ultimate fighting championship in UK - UFC - mixed martial arts event -

Ultimate Fighting Championship, the superlative mixed martial arts television show that is currently airing on Sky Sports on Thursdays, 11 pm is set to expand to a weekly two hour show starting May 16 from 10pm.

The programme, which features a selection of championship fights and top matches from the UFC’s live event schedule also offers an insight into the world of mixed martial arts with exclusive interviews with top name talent.

Viewing figures in the UK have seen a steady increase prompting UFC and Sky Sports to increase the programme length.

The first two-hour show will feature matches from UFC 34: High Voltage, including heavyweight Ricco Rodriguez taking on Pete Williams. Other matches featured in the programme include a selection of some of the greatest fights such as: Ken Shamrock vs Patrick Smith from UFC 1: Lightweight Enson Inoue versus Royce Alger at UFC 13 and Heavyweight Mark Coleman taking on Williams at UFC 17.

The UFC will stage its first ever live event in the UK on Saturday, July 13, when it brings The Brawl At The Hall to the Royal Albert Hall in London. Tickets are now on sale at the Royal Albert Hall box office in London, at Ticket Master outlets (or calling Ticket Master on 020-7316-4709), or on the internet at www.ticketmaster.co.uk

A full fight card will be announced, but Heavyweight Ian Freeman (10-4-1 in Mixed Martial Arts) of Sunderland, England, will meet Frank Mir (4-0-0) of Las Vegas, Nev., while Middleweight Mark Weir (12-0-0) of Gloucester, England, will meet an opponent to be named.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship, headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., is the world’s leading mixed martial sports company. It is owned and operated by Zuffa LLC and has partnerships with British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) in London, England; WOWOW, Inc. of Tokyo, Japan, and Globosat Programmadora LTD in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Ultimate Fighting Championship is a sport that brings together the world’s most talented mixed martial arts (MMA) athletes from disciplines such as karate, jiu-jitsu, kickboxing, wrestling, boxing, sumo and others in a quest to become an ultimate fighting champion.

For further information please contact:

RDA Communications: Juliet Dawson or Chris Glover - 020 7376 3292 BSkyB: Richard Turner — 020 7705 6845, 16 May 2002

UFC London

Tickets will be on from 10 April 2002. The venue - The Royal Albert Hall, London. Date - July 13 2002

"LAS VEGAS, April 9…Officials of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) today announced that tickets, £100, £75 and £50, will go on sale Wednesday, April 10, for its first European fight show to be held Saturday, July 13, at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England. Tickets are available at the Royal Albert Hall box office, at all Ticket Master outlets in the United Kingdom, by calling Ticket Master at + 44-020-7316-4709, or on the internet at www.ticketmaster.co.uk.

The event also will be available in the United Kingdom, Ireland, North America and Brazil on British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB), iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, Dish Network, Bell ExpressVu , Viewers Choice Canada and Globosat Programadora LTDA pay-per-view television. It also will be televised on WOWOW-TV in Japan. The fight will be televised live at 7 p.m. (BST, British Summer Time) on British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) and on a tape-delayed basis in the other countries. Viewing dates and program schedules will be announced. The suggested retail price in North America is $29.95.

A full fight card will be announced but Heavyweight Ian Freeman (10-4-1 in Mixed Martial Arts) of Sunderland, England, will meet Frank Mir (4-0-0) of Las Vegas, Nev., and Middleweight Mark Weir (12-0-0) of Gloucester, England, will fight an opponent to be named.

"We are really excited about bringing the UFC to the United Kingdom for our first fight in Europe. The viewership for our weekly television show on Sky Sports since February has been excellent and we are looking forward to bringing the UFC live to thousands of U.K. fight fans," said Dana White, UFC president." - UFC - more info and banner etc coming soon. 9 April 2002

The UFC on Sky TV!!

Zuffa has made every UK MMA's fans' dream come true...

ULTIMATE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP TO AIR WEEKLY SHOW ON SKY SPORTS IN U.K., IRELAND STARTING FEB. 7 LAS VEGAS, February 5, 2002...

Officials of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) today announced it has signed an exclusive television distribution agreement with British Sky Broadcasting (BskyB), Great Britain's leading sports television channel, to air "Ultimate Fighting Championship," a one-hour fight show, for 23 consecutive weeks at 11 p.m., every Thursday starting February 7, in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The agreement represents a landmark for the UFC's international distribution strategy. For millions of British and Irish sports fans, it represents the opportunity to watch the world's best mixed martial arts fighters. "Ultimate Fighting Championship" will feature videotaped championship fights and top matches in each of the UFC's five weight divisions and will bring U.K and Irish fight fans an insiders view into mixed martial arts with personal interviews with its top stars. The host will be UFC announcer Mike Goldberg. The series will include championship bouts and matches featuring UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture, Light Heavyweight Champ Tito Ortiz, Middleweight Champ Murilo Bustamante, Welterweight Champ Matt Hughes, Lightweight Champ Jens Pulver and top contenders Josh Barnett, Pedro Rizzo, Pat Miletich, BJ Penn, Chuck Liddell and many others.

"Today starts a new era in our history and is recognition of our development in the past year, "said Dana F. White, UFC president. "This agreement with Sky will increase the international growth of our sport. The United Kingdom and Ireland have some of the world's most knowledgeable fight fans. We look forward to entertaining them each week."

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the leading mixed martial arts fighting organization in the world. It is owned and operated by Zuffa LLC, which is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Show your support for MMA in the UK...

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