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Why Ellison Doubled Down on UFC

David Ellison’s seven year, $7.7 billion deal to secure UFC rights for Paramount+ risks the streamer’s profitability in the pursuit of subscriber growth. But setting aside the debate about overpaying, this might be the statement play New Paramount needs.

UFC
Ellison’s promise is that he can grow Paramount+ far beyond 77 million subscribers—no easy task, given the saturated market—and nothing moves the needle farther and faster than proven sports leagues. Especially the expensive ones. Photo: Megan Briggs/Getty Images
Matthew Belloni
August 12, 2025

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A lot of chatter today about David Ellison dropping $7.7 billion on seven years of domestic UFC rights for Paramount+. No way are the current financials of Paramount supporting this kind of move. To ultimately pencil out at that price—double the $550 million annual fee that Disney was paying for UFC—the subscriber and advertising gains would need to beat even the rosiest projections for the 13 “numbered” fights and 30 lesser “fight nights” per year.