UFC on National Television! Signs deal with FOX!

[ConvoyGTR]

UFC signed a 7 year deal today with FOX (that kicks in when their current contract with Spike ends at the end of this year) to air something like 26 fights and move The Ultimate Fighter over to the FX channel. I assume TUF will still air here on Sportsnet even after the contract between UFC and Spike expires. Who knows. There's even going to be live weekly fights on TUF! Wonder how that affects viewers in Canada and I assume FX isn't available here. Interestingly, the first FOX aired fight happens in November even though the Spike contract is still in effect because of how the terms were set.

I just found out about this an hour or two ago and have been gobbling up any and all info about it

Very exciting times for MMA fans and some feel the sport has finally become legitimate. Personally I feel the sport has been pretty much legitimate for awhile now and is just getting the mainstream recognition for it.

I'm pretty hyped up at the moment. Any fans here? What do you guys think?

[pud333]

Oh man you are officially my favorite Cybertrton poster, my friend! I thought I was the only one hyped about this! It's been a long, hard road for us MMA fans. August 18 2011 is the greatest day for MMA! I'm giving you an internet high five!

How fucking AWESOME was it to see the FOX promo of the UFC? I had shivers when I watched it. They kept calling it a sport, and absolutely no mention of the words "human cock fighting" or "barbaric." Just awesome.

Looks like the first show will be Saturday Nov 12th. It's the same day as the Pacquiao fight, so Lorenzo Fertitta said they'll only do a one hour show that starts and ends right before the Pacquiao PPV, which is for the best I suppose. As for FX, we definitely don't get it up here, but I believe Sportsnet has the rights to show UFC in Canada. We've been getting the VS shows through Sportsnet, so I really hope we get the FX stuff too.

[ConvoyGTR]

*high five* lol

The only thing that might be bad is that there is already a lot of UFC fights going on and soon there's going to be a lot more to keep up with >.<

[Slayback]

Sorry - but i've been watching fights and sorta been in and out of the business side of things - and thats just on the outskirts :P With all the fights that UFC has been throwing at people - what is it? like 2 shows every month or something? fight matchups are getting horrendous. Guys are dropping like flies due to injuries - every guy on the street walks into a club thinking they're the next big thing. Not to mention the shyte amount of 'MMA' schools that come into play. Dunno about out west but in central we've got like 6-7 schools - just in Toronto :P not to mention the shyte things that have come along with the whole MMA experience -aka. Boot camps :P
gahh.... we're being oversaturated. sorry just my opinion.

[pud333]

Originally Posted by Slayback

Sorry - but i've been watching fights and sorta been in and out of the business side of things - and thats just on the outskirts :P With all the fights that UFC has been throwing at people - what is it? like 2 shows every month or something? fight matchups are getting horrendous. Guys are dropping like flies due to injuries - every guy on the street walks into a club thinking they're the next big thing. Not to mention the shyte amount of 'MMA' schools that come into play. Dunno about out west but in central we've got like 6-7 schools - just in Toronto :P not to mention the shyte things that have come along with the whole MMA experience -aka. Boot camps :P
gahh.... we're being oversaturated. sorry just my opinion.

I agree with oversaturation. In general, I would like to see 1 major UFC event a month, with a few Fight nights in between. At this point, I think we'll get something like 32 weeks of MMA fights on FX (via stuff like TUF), not to mention the major shows on FOX. From everything I've read though, it seems to indicate the four shows on FOX will replace four PPVs. So basically, we'll lose 4 PPVs, and gain 4 free shows. At least that's my initial understanding.

This is an interesting interview with John Ourand, the guy that broke the story on Tuesday.

http://mma.sbnation.com/2011/8/19/23...ports-mma-news

[ConvoyGTR]

2 fights a month feels like it's a bit much sometimes, and 1 fight a month is preferred sometimes, but 2 is pretty much the perfect amount.

I fear with more than that it's going to be like Who Wants to Be a Millionaire when they made it daily and everyone stopped caring. That's probably not going to happen, but I'm definitely going to lose a bit of enthusiasm as UFC is going to be shoved in my face more and more.

[Robimus]

Originally Posted by Slayback

Sorry - but i've been watching fights and sorta been in and out of the business side of things - and thats just on the outskirts :P With all the fights that UFC has been throwing at people - what is it? like 2 shows every month or something? .

What UFC 335 doesn't do anything for ya?

[pud333]

The UFC numbering system is better than the titles they used to have, like the unfortunate UFC 76: Knockout. Where no one got knocked out...

[ConvoyGTR]

Holy crap! UFC's first fight on FOX will have Cain Velasquez vs. Junior Dos Santos on Nov. 12! Potentially the biggest fight of the year is gonna be on free TV! Get Hyped!

I hope it doesn't get real close like the Carwin vs. Dos Santos fight then end in a judge's decision....

[pud333]

I'm rooting for Cain. Hopefully he's fully recovered from his shoulder surgery.