The UFC's highly anticipated exclusive partnership with Paramount+ got off to a blockbuster start, with UFC 324 drawing an impressive average of 4.96 million live viewers on Saturday night. The streaming giant hailed the event as the biggest exclusive live broadcast in Paramount+ history, marking a watershed moment for combat sports in the streaming era and signaling a major shift in how fans will access premier UFC content going forward.

The numbers tell a compelling story of mainstream appeal. UFC 324 reached 7.18 million global households while peaking at 5.93 million concurrent streams—figures that underscore the immense drawing power of elite-level UFC competition.

Perhaps most notably, Paramount Global confirmed that this represented the largest household audience for a live UFC event in nearly a decade across all distribution platforms—linear, broadcast, and streaming combined. This achievement becomes even more significant when considering that the streamer has hosted thousands of exclusive live events, yet none have approached these numbers.

The main event delivered exactly what the promotion ordered. Justin Gaethje, the new interim lightweight champion and former BMF titleholder, faced off against fan favorite Paddy “The Baddy” Pimblett in a thrilling interim UFC lightweight title fight that saw Gaethje emerge victorious in a bloody affair.

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The co-main event, however, fell victim to circumstance when UFC women's bantamweight champion Kayla Harrison suffered an injury, forcing the cancellation of what would have been a landmark showdown against legendary Hall of Famer Amanda Nunes, who had been preparing for her first Octagon appearance since 2023.

The success of UFC 324 validates the strategic decision to remove all additional pay-per-view costs from Paramount+, a move that dramatically lowered barriers to entry for viewers and likely contributed significantly to the viewership numbers. It's worth noting that these figures don't account for co-viewing—common in households watching combat sports—nor do they include delayed viewing, suggesting the actual total audience footprint is substantially larger.

All data comes from a combination of Nielsen and Adobe Analytics, providing credibility to Paramount's claims. The event marks the beginning of an unprecedented era for UFC fans, as the landmark deal between Paramount and the promotion guarantees exclusive access to every numbered event and UFC Fight Night card across the United States and Latin America. In Australia, subscribers gain access to preliminary fights and all 30 UFC Fight Night events at no extra cost.

This debut has set a towering standard—one the promotion will undoubtedly hope to maintain as the partnership evolves.