UFC makes first statement on MayMac PPV clusterf@$%
“We’re incredibly disappointed by the technical difficulties that were experienced Saturday night, and we’re working with our vendor NeuLion to assess exactly what happened.”
The Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather main event Saturday is believed to be the biggest fight in combat sports history as measured in money. It cost $100, which is a lot. So you have your buddies over and people bring beer and you’re happy – you are your friends are about to watch the biggest fight in combat sports history.
You are a dedicated UFC Fan, and pay for UFC Fight Pass. Using it, you pay another $100 for MayMac. Then you start to watch the four bouts. Boxing’s not your thing but whatever. Then you start to hear reports that the signal is going out for some.
Then your signal goes out. You go on your social network and countless people are experiencing the identical issue, and they are furious and embarrassed. The UFC Fight Pass Twitter account says, “Due to overwhelming traffic you may be experiencing log in issues. This will be resolved shortly.”
So you wait, as it will be resolved shortly. And nothing. There are live streams on Facebook but you can’t crowd a room of people around your phone to watch a live stream from the arena of the overhead screen. And the UFC is apparently doing a great job of taking those live streams down.
Finally, you learn that the UFC Fight Pass Twitter now suggest you use a different app, but they didn’t post that until the main event was underway. And the app they suggest costs another $100. And there is no mention of a refund. So that’s $200 to watch the remaining rounds and at this point you have no idea how many are left? Five? None? And there are so many reports of the PPVs not working, that one could be dead too.
A UFC rep suggests viewing via a Facebook live stream, but the UFC is taking those down.
https://twitter.com/trevorsarver/status/901676039457394696
So the UFC has ruined the biggest night in combat sports history. The next day you email the Fight Pass contact address and nothing. Sunday enraged customers were directed to email UFC’s streaming partner NeuLion. There are multiple credible reports that some of those emails are bouncing back.
By Sunday night almost 24 hours have passed, and the UFC finally has a statement.
“We’re incredibly disappointed by the technical difficulties that were experienced Saturday night,” read the statement. “We’re working with our vendor NeuLion to assess exactly what happened.”
Their vendor Neulion is silent, but UFC president Dana White also has an official statement.
Nothing is more important to the UFC than our fans, said White. They’ve always been incredibly loyal and supportive and we’ll always take care of them.”
So the UFC is sorry and doesn’t yet know what happened, and White says they always take care of their customers. However, there is still no mention of what the customer who always get taken care of should do.
And the money isn’t the biggest problem. The problem is that the UFC ruined the biggest night in combat sports history, in front of all your friends, without even the Vaseline of an apology.
It’s a disgrace.
