UFC on FOX

[Colin.B]

Press conference video here: http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/08/18/ufc-on-fox-press-conference-video/

The UFC is saying farewell to it's home on Spike and has signed a 7 year deal with Fox with the first event taking place November 12 of this year with a fight card yet to be determined, on FOX. TUF (The Ultimate Fighter) will be aired from now on on FX Going towards a more gimmicky reality tv format,TUF will be live and viewers will also be able to text in and vote for the next fight matchup they want to see. Season 14 will follow the old, pre-taped format and be the last season on Spike.

The landmark agreement, which puts UFC on par with many of the country's professional sports organizations, delivers four live events in prime time or late night each year to the FOX broadcast network, home to the country's biggest sports events, including the Super Bowl, World Series and Daytona 500. The first live event airs Saturday, Nov. 12 at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT. Additional programming on multiple FOX networks launches January 2012 and includes live fights, pre and post shows, countdown shows, UFC Unleashed, UFC Primetime, the UFC Knockout series, Best of Pride, weigh-in specials, and much more original content from extensive Zuffa archives. The agreement also provides for developing robust mobile and authenticated online offerings to exploit a vast array of digital platform rights.

http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_10185.shtml

FX will have UFC Fight NIght (6 a year), TUF and 4 "big fights" (as Dana puts it) a year on the FOX channel.

[D. S. Veteran]

I just hope this doesn't compromise the matchmaking because of the ratings. I want to continue to see the best of the best get their title shots instead of the entertainers. Like for instance John Fitch.... oh wait :rolleyes:

Business as usual for the matchmaking, it's the only way to sell PPV. UFC keeps on growing.

[rajputwarrior]

they are going to ruin the ultimate fighter...

[arrrgh]

Well, it's Fox so they'll probably cancel UFC after the first season.

[D. S. Veteran]

Well, it's Fox so they'll probably cancel UFC after the first season.

Not like that but I would be concerned if they got some fighters cut because of their non-ratings friendly style. Case in point: John Fitch, Nik Lentz or Jake Shields.

[GiLL7486]

First season should be interesting.

[Anibal P]

Not like that but I would be concerned if they got some fighters cut because of their non-ratings friendly style. Case in point: John Fitch, Nik Lentz or Jake Shields.

If it means the end of lay and pray type fighters, I wouldn't be too annoyed

[bobbyfabulous]

they are going to ruin the ultimate fighter...

A little late, it was ruined years ago....UFC is a joke compared to what it was years ago

[D. S. Veteran]

If it means the end of lay and pray type fighters, I wouldn't be too annoyed

It starts with that and then they start deciding the outcomes in advance and it ends up being like the WWE, all style no punch.

Nik Lentz winning by laying on guys has more to say about the other guys ability to fight than Lentz's. If you can't beat him, you're not really fit to be the champion. Is it boring? Yes but the UFC wants MMA to continue to grow as a SPORT not as Sports Entertainment. That's why they steer clear of freakshow fights like Pudz, Butterbean and the such. You may dislike his fighting style but if the UFC wants to keep on developing the sport, he's here to stay.

[D. S. Veteran]

Junior dos Santos vs Cain Velasquez is the main event for the 1st FOX show on November 12th. The UFC sacrifices a big PPV draw for a good start on FOX.

[Bubbabyte]

it's gonna be a great fight, no doubt. But let's be honest.. have a 1 hour special on FOX, for what could possibly be a first round KO, is a bad move imo. I was super excited when i heard the FOX news, then was even more excited when i heard the event would be Nov 12th.. being the same night as the Pacquiao fight, most people thought this would be a suicide move, while i thought if given a stacked card on free fox tv.. i think the UFC would have completely dominated the boxing ppv, so i had REALLY high hopes for this event. Then i read that it was only gonna be 2 fights in a one hour presentation BEFORE the boxing ppv, which kinda bummed me out because i know they could have done it. Then today i hear it's only gonna be 1 fight, and i think its a really big mistake. I can't see this fight going 5 rounds AT ALL, and showing some undercard fight when the main event ends quickly is not gonna help things at all.

[D. S. Veteran]

The thing it's the best fight they have available for that time period and they can't risk a flop on their debut. JDS vs Velasquez, even if it's a 1st round KO, it's a fight that will deliver excitement like only HW fights can. Only better alternative was to put Brock on the card but he's still not OK to compete. Do you think if they put Fitch on that it would be better ratings? The fight would go on the 5 rounds, displaying how the UFC is about dudes laying on dudes and holding them down. The ratings would probably suck. If they fill the prelims with good fights, I'm OK with it. They need to make a big splash and don't realisticaly have any way to compete with the Manny fight.

[Bubbabyte]

I'm not disagreeing that it will be a great fight. The fight itself was completely the right move, but having 1 televised fight in a one hour presentation is a mistake because if it does got 1 round, or maybe even 2.. then they have great ratings for 15 minutes, and then everyone moves on. The pulled this fight off of another card that was a week later, if they really wanted to they could have done more to make it a full card, or even like a fight night event that is 2 hours and has 4 fights, they could have realistically competed with the manny fight, but they chose not to, which is mind boggling because this is a HUGE opportunity. They could never put a ppv up against a boxing ppv... but a free event on fox that they could really stack, could have done it easily imo.

[D. S. Veteran]

I'm not disagreeing that it will be a great fight. The fight itself was completely the right move, but having 1 televised fight in a one hour presentation is a mistake because if it does got 1 round, or maybe even 2.. then they have great ratings for 15 minutes, and then everyone moves on. The pulled this fight off of another card that was a week later, if they really wanted to they could have done more to make it a full card, or even like a fight night event that is 2 hours and has 4 fights, they could have realistically competed with the manny fight, but they chose not to, which is mind boggling because this is a HUGE opportunity. They could never put a ppv up against a boxing ppv... but a free event on fox that they could really stack, could have done it easily imo.

This probably speaks more about the FOX programing. They are going to have a full prelim card, just not televized, that will be used to fill the time should the fight not go the distance. FOX probably decided to limit them to 1 hour as to not compete with the PPV. They can't compete with a Manny fight, he's one of the names in boxing that still draws a crowd and PPV sales. If it was a Klitshko fight, sure. It's kind of like the free prelims on SPIKE before the PPV, they fill them as best they can with what they have available. You can't really pre-program one hour of TV when fights can go on for 25 or 15 minutes. I hope it all goes well and we get to see some good fights (the Garza - Poirier interests me because it could spawn the next FW contender).

[D. S. Veteran]

Ricardo Lamas vs Cub Swanson added to the card. They seem to be booking fights for the lower weight classes that need exposure. First is the Cruz vs Mighty Mouse fight on Versus, now a bunch of FW bouts on FOX. I'm thinking the next FOX event will be a FW title defense between Aldo (Florian isn't going to beat Aldo, be serious) and Chad Mendes.