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UFC learns to get leaner, more efficient with staffing as fight cards continue

One of the dominant sports media trends over the past four months has been that TV networks and sports leagues are figuring out how to produce events with fewer resources.

 

UFC, for example, used to staff events with around 340 people before the pandemic hit. During its first fight cards after the pandemic, from Jacksonville in May, it cut the number of staffers at the event by 50%. It slimmed down even further when it moved to Las Vegas in June.

When it returns to Vegas in August, the UFC cards will have a lean 135 staffers at the event.

“We’re continuing to get more efficient,” said UFC COO Lawrence Epstein. “We’re continuing to figure out ways to get more people out of the bowl area. That’s one major area that we’ve become a lot better at during these fights.”

Epstein also pointed to COVID-19 testing as an area that has improved notably since those early fights in Jacksonville.

“When we first started out, testing was a little bit of a struggle,” he said. “There wasn’t tremendous capacity. We were able to secure a deal with the Mayo Clinic down in Florida, which was key to getting that done. When we came to Las Vegas, things got a lot better with the 24-hour lab here in Las Vegas. That has been transformative."

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