The first UFC on Fox telecast comes up this Saturday as the network airs the UFC Heavyweight Championship between champion Cain Valasquez and challenger Junior dos Santos. This will not just involve the main Fox mothership, but the networks under the Fox Sports Media Group umbrella, Fuel TV, Fox Deportes and Fox Sports Radio.
Fuel TV will have pre and postfight programming hosted by Jay Glazer with UFC fighters Kenny Florian and Stephan Bonnar as analysts.
On Fox, Curt Menefee will be the host and will be joined by UFC President Dana White and former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.
Then when the fight begins, the familiar UFC announcing crew of Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan will call the action.
We have Fox’s broadcast plans and schedules for its networks.
BELL SOUNDS FOR UFC ON FOX
FOX Sports Broadcasts Heavyweight Championship: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos Live in Primetime on Nov. 12
FUEL TV Kicks-off Four and a Half Hours of Fight Coverage Nov. 11; Network Offers Live Prefight & Post-fight Specials
FOX Deportes, FOXSports.com on MSN & FOX Sports Radio also Blanket EventNew York — No doubt about it: FOX Sports, FUEL TV, FOX Deportes, FOXSports.com on MSN and FOX Sports Radio all come out swinging for the inaugural event of the new landmark agreement between Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC) and FOX Sports Media Group.
Two of UFC’s brightest stars battle in a highly-anticipated heavyweight championship bout as current title holder Cain Velasquez (UFC 7-0) steps into the Octagon with No. 1 contender Junior dos Santos (UFC 7-0). FOX Sports presents its coverage of the main event in a one hour prime time special: UFC ON FOX: LIVE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT – VELASQUEZ VS. DOS SANTOS, Saturday, Nov. 12 (9:00-10:00 PM ET) from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. This historic presentation marks the first UFC event ever televised by a broadcast television network.
For FOX Sports’ live coverage of the Velasquez-Dos Santos bout, UFC President Dana White joins FOX Sports’ versatile host Curt Menefee to welcome viewers to the network’s coverage and set the scene, bringing fans all the sights and sounds of this historic event. Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, who Velasquez beat for the title a year ago, joins FOX Sports’ prefight coverage as an analyst, while UFC commentator Joe Rogan provides interviews as the final prefight moments count down. Once the battle begins, Rogan and long-time UFC announcer Mike Goldberg have the call.
In the lead-up to the main event on FOX, FUEL TV inaugurates its unprecedented UFC programming with four and a half hours of Velasquez-Dos Santos coverage beginning Friday, Nov. 11 (7:00-7:30 PM ET), with UFC VELASQUEZ VS. DOS SANTOS WEIGH-IN LIVE.
Come fight night on Nov. 12, FUEL TV re-airs UFC VELASQUEZ VS. DOS SANTOS WEIGH-IN LIVE (5:30-6:00 PM ET) and UFC PRIMETIME, a multi-dimensional look at the two fighters that first aired on FOX (6:00-7:00 PM ET). FUEL TV’s live programming sandwiches FOX’s live fight coverage, beginning with UFC ON FUEL TV: VELASQUEZ VS. DOS SANTOS PREFIGHT SPECIAL LIVE (7:00-9:00 PM ET) hosted by Jay Glazer, with UFC title contender Kenny Florian serving as an analyst and UFC light heavyweight Stephan Bonnar reporting backstage and interviewing fighters in attendance. The prefight special features an amazing champions’ roundtable including current champion Jon “Bones” Jones and former champs Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin and Frank Mir discussing the fight. In addition, Nicole Dabeau, host of FUEL TV’s weekly news show ACTION SPORTS PLUS, provides exclusive interviews from the red carpet as the athlete and celebrity turnout for the fight and gala post-fight party is expected to be stellar.
Glazer, Florian and Bonnar are back analyzing the outcome of the most historic fight in UFC history at 10:00 PM ET during UFC ON FUEL TV: VELASQUEZ VS. DOS SANTOS POST-FIGHT SPECIAL LIVE (10:00-11:00 PM ET). The hour-long special features live interviews with the fighters, plus coverage of the post-fight press conference.
