The global duopoly of the UFC and ONE Championship remains evident with social media data over the past year. The two martial arts behemoths of the East and West remain far ahead of the field. This is according to data collected by Crowdtangle and Fanpage Karma.
On Sunday, South China Morning Post’s Nicolas Atkin posted data from four of the largest players in martial arts. The discrepancy between followers, organic video views, and engagement metrics was stark. In the digital world, UFC and ONE are crushing the competition.
UFC and ONE Dominate the Social Media World
The UFC leads the way in total followers, with 180 million across the major social media platforms. ONE ranks second with 76 million followers. Bellator comes in third with 10 million, with PFL checking in with 9 million.
Thoughts?
Stats from Crowdtangle/Fanpage Karma comparing UFC, ONE, PFL, Bellator socials over last 12 months. pic.twitter.com/2biNtqgy2l
— Nicolas Atkin (@NicoSCMP) October 1, 2023
When it comes to organic video views, however, ONE stands atop the mountain. The Asian-based organization pulled in over a staggering 6 billion video views. The UFC was not far behind, with 4.4 billion views across their social media pages. Far behind the pace set by the two massive organizations was PFL, with 266 million video views, and Bellator, with 196 million.
The other major category revealed by Crowdtangle and Fanpage Karma showed the UFC leads with organic engagements. Backed by its 180 million followers, the UFC had 651 million organic engagements. ONE posted over 321 million on their pages. Bellator stood third on the podium with 23 million, while PFL posted 18 million.
Overall, the numbers show how passionate and engaged the combat sports audience is around the world. Knockouts, submissions, and other incredible showings of talent frequently go viral and collect millions of views. With 2024 on the horizon, combat sports promotions will continue to deliver content to its fans in a major way.
