Good news for UK UFC fans as after the breakdown in talks between ESPN UK and the UFC over airing UFC on Versus 5, Premier Sports has stepped in to show the event headlined by Dan Hardy. Even better this will be shown free to air, meaning that all Sky subscribers will be able to watch the action from 2am Monday 15th August. Premier Sports made the announcement on its Facebook. This will be the first time the sports channel has aired a UFC event although it has shown domestic MMA cards and a large number of top international boxing events, including this weekend’s Showtime Bantamweight Tournament final fight between Joseph Agbeko and Abner Mares.
In my opinion, the securing of a last minute deal to screen the fights on television on top of the previous willingness to broadcast the event in its enterity on UFC.com shows the organization’s commitment to their British fans and determination to ensure all events are available in the UK. This above and beyond the customer service shown by their competitors such as WWE where shows such as Tough Enough or for a long time Superstars don’t air if they can’t reach a deal with Sky or boxing promoters such as Golden Boy and Top Rank who happily allow major fights to go unaired in the UK if they can’t reach a satisfactory deal with a subscription station. Perhaps this is something that those who furiously complain on Marshall Zelaznik’s Facebook whenever something goes should stop and consider in the future.