FOX Deportes, the nation’s No. 1 Spanish-language sports network, is no stranger to UFC programming. In the run up to Velasquez-Dos Santos, FOX Deportes airs the third and final installment of CAIN VELASQUEZ: BROWN PRIDE on Friday, Nov. 11 (7:00-8:00 PM ET). On Nov. 12, the network re-airs all three episodes of CAIN VELASQUEZ: BROWN PRIDE from 3:00-6:00 PM ET, followed by UFC LO MEJOR (Cain Velasquez vs. Brock Lesnar) from 6:00-7:00 PM ET. FOX Deportes carries several preliminary fights, including Clay Guida vs. Benson Henderson and Dustin Poirier vs. Pablo Garza, live from 7:00-9:00 PM ET, followed by the main event, Velasquez vs. Dos Santos live from 9:00-10:00 PM ET. Rodrigo Arana, Mario Delgado and Troy Santiago call the action.
In addition to television coverage provided by FOX Sports, FUEL TV and FOX Deportes, FOXSports.com plans to live stream the press conference on Wednesday, Thursday’s open workout, Friday’s weigh-in and the nine undercard bouts that precede the Velasquez-Dos Santos showdown on Nov. 12. Editorially, in the days leading up to the bout the site plans: a profile on UFC maestro Dana White by Bill Reiter; a story on the role of religion in fighting; how UFC training has helped several NFL players; profiles on Velasquez and Dos Santos; and more.
FOX Sports Radio airs five hours of live coverage on fight night, Nov. 12, starting with prefight analysis and interviews from the red carpet at 8:00 PM ET and highlighted by a simulcast of the fight from 9:00-10:00 PM ET. The fight is followed by a three-hour post-fight interviews and call-in show with host Larry Pepe from 10:00-1:00 AM ET. During fight week, FOX Sports Radio also covers Wednesday’s press conference and Friday’s weigh-in, as well as interviews from top UFC fighters.
** FULL TELEVISION SCHEDULE
DATE
TIME
EVENT
NET
Friday, Nov. 11
7:00 PM ET
UFC VELASQUEZ VS. DOS SANTOS WEIGH-IN LIVE
FUEL TV
Friday, Nov. 11
7:00 PM ET
CAIN VELASQUEZ: BROWN PRIDE – 3
FOX Deportes
Saturday, Nov. 12
3:00 PM ET
CAIN VELASQUEZ: BROWN PRIDE – 1
FOX Deportes
Saturday, Nov. 12
4:00 PM ET
CAIN VELASQUEZ: BROWN PRIDE – 2
FOX Deportes
Saturday, Nov. 12
5:00 PM ET
CAIN VELASQUEZ: BROWN PRIDE – 3
FOX Deportes
Saturday, Nov. 12
5:30 PM ET
UFC VELASQUEZ VS. DOS SANTOS WEIGH-IN (re-air)
FUEL TV
Saturday, Nov. 12
6:00 PM ET
UFC Primetime (re-air)
FUEL TV
Saturday, Nov. 12
6:00 PM ET
UFC LO MEJOR (Cain Velasquez vs. Brock Lesnar)
FOX Deportes
Saturday, Nov. 12
7:00 PM ET
Preliminary Fights
FOX Deportes
Saturday, Nov. 12
7:00 PM ET
VELASQUEZ VS. DOS SANTOS PREFIGHT SPECIAL LIVE
FUEL TV
Saturday, Nov. 12
9:00 PM ET
UFC ON FOX HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHT – VELASQUEZ VS. DOS SANTOS
FOX
Saturday, Nov. 12
10:00 PM ET
UFC ON FUEL TV: VELASQUEZ VS. DOS SANTOS POSTFIGHT SPECIAL LIVE
FUEL TV
That will do it.
