UFC 326 enjoyed a robust return on network television with the event peaking at over 3 million viewers on CBS this past Saturday night.
The card headlined by Max Holloway vs. Charles Oliveira was the first UFC event to air on CBS after the promotion inked a massive seven year, $7.7 billion deal to move there starting in 2026. As part of the partnership, two hours of fights aired on CBS from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. with the entire card airing on Paramount+.
During that two-hour window, which featured Gregory Rodrigues scoring a brutal knockout over Brunno Ferreira, the event peaked with 3.1 million viewers, per the Nielsen Ratings System.
The card averaged 2.47 million viewers with just over 2.8 million viewers on average for the main card fights that started at 9 p.m. ET.
Overall, those are the best ratings for the UFC on linear television in a decade dating back to when the company’s TV deal was with FOX.
In 2025, the UFC’s average viewership on ESPN was around 661,000, per Sports Business Journal. The UFC left ESPN to sign the deal with Paramount.
Of course, CBS has aired MMA events in the past including partnerships with Elite XC, Strikeforce and Bellator MMA. One of the biggest events that aired on CBS happened back in 2008 when Kimbo Slice served as the main event against James Thompson with the card averaging around 4.3 million viewers with a peak audience of 6.5 million viewers during the headliner.
When the UFC inked the new seven year deal with Paramount, it was expected that several events per year would also air on CBS. Following UFC 326, the promotion hasn’t announced the next card also airing on CBS but the upcoming show at the White House — now dubbed UFC Freedom 250 — could potentially land there in June 16.
Every UFC event airs in full on Paramount+, although streaming viewership numbers are not made public.
