Former UFC heavyweight fighter Brendan Schaub was among many who experienced difficulties watching the UFC 313 main card on ESPN+.
During Saturday’s pay-per-view event, headlined by Magomed Ankalaev’s victory over Alex Pereira for the title, numerous fighters, fans, media, and others expressed outrage over being unable to watch the main card despite ordering and paying for it due to streaming issues. UFC executives were reportedly “furious” about the situation, and ESPN issued an apology to MMA Fighting regarding the problems with ordering and viewing UFC 313.
ESPN stated, “Unfortunately, we encountered a technical issue that affected UFC PPV purchases on ESPN+ shortly after 10pm ET. Our teams identified and resolved the issue, restoring full functionality before the main event. We apologize for the inconvenience and are taking steps to ensure a better experience in the future.”
Although ESPN offered the main card for free on Sunday to ESPN+ subscribers as compensation, it still left a negative impression, particularly on Schaub. On his podcast, Schaub expressed skepticism that the issue was merely technical, suggesting it was a negotiation tactic related to the UFC’s ongoing broadcast rights deal discussions.
“The ESPN+ situation, with the pay-per-view malfunctioning, and considering they are currently negotiating broadcast rights, if you don’t think that was intentional, you’re mistaken,” Schaub commented. “It’s ESPN, who doesn’t really care about the UFC. They are in a power struggle. If you don’t think this is a power move from them… I’ve personally never had problems with them, but suddenly issues arise during rights negotiations?”
“It’s a message saying, ‘Oh, you want to play hardball? Here’s what your viewership numbers look like without us.’”
Schaub acknowledges he doesn’t know the definitive reason, and it would seem like a counterproductive tactic for ESPN if they intend to retain the UFC, especially considering the brand’s increasing popularity.
However, after experiencing platform issues for the first time, Schaub feels the timing is suspiciously coincidental.
“That’s my theory,” Schaub said. “Never had issues before. Suddenly, half the world experiences issues? That’s strange. During negotiations? That’s very strange.”
While Schaub claims to have had consistent streaming experiences with UFC on ESPN+, issues have occurred before during the almost seven-year partnership between the two entities.
Furthermore, as part of their broadcast agreement, ESPN compensates the UFC for each pay-per-view broadcast regardless of actual sales, making it financially illogical for the Disney-owned network to intentionally create technical problems.
