{"id":229110,"date":"2026-01-12T02:24:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T02:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/229110\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T02:24:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T02:24:09","slug":"espn-purges-mma-broadcast-team-following-loss-of-ufc-rights-to-paramount","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/229110\/","title":{"rendered":"ESPN Purges MMA Broadcast Team Following Loss of UFC Rights to Paramount"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mmanews.com\/api\/track-click?type=contextual_affiliate&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fgo.web.plus.espn.com%2F09Ne0L&amp;phrase=ESPN&amp;article_slug=espn-purges-mma-broadcast-team-following-loss-of-ufc-rights-to-paramount\" rel=\"sponsored nofollow noopener\" class=\"affiliate-link\" target=\"_blank\">ESPN<\/a> has terminated contracts for multiple high-profile MMA personalities following the network\u2019s loss of UFC broadcasting rights to Paramount Global, with first reporting on the developing story coming form the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/01\/09\/sports\/espn-purges-mma-on-air-talent-after-losing-ufc-rights-to-paramount\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">New York Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The sweeping cuts include senior MMA reporters Brett Okamoto and Marc Raimondi, along with analysts Daniel Cormier, Jon Anik, Chael Sonnen, and Dominick Cruz. The moves come weeks after UFC officially transitioned to Paramount+ on January 1, 2026, ending ESPN\u2019s seven-year partnership with the promotion.<\/p>\n<p>Okamoto, who joined ESPN in 2010 and became the network\u2019s lead MMA voice, and Raimondi, hired in 2019, were among the first casualties as ESPN eliminated its MMA coverage division. The layoffs also impacted former two-division UFC champion Cormier, who co-hosted the popular \u201cGood Guy\/Bad Guy\u201d show with Sonnen, and play-by-play commentator Anik.<\/p>\n<p>However, the situation remains fluid for some personalities. UFC CEO Dana White previously confirmed that Joe Rogan and Jon Anik would continue calling fights under the Paramount deal, suggesting some analysts may transition directly to UFC employment rather than working through the broadcast partner.<\/p>\n<p>The restructuring follows Paramount Global\u2019s landmark $7.7 billion, seven-year deal that transferred all 43 annual UFC events to Paramount+ and CBS. ESPN\u2019s final UFC event aired December 13, 2025, from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n<p>The cuts were characterized as part of an ongoing \u201cbloodbath\u201d at ESPN as parent company Disney continues cost-cutting measures. ESPN gains WWE Premium Live Events starting in 2026 as it pivots away from MMA coverage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ESPN has terminated contracts for multiple high-profile MMA personalities following the network\u2019s loss of UFC broadcasting rights to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":229111,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[156,12484,111,139,69,437],"class_list":["post-229110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-espn","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/229111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}