UFC Technical Difficulties Ruins Paris Event as ESPN Humiliated Ahead of $7.7B Takeover

The UFC’s deal with Paramount+ will not come into effect until 2026. For the time being, fans will have to stick to ESPN+. But it seems like the current broadcast partner isn’t providing the best of services to the viewers, as fans recently experienced some streaming issues. Dana White and Co. may need to watch out for this because it’s happening as people were trying to view UFC Paris.

Yes, Dana White and Co. were not able to give fans who are watching at home in the United States the best experience in viewing UFC Paris. The ESPN+ platform appeared to be facing some technical difficulties, and fans had to wait for a long time. MMA enthusiast and reporter Luke Thomas was also one of those viewing the Fight Night event on that platform, and looking at the state of ESPN Plus, he wrote, “lmao.”

Meanwhile, there have been no reports of any broadcasting failures or technical difficulties among fans who are watching UFC fights in other countries, except for the viewers in the United States. This technical challenge has plagued the UFC’s relationship with ESPN, as the brunt of the blame is most likely going to fall on the streaming service. These technical issues could give rise to questions about their reliability to deliver a hassle-free experience to fans of other sports.

Luke Thomas’s comment was a clear jibe at Dana White and ESPN’s failure, as fans can’t wait to see what holds for them in the future with the new Paramount deal. However, this is not the first time that the fans have experienced such issues with ESPN. In the recent past, they even faced issues with PPV events as well. Let’s take a look at that front.

ESPN’s streaming issues with UFC PPV events

On the night when Alex Pereira dropped his belt, fans were let down not only by the Brazilian star, who got beaten at his own game, but also by ESPN. The streaming service faced a similar problem as it did with UFC Paris. Fans were quick to call the issues out on social media, as it triggered angry reactions from them. ESPN had no other choice but to address the situation and release a statement after fixing the issue by the time the main event came around.

“Unfortunately, we experienced a technical issue that impacted purchases of the UFC PPV on ESPN+ shortly after 10pm ET. Our teams identified and resolved the issue, restoring full functionality ahead of the main event. We apologize for the inconvenience and are taking steps to ensure a better experience in the future,” the Disney-owned streaming platform explained in an official statement.

The fact that fans have been paying well over thousands of dollars annually for the past few years just to watch UFC fights, it’s understandable that they’d be angry with such issues with the streaming service. What do you think about this situation? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.