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This Saturday, the Steelers-Ravens NFL playoff matchup will air exclusively on Amazon Prime. Amazon outbid NBC’s Peacock to secure the right to the streaming-only wild card window for an estimated price of $150 million, as Prime Video seeks to establish itself as the premier streaming service for sports fans.

 It sounds like Amazon could soon look to strengthen its stake in that claim by adding the fastest-growing sports league in America: The UFC.

“Dana [White] and that team, I mean, that’s an incredible success story,” Amazon Prime Video’s Global Head of Sports Jay Marine told CNBC’s Alex Sherman in an interview this week. “They’ve grown that into just an incredibly valuable franchise, incredibly passionate fan base. I have huge respect for them over there, and if that comes to market, I think they’re an exclusive window right now, we’d be very interested in taking a look as I expect every broadcaster would.”

As Marine notes, the UFC remains in an exclusive negotiation window with ESPN, though it expires later this year. Marine is also correct in that most, if not all, notable broadcasters will show interest in the UFC if ESPN does not secure a renewal for exclusive rights in the U.S. 

There’s an argument that UFC is the best bang for your buck in professional sports. ESPN currently pays just $300 million a year for the product, about $100 million less than ESPN pays for the NHL. And when on ESPN and ESPN2, the UFC dwarfs the NHL in the ratings.

But the UFC’s impact on linear television is just a bonus. The value of the sport is tied mostly to its rabid fan base’s willingness to pay for monthly pay-per-views on top of specific streaming, as is currently the case for ESPN+.

So, expect at least NBC (Peacock), Warner Bros. Discovery (Max), DAZN, and Netflix to show interest in the UFC. 

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 16: (L-R) President-elect Donald Trump holds the UFC heavyweight championship belt whilst Jon Jones of the United States of America celebrates after Jones’ TKO victory against Stipe Miocic of the United States of America in the UFC heavyweight championship fight during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)

Netflix, the undisputed king of the streaming wars, could have an advantage over its competitors after recently inking a 10-year, $5 billion deal with the UFC’s TKO sister company, WWE, to air weekly episodes of Raw.  WWE Raw debuted on Netflix this past Monday to 2.6 million viewers in the U.S. and 4.9 million viewers internationally.

Not bad.

Granted, Netflix is unlikely to add pay-per-view ad-ons to its service and thus would have to bank on the UFC driving enough new subscribers (think Tyson vs. Paul in November) to justify a bid.

It’s also possible that the UFC could split up its rights by working with more than just one broadcaster. For example, one partner could air the pay-per-views, and the other could air the biweekly Fight Nights. Another possibility is two streamers rotating the monthly pay-per-views. For reference, ESPN and TNT currently rotate the Stanley Cup Finals every other year.

Either way, UFC is about to finally get paid what it deserves.

The UFC also faces an incredible opportunity for further growth by leaning into its fighters’ support for Donald Trump. The UFC is the only sports league that leans right, juxtaposed to the left-leaning NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL.

Under Dana White, the UFC found a niche: half of the country.

When asked about Amazon’s interest in MLB, Marine didn’t rule it out, but his lack of enthusiasm was palpable. “We look at everything,” he told CNBC. “I think it’s only responsible to look at everything.”

Translation: Amazon wants the UFC.