MMAJunkie is reporting that the UFC and Versus will produce a Countdown show to help promote the UFC’s debut on the Versus network on March 21st. The program will air following WEC 47 on Versus on March 6th.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship makes its Versus debut on March 21, and to promote the upcoming show, Versus airs “Countdown to UFC on Versus 1” immediately following the live broadcast of WEC 47.
WEC 47 takes place March 6, and the “Countdown to UFC on Versus 1” one-hour special airs immediately afterward at 12:30 a.m. ET/PT, a Versus official today confirmed with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).
UFC on Versus 1 takes place at the 1STBANK Center (formerly The Odeum Colorado) in Broomfield, Colo.
The event features a light-heavyweight headliner of Jon Jones vs. Brandon Vera and a heavyweight co-main event of Junior Dos Santos vs. Gabriel Gonzaga. It’s the first UFC show to air on Versus, which has been home to the WEC, the UFC’s sister promotion, for the past few years.
Sources close to the preview show, which re-airs March 8 at 4 a.m. ET/PT, said it’ll be very similar to those that air on Spike TV, which has been the UFC’s cable home since early 2005. It’ll largely focus on Vera and Jones, either of whom could move into deep title contention with a victory.
Payout Perspective:
The UFC understands the importance of its debut on Versus, so it’s not tremendously surprising to see this announcement.
Versus caters to a slightly more sports-oriented demographic than does Spike TV. It makes a lot of sense not only to put together a great card, but also promote it thoroughly. A good result will help the UFC boost interest in it’s PPV event the week following, which is the key launch point for the organization’s Spring line-up. Any momentum they can build off of UFC 111 will translate into increased buyrates throughout April and May.
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