🥊 The UFC Info and Prediction Thread

[tokeweed]

^  Yeah and I think the hardcore fans would get a Paramount subscription right before the first event of 2026 as it's now cheaper to be a UFC fan in those places where UFC in Paramount is available.  But you're prolly right with the more casual fans, who'll prolly get a Paramount subscription later.


What I really want to know is what would happen to the UFC Fight Pass subscribers..?  Since there'll be no PPV anymore, does that mean people just pay for the basic subscription?

[TopTort777]

I guess Jake Paul boxing and Netflix experienced showed that monthly cheap subscription is better than buying PPV. People dont buy boxing PPV on purpose to watch Jake. But since fight was included in cheapest 8-10 bucks subscription, millions have watched this fight. Looking in google I have found that 33 millions subscriptions were watching or at least opened to watch this fight. Previous Jake fight or PPV sales on UFC never were even close to that number. I think I saw numbers of 1-2 millions PPV sold for UFC event.

[Synchronice]

According to an unofficial post, the ranking of the highest-earning fighters in 2025 is as below:

Wait, Islam Makhachev earns more than Alex Pereira? There is no way!

Get internet on your home, bratha... Islam is among the fighters with the best stats in UFC history and is currently number one in P4P.

You talk about Dana White's business where financial interests stand above everything. Despite the fact that Islam Makhachev is a skilled fighter, he is not the most exciting fighter. UFC fans value knockout more than wrestling and the difference is tremendous. Alex Pereira is a superstar because of his style, story and persona. He can sell fights extremely well and bring a huge PPV profit to the company, he also has a huge fanbase all over the world. That's why I was shocked that Pereira earned less than Makhachev.

I agree that Islam being at the top of the highest-paid list is a surprise. He doesn't sell hype to the West, so it's normal that we have this perception. He sells to the East, and that makes a big difference. That's why Pereira is in second place; he manages to sell to the East, but they already have an idol: Islam.

Lots of money comes from the east because they have it and are willing to spend it on their Muslim brothers. That's why Dana White was so happy for Chimaev's win.

[tokeweed]

I guess Jake Paul boxing and Netflix experienced showed that monthly cheap subscription is better than buying PPV. People dont buy boxing PPV on purpose to watch Jake. But since fight was included in cheapest 8-10 bucks subscription, millions have watched this fight. Looking in google I have found that 33 millions subscriptions were watching or at least opened to watch this fight. Previous Jake fight or PPV sales on UFC never were even close to that number. I think I saw numbers of 1-2 millions PPV sold for UFC event.

And it's prolly gonna be  the same with the UFC under Paramount...  At least in those places that have the UFC in Paramount.  As for the rest of the world, if the UFC Fight Pass has the main cards free of charge then that's prolly gonna be the cheapest option to watch the UFC at 2026 and beyond.

Cable subscription is way more expensive, but you do get other live sports.  So yeah...  Let's see what will happen.

[TopTort777]

An interesting topic of discussion are filler events. I dunno what is better, less but superior cards or more and air every single fight? They dont sell Dana White contenders series, they are free of charge. So maybe some of the fight nights should be for free also? Just show them in youtube or streaming platform. Even thought there are good fights, fighters are partly nonames. Those nonames finish each other brutally, because they lack experience. Fights are wow, but lame at the same time if I consider that this guys will be against top15 one day. I remember good old Pride events and all of them were cool. Each fight was a history.

[Pumared]

I guess Jake Paul boxing and Netflix experienced showed that monthly cheap subscription is better than buying PPV. People dont buy boxing PPV on purpose to watch Jake. But since fight was included in cheapest 8-10 bucks subscription, millions have watched this fight. Looking in google I have found that 33 millions subscriptions were watching or at least opened to watch this fight. Previous Jake fight or PPV sales on UFC never were even close to that number. I think I saw numbers of 1-2 millions PPV sold for UFC event.

And I'm sure that a good portion of those fight views were to see him get beaten up, and very few, very few, to cheer him on. He's the type of person who tries to sell PPVs but has the opposite effect. He probably only sold all that money because of the punches he was going to take.

