Everything You Need To Know About UFC Apex

The UFC Apex is a live events studio specifically made by the UFC to host their own shows, events, and any other footage which needs to be filmed in a professional environment. Originally the Apex was made because of the Covid-19 pandemic which caused large arenas and stadiums to close. At the time of opening (June 2019), there was no information on how long the western world would be in lockdown with no end date in sight for the return of fans.

As the UFC is a company with a global audience, it is beneficial for them to be able to stage PPV events as well as broadcast to millions of people around the world even without fans being present. Therefore it made sense to open the UFC Apex which is strategically located across the street from the UFC headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada, as well as being very close proximity to the UFC performance institute.

The key difference between UFC Apex and a standard UFC event is the size of the cage. UFC Apex uses a 25 foot cage, rather than the standard 30 feet used in other locations. This may not sound like a big difference, but the total surface area covered in a 30 foot octagon is 44% larger than that of UFC Apex. This has led to significantly more fights being finished by knockout or submission inside 3 and 5 rounds respectively.

Does The UFC Apex Allow Fans To Watch?

Fans are allowed into UFC but obviously compared to large events there is very limited capacity. Therefore it is extremely difficult to get tickets for UFC Apex compared to regular events – so you should expect to pay a lot more. The full capacity of UFC Apex is around 300 seats, although there is no doubt that some of these seats will be taken up by the friends and family of fighters.

UFC Apex is mostly a production facility that allowed the UFC to put on events during the pandemic at a lower budget. Therefore it is not really geared towards live fans. The atmosphere will not be as good as a regular UFC since the venue cannot hold a large capacity at all.

The benefit of getting UFC Apex tickets is that you get a much more authentic experience. You are much closer to the action and can hear the fighters and coaches every word.

Why Is The UFC Apex Cage Smaller?

It has not been publicized exactly why UFC decided to make the cage smaller at the UFC Apex. One theory is that the smaller cage size increases the action between the fighters and causes more matches to finish by knockout. Dana White dismissed this theory calling it an “illusion“.

Another theory is that the cage has been smaller so that the production facility could fit everything into a smaller area than a huge arena. However, this theory doesn’t hold much weight either since the UFC Apex is 130000 square feet.

Most likely is that the UFC Apex cage is being used as an experiment to see what happens with a smaller sized cage. By decreasing the size of the cage, it has been proven that the average fight goes to decision a lot less (statistics shown below). If the UFC continues to have more finishes inside the Apex, coupled with greater viewership figures, we could well see a 25 ft cage becoming normal in the future.

Will UFC Switch To An Apex Size Cage In The Future?

It’s no secret that the UFC has had a significant increase in the number of fights ending in a decision. This is not the worst thing to happen but is certainly not good for business as it doesn’t look good on a highlight reel.

To put these numbers into perspective, in 2008, 31.8% of UFC fights ended with a decision, in the past 10 years, decisions have accounted for 46%-54% of fights. This is a very large increase in the amount of fights going the full distance and becoming reliant on judges to choose the winner.

So far, the UFC Apex only has a 44% decision rate, which is the lowest since 2008-2009. There are still not as many finishes as there once were, but this is largely due to fighters becoming more competent with a well rounded skillset. No fighters have a completely unknown knowledge of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, so cannot be finished on the ground as easily as they once were 15 years ago.

Overall, it is going to be a tough decision whether to switch to a smaller cage size permanently in the future. If the finishing rate of UFC Apex continues to deviate away from a larger sized cage, we could see a 25 foot cage become standard. For the casual fan, this would be ideal since they want to see a knockout of submission much more than a decision.

Is There A Different Fighting Strategy In A Smaller Octagon?

Whilst MMA is still mixed martial arts whether you put it in a boxing ring, cage or an open field, strategies can differ somewhat. The UFC Apex does not necessarily favor more aggressive fighters, but it does increase confrontation and limit the ability to run away and/or regain a good position.

A prime example of this is fighters stuck against the fence. In a grappling exchange, this is not too much of a big deal since having your back against the fence can actually be used to your advantage and stop your opponent taking you to the ground.

However, being stuck against the fence whilst being punched and kicked is a very bad position for a fighter to find themselves in. With a larger octagon, there is more room to move off the fence and give yourself an open area to avoid strikes. When stuck on the fence a fighter can only move left or right, but not at all backward. This causes them to take more shots, which in turn increases the chance of a knockout or TKO.

Fighters who prefer to take their opponents down in the middle of the cage may have a strategic disadvantage in UFC Apex since they are always closer to the fence. Being taken down in the middle of the mat can be very dangerous if the fighter on top has a good submission arsenal or a vicious ground and pound. This is still a concern in UFC Apex, but if you are closer to the fence, you may be able to use it to stand back up and are always a minimum of 5 feet closer to where you want to be.