From ESPN to Paramount: Breaking Down the UFC's Game-Changing Media Deal
On August 11th, the UFC and Paramount announced the biggest media rights deal in MMA history — and it changes everything for fans, fighters, and the sport itself. The deal is a huge shakeup in both the general sports media landscape and Mixed Martial Arts as a whole, given that the UFC is far and away the biggest promotion within the space. Prior to this announcement (and still, through the end of 2025), the UFC’s media rights were owned by ESPN, and fights were broadcast through its premium subscription service ESPN+. Let’s look at the two deals next to one another:
ESPN: 2019 - 2025 (5 Years)
Total Value = $1.5 Billion
Avg. Annual Value = $300 Million
Paramount: 2026 - 2033 (7 Years)
Total Value = $7.7 Billion
Avg. Annual Value = $1.1 Billion
This new deal is a seismic increase in the amount of money the UFC will be bringing in through the sale of its media. It speaks to the rapid growth the company has undergone, even as it lost its biggest star (Conor McGregor) in the time since the ESPN deal was first signed.
It’s been clear for several months now that the UFC has been playing the field in searching for its next partner after the conclusion of the ESPN deal, but Paramount was never looked at as a serious option. It was assumed that Paramount lacked the overall size and infrastructure to not only pay for, but also create added value from the distribution of these rights. Paramount, however, is owned by CBS, which has a massive overall network, especially within the realm of sports.
Given the nature of this deal, this will have a sizable impact on all aspects of the UFC and Paramount itself. As such, I think examining this new contract from the perspective of each component will present a clearer picture of how the future may look.
Fans
The fans’ perspective (one I can speak to personally) on this deal was initially what stood out to me when hearing this news. ESPN had begun a form of price gouging with the UFC product, knowing it could (in some sense) get away with charging exorbitant amounts for pay-per-views, given that there is no true competitor to the UFC in the Mixed Martial Arts arena. Not unlike what the NFL has begun doing in its media distribution, ESPN continually increased prices for UFC fans who desired to watch its events. Let’s also remember that the majority of UFC viewers are hard-working, ordinary men who don’t have an unlimited budget.
Cost to Watch UFC Through ESPN Annually
Price per PPV: $80
Amount of PPVs Per Year: 13
ESPN+ Subscription (needed to purchase PPVs or watch Fight Nights): $12 / Month
Annually, this rounds out to a whopping $1,184 to consume the UFC through ESPN. This is simply an unacceptable number and the primary (there are many others) reason that consumers no longer purchase PPVs, and instead, have increasingly opted to stream fights illegally. While the UFC/ESPN no longer publicly promotes the number of PPV buys, it has been widely reported that there has been a relatively steep decline in the average number of PPV buys year over year. Not shocking considering that the price of a PPV was only $60 when ESPN first got the rights in 2019.
Thus, this is a massive win for us fans. No more paying for PPVs or having to watch through buffering and grainy streams. Instead, we will enjoy all of the bloody action we desire for a small cost of $7.99 / month. Incredible. Thank you, Uncle Dana!
UFC Promotion
The UFC will be substantially increasing its valuation and overall worth after this deal — that much is clear. But how will this affect the ongoing promotion itself? Well, for starters, the first thought that came to mind was, since there are no more PPVs (there will still be numbered events, just for free), will the UFC not be forced to put on the same caliber of fights/cards that it did when it had to justify a hefty price to consumers? While only time will give us the answer to this question, I would be shocked if the quality dropped at all. Mixed Martial Arts is still a competitive business, and companies like PFL (media rights still owned by ESPN) and ONE FC will quickly make gains in the space if the UFC slips at all. While there may not be as much immediate financial pressure to produce stacked numbered events, the overall health of the company is still dependent on being the premier home of MMA.
