I’m thrilled to announce that UFC Paris is happening this Saturday, September 28th. The prelims kick off at , followed by the main card at , featuring an exciting matchup between Moicano and Saint Denis. I’ll be catching all the action on ESPN+, and you won’t want to miss it!
UFC numbered events are some of the biggest events on the sports calendar. But you aren’t going to casually happen upon them while channel surfing. You need to plan. But it isn’t that hard.
In a hurry? If you are a total MMA fanatic and just can’t get enough, the UFC Fight Pass is a must. For the big events, you will need to purchase the PPV events that are available through ESPN. You can purchase them as well as getting access to all the Fight Night events by signing up with ESPN+.
Table Of Contents
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is the most famous mixed martial arts league in the world. It features the top fighters in the world at various weight classes who compete for championship belts, bragging rights, and prize money.
Let’s take a closer look at the history of the UFC, why it has developed such a large following, and how you can watch UFC events without the need for a cable subscription.
This Week in The Octagon
Next week, we have UFC Paris: Moicano vs Saint Denis on Sep 28. Here is the fight card schedule at Accor Arena, Paris:
- : Preliminary card
- Ion Cutelaba vs. Ivan Erslan, light heavyweight
- Oumar Sy vs. Da Woon Jung, light heavyweight
- Ludovit Klein vs. Roosevelt Roberts, lightweight
- Taylor Lapilus vs. Vince Morales, bantamweight
- Dariya Zheleznyakova vs. Ailin Perez, women’s bantamweight
- Daniel Barez vs. Victor Altamirano, flyweight
- Nora Cornolle vs. Jacqueline Cavalcanti, women’s bantamweight
- Bolaji Oki vs. Chris Duncan, lightweight
- : Main card
- Renato Moicano vs. Benoit Saint-Denis, lightweight
- Nassourdine Imavov vs. Brendan Allen, middleweight
- William Gomis vs. Joanderson Brito, featherweight
- Kevin Jousset vs. Bryan Battle, welterweight
- Morgan Charriere vs. Gabriel Miranda, featherweight
- Fares Ziam vs. Matt Frevola, lightweight
How UFC Works
The UFC was founded in 1993 by a group of people including Rorion Gracie and Art Davie. During the promotion’s early years, there were no weight classes or a sophisticated ruleset.
Generally speaking, the only things that fighters couldn’t do were bite their opponents or hit them in the groin. This was because the goal of the UFC was to test various MMA styles to see which was the most effective over the broadest range of fighting conditions.
In fact, according to UFC President Dana White, the first UFC event was supposed to be the only one that took place. The decision to run additional events came after the first show was a hit among viewers.
As the promotion matured, it developed a complex set of rules designed to protect fighters and to help it present MMA as a legitimate sport. Today, there are nine weight classes for male competitors and four weight classes for female competitors.
Surprisingly, formal weight classes did not emerge because smaller fighters were losing to larger ones. Instead, competitors began to use multiple fighting styles, which meant that the only way to determine a fighter’s skill was to pair him or her against fighters of similar size and weight.
In 2001, UFC was purchased by Zuffa, LLC. Then, in 2016, Zuffa’s parent company bought out its partners for $1.7 billion. Dana White is still president of the UFC and is generally considered to be the public face of the company. It’s believed that Zuffa’s purchase of UFC was the reason why it was able to survive and grow during the course of the 21st century.
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How to Live Stream UFC
Lower-level UFC matches can by watched with UFC Fight Pass. The major events air on ESPN+ (and sometimes ESPN).
UFC on ESPN
ESPN+ is a streaming service that you can purchase on its own or as part of a bundle with Disney+ and Hulu + Live TV. On its own, ESPN+ costs $10.99/month or $109.99/year. In addition to UFC events, you’ll get access to college and professional football games, golf tournaments, and more. It’s an excellent streaming service for sports fans.
ESPN is a cable channel that is available through most streaming services. You can get both with Hulu + Live TV for $76.99/month. This comes with 85+ live TV channels including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, and many more. Plus you get Disney+ and ESPN+.
You can get all the details in our Hulu + Live TV review.
UFC Fight Pass
UFC Fight Pass is a subscription service that features a variety of sports such as kickboxing, traditional boxing, and submission grappling. It also features MMA matches from around the world in addition to UFC events a month after they have aired on ESPN or ESPN+.
