When early details of the new Fox Sports 1 channel (scheduled for an August 17th launch) were first revealed, MMA fans were obviously curious to know how the channel would broadcast UFC programming. So far we know that programs will air on FS1 primarily on Wednesdays, including UFC Tonight, older events, and live three-hour fight cards. One of the bigger items from last week was the UFC holding a live card on FS1 the week of the Super Bowl. According to Sports Illustrated's Richard Deitsch, it will be a Saturday night event in New Jersey:
1e. The new network will feature plenty of UFC, including 12 live "Fight Nights" bouts that will air on Wednesdays. There will also be a weekly studio show (UFC Tonight) and 14 Saturday pay-per-view preliminary cards. Fox Sports 1 will air a UFC event the night before Super Bowl XLVIII from the Prudential Center in Newark.
Bold emphasis is mine.
Previously there was neither a date nor a venue reported for this Super Bowl week card, which left for speculation over whether or not the UFC would run two cards on Super Bowl week (Wednesday on FS1, Saturday on PPV) or if they would indeed replace their traditional PPV blockbuster with a "free card". Well, we have you answer now.
This is obviously a major deal for fans. The UFC has historically treated Super Bowl weekend as one of their marquee PPVs per calendar year, and it has brought us massive moments such as GSP vs. Penn II (UFC 94), Hughes vs. Penn I (UFC 46), the debut of Brock Lesnar (UFC 81), the debut of Rampage Jackson and Mirko Cro-Cop (UFC 67), and Liddell vs. Couture 3 (UFC 57), and the top-to-bottom stacked nature of UFC 156. Now in 2014 they are moving to Metro free TV for one of their biggest events of the year.
The other notable tradition-breaker in all of this is the fact that they'll be in New Jersey instead of Las Vegas. Super Bowl 48 (which FOX will also broadcast) is in East Rutherford, NJ, so the New York/New Jersey area will be very busy that particular week. Sin City had previously hosted every SB weekend show from 2004 to 2013.
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