HDNet owner Mark Cuban announced on Friday that he and the Ultimate Fighting Championship have worked out their differences. Before the announcement, HDNet had been denied media access to the UFC. Now future UFC events will see HDNet’s ‘Inside MMA’ program, hosted by Bas Rutten and Kenny Rice, provide coverage.
“Over the years, Dana and I have had some disagreements at the business level,” Cuban said on the show. “Because of those – and I can see his side of it, as well – HDNet has not had access to UFC events. We weren’t able to be at the weigh-ins, we didn’t have press credentials, we didn’t get video after fights. So Dana and I have been talking for the past few months and kind of came to some agreements and worked things out…”
“Going forward, you’ll see HDNet at all the UFC events,” Cuban said. “We’ll have (Rice and Rutten) there. We’ll be doing interviews there. Hopefully we’ll be able to go live from weigh-ins. They still have their deals with Spike, obviously, and Versus, and they’ll still work closely with some other folks. But we’ll have full access, and that’s going to be a big change. That means (”Inside MMA”) will have a lot more access. I’m looking forward to working really closely with them and doing a lot more with them.”
HDNet provides coverage for such promotions as the Maximum Fighting Championships, DREAM, Sengoku and a few other smaller promotions.
HT: MMAFighting.com for transcribing Cuban’s comments.