The UFC had multiple suitors interested in landing the promotion’s broadcast rights deal, but in the end, Paramount ponied up $7.7 billion per year to land the entire package including the end of traditional pay-per-view broadcasts.

While predictions for the new UFC deal typically involved its current partner at ESPN or potentially partnering with Netflix, it was Paramount that made the best offer. UFC CEO Dana White admitted on Monday that even he was shocked at how the whole negotiation played out with Paramount ultimately making an offer that couldn’t be refused.

“No, I didn’t think this is where we’d end up but this is sort of how it played out. I love it,” White told The Pat McAfee Show. “These guys are obviously very smart guys, very aggressive and when you think about streaming, streaming’s incredible.

“When they drop a great show — the problem with the whole service is I can watch it tonight or I can watch it two years from now. Live sports is going to be a big deal with all these streaming services and we’re going to play a big part in it.”

Under the terms of the deal, all UFC events are going to air exclusively on the Paramount+ streaming service but certain cards are also going to be simulcast on CBS.

That could potentially include the highly publicized White House event that’s expected to take place in July 2026 as part of President Donald Trump’s initiative to celebrate the United States’ 250th birthday.

“That might be on CBS,” White teased. “Think about that. Fight card from the White House, live and free on CBS the network. Come on.”

In a separate interview with CBS Sports, White detailed current plans to air several UFC events on CBS while continuing to express his excitement at the potential to put that UFC White House card on network television.

“It’s looking like we’re going to do four big events a year [on CBS],” White said. “We’re talking about doing a fight at the White House next year on the 4th of July, the 250th anniversary of America. So imagine a massive fight on the lawn of the White House on CBS.”

Putting all of the major UFC events on Paramount+ and possibly CBS is a huge shift in business strategy for the promotion after pay-per-view was a huge revenue driver for the company for decades.

That all changed after ESPN paid a hefty price to broadcast all UFC pay-per-views through the ESPN+ streaming service but those cards still cost viewers an additional charge — currently $79.99 per event.

That’s all going away with the new deal with Paramount+ currently running $7.99 per month with ads and the ad-free version at $12.99 per month.

“You get to watch all the UFC programming on there,” White said. “No pay-per-view anymore. It’s $13 or whatever it is, you get everything plus these guys have South Park, Yellowstone, I’ve been talking about MobLand now. Tulsa King, the list goes on and on of all the content that they have. Great shows. So now you get all the UFC content plus all this other great content, too.”

Paramount made the move to land the UFC’s broadcast rights just days after the company was purchased by Skydance, an entertainment company headed up by CEO David Ellison, in a deal that closed at $8 billion.

Now Paramount is investing an average of $1.1 billion per year in the UFC and White expects big things for the future now that the deal is closed.

“They have much bigger plans ahead and we are very aligned with them,” White said about Paramount. “I’m excited to be in business with the Ellison’s.”