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Now that the dust has settled on UFC 202, it's a good time to talk about what direction the company is heading in.
Over the past decade or so, the company has developed into a mainstream powerhouse, welcoming the likes of Conor McGregor who has used controversy to promote events.
The Irishman brought an element of glamour and showmanship to the UFC because of his style, lust for money, and extroverted persona.
Most recently, The Notorious dipped his bait into the WWE and got a lot of bites and free publicity heading into his headline fight with Nate Diaz at UFC 202.
This isn't the first connection UFC has had with WWE, and it certainly won't be the last. Brock Lesnar made a highly anticipated return to the octagon earlier this year, taking time out from his wrestling career.
He appeared at UFC's milestone event UFC 200, and was used as a big name draw to bring headlines and viewers. Similarly, CM Punk's debut in the octagon is imminent, and regardless of skill or ability, there's no doubt people will tune in to see the former WWE superstar compete in his first fight. It seems as if it's getting more and more to the point where the spectacle of the event is much more important than the actual fight, which is how the WWE has modelled itself for years.
Now, I'm not comparing the two companies as they're wildly different and will never be the same. Technically, WWE is not a competition, it's entertainment and it's scripted. That being said, there is a top prize, and there's hard work required to achieve it, but ultimately the fate of superstars is decided by a creative team.
I'm not saying that UFC results will ever be dictated by a creative team - God forbid - but, following McGregor and Diaz's explosive pre-fight press conference, which people were quick to label as staged, could other elements of the UFC see a creative input?
The crowds have grown, the walk outs from fighters are much bigger, and build ups to events are now widely reported.
The rematch between McGregor and Diaz was a huge event, and now people are calling for a trilogy of fights, citing some sort of feud that is not to dissimilar to what you'd find in wrestling. The pair have gone back and forth for a while now, and people want the third fight for some closure, something that wrestling fans called for between The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin when it came to Wrestlemania match-ups.
WWE's two biggest stars had gone head-to-head at two previous Wrestlemanias, and people wanted the third, at Wrestlemania 19. It turned out to be Austin's final match, and was a big draw for fans worldwide, which is exactly what McGregor vs Diaz III would be.
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Similar to McGregor, Ronda Rousey has been a big draw to the female side of UFC.
The cover star of the UFC 2 video game got a lot of media attention throughout 2014 and 2015 following a tremendous undefeated run.
Of course, a lot of people jumped on the band wagon, and were known as 'dick riders' to the true MMA fans, who don't watch the sport because of the mainstream hype.
In 2014, Ronda was asked if she'd ever consider a move to WWE, to which she responded 'you never know'. Whether she has intentions of ever doing so remains to be seen, and, to be quite frank, it is irrelevant. It was all a ploy to get herself into more headlines, as well as getting publicity for UFC and WWE.
A year later, in March 2015, Rousey appeared in a WWE ring at the company's flagship event Wrestlemania. She joined The Rock, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon after hopping out of the crowd, and despite not wrestling, she got a lot of attention.
In the run up to the event, rumours had started that she'd be there, and it was just another big draw to get UFC fans to watch Wrestlemania, and a way of getting WWE to watch her upon her return to the octagon. Of course, it was all a plan to get as much publicity for her title defence against Bethe Correia.
During her reign as champ, she racked up a lot of TV time on popular chat shows, as well as posing nude for Sports Illustrated.
When it came round to UFC 193 at the end of 2015, Rousey was entering her fight against Holly Holm the favourite, and with a distinct advantage over her opponent due to the fact all the 'Rousey dick riders' had no idea who she was.
The cash cow was knocked clean out in the second round after a devastating kick from Holm, one that would put Rousey in hospital and out of action for a long time. Just like that, the 29-year-old had become unimportant, and the baton had been passed to Holm.
The problem with the baton being passed was that Holm had nowhere near as much media or social presence as Rousey, meaning the hype surrounding her died quickly, and then any hype left died altogether after Miesha Tate defeated her in her first title defence.
The fact that Holm and Tate both didn't quite equal the popularity Rousey had and will probably have upon her return outlines the direction in which UFC is heading.
Of course, we're not going to be sat watching some kind of show pony event like the WWE is now, but the mainstream, media and spectacle element of the company could become very similar.
With the sale of UFC to WME-IMG, it means that a huge company is piling mega bucks into the brand, with the pure aim of 'accelerating global growth'.
Despite the fact Dana White is still president, and very happy with the way UFC is, and wants it to remain that way, the power of a corporate companies looming above his head can dictate a lot of things.
WWE lets certain elements like fan reactions, media and online talk dictate some match-ups and occurrences, something that could quite easily become a thing in UFC.
If it's going to make money, be a massive event and get a lot of attention, then it's going to happen.
It could soon be the case as UFC becomes far more about the spectacle rather than the fighting, meaning it'll be about how big the event is rather than anything else.
Either way, we're all here just to watch two people beat the living shit out of each other until someone tells them to stop. Long may that continue.
Words by Mark McGowan
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