UFC & FOX Sign On The Dotted Line

Thursday, in a major step forward for mixed martial arts, FOX Sports announced that they had come to terms with the Ultimate Fighting Championships on a seven-year agreement. The deal calls for the televising of four live cards per year in primetime, as well as a variety UFC relating programming, slated to air throughout the FOX family of networks. The package is reported to be worth $100 million annually.

For the past six years, the UFC had been airing on Spike TV. Spike will reportedly replace the UFC action with shows such as "Bar Rescue' and "Auction Hunter". These programs will attract only a small percentage of the UFC audience, as interest in mixed martial arts has skyrocketed and simply outgrown Spike. 

The network may replace the UFC with the far lesser known rival organization Bellator, in order to somewhat placate MMA fans. 

The UFC's FOX debut is scheduled for November 12, the same night that Manny Pacquiao will get into the ring with Juan Manuel Marquez. It will be interesting to see how much the UFC bites into the pay-per-view buys for one of the biggest boxing matches of the year. 

The newly announced partnership seems like a knockout win for both the UFC and FOX.