The UFC is going as big as it possibly can for its first ever live fight on primetime network television.
The mixed martial arts organization announced Friday that Cain Velasquez will defend his heavyweight belt against Junior Dos Santos during the debut show on FOX Sports Nov. 12 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
The show, which will air at 9 p.m. ET on FOX, will be a one-hour special consisting of just the one five-round title fight. UFC president Dana White, who made the announcement on a conference call Friday, said the setup will include a setup for the “millions of fans who have never seen MMA before.”
The date of the event was already known when the UFC announced its seven-year broadcast deal with the American network two weeks ago, but no fights were announced at that time.
White said they looked at many different possibilities, but ultimately the heavyweight title bout was a “no-brainer,” staring them in the face.
“I’ve always said we’re a company that delivers,” said White. “We wanted to deliver to our partners at FOX. We wanted to deliver to the fans. This heavyweight matchup is going to be a great fight.”
The Velasquez-Dos Santos matchup was already expected to take place on pay-per-view the week after at the yet-to-be-announced UFC 139 in San Jose. But White said convincing the two fighters to instead fight on the free card was easy.
“They couldn’t be more excited and are honoured to be a part of this,” White said.
The card will be the same as any regular UFC card that would be seen on pay-per-view in terms of the number of fights—typically 10-12. If the main event ends quickly, a FOX executive said they may air replays of earlier fights on the card to fill out the time slot.
Tickets go on sale next Friday.
The event takes place the same night as the Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez boxing match, but the FOX special is expected to end before the start of that fight.
Velasquez (9-0) stopped Brock Lesnar in the first round of their meeting in Anaheim last October to win the title. He hasn’t fought since then while recovering from a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder.
Dos Santos (13-1) beat Shane Carwin in June to earn the title shot.
The fight is expected to air on Rogers Sportsnet in Canada.
— With files from THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
