4/18/25: UFC To Test The Market For 2026 Media Rights Deal
Also: Dakota Ditcheva still awaiting her next fight, plus a preview of tonight's top events
Welcome to a Friday edition of the Knockdown Daily! Today’s newsletter is a quick news catch-up, going through all the biggest headlines as we head into the weekend. We have three main stories, a preview of today’s top shows, plus tons of smaller news nuggets in the notes section. Let’s begin!
UFC Media Rights Negotiations Reach Anything Goes Period
Free to cut deals with anyone, the future of UFC’s stateside broadcasting is hard to predict
Where will fans in the U.S. go to watch UFC programming in 2026? As it stands, it’s quite hard to know.
UFC has yet to sign a new deal with Disney/ESPN, the company that has exclusively hosted live programming from the promotion for over half a decade. And now that their three-month exclusive negotiation period with the sports juggernaut came to a close on Wednesday, the leading MMA promoter is now free to sign an agreement with anyone.
Reports have suggested that, along with ESPN’s sustained interest in the UFC, other players like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video service are also interested in grabbing the rights. Whoever wants to come to the table has to be ready to open their chequebook: UFC is hoping to bank as much as $1 billion per year from their next deal, per a report early this year from Bloomberg.
UFC was a major part of ESPN’s digitalization strategy when they debuted on the channel in 2019. The promotion’s content has primarily been hosted on subscription-based service ESPN+, with all pay-per-views exclusively being shown on the platform and almost all other shows being streamed live as well.
All these years later, ESPN+ remains a major part of the network’s business plan. However, amid numerous cuts to their live programming portfolio—walking from new deals with MLB, Formula 1 and Top Rank Boxing all in just a few recent months—it’s unclear what their hunger is like regarding a new UFC agreement, which would be more expensive than ever.
Some may have perceived the willingness of both sides to let the exclusive negotiating period expire as a sign of weakness regarding their relationship. However, a recent report from highly regarded sports media reporter John Ourand noted that the parties remain “motivated to stay in business together beyond December.”
Netflix is seen by many as another favorite in the equation due to their close ties to UFC and their known interest in sports programming. UFC’s sister company, through TKO Group Holdings, WWE, inked a massive 10-year, $5 billion deal to host Monday Night Raw on the streaming service beginning this year. On top of that, Netflix has dipped its toes into combat sports programming with boxing, notably presenting the infamous meeting between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson last year. They’re set to air another boxing card in July, headlined by Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano.
However, for a platform like Netflix, which has always been focused strictly on flat-fee subscriptions, it’s unclear how their business model would mesh with the long-standing practice of pay-per-view programming that UFC has become known for.
Amazon’s Prime Video service has similarly shown interest in live combat sports programming, hosting Premier Boxing Champions events and presenting shows from ONE Championship in recent years. Unlike Netflix, they have staged pay-per-view shows in the past.
While UFC has historically been homogenous with its media rights—putting nearly all of its programming on Fox Sports for years, before forming a tightly-knit partnership with ESPN—it’s not unlikely that the next media rights deal could split their shows up and place them on numerous networks. In fact, UFC CEO Dana White said as much just a few days ago: “There could be a time when we end up on several different networks like all other sports do,” he said at the UFC 314 post-fight press conference.
As of right now, it’s unclear where UFC will go. With still six-and-a-half months remaining before UFC is without a home domestically, the promotion has time to weigh its options and see what the market has to offer. The answer might be one of the options above, none of them, or even all of them at once.
PFL’s Dakota Ditcheva Says She’s ‘Not Hearing A Lot’ About When Next Fight Could Happen
Fresh off her dominant, head-turning 2024, Dakota Ditcheva’s career has come to a standstill.
The 2024 PFL Flyweight Champion hasn’t been seen since last year, when she extended her undefeated record to 14 consecutive bouts with a four-pack of finishes.
It’s been nearly five months since Ditcheva last fought, beating former UFC title challenger Taila Santos handily to become PFL champ. Months later, it’s still unclear when her next possible appearance in the PFL cage could emerge. There aren’t any fights in the process of being made for her, as she recently revealed to MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn.
“I’m not hearing a lot,” Ditcheva said, in response to when her next PFL appearance might be. “Obviously their tournament has just kicked off for the girls, which I’m super happy for everyone that’s in it… Kind of. I’d like to be in it myself, but I am happy to see, obviously, the girls still building a division, making an effort to kind of get that going.”
The 26-year-old Manchester-based fighter said that PFL was possibly aiming to make her return roughly a full year after her last fight.
