Through a seven-year deal signed on Monday with TKO Group, Paramount will host Ultimate Fighting Championship events throughout the United States starting next year.
The announcement was made a few days after Skydance and Paramount formally concluded their $8 billion merger, ushering in a new era of entertainment power following a tense attempt to complete the deal.
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As part of the agreement with the UFC, Paramount will be the exclusive distributor of the UFC’s entire schedule, including its 30 Fight Nights and 13 marquee numbered events, on its streaming service Paramount+. Beginning in 2026, a few numbered events will also be broadcast on CBS.
This is a departure from the UFC’s current pay-per-view business model, which TKO and Paramount claim will expand the audience for their mixed martial arts programming across the country.
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The broad reach of our linear and streaming channels is Paramount’s advantage,” said David Ellison, the company’s chairman and CEO, in a statement. Our larger plan still relies heavily on live sports to increase engagement, subscriber growth, and enduring loyalty, so the addition of the UFC’s year-round must-watch events to our platforms is a significant victory.”
The agreement will result in greater interaction for the ardent UFC fan base, and its athletes “will love this new stage,” said Mark Shapiro, president and COO of TKO.
ESPN, which has provided fans with tiered pricing for accessing programming across the sports network’s TV lineup and streaming service ESPN+ since 2019, is now the broadcaster of UFC events. The UFC and ESPN, which is owned by Disney, will continue to work together until the end of 2025.
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The companies said Monday that the seven-year agreement between Paramount and TKO has an average annual value of $1.1 billion, which is a significant increase over the approximately $550 million that ESPN reportedly spends annually for UFC coverage. However, fans will have fewer options thanks to UFC’s new Paramount home, as all content will be accessible on Paramount+ (currently ranging from $7.99 to $12.99 per month) instead of different pay-per-view pricing.
Additionally, Paramount stated that it plans to investigate UFC rights outside of the United States as they become available in the future.
Although the combination of Paramount and Skydance is finally finalized, it wasn’t an easy road to approval. The deal was the subject of months of investigation and controversy, especially in light of President Donald Trump’s legal dispute with CBS, the broadcast network owned by Paramount, and its flagship show, 60 Minutes. In early July, Paramount decided to pay a $16 million settlement to the president, fearing that the Trump administration would thwart the arduous agreement with Skydance. The Trump administration later gave the deal regulatory approval.
Trump frequently attends UFC events and has been friends with UFC CEO Dana White for a long time. Trump stated last month that in honor of the 250th anniversary of American independence, he is considering holding a UFC bout on White House property with up to 20,000 people.
On July 4, 2026, Trump made his announcement in Iowa at the beginning of a year-long celebration of America’s 250th birthday.
In a post on social media site X, White claimed that the agreement with Paramount would increase the cost and accessibility of UFC events for American fans.
He wrote, “This deal places UFC among the biggest sports in the world.” For our players and all others who watch and enjoy this sport, the publicity that the Paramount and CBS networks are providing under this new arrangement is a great gain.
TKO is home to the WWE in addition to the UFC, and it has been actively negotiating contracts for the sports entertainment business. Disney and WWE agreed last week that ESPN would webcast the company’s high-end live events, including WrestleMania.
Beginning next year, ESPN, a Disney subsidiary, will be the sole domestic streamer of TKO Group’s WWE premium live events in the United States after entering into a rights arrangement with the sports entertainment business. ESPN will broadcast major events including the Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series in addition to WrestleMania.
A few ESPN cable channels will also broadcast the wrestling matches, and ESPN’s new streaming service will be available starting next month.
Although the pact’s financial details were not made public, The Wall Street Journal reported that it is a five-year agreement valued at over $1.6 billion.
TKO’s stock increased more than 7% during Monday’s midday trade.
