Fox Sports Secure UFC Broadcast Deal

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has agreed a seven-year broadcast deal with US sports TV giants Fox Sports.

The deal means that four major events from the mixed martial arts series will be carried on Fox every year. FX will also broadcast six ‘Fight Night’ events as well as becoming the new home for the UFC’s long-time reality show ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ in 2012.

Fox Sports chairman and CEO David Hill said: “This is something we firmly believe in. We’re passionate about it.”

Dana White, president of the UFC, added: “This deal with Fox will take this to a whole new level in every way, shape and form.

“This partnership is going to be amazing. It’s going to take this sport to the next level. All those people who said I was a lunatic 10 years ago when I said this was going to be the biggest sport in the world, here we are. This is the first step.” The agreement will be activated with Fox’s first UFC event on November 12, which will go head-to-head with Manny Pacquiao’s boxing bout against Juan Manuel Marquez on HBO.

FX Network president John Landgraf added: “We’re not an emerging network anymore and they’re not an emerging professional sport anymore. We’re just really thrilled to have The Ultimate Fighter. Dana and (Zuffa chairman) Lorenzo (Fertitta) have come up with ideas that are going to revolutionise it and absolutely take it to a new level.”

The deal with Fox means that UFC’s six-year partnership with Spike has ended.