“The only thing I’ve really heard is that the winner of that tournament might fight me at the end of the year,” Ditcheva explained. “Which is fine, but leaves me a very long time without a fight. So I’m hoping that me and PFL can work something out before then.”
Since her 2021 pro debut, Ditcheva hasn’t gone a year without fighting at least three times. So, it’s safe to say that the past few months have been “disheartening” for her, as she put it.
Ditcheva is now one of the many prominent PFL names who have all griped about the same issue: Inactivity. Other fighters like Patricio Pitbull, Patchy Mix, Aaron Pico, Corey Anderson and Cris Cyborg have complained about being benched by the promotion, with some of the names forcing their way out of a deal with the company to pursue options elsewhere.
PFL has few opportunities currently available for fighters who aren’t competing as part of their main “World Tournament.” The promotion has a “Champions Series,” a tour meant to create one-off, “Fight Night” events unrelated to their annual tournament, although the brand doesn’t have any cards announced currently and hasn’t presented an event since January.
RIZIN Reveals Lineup For First-Ever Event In Korea
RIZIN is a little over a month away from their second-ever trip outside of Japan.
The leading Japanese MMA brand will make the trek to the Paradise City hotel in Incheon, South Korea, for a card on May 31st, the promotion has confirmed. The event will be their debut in the country and their first overseas trip in over a year.
An 11-bout lineup has been announced for the show, with an underlying Korea vs. RIZIN theme to the matchups.
Some of the most recognizable Korean names to RIZIN viewers will be in action, except this time with a home-crowd advantage. Former title challenger Kim Soo-chul, bantamweight stand-out Yang Ji-yong, and past RENA opponent Shim Yu-ri are among the many fighters set to compete lower on the lineup.
The main event of the night will see long-reigning lightweight RIZIN champ Roberto Satoshi Souza face off against Korean vet Kim Won-bin in a non-title matchup.
Souza has held RIZIN’s lightweight belt since 2021, having defended the title four times since then. He most recently scored a first-round submission win against Vugar Karamov at the promotion’s New Year’s Eve extravaganza, catching him with a triangle choke for the win.
While Kim hasn’t fought in RIZIN before, his appearances around the Korean scene and Asia as a whole make him a notable figure. The past Dougle G FC and GLADIATOR champ has appeared on the “Road To UFC” series numerous times from 2022 to 2024, most recently scoring a stoppage win as part of a showcase bout on last year’s season.
RIZIN has previously only ventured out of Japan for a 2023 fight card in Baku, Azerbaijan, which was headlined by defending featherweight king Vugar Karamov and soon-to-be champion Chihiro Suzuki.
For years, RIZIN has frequently brought in Korean fighters, many through a partnership with Road FC. Now, the promotion sees a chance to make their official entry into the region with a full fight card.
Here’s a look at what RIZIN has to offer for Korea in a little over a month:
Bout 11: Roberto Satoshi Souza (18-3) vs. Ki Won-bin (18-9) (Lightweight)
Bout 10: Juri Ohara (36-21-2) vs. Johnny Case (28-10-1) (Lightweight)
Bout 9: Kim Soo-chul (23-8-1) vs. Shoko Sato (36-16-2) (Bantamweight)Bout 8: Ji Min-hyuk (4-1) vs. Koji Takeda (17-7) (Featherweight)
Bout 7: Yang Ji-yong (9-3) vs. Kintaro (15-14-2) (Bantamweight)
Bout 6: Song Jae-young (7-1-1) vs. Yoshiki Nakahara (18-7) (Featherweight)
Bout 5: Shim Yu-ri (6-5) vs. Kate Lotus (6-7) (Super Atomweight)
Bout 4: Kim Si-won (4-1) vs. Sho Patrick Usami (7-4) (Lightweight)
Bout 3: Kwon Yong-chul (0-0) vs. Kota Miura (2-2) (Catchweight 139 lbs)
Bout 2: Kang Bum-jung vs. Seiya Inoue (Bantamweight Kickboxing)
Bout 1: Cho San-hae vs. Hide Meison Usami (Catchweight 149 lbs Kickboxing)
Notes On: Today’s Events, UFC, GFL, ONE Championship, PFL Europe, OKTAGON & CFFC
Previews
We’ll be following two cards this evening, here’s a quick look at both: PFL’s “World Tournament” will continue its quarter-final round tonight with middleweight and lightweight fights. Former PFL Light Heavyweight Champion Impa Kasanganay (18-5) will try to start his quest toward another title when he takes on Fabian Edwards (13-4), a two-time Bellator title challenger who will kick off his PFL career this weekend. This card is, personally speaking, one of the better lineups PFL has this year. Names that stick out include contender-level fighters like Gadzhi Rabadanov (24-4-2), Clay Collard (25-14), Dalton Rosta (9-1) Murad Ramazanov (12-2), and ex-UFC talent Marc Diakiese (18-7). A large part of what has set this card apart is the fact that only a few fights have fallen through, as opposed to last week’s show, which was totally slaughtered before it went live.