Additionally, the rights to both “The Ultimate Fighter (TUF)” and “Dana White’s Contender Series” were not discussed or a part of this contract. I can’t say that I am an avid follower of TUF, but I do enjoy watching DWCS on Tuesday nights. Many great fighters and exciting moments have come from DWCS: Sean O’Malley, Jamahal Hill, Jack Della Maddalena, Bo Nickal, etc. The list goes on and on. If I were Paramount, I would be eager to get the rights to these programs to ensure that all relevant UFC content sits on one platform. The possibility remains that the UFC could sell the rights to these programs to someone else, but we shall see.
Lastly, the question remains unanswered of how losing the backing of a sports media giant like ESPN will affect viewership and overall interest in the UFC. While not a primary focus of their coverage, having UFC fights on the front page of ESPN, discussed on SportsCenter, or promoted on the court during the NBA Finals, was (presumably) a significant boon for the following of the UFC. Though I hate to admit it, ESPN undeniably has played a role in spreading MMA to a far wider audience. The deal is still an incredibly productive one for the UFC, but they may have to get creative in approaching future growth avenues of the promotion without the backing of ESPN to help.
Fighters
There are several avenues via which this new deal will affect fighters, all centering around fighter pay. Fighter pay is a hot-button issue in the UFC that we can get into another time (probably requires several blogs to flesh out all the details fully), but it is highly likely that we get some structural changes to the way fighters are paid, with both positive and negative consequences.
Let’s start with the positive. Because the company is now being paid a far higher amount for the distribution of its fights, it would only make sense that fighters see a bump in their pay as well. That being said, this is the UFC, and trusting our intuition will likely make us look like Anthony Smith at the end of his career. Still, we did get some promising news from Dana White recently that promised increased fighter pay as a result of the new deal:
In this clip, White promises that, just as fighter pay had increased in prior deals, it will also increase with this one. He also added another interesting nugget, that the exposure the fighters will gain from fighting in front of a larger audience at a reduced price point will be incredibly beneficial to them. While this may seem slightly trivial, the argument has real validity: increased exposure allows fighters a new opportunity to build their brands and following. As we have seen with stars in the past, increased attention (regardless of outcome) often directly translates to a higher fight purse. Win-win all around for (most) fighters in this particular department.
While the pay should increase for the majority of the fighters on the UFC roster, what will the effect be for its premier stars and champions? A privilege that is accompanied only by holding an active UFC belt or achieving stardom to the likes of Conor McGregor, purses included percentage points of PPV buys of the card on which they were fighting. We can examine a disclosed Jon Jones PPV point payout from 2017 to get a rough idea of the impact this will have on some fighters:
Jon Jones — UFC 214 (2017):
PPV Points: 3$ per PPV buy starting at 400,000 buys
PPV Sales: Estimated 860,000 (460,000 Eligible Buys)
460,000 x $3 = $1.38 Million in PPV Bonus
This is a massive number, especially when considering Jones’ base purse for this fight was only $500,000. While this may be skewed for several reasons (UFC 214 did very well in PPV and most champions did not have as lucrative a deal as Jones), it still signifies that these PPV points were highly beneficial to fighters who reached the pinnacle of the promotion.
Fighters like Ilia Topuria or Islam Makhachev will more than likely see their overall purses decrease as a result of the UFC moving away from the PPV model — even if their base salary for a fight increases as a result of the new deal. There exists a possibility in which, as a result of this phenomenon, champions are less active and are not actively seeking a fight in which they could lose the belt they hold so dearly. Again, time will only tell how the UFC plans on handling this and compensating their champions in the future — but it is certainly interesting to note when breaking down the Paramount deal.
The UFC’s move from ESPN to Paramount isn’t just a broadcast switch — it’s a reshaping of how the sport will be consumed, promoted, and paid over the next 7 years. For fans, it’s cheaper, simpler, and more accessible than ever. For fighters, it’s a mixed bag in which many will benefit, while the sport’s biggest stars may lose one of their most lucrative incentives. As for the UFC itself, this deal cements it as one of the most valuable sports promotions in the world.
Whether Paramount can replicate the mainstream reach ESPN provided is a big question mark that we will be left to contend with. But if Dana White and company keep delivering on the fights that make the UFC the UFC, the audience will continue to grow — and this deal will go down as a game-changer in the sport’s history.