[Synchronice]

I guess Jake Paul boxing and Netflix experienced showed that monthly cheap subscription is better than buying PPV. People dont buy boxing PPV on purpose to watch Jake. But since fight was included in cheapest 8-10 bucks subscription, millions have watched this fight. Looking in google I have found that 33 millions subscriptions were watching or at least opened to watch this fight. Previous Jake fight or PPV sales on UFC never were even close to that number. I think I saw numbers of 1-2 millions PPV sold for UFC event.

And it's prolly gonna be  the same with the UFC under Paramount...  At least in those places that have the UFC in Paramount.  As for the rest of the world, if the UFC Fight Pass has the main cards free of charge then that's prolly gonna be the cheapest option to watch the UFC at 2026 and beyond.

Cable subscription is way more expensive, but you do get other live sports.  So yeah...  Let's see what will happen.

I know that Spotify ruined income for many musicians but I really would love to know which business model is profitable for company like UFC. If we compare the userbase of Paramount to Netflix, it's clear that Paramount expects millions of people to join Paramount's subscription just for the sake of UFC. At the moment this streaming deal is very profitable for UFC because they receive a guaranteed money and Dana White doesn't have to worry about who is the Champion in each weight division and who sells the fight well but I wonder how much income this deal (without extra fancy offers from Paramount) can generate compared to PPV.

[TopTort777]

With starting of 7,99 bucks (or 5.99, google show different info) it is so cheap to watch UFC today. PPV cost way more, plus you get other content as well. Streaming services are so cheap today. But, its bad that to watch something special, I had to buy monthly subscription Disney+ for kids, Netflix for tv series and boxing, Paramount for UFC, Spotify for music Did you guys have it this way?

[pawel7777]

With starting of 7,99 bucks (or 5.99, google show different info) it is so cheap to watch UFC today. PPV cost way more, plus you get other content as well. Streaming services are so cheap today. But, its bad that to watch something special, I had to buy monthly subscription Disney+ for kids, Netflix for tv series and boxing, Paramount for UFC, Spotify for music Did you guys have it this way?

The $5.99 could be for a different region.
The monthly subscription for Paramount in the UK is £4.99 and they offer a 7-day free trial, which would be great if they broadcasted the UFC events in the UK (meaning you could watch one for free) but that's not the case, at least not yet. I'm guessing they are still tied to the existing contracts (TNT Sports?) and won't be able to expand the Paramount thing until they expire or until they come to an agreement to terminate current contracts early.

As for streaming services being cheap, that's not quite right. When Netflix started, the basic subscription fee was higher than the current one, but their catalog was way bigger than it is right now. Once other platforms realised it's a viable business model and there is big money to be made, they got into the business and pulled out their movies from Netflix to offer exclusive content themselves. So right now, for access to the same amount of content, we have to pay significantly more than what Netflix originally charged.

[tokeweed]

With starting of 7,99 bucks (or 5.99, google show different info) it is so cheap to watch UFC today. PPV cost way more, plus you get other content as well. Streaming services are so cheap today. But, its bad that to watch something special, I had to buy monthly subscription Disney+ for kids, Netflix for tv series and boxing, Paramount for UFC, Spotify for music Did you guys have it this way?

Lmao...  I got Spotify, YT, Netflix and UFC Fight Pass subscriptions.  I used to have the EPL and F1 too which I had to cut as I don't follow them as closely as I should anymore.  Maybe next season, esp F1 with the new specs and the new constructors. 

Anyway here's a fun vid to watch.    Some old and historic bangers in the UFC.

MUST WATCH Bangers In The UFC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Tn4JEADrLI

[Hanadawa]

With starting of 7,99 bucks (or 5.99, google show different info) it is so cheap to watch UFC today. PPV cost way more, plus you get other content as well. Streaming services are so cheap today. But, its bad that to watch something special, I had to buy monthly subscription Disney+ for kids, Netflix for tv series and boxing, Paramount for UFC, Spotify for music Did you guys have it this way?