With that being said, we have to note: Former UFC fighter and Diaz brother protégé Nick Maximov (11-2) is out of his expected PFL debut, appearing in a tournament reserve fight against Khalid Murtazaliev (17-3). In fact, Maximov appears not to even be on the promotion’s roster anymore, posting this week that he’s once again a free agent. His time with the promotion ended before it even really started.
Anyway, this weekend’s card is top to bottom the best event this weekend for MMA. And, finally, it’s at a decent time. While the past two PFL shows have gone late, the prelims for this weekend’s card will begin at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN+, with the main card starting at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN (and ESPN+). The show should be done by 9 p.m. Here’s the full bout order.
So, by the time PFL is wrapped up, LFA’s main card will be starting up. And if you like prospect watching, it’s a pretty solid card to look out for. Tonight’s card from South Dakota has a stellar headliner: Former Rutgers wrestler turned blue-chip MMA prospect Richie Lewis (6-0) will defend his LFA Lightweight Championship against Richie Miranda (10-1), a long-time LFA prospect who has finally earned his first title shot after seven wins with the promotion. Many others to mention: Undefeated bantamweight Mitch McKee (8-0) in the co-main, former LFA champ Cheyanne Bowers (5-2) returning, ex-Bellator prospect Jordan Oliver (2-0) and Turkmenistan’s Abbas Abasov (4-0) are just a few appearing earlier in the evening. The main card is set to begin at 9 p.m. ET on UFC Fight Pass. The promotion’s Youtube channel will show some of the prelim action just before then, at 7:15 p.m. ET. Here’s the full lineup.
UFC
13th-ranked lightweight Benoit Saint-Denis (13-3) will face 15th-place Joel Alvarez (22-3) at UFC 315 on May 10th. France’s Saint-Denis is looking to rebound after a pair of pivotal losses at lightweight, getting stopped by Dustin Poirier just over a year ago and then losing via doctor stoppage against Renato Moicano in a “Fight Night” main event. He had a stretch of five UFC wins before then. Spain’s Alvarez has been climbing up the rankings since his 2022 loss against Arman Tsarukyan, having stopped three straight opponents in that time. He’s coming off a highlight reel finish in his last fight, stopping Drakkar Klose with a flying knee in December.
Undefeated Park Hyun-sung (9-0) will return against Carlos Hernandez (10-4) at UFC’s May 17th card. Park appeared on the global stage two years back, winning the 2022-23 “Road To UFC” flyweight bracket. Continuing a long stretch of finish wins, he then stopped Shannon Ross in his proper UFC debut. While a pair of cancelled bouts kept him on the sidelines for all of 2024, his next fight back is finally booked. Hernandez snapped a two-fight skid in his last fight when he broke the undefeated record of Nyamjargal Tumendemberel.
Two big fights have joined UFC 316 on June 7th:
Rising bantamweight Mario Bautista (15-2) will try to further move up the official rankings when he takes on former title challenger Marlon Vera (23-10-1). Bautista hasn’t lost since 2021, with recent wins coming against proven contenders like Ricky Simon and Jose Aldo. Vera has taken back-to-back losses, although he has been tasked over the past year with facing then-champ Sean O’Malley and then former champ Deiveson Figueiredo. Nonetheless, a win in the upcoming booking would stop his slide down the bantamweight standings.
Azamat Murzakanov (14-0) will try for his fifth UFC win when he takes on Johnny Walker (21-9). Murzakanov was last seen in August, when he finished Alonzo Menifield in the second round. The Russian up-and-comer is now coming back against Walker, who suffered a pair of finish losses in 2024, including a fight against now-champ Magomed Ankalaev which, in retrospect, feels like quite the mismatch.
Vitor Petrino’s (11-2) heavyweight debut is now set for July 12th against Austen Lane (13-6), per Mike Bohn and Nolan King of MMA Junkie. Petrino is making the move up a division after suffering a pair of huge upset losses at light heavyweight last year, getting stopped by Anthony Smith and Dustin Jacoby. He originally intended to debut at heavyweight last month against Jhonata Diniz, although he later had to withdraw from that fight due to an elbow injury. Lane has struggled in his UFC run, having won in just one of his four most recent fights.
