Tag: Press Release

Press Release – LOS ANGELES, April 16, 2013 – The Ultimate Fighter® went out on top, as FX’s last telecast of the series (4/13/2013) scored FX series highs in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, while the entire 17th installment was FX’s highest-rated of the series.

The TUF 17 Finale, which saw Kelvin Gastelum named “The Ultimate Fighter” with a split decision upset win over heavily favored Uriah Hall, scored 1.71 million Total Viewers and 1.16 Million Adults 18-49, marking series highs for FX. For the night, FX ranked #1 in Men 18-34 outright, beating all broadcast and cable networks, while Men 18-49 was the highest-rated in basic cable and second highest-rated overall, behind only FOX which aired NASCAR.

The finale was the most-watched show in all of television in Men 18-34 in primetime on Saturday night, and second most-watched among M18-49, behind only NASCAR on FOX.

Men 18-49, Adults 18-34, Men 18-34, Adults 25-54, Men 25-54 and Women 25-54 also scored series highs. The 17th season as a whole averaged 1.32 million Total Viewers and 921,000 Adults 18-49, increases of +45% and +41%, respectively, vs. TUF 16.

The Ultimate Fighter will move to FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports’ newly minted multi-sport national cable channel, when it returns in September. The next installment, featuring UFC® women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey and challenger Cat Zingano as coaches, also moves to Wednesday evening at 10:00 PM ET. FS1 launches Saturday, Aug. 17 and season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter premieres Wednesday, Sept. 4 (10:00 PM ET).

“This was a great way to end The Ultimate Fighter’s run on FX,” said Chuck Saftler, Executive Vice President, FX Networks. “I want to thank Dana White, Lorenzo Fertitta and Frank Fertitta as well as Craig Piligian on three amazing seasons of the series. I wish them all nothing but the best in their move to FOX Sports 1.”

The Ultimate Fighting Championship®
Universally recognized for its action-packed, can’t-miss events that have sold out some of the biggest arenas and stadiums across the globe, the UFC® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization. Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, headquartered in Las Vegas and with offices in London, Toronto and Beijing, UFC produces more than 30 live events annually and is the largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. In 2012, the UFC burst into the mainstream with a landmark seven-year broadcast agreement with FOX Sports Media Group. The agreement includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network annually, with additional fight cards and thousands of hours of programming broadcast on FOX properties FX and FUEL TV. This also includes the longest-running sports reality show on television, The Ultimate Fighter®.

In addition to its reach on FOX, UFC programming is broadcast in over 145 countries and territories, to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide, in 30 different languages. UFC content is also distributed commercially in the United States to bars and restaurants through Joe Hand Promotions, in English throughout Canada via Premium Sports Broadcasting Inc. and Australia via Main Event and in French throughout Quebec via Interbox. The UFC also connects with tens of millions of fans through its website, UFC.com, as well as social media sites Facebook and Twitter. UFC President Dana White is considered one of the most accessible and followed executives in sports, with over two million followers on Twitter. Ancillary UFC businesses include best-selling DVDs, an internationally distributed magazine, UFC.TV offering live event broadcasts and video on demand around the world, the best-selling UFC Undisputed® video game franchise distributed by THQ, and a new franchise in development with EA, UFC GYM®, UFC Fight Club affinity program, UFC Fan Expo® festivals, branded apparel and trading cards.

About FX
FX is the flagship general entertainment basic cable network from Fox. Launched in June of 1994, FX is carried in more than 98 million homes. The diverse schedule features a growing roster of critically acclaimed and award-winning hit dramas series, including Sons of Anarchy, Justified, The Americans, and the upcoming drama series The Bridge (July 2013); the miniseries American Horror Story; and the acclaimed hit comedy series Louie, Archer and Wilfred. The network’s library of acquired box-office hit movies is unmatched by any ad-supported television network. FX’s roster of acquired hit series includes Two and a Half Men, Anger Management and, coming in 2014, Mike & Molly.

Press Release – LOS ANGELES, CA – The following quotes are from tonight’s UFC POSTFIGHT SHOW ON FUEL TV for THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER 17 FINALE: FABER VS. JORGENSEN. The show was hosted by Jay Glazer, with UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz and middleweight Michael Bisping offering analysis. Heidi Androl conducted fighter interviews on-site.

Quote of the show: Kelvin Gastelum: “I don’t know if it’s sunk in yet. But everything that I’ve been through, this is the best night of my life.”

