ESPN UK have officially confirmed news we brought to you a week ago, that they have signed a deal with the UFC to continue airing their events for a further year.
According to ESPN.co.uk the deal gives the right to broadcast, “all main live UFC events until August 2013.”
The deal starts this Saturday night with ‘UFC On FOX 4’ and will go on to cover all the big UFC pay-per-view and ‘Fight Night’ style events incoming over the next 12 months.
It’s also anticipated that ESPN UK will be the home of the upcoming Ultimate Fighter: Australia Vs UK series which is currently filming down under.
The UFC have called ESPN UK home since 2009, but there had been widespread speculation that they would move elsewhere when their current deal expired this month, with UFC president Dana White having indicated that a more high-profile TV deal was required to help grow the sport in the region.
However he’s since admitted that it’s difficult to navigate the UK television market and so today’s announcement can be seen as something of a compromise while they continue to seek out a long-term solution for the UFC in one of their key overseas destinations.
