Ultimate Fighting Championship fans (and their wallets) will get a break next month for UFC 95.
As rumored and expected, the overseas event will, in fact, air on Spike TV rather than pay per view.
Sources close to some of the fighters on the Feb. 21 fight card today told MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com) that the event, which takes place at the O2 Arena in London, England, will air via tape delay on the basic-cable station.
An official announcement could come from the UFC and Spike TV as early as this week.
UFC 95 features a main event between "The Ultimate Fighter 1" winner and former top welterweight contender Diego Sanchez, who makes his lightweight debut, and perennial contender and "TUF2" winner Joe Stevenson.
A bout between popular British fighter Dan Hardy and and rising prospect Rory Markham will likely take the night's co-main-event slot.
Also expected to be part of the televised main card are Wilson Gouveia vs. Nate Marquardt, Demian Maia vs. Chael Sonnen and Josh Koscheck vs. Paulo Thiago.
UFC 95 comes just three weeks after UFC 94 and two weeks before UFC 96. Both UFC 94 and UFC 96 come with pay-per-view price tags.
As MMAjunkie.com reported last month, recent postings on UFC.com led many fans to believe UFC 95 was a lock to air on Spike TV. However, at the time, a source close to the event said UFC officials and executives from the cable station had yet to reach an agreement on the licensing fee for the broadcast. Although the UFC and Spike TV team up for UFC Fight Night broadcasts as part of their current deal, other events are negotiated on a show-by-show basis.
With a deal now reached, an official announcement is by early next week.
Other, non-"Fight Night" events that have aired on Spike TV include UFC 70 (Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Gabriel Gonzaga), UFC 75 (Quinton Jackson vs. Dan Henderson) and UFC 89 (Michael Bisping vs. Chris Leben).
