If it seems like the buzz behind this week’s UFC show is whisper-quiet, it might not be your imagination.
According to a broadcast report from 7 News Australia (h/t DovySimuMMA), ticket sales for UFC Fight Night 260 in Perth, Western Australia, have been so poor that they’ve now been discounted in an effort to merely get RAC Arena more than half-filled.
In February 2023, UFC 284 was a sell-out at RAC Arena with a gate north of $4 million. In August 2024, UFC 305 kicked off a multiyear deal between the promotion and the city of Perth to bring two shows to the city each year. The response for that pay-per-view was another sell-out and a gate near $5.5 million.
Those were numbered events with title fights. Saturday, UFC Perth features a main event between American light heavyweight former title challenger Dominick Reyes (15-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) and Carlos Ulberg (12-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC), from New Zealand.
According to the 7 News Australia report, officials in Perth now are questioning the city’s decision to pay the UFC a site fee for two annual events at RAC Arena – regardless of how many tickets are sold.
That renders attendance and gate numbers a little less important, and some fans argued online, meant the UFC isn’t under pressure to put on the kind of event fans want to buy pricey tickets to attend. UFC Perth is the result of that, is the consensus.
In addition, the live show in Australia starts early in the morning Sunday – so the time difference works out for the North American audience, which will stream the card on ESPN+ in the U.S., a service the UFC won’t be using anymore starting in January when it moves to Paramount+.
A combination of a bad local start time; a destination that even Australians contend can be a pain to travel to; and a card with a lineup fans increasingly said wasn’t worth the price of admission will culminate one way or another Saturday/Sunday. Check out fan reaction to the slashed ticket prices and news of poor sales below.
