The UFC hit record earning recently, according to a credit rating agency. But does that mean the MMA leader is at the height of its powers, or merely its profitability? Retired UFC and WEC fighter Danny Downes joins MMAjunkie columnist Ben Fowlkes to discuss in this week’s Trading Shots.

* * * *

Fowlkes: So Danny, you remember when UFC President Dana White insisted that 2017 was the UFC’s best year “by a long shot,” despite the tanking ratings and declining pay-per-view buys?

Plenty of us were skeptical, but according to Moody’s Investors Service it’s true – at least in one sense. Moody’s says the UFC generated “well over” $700 million in the twelve-month period that ended on March 31 of this year, making it the most profitable period in UFC history.

But here’s where we have to ask how the UFC accomplished that, since it’s not like pay-per-view buy rates have been soaring. There is, of course, the UFC’s sizable cut of Conor McGregor’s boxing paycheck to consider. Then there are built-in increases in various merchandising and rights deals, some of which have kicked in recently.

There’s also all the money the UFC saved by firing a bunch of people after its sale to WME-IMG, which later became Endeavor.

My question, though, is did any of that make the UFC a better organization? Because a lot of people will hear “best year ever” and assume it must mean that the company and the product is better than it’s ever been. But by just about every meaningful metric, interest in the UFC’s product did not increase during this period – only profitability did. What are fans (not to mention fighters) supposed to make of that?

Downes: That doing what’s “best for business” isn’t necessarily what’s best for fans and employees (I mean independent contractors). That’s shouldn’t be a big surprise to anyone who has been alive since the Industrial Revolution, but there’s something about the UFC’s situation that seems counter-intuitive.

When Häagen-Dazs decreases the size of “pints” to increase profitability, that makes sense. When Harley Davidson says it will move motorcycle production outside the U.S., that makes sense (regardless of political affiliation). When you see the UFC post record profits when the product seems stale, fans are in a malaise and the buy-rates are decreasing, that doesn’t seem to make much sense.

Part of that is in how we continually oversimplify the UFC. If a local restaurant’s food quality declined and fewer customers showed up, you wouldn’t expect it to post record profits. The UFC isn’t a simple business, though. It’s a global entity with multiple income streams.

If I know Ben Fowlkes like I think I do, I would assume that you’re disheartened by this news. Not because you want to kill the UFC like it’s Vitor Belfort’s career, but because you think we’re in for more of the same — watered down cards and freak show fights.

Are we though? In business, you can only go to the same well so many times. There isn’t (hopefully) another McGregor vs. Mayweather fight on the horizon. Pay-per-view buys will most likely continue their downward trend. The Fertittas already sold the company, so there won’t be the need for accounting gimmicks. The team at Endeavor will have to adapt.

Outside Guy Fieri being stoked about the UFC’s EBITDA, should we really care about this news?

Fowlkes: This reminds me of back when the UFC, under its previous ownership, justified the proliferation of Fight Night events, many of them in faraway countries and at odd hours and with regionally-specific lineups. When people pointed out that three mediocre fight cards could have been condensed into one really good one, Lorenzo Fertitta basically replied: Yeah, but we make more money this way.

So yes, if the UFC learns the lesson that it can be more profitable with a less appealing product, that seems like news. Same as if your favorite brunch joint discovers that it can make more money by watering down your mimosas every weekend. I suspect that’s the kind of thing you’d like to know about as you try to get your Sunday morning buzz on.

I’ve got no problem with the UFC making money. It’s a business, that’s why it exists, and all the other stuff it feeds us about the value of the sport itself or about fighting being in our DNA is just marketing to serve that end.

But still I can’t help but ask myself, did the UFC put out a better product during this time of record earnings? Did it become more popular? Did it give its fans more of what they wanted?

Just about every other metric – ratings, buys, level of online fan engagement – says no. But if the earnings numbers say yes, why should the people in the head office even care?

Downes: I don’t know if “should corporate executives care about something other than money?” is the right question. That’s like asking if Gordon Gekko should feel remorse. Yes he should, but it’s a waste of time to wonder. Instead, we should wonder if the current trajectory is sustainable.

For many of the reasons you pointed out, I don’t think it is. Could it continue for a couple more years? Most likely. Will there eventually be a reckoning? It’s inevitable.

Taxi cab companies probably thought they would be riding high forever. They had a lot of customers and even though many of them may have been dissatisfied, the consumer didn’t have a choice. Then ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft came along and the market shifted.

I realize that an identically monumental shift in this sport is unlikely, but it’s foolish to think that MMA consumer habits won’t change. How many people are going to subscribe to ESPN+ and DAZN? Will cards like UFC 224 become even more common? Is there another superstar like McGregor ready to bust out?

These are all questions we don’t know the answer to right now, but that will have a great effect on how the UFC and other MMA promotions conduct business.

Think of the most successful companies in the world. Whether it’s a tech company like Apple or Samsung, or a restaurant chain like Starbucks or McDonald’s, they all learn how to adapt. They’re constantly trying to improve their product, not out of concern for their “fans,” but out of greed.

There might not be as many MMA promotions as fast food restaurants, but fans will only tolerate so much. If the UFC takes them for granted, they might take their business elsewhere. If that’s the case, 2017 might have been the organization’s “best year by a long shot,” but it also might be beginning of a decline.

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

Ben Fowlkes is MMAjunkie and USA TODAY’s MMA columnist. Danny Downes, a retired UFC and WEC fighter, is an MMAjunkie contributor who has also written for UFC.com and UFC 360. Follow them on twitter at @benfowlkesMMA and @dannyboydownes.