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In today’s era, it’s very easy to get a live stream for a UFC event. The allure of these streams are great, because they are absolutely free. Proponents of these streams would rather risk being caught than paying over$60 for a pay-per-view. For these stream users, the reward is greater than the risk.
This risk-reward ratio for users may shift, however, as according to Dana White, the UFC will be cracking down on users who not only stream these events, but simply watch them. According to UFC lawyers, they have already seized a huge illegal MMA streaming site, www.cagewatcher.eu, which is a site that has streamed two illegal UFC events, including UFC 169.
The UFC has obtained usernames, email addresses and even IP addresses, which will be used to track down individuals who watched the pay-per-view events from the site. Signal to all those watching events via illegal stream: Watch out, the UFC is coming for you! The UFC already has grabbed it’s first victim. The plaintiff, who faced these illegal streaming charges, chose not to defend against these charges, and at the end of the day, they had to pay a sum of over $12,000.
Those currently watching UFC events illegally will think twice the next time go to click on one of these sites. It appears the UFC is very serious with these charges, and they are looking to find people to make an example out of. MMA illegal streamers and viewers beware; the UFC appears to be taking a zero-tolerance policy stance toward these crimes.
Jeremy Green is a MMA and NFL contributor at RantSports. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter, or Google Plus.
