{"id":310929,"date":"2025-11-27T20:27:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T20:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/310929\/"},"modified":"2025-11-27T20:27:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-27T20:27:10","slug":"five-ufc-things-to-be-thankful-for-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/310929\/","title":{"rendered":"Five UFC Things To Be Thankful For In 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

Happy Thanksgiving, Maniacs! We hope you have a great holiday that includes food, family, and memories that last a lifetime.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a strange year<\/a> for mixed martial arts (MMA) in 2025. While there have been some fantastic fights<\/a> and moments<\/a>, it has been kind of \u201cmeh\u201d<\/a> for the most part. There are still two more Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fight cards left (schedule here<\/a>), and Professional Fighters League (PFL)<\/a> has a big card still (details<\/a>). Oh, and RIZIN will also have its huge New Year\u2019s Eve event.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, because it\u2019s Thanksgiving, I wanted to list five UFC\/MMA things that we\u2019re thankful for in 2025:<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The ESPN logo appears on a smartphone screen with an illustration of a streaming site catalog in the background. YouTube TV loses all Disney channels on October 31 after negotiations over pricing break down. 10 million users are currently affected. In Creteil, France, on November 7, 2025. (Photo Illustration by Samuel Boivin\/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The UFC\u2019s relationship with ESPN was a mixed bag.<\/p>\n

Sure, the sport exploded into the mainstream thanks to the partnership \u2014 boosted even further by the pandemic sports boom and gambling interest \u2014 and being aligned with the world\u2019s biggest sports network helped introduce MMA to millions.<\/p>\n

But the downsides were real. To satisfy its broadcasting deal, UFC routinely pushed out watered-down cards<\/a> across 43 events per year. And while the new Paramount+ deal will keep the volume high, the death of pay-per-view (PPV) might force the promotion to stack its biggest shows again (wishful thinking, but let us dream).<\/p>\n

Most importantly: good riddance to the piece of crap ESPN+ app<\/a>. Lagging, crashing<\/a>, endless looping commercials, a miserable library \u2026 it was torture. Paramount+ has a low bar to clear.<\/p>\n

I am optimistic about this new Paramount deal, so hopefully it delivers more than the ESPN deal.<\/p>\n

\"Ian<\/a><\/p>\n

Ian Machado Garry of Ireland punches Belal Muhammad of Palestine in a welterweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena (ABHA Arena) in Doha, Qatar, on November 22, 2025. (Photo by Noushad Thekkayil\/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/p>\n

With the ESPN era ending, PPV goes with it\u2014and that\u2019s something every fight fan\u2019s wallet can celebrate.<\/p>\n

Dana White spent years insisting that paying $80 a month for fights was still a viable model, even as every other major sport shifted to streaming. Now, with UFC programming folded into Paramount+, fights will cost $12.99 a month<\/a> (soon $16.99<\/a>), not $1,080 per year.<\/p>\n

Even if the subscription creeps up over time, it\u2019ll still beat the old PPV model by a mile.<\/p>\n

\"NEW<\/a><\/p>\n

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 15: Islam Makhachev of Russia reacts to his win over Jack Della Maddalena of Australia in the UFC welterweight championship fight during the UFC 322 event at Madison Square Garden on November 15, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Cooper Neill\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

Hot take: I\u2019m thankful the UFC finally killed champ-champ aspirations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yes, it was cool to watch fighters hold two belts at once, but divisions were constantly frozen. Fans waited endlessly. Interim titles sprouted like weeds. And for what \u2014 a photo op?<\/p>\n

Recent champions like Islam Makhachev<\/a> and Zhang Weili vacating their belts to chase history only underscored how disruptive the trend became. Ilia Topuria did it too, but at least he had a couple defenses.<\/p>\n

It may be an unpopular stance, but the sport is better when divisions move and champions defend. Champ-champs can stay in the past.<\/p>\n

\"ORLANDO,<\/a><\/p>\n

ORLANDO, FL – MAY 01: Marcelo Nunes walks to the cage before fighting Sullivan Cauley during the first round of the PFL 2025 World Tournament at Universal Studios on May 1, 2025 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Cooper Neill\/Getty Images) Getty Images<\/p>\n

PFL\u2019s tournament format had run its course. It was repetitive, predictable, and often deprived the promotion of its best possible matchups.<\/p>\n

Enter new PFL CEO John Martin, who took over in July and immediately shook things up. Beginning in 2026, the main league is scrapping tournaments entirely<\/a>. Every division will now feature a sitting champion, and PFL will focus on making compelling fights year-round. Imagine that.<\/p>\n

PFL is still a distant No. 2 behind UFC, but a strong, functional alternative is good for fighters and great for the sport. The regional PFL leagues (PFL MENA, Africa, Latin America, Europe) will keep the tournament structure \u2014 not that many are watching those anyway. (Unless you\u2019re on VICE<\/a>, I guess.)<\/p>\n

Thank you, John Martin, for evolving PFL.<\/p>\n

\"LAS<\/a><\/p>\n

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 14: A general view of the Octagon during Dana White\u2019s Contender Series season nine, week ten at UFC APEX on October 14, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC)<\/p>\n

Contender Series, Season Nine<\/p>\n

Season nine of Contender Series<\/a> absolutely delivered \u2014 arguably outperforming several UFC cards this year.<\/p>\n

Five fighters from the season have already competed inside the Octagon, and all five of them have won – Baysangur Susurkaev (watch highlights<\/a>), Cam Rowston<\/a>, Josh Hokit (watch highlights<\/a>), and Donte Johnson (watch highlights<\/a>), and Abdul-Rakhman Yakhyaev (watch highlights<\/a>).<\/p>\n

And more talent is on the way. Keep an eye on Louis Lee Scott, Lerryan Douglas, Kurtis Campbell, Magomed Zaynukov, and Marwan Rahiki.<\/p>\n

MMA had its ups and downs in 2025, but there\u2019s still plenty to appreciate \u2014 and even more to look forward to next year. Happy Thanksgiving, Maniacs.<\/p>\n

To checkout UFC\u2019s upcoming schedule of events click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Happy Thanksgiving, Maniacs! We hope you have a great holiday that includes food, family, and memories that last…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310930,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[49,48,641,33601,638,8810,82,702,7788,3194],"class_list":["post-310929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-fighting","tag-latest-ufc-mma-news","tag-mma","tag-professional-fighters-league-pfl","tag-sports","tag-ufc-news","tag-ufc-results","tag-videos"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310929"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310929\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}