The War Rages On: UFC Files a Restraining Order Against Illegal Streaming Website

In the war on piracy, Zuffa is playing for keeps. In the past several years the ufc has taken it upon itself to crack down on any and every venue looking to broadcast UFC Pay-Per-Views for free or at a reduced rate. I reported on this a while back, but there’s recently been an interesting update. It was recently reported on Sherdog.com that the UFC had successfully petitioned for and received an actual restraining order against an online stream site.

The restraining order is meant to put a hold to the illegal broadcasting of UFC events on the “HQ-Streams.com” website. Zuffa alleges that the streaming site, which broadcasts streams of popular MMA events and pro wrestling shows to its subscribers, charged customers a $6.99 flat free to see UFC 113 in May and UFC 117 in August. The streams were also made available to monthly subscribers under their monthly subscription service at $11.99 per month. Those in charge of the site left a brief message to its userbase: “Too (sic) All Members Of The Forum, There won’t be any UFC 118 stream here this Saturday. We don’t want our site to get into troubles with Zuffa!”

Now, this is something I can actually get behind. The people involved with this website are looking to profit from something they have no business profiting from. It doesn’t matter if it’s only seven or twelve bucks, it could be for a penny and this would still be a case of internet pirates profiting off the hard works of others. This is literally an example of internet pirates taking money out of someone else’s pocket and putting it into their own. The UFC is wholly in their right to go after these people, and in cases as cut-and-dry as this, I have a feeling that they’ll continue to notch victory after victory.

But, here’s the thing no one ever really realizes when you have a big company going after internet pirates. Internet piracy cannot be tamed, it cannot be stopped, no court cases or judge‘s ruling or fines levied will permanently stop the flow of internet piracy. And do you know why that is? It’s because some people don’t do it for the money. Some people just want to be a part of the underground. For every site like HQ-Streams.com, where people are actually trying to profit at the expense of others, there’s a growing legion of stay-at-home nerds with high-speed internet and a love of Mixed Martial Arts that want to stream MMA just because they can, for no other reason other than because they think it’s cool to be an internet pirate.

At the end of the day, I respect and support the UFC trying to protect its assets. Even with their near-monopoly of the MMA market, every penny counts as MMA continues to expand and the UFC leads the charge, breaking down barriers and getting MMA legalized in areas that probably wouldn’t have ever legalized MMA had it not been for the UFC’s team of highly-trained and undoubtedly highly-paid lobbyists.

But people will stream MMA with no thought of ever turning a profit from it, just because they can. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: internet piracy is one great, big, swelling, ever-growing hydra. I applaud the UFC for protecting its rights and I’m with them 100% in going after companies and websites attempting to profit at the UFC’s expense. That isn’t meaningless. What’s meaningless is the belief that cracking down on some internet pirates will eliminate internet piracy as a whole. The UFC can make headlines and save profits by going after the big fish, but it’s the quiet ones they have to be wary of. Because no one has stopped them yet, and they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

And what do you think, fans and friends? Is the UFC fighting a losing battle against piracy, or do you think they’ll make an example out of so many people that they actually win the fight?