The UFC Finally Ditches Pay-Per-View Business Model… Sort Of

A general view of the Octagon at The O2 Arena, London (Photo by Simon Cooper/PA Images via Getty Images)

Ever since Zuffa took over the UFC from Semaphore Entertainment Group, the fight organization’s chief source of revenue was the money made from their pay-per-view events. Well, that’s all changed now, courtesy of their deal with ESPN, and the streaming platform ESPN+.

Folks, you’re going to need to subscribe to ESPN+ if you want to see a UFC pay-per-view event again.

Here’s MMAFighting with the logistics:

Beginning next month with UFC 236, all UFC PPV cards will only be available for purchase on the ESPN+ digital streaming service in the United States. Fans must subscribe to ESPN+ in order to buy pay-per-view cards, which will be slightly discounted from the norm. In addition, the UFC and ESPN extended their multi-billion dollar pact for two more years, until 2025.

…UFC pay-per-view events will only be available for purchase on ESPN+ — and only after subscribing to the digital streaming service. That means you’ll no longer be able to flip to a channel on your television and purchase UFC PPV cards there. The only way you’ll be able to watch is on ESPN+, via the service’s browser view or its various applications.

That the UFC would be willing to do this speaks volumes on where the sport has evolved to from a financial standpoint. There was no way this was ever going to happen when the UFC partnered with FOX.

Jim Genia