UFC, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organisation, has experienced a meteoric rise since its first event was held in 1993 and is now one of the most popular sports globally broadcasting in more than 170 countries to 900 million TV households worldwide.
UFC has a global fan base of more than 625 million people and now the organisation will reach a new generation of fans across The Netherlands with exclusive streaming access offered through discovery+ – Discovery’s real-life entertainment and live sport subscription streaming service – as well as via Eurosport and the Eurosport App in Spain.
The new multi-year partnership between Discovery and UFC will include all live UFC events and will offer viewers across the Netherlands and Spain studio coverage of every event on the calendar. Fans will also have access to additional UFC programming such as Countdown and UFC Connected, which provide unique insights into the world of UFC.
Some of the best names from the world of mixed martial arts will offer their insights and expert analysis across Discovery’s and Eurosport’s programming throughout the year, including Jorge Lera and Gonzalo Rodriguez in Spain, as well as former MMA star Marloes Coenen in the Netherlands.
Eurosport 1 in the Netherlands will also broadcast a selection of the best live action throughout the year, ensuring it reaches as many fans as possible across the Discovery network and further showcasing the full experience available on discovery+.
Gijs Poortman, Head of Discovery Sports Netherlands, said: „Our experience in building and rolling out one of the most rapidly expanding streaming products in discovery+ will provide a natural home for UFC, one of the fastest growing and most exciting sports globally. With the acquisition of the rights to broadcast UFC on discovery+, we are further expanding our already broad sports offering with the most premium fight sport.
“To create the perfect experience, we will produce a full studio show and have additional content for the MMA fan, so discovery+ will truly become the new Streaming Home of UFC in The Netherlands for years to come. With Eurosport.nl as the destination for UFC news, we feel we can perfectly serve the Dutch UFC fan. We can’t wait to start.“
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Fernando Ruiz, Sports Editorial Senior Manager, Eurosport Spain, said: „With this new addition to our portfolio of rights, Eurosport further strengthens its extensive catalogue of international sports events to offer fans in Spain. In addition to broadcasting the most competitive mixed martial arts events to more viewers, fans of combat sports will be able to follow the best coverage of UFC on Eurosport’s channels and digital platforms in Spain until 2026.”
David Shaw, UFC Senior Vice President of Content and International, added: “The Discovery team came to us with a vision perfectly aligned with our growth aspirations in Europe. This multi-year, multi-territory agreement will give UFC and our athletes a platform like never before, providing our fans in the Netherlands and Spain with access to more localised content as well as all the big blockbuster events. We’re excited about taking UFC to the next level alongside Discovery.”
Discovery’s wide-ranging coverage of UFC will be supported by exclusive content published on eurosport.nl and eurosport.es which will be the go-to place for fans searching for the latest news, views, and interviews from one of the most popular sports in the world.
The first event of the year, UFC FIGHT NIGHT: KATTAR vs CHIKADZE, will air live on discovery+ in the Netherlands and Eurosport 2 in Spain on Saturday, January 15 with coverage starting from 11:00 p.m. CET.
