UFC’s New TV Deal Has Fans Hoping Fighters Get A Much-Deserved Reward originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

The UFC has never been a stranger to criticism when it comes to fighter pay. In fact, it’s one of the most talked-about topics in the sport. And now, with Dana White and his team locking in a jaw-dropping $7.7 billion streaming deal with Paramount+, that conversation is heating up again.

While the deal is a huge win for the business side of the UFC, fans can’t help but wonder: will the fighters, the ones stepping into the Octagon and putting it all on the line, actually see any of that money? Or will this be another case of the payday staying at the top?

Back in 2018, the UFC inked a five-year deal with ESPN worth around $1.5 billion, or about $300 million a year. Fast forward to today, and they’ve just announced a monster new deal: $7.7 billion over seven years.

That’s roughly $1.1 billion a year, which is a huge $800 million jump from what they’re making now. With that kind of cash coming in, you’d think the fighters might finally see a bigger piece of the pie… right? A post shared on X had fans questioning the same.

Paramount deal is 1.1 billion a year for 7 years.

ESPN deal was 214 million a year for 7 years.

Go get your money fighters 👀👀👀👀

— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) August 11, 2025

A fan said, ““Here’s the thing kid…after costs, taxes….”

Another fan added, “Dana is gonna give them a coupon to Buffalo wild wings.”

“They still getting 10 and 10 buddy,” said a fan envisioning no change.

“Dana somewhere, probably: “That’s not how this works you goof!!”- said a fan .

A fan with a grim prediction said, “fighter pay will somehow decrease lol”

Another fan said, “We going from 10 and 10 to 15 and 15 baby!”

Will the UFC Change Its Payment Structure for Fighters?

Right now, Dana White hasn’t hinted at any changes to how fighters get paid. But considering the UFC just wrapped up a class action lawsuit over fighter pay and now has an extra $800 million a year coming in from this new deal, there’s a good chance they might start looking at things a little differently.

Another thing worth thinking about is how this changes things for fighters especially champions. A big part of their income used to come from headlining PPV cards, where they’d get a cut of the sales.

For top stars, that could mean a huge payday if the event sold well. But now that PPVs are off the table entirely, it’s going to be interesting to see how champs get paid and whether they’ll still have the same drive to “sell” a fight when PPV numbers aren’t even part of the equation anymore.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 11, 2025, where it first appeared.