UFC POSTFIGHT SHOW ON FUEL TV Analyst Dominick Cruz on Urijah Faber vs. Scott Jorgensen: “Faber went out there and did a lot of things right, especially in the first round. He came out and kept Jorgensen on his heels. More than anything I was impressed by the takedowns of Faber on the striking timing. He was able to time Jorgensen’s strikes and get the takedown and also land some big shots until he got the finish.”

Faber on whether he’s ready for a break: “Yeah, I’d like to take a break. Actually coming into the fight, I had a hurt hand from my last fight. It wasn’t anything real serious, so I basically wasn’t able to spar except for one time that whole training camp, but I stayed in great shape. I had my coaches get me prepared in other different ways. We’re so lucky to have a great staff.”

Faber on who wants to fight next: “I’m hoping Dominick can make a little miraculous recovery. You need to dig deep there, Dom. You got to tape it up, get in the cage. I want to get Dominick, Barao, and hopefully get the winner of those guys. I’m ready for whoever.”

Cruz on Kelvin Gastelum being the youngest Ultimate Fighter champion: “Being 21 years old and being the youngest guy to ever win the show, that is one huge thing. But then you’ve got to think that’s playing a part while he’s walking down to the Octagon. He’s thinking ‘I’m the youngest one to do this, I’m 21 years old, I’ve been dreaming of seeing this,’ and all those emotions flooded him, and he still came out and performed.”

UFC POSTFIGHT SHOW ON FUEL TV Analyst Michael Bisping on Cat Zingano’s performance: “This was her first time fighting at such a huge event. At the weigh-in she was shaking. When she walked into the Octagon there were tears in her eyes. She’s a mother and this is a huge thing. She’s undefeated, so that also brings a lot of pressure. The start of the first round she was punching very slowly, but as the fight progressed she got hit a little, she got taken down and finally realized that it’s not going to get any worse than this and that gave her confidence and she came back. She came back amazingly.”

Zingano on winning her UFC debut: “It was amazing. I felt like a got woken up by the second round. I was still kind of just really surprised that I’m here. I was still in a daze then I just thought of my son and I thought of my mom and I thought of everything I’ve done to get here throughout my life and this I exactly where I’m supposed to be and none of it’s in vain and I’m doing what I’m supposed to do with my life right here, right now. It got me started, it got me revved up and I wanted to finish this fight, I wanted to figure it out and I did. I came, I saw and I conquered. I’m happy.”

Ronda Rousey’s thoughts on Tate vs. Zingano: “They both looked great. From the open workouts, I thought that Cat looked a lot better, but Miesha’s the type to perform above herself and she came out swinging. I learned a lot of things about [Cat] as a fighter by watching her live for the first time. I’m ready, man. She’s a tough chick for sure, though.”

Dana White on The Ultimate Fighter Finale: “It was an amazing night. I knew this season of The Ultimate Fighter was special. I took the guys out to dinner at the end of the season and I told the guys that night, everyone of you will come back and fight in the UFC. We’ll give you one more opportunity, because they fought so hard in the season. And they killed it.”

White on Gastelum upsetting Hall: “People on Twitter were calling for a fight with him and Anderson Silva already. And he deserved the hype. The question becomes, can you handle the pressure? And what it looked like to me was, when he came out tonight, he folded under the pressure like he didn’t even want to be in there. He didn’t even wake up until the second round. And we saw hints, little pieces of Uriah Hall tonight, but that’s about it. And Kelvin came out ready to take him out.”

White on Hall being over-hyped: “I don’t think if you watched last season of The Ultimate Fighter you would over-hype Uriah Hall. But, the one thing that you never know, you can have a guy who’s incredibly talented, but what’s going to happen to him when he gets into that pressure cooker? That one moment when it all matters. That’s where the guys who become world champions really shine. Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre and the list goes on and on of guys who really don’t fold under pressure.”

White on The Ultimate Fighter moving to FOX Sports 1: “I’m very excited. I want to thank everybody over at FX for all the support they’ve given us since we’ve come to FOX. For all the hard work everybody’s put in over there to get the UFC and The Ultimate Fighter to where it is today on FX, I really appreciate it. And I’m very excited to be moving to FOX Sports 1. I think the crew that works over there and the plans they have for this network, it’s going to be awesome, and we’re very excited to be part of it.”

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