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UFC live stream: How to watch UFC from anywhere, legally

Lucas Coll
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High-speed internet has made it easy and economical for millions of people to “cut the cord” and ditch traditional cable or satellite TV in favor of online streaming services. But due to regional broadcasting restrictions, sports fans had to wait a while longer to enjoy live and on-demand content. Movies and TV shows have been available on services like Netflix, Hulu, and Prime Video for about a decade now, and today’s 4K smart TVs even come with built-in internet connectivity and pre-loaded streaming apps — but only recently have broadcasters like ESPN done the same thing for live-action sports, including UFC live streams like the upcoming UFC Fight Night: Yan vs. Dvalishvili and UFC 286: Edwards vs. Usman 3.

The world’s biggest mixed martial arts fighting league has joined with ESPN to bring you all of your favorite UFC content in 2023, both online and on TV. Fox previously held exclusive broadcasting rights to UFC through 2018, but starting in 2019, the contract went to ESPN. ESPN rolled out its own premium streaming service called ESPN+ in the spring of 2018. This is great news for MMA fans, as the UFC’s tight relationship with ESPN now makes it easy to stream UFC fights online. Although some fight cards are broadcast on ESPN’s TV channel and UFC Fight Pass, ESPN+ is the only venue for watching UFC PPVs online, including the UFC 286 live stream. This means that for the foreseeable future, all Ultimate Fighting Championship content is airing only on this network, and if you’re looking for the best way to watch every UFC live stream online, ESPN+ is what you need.

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Watch the UFC live stream on ESPN Plus

The ESPN+ logo on a black background.

You don’t need to sign up for an expensive live TV streaming package to watch UFC live streams; all you need is ESPN+ for streaming UFC fights and pay-per-view events such as UFC 286: Edwards vs. Usman 3. It also offers a mountain of other sports content beyond MMA, such as college basketball, La Liga soccer, and PGA Golf. You can simply sign up for a monthly or yearly subscription and you’re good to go. Despite the price creeping up over the years, it’s still a solid value at just $10 per month or $100 per year. Ahead of pay-per-view showings, new subscribers can take advantage of a bundle deal that offers a year’s worth of ESPN+ along with the upcoming UFC 286 PPV package for $125– a nice $55 discount off the price of purchasing them separately. You can use ESPN+ with virtually all modern smart TVs, streaming devices (including smartphones and tablets), computer web browsers, and PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles.

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Watch the UFC live stream on Hulu with Live TV

Hulu app icon on Roku.
Phil Nickinson/Digital Trends

Hulu offers ESPN+ as part of its $70-per-month Live TV plan, which now includes Disney+ as well. Along with Hulu, ESPN+, and Disney+, Hulu with Live TV also gets you more than 85 live TV channels, so it’s a great all-in-one streaming bundle for cord-cutters. You can also add premium channels like HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, and Starz, for an extra fee. If all you want are the streaming apps and don’t care about live TV channels, then a more economical choice might be which comes with basic ad-supported Hulu, ESPN+, and Disney+ for $13 per month. Since both of these options include ESPN+, you can watch all UFC fights with either one, including pay-per-view events like UFC 286.

Watch the UFC live stream from abroad with a VPN

NordVPN running on a MacBook Pro.

For MMA fans living abroad, watching UFC live streams can be a challenge due to the limitations created by regional broadcasting rights. However, with the help of a virtual private network, it’s not only possible but very easy to bypass these restrictions and access ESPN+ from anywhere in the world. By connecting to a VPN server located in the United States, you can mask your IP address and appear as though you’re accessing the content from within the U.S. NordVPN is our favorite of the best VPN services for streaming, as it offers high-speed connections and a large network of servers in the U.S. and around the world. With NordVPN, you can enjoy seamless streaming of UFC live events on ESPN+ without having to worry about geographical restrictions. It’s cheap too: You can get NordVPN for as little as $4.20 per month if you sign up for the two-year plan.

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