UFC To Show UFC 125 Prelims On Ion Network
Added on Dec 29, 2010 by John Petit in
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The UFC prelims have historically taken place on SpikeTV, the home of the Ultimate Fighter, the countdown shows, unleashed and hours and hours of other content. No one is quite certain as to what is happening, or if the relationship has changed between Spike and the UFC, but it sure sounds like White wants to give network TV a chance. The risk is that you usually don’t get more then one chance at network television, and it sounds like White knows this. He said “Listen, it’s a ballsy move to go on network with prelims, but the Ion guys are the real deal. We’re going to see if we can make it happen with them. We’re going to talk to [ION] and see what’s up. This might be a regular thing.”
White says he was attracted to combat sports from seeing frights on TV, and he thinks thats the best way to gain and sustain a fan base. “I always try to give the fans as much as I can give them. I love being able to give them free fights. That’s always been my goal and my model with this thing since day one.” White concluded “I grew up watching free fights in TV with boxing, and I loved it. I was a huge fan. I always try to give the fans as much as I can.”
When you include introductions, walkouts, announcements, and unexpected delays like time outs for groin strikes, you can only schedule two fights in an hour slot. That has always been the way the SpikeTV prelims were run, and if they could squeeze in more they would. White is stepping out and saying he is promising three fights in the preliminary show on ION, and he knows he is rolling the dice on that too. He said “The prelims we do air, there’s only supposed to be two,” White said. “Time-wise, it’s impossible to pull off three if they all go to the distance. I’m going to roll the dice on this thing.”
Internet campaigns have sprung up all over the place calling for the UFC to show the Baroni vs. Tavares fight, and Dana said he feels compelled to do what he can to give them what they want. He said “Not only are we going to bring the prelims to the fans, but everybody has been hammering me for the Phil Baroni-Brad Tavares fight, so I’m going to do three fights. I’m going to give them that fight, too.”
It will be interesting to see how this all plays out, and how the handling of future of UFC prelims will go down. Dana has promised another big announcement tomorrow, some are speculating that it has to do with this story, but no one knows for sure. To satisfy the fans without the ION network, The UFC has also announced that the fights will be featured on UFC.com as well. Keep checking Sportsbettingworld.com for updates.
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