It appears that the Ultimate Fighting Championship is headed back
to network television.
The Las Vegas-based promotion is expected to move its Jan. 16 card
from the ESPN family of networks to ABC. It would be the first time
a UFC event was broadcast on ABC. The news was first reported by
MMAjunkie.com and Twitter user DonKingLV.
It is currently unclear how the broadcast will be presented on ABC,
or if part of the carried will be carried by ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPN+.
The UFC Fight Night event takes place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi
and is currently headlined by a featherweight tilt between Max
Holloway and Calvin
Kattar. Assuming the deal is finalized, it will mark the first
time the organization has been on network television since UFC on
Fox 31 on Dec. 15, 2018.
Meanwhile, MMA
DNA was first to report that a UFC event tentatively slated for
Jan. 30 has been removed from the schedule. The card was never
officially announced by the promotion, but fights previously
targeted for that date are in the process of being shifted to other
events in the first quarter of 2020.