The enduring alliance between the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and ESPN appears to be faltering. In recent developments, fans have caught wind of ESPN+ discreetly eliminating its comprehensive library of dated UFC matches. This unexpected turn of events has sparked debates around UFC’s impending media rights and their collaboration with the streaming service owned by Disney. The timing is significant as UFC’s exclusive negotiation period with ESPN reportedly ran out in April 2025, opening up opportunities for other potential players in the fiercely competitive domain of sports streaming.
Continual issues with streaming along with escalating Pay-Per-View costs have marred the partnership between ESPN+ and UFC. Fans have noticed that all preceding UFC clashes have been wiped off from ESPN+. This purge has resulted in a void in the previously massive library of UFC. It strongly implies that sports enthusiasts can no longer delve into ESPN+ to enjoy past UFC content, including older fight nights and Pay-Per-View events.
Following these changes, UFC Fight Pass emerges as the remaining official source for archival content. Concurrently, some spectators have encountered challenges in finding recent Pay-Per-View events to stream. This action has not only agitated committed fans, but it also brings ESPN’s competency or enthusiasm to persist in offering comprehensive UFC content as per existing licensing conditions under scrutiny.
Upon signing a substantial rights agreement worth $1.5 billion for a five-year duration in 2019, ESPN+ became the destination for UFC’s live and archived broadcasts. This monumental contract, however, is approaching its termination and the decision for its extension is up in the air. Any changes to the agreement might directly affect the future of UFC’s streaming availability.
Multiple sources have confirmed that the UFC’s exclusive window of negotiation with ESPN closed in mid-April 2025. ESPN has previously shown eagerness to preserve the UFC partnership, though recent incidents might have strained their rapport. The UFC, on the other hand, is reportedly pursuing a sizeable media rights deal, potentially escalating up to $1 billion annually.
With such high stakes involved, UFC could be considering major technology corporations like Amazon, Netflix, or YouTube as potential allies. UFC President Dana White has dropped hints about considering unconventional streaming agreements, though no official discussions have been acknowledged as of yet. In the interim, before a final accord is reached, UFC followers may experience restricted access to past content.