UFC - Paramount $7.7 billion deal: Everything you need to know about the seven-year agreement

Pay-per-view for UFC is dead. And Paramount, which has just dropped a staggering seven-year, $7.7 billion deal with UFC owner TKO Group to become the exclusive U.S. home for every UFC event from 2026 onward, thinks that’s a knock-out punch.

The deal means all 13 numbered cards and 30 Fight Nights each year will stream on Paramount+, and some big cards will also air on CBS.

UFC’s current U.S. deal with ESPN, which includes exclusive pay-per-view rights on ESPN+, is worth about $500 million annually and runs through the end of 2025.

Why did UFC move from pay-per-view?

Mark Shapiro, TKO Group’s president and chief operating officer, slammed the pay-per-view model. “What’s on pay-per-view anymore? Boxing? Movies on DirecTV? It’s an outdated, antiquated model. So it was paramount to us — forgive the pun — to make it one-stop shopping, especially for our younger fans in flyover states. When they find out, ‘Wait, if I just sign up for Paramount+ for $12.99 a month, I’m going to automatically get UFC’s numbered fights and the rest of the portfolio?’ That’s a message we want to amplify.”

The bottom line for UFC fans: you get all the action with no extra fees beyond a Paramount+ subscription. That means 43 live events per year, offering some 350 hours of premium fight action.

How much is the UFC–Paramount deal worth?

The deal is worth an average of $1.1 billion per year, but it’s staggered, with early years costing less and later ones more, though precise year-by-year figures weren’t released.

Paramount pulled this off in just 48 hours after finalizing its Skydance merger. CEO David Ellison calls UFC a “unicorn asset that comes up about once a decade.” Sports opportunities are especially rare right now, with Formula 1 likely bound for Apple and MLB’s next media reboot still years away.

UFC in particular is a juicy option for Paramount because the events take place year-round, meaning fans have less incentive to cancel than with other, more seasonal sports.

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