I'm experiencing the same thing, my friend. A paid subscription gives you full access, allowing you to enjoy many channels, series, movies, or sports at a much lower price. But I think I'm stuck in a paradox of choice. When I buy Netflix expecting to get access to many movies, I end up only watching a few. And often, I don't know what to watch because there are so many choices. And for UFC, we've actually been subscribing to MolaTV for a long time. I don't know if the service is available in all countries, but in my country, MolaTV seems to be the same as Paramount at the moment. I get full access to UFC events for one month, which means three UFC fight nights and one UFC Fight Week. But MolaTV doesn't have popular sports like football. So I'm paying around $6 just to watch UFC.

[TopTort777]

The only difference I suppose could be advertisement while watching event and picture quality. Because in my TV+Internet package, TV channel that show UFC life, shows commercials all the time. For example I think I have never watches walk out on TV, because they put ads. TV channel state that they show in HD quality, UFC subscription (or Paramount now) maybe be showing everything in 4k. I think that people on Post Soviet territory, prefer to watch UFC live and for free I hope that 5,99 or 7,99 is what everyone now allow to pay

[trendcoin]

My local broadcaster in my country has a campaign priced around $32 per year on average, and it also offers broadcasts of La Liga, NBA and MotoGP. Companies sometimes implement more affordable pricing policies for regions with less interest for marketing purposes. I think something similar exists, and that's why I feel lucky... :)

You talk about Dana White's business where financial interests stand above everything. Despite the fact that Islam Makhachev is a skilled fighter, he is not the most exciting fighter. UFC fans value knockout more than wrestling and the difference is tremendous. Alex Pereira is a superstar because of his style, story and persona. He can sell fights extremely well and bring a huge PPV profit to the company, he also has a huge fanbase all over the world. That's why I was shocked that Pereira earned less than Makhachev.

I respect your opinion. I agree that the casual crowd wants to watch bar fights, and I can't argue with that. However, I don't think that changes the fact that Islam is a more complete fighter than Alex. I'm not underestimating Alex at all because he joined the UFC at 34 and is a good striker, but when it comes to MMA, he's not a complete fighter and hasn't even been fully tested in that regard yet...

[Pumared]

With starting of 7,99 bucks (or 5.99, google show different info) it is so cheap to watch UFC today. PPV cost way more, plus you get other content as well. Streaming services are so cheap today. But, its bad that to watch something special, I had to buy monthly subscription Disney+ for kids, Netflix for tv series and boxing, Paramount for UFC, Spotify for music Did you guys have it this way?

Yes, quite a lot. Streaming in general is heading towards monopoly. But I see a great increase in piracy of this content, especially fights. Even with the lower price, there are still people who prefer to watch sporadically and not pay a subscription.

Streaming services should target this type of customer, the one who wants to watch only once and charge a low price. This would be very good for the UFC model, watching only numbered cards or fight nights for example, or watching only fights of specific fighters or anything along those lines. It would be very interesting.

[tokeweed]

I'm so bored, so I'm just looking at the early lines for UFC 324 at Fightodds and found three underdogs I'm leaning on...  They're Michael Johnson at 2.70, Derrick Lewis at 3.42 and Amanda Nunes at 2.70.

https://fightodds.io/

I think even at 40 or something, Michael Johnson could still style on Alexander Hernandez and win via DEC. 

As for Derrick Lewis, I think Acosta is mispriced due to his latest string of wins as an underdog.  The bookies might have adjusted too much.

For Nunes, if she comes back like the fighter she was then she'll be a good gamble as the underdog imho.

