ESPN is reportedly making moves to salvage something from its UFC breakup.
According to Blake “Axe” Avignon of The MMA Draw, the network is in advanced talks to acquire UFC Fight Pass, with plans to integrate the platform into its new direct-to-consumer streaming service.
If finalized, ESPN would take control of the most extensive digital archive in combat sports in UFC’s full historical library, plus content from PRIDE, WEC, Strikeforce, and other affiliated promotions. Fight Pass also includes Dana White’s Contender Series and The Ultimate Fighter archives, which White has said aren’t part of the Paramount deal. Its broadcast rights remain unsettled and could ultimately be split off.
The potential acquisition comes as ESPN prepares to lose UFC’s live U.S. media rights to Paramount beginning in 2026, following the promotion’s $7.7 billion deal announced earlier this month. That agreement ended UFC’s longstanding pay-per-view model, with TKO president Mark Shapiro calling the format “outdated” and “antiquated.”
For ESPN, adding Fight Pass helps the network keep a foothold in MMA after ceding the sport’s biggest live events to Paramount. It’s part of a broader push to bulk up its streaming lineup, with ESPN recently securing WWE Premium Live Events, set to begin in September 2025. President Jimmy Pitaro underscored those ambitions earlier this month, telling The Ringer the network is “always interested in content of that quality” when asked about WWE’s archival library.
The timing works for both parties. UFC no longer owns the streaming infrastructure that powered Fight Pass, as its parent company, Endeavor, has sold its streaming technology division. What remains is the content itself, which includes the archives, international events, and developmental programming that would fit within ESPN’s broader streaming ecosystem.
For UFC fans, the shift would mirror WWE’s move, with Fight Pass becoming an ESPN product in the U.S. while continuing to operate overseas. It could also ease concerns raised by MMA reporter Ariel Helwani, who noted that ESPN tends to scale back coverage once it no longer holds media rights.
The talks are described as advanced but not finalized. If completed, ESPN would gain not just another streaming add-on, but also position itself as the keeper of MMA’s institutional memory, even as the sport’s biggest live events find a new home at Paramount.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.