Dana White: UFC being ‘out from underneath two paywalls’ huge boon for sport

For the first time in the promotion’s history on Saturday, UFC aired on CBS.

Two hours of UFC 326 aired live Saturday night on CBS in what could prove to be a pivotal moment for the popular MMA promotion. The broadcast signified what amounts to a complete turnaround in how the sport is viewing its media business. This year marks the first of a seven-year, $7.7 billion deal with Paramount in which all UFC cards are available for the price of a Paramount+ subscription. It’s a dramatic change from UFC’s previous deal with ESPN, which saw all numbered cards air on ESPN+, which cost around $12 per month, and then placed behind a separate pay-per-view paywall, which by the end of 2025 ran around $80 per card.

That was a steep price to pay to watch UFC. But now, the game has changed. Even those without a Paramount+ subscription could catch two hours of this weekend’s card for free on CBS. And UFC CEO Dana White couldn’t be happier about the move.

“If you look at where we are now where, we’re out from underneath two paywalls, so obviously being on CBS is huge,” White said during a post-fight press conference after UFC 326. “And Paramount, for what it would cost you for one pay-per-view you can watch everything UFC for the year. We already feel the difference in the business, and Paramount definitely does. We have exceeded their expectations on how many people are coming over to watch the fights. And obviously the White House fight will blow it out.”

Not only can UFC fans access the sport for an entire year for the same price they would have normally paid for one pay-per-view, but those fans will also gain access to the other live sports and scripted content available on Paramount+. It’s a completely different ballgame for UFC fans.

And White seems to be right about Paramount’s excitement. Per data reported for UFC 324, the first card to air exclusively on Paramount+, nearly five million viewers watched live. Perhaps more importantly, Paramount+ gained nearly one million subscribers the day of UFC 324. If the company wants to recoup some of the $7.7 billion it just spent on UFC, it’ll need to meaningfully grow its subscription base and keep those subscribers year-round. UFC, which holds major events every month of the year, is a logical partner from a churn-reduction standpoint.

From a fan perspective, the new UFC-Paramount deal is the rare time where fans are being asked to pay significantly less for the same quality product. It’s no wonder why White is happy about the deal; what UFC fan is going to complain about getting fights for what amounts to an 80-90% discount over previous prices?

The question is whether it makes any business sense for Paramount. But right now, UFC gets paid no matter what and fans get to access fights for much cheaper than they used to. That’s a win-win.