UFC could ditch ‘bad marriage’ with ESPN for Netflix as pay-per-view numbers reportedly drop
The MMA promotion is reportedly furious with ESPN after suffering a major technical outage during UFC 313
The UFC could reportedly be about to follow WWE to Netflix as tensions reach a boil with ESPN over dropping pay-per-view numbers.
The MMA promotion signed with the behemoth sports broadcaster in 2018 on a staggering £600m-per-year deal, with ESPN+ becoming the exclusive home for nearly all UFC events in the United States.
However, it seems neither party has been particularly happy with the arrangement as of late – and as their exclusive re-negotiation window narrows for a new broadcast deal in 2026, a break-up seems increasingly likely.
The UFC, which is back in the UK for a 30th time this weekend for UFC London, is also eager to seal a new eye-watering deal worth $1bn-per-year (£770m).
This is something ESPN may struggle to provide after stumbling into 2025 as a financial loser for parent company Disney.
And according to New York Post reporter Erich Richter, a recent ESPN blunder may have been the final nail in the coffin for the rocky relationship.
Technical difficulties on the broadcaster’s front resulted in a mass purchasing outage and buffering issues, infuriating fans and leading to an overall drop in PPV buys.
UFC president Dana White addressed the issue in the post-fight press conference, saying: “Oh yeah, it made it to me. They were having problems buying it on ESPN+. I don't know what happened with their platform tonight. There were a lot of p***ed-off people.”
Richter adds that UFC brass were “absolutely furious” with ESPN and could pave the way to a split, with their exclusive negotiation rights reportedly lapsing on 15 April.
That said, it isn’t just the UFC having qualms with what is being described as a “bad marriage”. ESPN doesn’t seem to be getting bang for its buck from the UFC, with PPV numbers “way, way down”.
“ESPN has pretty much stopped putting UFC programming on cable TV, whether that be ABC, ESPN2, ESPN,” Richter said on a New York Post-affiliated podcast. “If ESPN isn’t putting UFC on their cable broadcast, I feel like that is indicative of how they feel about each other right now.
“The UFC gets [paid] 300,000 pay-per-view buys as a ‘buy-in’ from ESPN. There’s no way that ESPN is getting 300,000 pay-per-view buys out of every pay-per-view, from what I was told. So, this has been a bad marriage in the last couple years for both parties.
“UFC is frustrated that the technology that ESPN [uses] is not up to speed yet, and ESPN is frustrated because they’re not getting the pay-per-view buys that they had expected.”
The Independent has reached out to the UFC for comment.
UFC’s next broadcast destination could be Netflix, the streaming giant who last year penned a historic £4bn, decade-long deal with WWE, which merged with the UFC under the TKO banner in late 2023.
However, the UFC would likely have to follow WWE and adhere to Netflix’s aversion of PPVs, which has seen most WWE events included in subscribers’ plans as free to watch.
It’s claimed by Richter that TKO COO Mark Shapiro is “willing to be flexible”, though, with all signs currently indicating a similar deal for the UFC to their sports-entertainment counterparts WWE.
Netflix is adding more and more fighting strings to its bow, having hosted its first live boxing event for the Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson card in November. And as the platform continues to expand, it would not be a surprise if the UFC signs what would be one of the biggest deals in combat-sports history.
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