| UFC on HBO |
Reported by the L.A. Times. Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White said Tuesday his mixed martial arts organization has finalized negotiations for a broadcast contract with HBO, and that the pay-cable network will air its first UFC event this summer.
White did not elaborate on several specifics, including the exact date and who will fight. An HBO official said that while a formal deal is "imminent," there is "nothing to announce."
A UFC spokeswoman also said an official announcement was not prepared.
White, on a telephone conference call to promote Saturday’s UFC 70 event in Manchester, England, that will feature top heavyweight challenger Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, said the HBO contract was completed.
"It’s been a long, hard process, this deal," White said. "But now I’m very comfortable with where we are. HBO and the UFC are both comfortable. We’ll do one show this summer."
White said he had agreed for UFC to yield broadcast production responsibilities to HBO, a point of negotiation that he said "wasn’t easy" to allow. UFC produces its own pay-per-view shows.
An HBO official said the network will select a broadcast team experienced in mixed martial arts, that "the boxing people" — Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant, etc. — aren’t under consideration. The official said HBO "is adamant to find people who know the sport."
White on Tuesday discussed two UFC summer cards, a July 7 show in Sacramento that will include a light-heavyweight fight between former champion Tito Ortiz and Rashad Evans, and a likely August heavyweight title fight between current heavyweight champion Randy Couture and Filipovic.
| " | HBO official said the network will select a broadcast team experienced in mixed martial arts, that "the boxing people" — Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant, etc. — aren't under consideration. The official said HBO "is adamant to find people who know the sport." |
