Paramount single-handedly just put Dana White’s UFC in a completely different league. In a media rights landscape where billion-dollar contracts are rare, Paramount agreeing to pay $7.7 billion over seven years is a deal so big that it easily dwarfs some of the juggernauts, even the likes of the UEFA Champions League and the NHL.

Paramount Chairman and CEO David Ellison confirmed that delivering premium content with a wider reach will be a priority. “Paramount’s advantage lies in the expansive reach of our linear and streaming platforms… The addition of UFC’s year-round must-watch events to our platforms is a major win,” Ellison said in a press release. Major win, it is. Because just as you compare this to Paramount’s other major deals, the numbers look almost absurd.

• The UCL, with all of its prestige and global fanfare, fetched $1.5 billion for six years of US rights. 
• South Park, the pop-cultural phenomenon, received the same figure across five years of global streaming. 
• Apart from UCL and South Park, this mega deal will earn UFC nearly as much as the Olympics ($1.3 billion), March Madness ($1.1 billion), NASCAR ($1.1 billion), NHL ($635 million), and PGA Tour ($700 million).

The scale of the UFC deal becomes clearer when broken down. Starting in 2026, Paramount will pay around $1.1 billion per year for exclusive U.S. rights. The deal includes all UFC content, 13 major events, and around 30 Fight Nights, streamed on Paramount+ and simulcast on CBS.

This deal also brings a significant change for its viewers. Unlike the currently existing pay-per-view model, UFC and Paramount have agreed upon making these premium events available at no additional cost to anyone with having Paramount+ subscription in the USA. It’s a daring move that might boost audience growth while also tying subscribers to the Paramount ecosystem. With ESPN’s current UFC deal at around $550 million per year, this new contract more than triples the promotion’s domestic media rights value.

Even UFC middleweight star Paulo Costa couldn’t help but react to the sheer scale of it all, calling the deal “huge” in one of the Instagram posts breaking down the figures. But how does this deal compare globally?

How does Dana White’s new deal compare to other sports broadcasting rights globally?

When compared to the world’s top sports broadcasting contracts, the UFC’s new deal stands on its own. While the NFL’s $13 billion deal is a far-fetched dream, UFC is not that far behind the NBA’s domestic deal ($2.6 billion), the English Premier League’s global rights ($2.17 billion/year), and MLB’s annual figure ($1.8 billion). 

When asked about the reason behind teaming up with Paramount, UFC CEO Dana White revealed the aggressive approach by Paramount’s executives. “These guys came in aggressive with an all-or-nothing approach and said, ‘We want the whole thing,’” White says. “The Ellisons are brilliant businessmen and have a whole game plan behind this thing. I can’t wait to be in business with them.”

The UFC now sits in talks previously reserved for global football, basketball, and baseball, proving that combat sports can bring in mainstream sports revenue. It is no less than a message to sponsors, networks, and rival promotions that MMA’s commercial ceiling is far from reached. So, what do you think? Can the UFC find more success without the PPVs bringing in major money? Let us know in the comments.