How to Watch UFC on Paramount+: Plans, Prices, CBS Simulcasts and Prelims

Every UFC event in the U.S. streams live on Paramount+, on either plan, with no pay-per-view fee. That covers numbered cards and Fight Nights from the first prelim to the main event. Plans start at $8.99 a month, and CBS shows the main card of a few numbered events on regular TV as well.

UFC moved to Paramount+ with UFC 324 on Jan. 24, 2026. Paramount+'s own guide says there are no UFC events on ESPN+ or ESPN anymore, so the old habit of buying a card through ESPN no longer works.

Which Paramount+ plan do you need for UFC?

Either one. Paramount+ says both plans carry every UFC fight live and on demand, so the choice comes down to ads and CBS, not to how much UFC you get.

Those prices come from Paramount+'s "How Much Does It Cost To Watch UFC?" page on paramountplus.com, read Tuesday, Oct. 6, at about 2:25 a.m. ET. Paramount+ notes that taxes are extra. We haven't listed any trial or bundle offer because that page doesn't mention one.

For scale, Paramount+ says a single numbered card could cost $79.99 under the old pay-per-view model. One year of Essential now costs about $10 more than one of those cards did.

Is UFC on CBS too?

Sometimes, and only part of the card. Paramount+ says select numbered events get a CBS simulcast. UFC 332 on Saturday, Oct. 3, was the first numbered event with its full main card on CBS; the prelims and early prelims that night stayed on Paramount+ alone.

When a card does get a simulcast, you can pick it up on your local CBS station with an antenna, cable, satellite or a live TV streaming service that carries CBS. Paramount+ describes the simulcasts as a numbered-event feature; its Fight Night guide lists Paramount+ as the only place to stream those cards.

Don't plan around CBS for the rest of October. When we read Paramount+'s UFC schedule on Tuesday, Oct. 6, none of the upcoming cards through UFC 335 on Dec. 12 carried a CBS listing.

Where do the prelims and early prelims stream?

On Paramount+, the same place as the main card. Paramount+ says a subscription covers full fight cards from the early prelims on, so there's no second app or channel to find for the early fights.

Start times move around more than the platform does. Here are the next four cards. Each main-card time below appears on both UFC.com and Paramount+'s schedule; the prelim times are from UFC's listing alone.

UFC 333 is the one that catches people out, because it's in Abu Dhabi and airs in the American afternoon. Our UFC 333 start-time page has the full card, and the weekly UFC start-time page rolls over to the next event after each Saturday.

How do you find the live fight in the app?

Paramount+'s instructions are short:

1. Sign in on paramountplus.com or in the Paramount+ app.
2. Open the UFC hub, or the UFC Fight Night show page on a Fight Night week.
3. Pick the live stream.

Paramount+ lists these devices for UFC: smart TVs, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, Xbox, PlayStation and web browsers. If yours isn't on that list, check Paramount+'s supported-devices page before fight night instead of at 7:55 p.m.

Can you watch a UFC card after it ends?

Yes. Paramount+ says replays go up shortly after each live fight ends, and that every fight from every numbered event and Fight Night is available on demand. A late start on the West Coast doesn't cost you the early bouts.

The library runs deeper than this year. Paramount+ says it has every numbered event of the 2020s, starting with UFC 246, and Fight Night bouts going back to 2006.

Why did UFC leave ESPN and pay-per-view?

The rights changed hands. Paramount bought the U.S. rights in a seven-year, $7.7 billion deal that began in 2026, NBC News reported when it was announced in August 2025. The same report said every event would stream on Paramount+ with no added fee and that select events would be simulcast on CBS. Paramount+ says the deal runs through 2033.

We check each card's time against two sources before we print it; how we check start times explains the rule. For this Saturday next to F1 and NASCAR, see the weekend TV schedule.

FAQ

Do I have to buy UFC pay-per-views on Paramount+? No. Paramount+ says there is no separate fee for any UFC event once you have a subscription.

Is UFC free on CBS? Only the main card of a simulcast event, and only if you can receive your local CBS station. UFC 332 on Oct. 3 is the one example so far this fall, and no upcoming card was listed for CBS when we checked on Oct. 6.

Does the cheaper Paramount+ plan include UFC prelims? Yes. Paramount+ says Essential includes full fight cards, from early prelims through the main event.

Sources

• Paramount+, "How Much Does It Cost To Watch UFC?" (paramountplus.com/sneak-peak/how-much-does-it-cost-to-watch-ufc/): plan prices and what each plan includes, read Oct. 6, 2026.
• Paramount+, "Where To Watch UFC In 2026" and "UFC On Paramount+: Everything You Need To Know" (paramountplus.com/sneak-peak/): ESPN, replays, library, deal length and the old pay-per-view price.
• Paramount+, "How To Watch UFC Fight Night On Paramount+" and "How To Watch UFC 332" (paramountplus.com/sneak-peak/): devices, steps and the Oct. 3 CBS simulcast.
• Paramount+, "UFC Schedule 2026" (paramountplus.com/sneak-peak/ufc-schedule-2026/), and the UFC.com events listing: start times, read Oct. 6, 2026.
• NBC News, Paramount buys UFC rights in $7.7 billion deal.

By the Race and Fight On Air desk · Updated Oct. 6, 4:34 a.m. ET