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Angry fan launches petition after realizing he still has to buy UFC pay-per-view events

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow | By Kyle Dimond | Last updated Jan 7, 2026 7:05 PM ET

Not every UFC fan will experience the benefits of the promotion’s big change in 2026.

In August, Dana White announced the UFC’s new $7.7 billion US broadcast deal that has made Paramount+ the promotion’s new home.

The biggest positive for fans is that they will now receive each event as part of their subscription without needing to pay out extra for the big numbered events.

While some have raised concerns over how this may impact White’s strategy going forwards, it’s now significantly cheaper to be a UFC fan than it has been in the past.

That being said, this only applies to US fans, which some international audiences are unhappy about.

Canadian MMA fan launches petition to move the UFC away from the PPV format

Some of the UFC’s top stars recently named their dream fights for 2026 ahead of the promotion’s return on January 24.

Anticipation is building for the Paramount+ debut, with various talking points surrounding UFC 324, such as Justin Gaethje’s potential injury, starting to generate conversation.

The leading MMA promotion’s first event of the year drawing closer has come with an unfortunate realization for one fan.

Lamar Niles has posted a petition on Change.org that is targeted towards the UFC, TKO Group Holdings, and Canadian network Sportsnet, who the promotion signed a multi-year deal with that started in 2024.

Niles writes that he was incredibly excited about the move to Paramount+ before finding out that his viewing habits in Canada will remain on PPV for the foreseeable future.

.@ParamountPlus is the new home of @UFC! Starting in January, stream every fight live! For all things #UFConParamount, follow @ParamountUFC pic.twitter.com/up4hbhrs3U
— danawhite (@danawhite) November 27, 2025

“Little did I know that Canadian fans would be specifically excluded from this new era,” he wrote. “While fans in the United States, Brazil, Australia, and throughout Latin America are now enjoying every UFC event included in their standard subscription, Canadians have been left behind, trapped in the exact same expensive, outdated pay-per-view system that the rest of the world has moved away from.”

Niles specifically goes on to mention how TKO have already made similar switches in Canada, with WWE moving their regular programming and premium live events to Netflix.

He also claims that ‘many of us’ committed to annual subscriptions of Paramount+ after being ‘promised’ that it would be the new home of the UFC.

“We are being bamboozled by regional blackouts and deceptive global marketing,” he concludes. “This is a blatant cash-grab at the expense of loyal Canadian fans, and change needs to happen now. We refuse to be treated as a secondary market while the rest of the world moves forward.”

At the time of writing, the petition has amassed a total of 137 verified signatures.

Canada isn’t the only region that won’t get every UFC event at no additional cost

Paramount could still acquire the international broadcasting rights for the UFC once their deals in various regions expire.

Canada isn’t alone in being left behind in the post-PPV era that the MMA leader is now moving into.

The UK fans don’t pay extra for every numbered card, with the time difference being a major factor in this, though they will have to chip in to watch UFC 324 later this month.

Given that Paddy Pimblett will be attempting to bring the interim lightweight title back to his home country, it’s not surprising that this event will come with an additional charge.

This article first appeared on Bloody Elbow and was syndicated with permission.

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