Next Six Months Promises New Developments from UFC and Fox TV Partnership

Seven months into a seven-year television partnership with the Fox family of networks, the Ultimate Fighting Championship and its new TV partners are just starting to gel, but there is still much work to be done.

“The first six to seven months has been a feeling out period and figuring out how to work together and really get things clicking with UFC and Fox,” remarked UFC president Dana White on Monday.

The groundwork for much of the transfer of programming from Spike TV to Fox and how to handle things such as weigh-in broadcasts, pre- and post-fight shows, and events themselves, including preliminary bouts, has been implemented, but there are many more avenues to explore according to White.

A recent addition is Road to the Octagon, a one-hour pre-fight special that will precede all UFC on Fox events. More of this type of programming is likely to permeate Fox, FX, and Fuel TV; the three primary networks that feature UFC programming.

“Yeah, we’re gonna be doing more of that,” said White. “We have a lot of things coming with this Fox relationship over the next six months.

“We’ve come up with a lot of great ideas that we’re going to be implementing throughout the rest of this year.”

White didn’t reveal the nature of the ideas they plan on implementing in the coming months, but they’ve already added a multitude of programs to the Fuel TV line-up, making it the de facto UFC channel. From being a home for preliminary bouts to its own UFC on Fuel live events to magazine shows such as UFC Tonight and UFC Ultimate Insider as well as pre- and post-fight coverage, Fuel TV is sure to continue as a cornerstone for more UFC programming.

Fox remains a host to several major UFC events per year, while FX is the home of The Ultimate Fighter and its own live fight night events, similar to Fuel TV.

Stay tuned for what’s to come.

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