On August 11, 2025, the Ultimate Fighting Championship announced a record-breaking seven-year, $7.7 billion deal with Paramount to exclusively stream all UFC events on Paramount+ in the United States, starting this year.
The first-ever card on Paramount+ debuted on Jan. 24, with the main event being the interim lightweight division title fight between Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett.
The preliminary fights before the main card were quite entertaining. In these six fights, we saw four finishes, which always draw a better reaction from the crowd. Once the main card began, the fights got drastically better and the audience got to witness the full display of what the experience of UFC on Paramount+ will be.
The first fight of the main card was between two featherweights, Jean Silva and Arnold Allen, where Silva was crowned the winner by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Afterwards, there was a women’s flyweight match between Natalia Silva and Rose Namajunas, where Silva was also named the winner by unanimous decision after three rounds.
Before the co-main event, the viewers were treated to a fight in the heavyweight division between Waldo Cortes-Acosta and “The Black Beast” Derrick Lewis, who was coming off a first-round knockout in his previous fight. Cortes-Acosta was able to defeat Lewis in the second round by technical knockout, setting him up to compete for the heavyweight title in the near future.
The co-main event of the evening did not disappoint. “Suga” Sean O’Malley was looking to get back in the win column after back-to-back losses, including a bantamweight title loss to Merab Dvaishvili. O’Malley was taking on the promising Song Yadong out of China. The fight was close through three rounds, but O’Malley was able to come out victorious by unanimous decision.
The main event of the evening was one of the best fights I’ve seen in recent memory. Pimblett came into the fight as the favorite, but Gaethje quickly established his dominance. After five rounds, Gaethje was the winner by unanimous decision, making him the new interim lightweight champion.
Only a week later, the next card for Paramount+ was ready to go from Australia.
This card featured a rematch that fans had been waiting for in the featherweight class. The rematch between the champion Alexander Volkanovski and No. 1 contender Diego Lopes.
The preliminary fights for this card were subpar, with the majority going the distance and just a few knockouts occurring.
The main card began with two Australians fighting in their home country. Quillan Salkilld and Jamie Mullarkey in the lightweight division. Salkilld was able to end the fight in the first round by submission, helping him climb the rankings.
Next up was a heavyweight brawl between Tai Tuivasa and Tallison Texeira. This bloody clash went the distance and resulted in a win for Texeira, helping him get closer to being ranked in the single digits.
Rafael Fiziev and Mauricio Ruffy headlined the fight at the halfway point of the card in another lightweight match. Ruffy was able to get an upset win, ending the fight in the second round by technical knockout.
The co-main event of the evening featured two promising lightweights, Dan Hooker and Benoit Saint-Denis. Saint-Denis simply dominated Hooker the whole time and won by technical knockout in the second round.
The main event of the evening featured Australia’s superstar Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski in a heavily anticipated rematch against the Brazilian star Diego Lopes. Volkanovski had the support of his entire country around him as he sought to tie the UFC featherweight record for most title defenses, which was held by Jose Aldo. Volkanovski dominated Lopes the entire time. The fight went the distance and Volkanovski was crowned the winner by unanimous decision. Volkanovski was able to stamp a career-defining win in his career, while Lopes left the fight with two broken feet.
Overall, the Paramount+ era for the UFC has gotten off to an amazing start and I can’t wait to see what’s next.
