South Korea’s CJ ENM media organization has struck a multi-year media rights renewal agreement with the iconic UFC mixed martial arts promotion.
The move ensures that UFC events, including top-line UFC ‘numbered’ events, will remain on the TVN Sports pay-TV linear channel and the TVING OTT streaming service through 2029.
This will begin with the January 25 UFC 324 event, which will be headlined by a showdown between lightweight contenders Justin Gaethje and Paddy Pimblett.
The deal also includes Fight Night events and significant ancillary programming such as the UFC Countdown, UFC Connected series, and the pan-Asian Road to UFC tournament, which has produced six Korean winners in its first three seasons.
CJ ENM has held UFC rights since 2022.
Speaking on the partnership, UFC senior vice president and general manager for Asia Kevin Zhang said that the tie-up has “taken the UFC's reach in South Korea to unprecedented levels.”
Several South Korean fighters compete in UFC, 10 in total, including lightweight Kim Sang-Uk, who will debut at UFC 325 on January 31.
This list also includes Park Hyun-Sung and Choi Dong-Hun (both flyweight), You Su-young and Lee Chang-Ho (bantamweight), Choi Doo-Ho, Lee Jeong-Yeong, and Yoo Joo-Sang (all featherweight), welterweight Ko Seok-Hyeon, and middleweight Park Jun-Yong.
CJ ENM already has a strong relationship with UFC owner TKO Group, having been an investor in its Endeavor parent company since 2021, when it acquired an 80% stake in Endeavor Content, the scripted content unit, for $790 million.
The company’s wide-ranging portfolio of sports media rights includes home Korean national team soccer fixtures through 2034, grand slam tennis action, including this month’s Australian Open, and this year's World Baseball Classic competition.
One brand that will appear prominently across UFC coverage through the course of the deal is Meta, the tech giant that last week took up a naming rights deal with UFC for its Apex live event venue and production facility.
The multi-purpose facility will now be known as Meta Apex, building on the long-term partnership between the company and UFC that was forged in 2025, in which it became UFC’s first official fan technology partner.
As part of the naming rights, Meta branding will be integrated throughout the UFC facility. UFC and Meta will also work together to create interactive experiences inside the venue. The spaces will feature new Meta products and other fan engagement initiatives.
