UFC faithful were treated to quite a show for UFC 324 this year from Las Vegas, the MMA promotion’s debut on Paramount+.
The card, which saw Justin Gaethje defeat Paddy Pimblett to win the Lightweight Championship, drew rave reviews from fight fans despite a barrage of commercials so fierce that Dana White was forced to address it. The long-awaited debut on the Paramount+ streaming service, which was announced last summer as part of the platform’s seven-year, $7.7 billion broadcast rights deal with UFC, was available to all subscribers. As White promised when Paramount emerged as the surprise victor for UFC rights, the pay-per-view model is over.
Likely as a result of the more widespread availability of UFC 324 compared with previous cards on ESPN+, the card averaged 4.96 million viewers and peaked at 5.93 million, according to Paramount data first reported by Front Office Sports.
The network also said that Saturday night’s debut reached 7.18 million households. However, the metrics were determined by two digital analytics firms. The card was not Nielsen-rated.
In 2019, the first UFC card on ESPN+ was touted for generating a half-million new signups. These numbers pale in comparison to the massive viewership for UFC 324.
UFC will look to build on its strong momentum with another numbered card this weekend. UFC 325 will air on Paramount+ live this Saturday from Sydney, Australia. The card will feature a rematch between Alexander Volkanovski and Diego Lopes for the Featherweight Championship.
White is already building momentum for June’s UFC card on the White House lawn, which is slated to air not on Paramount+ but on CBS’s broadcast network. The combination of broadcast network reach and the end of pay-per-views should give UFC an even more massive profile in 2026 than it has ever had.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.