ufc.tv
Combat sports have been taking the world by storm for the past decade or so. Mixed martial arts, which has technically been around since the days of ancient China, has persisted throughout Ancient Greece and Egypt, evolving from culture to culture, era to era. However, MMA never before was as popular as it is today due to the way that the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has managed to successfully popularize it for mainstream Western audiences.
For boxing and professional wrestling fans, the UFC was a natural next step. It's like boxing, but more extreme. It's not entirely unlike wrestling, but 100% real. MMA has captivated audiences around the world, many of whom cite it as the most athletically impressive professional sport being broadcast today.
As a mild-mannered and scrawny geek who reviews websites for a living, I don't really have much room to comment on whether UFC is, in fact, the most physically demanding professional sport. However, I can say with certainty that UFC fights are extremely impressive. The mere fact that they require the mastery of multiple martial arts is enough to get me on board. Then, to have the courage and confidence to take those skills that they spent years perfecting into a literal cage and try to physically beat a man whose arms may or may not be considered lethal weapons?impressive is an understatement.
Even though I would almost certainly be sent to the hospital if I ever got into a fight, one thing I can do is tell you what websites are the best for streaming MMA content and why. I?m kinda the heavyweight champion of website reviews. And the website we?ll be going toe-to-toe with today is one that any MMA fan has probably heard about at one point or another. Itâs the UFCâs official streaming service, UFC TV â also known as UFC Fight Pass. It is a must-have for all serious UFC fans â so make sure to add it to your watch list!
History
The UFC Fight Pass subscription-based streaming service features live UFC fights, as well as other MMA, submission grappling, kickboxing, boxing, and Thai boxing events. It is a 24-hour streaming service that features content in a linear fashion. In other words, it is more like an all-access all MMA cable channel that you subscribe to where you can watch anything at any time. However, UFC Fight Pass does also offer on-demand streaming from a robust archive of past matches - over 20,000 of them to be exact.
UFC Fight Pass launched in December 2012. Since its launch, UFC President Dana White has claimed that it will become "Netflix for fight fans." In March 2014, for instance, Fight Pass added the libraries of WEC, PRIDE FC, Affliction, Strike Force, and Elite XC to its catalog. And in September 2014, Invicta FC also began live-streaming events on Fight Pass.
Design
The UFC president made a comparison of Fight Pass being like Netflix for fight fans, and this is a accurate description. The site (and the various apps) are very similar to Netflix in design and layout. From the black and red theme to the way you browse the streaming service's archives of footage, if you saw Fight Pass out of the corner of your eye, it would be easy to mistake it for Netflix.
So, apparently the UFC Fight Club's design is pretty stylish, modern, minimalistic, and intuitive, right? I love how browsing for other content while watching something transparently overlays on top of the content you're currently viewing. This is really helpful when it comes to the service's live streams - you can see stats, additional content, and schedules without missing a beat in whatever match is airing at the time.
UFC Fight Pass looks really nice. It's sleek, immersive, intuitive, and experiential - everything you want in an app or site you pay monthly or yearly to access. I'm sure even the pickiest of fans will be pleased with it.
Content
As I have already touched upon, UFC Fight Pass is a streaming service that offers live UFC and MMA matches, pre-recorded UFC and MMA fights, and original commentary content. Personally, I am a big fan of the way that Fight Pass blends live airing and on-demand streaming, providing a unique best of both worlds scenario in which you can watch Fight Pass as if it is its own premium cable channel or treat it like the Netflix of fighting. No matter how you prefer to view your fights, UFC Fight Pass has you covered.
There is a big missing piece of the content puzzle when it comes to the UFC- Fight Pass relationship: pay per view events. None of the big UFC events are available with your subscription, meaning you will have to purchase them each individually. However, you do have access to every PPV preliminary matchup, so you'll always be up-to-date on the action.
Mobile and Desktop Experience
I think UFC Fight Pass is best enjoyed on a computer or through a smart TV. The optics are much better than trying to watch MMA on your phone, and the UFC app has a pretty sordid critical history. Apparently, there have been many missing features, bugs, and problems that, over time, UFC has worked to fix. The UFC app on the Apple App Store has one of the lowest ratings I have ever seen, 2.0 stars (out of 5). People really seem to dislike this app. From what I can tell, though, a lot of these negative reviews come from quite a while ago. It seems as if many of the issues have been addressed, but I would still say that you're better off with the excellent and intuitive design and flow of the desktop site or Roku app over trying to use UFC Fight Pass on your iPhone or Android device.
Pricing and Plans
As far as streaming services go, UFC Fight Pass is pretty reasonably priced. Especially when you consider the amount of content it offers. You have two subscription options with Fight Pass - monthly or annually. Monthly subscriptions start at $9.99 per month, but annual subscriptions save you 20% by paying upfront rather than monthly.
If you're interested in UFC fights, but aren't sure if Fight Pass is the right subscription for you, paying just ten bucks for a month will let you try it out. Unfortunately, there is currently no way to try Fight Pass for free.
Suggestions that I have for UFC TV
According to the low app rating, I would suggest that UFC work on its app to address the concerns that users seem to have. It is probably worth considering just building a whole new app specifically for Fight Pass instead of rolling the Fight Pass features into this more generalized UFC app.
I would also like to see UFC Fight Pass offer a trial for would-be users. I think it would be smart for them to let people try it out, especially since some of the content is a little more esoteric than strictly offering exclusively UFC matches. Maybe they could add another subscription tier that includes PPV matches (or at least a certain number of them!).
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