We are just 3 months away from the debut of Fox Sports 1, which hopes to be a legitimate competitor to the mighty ESPN. From a UFC perspective, all FX and Fuel TV events and other programming are moving to FS1 this August, and it's already been made clear that Wednesday nights will be the night for fans to watch UFC content on the network.
Today officials released their opening day schedule for August 17th, which includes the UFC's live event in Boston, as well as programming notes for future shows in the following weeks. For brevity's sake (and the fact that this is an MMA website), I will highlight all of the UFC specific content noted in the official press release:
August 17th (Saturday, launch date)
-- UFC Ultimate Insider (3:30 PM ET-4:00 PM ET)
-- UFC Unleashed (4:00 PM ET-5:00 PM ET)
-- UFC Tonight (LIVE, 5:00 PM ET-6:00 PM ET)
-- UFC on FS1 preliminary card from Boston (LIVE, 6:00 PM ET-8:00 PM ET)
-- UFC on FS1 main card from Boston (LIVE, 8:00 PM ET-11:00 PM ET)
August 28th (Wednesday)
-- FOX UFC Wednesday (LIVE, 8:00 PM ET-11:00 PM ET)
August 31st (Saturday)
-- UFC 164 preliminary card (LIVE, 8:00 PM ET-10:00 PM ET)
September 4th (Wednesday)
-- FOX UFC Wednesday (LIVE, 8:00 PM ET-10:00 PM ET)
-- The Ultimate Fighter: Rousey vs. Zingano season premiere (10:00 PM ET-11:00 PM ET)
A couple of things to make note of:
- Yes you are reading that correctly. The prelims for the first UFC on Fox Sports show will also air on FS1.
- The UFC 164 preliminary card is sandwiched between two college football games. Kickoff time for the game immediately before the UFC 164 prelims is scheduled for 4 PM ET. After the prelims are done, the 10 PM ET football game starts.
- No location has been confirmed for the August 28th show, but the September 4th one is rumored for Brasilia, Brazil. That means the UFC is indeed holding three events in a calendar week.
You can read the full schedule for August 17th here.