Following a Thursday press release stating that UFC president Dana White would be making a major announcement, White tweeted:
“The “BIG Announcement” 2 morrow at 10 am will be the FOX fight. The UFC and FOX are so pumped for @UFCONFOXSports!!!!!!!!”
The inaugural Fox event, which takes place on Nov. 12 in Anaheim, Calif. features a championship headliner.
White didn’t disappoint by today announcing that UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez (9-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) will defend his title for the first time opposite Brazilian slugger Junior dos Santos (13-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC).
Velasquez and dos Santos were originally slated to headline UFC 139 in November, but the pay-per-view event now gets a new main event that will be announced at a later date.
When asked how difficult it was to pull Velasquez and dos Santos off pay-per-view, White responded, “It was the easiest conversation I’ve ever had yanking guys off pay-per-view and putting them on television.”
This past month the UFC and Fox agreed to a seven-year deal, which brings four annual events to Fox and brings the organization to cable partners FX and Fuel TV.
FX and Fuel TV will air extensive UFC programming including live fights and “The Ultimate Fighter.”
During the media conference call Fox executives said that they’ll give UFC on Fox 1 “Super Bowl” type treatment.
Additionally, the heavyweight championship headliner will fill the entire portion of the one-hour live network television broadcast.
Tickets for Velasquez and dos Santos go on sale Sept. 16 at the Honda Center or ticketmaster.com.
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