SHOWTIME
Price: $10.99/mo.
Free trial: 30 days
MMA content: live and on-demand fights, docuseries, and more
If you’re a Bellator MMA fan, you need SHOWTIME® access. There’s no way around it. Luckily, at $10.99 a month, SHOWTIME is a worthy addition to any TV setup—offering live combat sports, quality movies, and edgy TV series.
Around 18 Bellator events occur yearly, and SHOWTIME is the primary channel and streaming destination for each main card. It’s also where you’ll find many past Bellator fights for nostalgic viewing. And, unlike SHOWTIME Boxing, Bellator rarely runs pay-per-view (PPV) events—meaning you won’t often have to pay extra to watch specific fights.
Of course, if you prefer watching other MMA promotions like the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), you might be better off looking into ESPN+ or UFC Fight Pass. Our UFC on ESPN+ page is an excellent resource for how to watch UFC Fight Night and UFC PPVs.
SHOWTIME’s MMA content revolves around Bellator MMA, though it also offers many boxing events. Between Bellator and SHOWTIME Boxing, SHOWTIME subscribers get access to 40+ combat events per year. However, some of those boxing showdowns are PPV events that cost extra.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much beyond live and on-demand fights for Bellator fans. If you’re looking for the latest news or analysis programs, YouTube is all you need. Still, SHOWTIME is home to a decent lineup of sports series and documentaries. Some revolve around fighting, while others touch on basketball, football, and sports gambling.
Content availability can vary depending on how you access SHOWTIME. Watching the live SHOWTIME networks through a TV provider won’t give you the full on-demand capabilities available through the app. But you can still schedule DVR recordings or access the SHOWTIME Anytime app with your provider login to stream on-demand content. (More on that further down.)
| Plan | Price | Video | Streams | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SHOWTIME | $10.99/mo. | 1080p, 4K | 3 |
View plan Read SHOWTIME review |
| Paramount+ with SHOWTIME bundle | $11.99–$14.99/mo. | 1080p, 4K | 3 |
View plan Read about Paramount+ bundles |
Data effective as of post date. Compatible device and internet connection required. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
As we mentioned earlier, there are two ways to get SHOWTIME. You can either add it to your existing cable, satellite, or live TV streaming plan or subscribe to the standalone streaming service. Both cost around $10.99 a month, but that price can vary when signing up through a separate TV provider. Some providers offer SHOWTIME and other premium channels at a discounted rate when you sign up for their higher-tiered plans.
Another option for getting SHOWTIME is through the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME bundle (starting at $11.99 a month). It’s a new streaming plan introduced by Paramount Global that integrates all SHOWTIME content within Paramount+. That dollar upgrade over SHOWTIME alone provides access to plenty of TV shows, movies, and live sports—including NFL on CBS and UEFA Champions League broadcasts.
There are several other ways to watch Bellator content in the US. You just can’t see many main card events live without SHOWTIME in your corner.
Beyond SHOWTIME, you can catch live and on-demand Bellator events on Pluto TV and the official Bellator MMA YouTube channel. Both streaming destinations host live Bellator preliminary cards, and Pluto TV has channels dedicated to other combat sports promotions like Professional Fighters League (PFL), Impact Wrestling, and Glory Kickboxing.
If you’re outside the US, you should check in with Bellator’s international How to Watch Bellator MMA guide. SHOWTIME is only available in the US, so you need a VPN or a different service to tune in if you’re not stateside. For example, BBC Three and BBC iPlayer are the only ways to watch Bellator fights live in the UK.
SHOWTIME is the primary home of Bellator MMA, and you can tune in through either the premium channel or the standalone streaming service.
The streaming service is handy for watching live and on-demand Bellator content at home or on the go. It costs $10.99 a month and offers around 18 live Bellator events per year—so roughly $7.33 per event. That’s not a bad deal when considering how expensive other fight promotions can be these days.
You can watch most Bellator MMA events live on SHOWTIME, either the premium channel or the standalone streaming service. Some Bellator content also appears on CBS, Paramount+, Pluto TV, and the Bellator MMA YouTube channel.
Yes, you can watch Bellator MMA on Amazon Prime Video if you subscribe to SHOWTIME through Prime Video’s add-on channels. Other streaming services like Paramount+, Sling TV, and YouTube TV also offer SHOWTIME as an add-on.
No, ESPN+ doesn’t have Bellator MMA. You need SHOWTIME to watch most Bellator matchups. But you can watch UFC on ESPN+—including exclusive UFC Fight Nights and UFC PPV events.
Our sports experts spent the last year watching Bellator MMA events through SHOWTIME’s premium channel and standalone streaming service. We compared the two methods of accessing SHOWTIME and evaluated other Bellator viewing options like Pluto TV and YouTube, focusing on event coverage, pricing, and additional programming.
Check out our How We Rank page to learn more about our methods.
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