UFC prez Dana White and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta (together with a bunch of Fox big wigs) announced at a press conference that the UFC will be appearing on network TV, Fox Sports, to be exact. Word has it the network contract is worth 1 million bucks a year. The seven year deal is to show 4 fights per year with 32 more shows to appear on Fox’s other channels including FX and Fuel TV. Although none of the matches have been decided yet, the first one will take place in Anaheim, CA on November 12.
In Spring 2012, the 15th season of Ultimate Fighter will air on the FX channel as opposed to Spike. FX will be filming the fighters preparing for the bouts and then air the show one hour before the fight. Fans will be deciding which dudes will be fighting each other by voting online! FX sees this collaboration with UFC as a step up for them as they now envision themselves on the same level as USA, TBS, and TNT.
White had this to say about the deal: “This partnership is going to be amazing. It’s going to take the sport to the next level. And all those people out there who thought I was a lunatic 10 years ago when I said this sport was going to be the biggest in the world, here we are. This is the first step.”
[Source: Las Vegas Sun]
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