Back at UFC 304, during the fight between Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad, fans tuned in expecting a high-octane showdown. However, they were left disappointed—not by the fight itself, but by technical failures. ESPN’s servers appeared to break down at crucial moments, causing everything from audio issues to black screens. ESPN+ was in shambles. A year later, at UFC 313, history repeated itself. Fans couldn’t even purchase the pay-per-view, and those lucky enough to secure access ran into further issues, making it nearly impossible to watch the event. Reacting to the debacle at the post-fight press conference, Dana White stated, “I don’t know what happened with their platform tonight, but yeah, there are a lot of pi–ed off people.” After all of this noise, reports have surfaced which suggest that both the UFC and ESPN are not happy with each other.

Reports from the NY Post ascertain that things are arguably not going well between UFC and ESPN as tensions between the UFC and ESPN are at an all-time high following the disastrous PPV issues during the Pereira vs. Ankalaev card. The UFC management is furious about the utter mismanagement by ESPN during the premium card and their technology. On the other hand, ESPN is frustrated by the lackluster PPV numbers.

With pay-per-view buys significantly down, fighters who once thrived on “PPV points” in their contracts are now seeing those bonuses become virtually meaningless. The broadcasting giant believes that the PPV numbers that they have been promised don’t add up with their investments. As the date of renewing the broadcasting deal draws near, the UFC will not be looking towards making a shift from ESPN to Netflix. While Netflix has historically been against the PPV model, sources indicate they are willing to be flexible.

Interestingly, New York Post Sports reporter, Eric Richter, in his report added that the UFC is desperately looking at Netflix now. He said, “When I put that article out on Sunday night, I got a call from somebody who’s pretty well connected, and he said almost definitely Netflix. Almost definitely. Surely I believe that was the exact word. So I would venture to guess that the UFC will do anything in their power to go to Netflix.”

It must be noted that Netflix and UFC’s associated company, WWE have entered into a landmark 10-year agreement valued at over $5 billion for WWE’s flagship Monday Night Raw, starting in January 2025. As both the UFC and WWE come under the same umbrella, TKO Holdings, they can negotiate a deal between Netflix and UFC. Well, even Ariel Helwani is bullish on a Netflix deal.

Arie Helwani believes the Netflix-UFC deal is a close thing for Dana White

According to certain reports by Bloomberg, UFC CEO Dana White is looking for an extravagant $1 billion-a-year deal from his next partner. This would mean that White is looking at a two-fold increase from their last valuation and it appears that ESPN is not keen on making such a huge for themselves. Renowned journalist, Ariel Helwani believes that despite the drawbacks, the UFC will be able to seal a deal with Netflix by going through the WWE route.

“Oh yeah, there is a strong possibility (Netflix). The biggest story for me in 2025 as far as the business of MMA, is what happens to the UFC’s TV contract here in the United States because their deal with ESPN Plus is up at the end of the year. And they’re going to make a boatload. It is going to be the biggest deal in UFC history,” said Ariel Helwani.

With Netflix securing the majority of broadcasting deals, an agreement with the UFC would mark a significant penetration into the combat sports realm. Will the UFC and Netflix join hands together to bring the premium action to everyone’s screen or will Dana White choose a different partner? State your thoughts in the comments below.