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Ex-UFC referee 'Big' John McCarthy believes Netflix could be interested in showcasing "four big shows" from the UFC.
The UFC's broadcasting deal with ESPN will officially end at the beginning of 2026. The partnership started in 2019, with $1.5 billion distributed to Dana White's MMA promotion over five years.
There are several potential candidates for the UFC's next broadcasting partnership, including Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
During a recent episode of 'WEIGHING IN,' legendary MMA referee 'Big' John McCarthy said this about the negotiations between the UFC and Netflix:
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"When [the Netflix co-CEO] says that they're not interested in the UFC, that's not true. What he's saying is they're not interested in the company that puts all of these UFCs out like ESPN did. They want to have the big shows.
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"So, I could see the UFC and Netflix having a business relationship with them doing four fights a year, four big shows that Netflix puts on... We've said the UFC is going to be on multiple platforms."
Watch McCarthy's comments starting at 1:25:00 with this link.
Netflix co-CEO talks about UFC rights deal becoming available during earnings call
Netflix has entered the live event landscape over the last few years, including the highly successful boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul.
Netflix's co-CEO, Ted Sarandos, had this to say during a recent earnings call when asked about the broadcasting deals of the UFC and the MLB ending in the near future:
“I will steer you back to the letter to show you that our live event strategy is unchanged. We remain really focused on the big, breakthrough events. Our audiences love them. So anything we chase in the event space or the sports space is a deal that would have to make economic sense as well. Live is a relatively small part of our content spend."
Following UFC 314, Dana White briefly talked during the post-event press conference about the UFC's broadcasting rights negotiations. He mentioned the possibility of moving away from the pay-per-view platform depending on their future partner's interest.
Watch Sarandos' comment starting at 18:40 below:
