UFC 328 is still two weeks away and tickets are not moving, with the cheapest available seat for the May 9 event in Newark currently sitting at $386 on Ticketmaster.
Fight Opinion flagged sluggish sales on X, with screenshots showing a significant number of seats still available at Prudential Center. The card features Khamzat Chimaev defending the middleweight championship against Sean Strickland in the main event alongside a flyweight title fight, making the slow uptake difficult to attribute to card quality alone.
The situation points to pricing as the primary obstacle rather than fan interest in the fights themselves. The Chimaev and Strickland matchup has been one of the most anticipated bouts in the middleweight division given the long-running animosity between the two fighters, and the card is regarded as strong on paper.
The pattern mirrors what has been playing out across TKO’s broader portfolio. WWE’s WrestleMania 42 drew roughly 18,000 fewer fans over both nights than last year’s edition at the same venue, with rising ticket prices and card quality cited as contributing factors. WWE quietly discounted tickets heading into the show and Pat McAfee announced a flash sale on SmackDown.
UFC 327 in Miami also saw a significant drop in live gate numbers compared to recent comparable events, suggesting a broader trend across TKO’s live-event business rather than an isolated issue tied to any single card.
UFC 328 takes place May 9 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.