TKO is hearing the UFC quality complaints, and Mark Shapiro is basically telling fans to stop clutching their pearls.
During TKO’s latest earnings call, Shapiro pushed back after an investor asked about weaker UFC cards, pointing instead to the company’s reach, live-event business, young talent pipeline, and the coming UFC Freedom 250 card as proof that the machine is still humming. That will not settle every fan debate, especially when the same audience has watched Dana White’s White House card plans become one of the biggest business stories in the sport.
An investor put the issue directly to Shapiro during the call and asked what was happening with the recent noise around softer UFC lineups.
“There’s also been a lot of noise about weaker UFC cards lately,” the investor said. “In your view, what’s going on and what are you guys doing to improve?”
Shapiro did not exactly tap dance around it.
“Look, bottom line is we don’t buy it,” Shapiro said. “Let’s just start with this premise, right? The product is great at the UFC. The brand has never been stronger. Our reach has never been greater. So the foundational elements of UFC are in concrete. Anyone that came to our last numbered fight in Miami, which was UFC 327, was flat out blown away. Or anyone that went to our last fight night, which happened to be last weekend in Perth, Australia, a sellout, or even watched it, witnessed an extraordinary sport.”
Watch the earnings-call clips below:
Mark Shapiro is asked about the weaker UFC cards lately and what can be done to improve. pic.twitter.com/y0Zw3wn3gD
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) May 6, 2026
TKO talk fighter compensation and competition. pic.twitter.com/fgSlPrVBb4
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) May 6, 2026
Shapiro Points To New Blood And UFC Freedom 250
The UFC quality debate is not coming from nowhere. Hardcore fans have been grumbling about thin Fight Night lineups, fewer obvious blockbuster matchups, and a schedule where the brand name sometimes seems asked to do the heavy lifting by itself. That is the danger when the UFC logo is treated like a main event.
Shapiro’s answer was that UFC is always rebuilding the roster underneath the stars.
“Look, we are always building at the UFC,” Shapiro said. “We’re in the building phase at all times. We find the best up and coming talent around the world and we match them continually in the best fights. There’s huge movement right now with all these young fighters coming up in the ranks. Many of them are taking over slots in in the top 10 from guys that have been names in the rankings for years. Strong personalities that are busting just now. Joshua Van, Brazilian Carlos Pretes [sic], undefeated Michael Morales, the next generation.”
That part is fair enough. UFC Perth just gave the promotion another big welterweight moment when Carlos Prates smashed Jack Della Maddalena and immediately pushed himself into louder title-shot talk. Fighters like Michael Morales and Joshua Van also fit the exact profile Shapiro is selling. Young, dangerous, affordable, and one banger away from becoming a name fans cannot ignore.
Shapiro also brought up the White House card, where Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje have already been front and center in the promotional push.
“Or look at the White House card, which we put out there as a strong card,” Shapiro said. “We’ve actually added a card to it, UFC Freedom 250, which is stacked top to bottom, and we’re using that opportunity to feature one of our most promising stars in Ilia Topuria. Dana White and his team have been doing this for twenty five years.”
Shapiro framed star-building as the part UFC cannot fully control. The promotion can book the fights, build the stage, and push the personalities, but the next breakout still has to win when the cage door shuts.
“The real truth of it is that we don’t get to determine who wins, it doesn’t work like that,” Shapiro said. “You take these great personalities who hail from every corner of the world with exciting fighting styles, and if they win, you’ve caught lightning in a bottle. That’s what we do. That’s what Dana White does. And there’s no better matchmakers in any sport than we have with Dana’s team of Hunter Campbell, Sean Shelby, and Mick Maynard.”
That is the cleanest part of TKO’s defense. Prospects lose, champions get hurt, and planned stars can get derailed in one bad round. The harder part to sell is card depth. Fans are not just asking why every prospect fails to become a superstar. They are asking why some Fight Nights feel light while ticket prices, media-rights money, and TKO revenue keep climbing.
UFC Freedom 250 is now the obvious test case. If Topuria headlines a loaded card and the next wave keeps producing results like Prates in Perth, Shapiro can point to real momentum. If the schedule keeps serving thin lineups while the business keeps booming, “we don’t buy it” is going to sound less like a rebuttal and more like corporate shrugging.
