Dana White’s Contender Series is done for another year, but don’t worry! It will be back again in 2026, and White just dropped where he thinks the popular scouting show will land.
The UFC is leaving ESPN+
at the end of 2026 for Paramount+ and CBS in a deal worth $7.7 billion over seven years. That deal includes all Fight Nights and numbered events which were previously pay-per-views, but did not include shoulder programming like The Ultimate Fighter or Contender Series.
There was some speculation that those rights could go to ESPN to keep the sports giant’s toe in the water, but following the final episode of Contender Series season 9, White gave his guess for who will seal up the rights.
“Yeah, it’ll end up with Paramount,” White said. “If you ask me and I honestly answer you, then I would say it ends up at Paramount.”
Paramount is already proving to be a great partner to UFC parent company TKO. Investment analysts have said the network payed above market price for UFC media rights, and they followed that up by signing Zuffa Boxing to a multi-year deal with undisclosed terms.
“Is that the biggest deal done for a promotion that hasn’t put on an event yet?” Oscar Willis of The Mac Life asked of Zuffa Boxing.
“Definitely,” White said with a laugh. “It’s definitely gotta be.”
We’re happy to hear the UFC seems to be putting all its eggs into the Paramount+ basket. MMA fans are so close to being able to cancel their ESPN subscriptions, and we have no doubt that Contender Series would have ended up on the new overpriced ESPN Unlimited service.
As it stands, Paramount+ is getting rid of monthly $80 UFC pay-per-views, and now they’re going to save us from ESPN monthly fees. This deal hasn’t even started, and it’s already been a huge success for our wallets.
