When the UFC and Paramount announced a $7.7 billion, seven-year deal for the fighting promotion’s media rights, fans were excited about the elimination of pay-per-view and having a cheaper way to watch the sport. Now, they are being met with price hikes and underwhelming fight cards to start 2026.
Price increases for Paramount+ went into effect on Thursday, raising the annual essential plan from $60 to $90 and the premium version (no ads) from $120 to $140. The monthly plans will each increase by $1. The price hike coincides with the timing of UFC 324 on Jan. 24, the first event on the platform.
The card was supposed to feature a women’s bantamweight championship fight between Kayla Harrison and Amanda Nunes, but the UFC announced Wednesday that the bout is postponed due to Harrison having neck surgery. While UFC fan favorites like Justin Gaethje, Sean O’Malley, and Derrick Lewis remain on the card, only having one interim title fight for the first event on Paramount+ is less than desirable.
A lack of title fights is a theme of upcoming numbered events, with only one undisputed championship fight scheduled between Alex Volkanovski and Diego Lopes at UFC 325 and a “BMF” title fight planned for UFC 326 in March. This means that there will be no cards with multiple title fights until April at the earliest.
One reason for the lackluster cards may be due to the UFC saving their stars for the White House event scheduled for June 14. Conor McGregor, Islam Makhachev, and Alex Pereira have expressed interest in fighting there, while UFC CEO Dana White said the card will “be the best card [they’ve] ever done to date” on a Barstool Sports podcast. President Donald Trump added in December that White is “holding back fights right now for six months” for the big event.
The Paramount partnership is still a significant upgrade for UFC fans over the prior deal with ESPN, which charged $79.99 for each numbered event and additionally required a subscription to ESPN+. That said, fans will have to adjust their high expectations for the start of the new media deal, as subscription prices increase and fight cards lack title fights.
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