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Why Is the UFC Struggling to Create New Stars?
Why is the UFC struggling to create new stars? Greg and Mike Crone point to nonstop cards and thin rivalries, though UFC 332 complicates their case.
By Brett Hanson · Underdog Podcasts · September 30, 2026
Greg Crone looked over the UFC 332 card and kept running into names he barely knew. “Who, who, who, who?” he said on The Octagon Brothers. Mike Crone thought the card was better than Greg made it sound. The main event was his sticking point.
Why is the UFC struggling to create new stars? The hosts’ best answer is that fighters have fewer chances to become familiar, must-watch figures. A packed schedule brings constant action, while short-lived title stories give casual viewers less time to care about who fights next. Skill alone cannot fill that gap. UFC 332 would soon make a mess of the easy claim that the fights themselves had gone flat.
Are there too many UFC events to build stars?
Greg’s complaint was simple: the UFC is on all the time. There is always another card. Before one has settled in fans’ minds, the next is already arriving, and Greg said the sport had lost some of its “appointment television” pull.
There is plenty to watch. The UFC’s 2026 deal with Paramount called for 13 numbered events and 30 Fight Nights. That is a lot of Saturdays to ask someone to keep free. It is also a lot of chances for a fighter to catch a viewer’s eye.
Mike wanted those chances. He said he would rather have more cards, even if the schedule felt crowded. He had watched a recent event with a four-box view on one screen and Paramount+ on another. Greg could hardly argue that Mike lacked interest.
Their split gets at the problem. A regular fan can enjoy a full card without knowing every fighter on it. A casual viewer may see unfamiliar names and wait for a night that feels bigger. Neither response says much about the quality of the fights.
Greg and Mike recorded their UFC 332 discussion before the October 3, 2026 event. Once the fights took place, the card set UFC records for eight first-round finishes and 11 knockouts. Greg had doubted its pull. The fighters gave him plenty to watch.
That result does not settle his point. Great finishes can make a night. Building a star asks viewers to remember the person who delivered one when the next card comes around.
Why did Conor McGregor's era feel bigger?
Greg kept coming back to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor. He thought Nurmagomedov’s fame grew partly through the people he fought, with the McGregor rivalry taking it to another level. Mike agreed.
The comparison has a real number behind it. Their lightweight title fight on October 6, 2018, drew 20,034 people to T-Mobile Arena and set a UFC ticket-revenue record for Las Vegas. Nurmagomedov submitted McGregor that night. The UFC said the event also broke its records for pay-per-view sales, social-media reach and global viewership.
It is tempting to turn that fight into a recipe. Find two champions, let them feud, and watch everyone become famous. That leaves out McGregor. He was an unusually large presence before he met Nurmagomedov, and their dispute drew attention far beyond a normal title defense.
Still, Greg’s point holds up in a smaller way. A rivalry gives a newcomer something to follow. The next fight has a connection to the last one. A champion’s style becomes more interesting when a particular opponent has spent months trying to solve it.
That takes time. Fans need to see both fighters win, lose or change before a rematch means much. Otherwise, the second bout can feel like a repeat that appeared on the schedule without asking anyone.
Why isn't Islam Makhachev a bigger crossover star?
Greg called Islam Makhachev the UFC’s best fighter, then wondered why his dominance had not brought McGregor-era fame. He compared Makhachev with Nurmagomedov, whose most famous opponent gave their fight a story that people outside the sport could follow.
Makhachev’s record makes the question fair. He won the lightweight title in October 2022 and defended it four times. In November 2025, he moved up and won the welterweight title. He defended that belt against Ian Machado Garry in Philadelphia on August 15, 2026, setting a UFC record for consecutive wins.
Those are remarkable achievements. They also deserve more care than the phrase “no stars” allows. Makhachev is a star to people who follow the sport. What Greg was reaching for was a different sort of fame: the kind that makes someone who never watches a full card know when a fighter is on it.
“It lacks that appointment television at the moment.”
Nobody has a signed letter proving which rival would do that for Makhachev. His move to welterweight gave him a fresh set of opponents, and the Garry fight gave viewers a title defense to measure. It remains hard to tell which matchup might reach the people who missed both.
Does Merab Dvalishvili's style hurt his appeal?
