Matt Brown questions whether UFC's $7.7B broadcasting deal with Paramount will benefit fighters

UFC veteran Matt Brown recently shared his thoughts on the promotion's new broadcasting deal with Paramount. While Brown admitted that the deal would prove supremely beneficial for the promotion, he wondered whether fighters would reap any rewards from it.

With the ESPN deal expiring at the end of this year, the UFC recently announced a bumper $7.7 billion broadcasting deal with Skydance Corporation-owned Paramount. This deal makes the company's streaming platform, Paramount+, the home of all live events starting from 2026.

In an episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer, Brown shared his thoughts on whether fighters would benefit from the UFC making more money through a bigger broadcast deal and said:

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"It sounds like another brilliant, gigantic win for the UFC. The same question is going to come up every time something happens with the UFC when they get these brilliant, gigantic wins as a business. So far, none of it has done anything good for the fighters. We have to ask, is this going to be something good for the fighters? That’s going to be my question every time. Is this something that’s going to benefit the fighters in any way?

He continued:

"Of course, we’re early on in the deal. We just heard about it today. If history tells us anything, this is not going to change anything for fighters. Maybe it will. We’re going to have to see how that plays out." [H/t: MMA Fighting]

When Matt Brown urged fighters to band together to address fighter pay issue

Last year, Matt Brown addressed fighters complaining about not being paid enough for their services to the UFC and urged them to take some responsibility.

While the UFC is undoubtedly the world's biggest MMA promotion, it has come under significant scrutiny for allegedly underpaying fighters and has fought a lengthy legal battle due to allegations of trying to monopolize the sport.

In an interview with Damon Martin last year (via @MMAFighting on X), Brown shared his two cents on the fighter pay issue within the promotion and said:

"The one thing we can't forget is, you know, we talk about the NFL, MLB, all these other sports, they have the unions. If anybody is to blame for fighter pay, it's the fighters. And I'm one of them, you know, at least formerly. Like, I never fought against the UFC about my pay. And you've seen I'm sure on Instagram, Twitter, or different interviews, where the fighters stick up for the UFC."

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Edited by Nishant Zende.