[pawel7777]

So we have 14 fights confirmed for the UFC 324, these are:

Main event:
155 lb: Justin Gaethje (26-5) vs. Paddy Pimblett (23-3) – for interim belt
Co-main event:
135 lb: Kayla Harrison (19-1) vs. Amanda Nunes (23-5) – for the belt
Main card:
135 lb: Sean O’Malley (18-3) vs. Song Yadong (22-8-1)
265 lb: Waldo Cortes-Acosta (16-2) vs. Derrick Lewis (29-12)
145 lb: Arnold Allen (20-3) vs. Jean Silva (16-3)
Prelims:
125 lb: Natalia Silva (19-5-1) vs. Rose Namajunas (15-7)
135 lb: Umar Nurmagomedov (19-1) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (25-5-1)
185 lb: Ateba Gautier (9-1) vs. Andrey Pulyaev (10-3)
155 lb: Michael Johnson (25-19) vs. Alexander Hernandez (18-8)
Early prelims:
205 lb: Nikita Krylov (30-11) vs. Modestas Bukauskas (19-6)
125 lb: Alex Perez (25-10) vs. Charles Johnson (18-7)
265 lb: Josh Hokit (7-0) vs. Denzel Freeman (7-1)
135 lb: Ricky Turcios (13-5) vs. Cameron Smotherman (12-6)
170 lb: Ty Miller (6-0) vs. Adam Fugitt (10-5)
Source: https://www.lowking.pl/ufc-324-gaethje-vs-pimblett-z-oficjalnym-plakatem-w-rozpisce-14-walk/

This is looking really good. I'll be honest, I didn't have a clue that O'Malley and Umar would be fighting in that event. I'm guessing if O'Malley wins against Song, he could get a shot for the belt and if Umar beats Figueiredo, he could get a rematch against Merab and the winner of that fight would get another title shot.

In other news, good old Tony Ferguson won the Misfits boxing belt a week ago. He defeated a guy called Warren Spencer and knocked out his tooth. That was Tony's second boxing victory and he remains undefeated. He has no plans to retire anytime soon.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/37701216/ufc-tony-ferguson-knocks-out-spencer-warren-misfits-boxing/

[BIT-BENDER]

So we have 14 fights confirmed for the UFC 324, these are:

Main event:
155 lb: Justin Gaethje (26-5) vs. Paddy Pimblett (23-3) – for interim belt
Co-main event:
135 lb: Kayla Harrison (19-1) vs. Amanda Nunes (23-5) – for the belt
Main card:
135 lb: Sean O’Malley (18-3) vs. Song Yadong (22-8-1)
265 lb: Waldo Cortes-Acosta (16-2) vs. Derrick Lewis (29-12)
145 lb: Arnold Allen (20-3) vs. Jean Silva (16-3)
Prelims:
125 lb: Natalia Silva (19-5-1) vs. Rose Namajunas (15-7)
135 lb: Umar Nurmagomedov (19-1) vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (25-5-1)
185 lb: Ateba Gautier (9-1) vs. Andrey Pulyaev (10-3)
155 lb: Michael Johnson (25-19) vs. Alexander Hernandez (18-8)
Early prelims:
205 lb: Nikita Krylov (30-11) vs. Modestas Bukauskas (19-6)
125 lb: Alex Perez (25-10) vs. Charles Johnson (18-7)
265 lb: Josh Hokit (7-0) vs. Denzel Freeman (7-1)
135 lb: Ricky Turcios (13-5) vs. Cameron Smotherman (12-6)
170 lb: Ty Miller (6-0) vs. Adam Fugitt (10-5)
Source: https://www.lowking.pl/ufc-324-gaethje-vs-pimblett-z-oficjalnym-plakatem-w-rozpisce-14-walk/

This is looking really good. I'll be honest, I didn't have a clue that O'Malley and Umar would be fighting in that event. I'm guessing if O'Malley wins against Song, he could get a shot for the belt and if Umar beats Figueiredo, he could get a rematch against Merab and the winner of that fight would get another title shot.

In other news, good old Tony Ferguson won the Misfits boxing belt a week ago. He defeated a guy called Warren Spencer and knocked out his tooth. That was Tony's second boxing victory and he remains undefeated. He has no plans to retire anytime soon.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/37701216/ufc-tony-ferguson-knocks-out-spencer-warren-misfits-boxing/

Sean o'Malley vs Song Yadong is a battle that will be very interesting. From a distance you will mistake Sean o'Malley as not a threat and he has this weird color ful personality and feminine color is not always attributed to strength but for sure Sean o'Malley is one fighter that has great strike power and skills.
I believe I will enjoy the Sean o'Malley fight better than the Justin and paddy fight.

