conor McGregor still doesn’t have a fight set for 2026, and Ronda Rousey is making her MMA return on Netflix for Most Valuable Promotions instead of inside the Octagon.
Well, it looks like the UFC’s weakened product due to the changes from the TKO merger has made fans in Florida lose interest in shelling out big bucks to go to an event in person. According to X account MMA Joey, the gate for last weekend’s UFC 327 at Miami’s Kaseya Center was $6.5 million.
The promotion reportedly earned over $11 million for UFC 314, $12 million for UFC 287, and $14 million for UFC 299 at the same venue. So the drop in return for UFC 327 this year was massive.
This week brought two more big pieces of evidence that TKO continues to be bad for WWE and the UFC.
