UFC White House card draws 17 million viewers across U.S. and Latin America on Paramount+

The UFC White House card, held on the south lawn of the White House, drew massive viewership numbers, cementing its place among the biggest combat sports events in history. Paramount+, the exclusive UFC broadcast partner, reported 17 million total viewers across the United States and Latin America, with 8.2 million average viewers—marking the biggest exclusive live event in platform history.

In the U.S. alone, the card averaged 7 million viewers with an additional 1.2 million from Latin America. Total viewership reached 15.26 million in the U.S. and 1.67 million in Latin America. UFC CEO Dana White confirmed he spoke with Paramount CEO David Ellison, who attended the historic event, with both expressing enthusiasm over the early numbers.

The viewership substantially exceeds previous benchmark events in combat sports. The inaugural UFC card on FOX in 2010, headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos, averaged 5.7 million U.S. viewers with a peak of 8.8 million. The MVP MMA card featuring Ronda Rousey versus Gina Carano averaged 9.3 million U.S. viewers, peaking at 11.6 million, held the record as the most-watched MMA event domestically—until now.

The UFC signed a seven-year, $7.7 billion deal with Paramount+ beginning this year, moving from ESPN. The partnership includes all UFC events, including former pay-per-view cards, available at no additional cost to Paramount+ subscribers, which number 79 million globally compared to Netflix's 325 million.