For the second time in a year, the UFC and ESPN are planning to increase the prices of their pay-per-view events.
This is will be the fourth time during the ESPN/ UFC partnership in 2019 that the prices have increased. This has ultimately been causing outrage from UFC fans online. After being increased from $59.99 to $64.99 in 2020 and once again to $69.99 in 2021. Once again, the prices were steepened in 2022 when it was made $74.99 in time for UFC 270.
The news was broken by The Sports Business Journal, ESPN and the UFC now intend on making their PPV-watching experiences a hefty $79.99 per event.
The first pay-per-view that the new price will be set at is UFC 283. The highly anticipated card is headlined by Glover Teixeira and Jamal Hill who are set to fight for the vacant light heavyweight title. As well as a fourth title fight between flyweights Deivison Figueredo and Brandon Moreno to unify the 125lb title.
The pay-per-view prices are for those who use ESPN to watch the UFC. Therefore, the UK (and other non-ESPN-based viewers) are exempt from these prices. The UK viewers (BT Sport subscribers) are only guaranteed to have to pay for just two PPVs per year.
ESPN+ viewers will be hoping this is the final change in price for PPV events with so many changes during the partnership. President Dana White has previously made clear his hatred of the piracy of events, and an increase in price may not help this.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
