The audience for UFC Freedom 250 is even bigger than first thought.
Following Paramount+’s recent announcement that UFC Freedom 250 reached a record-breaking 17 million total viewers on the platform across the U.S. and Latin America, UFC today announced that viewership in additional countries, including Australia, China, India, South Korea, New Zealand, and the U.K., has doubled the reported audience and increased total global viewership to an estimated 34 million people, making the happening one of the most-watched events in UFC history.
Final global viewership totals reflect the standard reporting process for some international broadcasters, with audience data from certain markets finalized seven to 10 days after live events air. Several countries, including Spain and France, which had athletes headlining the card, will not report viewership until mid-July or later.
The action inside the Octagon matched the unprecedented scale of the event. For the first time in UFC history, every bout on the card ended by knockout or technical knockout. In the main event, Justin Gaethje defeated Ilia Topuria by corner stoppage following the fourth round to become the undisputed UFC lightweight champion.
UFC Freedom 250 was distributed globally in more than 170 countries through over 50 broadcast partners. On June 18, Paramount+ announced that the White House card marked the biggest exclusive live event in Paramount+ history, reaching 17 million total viewers and averaging 8.2 million viewers in the United States and Latin America.2
In the U.S., UFC Freedom 250 averaged 7.0 million viewers, making it the most-watched UFC event ever domestically.
In the days following the June 14 live presentation on Paramount+, viewership continued to increase, making UFC Freedom 250 the most-watched live event replay in Paramount+ history.4
UFC Freedom 250 also delivered the most powerful social media performance ever for UFC. Throughout fight week (June 8–14), UFC social media amassed 126 billion total views, 5 billion engagements, and 536,000 new followers. UFC was the top trend throughout fight night on June 14, occupying eight of the top 10 trending positions.
Instagram led UFC’s platform performance with 68.6 billion impressions, 2.2 billion engagements, and 283,000 new followers.
Facebook generated 42.3 billion impressions, 2.1 billion engagements, and 3.3 million in audience growth.
TikTok delivered 6.5 billion impressions, 337.9 million engagements, and 367,000 new followers.
YouTube generated 5.7 billion impressions, 122.3 million engagements, and 152,000 new followers.
UFC Freedom 250 also drove major growth across social media for athletes competing on the card, with Ilia Topuria adding 2 million new followers, followed by Justin Gaethje at 420,000, Alex Pereira at 363,000, and Diego Lopes at 277,000.
