The UFC will be giving you eleven consecutive weeks of cards from mid-January to the end of March 2019.
During the UFC 230 broadcast, the promotion unveiled its event schedule for the first few months of 2019, aka the first few months of their broadcast partnership with ESPN. One major change coming next year compared to last year is that March, which has historically been a light month for the promotion, will see them run five events.
The first show of the new year will be January 19th at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. This will be an unusual set-up, as the early prelims will be streamed on ESPN+, then a two-hour block of prelims on ESPN, then the main card on ESPN+. This seems like an introductory card so that both ESPN TV and the streaming service get a piece of the first UFC event. Of note, the press release said the card runs from 6 PM ET to 1 AM ET, with a three-hour main card. The more things change…
Anyway, the first fully-fledged UFC on ESPN TV card is February 17th (Sunday) in Phoenix, Arizona, while the first PPV is January 26th (UFC 234) in Anaheim, CA, with prelims split between ESPN+ and ESPN. In total, there will be eleven consecutive cards from January 19th to March 30th, so I hope you’re strapped in for all of the UFC that’s coming your way, because there looks to be more shows than last year.
The full schedule is as follows:
January 19th, Brooklyn, New York – UFC Fight Night on ESPN+
January 26th, Anaheim, California – UFC 233
February 2nd, Brazil – UFC Fight Night on ESPN+
February 9th, Australia – UFC 234
February 17th (Sun), Phoenix, Arizona – UFC Fight Night on ESPN TV
February 23rd, TBD – UFC Fight Night on ESPN+
March 2nd, Las Vegas, Nevada – UFC 235
March 9th, TBD – UFC Fight Night on ESPN+
March 16th, London, England – UFC Fight Night on ESPN+
March 23rd, TBD – UFC Fight Night on ESPN+
March 30th, TBD – UFC Fight Night on ESPN TV