Conor McGregor won an astonishing UFC 202 bout vs Nate Diaz by majority decision over the weekend, but as millions of fans following UFC on Facebook worldwide basked in the glow of a fight that lived up to expectation — in Australia, those same UFC Facebook fans — just as dedicated (if packing bars at 11am on a Sunday counts as dedicated) — were being served content ushering them into purchasing tickets for UFC's next foray into the Australian market. Points for capitalising on an engaged audience but a bit of buzz kill, no?
Below are the most recent posts made the the global and Australian UFC Facebook pages 5-hours post event.
UFC Global
UFC AUS
Q: So why would fans around the world be seeing a different account of events of UFC 202 on Facebook?
A: Facebook global pages.
Facebook launched Global Pages in 2012; A format that allowed international brands like KFC, Coca Cola and UFC to maintain a single fan page with localised content for users in different countries.
So, on fight day, while the UFC's flagship Facebook page was a-buzz with 13 page posts leading up to, during and post-UFC 202 — the Australian, Canadian, Middle Eastern and United Kingdom localised pages published 2, 5, 11 and 15 posts respectively. Increased activity within UK could be put down to Conor McGregor's country of origin — Ireland.
Compare that to more than 120 tweets made from the official UFC Twitter handle and 39 Snaps within the official Snapchat Story during the same 13-hour period — it's clear that twitter had provided fans the most pure UFC 202 experience.
And didn't they kill it.
Twitter provides pure UFC 202 fan experience
From spectacularly gritty GIFs that captured the undercard action
Celebrity guests (Vegas baby!)
Main event engagement
Anticipation + buildup
Incredible blow-by-blow video updates
Fan-level reactions
The take away
While promoting localised UFC events and talent across its expansive regions completely justifies the use of Global Pages — I can't help but feel that users in certain markets were robbed of the global community experience that UFC has built itself on.
It's like Global Pages that aren't for everyone...
How did you follow UFC on social media? Will you change where you follow the fight in future? Share with us in the comments below!