UFC Network Deal is Close

For the past year, Dana White and the UFC have been in negotiations to work on a network deal.  Some of the major networks still rumored to be in the running are Fox and ESPN.  CBS and NBC are out of the running for obvious reasons.  EliteXC hooked up with CBS and Stikeforce set it off with NBC.

“We’re real close to a network, I’m going to say in three months.”

However, ESPN/ABC hasn’t been quick to embrace MMA in general which may be what is slowing the process.  Fox/FSN has scheduled an event with the upcoming Affliction Banned event which could mean several things.  Either Fox has lost interest in the UFC or to use it as leverage to show Dana that they have other resources to get high quality events.  Dana has made big statements like this in the past so maybe it’s to be taken with a grain of salt, no telling yet.

Either way though, this is huge news for the UFC and MMA in general.  I’m sure CBS and NBC would have loved to pick up UFC.  Dana is a smart businessman though and didn’t just jump at a huge network just because it’s a huge network.  The deal will happen on Dana’s terms or won’t happen at all.  Dana isn’t going to change how he does business just to get this deal and I think this will make the network deal that much stronger.

He’s obviously done something right for this long, so why would he want to risk that?  He cares about the sport and wants to please fans and isn’t willing to do something ill prepared just to make headlines.  This, I can say, is one thing that myself and probably most of you admire about Dana.

Is he hard headed and stubborn as a mule? Most definitely.  But this is the mind set that has brought the UFC to where it is today and will continue to make it the top MMA event organization in the sport.

Last 3 posts by Mat Houchens

• Gina Carano is Back! Carano vs Cyborg August 15
• Kimbo Slice on TUF 10
• Affliction 3 Press Conference June 1

Similar Posts

• Affliction Wants to Work with UFC
• Is Dana White a CHUMP?
• Kimbo Slice on TUF 10