An era is coming to an end! The UFC’s long-running partnership with ESPN will cease to exist after UFC Vegas 112. The collaboration, which began in 2019 and made ESPN the home of the MMA giants, delivered several landmark moments, including a PPV inside the Las Vegas Sphere. However, fans seem rather happy that they won’t have anything to do with the sports network after tonight.

Fans may have polarizing opinions on the ESPN-UFC partnership, but it has recorded many achievements, from record-setting streaming numbers to the fights that involved high-profile fighters, driving subscribers and ratings. But as we know, Dana White and Co. found what they were looking for with Paramount, signing a deal worth $7.7 billion to give them their broadcasting rights.

Reports have claimed that the UFC’s new deal with Paramount will reshape the distribution strategy used by the promotion. The pay-per-view model is set to go away, which has been a longstanding demand from fans. The new deal is set to consolidate all the UFC content within the Paramount ecosystem.

As we inch closer to 2026, the fans’ excitement about the end of the ESPN era is high. People have reacted on social media about it, claiming that they can’t get away from the sports network soon enough. Here’s what the fans had to say.

No love lost as UFC fans bid farewell to ESPN

As MMA enthusiast Jed I. Goodman shared a post about the end of the ESPN era, he caught commentator Jon Anik’s attention. He seemed to have acknowledged the hardships fans had to go through, since all he said was “Lol.” The fans, on the other hand, were quite vocal about their disdain for ESPN.

“I am going to uninstall this app so hard,” a fan wrote on X.

They didn’t just say goodbye to ESPN. The fans were celebrating the end of its partnership with the UFC in the comments section of Goodman’s X post. They revealed their pent-up frustration with the app of the sports network, from the viewing experience to the streams, announcing that the ESPN app will no longer have a place on their phones.

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“The app has always been so frustrating to use,” another fan commented, expressing the same issue.

The streaming experience on the ESPN app took a serious beating in the comments section of the X post. Numerous fans pointed out the longstanding problems with the tech and usability aspects, which led one fan to call out the network for neglecting this issue.

“ESPN is unapologetically the worst streaming service by and far,” an X user stated.

Some comments from the fans reflected a belief that ESPN never lived up to the standard that they expected from the network. After all, ESPN is one of the biggest sports networks out there. As such, for the masses, the UFC’s move away from ESPN is more like overdue damage control than a risk.

“Commercial breaks are worst,” a fan wrote.

A lot of people pointed out the most annoying aspect of the viewing experience on ESPN. And that is the ad break. Commercials have been labeled as the reason for the constant momentum killer on otherwise stacked fight cards.

“Man, did I time my espn subscription perfectly. Expires with 5 days till expiration, and I get to see the last ufc fight of the year.”

People have paid thousands of dollars during the course of the partnership to watch UFC content on ESPN. But with the deal ending in December, they were relieved because some fans have their subscriptions ending this month as well. With the last UFC event wrapping up, they can’t wait for more reasonable prices on Paramount in January.

“Finally, [Dana White] did something intelligent and got the [UFC] out of the s— App.”

The UFC CEO, who’s not always in the good books of the fans, earned massive praise for the new $7.7 billion deal with Paramount. They claim that this move was nothing short of an “intelligent” one.

What do you make of the comments and reactions from the fans regarding the end of the ESPN era? Drop your comments below.