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Ariel Helwani: UFC Won’t Share $Billions Earned from Upcoming TV Deal

Helwani anticipates fighters won't get a piece of the pie in the UFC's next TV deal.

Mathew Riddle

Helwani (Mpu Dinani / ESPN Images)

The UFC's five-year, $1.5 billion media rights deal with ESPN is set to expire in 2025.

The promotion is looking for a "long-term future with ESPN," says TKO COO Mark Shapiro. "... But it takes two, and we have to make sure the deal is right." Ultimately, the UFC could be part of a bidding war to see who has media rights for their product this time next year.

With ONE joining Amazon Prime and Netflix making its combat sports debut with Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, it's an interesting time to be a UFC fan. Whichever platform eventually secures the rights, there will almost certainly be a ten- or 11 -figure deal on the table, which won't be shared with the fighters, according to MMA journalist Ariel Helwani.

"I think that they're going to make billions off of this," Helwani said on his show. "I think that they are not going to share a percentage with the fighters (Helwani gestures a zero), and I think it is fascinating to see how they divvy [divide] it up."

A media rights deal could suffer the same fate as the UFC's sponsorship pay structure. UFC contracts are structured so that fighters are paid 'Promotional Guidelines Compliance Pay' for adhering to sponsorship conditions, like wearing Dwayne Johnson's 'Project Rock' shoes.

As of 2018, compliance pay follows a tiered system. Fighters aren't paid relative to the size of the sponsorship; instead, they are paid a set amount based on their number of fights or status as title challengers or champions.

UFC compliance pay
UFC promotional guidelines 2018

UFC increased the compliance pay in 2021.

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Mathew Riddle
MATHEW RIDDLE

Mathew is a UK-based combat sports journalist, graphic designer, and SEO expert with over five years of experience in digital marketing and a dedicated four-year track record in MMA journalism. He joined MMAKO in 2023. Mathew's insights have been featured on The Fight Fanatic, Heavy on UFC, Fansided, and Sportskeeda. Reach him at mr@thefightfanatic.com.

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