Fox UFC Fight Night (previously referred as Fox UFC Saturday for broadcasts on Fox or FS1 UFC Fight Night for broadcasts on other Fox-owned properties) was the branding used for telecasts of mixed martial art competitions from the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) that were produced by Fox Sports. Previously, UFC on Fox was also used as a blanket title for UFC events aired on the Fox network, although since the concurrent launch of Fox Sports 1 and rebranding of Fuel TV as Fox Sports 2 in August 2013, all live UFC broadcasts on Fox-owned networks (including preliminaries, UFC Fight Night and The Ultimate Fighter Finale) have since used the name.
History
On August 18, 2011, the Ultimate Fighting Championship reached a seven-year broadcast agreement with Fox Sports, giving it the rights to televise matches sanctioned by the promotion through 2018, ending the UFC's relationship with cable channel Spike. Through the agreement, Fox Sports will air four live events per year in either prime time or late night, as well as other UFC programming (including UFC Fight Night, Road to the Octagon and The Ultimate Fighter) on its various broadcast and cable properties, including on Fox, FX and Fuel TV. The deal was significant as it marked the first time that the UFC would televise its events on terrestrial television in the United States.
Incidentally, MyNetworkTV (a sister network-turned-programming service of the Fox broadcast network) previously carried events from the International Fight League, then a competitor to the UFC, from September to November 2007 under a time-buy arrangement until the UFC purchased that promotion (MyNetworkTV is not included in Fox Sports' UFC agreement). The first UFC event to air as part of the agreement was a title card between Junior dos Santos and Cain Velasquez, which aired on Fox on November 12, 2011.
The broadcast partnership between Fox and the UFC ended at the conclusion of 2018 as the promotion signed a new broadcast deal with ESPN that began in January 2019.
Commentators On-air staff Jon Anik – commentator (2012–2018) Karyn Bryant – reporter (2013–2018) Joe Buck – studio host (2011) Daniel Cormier – analyst/commentator (2014–2018) Dominick Cruz – analyst/commentator (2014–2018) Nicole Dabeau – studio host/reporter (2012–2013) Brendan Fitzgerald – commentator (2017–2018) Kenny Florian – studio host/analyst (2012–2018) Jay Glazer – studio host (2011–2013) Mike Goldberg – commentator (2011-2016) Ariel Helwani – reporter (2014–2016) Curt Menefee – studio host (2012–2018) Joe Rogan – commentator (2011–2018) Jimmy Smith – analyst/commentator (2018) Brian Stann – analyst (2012–2017)
Broadcast history All matches listed are for those broadcast on the Fox network. Match Date Venue Velasquez vs. dos Santos November 12, 2011 Honda Center, Anaheim, California Evans vs. Davis January 28, 2012 United Center, Chicago, Illinois Diaz vs. Miller May 5, 2012 Izod Center, East Rutherford, New Jersey Shogun vs. Vera August 4, 2012 Staples Center, Los Angeles, California Henderson vs. Diaz December 8, 2012 KeyArena, Seattle, Washington Johnson vs. Dodson January 26, 2013 United Center, Chicago, Illinois Henderson vs. Melendez April 20, 2013 HP Pavilion, San Jose, California Johnson vs. Moraga July 27, 2013 KeyArena, Seattle, Washington Johnson vs. Benavidez 2 December 14, 2013 Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento, California Henderson vs. Thomson January 25, 2014 United Center, Chicago, Illinois Werdum vs. Browne April 19, 2014 Amway Center, Orlando, Florida Lawler vs. Brown July 26, 2014 SAP Center, San Jose, California dos Santos vs. Miocic December 13, 2014 US Airways Center, Phoenix, Arizona Gustafsson vs. Johnson January 24, 2015 Tele2 Arena, Stockholm, Sweden Machida vs. Rockhold April 18, 2015 Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey Dillashaw vs. Barão 2 July 25, 2015 United Center, Chicago, Illinois dos Anjos vs. Cerrone 2 December 19, 2015 Amway Center, Orlando, Florida Johnson vs. Bader January 30, 2016 Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey Teixeira vs. Evans April 16, 2016 Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida Holm vs. Shevchenko July 23, 2016 United Center, Chicago, Illinois Maia vs. Condit August 27, 2016 Rogers Arena, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada VanZant vs. Waterson December 17, 2016 Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California Shevchenko vs. Peña January 28, 2017 Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado Johnson vs. Reis April 15, 2017 Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri Weidman vs. Gastelum July 22, 2017 Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York Lawler vs. dos Anjos December 16, 2017 Bell MTS Place, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Jacaré vs. Brunson 2 January 27, 2018 Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina Emmett vs. Stephens February 24, 2018 Amway Center, Orlando, Florida Poirier vs. Gaethje April 14, 2018 Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona Alvarez vs. Poirier 2 July 28, 2018 Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta, Canada Lee vs. Iaquinta 2 December 15, 2018 Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
References