UFC and Paramount+ expand deal to Canada in 2027, moving numbered-event main cards to streaming

Paramount+ is set to become the exclusive Canadian destination for UFC Numbered Event main cards starting in 2027. UFC and Paramount announced the expansion as a six-year media-rights agreement that gives Paramount+ subscribers nationwide access to UFC’s 13 marquee “numbered” main cards each year, beginning with events in 2027. The announcement was made June 4, 2026, in a release tied to the companies’ broader streaming strategy for UFC.

For UFC viewers, the change targets the most watched portion of the calendar. UFC Numbered Events, which have traditionally been positioned as pay-per-view broadcasts, typically place championship bouts on the main card. Under the new arrangement, those main cards will stream exclusively on Paramount+ in Canada. The deal is also framed as “no additional cost” to Paramount+ subscribers, meaning fans who already carry the service would not face a separate purchase for the main-card UFC numbered events.

UFC President and CEO Dana White said the goal is to make the biggest fights easier to access for Canadian fans. White also emphasized Paramount’s role as a partner that “understands the power of UFC,” and he described the move as bringing UFC’s main-card experience to the “Paramount experience” in Canada.

Paramount+’s leadership similarly connected the Canada expansion to audience reach and engagement. Rodrigo Mazón, Paramount+’s Head of Direct-To-Consumer in Latin America and Canada, said UFC is a dynamic live sports property and that adding Canada strengthens the platform’s position as a premium live-sports destination. He also described the 2027 entry point as a way to serve an already engaged mixed martial arts audience.

The agreement builds on a larger UFC media-rights shift that began in the United States earlier and expanded beyond. In August 2025, Paramount and TKO announced that beginning in 2026, Paramount+ would stream all UFC numbered events and Fight Nights in the U.S., paired with select simulcasts on CBS, and with the companies describing a move away from the pay-per-view model toward making premium events available at no additional cost to Paramount+ subscribers in that territory. The Canada deal extends that same streaming logic geographically, while keeping the emphasis on main-card numbered events as the center of the partnership.

What comes next is operational: the companies said details on the first UFC events to stream live on Paramount+ in Canada will be announced later this year. For UFC, the immediate watch items are how production and marketing will be handled in a new domestic viewing environment, and whether the promotion’s Canadian footprint, which has included major events in multiple cities over the years, is matched with a consistent landing schedule for the 13 annual numbered main cards. For Paramount+, the stakes are subscription retention and subscriber acquisition, since the deal is explicitly structured around “no additional cost” access to UFC’s highest-profile fights.