Eleven Sports has confirmed the widely expected news that it will become the new home of UFC in the UK and Ireland.
Earlier this year it was reported that current rights holders BT had walked away from talks to continue broadcasting the sport.
Eleven Sports said its “multi-year” deal includes all 42 live UFC events in 2019, as well as over 150 hours of UFC original and archive programming, and allows it to make some events available to other broadcasters.
All Fight Nights that are shown live will also be available on demand in full after the event.
“UFC has become a massive brand which has built a hugely dedicated and engaged following over 25 years, making it a perfect fit for our fan centric strategy,” said Danny Menken, Group Managing Director, Eleven Sports.
“We are a big supporter of combat sports across our global markets and the fresh and innovative approach that we have taken with our properties has been very successful.
“We are looking forward to creating the same added value for the legions of MMA fans in the UK and Ireland.”
“We have worked very successfully with Eleven Sports in Belgium and Luxembourg and we are looking forward to extending our partnership here in the UK and Ireland,” said David Shaw, UFC Senior Vice President, International and Content.
“The UK and Ireland are amongst UFC’s strongest markets globally and with Eleven Sports making a significant impact here, it made perfect sense to partner with them to showcase our thrilling product to our loyal and passionate fans.”