Last August, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced its multi-year deal for Paramount+ to be the exclusive streaming platform for its content. This was a major change from the previous pay-per-view format that had been in place since 1993. 

Many fans were extremely excited for this move because it would save a hefty amount for those who bought every event, while still paying for ESPN+ for select Fight Night events. 

The year kicked off with UFC 324: Gaethje vs. Pimblett, headlined by two fan favorites in the main event, along with a main and prelim card, full of notable names such as Sean O’Malley, Derrick Lewis, Rose Namajunas and more. The card lived up to many fans’ hype; however, most of the social commentary was that it was very laggy, and they could not watch the entire card without interruptions. This would lead to many fans questioning the company’s decision to make this change. Both parties would work to get these issues fixed and improve quality of life for users.

In March, Max Holloway would defend the BMF belt against Charles Oliveira. On paper, this fight was supposed to be a high-action strike fest, but Oliveira showed his dominance in grappling and wrestling. He completely neutralized Holloway and exited the night with a unanimous decision win. 

April would be headlined by UFC 327: Procházka vs. Ulberg. Going into the fight, Procházka was a slight favorite to win over Ulberg. Early in the fight, Ulberg would suffer a knee injury, later diagnosed as an ACL tear. In most fights, this would lead to the fighter becoming immobile and an easy target for a KO/TKO defeat. However, Ulberg would manage to push through his injury and land a left hook on Procházka, knocking him out. This would solidify Ulberg as the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. 

May featured two title fights at UFC 328: Chimaev vs. Strickland. The co-main event was Jousha Van Vs. Tatsuro Taira for the Flyweight Championship. Coming into the fight as the underdog, the champion Van had something to prove to the UFC fans after getting an injury win over the former champion. Taira also possessed a strong wrestling gameplan which Van had not faced in the UFC before. The match would be an overall great match, with Van getting the better of Taira on the feet and also being able to counter/defend many of Taira’s takedown attempts. Van won the fight by TKO in the fifth round. 

The main event: Chimaev vs. Strickland, when announced, was considered to be an easy win for the newly crowned champion Chimaev, but Strickland would not go down without a fight. Chimaev’s wrestling-heavy approach would get the best of Strickland in round one, but Strickland would take the next two, with Chimaev winning the fourth. Round five would be the decider, and Strickland would win it for two judges, giving him the split decision victory. 

In June, UFC would host its biggest event to date, UFC Freedom 250: Topuria vs. Gaethje. This card was more than just a regular night of UFC fights. It was a spectacle not only for UFC fans, but a celebration of the USA’s 250th birthday. The night had live performances for each fighter’s intros, along with featuring different areas of the white house. 

The night had very memorable moments, such as Diego Lopes, Bo Nickel and Mauricio Ruffy getting TKO/KO victories over their respective opponents.

Derrick Lewis, who was placed onto the card at Donald Trump’s request, would face a newcomer in Josh Holt, who had a strong win back in April. Holt would have a good performance and get a KO victory over Lewis. However, after his win, he would get on the microphone and state, “Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?”  

This would lead to many people online not only criticizing the fighter, but the UFC as a whole for allowing someone to insult a former first lady on the lawn of the white house.

“I understand that the Obamas are public figures, but I’m completely against saying nasty and false things about people’s families,” said UFC President and CEO Dana White told the media. “Everyone knows my position on free speech, but I hate that kind of nonsense.”

This would be a very bleak spot on a generally good night for the promotion.

Sean O’Malley would get a KO victory over Aiemann Zahabi in the first round. This would be followed by Alex Pierra, moving up to heavyweight, facing Ciryal Gane, who was a heavy underdog. Pierra is known for his one-hit knockout ability, and Gane is not the most untouchable fighter, so many fans figured Pierra would easily connect with a left hook and win. Once the fight got going, Gane connected with some very questionable hits. Some fans believe they were to the back of the head, which is illegal in the official UFC rulebook. Pierra would manage to get back to his feet, but the damage had already been done, and the referee would eventually step in to stop the fight. 

Illia Topuria vs. Justin Gaethje would completely change the landscape of the UFC. Topuria was a massive favorite to beat Gaethje. Many fans believed that after this fight, Gaethje would retire from the sport. Both fighters came into the Octagon with a chip on their shoulder, Topuria believing that he is the best fighter to ever grace the UFC, and Gaethje now defending not only his own pride, but the entire United States of America. 

The fighters would have a striking-heavy match with both landing good hits on each other, but before the start of the fifth round, Topuria’s corner threw in the towel after he suffered massive swelling and damage to his face. After the match, an X-ray showed multiple fractures to his orbital bone, and he reported temporary vision loss. 

In July, UFC 329: McGregor vs. Holloway would take place, a rematch 13 years in the making. Connor McGregor’s return had been rumored for many years, but every attempt fell apart. Holloway moved up a weight class to get the opportunity to fight McGregor and would go through months of training camps. 

Holloway won by TKO in the first minute after McGregor attempted a flying kick; when he landed on the mat, he immediately fell and struggled to move, prompting the referee to stop the fight. McGregor was diagnosed with a torn ACL. 

In August, UFC 330: Makhachev vs. Machado Garry would feature two title fights. Mackenzie Dern would defend her women’s strawweight title against Gillian Robertson. The fight would go to a decision, with Dern pulling out a strong performance to retain her belt. 

Islam Makhachev vs. Ian Machado Garry was the main event for the card. Makhachev has been pushing to become the greatest fighter to ever compete in the UFC, while Machado Garry has a very loud and brash personality that a lot of fans do not believe. 

The fight would go all five rounds, with Makhachev winning by unanimous decision. The choice led to a lot of fans questioning whether Makhachev is as good because he did not dominate this fight like others before. 

In September, UFC 331: Van vs. Pantoja would take place. Van would defend his title for the second time in 2026. This time, he would defend it against the man he beat in a controversial fight. The first time these two men fought, Alexandre Pantoja was injured after getting pushed over by Van coming out of an exchange in the early first round. 

Van has been criticized for being a “fake” champion and wanted to prove that he earned the belt. 

The fight was extremely eventful, with both fighters landing many significant strikes, along with Pantoja getting takedowns on Van, but he was not able to get much work done on the ground. However, Van managed to win the decision after dominating many of the exchanges on the feet and showing his ability to get back up after being taken down. 

The next three main card bouts have been announced, with them being UFC 332: Silva vs. Wang, UFC 333: Volkanovski vs. Evloev and UFC 334: Gane vs. Hokit. 

This year, UFC has had its ups and downs, but the company as a whole has grown not only in North America but across the globe, with events being held in China, Australia, England and many other countries. The Paramount+ deal has also shown the product to many new potential fans.