Ken Pishna of MMAWeekly has the latest details on the UFC’s plans to hold an event similar to the size and scale of a Fight Night in the Denver suburb of Broomfield, Colorado. The event will be broadcast live via the Versus network on March 21st, and feature a headline bout between Brandon Vera and Jon Jones.
Initial reports provided conflicting information over when the UFC would return to the Centennial State, but MMAWeekly.com has confirmed March 21 at The Odeum Colorado as the date and venue.
It is expected to be the first UFC event to air on Versus as part of a new agreement between the network and Zuffa, LLC, the parent company to both the UFC and World Extreme Cagefighting. Sherdog.com was the first to report that the event would air on Versus.
A bout between light heavyweights Brandon Vera and Jon Jones is expected to headline. Vera on Tuesday night posted a bulletin via his Twitter account confirming the fight.
UFC president Dana White, on a Wednesday conference call announcing the new agreement with Versus, hinted at the event.
“This will be like a Fight Night card. We’ve got some plans right now, the fight we’re talking about putting on the first fight on Versus, (it’s) gonna be a good one, really good.”
Payout Perspective:
MMAPayout.com has talked in recent weeks about how these initial fights on Versus could be the precursor to bigger and better things in the future – namely a potential spot on the rumoured sports network that may come to fruition out of the recent merger acquisition of NBC Universal by Comcast.
Vera vs. Jones is a great match-up for the card, because it will showcase to young, talented, and dynamic strikers that can captivate a new audience. Additionally, the potential demographic appeal of both fighters is something the UFC really covets; the more exposure someone like Brandon Vera gets, the better positioned the UFC will be to expand into a market like the Philippines in the future.
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The months of March and April are going to be very busy for combat sports if all of the reports we’re getting end up playing out:
- Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
- UFC 111: GSP vs. Hardy, Mir vs. Carwin
- UFC on Versus: Vera vs. Jones
- UFC 112: Hughes vs. Gracie in Abu Dhabi
- Strikeforce on CBS: Fedor, Hendo, and more.
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