A new era for the UFC is drawing closer following the first trailer for the promotion’s launch on Paramount+.
2026 is already shaping up to be a huge year for the MMA leader as a result of its new broadcast deal.
Along with the UFC’s current plans for an event at the White House, moving their events to Paramount+ gives the promotion plenty to think about over the next few months.
While TKO was confident that the UFC would be leaving ESPN for a new partner regardless of where they ended up, this is still going to be a massively significant change.
Before the deal kicks off at the start of the new year, the first trailer has been released, which features some interesting details.
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UFC on Paramount+ trailer stars Ilia Topuria, Islam Makhachev, Alex Pereira, and Kayla Harrison
In recent weeks, there has been a lot of talk about two of the biggest stars in the history of MMA making their returns to the Octagon.
Conor McGregor has already given his prediction for his fight at the White House, while Jon Jones is still trying to convince the UFC to let him be a part of it.
There have even been conversations among fans about Ronda Rousey choosing to dust off the gloves for one last dance, but none of these stars who aren’t currently active feature in the UFC’s Paramount+ trailer.
The same can be said for several UFC champions and other notable stars, such as Tom Aspinall, Israel Adesanya, and Sean O’Malley.
Instead, the four fighters shown in the short video, accompanied by The Who’s ‘Baba O’Riley’, are Ilia Topuria, Islam Makhachev, Alex Pereira, and Kayla Harrison.
The specific footage shown in the video is as follows:
- Ilia Topuria knocks out Charles Oliveira to win the lightweight title at UFC 317
- Islam Makhachev knocks out Alexander Volkanovski to defend the lightweight title at UFC 294
- Alex Pereira knocks out Andreas Michailidis with a flying knee in his debut at UFC 268
- Kayla Harrison celebrates after submitting Holly Holm at UFC 300
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TKO president revealed why the UFC didn’t come to terms with Netflix before partnering with Paramount
While Paramount+ has been investing a lot of money to secure the rights to major properties, the news that the streaming service would be the new home of the UFC was surprising to a lot of people.
Many expected that Netflix would be one of the frontrunners following their move into boxing in recent times.
Speaking on The Varsity, TKO president Mark Shapiro recently revealed the aspect of their negotiations with Netflix that he labelled a “disappointment”.
Shapiro stated that while the streaming giant was interested, they didn’t want the quantity of events that the UFC produces, which they stuck by despite Shapiro describing their talks as “getting pretty close”.