On the latest episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, MMA journalist Ariel Helwani raised concerns about the UFC’s future media presence as it prepares to move from ESPN to Paramount. Helwani pointed to ESPN’s history with former partners and warned the promotion may lose a powerful promotional platform once the deal ends.
“When ESPN is out of business with a sports entity, they essentially stop covering that entity,” Helwani said. “The NHL is the perfect example. They left, they stopped covering them. They’re back, and now they’ve got ancillary shows, analysts, and coverage on SportsCenter. I’m fascinated to see how ESPN treats UFC.”
Helwani said ESPN’s current coverage of the UFC — from weigh-in analysis segments on First Take with former UFC champion Daniel Cormier to social media amplification across Instagram and TikTok — has been invaluable in elevating the sport’s profile.
“Those numbers are insane compared to what CBS/Paramount can do for them,” Helwani noted. “I think the reason why the UFC is getting a billion dollars from Paramount is because of ESPN.”
Unless ESPN extends its relationship with the Professional Fighters League — a distant alternative to the UFC — when their current deal expires in 2026, Helwani believes the network could soon be out of the MMA business entirely.
Helwani credited ESPN with helping fuel the UFC’s growth over the past five years. He pointed to the promotion’s trajectory since leaving SpikeTV and FOX Sports, noting that exposure on ESPN’s platforms has helped UFC fighters become more widely known to casual sports fans, especially younger viewers.
“Think about where they were when they left FOX and think about where they are now in terms of what kids are talking about and how they know UFC stars,” he said. “That’s a huge, huge deal. ESPN elevated them.”
Still, Helwani acknowledged that the UFC has a long track record of making timely media moves. From Spike to FOX to ESPN — and now Paramount — the company has repeatedly aligned itself with networks in need of strong live sports programming.
“When they left Spike and went to FOX, FOX needed them to prop up FS1,” Helwani said. “When they left FOX and went to ESPN, ESPN needed them to prop up ESPN+. Now, they leave ESPN to go to Paramount, and [David] Ellison (Skydance Media CEO) needs them to prop up the new Paramount+.”
According to Helwani, history shows the UFC has delivered in each of those situations, helping its television partners grow their platforms. But the upcoming shift brings a new wrinkle: the elimination of the traditional pay-per-view model in favor of a streaming-driven approach.
“It’s totally different now,” Helwani said. “That whole breakdown has completely changed.”
Whether Paramount can replicate ESPN’s cross-platform reach — and whether the UFC can maintain the same level of mainstream attention without the network’s promotional muscle — remains an open question. For Helwani, it’s a storyline not getting enough attention as the sport prepares for its next broadcast chapter.
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