Dana White’s Contender Series will be returning this summer, but this time it will be airing exclusively on ESPN+.
This is according to MMAjunkie, which confirmed the plans for the live audition series this week with UFC officials.
Per the report, “Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series” will make its ESPN+ debut in either June or July. It will be the first of two seasons that UFC president Dana White confirmed for 2019 earlier this week when speaking with Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole. The first season will air on ESPN+ with the second coming on either the same platform or reverting back to its old home on UFC Fight Pass.
This is great news for the promotion after announcing earlier this week that it will air its pay-per-view (PPV) events exclusively on ESPN+ here in North America. Switching “DWTNCS” over to the same platform will give UFC’s partnership with ESPN, which was just extended to seven years, even more firepower.
And considering the Contender Series has already produced rising stars like Johnny Walker, Sean O’Malley, and Maycee Barber, who fights later tonight at UFC Nashville, this switch should create even more opportunities for aspiring UFC fighters moving forward.
The upcoming summer series is expected to last eight-to-ten weeks and take place at UFC’s new state-of-the-art facility in Las Vegas, which is currently undergoing construction for its 140,000 square-foot space.