CBS, the first broadcast network to broadcast a live MMA event, could begin showing live UFC events beginning in 2026 with the new media rights deal between UFC parent company TKO Group Holdings and Paramount. Among those potential CBS events is the proposed UFC card on the White House lawn, according to UFC CEO Dana White.
“My big thing was, I believed that one day, we would be on a platform where the entire world could watch the fight at the same time, on the same channel, and we are definitely getting closer to my vision with that,” White told CBS Sports HQ. “It’s looking like we’re going to do four big events a year [on CBS]. We’re talking about doing a fight at the White House next year on the 4th of July, the 250th anniversary of America. Imagine a massive fight on the lawn of the White House on CBS.”
White’s comments were less aggressive than those of TKO president and COO Mark Shapiro, who said on CNBC, “CBS will have simulcasts on many of the fights, and likely all of the numbered events which were formerly the pay-per-view events.”
The proposed event at the White House was initially floated by President Donald Trump last month, with White eventually saying that the promotion was working with the administration to try and make the idea come to life.
News of the UFC media rights deal broke on Monday morning, with the seven-year deal reuniting the world’s leading mixed martial arts promotion with the broadcast group that allowed the UFC to break through to the mainstream when Spike TV agreed to air “The Ultimate Fighter,” a reality show that delivered a massive public boost, as well as numerous cards that aired live on Spike.
CBS had previously aired events from EliteXC in 2008 before the broadcast deal was taken over by Strikeforce.
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