Apex slop will no longer be served up at the UFC Apex. It will be the Meta Apex instead.
The UFC’s own private venue in Las Vegas was originally designed to house The Ultimate Fighter, Dana White’s Contender Series, and perhaps host some regional MMA shows. However, during the coronavirus pandemic, it became a godsend, allowing the promotion to continue hosting events in the face of a global shutdown, capturing the sports market at a time when all other leagues were on a pause.
Since the world began opening up again in 2022, however, the UFC has steadfastly refused to leave the Apex entirely, leading to an overwhelmingly negative reaction from fans. “Apex slop” has come to describe C-level UFC events (numbered events, and Fight Nights outside the Apex, representing A and B tiers) hosted at the facility.
Now, the promotion has sold the naming rights to the venue, which houses a tiny fraction of spectators compared to a normal arena. And those rights have gone to Meta, the company helmed by Facebook co-creator Mark Zuckerberg.
Zuckerberg, in recent years, has been dabbling in jiu-jitsu, which led to talk of a fight between himself and Tesla CEO and Twitter/X owner Elon Musk. Thankfully, the bout never materialized.
UFC CEO and President Dana White announced the venue’s new name this week. “So as we go into the new year, the home of the Contender Series, the home of some Fight Nights, the home of Zuffa boxing, UFC BJJ, will now be called the Meta Apex. We’ve done a five year deal with Meta, so welcome to the Meta Apex,” White said in revealing the news.
Zuckerberg infamously had the entire Apex venue to himself for a Fight Night event in 2022, a move widely panned as it kept out both fans, and media. White has also joined Meta’s board of directors.
