Spike TV has announced that it will continue a trend started in September by airing live preliminary fights from the undercard of UFC 106:
New York, NY, November 11, 2009 – Spike TV will telecast live undercard bouts from UFC 106 on Saturday, November 21 at 9:00pm ET/PT from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, NV. The fights on Spike TV will include “The Ultimate Fighter 3” victor Kendall Grove battling Jake Rosholt and “The Ultimate Fighter 5” contestant Ben Saunders facing “The Irish Hand Grenade,” Marcus Davis. The one-hour telecast will run commercial-free. UFC 106 will air on pay-per-view at 10:00pm ET.
A member of BJ Penn’s MMA team in Maui, Hawaii, Grove (12-6) will be fighting on the same card as his mentor and coach from season 3 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Tito Ortiz. The 6’6” rising star has won two of his last three bouts, and on November 21 he will battle 4-time All-American and three-time NCAA Division I National wrestling champion Rosholt. Fighting out of Las Vegas, the talented Rosholt holds a professional mixed martial arts record of 6-1, including an impressive victory by technical submission over UFC veteran Chris Leben at UFC 102.
Fighting out of Orlando, Fl, Saunders (7-1-2) won his first three bouts in the Octagon after a standout performance on season 6 of “The Ultimate Fighter” and his dynamic style has built him a growing fan base. His opponent, Davis (21-6), is the fighting pride of Bangor, Maine, and a former pro boxer who is among the most exciting fighters in mixed martial arts. Winner of 13 of his last 15 fights dating back to 2006, “The Irish Hand Grenade” will look to use his stand-up skills to defeat Saunders.
Other bouts on the card might air on Spike TV, to be determined by the length of the fights.
Payout Perspective:
Whether these preliminary fights actually help the PPV buyrate is very much up for discussion, but they’re certainly beneficial in terms of the exposure they provide for young prospects. The UFC needs to build the next generation of marketable contenders and champions – the only way to do that is through television exposure. Fans need to see them fight.
Equally important, from the perspective of the fighters, is that these prelims aired on Spike also increase the value of the sponsorships they can sell on their gear. Greater exposure for the fighters translates into better exposure for the sponsors, which, in theory, increases ROI – and therefore also the price that fighters can charge for those advertisements.
Here’s how the program has fared over the last two broadcasts:
| Event | HH | 18-34 | 18-49 | Viewers |
| 103 | 1 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1,400,000 |
| 104 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1,400,000 |
Kelsey- sorry to get off topic, but does anyone know the paid attendance revenue and the payouts for saturday nights SF show? it seems usually with any big event , this come out by monday, but i haven’t seen any #S for this anywhere on the net. strange. oh well, i was asking b/c you guys are the “business of mma” and the ratings were good so they came out fast. i can remeber the shock and awe when Afflictions 1rst payouts compared to their live gate was made public. is Strikeforce trying to hide something perhaps? 🙂