By Dylan Sciacca | Reporter
Business deals have been tricky since the beginning of time. However, a deal worth $7.7 billion can have more effects than what meets the eye.
In late August 2025, UFC made a deal with Paramount+ for a seven-year, $7.7 billion deal. This allowed only Paramount+ to stream the fights starting in 2026, making them cheaper for the watcher. When the UFC was only through pay-per-view, each fight was roughly $80. With prices being so high, it made it much cheaper to go out to restaurants to eat and watch without paying the fee.
Waco’s Buffalo Wild Wings was a big hot spot for the fights, and the chain had deals for customers who came to watch there.
Placentia, California, sophomore Luke Coulter said the fight nights used to be a wild scene.
“I remember we went a couple times in the fall before the deal, and it was insane,” Coulter said. “Everybody was jumping around for the littlest things. When the fights were over, people lost their minds.”
The environment now is different compared to what it was a year ago. To some fans, it is a devastating blow to watching fights because it ruins the effect of a rowdy and excited environment; for others it is bittersweet. Telford, Pennsylvania, sophomore Stellan Derstine said there are pros and cons to both.
“For me it is hard to say if I like the deal or not,” Derstine. “On one hand, it was a lot of fun to go watch the fights with all your friends while eating food in a fun and hostile environment. It just made sense to spend $20 or whatever to eat and watch instead of way more for just the fight. But on the other hand, the Paramount+ deal is nice too because I can still watch with friends, but now we can eat more than just what Buffalo Wild Wings has, and we can sit on a couch.”
While it makes it tricky for fans to decide what to do, Buffalo Wild Wings has had deals like all-you-can-eat wings specials and BOGO burger promotions, along with numerous other promotions for members to draw in a crowd. While the UFC fight nights at Buffalo Wild Wings are not quite what they were before the deal, Coulter said he does not think it has not taken a large hit on revenue for the company.
“I think they will be fine,” Coulter said. “We went on Thursday and had to wait almost an hour to be seated because of the college football games on that night. So because of the variety of sports they show, I think they’ll be all right.”
Derstine had a similar opinion on the energy of the fights since the deal and is hoping that some day it may be back to an even wilder environment.
“I miss what it used to be like with people standing up, celebrating with other tables and seeing people so excited for their fighter. It doesn’t quite hit the same,” Derstine said.
