No "UFC Prelims" Spike TV Special for UFC 125, no online stream announced

MickeyKnox · 12-27-2010, 01:27 PM

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Despite a star-studded preliminary card and some intriguing matchups, Saturday's UFC 125 event appears it'll air solely on pay-per-view.

Sources close to the show today told MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com) that Spike TV will not air one of its traditional one-hour "UFC Prelims" specials prior to the PPV main card.

Additionally, UFC officials have announced no plans to stream any of the preliminary-card fights, which they recently did with UFC 124.

UFC 125 takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, and the headliner pits UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar against Gray Maynard. The winner meets new and final WEC champion Anthony Pettis later in the year.

Barring a last-minute change, some solid preliminary-card fights won't get guaranteed air time. They include Marcus Davis vs. Jeremy Stephens, Josh Grispi vs. Dustin Poirier, and Mike Brown vs. Diego Nunes. Additionally, a Twitter campaign designed to get a welterweight bout between Phil Baroni and Brad Tavares on TV apparently will come up short.

The UFC first offered a PPV-teaser broadcast for UFC 103 in 2009, when the UFC went head-to-head with a boxing PPV broadcast featuring Floyd Mayweather vs. Juan Manuel Marquez. The "UFC Prelims" specials proved effective enough at generating last-minute PPV buys that officials from the UFC and the organization's longtime cable partner decided to make them a regular offering. A total of 13 have aired and garnered up to 1.7 million viewers per event.

UFC president Dana White recently told MMAjunkie.com the specials will return in 2011, though UFC and Spike TV officials still are working on a contract extension.

Thought i'd post this for those who it may concern.

carbondioxide830 · 12-27-2010, 01:34 PM

i hope they stream the prelims online (at least 2 of them). there are a few fights on the prelims i'd like to see like my nigga mckee!

HillbillyDeluxe · 12-27-2010, 01:39 PM

Damn, there was alot of really good matchups that I thought would be awesome to watch on the undercard. I wish they'd just show the FULL card on PPV, dont see why they dont since we're paying to see it anyhow.

RearNakedStroke · 12-27-2010, 02:29 PM

They probably expect this card to be a ratings disaster so they aren't bothering to promote it much with live prelims. I'm already seeing previews for the fight for the troops and I don't think I've even seen one for UFC 125. Aside from the main event its actually a pretty good card. Maybe they should put the title fight on the undercard and replace it with two other fights.

Xtremo · 12-27-2010, 10:11 PM

Ion Television lands UFC 125 prelims; Dana White promises three fights

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The Ultimate Fighting Championship has a new home on cable television – at least for one night.

MMAjunkie.com (UFC blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps | MMAjunkie.com) has learned that Ion Television has secured the rights to broadcast preliminary bouts from the forthcoming "UFC 125: Resolution" event.

And while UFC fans are now used to a pair of octagon clashes during most "UFC Prelims" broadcasts, UFC president Dana White told MMAjunkie.com he's upping the ante for New Year's Day.

"The prelims we do air, there's only supposed to be two," White said. "Time-wise, it's impossible to pull off three if they all go to the distance. I'm going to roll the dice on this thing.

"Not only are we going to bring the prelims to the fans, but everybody has been hammering me for the Phil Baroni-Brad Tavares fight, so I'm going to do three fights. I'm going to give them that fight, too."

Featuring a lightweight title fight between current champion Frankie Edgar and top challenger Gray Maynard, "UFC 125: Resolution" takes place Jan. 1 and airs live on pay-per-view.

In addition to the Baroni-Tavares fight, White said two other highly anticipated contests – Marcus Davis vs. Jeremy Stephens and Josh Grispi vs. Dustin Poirier – will be featured on the Ion Television broadcast.

"I always try to give the fans as much as I can give them," White said. "I love being able to give them free fights. That's always been my goal and my model with this thing since day one.

"I grew up watching free fights in TV with boxing, and I loved it. I was a huge fan. I always try to give the fans as much as I can."

Ion Television, which was launched in 1998 as PAX TV, was rebranded as Ion Television in 2007. The channel was also known as i from 2005 to 2007.

According to White, Ion Television is currently available in more than 100 million homes. The UFC boss said he valued the opportunity to bring three highly demanded fights to the masses, especially as fans continually hammer him to make up for some widely criticized previous contests.

"The prelims were not supposed to be aired for this show, but I know the fans are always asking how I'm going to pay them back for some other shows," White said. "Well, here you go. If everything else I do isn't enough, let this one be it.

"These guys are considered a network. The FCC calls them a network. This is the first time we've ever been on network television, and the prelims are going to be aired. It's a big deal. It's in over 100 million homes."

Of course, with any new broadcasting deal, questions arise if perhaps this new channel could be the permanent home of the UFC – or even the future destination of a fully dedicated UFC channel.

White refused to speculate, but he did seem very happy with his newest broadcast partners.

"We're going to talk to these guys and see what's up," White said. "This might be a regular thing.

"Listen, it's a ballsy move to go on network with prelims, but the Ion guys are the real deal. We're going to see if we can make it happen with them."

Ion Television lands UFC 125 prelims; Dana White promises three fights | MMAjunkie.com

Thank God I have that channel!