CBS to air “This Is UFC: McGregor vs. Holloway,” a one-hour live primetime special ahead of UFC 329

CBS will air a one-hour live primetime special, “This Is UFC: McGregor vs. Holloway,” on Friday, July 10 at 9 p.m. ET (delayed at 6 p.m. PT), ahead of the rematch billed as UFC 329, the promotion announced through Deadline on July 6. The special is designed to bridge the linear broadcast audience and the streaming window on Paramount+ for the main event set for Saturday, July 11 from T-Mobile Arena.

According to CBS, the special will feature live weigh-ins with Conor McGregor and Max Holloway, along with an on-air interview between Nate Burleson and McGregor. The one-hour program is also expected to include segments with UFC president Dana White and other features that combine live coverage elements with additional storytelling, CBS said, describing it as a “first-of-its-kind broadcast.”

The live special is scheduled as a lead-in to UFC 329: McGregor vs. Holloway 2, which will be streamed exclusively on Paramount+ starting Saturday, July 11. The main card is set to begin at 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT). Preliminaries are listed for 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT), with early prelims beginning at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT), all within the Paramount+ exclusive window described by the reporting.

Deadline also reported that “This Is UFC: McGregor vs. Holloway” will be made available to stream on Paramount+ beginning Saturday, July 11. That timing would allow viewers who miss the linear broadcast to access the special on the same platform used for the fight night’s streaming distribution.

The CBS special arrives as the UFC’s broader relationship with Paramount+ and CBS affiliates continues to develop. In February, Sports Illustrated reported that the UFC planned a simulcast era with CBS beginning with a portion of UFC 326: Holloway vs. Oliveira 2, using a stated broadcast window on linear CBS affiliates while much of the promotion remained tied to Paramount+ streaming. That earlier arrangement centered on distributing a limited slice of coverage to regular broadcast viewers rather than the full card.

Taken together, the July 10 broadcast special and the streaming schedule for UFC 329 highlight a recurring strategy for major combat sports rights holders: using a network broadcast event to draw in households that may not subscribe to a streaming service, then directing the full event consumption to the platform where the rights and advertising inventory are concentrated.

For viewers planning to watch, the practical difference is the timing and device selection. The CBS special is scheduled for Friday night, while the fight itself is slated for Saturday night with the main card and prelims carried through Paramount+ during the specific listed time blocks. Organizers did not indicate that the fight card would shift onto CBS for this specific event, and the reporting framed Paramount+ as the exclusive home for UFC 329.

No additional venue or production details beyond the live weigh-ins, interview segments, and the network schedule were included in the reporting. The next announced step for audiences is therefore program access management for both platforms, beginning with CBS on July 10 and moving to Paramount+ for UFC 329 on July 11.