MMA Fighting Proposes UFC Majors System

The UFC should borrow from golf's playbook and establish four annual "Major" events to reverse what one prominent journalist calls the promotion's oversaturation problem, according to a proposal published by MMA Fighting.

Jed Meshew, writing in his weekly mailbag column, outlined a system where the UFC designates one card per quarter as a premium showcase — similar to golf's four Majors — while maintaining its current event schedule. "By putting 13 fights on just about every week and telling people to constantly watch, the UFC has essentially branded every one of their shows as important; and if everything is important, then nothing is important," Meshew wrote.

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How The UFC Majors System Would Work

Under Meshew's framework, the promotion would anchor its calendar around International Fight Week in summer and the yearly Madison Square Garden card in November, then add two more tentpole events in Australia during the first quarter and a rotating major city in the second. He compared the model to tennis's Grand Slam tournaments, giving casual fans four predictable dates to circle each year. "Instead of one or two events a year to get excited about or look forward to on a one-off basis, you get one every three months," Meshew argued.

The proposal acknowledges fighter interest in competing on marquee cards, citing the recent scramble to land spots on the UFC White House event. Meshew suggested the promotion could award specialty prizes at each Major — gold bomber jackets at one, trophies at another — and create a "Grand Slam" achievement for fighters who win at all four locations.

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Meshew maintained the system would not replace events like Noche UFC or one-off spectacles, which he said should retain their own identities. His pitch comes as the UFC navigates its shift away from traditional pay-per-view distribution in most markets following the Paramount Plus deal.

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• MMA Fighting — Opinion | A modest proposal to reinvigorate the UFC fanbase: MMA Majors