The pay-per-view (PPV) model may be “dying” a slow death.
That’s according to Sean O’Malley, who headlines the UFC 316 fight card on Sat. night (June 7, 2025) inside Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. The surgically-repaired “Suga” will battle Merab Dvalishvili with the bantamweight strap up for grabs (again).
Too bad “90 percent” of his audience won’t be coughing up the $79.99 to buy it.
“Pay-per-view is definitely different nowadays because of the streaming services,” O’Malley told former UFC flyweight champion, Demetrious Johnson. “90 percent of people don’t [pay]. It’s so easy to stream it, you go to www… enter the link; boom, it’s right there. It’s so easy to not [pay].”
It’s equally easy to pay for UFC 316 and not steal from the promotion via digital piracy.
“I’ve only gotten pay-per-views since it’s been on the ESPN+ model,” O’Malley explained. “My first pay-per-view was with Chito, the second fight after Aljo. It did really well and I definitely saw a good-sized check from that. But even then, so many people just watch it on the website, on the link, that’s just so easy. The pay-per-view model is dying. Especially with them talking about moving to Netflix or moving to somewhere else. I don’t know if the pay-per-view model is gonna be there as much like it was back in the day.”
There was a time when UFC could cross the two-million PPV mark.
The promotion has been exploring alternative streaming options as its existing broadcast deal with ESPN comes to a close. Netflix and Amazon are considered frontrunners; however, a multi-network arrangement is not off the table, according to UFC CEO, Dana White.
That paradigm shift could bring an end to this magic number.
“Doing a million buys nowadays is pretty insane,” O’Malley said. “Conor [McGregor] could come back and do it. [Jon] Jones versus Tom Aspinall … I don’t even know if that does a million, just because of how easy it is to stream. That’s where UFC makes a ton of money but If they can do a multibillion-dollar deal with Netflix, like that’ll cover the pay-per-view buys. I have zero idea how much they would pay for that, but it’d be an interesting move into that model.”
Until then, stream UFC 316 on ESPN+ right here.
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LIVE! Watch UFC 316 PPV On ESPN+ Here!
CHAMPIONSHIP DOUBLE-DIP! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) continues its 2025 pay-per-view (PPV) schedule on Sat., June 7, 2025, with a championship doubleheader headlining UFC 316 from Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. In UFC 316’s PPV main event, Bantamweight roost-ruler, Merab Dvalishvili, defends his title against former division champion, Sean O’Malley, in a highly-anticipated five-round rematch. UFC 316’s PPV co-main event features women’s Bantamweight titleholder, Julianna Pena, facing off against two-time Olympic gold medalist, Kayla Harrison, in a thrilling five-round clash. UFC 316 will also showcase a 135-pound showdown between Patchy Mix vs. Mario Bautista, as well as a Welterweight bout pitting Vicente Luque vs. Kevin Holland and much more! UFC 316’s start time is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET (“Early Prelims”), 8 p.m. ET (“Prelims” undercard) and 10 p.m. ET (PPV main card).
Don’t miss a single second of EPIC face-punching action!
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 316 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ preliminary card matches at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the UFC 316 PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.
To check out the latest and greatest UFC 316: “Dvalishvili vs. O’Malley 2” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here. For the updated and finalized UFC 316 fight card and PPV lineup click here.
