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“UFC on ESPN+ Fight Night” Debuts January 19 from Barclays Center in Brooklyn

UFC, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, today announced the first dates, locations, and distribution plans for UFC events in the first quarter 2019. This new schedule marks the beginning of the historic multi-year agreement between UFC and The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-To-Consumer & International segment and ESPN that makes ESPN+ and ESPN the exclusive media homes of UFC in the United States.

The first three months of 2019 features action-packed UFC events across ESPN+, the multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service, and ESPN networks, every week for 11 consecutive weeks. ESPN+ will showcase more than 36 hours of exclusive UFC action and ESPN linear networks will add another 18 hours (with all 54 hours available in both English and Spanish.)

On Saturday, Jan 19, UFC returns to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and the “UFC on ESPN+ Fight Night” card will represent UFC’s debut on ESPN-branded platforms, with main card bouts streamed live on ESPN+ in both English and Spanish and prelims broadcast nationally on ESPN and ESPN Deportes. Also streamed live on ESPN+ will be the early prelims (prior to the ESPN television broadcast).

Following Brooklyn, UFC 233, the first Pay-Per-View of 2019, takes places at Honda Center in Anaheim on Saturday, January 26. ESPN linear networks will televise the prelims, offering one of the most powerful promotional lead ins UFC has ever had for a Pay-Per-View.

The Octagon then travels internationally, with “UFC on ESPN+ Fight Night” in Brazil on Saturday, February 2 (location TBD) with ESPN+ exclusively streaming all bouts.

UFC returns to the U.S. for another historic first, “UFC on ESPN Fight Night” on Sunday, February 17, from Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix. The prelims and main card will be televised live to a national audience exclusively on ESPN and ESPN Deportes, while the early prelims will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Other confirmed events in the first quarter include UFC 235, the promotion’s first event of the year in its home venue, T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, on Saturday, March 2, and a return to London, England’s O2 Arena for “UFC on ESPN+ Fight Night” on Saturday, March 16.  The second “UFC on ESPN Fight Night” will take place on March 30, with the early prelims streamed live on ESPN+ and the prelims and main card televised live and exclusively on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.

Fight cards and ticket on-sale information will be announced at a later date.

Starting January, ESPN+ and ESPN will become the exclusive digital and linear distributors in the United States for UFC, showcasing 42 live events, 30 of which will feature a full card of 12 UFC bouts. Events streamed live on ESPN+ will carry the “UFC on ESPN+ Fight Night” moniker, while events broadcast on ESPN will be branded “UFC on ESPN Fight Night.”  ESPN+ will offer 20 exclusive events and all preliminary fights for “UFC on ESPN Fight Night” programs, while ESPN linear networks will broadcast 10 exclusive events as well as all UFC Pay-Per-View preliminary fights.

DATE EVENT  LOCATION
Saturday, January 19 UFC ON ESPN+ FIGHT NIGHT (All Times ET)

6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. on ESPN+

8:00 p.m.  – 10:00 p.m. on ESPN, ESPN Deportes

10:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m.  on ESPN+

Barclays Center – Brooklyn, NY
Saturday, January 26 UFC 233 Honda Center – Anaheim, CA
Saturday, February 2 UFC ON ESPN+ FIGHT NIGHT TBD – Brazil
Saturday, February 9 UFC 234 TBD
Sunday, February 17 UFC ON ESPN FIGHT NIGHT Talking Stick Resort Arena – Phoenix, AZ
Saturday, February 23 UFC ON ESPN+ FIGHT NIGHT TBD
Saturday, March 2 UFC 235 T-Mobile Arena – Las Vegas, NV
Saturday, March 9 UFC ON ESPN+ FIGHT NIGHT TBD
Saturday, March 16 UFC ON ESPN+ FIGHT NIGHT The O2 Arena – London, England
Saturday, March 23 UFC ON ESPN+ FIGHT NIGHT TBD
Saturday, March 30 UFC ON ESPN FIGHT NIGHT TBD

 

About UFC®

UFC® is a premium global sports brand and the largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world. Celebrating its 25th Anniversary in 2018, UFC boasts more than 284 million fans worldwide and has produced over 440 events in 22 countries since its inception in 1993. Acquired in 2016 by global sports, entertainment and fashion leader Endeavor (formerly WME | IMG), together with strategic partners Silver Lake Partners and KKR, UFC is headquartered in Las Vegas with a network of employees around the world. UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe, while programming is broadcast in over 160 countries and territories to 1.1 billion TV households worldwide in 40 different languages. UFC FIGHT PASS®, a digital subscription service, delivers exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content to fans around the world. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram: @UFC.

 

About ESPN

ESPN, the world’s leading sports entertainment enterprise, features more than 50 assets – eight   U.S. television networks, direct-to-consumer ESPN+, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN International, ESPN The Magazine and more.  ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.

 

About ESPN+
ESPN+, which surpassed one million paying subscribers in just five months, is the premium multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment and ESPN. It offers fans thousands of additional live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks, along with premium editorial content.

Programming on ESPN+ includes hundreds of MLB and NHL, thousands of college sports events (including football, basketball and multiple other sports), domestic and international soccer (Serie A, MLS, FA Cup, UEFA Nations League, EFL Championship, EFL Carabao Cup, Eredivisie and more), exclusive Top Rank boxing, UFC (beginning in 2019), Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby and cricket, new and exclusive documentary films and series, acclaimed studio shows and the full library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films. Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and cancel at any time.

ESPN+ is an integrated part of the ESPN App, the leading sports app and the premier all-in-one digital sports platform for fans. The ESPN App is a showcase of the company’s culture of innovation, delivering a rich, personalized experience that curates all of ESPN’s content around each fan’s individual tastes. ESPN+ is also be available through ESPN.com.

 

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