[trendcoin]

..
This is looking really good. I'll be honest, I didn't have a clue that O'Malley and Umar would be fighting in that event. I'm guessing if O'Malley wins against Song, he could get a shot for the belt and if Umar beats Figueiredo, he could get a rematch against Merab and the winner of that fight would get another title shot.
...

Because the UFC is an organization that doesn't play fair when it comes to matchups, they could give Sean a title fight if he wins, but Umar and Merab's fight could draw even more interest than such a belt match. I think Merab is still the undisputed name in this weight class. I think he had an extremely busy period recently and suffered a loss because of it. If Umar had gotten the title fight opportunity in place of Yan in the previous match, he could have become the champion, or if Sean had gotten the title fight opportunity in the previous match, he could have become the champion. Sometimes strategic moves can be better than talent...

Sean o'Malley vs Song Yadong is a battle that will be very interesting. From a distance you will mistake Sean o'Malley as not a threat and he has this weird color ful personality and feminine color is not always attributed to strength but for sure Sean o'Malley is one fighter that has great strike power and skills.
I believe I will enjoy the Sean o'Malley fight better than the Justin and paddy fight.

While all fighters are willing to do all kinds of nonsense to create a macho image, he manages to earn more money than he normally would by breaking taboos with his neon pink and purple pastel hair... :) Of course, not everything in life is about money; we should be able to leave memories that we can tell our grandchildren one day... :)

[Synchronice]

I respect your opinion. I agree that the casual crowd wants to watch bar fights, and I can't argue with that. However, I don't think that changes the fact that Islam is a more complete fighter than Alex. I'm not underestimating Alex at all because he joined the UFC at 34 and is a good striker, but when it comes to MMA, he's not a complete fighter and hasn't even been fully tested in that regard yet...

Thank you but I have never said that Alex is a more complete fighter than Pereira. By the way, Ankalaev is partially a big clone of Islam with better striking but he failed against Pereira on the second fight (first fight was terrible in general, no normal fight from both sides). I think that Jon Jones and Topuria are more complete fighters than Islam. Little Mouse was also amazingly skilled.

Streaming services should target this type of customer, the one who wants to watch only once and charge a low price. This would be very good for the UFC model, watching only numbered cards or fight nights for example, or watching only fights of specific fighters or anything along those lines. It would be very interesting.

The ones who watch only ones were the target of PPV but instead of charging a low price, they were charging a very high price. Money addict Dana White knows what works well in his business, I wouldn't argue with him

[trendcoin]

I respect your opinion. I agree that the casual crowd wants to watch bar fights, and I can't argue with that. However, I don't think that changes the fact that Islam is a more complete fighter than Alex. I'm not underestimating Alex at all because he joined the UFC at 34 and is a good striker, but when it comes to MMA, he's not a complete fighter and hasn't even been fully tested in that regard yet...

Thank you but I have never said that Alex is a more complete fighter than Pereira. By the way, Ankalaev is partially a big clone of Islam with better striking but he failed against Pereira on the second fight (first fight was terrible in general, no normal fight from both sides). I think that Jon Jones and Topuria are more complete fighters than Islam. Little Mouse was also amazingly skilled.

Alex hasn't faced a good fighter with wrestling skills. The UFC and Dana are protecting him in this regard. Even his fight with Ankalaev was delayed for a very long time.

And please tell me... How many finishes does Ankalaev have? How many finishes does Islam have? How many title defenses does Topuria have? How many title defenses does Islam have?

Some things aren't even up for debate and have already taken their place in history...

I'm definitely not trying to offend you, but for the casual crowd who doesn't enjoy MMA, a bar fight could be a natural outcome, and I'd never argue with that...