ESPN is once again giving UFC fans the gift of a price increase in 2023.
Starting with UFC 283 on January 21st, the cost of a pay-per-view event purchased exclusively through ESPN+ in the United States will cost you $79.99, up from the previous year’s increase of $74.99. That’s on top of the required monthly subscription to ESPN+ that will cost you $12.99 when bundled with Disney+ and Hulu, essentially making a monthly UFC pay-per-view event $92.98. If you purchase all twelve premium events throughout the course of a year, you’ll be paying $1,115.76 annually.
The worldwide leader in sports also raised the cost of their standalone ESPN+ subscription service by 43% in August, moving from $6.99 to $9.99 per month.
Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal first broke the news of the price increase. This will be the fourth time in as many years that the cost of a UFC pay-per-view has gone up since the promotion partnered with ESPN in 2019.
.@UFC PPVs on @ESPNPlus will increase in price from $74.99 this year to $79.99 next year, starting with #UFC283 in January, per @Disney.
🔲 Disney says the move reflects "the value of ESPN+ and the popularity and quality of UFC events," and that it doesnt impact ESPN+ sub price. pic.twitter.com/PBf0cMTIUE
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) December 22, 2022
When fans criticized the price increase levied at the beginning of 2022, UFC president Dana White quickly deflected the blame toward ESPN whose parent company ultimately controls the cost of events.
“We don’t have any say in that,” White said. “We gave the pay-per-views to ESPN, so yeah, that’s their decision. You know how I feel about that stuff. I don’t love when prices get raised, but it’s not my decision. It’s theirs.”
ESPN’s parent company Disney addressed the price increase saying that it “reflects the value of ESPN+ and the popularity and quality of UFC events.”
UFC 283 emanates from the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on January 21st, 2023. The event is scheduled to be headlined by a light heavyweight title fight between former champion Glover Teixeira and No. 7 ranked contender Jamahal Hill. The card will also play host to the fourth meeting between Brandon Moreno and reigning flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo.
UFC PPVs increasing from $74.99 this year to $79.99 next year.
At the rate they are going by 2027 they should be $99.99. pic.twitter.com/0fROAiUay4
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) December 22, 2022
