While we’ve known since August that Paramount+ will become the home of UFC in 2026, details regarding the MMA giant’s new media rights deal have largely remained few and far between.
That, however, changed on Thanksgiving, when UFC president and CEO Dana White announced that the company’s first event on Paramount+ will take place on Saturday, Jan. 24.
Not only that, but the show — UFC 324 — will feature one of the promotion’s most loaded cards in recent memory. In the headlining fight, Justin Gaethje will face Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett for the interim UFC lightweight title fight, while UFC women’s bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison will defend her title against UFC Hall of Famer Amanda Nunes in the co-main event.
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The rest of the card, which will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, will include:
- Sean O’Malley vs. Song Yadong
- Waldo Cortes Acosta vs. Derrick Lewis
- Arnold Allen vs. Jean Silva, featherweights
- Alexa Grasso vs. Rose Namajunas
- Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Deiveson Figueiredo
- Ateba Gautier vs. Andrey Pulyaev
“This card is absolutely stacked – every fight is a must-see,” White said in a statement. “This deal is such a huge win for fans with no more pay-per-view. I look forward to 2026 being our best year ever.”
As White alluded to, UFC’s $7.7 billion media rights deal with Paramount will mark the end of the MMA promotion’s long-running pay-per-view model, with Paramount+ subscribers receiving access to the monthly numbered events at no additional charge. While Paramount+ has already announced plans to increase its prices, the new model will still be more affordable than the current one, in which pay-per-views on ESPN+ cost $79.99 per show (in addition to requiring an ESPN+ subscription).
As for its second show on Paramount+, UFC also announced that UFC 325 will take place in Sydney, Australia, on Jan. 31 with a main event featuring featherweight champion Alex Volkanovski defending his title against Diego Lopes. Altogether, Paramount+ is expected to host 13 UFC numbered events in 2026, including the highly anticipated White House show next summer.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.