It is critical to have if you are a big UFC fan and you want to watch qualifying and other lesser matches. If your interest is primarily with major events, ESPN+ should work well.
UFC Outside the United States
If you are attempting to watch UFC events from outside the United States, you will likely be able to do so by subscribing to UFC Fight Pass. This service is generally available everywhere outside of Latin America.
In Australia, UFC events are broadcast on Kayo Sports, Fetch TV, and several other networks. In the United Kingdom, you’ll be able to watch your favorite fighters on BT Sport.
In Canada, you can watch events in English on TSN and in French by watching RDS. DAZN is another option for UFC fans who are trying to watch fights from Germany, Italy or Spain.
Streaming Devices to Watch UFC
ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass both support most streaming devices:
- Amazon Fire TV
- Android mobile
- Android TV
- Apple TV
- Chromecast
- iOS (iPhone, iPad)
- Roku
- Samsung smart TVs
- Xbox One
- Web browsers.
ESPN+ supports a few devices that UFC Fight Pass does not: Oculus VR system, PlayStation 4, and Xfinity cable boxes.
2024 UFC Events
If a live event has a number at the end of it, this is typically an indication that it is a UFC pay-per-view event. As a general rule, PPV events typically feature the promotion’s most important fights featuring its most marketable stars. It’s not uncommon for one of the UFC’s top titles to be on the line in the main event.
Generally, the undercard matches will air on ESPN+ (and sometimes ESPN itself). It is only the main card matches that are PPV.
UFC Fight Night is shown exclusively on ESPN+. (In the past, this show was broadcast on Spike, Fox, and other networks.) Each event typically consists of bouts featuring competitors looking to prove themselves to Dana White. White is the person who is responsible for making matches within the UFC, so having him as an ally can be a boon to any competitor’s chances of long-term success within the promotion.
Here are the upcoming events (EDT):
- Sep 24 : Dana White’s Contender Series Season 8: Week 7 (ESPN+)
- Sep 28 : UFC Paris: Moicano vs Saint Denis (ESPN+)
- Oct 1 : Dana White’s Contender Series Season 8: Week 8 (ESPN+)
- Oct 5 : UFC 307: Pereira vs Rountree Jr (ESPN+ PPV)
- Oct 8 : Dana White’s Contender Series Season 8: Week 9 (ESPN+)
- Oct 12 : UFC Vegas 98: Royval vs Taira (ESPN+)
- Oct 15 : Dana White’s Contender Series Season 8: Week 10 (ESPN+)
- Oct 19 : UFC Vegas 99: Pereira vs Hernandez (ESPN+)
- Oct 26 : UFC 308: Topuria vs Holloway (ESPN+ PPV)
- Nov 2 : UFC Edmonton: Blanchfield vs Namajunas (ESPN+)
- Nov 9 : UFC Vegas 100 (ESPN+)
- Nov 16 : UFC 309 (ESPN+ PPV)
- Nov 23 : UFC Macau (ESPN+)
- Dec 7 : UFC 310 (ESPN+ PPV)
- Dec 14 : UFC Tampa (ESPN+)
Wrapping Up
The UFC is probably the most successful MMA promotion in the world in terms of revenue and viewership. Fortunately, there are many different ways that you can watch your favorite athletes compete without having to go past your monthly television budget.
ESPN and ESPN+ are typically available without the need for a cable subscription. You can get them both with Hulu + Live TV. If you are outside of the United States, UFC Fight Pass and DAZN will likely be available in your area.
FAQs
What is the difference between UFC Fight Night and UFC numbered events?
The UFC Fight Night events are showcased on what some still refer to as “free TV.” The UFC numbered events are typically only available to those who are willing to pay $74.99 for the right to watch them on ESPN+. It’s worth noting that you can pay $99.98 to purchase a single PPV event and an annual subscription to ESPN+.
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My expertise in sports coverage, particularly for out-of-market games and regional sports networks, stems from years of hands-on experience as an early adopter of streaming services and my work addressing fans' viewing challenges. As a longtime cord-cutter and subscriber to multiple streaming platforms, I combine my technical knowledge with practical user experience, making me a leading expert in the field of sports streaming and entertainment technology.
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