Next week’s UFC 168 pay-per-view gets closed-circuit treatment in Las Vegas

Next week’s UFC 168 pay-per-view might be the hottest – and most unattainable – tickets in Las Vegas. But if you’re heading to Sin City for the card, you now have a potential backup plan of sorts.

Due to the high demand for the event, which arguably features two of the most anticipated rematches in UFC history, the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino will host a closed-circuit telecast, hotel and UFC officials recently announced.

UFC 168, which takes place Dec. 28 at MGM Grand Garden Arena, features a main event middleweight title fight between champion Chris Weidman and the man he took the belt from, longtime pound-for-pound kingpin Anderson Silva. Weidman knocked Silva out in July in Vegas, and now Silva tries to recapture the belt after tasting defeat for the first time in the UFC.

And in the co-main event, heated rivals Ronda Rousey and Miesha Tate fight for Rousey’s women’s bantamweight title. The two first fought while members of Strikeforce, when Rousey took Tate’s title with a first-round armbar – the only way she’s ever finished an opponent in MMA. This past Season 18 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” the two coached opposite each other, and viewers got a glimpse at the disdain the two have for each other. Rousey is as high as a 10-to-1 favorite in the rematch.

Those who can’t get a ticket to UFC 168 – which is expected to challenge for the UFC’s all-time gate record at the Grand Garden Arena, and potentially for pay-per-view supremacy in the company – can watch the card on a live closed-circuit feed from the Marquee Ballroom at the MGM Grand.

In addition to the main-card on pay-per-view, viewers also will be able to watch the four-fight preliminary card on FOX Sports 1. Doors for the event open at 4 p.m. PT, with the first televised fight starting at 5 p.m.

Tickets for the UFC 168 closed circuit-viewing are on sale now for $60, plus fees, through TicketMaster or the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office.

Additionally, the UFC will have events that are free and open to the public on Thursday and Friday next week leading up to the card, including a news conference and the official fighter weigh-ins.

The full UFC 168 card includes:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view, 10 p.m. ET)

• Champ Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva – for middleweight title
• Champ Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate – for women’s bantamweight title
• Josh Barnett vs. Travis Browne
• Fabricio Camoes vs. Jim Miller
• Diego Brandao vs. Dustin Poirier

PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET)

• Uriah Hall vs. Chris Leben
• Michael Johnson vs. Gleison Tibau
• Manny Gamburyan vs. Dennis Siver
• Siyar Bahadurzada vs. John Howard

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMAjunkie, 7 p.m. ET)

• William Macario vs. Bobby Voelker
• Estevan Payan vs. Robert Peralta

For more on UFC 168, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Miesha Tate)