The Doug Gottlieb Show interview revealed a blunt admission from Mark Shapiro that highlights a key problem for the UFC: a shortage of true marquee stars comparable to past generations.
Shapiro struggled to name the promotion’s current top-tier talent while explaining the company’s move from ESPN to Paramount.
“While obviously we have stars Amanda Nunes and Jon Jones and, you know, Justin Gaethje, and a lot of folks along the way, Usman, Chimaev, we didn’t have anyone at the level of Conor McGregor, Ronda Rousey in the in the later years of our seven-year deal,”
The comment underlines a stark reality for the promotion — it currently lacks the transcendent names that once drove huge pay-per-view numbers and mainstream attention. That gap became a sticking point in negotiations with ESPN which cited the talent pipeline as a factor in slipping pay-per-view performance.
Shapiro tied part of the decline to pricing and piracy.
“We know that for a fact because the pay-per-view started slipping the total number of buys and the pirating went to insane levels,”
Note: the word in quotes above remains exactly as Shapiro said it. In the body text the report describes piracy as reaching unbelievable levels.
Shapiro also pointed to a roster that increasingly features champions from regions with less crossover appeal for U.S. mainstream viewers.
“you have a lot of Russian and Middle Eastern champions”
Those athletes can be elite but may not provide the same marketing pull for American audiences as past megastars.
Despite the short-term concern Shapiro sounded optimistic about the cyclical nature of star development.
“You do want commercial stars. And I think overtime, it’s very cyclical. It just it rides different waves,”
The move to Paramount may help by lowering consumer barriers. Under the new deal UFC content will be available to Paramount+ subscribers at $7.99 per month a big drop from the previous model.
Shapiro also acknowledged a core truth about combat sports stardom: it can’t be fully manufactured.
“you got to win to become a star. We can’t manufacture it.”
That means the UFC must wait for organic stars to emerge while it competes in a crowded entertainment market.
The executive’s candid remarks give a window into why media partners care about roster narratives and why pay-per-view economics remain central to the sport’s business strategy. Whether Paramount’s lower price point and distribution can accelerate the next wave of household names remains to be seen.