GFL
This is quite the story: Yahoo’s Uncrowned recently spoke to MMA manager Lloyd Pierson, who said that GFL’s Darren Owen attempted to calm those worried about the promotion’s finances by showing a bank account that had $20 million in it. However, what Owens claims in a comment he made to the site, is that the money was only in the bank account momentarily: "He transferred $20 million into our bank account to prove he had the funds,” Owen said about an unnamed investor. “He transferred the funds out of the account the same day. We had a monthly schedule of funds typically in the $200,000 per month range that he had been funding without issue until April. Whether it was the market crash or him getting cold feet, he did not fulfill his April obligation and subsequently halted our progress."
ONE Championship
Brazilian prospect Lucas Gabriel (9-1) will get a step-up test when he faces Chinese vet Zhang Lipeng (35-13-2) at ONE Championship’s May 2nd card in Bangkok, Thailand. Gabriel has pieced together a trio of wins on ONE’s weekly “Friday Fights” series in Thailand, with his latest appearance seeing him beat undefeated Gadzhimurad Amirzhanov via submission. Zhang, a former UFC talent who will be making his 50th pro appearance, is coming off a first-round finish win from February against Hiroyuki Tetsuka.
Former Bellator Middleweight Champion Rafael Lovato Jr. has been booked against Giancarlo Bodoni for a grappling contest at ONE 173 on August 1st in Denver, Colorado. Lovato Jr. has never officially retired from MMA, but significantly stepped away from it in 2019 due to being diagnosed with a cerebral cavernoma. Since then, he has mainly competed in jiu-jitsu, a sport he has played since the early 2000s.
PFL Europe
While the past two seasons of PFL Europe have seen the tour present tournaments in four different weight classes, it looks like just two will be showcased this year. The promotion’s finalized May 10th card for Belfast, Northern Ireland, only has bracket action in the featherweight division. The May 24th show, while not finalized, only includes tournament fights at bantamweight currently. This would be cutting the men’s welterweight and women’s flyweight brackets.
OKTAGON
OKTAGON 70 on April 26th will no longer be headlined by a fight for the promotion’s vacant bantamweight title. Former Cage Warriors champ Jack Cartwright (12-2) has withdrawn from his five-round clash against ex-UFC talent Igor Severino (9-1) due to injury, per the promotion. The card still features numerous Tipsport Gamechanger tournament fights, plus a strawweight championship matchup between Mallory Martin and Eva Dourthe.
A long-awaited five-round meeting between Lucia Szabova (9-0) and Lucie Pudilova (16-11) is back on the schedule, this time expected for OKTAGON 72 on June 14th. Szabova and Pudilova were previously booked to face off late last year for OKTAGON’s bantamweight title, although the fight fell through after Szabova suffered an illness. This time around they’re competing for interim gold, with the winner expected to later face incumbent champ Cecilie Bolander. Pudilova, a former UFC fighter, lost that close title fight split decision to Bolander late last year but has since bounced back with a win. Szabova is one of OKTAGON’s most promising prospects in their women’s divisions, having put together an undefeated nine-win record since her 2019 pro debut. In her last fight, she caught veteran Kalindra Faria in the first round with a standing Americana.
CFFC
Two more title fights have joined CFFC 142, an April 24th card which already had a welterweight title fight between Blayne Richards and Eric Nolan booked for the show:
Luke Fernandez (4-0) will look to defend his CFFC Light Heavyweight Championship for the second time when he takes on ex-Bellator fighter Christian Edwards (7-3). This is a significant step-up for Fernandez, who has shown promise against fighters with a similar level of experience on the amateur and pro ranks. Fernandez has gone 10-0 since his first amateur fight and has won all four of his pro appearances via finish. Edwards, who attained a five-fight undefeated run in Bellator before suffering a losing streak, is getting the CFFC title opportunity after a pair of wins on the regional scene in recent months.
Anthony Dilemme (7-0) will put his featherweight title on the line for the first time when he faces Ryan Cafaro (12-6). Dilemme is another homegrown CFFC prospect who has proven himself in recent years. He needed just a round to capture their 145-pound belt last October, stopping Beau Samaniego with strikes. Cafaro, a fighter who has made on-and-off appearances in CFFC since 2015, is on a solid run of five wins and one loss since 2021.