Greg saw another version of the problem in Merab Dvalishvili. He described a fighter who keeps pressing, looks for takedowns and makes opponents work throughout the fight. Greg thought many casual viewers would find that less exciting than a one-punch finish. Mike agreed.
That is a judgment about viewers, not a fault in Dvalishvili’s skill. The work is right there on screen. He forces an opponent to defend again and again, which can be gripping once you know what each man is trying to do.
The hosts caught themselves. They had just claimed title rematches were scarce. Greg tried to remember the last one, while Mike brought up other fights; then they landed on Dvalishvili and Petr Yan, set to meet for a third time.
That third fight happened after the recording, at UFC 333 on October 24, 2026. Yan defended the bantamweight title by unanimous decision. All three judges scored it 48–47, and the UFC described a close fight in which Dvalishvili pushed the pace early.
So the rivalry was there. Greg’s sharper question is why it did not feel, to him, like a fight the whole country was waiting for. A long-running contest can reward the fans who know every turn while leaving everyone else outside the door.
Can a big finish turn a prospect into a star?
UFC 332 offered a useful test. Before the card, Greg and Mike discussed Ateba Gautier as a rising talent. Greg thought Roman Kopylov’s greater experience might trouble him. Mike stayed with Gautier.
Greg had it right that night. Kopylov stopped Gautier in the first round. On the same card, Payton Talbott stopped former flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo in the first round, then called for a fight with Sean O’Malley. Those were the kinds of moments that can make people look up a fighter’s name.
One result can open a story. It cannot tell the whole thing. Kopylov gained a strong win over a prospect who had arrived with attention. Talbott gained a quick finish over a former champion and named the opponent he wanted next. What follows matters as much as the clip people share the next morning.
Greg and Mike had their own reasons to care about those bouts before either fighter walked out. Greg trusted Kopylov’s experience. Mike thought Talbott’s size would trouble Figueiredo. A viewer arriving cold had less to hold on to.
Did the Paramount+ deal change what a big UFC card means?
Mike brought up a change that could make Greg’s crowded-calendar complaint worse, or make it matter less. Since January 2026, U.S. Paramount+ subscribers have been able to watch numbered UFC events without a separate pay-per-view charge. Select events also air on CBS.
Mike thought that might ease the pressure to load every numbered card with familiar names. Greg agreed. If viewers can open the service without buying an event on its own, an uneven card may feel easier to try.
That cuts both ways for new fighters. A lower hurdle could put more eyes on someone like Natalia Silva. It could also make one numbered event feel less distinct from the next. The hosts were guessing about the effect, and the new deal had only been in place since January.
Silva won. At UFC 332, she beat Wang Cong by unanimous decision for the vacant women’s flyweight title, on a main card that aired on CBS as well as Paramount+; Greg had questioned its drawing power before it happened, while Mike had been excited about Wang for years.
Mike did not get the winner he hoped for. Silva got the belt, and viewers who turned on CBS got five rounds to learn her name. The test for a new star starts after that, when the screen goes dark and somebody asks when she fights again.
The full episode of The Octagon Brothers is on Underdog Podcasts, with the rest of the network's shows.
People also ask
Does the UFC have fewer stars than it did in Conor McGregor's era?+
That depends on what “star” means. Islam Makhachev has won titles in two weight classes, yet Greg Crone questioned whether he draws the wider attention McGregor did. McGregor’s 2018 fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov set UFC records. It is an unusually high mark for any current fighter to meet.
Would holding fewer UFC events help build stars?+
Greg Crone thought fewer cards might make big fights feel like appointments again. Mike Crone preferred having something to watch most weeks. A shorter schedule could give each event more room to breathe, though it would also mean fewer chances for prospects to be seen. UFC 332 showed what a crowded calendar can still produce.
Why do UFC rivalries matter for building stars?+
A rivalry gives viewers a reason to remember what happened last time and care about the next fight. Greg pointed to Nurmagomedov and McGregor as the clearest example. Merab Dvalishvili and Petr Yan show that rematches still happen, though even a third title fight may not reach everyone outside the sport.
Do UFC numbered events still cost extra to watch?+
In the United States, Paramount+ subscribers can watch UFC numbered events without a separate pay-per-view charge under the deal that began in 2026. Some events also air on CBS. Mike thought that change might make less familiar main events easier for fans to accept.