Opinions
A Guide To Watching Fights When Your Over 30
Anyone remember trying to watch pay per views we couldn't afford back in the 90's? Or ones we just didn't want showing up on the family cable bill?
Things have come a long way since then, kind of. Most people I know like sports and some capacity. Whenever I talk to them about if they watch fighting, most people say the same thing.
“Sometimes... I like it, but I would watch more if [insert reason]”
The reasons usually are..
“...if the fights where on earlier.” (for people not living in the US west coast)
“...if the fights didn’t cost so much to watch”
“...if I actually knew who was fighting”
The UFC's pay per view model throws a wrinkle in the way we consume this sport vs something like football. No matter what age you are, it can be challenging to consistently watch all fights.
I titled this blog targeting > 30 year olds for a reason. My advice to all ages is below, but but isn’t always viable as you progress through life:
- Invite your friends over, split the cost of the PPV, enjoy life because this is still possible every time a fight is on
- Find a bar that is displaying the fight and stay out and watch with others. Link below can help with that
- If you have no kids, stay up and watch the fights because you have nothing but work/school in the morning
Now if you’re over 30, have started a family, or just have many competing priorities.. I am guessing the time and cost of the fights are on the top of your list for why your not watching fights consistently. If this is you, keep reading and I’ll give you a way to follow the fight game despite the excuses we all use to not watch.
Watch the Fight Nights to Start:
The main cards on UFC Fight Nights do vary, but they don’t consistently kick off at 10pm EST like the pay per views. On average it’s usually closer to 7pm EST, with a main event at 9:45ish. In rare cases, there will be a fight night in Singapore or something like that like there was in 2023 - where one of my favorite moments happened at 10am with Max Holloway took on Korean Zombie.
Clip From Korean Zombie's Final Walkback
Most of these are on ESPN+ ($10 a month or so), and they often have excellent cards. You can see some PPV quality fights, even if you just watch the main events. These usually are title elimination fights, or ranked fights that help shape the divisions. Some of these are on normal ESPN at no cost, you just have to check UFC’s website to see which ones while be on normal cable.
For PPV:
If you live on the US east coast, most PPV main cards start at 10pm EST. The main and co-main events often start after midnight. This is a hard sell for those with kids who like to jump on their chest at 6:30am.
Also, long gone are the days of paying $35 to see Anderson Silva fight on PPV. Even if you go through the ESPN+ app, you are likely paying double that. This is still my recommended option if you can swing it. If you can’t, here’s what I recommend you do.
Watch the fights on YouTube the next day. I’ve done this many times when I couldn’t watch the fights live. When Sean O’Malley knocked out Aljomain Sterling in Boston back in August, the UFC loaded the whole fight on YouTube themselves hours after it ended. You can usually see the fight the next day or so, but the longer you wait the higher quality you will find. In general, watching back fights that are a couple days old to a couple years old is a great way to keep up with the sport.
If all else fails and you MUST watch it live but don’t have the financial means, find a way to watch however you can via streaming. If price is the only factor, watching the fights in some way is better than not watching them at all. Make sure you don’t do anything illegal in your region, but if there’s a will there is usually a way.
Keeping Up With The Fights/Fighters:
There is a bit of a hole in coverage when you go to major sports sites/networks. You just don’t see it covered like any of the 4 majors (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL). Heres where I recommend you go to get fighting news.
For short, quick, entertaining videos:
- Chael Sonnen’s YouTube channel
- Micheal Bisping’s YouTube channel
For long forum conversations:
- Joe Rogans MMA Show (Spotify on JRE podcast)
- Embedded UFC Vlogs
- ESPN Fighter Interviews
There are many others like Spinning Backfist (Barstool), Full Mount MMA, and sites like that who do a great job covering news and are consistent on twitter. I don’t regularly consume the MMA coverage this way, but it may work for you. And of course, subscribe to Jump The Gilly and you can get a few articles a week with simple news and coverage if you just want a quick read here and there.
So - don’t be intimidated by the fight times and prices, with a little patience these things can be navigated around. Once you start watching consistently and learn the fighters, everything will slowly fall into place and we will welcome you with open arms into the fight community. However, if you dont like any of these methods to watching fights and you want to give up on the sport, your dead to us.
